May

Wow, June already! We've been enjoying the few glimpses of warmer weather and spending plenty of time outdoors. I've been listening to the Arkells' album High Noon on repeat too. So. Good.

Lately:

- We've been weekending at the trailer. Sometimes it feels stressful/overwhelming after working all week to switch gears and pack up the car with the kids and everything we need but as soon as we get out of the city, I immediately feel at ease. The route there is familiar and nostalgic. R and I met not too far from where our trailer is and we've travelled those country roads often. We've been making a bigger effort to get up there every weekend this summer no matter what. I've even managed two days solo with the boys up there while R went into work from there. Many of our great neighbours up there help out a lot with the kids. The sense of community is really nice.

- Victoria Day long weekend was perfect. The boys went fishing a lot, we went to the zoo (the most fun was had not seeing animals but rolling down a big grassy hill and playing on a tire swing), swimming in the outdoor pool, and boating into a nearby town with friends for dinner. The lake was still cold but the boys insisted on going tubing. After a rough first weekend in the sleeping department for Noah, he is sleeping like a champ up there now. All three boys are sharing a bedroom which has been less of an adventure than we thought since they are so tired at night!

- We've been cycling! We took the boys out this month to a local Ride of Silence to honour and raise awareness for cyclists that have been injured or killed on the roads. B actually participated in the ride (approx. 7 km and on some busy roads) while R towed the littles in the trailer and I rode. B liked riding with the police officers on bikes and understood a little bit more about the importance of bike and road safety. The big boys really love riding their bikes and I hope that doesn't change as they get older. I splurged on a new bike for myself recently so I've been trying to get out on my bike more myself. I actually rode nearly 15 kilometres to work last week but couldn't quite muster up the energy to ride home so I've got some work to do! I'd love to be able to ride once in a while.

- Gearing up for kindergarten. N had his Welcome to Kindergarten Night this month and totally rocked it! He is so ready to join his brother at school in September and it was so amazing to see him on his own interacting with the other kids and teachers.

- Making the best of a rainy weekend. Last weekend was RAINY. Until this year we've left the trailer when the forecast was calling for long periods of rain. Entertaining the littles in a trailer that is less than 400 square feet isn't the most fun. Especially when your kids don't love watching movies and aren't old enough to play board games or read independently. This past weekend we stayed and had a surprisingly good time. The older boys did some organized indoor kids activities, Noah napped well, and we went with friends into town nearby for bowling and afterward introduced the boys to our old favourite, Night Kitchen take-out pizza, which we brought back to the trailer to eat with a glass of wine.  It was perfect.

June is going to be a busy month for us. I can't wait for summer!

Summer Week Days

Summer is in full swing here. I'm sad I don't get to spend it all with my guys but happy to report things are going really well at home during the week and I have been enjoying seeing them at lunchtime.

I was worried about them getting bored quickly and having to plan a lot of activities and outings but so far they haven't grown tired of sticking close to home.

B goes to summer camp with the neighbourhood kids for half the day close by. The rest of the day is spent mostly playing outside with many of the same kids. The kids range from toddlers to 12 year olds and they all play wonderfully together. Older ones helping the younger ones or just playing nicely alongside. Nicky tries his best to keep up with the big kids and doesn't get too discouraged when he can't always tag along. They'll ride bikes, collect bugs and frogs, play at the playground, or play in the driveways or someone's backyard. So much like my own childhood but slightly more supervised. I love that there are so many kids in our neighbourhood. My sister spends most of the day keeping watch from the porch with Noah. He'll sleep often in a rocker outside or in his playpen just inside the window where she can keep an eye and ear out for him while still letting the big boys play outside.

Otherwise, they do watch some TV, jump on the trampoline, swim in the kiddie pool in our backyard and do arts and crafts to their hearts content. And when they get bored of an activity inside, 9 times out of 10, that same activity can be brought outside and there is instantly renewed interest!

Kick off

Well it is back to reality after a fun weekend up north. It was so fun to take Noah.

The evenings were pretty chilly so we needed the furnace on and the days weren't quite warm enough to eat meals comfortably outside but we still spent the better part of the days outdoors.

I felt a shift this year as B spent a larger proportion of the time playing with other kids. It was so strange to watch him join in on a game of ball hockey with some older boys and strike up a game of grounders with a couple of girls at the playground. To notice, after years of us trying to get him to pump his legs on the swing, all of a sudden he no longer needs us to push him or help him with the monkey bars. When he wasn't playing with other kids, his activity of choice was playing catch with R - diligently working up to catching a few balls in a row. 6 years old seems worlds different from 5.

N busied himself playing independently alongside B for the most part. He was content pushing around a toy dump truck, playing with the wagon, or swinging in the hammock. The boys have been obsessed with a remote control ATV B got for his birthday so N spent his birthday money from his Papa on a remote control boat which was put to good use. He was really happiest making s'mores over a campfire with our neighbours, devouring watermelon and veggies and hummus on the deck, staying up late to eat "copcorn" (popcorn) and watch a movie before bed, and having foam sword fights with his big brother.

