Anyone for pizza and a movie?

When Corey was gone, the girls and I had to find a routine.  Corey's a fantastic dad and husband and he's a huge part of our day to day life.  He really is the center of his girls' world and I kind of like him too.

So, knowing that he wasn't going to be around for awhile, I needed to buckle down and figure these things out.  So I did what I'm very best at.  I sat down with a pen and paper, and wrote and nice long list.  I listed things I needed to get done, things I wanted to get done and miscellaneous (which was Bethany's insistence that we "make someping"). 

Listing gives me purpose, it gives me direction and checking things off of my list makes me feel as though I'm getting somewhere.  It was also something to do with the girls that filled a few minutes, because believe you me, there were minutes that desperately needed filling. 

One of the things I put on the list, actually as a last minute addition (I love writing down something I'm going to do soon, because then I can scratch it off quickly) was to have a pizza and movie night with the kids.

When we were little, on Sunday evenings my parents would make nachos and we'd put sleeping bags in our living room and we'd sit and watch The Wonderful World of Disney together as a family.  Those memories for me are some of the sweetest.  It was time together as a family that was simple.  It didn't cost a lot, it wasn't busy or complicated, it was us and it just was.

Since Disney is no longer on, on Sunday evenings (or if it is I'm missing it) and since I can't eat Nachos because you have to make them with corn chips- we decided to compromise.  We'd make our homemade pizza, because it rocks and then we'd set up blankets, put on a movie and hang out and be together. 

It took a little time, and a little bit of pineapple and cheese snitching but we managed to get 'er done.  It was great!  The girls were over joyed at the idea of spending time, eating something like pizza in the living room hanging out with me.

Sometimes it's so easy for me to get busy and not spend a ton of undivided time with the girls.  I love to play and craft with them, but often we're interrupted, or I need to do something at the same time.  This time I purposely hung out, I didn't do dishes, I didn't fold clothes and I didn't check my email.  It surprised me to find that I needed it almost more than they did. 

We had 2 of those, one each weekend and made a decision.  Pizza and movie nights were too cool to keep to ourselves, we needed to make them an official Sunday night event so that Daddy could be included too.

Last weekend Cor joined us for his first pizza and movie night (which was lunch due to a scheduling issue) and the girls were so excited.  It took us at least 10 minutes to get them to settle down to start the show because they were both so anxious to show their Daddy how it all "works". 

With this weekend being Thanksgiving, I started thinking of all the things I'm thankful for.  It's something I've been trying to do on a more regular basis anyways these days.  It's amazing how remembering what you have to be grateful for makes the things you tend to grumble about seem less important. 

Anyways, of all of the things I'm thankful for - my husband, my beautiful daughters, my family, our work, a God who pretty much rocks and the list goes on, these new memories are pretty high on the list.  And I'm really thankful for one night a week that includes cheesy gooey goodness.

So, if you haven't answered the question on 45 other blogs today, what are you thankful for?

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Time Out Rocks!

Around these parts it feels like some days all I do is say "No", "Don't do that", "Don't hit your sister", "Don't Kick your Sister!", "Put your shoes on already", "Eat your dinner", "Stop Pushing", "No throwing toys", "Get down you're going to break your arm", "Stop! No! Wait! Don't, Don't, Don't - seriously kid - just DON'T!"

Now, we've covered that most of the time I'm a "mean Mom" (I bought my Mom a mug years ago with a poem about the mean mother, if I remember I do a post about it soon), who parents her kids endlessly in hopes of raising well mannered, healthy, happy and intelligent children, but there are moments when I chose to turn a blind eye so that my children know I love them and actually do enjoy things that are fun.

I don't believe that I'm a horrible mother, I also don't think that I'm unnecessarily hard on our girls.  We always feel the proof is in the pudding when the kids are put into a situation that requires them to obey and behave and they do famously - while still laughing and smiling.

However, I don't really like this part of my "job" as Momma.  I love raising our kids, I love stories and cuddles, and I love hearing them laugh and listening to them sing, but I don't love discipline.  I don't love that there are moments when they don't obey and I'm forced to teach them why listening to what I say is important.  I don't love that every tom, dick and hairy (which until this moment didn't seem funny, but now that I see it in print....) has an opinion about how you do or don't punish them.  Some say you should spank, others think it's horrid, some are timeout fans while others still stand their kid in the corner, and the ones who don't have children at all have the strongest and most unappreciated opinion of them all.  If you do not have a child, you have no idea how this goes.  If you helped raise your siblings, it's not the same, your opinion is still unwanted and inexperienced - just ask Corey about the difference between being the brother and being the dad.  I understand that you (person with the unwanted opinion) mean well, but seriously Dude, shut it.

Mostly, what I dislike is that there is no one sure fire way to punish a child effectively.  Each situation, child and offence responds to different methods of reprimand.  I've learned this the hard way.

You see, Audrey's coming into her own.  She's reaching that point in her development when challenging me is awesome!  Bethany reached that stage, in fact I think most kids do, so I figured I'd be able to handle this no problem.  Surprise, surprise, I was wrong.

