Trading Spaces

On a bit of a whim and due to bad weather on the long weekend we decided to move Sarah and Megan's room to where we were and move our room to theirs. After looking for forever for a quilt or comforter for Sarah I happened upon one at Winners that I liked. I picked one up for each of the girls and the hunt began to find paint that matches. For all of you who know me you know that picking paint is a painful process in our house. My type A personality NEEDS to find the PERFECT match thus leading in the past to the purchase of second cans of paint in just a shade off the original chosen. This time though there was going to be none of that. One chance was all I had and 10 minutes was what I got for that chance. Trevor and the kids sat in the car while I ran into the store to find the color I was searching for. After deliberating for 10 minutes between a few I finally picked one and we were on our way. Thinking I had done so well to be so quick I ran back to the car with my paint in hand. To my surprise Trevor was sitting there shaking his head, laughing in disbelief that it took so long!! I think his words were - "you go in, pick up a blue swatch, take it to the till and get it - how hard is that?" Hmm- men! Lucky for him I didn't pick out my husband that way!! Hee Hee.

Once the paint was picked the emptying of the rooms began. We were attempting to paint both rooms at the same time so we emptied our room into the living room and hallway. It made for some fun obstacles for Megan and the kids enjoyed playing and having story time on our bed in the living room. Saturday night the kids got to sleep in the same room and Megan slept on her mattress beside our bed

Sarah waited patiently (well - kind of) for the painting to begin because she loves to help out. She and her dad primed her entire room with little trouble. Sarah was thrilled. Anytime she can help fix something or paint she is happy. Ethan tried to help out but it didn't work out so great (more on that in the next posting)

In the end the rooms turned out great. It's hard to tell the exact color but three walls are apple green and one is a sky blue. Trevor put together the bunk beds which the kids loved. I believe Sarah's exact words were " This is just like a play structure". Trevor and I are now accepting bets on who will be to the emergency first, what it will be for and how soon that will be. Feel free to place your own wager in the comment section!

I appear to be in some TROUBLE

These days you can find Miss Maggie just about anywhere - in, on, under, over, or somewhere in between. She loves to climb the stairs, and play under the table. She got onto the dishwasher door yesterday when we were loading it. The other day she climbed into her bouncy chair on the floor. Yet another day I put her in her highchair so I could go make lunch. A few minutes later Sarah called for me to come and see her. She had turned herself around in the high chair, stood up and sat down on the highchair tray!! When I got there she was sitting smiling and I have to admit that if I had had the camera near I would have snapped a quick pic but it was downstairs at the time so I wasn't able to get one. Here are a few pictures of places she has visited recently!!

Gotta run she is on her way up the stairs AGAIN!

When is it my turn?

Poor Ethan, he so desperately wants to play soccer that it is almost a cruel torture to take him to Sarah's games and make him watch from the sidelines. When the teams are doing warm-ups we let him kick his ball around the field and shoot at the net. He's pretty good-- although he'll eventually have to practice scoring from more than a few inches from the net!! I tried to convince him to move back but I guess he wanted to practice his short range kicks. Nonetheless he was thrilled to get a quick chance to play. We plan to put him into the indoor soccer league for young kids next year.

Soccer Superstar

Hmm- Soccer Superstar ... Quite frankly after the first night of soccer those are two words that I didn't think I would ever use for Sarah. She started community soccer a few weeks ago and the first night didn't go so well. It usually takes her a bit to warm up to new things but for whatever reason on this particular night there was no warming up to the idea of playing. Halfway through the game Trevor brought Sarah home and announced that " that did not go well!!!" Hmm really - I never would have guessed that from the screaming kid slung over your shoulder!

Take 2: The second game I took Sarah and it started off much the same. I convinced her to go and start the drills/warm-up with her team. She was fine until her friend ran one way and her ball went the other. Must have been quite a dilemma as to which one to follow as she ran off the field in tears. After some comforting and a bit of tough love I convinced her yet again to go and play. Another round of tears and cries that she wanted to go home followed. I explained to her at this point that if we went home our soccer days were done because if she wasn't having fun she didn't have to play. Not wanting to give up on it just yet she went back onto the field and .......

SCORED A GOAL. And then SCORED ANOTHER ONE. And then had 3 or four breakaways where she kicked the ball all the way down the field herself and just missed the net by inches each time. All of a sudden we had a soccer superstar. While most of the other kids on her team wanted to sit on the sidelines Sarah was volunteering to go on again and and again and keep playing. I couldn't believe it and couldn't have been more proud of her.