I packed it in early most nights with Noah and managed to finish reading The Goldfinch while we were there - a book I highly recommend! We also took a drive to the local tourism centre and R sat in the car with 3 sleeping boys while I gathered up some materials on local events and attractions. These will be nice to have if we feel like venturing out for a day trip or are looking for something to do on a rainy day. There are so many free and low cost things we can do in the area on a whim as well as larger more expensive attractions we can plan for once in a while.

Anticipating...

With a few teasers of Spring this week - weather above freezing -  the countdown is officially on in our house until we can go back to weekending in cottage country like a number of other Ontarians.

The boys have been talking non-stop about the trailer over the past couple of weeks. As much as I've been zeroing in on all the things I'd like to change about our house over the last few weeks, hearing the boys chat excitedly about how much fun they had last summer and making plans for all the things they want to do, makes me realize that they don't at all care about the aesthetics of our house or having new stuff. Even at home, they are perfectly content to play in the backyard a couple hours/day. I worried originally about the cost of having a second seasonal "home", that it would take away money from other things like fancier vacations, nicer vehicles, eating out, nicer furniture and stuff, but if we asked the boys, they'd choose the trailer 100x over. I anticipate this might change once they get older and want to be around in the summer to hang out with friends.

In the Winter, weekends are centred around cleaning and organizing in preparation for going back to work and school on Monday. Lessons were also shifted to Saturdays or Sundays from weeknights because we found this worked better for us. Prioritizing family or relaxation time doesn't happen as much as it should. Summer weekends are entirely the opposite. Family time and relaxation is the focus. Having less than 400 square feet of indoor space makes cleaning at the trailer a quick 20 minute task before we go home rather than the focus of the weekend. Even cleaning at home isn't such a gargantuan task since less time is spent here.

8 Weeks.

Oh Canada!

A few days late but goodness do I ever <3 data-blogger-escaped-1.="" data-blogger-escaped-2.="" data-blogger-escaped-almost="" data-blogger-escaped-amazing="" data-blogger-escaped-are="" data-blogger-escaped-b="" data-blogger-escaped-both="" data-blogger-escaped-boys="" data-blogger-escaped-br="" data-blogger-escaped-can="" data-blogger-escaped-canada.="" data-blogger-escaped-canoe.="" data-blogger-escaped-canoe="" data-blogger-escaped-content.="" data-blogger-escaped-for="" data-blogger-escaped-have="" data-blogger-escaped-he="" data-blogger-escaped-hearts="" data-blogger-escaped-how="" data-blogger-escaped-in-laws="" data-blogger-escaped-in.="" data-blogger-escaped-in="" data-blogger-escaped-is="" data-blogger-escaped-last="" data-blogger-escaped-long="" data-blogger-escaped-makes="" data-blogger-escaped-more="" data-blogger-escaped-my="" data-blogger-escaped-n="" data-blogger-escaped-now="" data-blogger-escaped-on="" data-blogger-escaped-our="" data-blogger-escaped-out="" data-blogger-escaped-own="" data-blogger-escaped-paddle="" data-blogger-escaped-relaxing="" data-blogger-escaped-rides="" data-blogger-escaped-so="" data-blogger-escaped-spent="" data-blogger-escaped-started="" data-blogger-escaped-staying="" data-blogger-escaped-taking="" data-blogger-escaped-than="" data-blogger-escaped-thanks="" data-blogger-escaped-the="" data-blogger-escaped-them="" data-blogger-escaped-this="" data-blogger-escaped-to="" data-blogger-escaped-tried="" data-blogger-escaped-very="" data-blogger-escaped-was="" data-blogger-escaped-water="" data-blogger-escaped-we="" data-blogger-escaped-weekend.="" data-blogger-escaped-when="" data-blogger-escaped-year="">

Our weekends

This pretty much sums up our weekends lately. Lots of outdoors, swimming, playing, and R-E-L-A-X-I-N-G at our summer getaway. This weekend B mastered the monkey bars and pole at the park in 10 minutes, and swam the width of the pool unassisted in the shallow end. I'm constantly amazed at how quickly he seems to be learning things. Except for reading and writing. Although we are making some progress. He has started asking us to make the sound of the first letter of words so he can guess what letter it starts with. 

End of July already!

Wow summer is going by at lightening speed. Maybe it is because I have been busy working, visiting with family and friends and spending quality time with my fabulous house of boys, but we've sure been having fun.

Remember awhile back I had said that I had given up my daily highlights journal. Turns out I didn't. There was just a month or so there where I was incredibly out of routine with no regular classes or job. I usually fill out my daily highlights journal when I am commuting to school or work (by public transit). It is the perfect time to think and reflect.