With Beth if I had to punish her, usually a time out did the trick.  She'd sob her eyes out while looking at me with contempt, totally and completely wounded by the fact that I was unhappy with her.  Just the threat of a timeout had her listening most times and it was rare that anything further was warranted. 

Audrey, however thinks time out ROCKS!  I'm not kidding, the other day my little instigator (if this were hockey she'd totally have a 20 minute game misconduct by now, such a bruiser she is.  Not that B doesn't start the other half of things but that's another day, sibling fights require another day) decided that while Beth is laying on the floor, minding her own business she's going to pick up a book and launch it at her head.  Audrey didn't just toss it, drop it, she wound up and as I'm standing to grab the book and say no, throws it with the force of a major league baseball player - the when it nails her sister in the shins (I said she had the force, not the aim) she grinned.  I could have screamed!

Instead, I grab her arm, scold her and tell her she needs to sit in timeout for hurting her sister.  That was mean.  I plunk her down and as I walk away I see this little face...

(PS. Time out never usually has a toy, soother or anything else that can be comfort or weapon...)

Then she's completely calm and says nothing.  I think maybe it's sinking in, not all kids cry when they're upset.  So I leave her there for her 2 minutes and when I go back I see this face...

I ask her to stand up, talk to her about what she did, made her go say sorry to Bethany and thought ok, battle won.  Then she does something that surprised me and made me have to fight laughter.  She hung her head and said "Mo - Out!" and marched back over to time out and sat down.  She enjoyed herself! 

Apparently if you're 21 months old and your big sister gets timeout, it's cool to have them too.  And as cute as she is it left me with this impending sense of doom, now what?

We manage, I believe whole heartedly that the challenges AJ is going to bring to this family will be night and day different and together these little girls will leave me feeling baffled and frustrated.  I just say it's a really good thing that in spite of those days and those moments, that I love this job, I love this life and I love these girls!  I mean, really? Who would love kids this cute?

It's a hair affair

One of my favourite things about having girls (ok so the list is 6 miles long) is the fact that I can let them have beautiful long hair.  I love having my hair long, playing with it, straightening it, begging whatever is left of my curls after two pregnancies to appear and so on.  So when I found out I would have not 1 but 2 girls, visions of ponytails and french braids danced through my head.

Now it's taken a long time to get to a place where either of those two things were a possibility for either of our girls.  I went back and tried to find the post of the first time I did a ponytail or the like in Bethany's hair but couldn't find it.  She was almost 2 before I could even squeak out two teeny, tiny pig tails at the back amidst her mullet.  Audrey was much younger when I was able to "do" her hair but with each millimeter it grows I become increasingly excited about the newest do possibility.

This past few weeks has seen a few newbies in this house and I'm so excited.  Audrey has earned her very first ponytail  and as you can see above, Bethany is into french braids!!!!

They're both so good about getting their hair done, and although Audrey really can't handle sitting still for more than 30 seconds we manage ok.  Bethany is my trooper, she sat still for 15 minutes this morning while I figured out how to do an inside out braid for her. 

After all the fuss and muss and half a can of hairspray, all I can say is - little girls ROCK!

Teeny Tiny Beauty Queens

This post has been brewing for awhile, a long while actually.  The urge to write about it comes and goes, usually as I'm flicking through the channels in search of something useful to watch.  I think, "I'm soooo gonna unload about that later..." and later never comes.

But on the heals of this post from last week, I feel like we're there.  Before I go there, or here whichever it is, I'm going to warn you in a non-sarcastic, actually serious way that you might not like or agree with what I have to say.  As I've said before, my space, my words, my opinions.  I am also going to say that while what I'm going to write about is based on very strong emotion and is driven by my very huge opinion on everything.  It is not meant to be or to come across as judgement, I'll leave that job to the Big Guy.

What I'm talking about, what's burning my tail feathers is TLC's (notice a trend in my channel affections?) Toddlers and Tiaras.  If you've never had the bad fortune of coming across this show I'll re-cap: basically it follows around pageant contestants and their families.  It's like the inside scoop on beauty competitions for little itty bitty children.  The content is so unbelievably upsetting to me I've never survived a whole episode.

Now, I'm not at all suggesting that these mothers and fathers don't love their children.  I will never throw that accusation at any parent, because I don't believe it humanly possible to completely not love a child.  If it is, I hope I never meet the person who can say they are void of emotion for their kids.

But the thing is I don't understand how they can parade these sweet little girls around dressed like adults.  And not classy adults at that.  I have daughters, absolutely, breath takingly beautiful daughters and while I am proud of their appearance, I am far more impressed with the little girls and future women that live within them.  I love their natural beauty (with pretend make-up if you're Audrey - I "air" apply blush because she wants to copy), I love their sweet kidlet smiles and the goofy songs they sing.  Watching them I believe without a shadow of a doubt they are more beautiful than I could ever try to be - it seeps from their pores.

These little girls on the show, starting at a very, very young age are caked in make-up, their mothers of all people apply whitening strips to their teeth, dressed in mini pageant gowns and forced to parade on stage.  Oh, the adults always say "They love it", "They want to do it" and maybe for a few they do.  But you can't tell me that a 3 year old came up with the idea to dress herself that way, dance across the stage shaking her yet to develop ta-tas and earn her momma a nice fat pay cheque.  I have to say, on that I call bullshit.

