Spring is finally here!

Today I'm taking advantage of the fact that Ron has the girls at the gym, so I can actually type this without two kids on my lap trying to push buttons (both mine and the keyboard ones)

For those of you who don't pay attention to the news in other provinces (like me -I have no idea what's going on in the world) we had some beautiful summer-like weather last week. Not just spring, but summer like! It was amazing while it lasted.

We took out the tricycles for a few days and I got some photos and video to share.

First ride on the hogs!

And we were very excited that Amelia has learned how to pedal. A big step, since it's really hard to push both of them with the parent handle bars.

We had a lot of fun last week, and got out as much as possible since we knew the beautiful weather wouldn't last (we are back to seasonal temperatures this week) We have went out walking quite a bit as I am trying to transition the girls to getting used to walking instead of riding in the double stroller. We pulled out the new kite I bought last year for them and flew kites as well, which is something I haven't done in years and years. You forget how fun and magical these things can be when you are an adult.

Speaking of fun and magical, we have recently discovered hide-and-seek, which is a new favourite game with the girls. They want to play it all day, especially with Daddy. He barely walks through the door after work and they are demanding that he start counting and then go find them! Ron and I were laughing because even as adults we both still get that excited feeling when you are hiding and waiting to be found!
It's also funny to watch the girls play by themselves. Amelia will tell Ember "go hide under my bed" before she starts counting. Ember just says "ok" and runs obediently to Amelia's room and hides under the bed.

Awesomest blanket fort ever!!

We've also been making a few blanket forts, and have made some pretty good ones so far. Even I could fit in this one with the girls. It's always such a shame to take them down. If we didn't need the chairs for dinner I would leave them up for a few days :)

I hope the weather stays nicer from now on. I suppose all we can hope for in Canada is that we don't get too many freak snow-storms in the next three months - but don't count on it! It makes such a huge difference when we can go out and burn off energy without freezing our butts off. I'm not a fan of cold weather so it's hard to make the kids go out when I don't feel like going out either!

I also wanted to mention that we will be going out to Alberta next month, we arrive on April 4, so to all my DV friends I'll see you in a few weeks! We are very excited to be heading out to visit family and friends. I can't wait to see you all!

Our Little Lady(bug)

My little baby is becoming a little Lady(bug)! Miss Ember has turned two!!


I started this post two weeks ago, and have not been able to finish it for some reason. We haven't been that busy, I think I have writer's block (after only a half-dozen posts! -how sad)


To be honest, I'm also having trouble finding positive things to say about my little "terrible two". The 2-year-old switch has definitely been turned on.

The main problem stems from trying to get her to sleep through the night- in short it has been a nightmare (pun intended). She's making me crazy. 

For the past few months I would have a talk with her each night before bed and just ask her to stop screaming if she woke up, to snuggle up with blankets/stuffies and go back to sleep, and she was actually doing it! I knew she could understand and follow directions, so it was working, for a bit...  She would sleep through for 2-3 nights in a row, then go back to waking up and screaming- this horrible, ear piercing shriek that wakes up everyone in the house, and possibly our neighbors too. 

I don't think she's scared or anything, it has become a game to make mommy come running. She will ask for a teddy, or water (which are both beside her in the crib and she could get herself) and if you pass her the wrong teddy she screams some more. Or she will change her mind and throw the water out of her crib. I'm trying not to let these night time antic affect how I see her, but some days it's hard. I need to review my photos more often  to remind myself that she's not always terrible and to remember that this will (hopefully) only last a short while. 

My favourite look, the crazy post-piggy tail hair style! 

Needless to say, both Ron and I are losing our minds and patience. Last night she coughed for one hour straight at 2am and again at 5am, so we have another cold on our hands to boot. 

Other than that, she's a really sweet kid, for the most part. She's very agreeable with other children and generally just does what Amelia wants her to. She's happy to play quietly either by herself or with others. If you want to have a conversation with her, you need to distract Amelia to another room so Ember can talk. But she will talk up a storm once you get her going. I love hearing her chatter and sing. She's silly and impish and not afraid to be goofy.

Our Miss Ember has grown a lot and people often comment on how tall she is. She may end up being taller than Amelia. She certainly seems to be growing out of her 18 month-2 year clothes before Amelia did. Or maybe it's my imagination, I can't remember.

A photo from this past July to compare. She's changed a lot :)

We unfortunately misplaced our camera for a few weeks, (just found it a few days ago) so there aren't many pictures from the past month. I can't believe it's been so long since I posted something!! 