So July... here were the things that made me happiest:

Nurturing friendships - Visited with three of my very best girlfriends from all stages of life. The first - a lifelong friend - our parents met in prenatal class and every time we get together it is like we've never been apart. The second, a friend from my teenage/mommy years, I've shared some of the best and toughest times of my life with this lady. The third, a friend I met in my first year of university and my roommate thereafter until B was born. We also entertained our wonderful couple friends who recently got back together after a split. It was so nice to see them back together.

Spending time with family - DH's family got together the other weekend to see his niece off (she left for Australia for a 5 month university exchange) it was nice to see the whole family and both boys had a blast in my SIL's pool all afternoon. My brother who we don't get to see too often also happened to be passing through and stopped in for an impromptu visit with us and the boys one night. I also went to a bridal shower for a very close family friend's bride-to-be.

Spending time as a family - We had a really great time doing family outings this month. We all went to watch one of B's t-ball games and had a blast. B and I also went to a concert in Toronto together just the two of us.  Finally, we took a leap and decided to go on a 24-hour camping trip, with 4 hours of driving on either end, to Sauble Beach. We are so blessed to live so close (10 minutes) to Lake Ontario and (4 hours) Lake Huron - not to mention (1.5 hours) to Muskoka where we're even luckier to have family since DH grew up there.

Being challenged professionally - though I have been looking hard for a longer-term position as my contract is almost up, I have been thoroughly enjoying my job lately. This position has offered me so much opportunity for networking and professional growth. I will be sad to leave at the end of August but perhaps a little happy to end the commute. I've also made significant progress on my research proposal and finding a supervisor for my major research. I'll be done my Masters by the Spring. I can't believe I'm almost done.

Not quite the avid cyclist but he warmed up

Nothing like fresh blueberry pie.. even this picky eater couldn't get enough

Wind turbines as far as the eye can see on our drive up the Bruce Peninsula

This mama and son came up on a flock of geese

Sandcastle building

Boogie boarding

Water baby

Bother's #1 Fan

Biking the Waterfront Trail

Happy Canada Day

Happy Canada Day to all you Canadians! 

Despite the fact that our air conditioner stopped working last night, we had a really amazing day today.

We're lucky to live in Oshawa where one of the largest Canada Day celebrations in the country takes place (something like 50,000 people attend). I spent many a Canada Day here with friends when I was younger - always running into people we knew. It is pretty rad to bring my family back to the same place. Don't see as many familiar faces lately but we did run into some friends who were enjoying the beer tent which was cool. There was lots of fun and giggles for sure. 

Now the boys are all tucked into their beds, a cool breeze is running through the house and DH and I are settling in to watch a movie. Hope you all had a wonderful day with family and friends :)

A camping we will go

Recently, I booked us in for two camping trips this Summer at nearby Ontario Parks – Presqu’ile and Sandbanks. We haven’t been to either before but heard good reviews of both from several friends. Last summer we never made it camping. I guess just something about being sleep deprived at home didn’t make me jump at the thought of trying to sleep away in a family tent.

We had such a good camping experience two summers ago with B at Sauble Beach (where I spent many childhood summers and where we spent some of our honeymoon). We’re also planning on going back there this summer but we stay at a private campground which doesn’t require us to book that far in advance to get a site. I was amazed that pretty much all of the good sites were already booked for this Summer on the Ontario Parks reservations website.

I’m a little nervous about camping with the littlest fellow although I’m sure it’ll be fine!

Tips for camping with small children anyone?

Below are some older photos of our camping trip two summers ago - B was 2. Where does the time go!

An Early Spring

All this past week the weather has been in the teens. Between 12-18 degrees C! We've been taking advantage of the nice weather and trying to get outside as much as possible although it has been busy with all the kids out of school for March Break. Now that B is a little older, he goes off on his own at the playground and plays with the other kids while I keep sand out of N's mouth play with N. For us, our neighbourhood park is such an important social space. We are so lucky to live so close. We can see the park from our house. The only problem we have been having is getting someone to go back home.

We also got out to the local conservation area where we walked, fed birds, and collected treasures..one of us even got a nap in :) Nature is so calming for B. He is such an active kid but when he immersed in nature he is a very different little boy.

Spring is indeed on its way..

What a BEAUTIFUL Saturday.

The past couple days we've had some real teething issues with Brendan. Consequently, he has been really needy. Hopefully some teeth will poke through soon!

Finally some good weather to get outside. This morning I sowed some of my seeds. I had to replant. I neglected my plants and unfortunately they did not make it. This time I will be more of a responsible gardener hehe.

This afternoon we jumped into the car and headed over to Heber Down. A local conservation area - our favourite around here. When we got there there was only 3 other cars. By the time we left, the lot was almost full! Even Jake got to run off his leash for a while. We had a good time.

Here is a picture of our new front loaders. I totally love them. Only problem is.. do natural detergents come HE compatible? I've been using one that isn't. However, apparently it can wreck your machine not using the HE stuff!