I'm sure these little ones love the pretty crowns, but I caught a glimpse of an episode the other night, as the winners we announced and I watched the faces of those little girls.  They were impartial to the win, the didn't care that they won, they looked void of emotion and my heart broke.  They're guardians in the audience however were thrilled, there's something wrong with that picture.

Children are supposed to play and get dirty, laugh and goof around, have crooked ponytails and stay up late just to sneak an extra story from Mom.  And not that these little ones never do that, but how much of their lives is being taken from them in "training", in practice, because, their parents want to live out a dream? 

This show, while maybe began in an attempt to show the good side of the pageant life, all it's done for me is left me with a bitter taste in my mouth.  We don't even enter our children in "Most Beautiful Baby" etc competitions because again I don't believe children are had to be exploited (again, if that's your choice this isn't judgement, but opinion).  I don't want Bethany and Audrey to feel as though Corey and I need to compare them to someone else.  There is no comparing two human beings, we weren't created to be the same, but rather unique.

But more than any of that, the part that leaves me unbelievably sad is the future.  What does the future look like for these itty bitty queens?  How will they ever, develop a healthy self esteem when they know that their mommy is comparing them to someone else?  How will they ever feel beautiful in the eyes of those who matter when, they know that someone holds their self esteem in their hands in the shape of a trophy or a rhinestone encrusted tiara?

For me, it all comes down to disgust, sadness and frustration, because I don't really think these mothers and fathers understand what they're doing to their daughters.  Maybe not in the moment but for the future moments to come.  And I hope that these sweet little girls, find their true beauty beyond the stage and know that they are worth more in they eyes of God than make-up can create, that their self worth soars because of the women they'll become and not the awards on their shelves and that each night, when they're tucked into bed at night some says I love you because you're you, and you are always a winner to me!

It's like fingernails on a chalkboard, only it's purple

When it comes to TV, we are a pretty restrictive household.  I am very, very cautious about what our girls see, and what they don't.  I don't show things that have villans or scary scenes to the kids, I fast forward through things that I know will cause nightmares in Bethany and I keep a close eye on what shows they are watching if the TV is on.

We also don't have the TV on all day.  That's not to say there aren't days when I'm being lazy and want to sit and knit while watching a movie with my kids so I don't have to clean up the dishes screaming my name from the kitchen exhausted beyond belief from two little girls not sleeping at night (ps. they have mastered the art of the nighttime, tag team.  One will wake, go back to sleep, leaving enough time to get my freezing cold tushie back under the covers, then the next will wake up and so goes the battle).  But on a day to day basis, they get a few short kids shows in the morning as I ready us for work, and then that's it.  Sometimes when we get home from work, I'll pop a movie in for them to watch as I make dinner, this is mostly to distracted them from standing in the kitchen asking me 40 times over for a snack 15 minutes before dinner is served. 

That, is pretty much it.  We learned a long time ago, that TV after dinner is counter productive for many reasons.  The first being Bethany was getting all sorts of night time dreams that were wakeful.  They weren't always scary but they'd work her right up, making it difficult for me to coax her back to sleep.  After a quick examination of our habits I concluded the evening TV show she'd get with her Daddy was the cause.  We cut it out and voila the worst of the dreams vanished.  It's also a good thing for us to have the Boob Tube off after dinner, because quite often that's the only time the kids see Corey and to take that precious hour or two and spend it zoned infront of a flashing box (and when I say zoned it's not my kids who'd zone out....ahem Corey)  is an absolute shame.

I totally didn't start this out with the intention of sharing our whole electronic use plan, I get distracted.  The thing is, and maybe it's just me, but whenever I start talking about a parenting decision we're making that can be controversial (because I know there are many out there who are anti-TV) I feel the need to jusify myself.  As if, I need to prove to everyone that I'm not a horrible parent.  N-E WAY....

(aside: This is NOT a judging post.  I am not saying we are doing it right any more than I am saying we are doing it wrong.  If you chose to allow your children to watch TV for 18 hours a day, forcing them to stay awake for the Crazy Craft lady at night because you believe your exposing them to all types, that's your business.  I wouldn't chose it for our girls but, whatever.  This is strictly TV from they eyes of one Momma.  And how I feel it has it's place, like everything else, in moderation)


The list of shows I absolutely will not let our kids watch is getting longer and longer.  In the Night Garden - this is just Teletubbies the remake in my opinion and doesn't promote any intelligent thought from my kids, Toopy and Binoo because they annoy me and I don't like their behaviour, the Playboy channel - because I don't want my girls to grow up to be strippers (and because I don't want to see that....can you imagine what that would do to my self esteem - flush!), you get my drift....

