Success

For me success is a balancing act right now. Trying to hang onto my sanity while running my household, and managing nineteen five-year-olds is challenging. Things have been going well but there have been some bumps in the road.

We have had a few incidents on the home front. R showed up at the dinner table one Sunday evening with half of her hair chopped to shoulder length. She is now sporting a stylish bob. To our nanny's chagrin, B's love affair with wearing pajamas around the clock is still going strong. But these are minor blips and on the whole my return to work has been a success.

The long weekend was a welcome retreat for our family. We headed to the interior for RKA to run a half-marathon. We were his cheering section and we took our job seriously.

RKA rocked it out and finished in two hours which was his goal. We were right at the finish line to give him high fives to celebrate his success.


We packed a lot of fun into that weekend...


Zip lines...


Beach biking...


Irish food...

Scandia...



that beloved chicken...




It was a wonderful family weekend...successful by any measure.

Independence

I can still remember the liberating feeling of my pink banana seat wobbling under me as my dad let go of my bike. Tonight R had her first taste of that freedom. No more training wheels, no more dad holding her bike. The only thing powering her bike is balance, concentration and determination. Once she got her wheels under her she did not want to come in the house. Two hours were spent riding around our neighbourhood this evening. Just when she would tire and would be about to call it quits another neighbour would step outside so R would have to show off her new skills and she would be heading back up the street with her blond ponytail and her purple bike streamers flying behind her. What a milestone!


My little boy is also gaining independence. Today was the kids' first day with the nanny who will be caring for them and taking them to preschool three days per week. It was hard to leave this morning when B had just rolled out of bed in his jammies with his sleep-tousled hair. Usually, him and I cuddle on the couch in the morning for a few minutes to welcome the day as we wait for the kettle to boil. Today, I rushed out the door to meet my kindergarten students and left him with just a hug and a kiss. I missed that quiet cuddle time. B did just fine, though and so did his sister. Tangible signs of my kids' independence and growth has never been so apparent to me as it was today. Today was a big day. A big, happy, glorious, and wistful day.

The Next Chapter

I've been home with my babies for the better part of the last four and a half years. So long in fact that they are no longer babies! I found that our trusty old stroller was spending most of the summer folded up on the garage floor collecting dust and getting in the way. So I sold it. I thought that I might feel a bit sad to see our champion of a stroller leave our lives but I surprised myself. I was just fine (I guess the nice stack of twenties in my palm may have helped me conquer that)! Our baby chapter has closed and our kid chapter is now beginning and I choose to be excited about that!

The biggest change around here is that in September I will be returning to teaching Kindergarten full time. I've spent the last month reading about current standards and teaching practices. R&B have spent a few afternoons in my classroom as I clean, organize, hang bulletin boards, etc...We can all feel the shift as my focus now must now extend beyond the four walls of our house. But change can be a good thing and I think we are ready for the challenge. 

In the meantime we have been savouring the summer!  This has been our first summer without having to be home in the afternoon for naps so we have had extra time for adventure1  There has been swimming lessons, ocean days, lake days, parks, playdates, bike rides, camping trips, bunk beds, snow cones, road trips, zoos, kiddie pools, our favourite Edmontonian house guests, and a  lemonade stand...among other adventures...

Making memories

 

Just a few cute shots from our road trip :)

Road trip!...and a crash and a bash

It was a whirlwind trip through the interior.  RKA had site visits to complete so we accompanied him to four different hotels and countless restaurants over five days.  R&B are turning into quite the little travellers.  They got the hang of sleeping in hotel rooms and can locate the mac'n'cheese on any kids menu. 

We checked out all of the pools...







...and we communed with nature...


















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As you can see everything was going swimmingly...then RKA was rear-ended on Thursday and my mom-mobile had to be towed away.  It put a damper on the trip but we were just happy that he wasn't seriously injured (and that we weren't with him).  We returned home Friday in a rental car.

On Saturday night B was trying out goggles in the hot tub and he rapidly ducked his head under the water only he couldn't see well enough and misjudged how near he was to the edge of the hot tub.  He bashed his mouth on the side of the hot tub and came up bleeding.  A lot.  At first we thought that he had knocked his front teeth out but as RKA was on the phone with the emergency dentist I finally got a good look (while he was howling) and noticed that the top two left teeth were actually completely pushed back up into the gums.  His mouth was x-rayed and the pediatric dentist thinks that the teeth will descend over the next three or so months.  But they will be black.  Fortunately, the dentist thinks that the adult teeth should be relatively unharmed.  So we have a new smile to get used to around here and somehow it seems to suit B almost as much as his old one!  He hasn't complained once about his mouth and was very cooperative at the dentist - even when he was being poked in the wound!  He is such a brave kid! 
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More photos from our trip still to come ...

That Summer Vibe

Okay, so we may not have the sun but at least we have the vibe of summer.  Summer is a time when life slows down and moves over to make way for fun.  We've been super busy with fun lately.  There has been daily swimming lessons, RKA took an impromptu business trip to Montreal, my friend visiting, a baby shower, a double birthday party, and now we're packing for a road trip.  Our summer is well underway.  Last Sunday we spent a blissful day in a nearby tourist town...it revolved around all of our favourite food groups....candy, ice cream, and strawberries - mmm!

Kid in a candy store...


"Can I have a lick of yours, little buddy?"


"Of course you can, I adore you big sis" (that's why I pester your relentlessly)...


Strawberry - pickin'




Yes, that is a bit of jam freshly spread on her forehead...


They still fit into the wagon




B ate as he went - note the red fingers...


Yes, 'twas a day of delectable goodness peppered with some quaint old fashioned charm.

A visit to a little train museum right beside a live line...


One tiny nose pressed against glass, viewing one tiny train...


Dropping a quarter into a juke box to choose a vintage song...


Covering your ears in disappointment and protest when the ancient juke box plays the wrong song...


Miniature benches to fit miniature ladies...


Picket fences and glamour...


Antiquing (teaching the young the value of old)...


A real live auction in front of city hall...


It was a Sunday for the books!

Yes, our summer is a vibin' and we have many more memories just waiting to be made!  Off now in search of sunshine!