sleep.

May 31, 2012 by mama lola

as summer rolls in with it’s hot and humid days we are clocking in more hours outside. there are gardens to tend to, bikes to ride and diggers to dig with. we are trying to take advantage of the warm weather. but, with warmer temperatures come new routines and a mama who has to be more flexible about all the daily activities.

baths are often skipped for a dip in the kiddy pool or for garden work, dinners are sometimes pushed back and snacks are devoured outside in the heat. more popsickles are consumed and more watermelon is dripped all over shirts, which makes perfect sense, as these are ways we can take full advantage of our short summers here in canada.

[ lion holding his wee cousin. sweet. ]

sleep is another biggie that we have had become more flexible about. it’s hard though, because kids need a certain amount of Z’s to function at their best. but, as we clock in more time outside it means the dudes are clocking in less time in bed, because of this, i am trying to enforce longer naps for lion and stiller, quiet time for bear, daily. we had similar sleep conundrums last summer, too. some of my friends tell me it is all about the mattress. if the kiddy mattress isn’t comfy, such episodes tend to happen. i guess we should get them appropriate bedding. mattress hunting can get confusing at times because there are infinite choices! maybe i should do some research by reading articles and reviews, like this great Peacelily Mattress Review.

anyway, last night we celebrated a special birthday. we left the party just before 9pm, got home by 9:30pm and that’s when lion woke up and then both kids had difficulty falling back asleep. it was 10:30pm, before they were both soundly sleeping in their beds, which for us is unheard of!

[ happy birthday grandpa! ]

i crawled into bed fearing the following day.

but, we survived today without too many bruises; no more than usual! we played croquet with great friends and had an awesome grilled cheese lunch outside!

i have lived another day of mothering and look forward to tomorrow’s adventures!

how was your day today?

cottage..la-la-la…la.

May 29, 2012 by mama lola

friday evening we packed up the van and headed north to the family cottage. we stopped about half way for some cheap mexican fast food. the kids LOVED it!

and boy-o-boy am i glad we made the trek up! the drive up is pretty long and can be painful with the kids, but upon arrival all the stress of the trip up had been forgotten as we piled out and unloaded. the cottage is nestled in the forest, amongst the hemlock and by lake shore. there are chipmunks and the odd bear, deer and lots of birds to look for. and, as usual there were a million mosquitoes and black flies there to greet us! the mosquitoes devoured on bear, while the black flies preferred lion’s sweet blood. but, once bitten the bites didn’t seem to bother the kids, which was a relief!

we went swimming at the local beach in rosseau village (as the cottage beach is just too buggy) and the guys built sandcastles. but, by early afternoon it was time to head back to the peace and quiet of the cottage.

the cottage is a wonderful place to hideaway from the noise and static of the outside world. there is no internet or cable, just a radio. but we kept that off for a change. a few years ago someone in the family brought up a tv, so the kids did watch a little bit of bob the builder for a bit of calm.

unfortunately the serenity of the cottage is slowly being destroyed by development. there are huge mansions being built and in order to build them trees and habitats have to be bull dozed down. there was a huge eye sore built next door about 10 years ago. it has had several different owners and the most recent owners have torn down the entire mansion, ready to build something bigger, i suppose. the waste is heartbreaking, but the destruction of nature is even more devastating to witness.
what is wrong with people? We might look to go to the holiday parks in the Forest of Bowland one year as I’m told it’s unbelievably serene and quiet over there.

anyhow, we have friends who live close to the cottage so they came for a visit. i wish we lived closer– we miss the splatter’s so much!

their wee miss, is about the same age as our lion, so the kids had fun playing train tracks and later investigating the lake water. what a little beauty she is!

the drive back and return to the grind is always a difficult one.
i wish i could do THIS every day! jumping off the dock is too much fun!

we’re off to celebrate my FIL birthday with the family this evening. lucky grandpa will have all of his grand-kids there to party with!

see you tomorrow!

a ballet mama.