But of all the shows I won't let them watch, or swore before they were born I would never have on my television, one has come off time out.  For years, I baby sat a little guy who loved this show, and I learned to loath it.  Not because the lessons were bad, in fact they are good, not because the kids weren't polite, in fact they were almost perfect, not because there is a bad guy who provokes nightmares in the grandest of schemes, the only bad involved is the acting.  No, I didn't have a solid parenting reason, my reason ran in terms of shear annoyance.  The kind of annoyance that makes me want to stick my head in a hole and scream for mercy.

notice I've made this photo as small as possible, in an attempt to make him DISAPPEAR FOREVER

However, my kids have fallen in love.  If you haven't guessed it by now I'm talking about Barney.  That's right, you heard me, my kids watch Barney (hangs head in shame, pure shame).  The thing is they love Barney, and while most often I manage to avoid it all together, there are some times when nothing else is suitableish so the big guy it is.  His lessons are still good, his manners still impecable, his voice still annoying, his costume the thing Mommy night terrors are made of.  I relent because I love my girls and have every confidence that they will out grow this stage, I leave the room because I don't think it would send the right message throwing laundry at the TV screen in an effort to make him SHUT UP already.  (please note, I do not rent Barney DVD's, nor will we own one.  I will burn any Barney paraphernalia that should come our way - even if you think you're being funny.  This is as far as the B-train goes).

It's one of those things that drives this Momma crazy but for now, since the time spent watching is so small, I relent and hope and pray that one day, my kids too are parents themselves and are subjected to the annoying big purple punching bag for the sake of their children.

What about you?  Is there any TV your kids must have?  What about ones you just can't handle?  I can't be in this alone, do share!

ps.  Don't forget the GIVEAWAY over at OFS Reviews.  Enter, Enter, ENTER!

Butt...

With the expanding of Audrey's vocabulary come some very interesting words and phrases.  This stage with Bethany was one of my favourites as well as one of the most frustrating.  I love seeing and hearing them learn all sorts of new words, hearing how they say difficult words and finally reaching that communication place with them.  It drives me and them crazy that sometimes try as they might, I can't at all understand what they want/need.  The moments where they ask and ask for something and I can't provide it, leaves us all ready to cry.  Lucky for me, this time around Audrey has Bethany as an interpreteur.

I managed to capture one of my favourite new phrases on camera, check it out...

Butt... from Ashley Stone on Vimeo.

What she's trying to say is "Button" but for now it comes out "Butt".  I totally roared, then I had to straighten up and gently correct her.  She loves the "T" sound and can be heard adding it to many things "Bedt"  or "Boot (which is Book with a T sound, not boot the footwear), it's cute and it's funny.  The later part of that video makes me giggle because you can see the common theme, while I asked her to say Papa, she'd much rather say it than almost anything else.  Much to her mother's frustration and her Papa's joy.  She's also finally started calling my mom something - "Bram".  It's pretty cute hearing her holler for "Braaaaam!  Braaaam!  BRAM!"  each day when we get to work.

These little videos and these days are a constant reminder than 6 months for now, she's going to be chattering up a storm right alongside her big sister.

A photo shoot, Stone Style

I walked out into the living room yesterday and found my girls watching a show together.  That's not really unusual, as the only time the TV is on here is in the morning before work, they sit together watch a little Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Handy Manny and then out the door we go.  The thing about today was, Audrey was resting her little head on Bethany's shoulder.

Normally this would annoy B and she'd be brushing her off.  Today, she had rested her head on Audrey's and they were content.  I slipped from the room and then ran for my camera, how could I miss that moment.  Of course the fact that when I run I thunder like and elephant had them lifting their heads and the moment was over.

However, since I was standing there, with my camera I decided to try for a photo shoot, it started out good...

And ended up great!

While they were sitting there, smiling away at me for the pictures, Audrey decided to lean back.  And since she's only 10lbs lighter than Beth she managed to knock her over, which brought on the laughter.  Every photo after that was full of laughing and smiling, sitting and tipping.  It was so fun and while it may not have yielded the "perfect" photo, it sure gave us a fantastic moment!

Little Momma

One of my favourite parts of watching our kids grow up is seeing them become who they're meant to be.  I believe that God installs unique software in each of us, it's adjusted and developed by the things and the people in our lives but that basic structure is there long before we take our first breath of air.

When our girls were babies, they were cute and sweet and snuggly, but they didn't really have any kind of personality.  They followed suit with a bazillion babies before them - they pooped, the ate, they slept, they wailed, but they really didn't show anything unquie.  It begins at 6 months and from there it's a roller coaster ride of funny, sweet and frustrating. 

Audrey's really starting to come into her own.  She's a funny kid.  Her expressions and reactions have me laughing so often, it's difficult to scold.  She's compassionate but in a different way than Beth.  Where Bethany wants to love and cuddle someone who's sad, AJ will kiss them and then do something silly to make them laugh.  When she's in trouble she pulls out this impish grin and the cheeky giggle, knowing I'm gonna have to fight for composure. 

The past 2 weeks have seen a HUGE increase in words to her vocabulary and so her response to things you say is becoming more and more co-herent and entertaining.  For example...

I walked into the bathroom and found Bethany sitting on the potty doing her business and Audrey standing there watching with a pile of toilet paper at her feet.  She had decided to unravel the WHOLE new roll onto the floor.  This is something I've never experience, Beth was never interested in the roll like that.  Apparently Audrey is.....

