Daddy's Birthday

We recently celebrated my husband birthday.  He generally likes to keep it low key and always requests no gifts.  The day was a busy one starting with brunch at Gramma and Grandpa's, then a Christmas party for the Metzger cousins and then we went to Kevin and JoAnn's for a celebratory drink.  This certainly was an action packed day.

Here is a photo of the group 1 year ago...I realized that I made the same type of cake this year..opps

The previous day I spent part of the day singing happy birthday to the girls, in hope they would catch on and sing with the rest of us at cake time.  No go..in fact I think Sophia cried during the singing and was not cooperative during pictures.  Looks like Emily and MG had something going on...on the side that we were not aware of...hummm

Sophia took the cake when it came to the presents.  On our way the the final event, she started to sing...We were in shocked.  Not so much that she was singing, cause she does this alot (mostly Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) but shocked that she only heard this song a few times and was now singing it...so I had to catch this on camera-video in the car...so take a listen.

I cannot believe how fast they pick up on stuff so I've started to sing jingle bells....

The day was a good one..except for the end of the day when I got sick with fever and chills and sweats for the next 48hours...I thought I had this bug licked the other week, but it came back stronger than ever.  That is a whole other post..Sick with kids and how we cope as moms..thank goodness for my husband..is all I have to say!

Ciao
R-xo

18 Months and counting

18 months...I feel like this is such an accomplishment and I want to break out in the Grammy speech..."I would like to thank my parents, my sister, my mother-in-law for all their help (babysitting and canning), support (and countless dinners), for which I would not be the person I am today.  I would like to thank my family and friends for visiting, chatting and drinking with me...cause I needed it! God for well...being god and of course my sensational husband, for which my life is not complete and I would have gone insane by now if not for his love of doing the laundry, dishes and floors...."  Phew....

For some reason this was the age I had in mind that I could not wait to get to.  I was excited for their 1 year birthday, but 18 months is my golden age.  The girls are not any less work, it is just different.  We can chat and play and their little personalities are shinning through, some times a bit too much but that is all part of being a family!  I finally feel like I may have some influence on who they are becoming.  This may sound like a tall order, but this is the order I am ready to fill, the parenting order.

So lets take a trip down memory lane.  Here are a few pics of the girls...1 year ago. (6 months..not rolling nor sitting on there own and just starting to each that gross rice cereal)

We are having a great time.  The girls are taking off in the learning department that's for sure.  Little Pookie is singin up a storm and Munchie is talking 3 word sentences.  her fav is "I wov u daddy" or "I'm funny" and Pookie is "I have it"  which is about everything she see and is not suppose to have.  Next up is barnyard sounds and every time there is a cat or dog commercial on TV there is the constant "mow or ruf" that fills the room.  In the Night Garden, Dora, Backyardigans and hockey are head turners as far as TV shows go and "berries" are a hit at meal times.



 

Wow...what a difference 1 year makes.

Cheers!
R-xo

Confessions of the Crunched!

I was buzzing through some of the blogs that I like to read, when a title hit me..."How do I Manage" I was curious to see how someone else does it...conclusion..she was still looking for the answer.... This seems to be common, trying to juggle all that life throws out there..trying to achieve that life/work balance.  My bal­anc­ing act is not work­ing.  Well, it is.…but I have fallen off that darn bal­ance beam over and over again and with every new attempt to get it together, the bruises from the falls get big­ger and bigger...…and who thought that there could be a balance with work, kids and life!?  (Must have been some single or newly married girl who pitched it to some other single girl or something like that) 

Going back to work after having the girls was something I looked forward to...a change for us all.  I looked forward to getting up and going off to the world of adult talk, drinking a coffee while it was still hot, not having to heat it up 4 times…but now it is one of the hardest things I have done.  Working, raising toddlers and keeping a house (well my dear hubby does a lot of that..guilt!) is challenging...but the daily, daunting struggle is making a good meal and having it on the table before 6pm.  I love to cook, but I dread coming home to make dinner these days….the girls will not let me do anything and I mean anything in the kitchen.  From the minute I walk in they want to be held and if I don't, they scream, cry, pull at my pants yelling "uppy, uppy, uppy mommy" Emily even has pulled my pants down, which is something I am shocked at after having twins…

This past weekend I found myself cooking the entire weekend.  Choppin stuff, mixing stuff, baking stuff, using up food before it goes bad…(and some of it has been on the edge for weeks!)  The quick and easy answer is..nanny! but we cannot afford that, so now I have to think outside the box, or kitchen.  

The hard truth is that all this juggle doesn’t always work. I am a multitasker and even this is rocking that. But I’m glad I work outside the home, even if during the outrageously busy times I question that choice.

How do I manage?  I will let you know when I find out.

R-xo

MG - Adventures of a red head

This post is from my sister, Adrianna.  I had to post this cause - well you need to read it to believe it.  MG is a red head through and through

Swimming started at the beginning of Oct..for us and for MG.  MG missed the first night cause mommy and daddy got the night wrong..boy was MG steamed that she could not go swimming the first night..so this is the synopsis of week 2, first night!  enjoy!!

Adventures of a red head......

Well here it is…Mary and I had our first mommy and Mary swim night last night. Once we first arrived Mary was sooooooo excited. All that she wanted to do is "go swimin".  Little did I know that our little red headed angel had some idea's of her own.

First off they changed the pool location on us from the warm pool to the cooler one…with all the slides and toys around it!!  Well we all know how much MG loves water and the toys! We get into the pool no problem…we actually take a big jump…splashing other kids who think that the water hitting them is like poison or something. It was not long (one minute) before Mary started to get mad at me for holding her. She wanted nothing to do with being held nor told what to do in the water. 

