Our summer

Sadly, the summer has come to an end. It seems every year I say how fast the summer goes by and this year is no different. However, this summer has been one of the best so far. I have spent past summers fixing up classrooms, giving birth to twins, bringing home a new puppy so this summer was the 1st summer in a long time where I got to really enjoy it. The boys are now of the age where they are so excited to do new things which of course makes it so much for us. I don't want to write too much as I just wanted to share some pic's taken throughout the summer so sit back and enjoy our summer of 2008:
SPRINKLER FUN

OUR FRIEND PASCALE (How lucky am I to have friend like this?)

OWEN AND WIL-THEIR FREQUENT PLAYMATES

THE ZOO

PRARIE DOG WATCH

READING

DUSTING

CHECKING OUT NEW PLAYGROUNDS

WATERING FLOWERS

PULL-UPS WITH DAD

SWIMMING IN GEORGIAN BAY

THE BOYS TAKING IN THE MUSKOKA'S

AIDEN GETTING READY TO FLOAT AWAY

ANDREW'S FIRST REAL SWIM!

BAND REHEARSALS AT THE HOUSE

THE BOYS LISTENING TO THE MUSIC

PLAYDATES

THE BOYS JOINING THE MARCHING BAND

FUTURE MUSICIANS?

ENJOYING THEIR WHALE POOL (THANK YOU UNCLE GARY AND AUNTIE JAYNE!) (ALSO, YOU CAN ALMOST SEE AIDEN'S UNDERWEAR- YES THAT'S RIGHT..UNDERWEAR!)

ENJOYING THE BEACH AT LAKE NIPPISSING

LOVING THE BEACH AND THE WATER

A LIMO RIDE TO A GIG

US IN THE LIMO

THEIR AUNTIE CAME TO VISIT AFTER 2 YEARS!

PLAYING THE CALIMBA WITH AUNTIE ANANYA

AIDEN'S REACTION TO ME WHEN ASKED TO APOLOGIZE (NOTICE THE PULLED DOWN HAT AND ONE LEG UP..UMM..WHEN DID YOU TURN 16?)

ANDREW LOOKING TOO GROWN UP

MY CUTIE PIE AIDEN

MT LITTLE CATERPILLARS

MY SWEETIES

When the going gets tough.......

the tough starts to toilet train. So our last 'adventure of toilet training' was a bust. We thought going naked was going to work and make them aware that stuff does come out down there. Well, as we found out, the nether regions of boys, when they are ready to 'go', act like hoses and when they pee, it just shoots straight out. Yes, they see it but they don't feel it. So, we DID have lots of fun being naked and being outside but that wasn't really the point of wearing our birthday suits in the backyard. So we threw the white flag, gave up and reverted back to diapers.

After doing some more reading and chatting, I stumbled across "The Three Day Potty Training Method". Guaranteed (guaranteed???? How on EARTH can anyone guarantee toilet training?) and voila, you have your child trained. Well I got the 'method', read it cover to cover and discussed with hubby. It involved 3 intense days devoted to your child which means you have to schedule 3 uninterrupted days where you can do this. We looked at the calendar, found 3 days and booked it.

Well, Day 2 is over and let's just say we feel like we did when we first brought the boys home 2 years ago. We are exhausted, stressed, exhausted, beat up, did I mention exhausted? It's hard. It's really hard. If I didn't already have complete admiration for parents who are able to raise wonderful kids, now that we are toilet training, I hold parents on a pedestal. Yes, we have the extra task of trying to toilet train two boys at once but still. It's tough just the same. The amount of patience and concentration involved is intense. There are so many things that make toilet training challenging but I think right now, the hardest thing is getting them to tell you BEFORE the explosion happens. The other being letting them understand that dry underwear is preferable and anything else is NOT appealing.

Anyways, not to bore you with anymore details but I will say we have had many "hits" as I call them into the toilet which has been AMAZING. It looks like Aiden is grasping the concept a little more quickly than Andrew but with Andrew, he has so much awareness than ever before and I am so proud of the two of them. It's just a huge milestone I tell you. HUGE. It ranks right up there with them being to talk and tell us what they are thinking, feeling, wondering.