May 28, 2012 by mama lola

some mama’s are soccer mom’s, but i’m not.
i’m a ballet mom.

last week bear had an open house at his ballet school, so we went and watched. my heart was busting at the seams, bursting with pride and love for my little guy as he galloped and plied with all his little tutu:ed friends. he appeared tired, but he rallied through all the things his teacher, missM asked him to do.

lion stayed at home with our baby-sitter. he was very displeased when we left and it sounded as though the 90 minuted he was home alone with the sitter were pretty traumatic. apparently he went around pointing to various toys and clothes saying “memo”, which is what he calls his big bro.
augh, heartbreaking!

this moment

May 25, 2012 by mama lola

~ this moment ~ as inspired by souleMama; one photo from our week, no words. only an image to sum up our time as a family, one that captures a moment in time and is a visual reminder of where we were at this moment.

blow job: it’s not what you think

May 25, 2012 by mama lola

c’mon now, get those dirty minds out of the gutter and off fulltube and check THIS OUT — you can see some FANTASTIC photographs at this link. then go HERE to see more of this guys work. incredible! don’t-cha think?

*******

bear had his open house at his ballet school this afternoon, so we went with dear hubby’s parents to watch the class. it was so cute and lovely! i took a gazillion pictures so i need some more time to sort and edit before posting.

we came home and had a lovely family dinner. i made gnocchi– one of my faves again!

this picture makes me laugh; my sweet dear hubby is the only one looking and smiling at the camera. bear is growling, my in-laws are giving instructions on where to look or blinking and lion, well, them eyes… what is he looking at???

good night!
see you all tomorrow!

group support.

May 23, 2012 by mama lola

i know i said i would fill you in on the brain tumour support group sooner, but truth be told, i had some processing to do. it was a heavy two hours.

because, the meeting was held on the monday of a long weekend, there was a small group of us. the group included tumour survivors, parents of kids living with tumours, partners of survivors and two facilitators. it was hard to hear from the mix of people, as their perspectives and situations are so different from mine. hard, because we’re talking brain tumours. sometimes cancerous.
as with anything, no two brain tumour experiences are the same.

listening to the honest accounts of the heartaches others are living with was heavy to hear. it was impossible not to take these stories and package them tightly and slip them into my heart. there they sit, not because i feel pity, but because i finally do not feel completely alone on this road. although, nobody else at the group was pregnant when they were diagnosed, or had any of the complications we endured from my tumour, but it’s not about the specifics that matter, it’s about having something that unites us: BRAIN TUMOURS.

it sounds depressing to say that, but i actually feel comforted. all this time i had no one really to unburden my reality to; yes, i have amazing friends who have always provided shoulders to cry on and have listened to the myriad of anxieties i have felt, but i’m always worried people are sick of hearing about the tumour. especially now that my tumour is gone and i’m feeling so much better. although i feel great physically, emotionally i am still quite shaky at times. every little twinge or pain anywhere in or on my head instantly has me worried the tumour has grown back. if i feel particularly tired or extremely hungry i wonder if the tumour is back.
when i look at my lion i am reminded of the tumour. of his frightening birth.
feel the stress.
the worry sits there.
always.
and it’s heavy.
these are the things that are hard to share with my friends and family. now, i feel fortunate to have this group to shed some of my worries with.

[ from HERE. ]

today i stressed about MRI and blood work requisitions being lost. i was made to feel like a complete loser by a receptionist, but in my own defence i received these papers 6 months ago. anyhow, i did eventually find them in the basement, in last years day planner!
phew! close one.
see, tumour stress is always on my radar for some reason or another!

happy hump day folks!
what stressed you out today?

"bloom" the book and what i really think.