Me: "Audrey!  Did you do that?!"
Audrey: "Nooooooo......Yah"
Me: "That was a bad idea!*  Look at the mess you made!"
AJ: "Ohhhhhhhhhh" shaking her head
Me: "What do you think you should say to Momma?" (This is where she's supposed to say sorry, this is where she KNOWS and usually says sorry)
AJ: "UhOh"
Me: "Who should clean that up?"
AJ: "Mama."


Thanks kid.  I didn't of course think to take a picture, and I wish I had a video because the conversation was much funnier in the moment and frustrating. 

She's an awesome kid, her personality is gonna make her a different and super little girl to have in this house.  It thrills me to no end that our girls are growing into individuals, because I know without a shadow of a doubt there's not going to be any dull moments around here.

And since, this post is kind of randomish and not polished, here's a video to end it all.  I love this little clip of her, that song is one of my very favourite.  She loves her teddy and her baby more than almost anything ever.  She's a natural born little momma, she snuggles and cuddles, scolds and loves.  We don't go anywhere without Teddy and a baby in tow, they are her very best of friends.  I can just see her, married and 20 something years down the road with half a dozen kids, soaking up every second of motherhood.


Mommy Audrey from Ashley Stone on Vimeo.

About Getting Older

The other day, while waiting for my Booster Juice to get the shake down I picked up a copy of  "The Coffee Coach - Chilliwack Edition"  It's something like "Coffee News" and is full of interesting little articles and witty snipits. 

Being that I'm a book lover, that makes me a reading lover.  If I don't have a book to read, I'll pick up a newspaper, a cereal box or the bottle of Tylenol on the counter for something to read.  I can't just sit and stare at a wall.  So, in usual fashion I was reading away, mildly interested until I found the "Perks of the Week" on the back.  A few of them actually made me giggle out loud.

Audrey's favourite Breakfast food. Every morning after her milk I hear, "Nana? Nana? NANA!"

Since it's Friday, I thought I'd share  and start your weekend off with a smile.  The subject of this week's Perks, "About Getting Older"

Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.

The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.

Some people try to turn back their odometers.  Not me, I want people to know "why" I look this way.

When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to your youth, think of Algebra.

I don't know how I Got over the hill without getting to the top.

Being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.

If you don't learn to laugh at trouble, you won't have anything to laugh at when you're old.

I was mildly interested in these (although the odometer one made me smile) until the last one.  I don't think you have to wait until you're old to laugh at trouble, because unless I'm old (and you are NOT to answer that) I find some kinds of said trouble funny.  I think it more takes becoming a parent, if I didn't laugh sometimes at the antics of our girls I wouldn't survive the days. 

This is what I got when I asked Bethany to "Smile beautiful".  I could help but laugh, she was far to into her Banana and Dora to actually smile.

The problem is, there are times when it's seriously not funny, the girls are throwing around a 'tude or having a screaming contest.  I hate kids screaming, we have a rule in our house that real screams are saved for emergencies only.  I don't want them playing and screaming because a) my eardrums can't take it and b) I'll get used to it being a "play sound" and then something horrible will happen, they'll get hurt or someone will try to take them and I won't respond.  That fear motivates me to have said rule.  However, the look on their faces, particularily Audrey's makes me laugh until I cry, making the demands to stop and the threat of punishment virtually useless.  Oh well, we'll get there, or I'll punish them with my eyes closed, one way or another that kind of trouble won't be funny for long...I hope.

Do you have any words of wisdom or anicdotes about aging that need to be added to the list?

Our new Neigh-bour

We have a new neighbour.  If you've ever been to our place you know that this time of year we are surrounded by corn fields, aside from the landlords across the street we have no other neighbours.  There are other people who live on our road but they are way down, privacy is in abundance.  It means that when I get distracted by my children and totally forget to finish getting dressed, thus walking around with pants and a bra nobody can see we're haning out nobody can see in the windows.  It also means when we've got the tunes blaring and we're singing and dancing along, I don't need to be concerned that we're waking or annoying anyone.  It's great. 

It's one of the things we love about living here.  Being that we're out in the cow country there are those lovely Chilliwack odors that can make the air heavy sometimes and out here in the farmlands, with fields directly behind us those odors can be slightly, magnified.  So privacy and quiet (aside from those farmers who are on drugs and think that 3am is the time to take down the corn!) are our smell survival bonus'.

Back to the neighbour, he kind of caught us off guard.  He doesn't live in a traditional house and in fact over the past few weeks has moved into the empty lot directly beside our driveway.  It's not totally bad, because of where he is, he can't see into our window (bonus for me!) but he's a restless sort and all his rustling around has been known to scare the bejeepers out of me at 11:00 at night.  He loves carrots and adores my children, over all we're kinda glad he's here.

In case you hadn't guess yet, our new neighbour is a horse*.  He's the landlords horse and for whatever reason they keep moving him from his usual place on their farm over to the lot.  He's 27 and apparently that's old in horse years - I happen to resent the fact that anyone imply that 27 is old but hey, he's a horse.  He used to do chariot races and take little kids on horse rides but he's retired now, he's old and sweet and my girls LOVE him.

