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!

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.

Hello Spring!

Thursday I turned in my major paper for my Masters and breathed a huge sigh of relief. With the exception of a final oral exam, I'm done. I actually can't believe I'm writing these words.

This weekend has been really special. After turning in my paper on Thursday, DH also had some good news. He got his tax return in the mail. We finally knocked off our first entire debt payment in "the Mission" which was our family loan and boy did it feel good. If Winter was all about getting back on track. We're there. I also got my first paycheque with my raise. This is an increase of about ($150) per pay. DH also had his first Saturday overtime shift of the year this weekend. In the finances department things are pretty great.

But I realize a lot of my recent blog posts have been focused on debt reduction and finances. That wasn't the only thing special about this weekend. We've spent a lot of time relaxing, reconnecting as a family, and resuming life in general. We didn't have any plans with extended family this weekend so it was just us and it was nice.

In my absence, DH did a good job of making sure we were all fed but we've been seriously missing quality home cooked meals. Thursday night I went to the grocery store and stocked up on groceries. I've been cooking up a storm all weekend and we've been feasting.

We've also been enjoying the nicer weather. Yesterday B and I washed all of the salt off my car while N napped in the afternoon. We washed it the old fashioned way with a pail of water and a couple cloths. B also learned how to ride his bike without training wheels this weekend. Took him 2 days and he is now zipping around. There is something to be said for readiness. We tried last summer since he was so good with his training wheels and he wasn't quite there yet so we let it go. I feel the same way about toilet training and alphabet writing. Pushing it before the child is developmentally can be more discouraging and challenging for both the parent and the child. This year he was more confident and determined than ever.

We put the trampoline back up in the backyard too.

And even got to starting a small outside project! - New house numbers (in progress) and a new doorbell ($25). Over the next couple of weeks once the weather gets a wee bit warmer we'll be painting the garage and front door.

Oh yeah.. and the bunny dropped by.

Happy Easter!

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.

Positively Green!

Brendan pulled himself to standing this morning! I cannot believe I was just posting about him actually starting to crawl. Many people have said that it is not long from crawling to walking. I guess they were right! One step closer.

The weather has been so nice lately, everything is starting to turn green. We have tried to get outside as much as we possibly can in the good weather before mother nature decides that she has been too nice to us and blasts us with a snow storm or sub-zero temperatures. We have been to the neighbourhood park twice in the past few days. I didn't even know that park existed until the babysitter mentioned it and I decided we had to go. The park is awesome and Brendan absolutely loves the swing. See photo evidence below!

I have also been a good "green" consumer lately. I know, consumer and green.. not two words that go well together. While in Toronto last week visiting a friend, I stopped by the Grassroots Store on Bloor. I ended up leaving with a reuable hemp coffee filter that ended up not fitting my coffee maker UGH! and a few "Moontime" washable pads. These things looked so nice I couldn't resist buying them. I stopped in for lunch at Fresh on Bloor and enjoyed some tasty vegan-fare: sweet potato fries with miso gravy and spring rolls mmmmmmm.

In garden news, seedlings seem to be doing better this time around. My garlic is growing like crazy and the ovation greens mix have popped through the soil. No sign of the parsley, dill or thyme yet. I have also finished drawing out my garden plans for the front and back yards. In all likelihood it will take 5 years before they get to where I want the yard from now. The yard had not been looked after in YEARS. The man who owned the house before us was in his 90's and clearly was unable to keep up with any yard maintenace. Consequently.. we have a lot of tree removal, weeding, grass seeding and fencing to do this summer but each step brings us closer, right?

Spring is near!

The weather has been tricking us lately. Snow one day, rain the next, snow again, bright sunny skies. I am convinced that Spring is coming though. Unfortunately I have been neglecting my seedlings just a wee bit and they are pretty darn dried out. Hopefully I wont have to start all over again. I have just been so busy with everything lately.

Thursday Brendan started actually crawling, moving hands and knees. It was so exciting to see.

On Saturday, the girls, my mom and I went out dress shopping and I got the PERFECT dress at the Bride's Project like I mentioned I was going to in my last post. I couldn't believe the price and I found out the owner is an Alumni of the same university as me (GO FIGURE) so I felt good supporting a fellow alum. It is not the "traditional" white wedding gown but that is alright because I am far from a traditional bride. We also decided on a sage green colour for the girls and a goldish colour for Ryan's neices. Getting the dress makes it all the more real. After shopping - it only took me two hours and I kept trying on dresses I'd never choose because they wanted me to try everything on just to make sure - we went to Pappas Grill on the Danforth. It is an awesome Greek place that my parents used to take us to a few times when we were younger. It seemed like a suiting place to go after dress shopping because the last time we were there was with my dad. I decided to go Greek and have Greek Salad and Greek Pizza. YUM. Saturday evening my aunts were at my mom's so I went over for a girl's night and drank wine and ate a fabulous meal.

I've gotten to spend a ton of time with Brendan this week because the sitter's oldest son got pink eye and together we thought it best that Brendan hold off until tomorrow to go back. :S . Unfortunately, I was depending on a free day to finish up a paper that is due this week for the Women and the Law course I am taking. Thankfully, my sister has agreed to watch him tonight so I can go work at the library. We also found a new food Brendan likes. Avocado blended with raw spinach. So healthy! I don't know why I didn't think of it before. The guy eats it up!