Robots are cool

Today we made robots! A fun craft to fill up the time between 7:30 and 8 am. I altered an idea from a kiddie magazine so I could use up all the milk jug lids I had been saving. I am a habitual collector, and I can't throw the milk lids out. There are so many colours and they are such a neat size, I knew I would find something to do with them! The same goes for egg cartons, foam trays, popsicle sticks and the like. Most of these things cannot be recycled and I feel bad tossing them. Granted most of the crafts we make end up getting tossed after a while, but at least the kids have fun making crafts before the reused items get trashed :)
 

After that we walked to the library for a puppet show. It is only about 4 blocks away, but a longer walk than the girls are used to, since we usually take the stroller. I am working on getting them used to walking more, since 1) they need the exercise and 2) I'm tired of pushing a 75+ pound stroller around. I also want to get them built up for the summer so we can go places without always having to pack the stroller. Mercifully, they are both napping now, so all that walking turned out good. I think we will go for another walk around the block this afternoon!

On a job-related note, I finally got official word back that I didn't get "the job". Oh well, now I can start planning my trip out west with the kiddies!! I can't wait to see my Drayton Valley friends! We are looking at the first two weeks in April, which will cover the Easter holiday.

"The years go fast and the days go slow..."

... that is my favourite line from one of my favourite Modest Mouse songs (Heart cooks brain), because it describes the paradox of getting older so perfectly. How can the days seem to pass so slowly, but the years pile up so quickly? I suspect this happened when I was younger too, but I didn't notice. but anyway I digress.

The girls' favourite pose. And that's a pull-up on Amelia's head, btw.

I hope everyone is surviving winter in your respective home province/country. We are weathering the weather here in NS and looking forward to spring (didn't the groundhog predict only 6 more weeks? could it really be true!!???) I found out that this winter is considered a good winter - it's usually colder and more slushy/icy/rainy so -phew, thank goodness!**

Amelia slipped just moments before I took this photo. That glare on the driveway is sheer ice, the darker patch is where the car was parked, so no ice there. That's Ember way back by the house, where it's safe.

We have been keeping busy here with colds (eye infections, runny noses, coughs, strep throat), baking goodies, making crafts, and going outside as often as possible in addition as the usual activities. I am taking inspiration from my friend Theresa, who actually lets her kids make a mess in her house. Like she said (I'm paraphrasing), the house is a mess anyway, so they might as well have fun with the crafts and baking too. I actually broke out the sparkles and lifted my ban on baking with toddlers!! We made some lovely Valentine cookies and cards for Daddy and our friend Izzy. Unfortunately I wasn't with-it enough to make cards in advance to send to family and friends like some of you did. Thanks to all our loved ones who sent V-day cards to the girls!

Baking cookies

Ember in her almost-too-small snow suit

We also made a trip to the Discovery Centre this past weekend to see the "Grossology" exhibit and find out just what is in those boogers (you don't want to know) as well as farts, burps and other gross bodily functions. It was awesome!! Next on our to-do list is to try some simple science experiments (also inspired by Theresa) We have been reading a lot of books about bodies, general science, nature-inspired science and after a trip to the science centre we are ready! All I have to do is get organized. 


In regards to my job interview, there is a big nothing on that front. I contacted them last week to let them know I'm still interested, but there is no decision yet. Maybe this week. But aside from not hearing, I don't think I got it. None of my references have heard from them and the more I think about it, the worse my answers to the interview questions seem. But I'm not feeling bad; if it wasn't meant to be, it wasn't meant to be. If I don't get the job, I will potentially be making a trip out west with the girls around Easter, which would be nice. We miss our families and friends and would love to hang out there for a bit. Ron may take some time off around Easter, but as always with the DND, you can't necessarily choose your vacation time, it gets assigned to you. And even when you have vacation they can still decide to give you duty. sigh.






**That's sarcasm - there really needs to be a special sarcasm font, don't you think? 

ch-ch-ch-ch-changes....

Are there changes in our future? You can guarantee there will be. There is now a new potential for some changes coming sooner than I thought.

I applied for a two Library Tech jobs a couple of weeks ago and I landed an interview last Friday. The positions are at Nova Scotia Community College, the same position at two different campuses.  I felt pretty good about my resume, considering it's been 4 years since I wrote one (how can that much time have passed!!) And the positions are nearly identical to my job at Queen's, so I knew I could easily do the work. I've been thinking about going back to work for a while, but like nearly all moms I was torn.

I don't worry about putting my kids in daycare, I know that they will be treated well and they will excel wherever we find childcare for them. My concerns are mostly that I will miss them and I especially don't look forward to the hectic lifestyle of two working parents. I'm basically afraid of the change. It seems so drastic. I will miss our days spent in pj's until 8am (or later), going to the library, the grocery store, the gym, our regular play dates. I know I can still do these things if I'm working, but it won't be the same.

When I got the phone call for the interview, the first thing I did was look on Kijiji for childcare. When I called the YWCA for information on finding accredited home care, I told the woman on the phone that I had been thinking about doing home child care. I had thought about it a few times in the past, but all of the sudden with the potential of a "real" job, I was desperate to explore the option of a home-based business.

So now the woman from the YWCA is coming on Monday to talk about what is involved and to see if our house would be appropriate.  They offer support, training, a toy-lending library, the whole she-bang. If I don't get the NSCC job, I do have this as an option. Or maybe if I do get the job, I might still want to follow this option. My thoughts have been swinging wildly back and forth from one camp to the other. One minute I want to stay at home, 20 minutes later I want to go to work.