The instructor then began to sing songs…Mary LOVED these 2-3 minute songs, she splashed and screamed the entire time while the other children around her were scared shitless and crying their eyes out!  About 5 minutes into class Mary decided that she needed to pee so in true potty training form announced to the entire pool that she would now be peeing in the water.  Then looked at me with that cute little face and said…."OK MOMMY?" what is a mom to say :)

Next she saw that 50 foot twirly slide we were swimming under.  It was not long before she decided she wanted to be on that and was not happy I said she could not go on it! (she asked to go on it all class long) The instructor took her for a bit and MG did EVERYTHING the instructor asked... no problem at all.  The instructor was impressed that she knew so much. 

Then came time to jump in and out of the water…..Mary did not want me, she wanted to go off the diving boards!! Man I think that I have created a water bug!!!   Needless to say we made it through the class.  MG was one of the only kids in the class who had her hair wet!!  Most of the other kids were still crying! So it is time to go, MG decided that getting out of the pool was NOT what she wanted…she up and slapped me in a fit of rage and I must admit…I did not know what to do with this child and what happened to my MARY:) The change room is a another story as she then did not want to ever get out of the shower!!

Regardless Mary and I talked and next week she wants to go back and will not hit or scream. She apologized for her bad behaviour and is excited to try again next week. The instructor also said that next week maybe Mary can get a life jacket to swim on her own as last night she wanted NO help in the water at all…what a girl. Sure was different having just one…..I must say that two were easier:) We love our Mary and she is one of a kind……What a girl!

Love The Bells!

I am sure that there will be more...adventures of a red head to come.  

Fishes they are not

For most kids swimming is fun, something to look forward to and something you should not do right after eating..(I hear that is a wives tale!)  but not for Emily and Sophia.  All summer long they have not embraced the water, in fact, if Sophia sees a pool or gets too close, she will cry and Emily will only sit on the edge...this is evident as depicted in an earlier post What the beach did I do?  

I guess I have not learned my lesson...and I signed the girls up for swimming.  I am optimistic that there will be smiles and not tears....well here is how it went down...

Swimming week 1

Went okay….the girls did not enjoy it at the start but kinda warmed up to the idea abit.  They did not like getting their face wet and refused to blow bubbles in the water..but no tears so that was good…  When we first walk in Sophia started to climb over Darcy's back, she did not want to touch the water.  Emily started to whimper when her feet touched, but did not make too much of a fuss.  Of course Darcy knew someone in the class so he was busy talkin most of the time.  They did not like when the instructor would come around and splash their feet and Sophia mainly clung to one of us...I had little nail marks in my shoulder.  To my surprise, they both sat on the edge and flopped themselves into the pool on their own power and Sophia was standing and kinda jumping in and did not seem to mind that..but no smiles….change rooms are chaotic, chaotic, chaotic....maybe next week they will smile and enjoy it a bit more..

Swimming Week 2

We were really, really early and had to wait around a bit.  Emily took a bit of a stroll with daddy and stomped around in the water on the pool deck. Sophia was having none of that and would not stop clinging to me. (nail marks in my shoulder..maybe I should have cut them!) When we were about to go in I put sophia down, took her hand and she actually walked in the water.  Wow..this is a good sign…the classs starts out with group singing and actions which the girls just watch and hang to us like dead fish on a hook...I know they know what is going on, so why not participate?  Still no smiles…maybe next week..it will be an extra special week cause Gramma is coming…


Swimming Week 3
Again really early...someone take note..I am actually early for something 2 weeks in a row!  This week is special, cause Gramma is helping out.  The start was not good.  Both girls decided to cry while getting changed and of course we picked the smallest change room ever....there was no cooperation happening so far.  Swimming actually went better..the girls had smiles, participated and there were squeals coming from Sophia when she jumped off the side and into the water.  Emily actually let me dunk her during the dunk, dunk song.  Who hoo...they both got their hair wet!  


Next week daddy is back...Yeah!

Ciao
R-xo

Party..It was about time

We have been on our new house for 3.5 months and we have finally gotten around to hosting a party…and I must say it was great.  The night was a revolving door of friends, family and neighbours some of which I had not met yet.  The girls were a bit "shell shocked" at all the people and commotion, but soon adapted and were running around chasing and laughing with the other kids…..a dozen or so in total and dumping a bowl of chips on Emily's head.  (I found chips in her diaper later…)  
There was the typical changing of the guard at suppertime for high chairs seats, ding dong of the doorbell, humm of the phrase "no don’t touch that" or "don't do that" and shoes galore (Emily was in heaven as she walked around with all sorts of different feet)  My niece MG was kissing and hugging all the boys while the big girls showed off their dance moves in the basement.  We are so blessed to have family and friends that understand the chaos and still come on by.  
If you would have asked me 3 years ago, when we were trying to have a baby, if this is what I pictured my life as…. I would have thought you were crazy….me living in a house where chaotic, jumbled events happened as I have always strived to be organized and perpared.…well times are a changing…I was still curling my hair when the first guests arrived and never did get back to finish it, but no one noticed I think?  

Life with kids, it is the best.  It is crazy and busy and exhausting, but it is rewarding, fun and loving..it is the best.


Ciao
R-xo

Mischievous little Monkeys!

 Not sure this one needs any words to describe what is going on here...Emily is obsessed with climbing and any hand held device with buttons.  I guess she just had to have it!  " I got your back Emmy..just grab it and run!"

You (me) cannot turn your back for a second.....FYI for those who are watching the girls for us in the upcoming months....