He's usually in the lot for 2 weeks or so at a time and then back in the farm for a few days.  On the days he's here the kids love to go see him before we go out for the day.  Each girl carrying a carrot as a food offering, watching him munch and slobber the carrot all over the ground.  It makes their day.  Beth loves him but is slightly afraid to touch him, his sheer size is to her, intimidating.  Audrey on the other hand thinks he's awesome and wants to touch him and pet him and I'm pretty sure if horses licked faces she'd be down with that.  I might puke, but she'd be all, "Ohhhh, he loves me"

He's a sweet ol' fella and if we had to get a neighbour this year we're glad it was him.  The girls would love to have a horse, I always secretly wanted one and this way we get the best of both worlds - we get to feed and visit a horse, and they get to deal with the poop.  And since it seems these days I spend at least 3 hours in a day wiping bums, I'm down with that deal.

*We are sure this horse has a name, unfortunately we have yet to connect with the landlords to get that name.  Before he moved in, Kathy was telling me all about him but never mentioned a name....they've since been gone or we've been busy and thus, to us he's just Horse.  Sometimes I think it's almost easier and have even contemplated being just Girl, for simplicity.

Crafty Critters

Summer days are awesome and all, but a person who loathes the heat and secretly wishes for fall most days can only spend so much time outside.  Also, said persons' children get to tired and grumpy to be outside any longer and so it is that we resort to other activities.

As is the norm for us during the nicer weather, craft time takes a back seat.  With pools and walks, adventures and swingsets there ends up being very little time for our indoor creativity to come out.  The other day however, Corey was gonna be gone late, the girls were slightly less than happy and I was desperate.  So, out came my big craft tower and we got to creating.

Sometimes, our creating results in endless pieces of paper covered in glue and misc stuff.  Bethany would be content to sit at the table and glue for hours, but somedays I try to purpose that gluing.  This day, that's exactly what I did.  And now with Audrey getting older wanting to be just like her sister, I have to purpose crafts that they both can manage. 

We started with two empty granola bar boxes, I cut the flaps off the top.  (Please note these bars are strictly Coreys, I'm a fan of the fruit and nut kind of granola, he's a fan of the chocolate and marshmellow sort - stinkin' metabolisms)

The girls each chose their favourite color paper, for Bethany of course it was green (which is her ultimate favourite color) and for Audrey it was "yella"  she actually says it just like that and I couldn't help by self but ask her to say it about 15 times before we carried on.  They each took a glue stick and covered the box in glue.  I touched up the job and then attached their paper, essentially wrapping the boxes, leaving the top open.

Then they set out to decorating.  We have oodles of stickers to decorate with, the foam ones, shiny ones all sorts.  I find that with little ones like Audrey especially who can't work the glue properly these give them the same results as their older sibling with out the hassle.  And for Beth, sometimes it's nice to do a craft that isn't so messy!

I also punched holes in the sides of each kids box.  Now be warned if you try to use a hole punch and are as cheap as I am  frugal, such as I , therefore deciding to purchase your hole punch at the dollar store, don't use that hole punch on this craft.  Between the thickness of the box and the craft paper it can be a little tricky to punch through.  Then if you have the brute strength of Superman (thank you Total Gym and two children over 25lbs)  like I do, and then are plain stubborn and determined, you'll bend the punch so badly that the two handles touch and the top one is also twisted.  Good times....not so successful.  I used the end of a pair of scissors and did it the other way.

When the kids were finished I threated through two pipe cleaners fastened together, attached name signs I made them and voila!  We had two little mail inboxes for their doors.

These guys LOVE getting mail.  There is nothing that excites Bethany more than mail, so I thought this way if she gets any in the real mail (if you want to send her some mail e-mail me for our address, she'd love it!) I could put it in there for her to find, and otherwise I can leave the girls love notes and such.  I did just that the first night they were up and the very first thing she said when she came piling into bed with me that morning was, "MOM! I have mail!  The mail guy came, while I was sleeping and, and, and....I HAVE MAIL!" 

Audrey still thinks her's is a purse, but that's ok, it still lands on her door at night.  I love when crafts turn out successful, watching them enjoy the "fruits of their labour" is sweet and I hope is teaching them to love the creative girls inside!

The moments are so sweet

I love this photo, I love the color, I love the angle and I love the moment.  It was on our adventure day to Whistler, the day had gone well, but if you've ever driven there from Chilliwack and back in one day you'll know that it was long!  The kids had been good, and considering the length of time we'd spent in the car had slept very little.  They were tired, slightly whiney and we were headed home.  Corey glanced over at the park on the ocean and then at me, we didn't have to say anything the decision was easy, we'd stop.  What was another half an hour on a long day to give our little water bugs a chance to throw a few rocks into the sea.  (They also happened to see a seal when we stopped which was the highlight of the day for all of us).