May 22, 2012 by mama lola

a MAMA friend of mine lent me blogger kelle hampton’s memoir “bloom”. i’ve been following her blog, enjoying the small things, enjoying the small things, which hit the big time after the birth story of nella hit the inter-web-world. nella was born with down syndrome, which was a surprise to kelle and her husband. her blog tells the tales of their daily life as a family. i am drawn to her blog, not for the writing, but the photographs she takes.

so, the book confuses me. first it’s a memoir, but kelle is young as are her kids, so whatever wisdom she has to share i find to be laden with uncomfortable cliches. plus, her view and experience as a mama of a child with down syndrome is so very new and clean. nella is barely two and has not had to deal with cruel peers and the giant bureaucracy of the school system, which i imagine is a difficult mountain to climb and then there’s the filler bits. there are obvious sections of the book where she was encouraged to expand and so she goes into these long dull, uninteresting tangents that are there to fill pages, rather than have any meaningful purpose.

while writing this entry i googled her book and found this book review by a mama blogger who has a child living with down syndrome, as well. it’s worth a read as she is clearly not a kelle fan, but she is able to articulate why and i have to say it was enlightening. it is easy to get caught up in the kelle brand as she calls it.

kelle also seems to live in a narcissistic world. kelle’s life has a very perfect flavour, where parties are themed, adventures glitzy and everything is laden with a shiny, materialistic coating of plastic and american consumerism. she herself is always looking so perfect and lovely in her photos, with her lipstick red lips, freshly cut bangs and funky high heels. i am always left wondering when does she have the time to primp herself up with two kidlets at home and no hired help.

and finally, in this book she refers to a doctor and one of nella’s therapists as hotties, which felt inappropriate and let’s face it, if brett (her husband) had written a book and described a female nurse as being hot, there would have been consequences.

basically, it’s not that great.
it’s a quick, easy read, but there a hundreds of other books i would recommend instead.
what did you think? have you read it? do you follow kelle’s blog?

pizza party!

May 21, 2012 by mama lola

the long weekend is winding down.
it’s been a hot one and we have taken advantage of the hot temperatures and spent many, many hours outside enjoying the sun. we have done a lot of work outside in the gardens, and there is still so much to do. sigh.
last night we had a family date with friends that included a kiddy pool with lotsa wet kids, pizza, beer and lotsa laughs! The pool went to down a storm! If you’re looking at this thinking your kids would love one too, then you can find plenty of kids inflatable pools and other toys to buy online.

[ papaA got us started on a ridiculous game of trying to get a ball into the floating bucket.
it was hilarious and very competative; dear hubby scored first! ]

*****
tonight, is my first brain tumour support group meeting. i feel a bit like a fraud going, as i do/did not have a cancerous tumour, but then a part of me is looking forward to meeting people who have some understanding of what this roller coaster ride has been like for me. i am going with a friend, which will be nice, as in these kinds of new, awkward situations it’s comforting to have a familiar face to look at.
i will let you know how things go tomorrow.

and if you’re interested in donating to the cause, please go to THIS LINK, which will take you to the my spring sprint sponsorship page. even though the event is done, you can donate until july 31st.

people come and go.

May 20, 2012 by mama lola

i missed posting yesterday. it was such a fun, busy day that once i got home the thought of blogging exhausted me, so instead dear hubby and i watched “midnight in paris” during which i fell asleep!

this is the kind of fun we had…
friends of ours are moving far, far away so yesterday they had a going away party. i knew they were leaving, i’d even spent many an evening with them as they looked up new construction homes in Richmond BC and different locations until they found the perfect home. but it was still sad when we knew they were definitely going. so we went, the kids frolicked, we drank ciders, danced through bubbles and made fun summer plans to visit them in the future.

moving on…

[ moving day pot luck– welcome home! ]

well, my SIL and her family moved back to canada yesterday. and i’m not exaggerating when i say this, but this is probably one of the best highlights of the year. when they’re not with us, we miss them very much and i definitely feel like we’re missing out on valuable time as a family, but now we don’t have to worry about that anymore. they have found the most beautiful home for their little family. all of them have their own bedroom, and there is an amazing garden that can be the host of some family bbq’s and so forth. if she didn’t take the time to read some of the reviews surrounding someone like this Toronto real estate agent, i highly doubt that they would have ever come across a home like this. so i guess we have that wonderful professional to thank for encouraging them to come back to Canada, and i’ll definitely be hiring them in the future if we ever decide to move. for now, we’re just going to make the most of the time we get to spend with my SIL and her family.

