The Good Life

Don't get it twisted - my life is not perfect.  But I sure do enjoy my life.  Working full time has kept me super busy but also challenged and I like that.  R & B also seem to appreciate me a bit more now that I am not home with them 24/7.  That is an added bonus.  I appreciate them more, too.  It is early November and I am pretty sure that I have already reached my laugh quota for the month.

We took the kids to Science World to see the Dinosaur Exhibit.  Turns out that in real life those giant sized, toothy, roaring, animatronic dinosaurs are downright terrifying.  We did not make it into the back corner to see the T-Rex close-up.  In fact we didn't make it too far past this bland specimen:

But the giant piano was a huge hit - R used it as a dance floor:

B liked the giant scale that weighed him against a hippo:

R&B used teamwork to pull out a length of rope meant to imitate human intestines:

Our annual trip was full of scientific discovery and it was a definite success.

On the weekend, we also got to celebrate Gma's birthday.

 We had a family dinner for her.  RKA cooked a delicious greek meal and we even had an Uncle B sighting! 

The entertainment was provided by an impromptu band.

The arts seem to be huge in our house.  R started art lessons and is continuing her dance class.  After two years of watching his sister dance, B has decided to take part.  This kid has moves!  B was focused, coordinated, and masculine as he joined his sister's dance class.  I am so proud of him for being willing to try something new and different. 

This last one was his ninja move which had me in stitches!

That night I was reading them a bed time story in R's room - it was a book about ballet. 

The last line is "Wouldn't you like to be a ballerina?" 

R replied, "I am a ballerina!"

and then B chimed in happily, "So am I!" 

Q: What's as cute as a little ballerina in a tutu?

A: ...her enthusiastic little brother dancing in his DC's and sweats!

Life is very good :)

Halloween through the ages...

Classic Halloween of years from long ago included gourds carved and lit....

A long-standing tradition has included dressing children and taking them trick-or-treating....

Modern practice now seems to inlcude dressing your canine in costume for the occaision...

Okay, enough of the history lesson...Halloween really was a hoot this year!  We hosted about twenty friends and family for an early chili supper and then suited up for trick-or-treating.  R was racing so fast from door to door that all of my pictures of her are blurry! 

 B kept up well, though and they both came home with huge pumpkin buckets full of candy!  Our neighbours get right into it.  So many houses were elaborately decorated and the streets were full of kids scampering from house to house.  Once it got dark and cooled off people started to stoke firebowls in their driveways and fireworks were peppering the sky.  Finally, the snow princess and the monkey wore themselves out and we trudged home and the kids fell into their beds glittered hair and all.  Best. Halloween. Ever.

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 :)