Tomorrow is Day 3 and we'll see where things fair from there. The lady says it may take longer with twins than with singletons so we'll see. As tempting as it would be to put them into diapers, the thought of a diaper free home sounds incredible so stay tuned for more.

OH and the dance you ask? Well let's just say our moves are not as energetic as they were yesturday but they do request the special dance when they are successful. I don't think we'll be selling our unique dance moves however I am sure they will make for great stories when the boys get older and tell us how horrified they were to see their parents break out into rather awkward looking dance moves in the bathroom.


Here is a recent pic taken of the boys. Andrew is performing to his very captive audience wearing his hard hat, inspired by a drummer in a marching band the boys were in at a jazz festival.

Toilet Training.....Day 1

So Christopher and I set out to toilet train our boys this summer. The goal was to have the boys 100% toilet trained by the fall so they could officially start going to my school (this being mandatory for them to start). Well, the summer started and we kept putting it off for so many reasons. Fun day trips that we couldn't wait to take, 2 of us not being together to tackle this next milestone....anyways, we didn't start. Well, we decided that TODAY would be the day we would start. I guess I had grandiose ideas that a miracle would happen and that they would magically 'get' the whole idea of using the toilet and we could brag to our friends that our boys were trained in just hours. Umm....no such luck. Our idea was that we would take advantage of the amazing weather and go commando and let the boys understand that yes indeed, stuff comes out of our southern parts and that 'it' needs to go somewhere other than in our pants. Well, thanks to ultra absorbent diapers, this clearly is such a strange occurence of sorts.
Here's what happened:

Andrew thought going naked was the best idea we had ever come up with and LOVED sitting on the potty (we brought one outside). Only his idea of using the potty was that the potty was something we can sit on while we have chats with the resident wildlife or a fancy chair we can finish our yummy cracker on. Aiden did NOT want to take off his diapers and go commando. He appears to be a little more modest (takes after mom I think) and was a little shy to wear his birthday suit. After some negotiation, he agreed to let it all hang out (no pun intended). The good news was that Andrew went pee once and we all cheered him on. He was his usual casual self, he smiled, got up and continued to play. Aiden on the other hand gave us a very confident "NO WAY!" when asked if he would like to use the potty. He did make any desposits today. Clearly this is going to be a long process.

Tomorrow is a new day and we are going to try again. I told the boys that tomorrow, if someone pees or poops in the toilet, mommy and daddy have a very special dance that they will do. They seem very intrigued and excited about this so called 'dance' so let's see where this takes us. You maybe wondering if hubby and I have practiced these special "pee and poop" dance moves....the answer is no but if it works, we plan on recording the magic moves and making millions. Stay tuned for more!

Here is Aiden's version of using the potty (fully clothed)



Here is Andrew holding his shovel while he hangs out

The junk drawer

Now I wish I could say we have one junk drawer. Well.....since our move 2 years ago, it appears we have quite a few. For those of you that don't have a junk drawer or don't know what this is, it's a drawer that holds numerous miscellaneous items such as spare laces, strange unidentifiable objects that you promise to fix one day, spare bits of shelving you bought at IKEA, converters from old tv's....you get the picture. Anyways, when the boys were of the age where they could get into things, we decided not to go crazy with baby proofing the place. We installed some gates and a couple of latches for a few cabinets (we thought the liquor cabinet was a DEFINITE must!) but that's about it. What this means is the boys need to be watched more closely when they are running around. More work, DEFINITELY, but it also presents more opportunities to teach them what they can or cannot touch and how to touch things carefully. There have been MANY moments where I thought it would be so much easier to lock everything up so we can relax a bit more but.....and here's my inspiration for this post. Because of their freedom to explore their environment, the "JUNK" drawer has provided the boys with so many tools that have allowed their imagination to soar. Who knew old adapters to an ancient VCR can provide gas for a fleet of trucks? Or that an allen key can 'pump up' a deflated tire of a beloved car. Or that a old measuring tape can act as a leash for a stuffed penguin? The boys have discovered a whole new world and it's so much fun to watch.

I have always looked at our junk drawers as another thing we have to organize and sort through. Most often these drawers are sources of anxiety and reminders of how behind we are in cleaning up our place. But thanks to the boys who look at these drawers as their own personal treasure chests, these drawers don't seem all that bad anymore:)

Say "LEMONS!"