they had been living in the USA for the past couple of years but she has come back to Canada for an exciting new job opportunity. apparently, the moving process has been a total breeze. my SIL told me that she managed to sell her old house in the USA really quickly using the House Buyers of America website (you can learn more about how to sell a property by checking out their website for yourself). to be honest, we have also been thinking about selling our house in the near future, so i will definitely have to take a look once the real estate market around here starts to pick up again. anyway, because my SIL is back in Canada now i got to hold my teeny, tiny niece for the first time. i actually kind of hogged her, but she was so soft and fit perfectly into my arms. her wee toes were breaking my heart and i could feel my uterus aching for a third… it’s going to be a wonderful summer, with my boys spending some quality time with their aunt, uncle and sweet cousin.

it’s another hot day for our long weekend, and we’re off to go run through other friends’ sprinklers and drink some beers!

a few good men.

May 18, 2012 by mama lola

hydro workers (electricity) were here for a long time today. they showed up right after breakfast, stayed through our playdate, lunch, lion’s nap, bear’s first ever trip to the barber and left about six hours after arriving. there was a pole that needed to be replaced and it took a lot of workers and a lot of trucks to get the job well done.

unfortunately for our friends, the trucks blocked our drive way for most of the day, so they had to park round the corner and then way up the hill, because the trucks had not only taken over our street, but neighbouring ones as well. like i said there were a lot or people on the job.

the kids, even baby G and baby K, were thrilled with the live cherry picker action out front! (and us MAMA`s had fun making completely inappropriate jokes about the whole situation.. um poles, cherry picking etc etc… yes, we went there!)

dear hubby came home during lion’s nap and took bear to his first professional hair cut at the barber. bear has been fretting about going for days, saying he’s scared and almost crying about it, but the kid hates getting his hair cut by me and it was getting too long and hence, too hot. obviously, I knew the barbers would be much more professional than my unsteady hand, and that although bear was nervous, I just knew there would be wall art like the many barber shop neon signs I’ve seen before, along with the buzz of the busy barber and the jokes and laughs I’m sure the barber would crack out. this would distract him, surely! plus, it was about time he learnt he was a big boy and felt like one too! it’s always nerve-racking, especially for mommas, when kids pass these milestones. but my bear is a big brave boy and I’m sure he will do okay. as long as he likes his cut when he comes out the other side, all will be well. he was never sure about my styling when I did it, but who can blame him! plus, I was assured by dear hubby that most barbers use a hair trimmer for kids that is super safe and quiet and i passed this information onto bear. well, he ended up going and he looks all grown up with his short do. his little neck is breaking my heart! he’s feeling pretty proud of himself for going and told his dad that next time he needs a haircut he wants go back there. fine by me!! It won’t be long until he will be going to the barber shop on his own, maybe one that is like this barber shop toronto where they give their clients beer. I guess that’s one way to persuade the men in your life to get a hair cut!! I’m just so glad that he wants to go back there again as it would’ve been a lot harder trying to find him a new shop to go to. There are no doubts about it, finding a family hair salon can be tough. However, once you have found a salon that you know you can trust, you are pretty much a customer for life.

lion is a bit of a mess, yet again. he’s teething and his nose is constantly dripping snot and he has that pesky cough that disrupts his sleep. it comes deep from his lungs and sounds awful. poor kid, hope he feels better soon!

it’s a long weekend here in canada; victoria day in fact, which is named after the queen. it’s the weekend for opening cottages from their winter slumber, and a time planting flowers and veggies into the ground, as the fear of frost has officially passed. we are not heading to the cottage, but are anxiously awaiting the arrival of dear hubby’s sister and her mister, and their sweet babyM. they are moving to this side of the border for a few months and tomorrow is moving day. can’t wait to hold my new niece and catch up with my SIL and BIL.

happy friday!