After the game I thought I would capitalize on the excitement and so I praised her awesome play and told her how great she did and how proud I was that she played when many others didn't. I may have created a bit of an ego monster however as I heard her announce to the neighbours the next day " I'm a soccer superstar -- None of the other kids on my team even play. " Oops. Oh well she also asked that same day if it was a soccer night and was disappointed to find out she had another week before the next game.

These pictures are from that next game where again she got 2 or 3 goals (Not sure if a goal on their own net counts!) Regardless it is so fun to watch her and she is easy to spot with her orange headband!

This is Sarah and her friend Ainsley. They will be in Kindergarten together next year. I am sure this is the first of many pictures of the two of them together.

We're goin' on a bus ride

This morning Trevor took the van to work because he thought he had a meeting away from the office. The kids and I decided that for fun we would take the bus downtown to the library. Just before we were ready to leave Trevor called to say he didn't actually need the van so we altered our plans and decided to stop at his new office instead and meet his new co-workers. After getting all the library books and movies in the bag along with the diapers, wipes, snacks, waters and cell phone, I put Megan in the snuggly got the other two out the door and we were off.

The kids loved the bus and I think that the next time we are feeling bored and cooped up maybe we'll just get on the bus and ride around town. 2 dollars for a few hours of fun- might not be a bad deal. On second thought being stuck on a bus across town when the kids decide it is no longer fun might not be worth the risk.

Trevor met us at the bus stop and walked with us to his new office. We meet many of his new co-workers and got to see where he is hanging out these days. I guess I shouldn't say hangin' out as unlike Sasktel, he actually has work to do everyday and is really liking his new job.

From Trevor's office we went to the library where the kids picked out new books and movies, played on the computer and had a great time. Gotta love free activities.

Hide and Seek

What can be better on a rainy day than a good ol' game of hide and seek. This is one game we play often and the kids never seem to tire of. The way the game goes in our house is like this:


Sarah hides and we all find her. Ethan hides next - always in the same spot that Sarah just hid in. Trevor or I hide while the kids find us. They both then hide in the same spot as we just hid. I hide with Megan who as expected isn't the greatest hider and usually gives our hiding place away with a squeal or a "baa baa baa". Ethan hides alone and calls out where he is. Sarah hides, Ethan peeks and points her out right away leading to Sarah getting mad because Ethan isn't playing right. Meltdown - end of game.

Ethan popping out of the laundry basket before we guess where he is.

Sarah in our closet

Megan tucked away in the closet

Sarah under the crib.

Ethan popping out from under Sarah's blankets

A Quick Note

Hi all

Hope you are enjoying the blog. I am loving creating it although sometimes find it hard to find time in the day (or week) to get to it. I have lots more to come as I am trying to capture as much of our lives as I can. My plan is to print this off and keep a copy for each of the kids for when they are older. What a keepsake. Much better than the half filled out baby books in the closet.

Happy Reading!

Love Susan

Mother's Day

Mother's Day for me started the Thursday prior to the actual Mother's Day because Sarah's class had a Mother's Day tea. All the mom's got to spend some quality time with their child and play games with them before dining on a donut covered in icing and sprinkles specially decorated by the kids themselves. The highlight of my day however was a little conversation between Sarah and I that went something like this:

Sarah: Mom do you know why I am being so nice to you today?

Me: Why?

Sarah: Because it is Mother's Day.

Me: Aww. That's nice. It's too bad it isn't Mother's Day every day!

Sarah: Why mom?

Me: Then you could be nice to me everyday!!

Sarah:(after some deliberation) -- Well I guess we could pretend it is mother's day everyday and then I could be nice to you

How thoughtful of her !

On Sunday we celebrated Mother's Day out at the lake with my mom and dad along with Trevor and Stephanie. Megan was up much of the night so I couldn't wait to get on the hammock. My idea of a leisurely rest in the hammock didn't pan out as my dad had plans for Trevor and Trevor so Mom and I entertained the kids. Nonetheless it was a fun day.