When we are away from home for the day I pack an arsenal of things.  I always have snacks and drinks, back up drinks, first aid kits and more drinks.  I have changes of clothes, jackets, sunscreen, hats, a camera and of course drinks (our kids could probably drink Okanagan lake dry in a day).  And I usually pack pjs for them.  We've learned that it's easier to put them in their gear and let them fall asleep at bedtime or close to it in the van rather than fight them to stay awake.  They don't always pass out, but more often than not they do - making bedtime a breeze, transfer, tuck and relax. 

This trip was no different, they were geared for sleep so at the last minute we added shoes for our stop.  As Corey walked away, one girl on each side, my heart got a little bigger and a little softer.  That picture sums them up.  When Daddy's around he's flanked by his ladies, they're his helpers, he's their playmate and together they're my family.

Maybe I sound like a broken record sometimes, but Corey really is a great Dad.  These guys are so fortunate to have a Dad who loves to do things with them, who hates to miss moments with them and who loves them so much.  He is to them, what my Dad is to me.  Not that their relationships are the same as mine is with my Dad, but the love is.  It's so neat to see how they can have such different relationships with him and yet be so much the same.

Bethany loves to help her Dad, she's on his heels if he's outside working.  She wants to get her "goof-driver" and work under the hood of a car with him, she's content to pick up rocks or dump bucket upon bucket of water all over the driveway just be near him.  If she's not getting her way with me, she'll almost always burst into tears and say the very same thing, "I miss my DAAAAAAD!  I want my Daddy to come home!!!"   Now this is partially because she's convinced that he'd give her whatever it is she's so desiring at the moment, because of course I'm a horrible mother, but part of it is that he's her comfort and she misses him when he's away.

Then there's Audrey, that little girl's world revolves around her Daddy.  He is literally who she asks for every.single.morning.  From her crib you'll hear, "Mama?  MAMA!" and when I walk in it's all, "Da -eee? Dada? Da-eee?!!"  If he's working she'll usually nod and carry on her morning, if not though he first thought is to ambush him in bed.  More than once a day you'll hear her on the phone "Hi Da? Gooo. Ok Bye!"  If the floor creeks, if the washing machine stops or if a fly sneezes she'll say, "Da-ee? Home?"  And when he finally does come home, she races to the door and stands there pounding on it until either he opens it or I do.  When Corey's home she's stuck to him like glue, she'll wait around while he showers, follow him from room to room, she's content to be where he is.  Always.

These girlies love their Dad, he plays different than I do, he lets them try things, he loves to go outside, he's awesome to them.  And the neat thing is, their Daddy loves them back.  I get a kiss when he gets home and then he's off to find the kid who didn't come to the door.  He scoops them up and hugs them with as much enthusiasm as they do and he's happy.

I'm so glad that Corey's that dad who wants his kids around.  I'm so glad that he wants daddy dates with them, that he wants to know their habits and their favourites, that he wants to build a solid bond with each of them, that he can love this parenting gig as much as I do.

But mostly I'm glad that he's my partner in this, and that we can capture those moments, because they really are so sweet.

Home Day

With as busy as life can get, sometimes I forget how good it feels to have a home day.  Our weekends are so often crammed to the brim with "fun" and errands we barely breath, and Monday morning we feel as though we've been on a treadmill for 2 days straight - it doesn't end up being very relaxing.

This past Sunday, however we put our feet down, or rather our tushies.  We decided to have ourselves a home day (because with church starting earlier for the summer months, we can't manage to get our act together and get out the door in time), Corey and Bethany spent 2 plus hours cleaning his truck.  Audrey had a super long nap, I cleaned my house, and did laundry and just was content to be here.

After a lunch of homemade ice cream and strawberries, and some noodles after the fact we headed outside to play in the kid's pools.  It's hot here, high 20's low 30's and while that's hot for anybody, it's unusual for us.  It's also a very different heat than we had grow accustom to in the interior and it's muggy, blech.  But Sunday's heat came with a beautiful breeze, and who doesn't like to be outside, playing in the shade, relaxing.

All the fun in the sun and the pool tired us out and it was definately a lazy afternoon kind of day.  We came in, puttered around a bit, threw two grass covered little girls in the tub and hung out.  The kids, who'd already thought they'd hit the lottery just about came unglued when I asked them if they'd like Little Caesar's Pizza (instead of home made, I was NOT turning on the oven) to have as a picnic in the living room to watch a movie.  Are you kidding, Mom?  Are you sick, on drugs, out of your mind?  You're gonna let us eat pizza, in the living room AND watch a movie?!! 

Around here while I may let them have a snack and sometimes their breakfast toast in the living room, lunch and dinner are at the table.  We also have a rule the kids don't get to have the TV on after dinner.  That's quite often the only time they see their dad and the last thing they need to be doing is killing brain cells with the boob tube.  But we were all tired yesterday and one of the great things about being the Mom is you can break the rules and nobody puts you in time out. 

The evening went wonderfully, Corey and the kids loved their pizza, I snuck in a bath, because watching them eat pizza is more than I can stand, too hard not to eat at least the gooey cheese on top.  I love my baths, complete with book and bubbles.  They're like my battery re-charge.

Our home day was perfect, they fell asleep almost as soon as we finished praying and Corey and I collapsed on the couch tired, but content.  It's always nice to be reminded that the best memories come in the moments we're together, not in the dollars spent or the distance travelled.