I wish I brought my camera along this morning as our great friend Pascale and her two sweet little boys Owen and Will all went to this amazing park/playground in our area. The boys loved it but then, if we couldn't be the BEST parents in the world anymore, we took them to this building site around the corner where they got to watch an excavator scoop dirt into a dump truck. Everyone applauded (yes, parents included) after the excavator cleverly manouvered it's bucket over the dump truck and dumped out all the dirt. Aiden was BESIDE himself with excitement and Andrew watched in complete awe. Motherhood has changed me forever as never in a million years would I have thought watching an excavator (otherwise known as 'some diggy machine' thing I called these machines in my former life) would be exciting.

The pic's!
The other night we had pickerel for dinner and the boys decided to have some fun with their lemon slices. I have to say the summer so far has been great. It's so nice not to be rushing around and having quality time together. We've been lucky with the weather so we've been outside for as long as we can. I've included some other shots of the boys which include colouring while dinner was being prepared (it didn't last long but I manage to get this shot in!). The other shot is what Willy does when we are hanging out in our backyard. It's my current favourite Willy shot to date.

"If my brain were in a bird...."

I am currently reading "The Secret Lives of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd and there was one line that made me laugh out loud. The main character was talking to her housekeeper who said to this little girl that if her dad's brain were in a bird, the bird would fly backwards. I thought this was HILARIOUSLY funny and I also thought I could easily have someone say that about me some days.

Being a mom (of multiples no doubt), a wife and a teacher makes me feel depleted at times. Each title carries with it responsibilities that are unique to each part I play. I love being all of these but there are times when I am exhausted and just feel like putting a little sign in front of me that reads "Out to lunch. Be back soon....". It are these times I feel like I am having out of body experiences where I can see myself running around like crazy, making sure everyone has everything they need and know if I stop I will collapse from utter exhaustion. I'm sorry if I sound like I am whining and complaining about my life. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE my life and after trying for so many years to have a family, I feel like we won the jackpot. We both have careers we love, our boys are simply amazing and we also have the world's greatest dog to boot. We are also lucky to have wonderful friends and family around us so in everyway we are truly blessed. BUT.....I am only human and there are days when I have had very little sleep, the boys are sick, my hubby is super busy and for some reason, Willy (our little Westie) will have thrown up 3 times in the house which I somehow must clean the second I come home from work while getting dinner ready and calming the troops who have just arrived home from school, exhausted and tired. These are the times where my brain shuts down and I just hope that I can pull it all off.

The good thing with being a mom, the good always out weighs the bad and the second you start feeling a little sorry for yourself, a little tiny face runs up to you and says "I am so happy mommy!". Your heart simply melts and I think to myself.." Yep. I can do another day."

And if my brain were in a bird? It may fly backwards but it would be smiling the whole time:)

Above are some pic's of the other boys in my family.
Thanks for reading!

My life with boys. Part 1.

I know. I am VERY late in archiving my life these past 2 and a bit years. I read my friends' blogs and think "Wow. THEY'RE moms too. Busy with work, juggling children, husbands, dogs (or various other 4 legged or fin friendly animals) and yet they find time to write. Not only write but write WELL. Prose filled with humour, vulnerability, sadness sometimes but most of all, they make SENSE! There is no stream of consciousness going on here (if you have 2 year olds, you know what I mean!)."

Anyways, here I am. Two years and some change later, starting to write about my life. My life with boys to be exact. I decided to title my blog this because I am the only female in my household. Even the dog is a boy. Anyways, my life has been a series of ups and downs but mostly ups as I can't believe I ever had a life without my precious sons, Aiden and Andrew. It's true what they say. You forget your life before kids. Well, I can't say I have altogether FORGOTTEN my life before kids. I say this as my husband and I had the RARE luxury of sleeping in past 7am this morning (my mother in law had the boys for an overnight). It reminded me of my life before when I would just wake up when my eyes decided to open. I must say the whole sleeping in thing I have very treasured memories of, especially now that I have twin boys:)

So, here I start. I will try and chronicle my life from these past 2 years and hopefully you will enjoy reading the trials and tribulations of a working mom who struggles everyday to find balance in her rather hectic life.