Sarah and Ethan enjoyed watching the guys put up the steps for the boathouse. Megan hung out with Grandma and Auntie Steph, rode her first bike and had a cool glass of water (although as you can see she couldn't decide whether to drink it or play in it.) Ethan also displayed his normal affection for his sister by rolling her around the living room (which I stopped as soon as we had a picture of such love)

At the end of the day I was so tired I could hardly stay awake for supper. They did manage to get a picture of the girls and I before I fell asleep however I look like smiling was too much of an effort. Oh well- I wouldn't trade this job for anything in the world!! ( I would be willing however to pay a fairly large sum to the person who could get me some uninterrupted hours of sleep)

"That's Happy"

The other day Ethan and I had this little conversation that warmed my heart and reminded me why I love being a mom.

Ethan said " Mom I want to sit on your wap and snuggle." With a little shrug of his shoulders he then said - "that's happy!"

For me being a mom - "that's happy"

All about Me -- According to the kids

In honour of Mother's day I decided to ask the kids a few questions. Here are their answers.

How old is mommy?
Ethan:2
Sarah:34 (not quite but close)

What is mommy's favorite color?
Ethan:Red -- because I have a red towel on me (Sarah points out it is actually green)
Sarah: Blue

What is mommy's favorite food?
Ethan: Cereal
Sarah: Cheerios - that's all I can figure about

What is mommy's favorite movie?
Ethan: The Tigers
Sarah: Mom's the Word (which is a play I just saw and she remembered)


What is mommy's job?
Ethan: to go to work where I play the computer and with toys.
Sarah: Work on the computer, clean up, do the treadmill and walk, do the dishes, clean the trampoline

What is mommy going to be when she grows up?
Sarah: a Grandma ! (someday years and years from now I will cherish this role)

What does mommy do best?
Ethan: Ethan _ don't think he understood the question or he thinks that I made him the best!!
Sarah: Clean the dishes(not likely)

What does mommy like to do for fun?
Ethan: go to the park and play on the big slide
Sarah: Help daddy move tables, be by yourself in a quiet place when no one is around you or when you are on the phone

What is your favorite thing to do with mommy?
Ethan : Play Diego on the computer
Sarah: Play house, play baby Jesus, play baby, build a tent

What do you love most about mommy?
Ethan: watch a movie with you
Sarah: Giving you hugs and kisses

What does mommy love most about you?
Ethan: Ethan didn't answer this so I will answer it myself - I love when he tilts his head, shrugs and smiles slyly! -- Too cute!
Sarah: hugs and kisses at bedtime.

A weekend in Minot

For the first weekend of May we decided to head south and go to Minot for a night. Friday night we drove to Grandma and Papa's farm. Along the way Megan got her second tooth - literally. She screamed for about 20 minutes straight. Nothing could console her - not even me (and believe me I tried -it's a physical challenge but I have mastered after three kids breastfeeding while they are still in their car seats).

Saturday morning after a short and rushed visit with G & P we jumped back in the car to head across the border. Once there we met up with our relatives Richard and Lisa and their four girls Haylnne, Joelle, Bryn and Cassie. The weekend consisted of shopping, swimming, some eating, more swimming, more shopping. Ethan took to the water slides and must have gone down with Trevor 30 times. Sarah enjoyed jumping in the deep end but decided she would try the water slides another day. Megan also got a chance to swim and loved it which is not a surprise as she seems to be our water baby.We didn't take many pictures as we were always to busy and had our hands full with shopping bags or towels but I've included a few of the cousins.

Look at Me - I'm Standin'

Well just before Megan turned nine months she started standing on her own. She would crawl over to something, pull herself up and let go. Around 9 1/2 months she figured out how to stand up without the help of anything or anyone. We often find her standing in the middle of the room now. If she drops what is in her hand she squats down and picks it up and then stands up again. She is crazy!! I am convinced it is because she is so light and agile. At her nine month check-up she weighed in at 15/ 8 -- yes that is 15 pounds 8 ounces. She is just a little pipsqueak -but full of determination. The other day she climbed into her car seat that was on the floor. I was sure that she would be our earliest walker but she will have to take her first steps in the next three days if she wants to beat Sarah who walked on the day she turned 10 months.

Signs of Spring

Sarah came running into the house a few days ago and yelled " Mom come quick we have a tulip- it's a flower". She was so thrilled I had to rush right out and enjoy her enthusiasm for this sign that spring is definitely here.

Just as she was thrilled with the flower I was thrilled to notice my own sign of spring. Across the bridge of her nose, Sarah has a sprinkling of FRECKLES !! Aww-too cute. She has a few of my genes after all!