B was so tired after playing that while she was waiting for her Daddy to fill the tub she passed out on the kitchen floor.  I was hanging clothes on the line and could hear Corey calling and calling her.  I came out to find her (she hides every so often when she's in a "I'm never getting clean again" mood) and found this....too cute!

What's your favourite thing to do on a home day?

It's Crazy and it's a Creek

Before our dip in the hot pools

With all the hot summer weather and fun, exciting giveaways I've neglected to  blog about some big happenings around these parts.  Nothing earth shattering, just the stuff that has filled our days.  With the weather being so nice we've been taking up the opprotunities to get out and do some things with the girls when Corey's home.  We've done lots of different day trips, to White Rock, to the beach here, to Whistler - which in case you are wondering is way further away from Chilliwack than Corey said and the drive was really long.  It's been fun, nice to get out and just be the four of us.

Our morning buddy, sunning himself on the rocks behind our patio

Our summers are typically very busy.  Up until this year Corey's been working like a dawg all summer, and while he's still quite busy (this is their slow season) we've had a little more time with him around.  It's nice, we actually like having the guy around and so being together as a foursome is such a treat.  Any of the overnight travels done during the summer months for us usually involve extended family.  There's so many to visit that we make usually one, sometimes two trips back home to K-town for visits in the summer, then there's friends who often get missed amongst the family trips and weddings and bbq we're supposed to be at and graduations, and, and, and.   The list goes on and before we know it the summer is over, the computer is packed with new photos and we're standing there with a little drool on our faces, tattered suitcases in tow. (That's just a visual, we actually just got given 2 new beautiful suitcases and the girls have their Dora ones of course)

Playing matching with Daddy

A few years ago, we made a decision that at least once a summer we'd like to plan a trip that was strictly for our little family.  While we love the extended family and friends, this is the family we're most concerned with.  The bonds and memories formed with these little girls are the ones we want to solidify and time spent together is so important for growing and bonding as a unit. -End exerpt from annoying parenting manual-

Mommy wanting a nice family of my 3 - Audrey said No pictures

Anyways, last weekend we did just that.  It turned out that Corey had Friday off as well as the weekend and I did something very unusual.  I was spontaneous, spent 2 hours Thursday afternoon  research locations, picked a place, called and booked it and then in a whirlwind made lists (that I usually compile over a matter of a week) bought groceries and packed suitcases.

It was nuts, stressful and gave me heart palpitations. Literally.  I hate spontinatity, I like routine and plan, I like order and tidiness.  I also, in other notes love symetry and any display I built in any of my stores or for a PartyLite show is always symetrical, sigh.

Where did we go?  Well, we went to a little place in the middle of nowhere called Crazy Creek.  Half way between Sicamous and Revelstoke, Crazy Creek boasts waterfalls (which we did not hike up to because they A) charged admission - what? who charges to see nature?! and b) it was all stairs and I can't do stairs with a stroller) and Hot pools.  The website said they had condos, which turned out to be a bit misleading.  They were actually modular homes, and the beds were completely hard.  But it was brand new, and it was nice and while in the middle of nowhere we had a wonderful time.  I was a little confused though, it's called Crazy Creek, we know there was a waterfall but where the heck was the creek?  I never did see it.  We did see the train that was less than 1km from the home, that went through every half hour honking his horn.  Good thing we're used to trains around these parts, the kids slept right through them. 

The horse ride at the Enchanted Forest

The nice part about Crazy Creek, is that because they aren't in a major tourist location they were affordable, they were close enough to some attractions for us to get out and do some things with the girls without being totally overwhelmed with places to go and things to do.  My other uber favourite part was because it was a modular home it had a kitchen!  That meant I could cook for us most of the weekend, saving both dollars on restaurants and making it so that I could eat with my family.  Corey just laughed everytime I gushed about how glad I was to be able to cook and not have to stress over the eating portion of our vacation.

Everyone loves Winnie the Pooh, and Tigger Too!

Saturday saw us heading into Revelstoke for a bit and then to the Enchanted Forest.  Now, both Corey and I have drive past there many a time and thought "Lame, what could possible be so cool for kids in there".  Boy were we wrong!!!  It was amazing, the characters and stories in that forest were wonderful.  The girls loved it and we'll be going back again another time.  If you're ever on the Trans Canada heading that way and see the Enchanted Forest, kids or not do yourself a favor and stop, you won't be sorry.

This guy was electronic and talked, poor Bethany almost came right out of her skin

We meandered our way back home on Sunday, and pulled in shortly after 9pm.  Two little girls fast asleep, two parents more tired than before they left (aside: did you know as a parent holidays require sleep prior to and after coming home?  When you have children they are not full of rest and relaxation but rather exhaustion.) but a thoroughly happy family.

Turtle Tea

It was a great weekend away and we just might do it again.  They're developing the Crazy Creek "resort" and we're excited to see what next year brings.

I love these guys.

So what about you?  Have any of you found any hidden treasures in BC?  And destinations that aren't on the major radar but should be?