Even though the money would be better with a "real" job, the thought of home-based childcare still holds a lot of appeal. I knew I always wanted to stay at home with my kids. Really, you only get so much time with them when they are little, right? Five to six years and then they are in school, then it's after-school activities, music, sports on the weekends, hanging out with friends, then BOOM they graduate and leave. *sigh*.

Although some days are so frustrating I wish I could put them into day care until they are 18, most days I wouldn't give up staying at home for even the highest salary.

Does this mean the decision is made? Maybe. No. Yes. I don't know. I guess I'm going to wait and see if I get the job offer and go from there.

I will keep you posted.

January is almost over!!!

I can't begin to express how glad I am that January is almost over. What a crap month this has been!

The kids took turns being sick, each for one week.  Ember's eyes were swollen little slits, red and puffy. They glued shut every nap time and every night and got worse each day. After two days of that it was time to visit the doctor for  some antibiotic eye drops and her eyes cleared up quickly. Amelia's was not nearly as bad, her eyes cleared up on her own and was pretty much gone after four days. It's funny how that works. But I've learnt my lesson. When one kid gets sick, the other gets to share a cup until they both have it. We were happy to get out of the house and visit our friend Izzy and to get to the gym for the first time in 2 weeks. I forget how much exercise does for me - I always feel so much better after a good workout.

Today I tried going to Canadian Tire to pick up some miscellaneous things and ended up having to leave with nothing after Miss Amelia had a grade 'A', first class, full-on freak out. She actually warned me that she was feeling grouchy just before the tantrum, and I should have heeded her warning. I was still trying to find two more things, (does anyone else have trouble finding stuff at Canadian Tire? I always do!) when Amelia started picking on Ember. I decided to cut our losses and just leave, hoping to avoid the scream-fest that was brewing, but it exploded before I could get them out. You can tell which people in the store were parents, because they were the ones smiling. I ended up having to pick her up and carry her out, with Ember walking calmly behind us. We must have been quite a sight.


I haven't really taken any photos lately, but I feel we must have at least one photo for interest. This was taken shortly after Christmas.

Amelia and Melvin in their matching "bad to the bone" glow-in-the-dark shirts. Amelia also picked out her outfit and styled her hair. hahaha....

Ember and Daddy making cookies.

Nova Scotia weather, how do I hate thee?

I know complaining about the weather is a favourite Canadian pastime, possibly more popular than hockey. There is so much to complain about, especially in the winter. ** warning, there will be a great deal of whining going on in this post. It's all in good humour though, so take it with a grain of salt.

Last week we got what I think is our 5th snowfall this winter. Sounds great, right? To my friends and family who endured -27 degrees C. last week in Alberta, that might sound ideal to them, but hear me out. I have actually said this out loud to people and I mean it. I would take snowfall and cold weather over cloudy, rainy, slushy NS weather any day.

First of all, there is the dampness. Damp cold weather is waaaayyy colder than dry cold weather. Here, -4 feels like -14. You really can't believe it until you experience it.

Then there is the rain. I'm told the past summer is unusual in the amount of rain, but if this winter rain is normal, I don't know how people survive the winter. I have literally seen the sun only a handful of times this winter. I'd rather live in Vancouver with all the rain we get, at least it would still be warmer in temperature.

When it does snow, it usually warms up right away or rains the same day, so the snow doesn't even last long enough to make a snowman. If you are able to make one, Frosty is guaranteed to be looking deformed by the end of the day. Then your kid is playing in a slush-covered mud bog called your yard. There are not enough mittens and snow-pants to last even an hour playing in that. After 15 minutes the girls are soaking wet in places I didn't think was possible and are ready to go in. humph.

Right now it is cloudy and pouring rain, which has not managed to melt the snow as usual, but rather turn it into a lovely skating rink. That you have to drive and walk on. Fun.

This is from a previous snow-fall, but you get the idea. I keep forgetting to bring my camera when we actually do go outside. We haven't had this much snow since, most of the time the grass is still poking through the snow :(

I know it doesn't help that we have been house-bound for the past week. Amelia started out with a runny nose and green goobers dripping out of her eye last week. Miraculously, Ember had nothing. Not even a runny nose or sneeze. I figured after 6 days of Amelia being sick that if Ember wasn't sick by then we were in the clear.

But of course I was wrong. Yesterday morning Ember woke up saying "I can't see". Once I got her into the bathroom to see what was going on, I found her eyelids welded shut with green goobers. Hooray!! Now we are out for another week. And since you can't take your kid to playgroup or the gym when they are sick, we are stuck trying to keep ourselves occupied - in cold, damp, rainy, sunless Nova Scotia.

That is all, my whining is done. Thanks for reading if you made it this far.

And not a moment too soon, since Ember just woke up. Ciao, and have a great week everyone!