rained out…

May 17, 2012 by mama lola

unfortunately this morning our play date plans got washed away with the mornings down pour. so it goes in life, which reminds me flexibility is key in motherhood! so, instead of hitting the park the kids painted, played with their pop up tent, played cars, played lego and watched two episodes of “kipper”, all before 10:35am! that’s when i had to call dear hubby for some encouragement, it was going to be a loooooooooooooooong day!

after dinner tears.

after lunch and lion’s nap, the afternoon brought with it sunshine, and luckily we got to play in the backyard for a bit. the boys get so involved and engrossed in their play outside, more so than when inside. i think having the freedom to run around on an uneven terrain, listening to the sounds their environment creates, and feeling the warmth of the sun or the cool of the breeze on their sweet faces, adds a whole other layer to their imaginative play.

i love watching the kids play. i love listening to the dialogue coming from bear, as he narrates the going ons of the game to himself and/or to lion. i love listening to lion babble and sing as he follows his big brother around trying so hard to do all the things four year olds know how to do. and i love watching bear help his little brother when the littler one falls behind.
oh, brothers!

got more gardening done!
from tears to helping. what a guy!

i planted some herbs into you veggie garden, some white impatients for colour and some gladiolas, which hopefully will blossom in the grand flowers they are. fingers crossed things grow!

what do you have growing your garden or pots at you place?

flower power!

May 16, 2012 by mama lola

lion and i went to a nursery in the morning and bought more flowers to plant. lots of white impatients, some more lupines (my fave), rosemary, a butterfly bush and some sweet ground cover plants for which i forget the names. i would like some more ornamental grasses, but first things first…

weeds out! chives out!
(if anyone wants any chives our yard is overflowing with ’em!)

while we were out there a cement mixer pulled up and backed into the driveway across the street. another big truck miracle, and the boys were over the moon. they watched closely as the builders poured and smoothed the neighbours new porch! what unexpected fun!

the bad news from today is, i formed a terrible blister on the index finger of my right hand. it broke and reformed a few times through-out the five hours i was outside gardening. now if hurts like a mofo. excuse my language!

now, i get to relax and drink a well deserved beer.
hope those hard working ants are doing the same thing. FYI, when i packed up at 8pm there was no sign in of them! amazing!

mother’s day bookmarks.

May 15, 2012 by mama lola

i have to admit this great idea is not mine, but i found it HERE. i was looking for something pretty straightforward to make, but something that would also melt the hearts of the kids’ grandma and mummo.

here’s what i did...
i chose a few pictures of the kids that i thought were cute, heart melting and characteristic of each kids personality. got the pictures printed, brought them home, gathered my supplies and got to work.

first, i chose a photo and started to cut around the kids silhouette pretty closely.

then using a glue stick i glued the photo to white card stock and had the kids draw on the back of their own photos. i wrote the year on the back, in case we ever do this project again.

then using clear laminant in a roll (whih i bought from our michael’s), i laminated each picture on both sides. i pressed down hard and used a ruler a few times to get all the air out.

i cut around again, but this time leaving a wee margin of laminant plastic, about 5mm.

then i punched a hole into the laminated photo, crocheted a quick rope and tied it on.

they looked AMAZING and each gran was super smiley once they’re gifts had been opened!

this is such a fun and easy craft to make and it was made better by involving the kids.
hey, father’s day is coming up next month!!!

and finally, my mother’s day locket; look at my beautiful boys!

see you tomorrow!

full of love, but i’m pooped!

May 14, 2012 by mama lola

all of our mother’s day celebrations have come to a close, which is fine by me as i am pooped.
today we visited the botanical gardens with my parents and it was another fun filled day of running in the sum for us. today i even gifted myself a slight sunburn on my face!

the iris garden was my favourite. the names people have concocted the hybrid they have developed were kinda killing me, “hot spice”, “venus de milo”, “sailing away”, “boo” and so on… you get the idea. these silly names have nothing to do with irises, but what do i know!!!

i am feeling very fortunate this evening as i sit here. my kids are these incredible little dudes full of love; i have received a million extra kisses and squeezes today, just for being their äiti. it’s a really good feeling and fills me up with pure joy and pride. i am going to try to hold onto this feeling, no matter what tomorrow brings. no matter what the fight.

dear hubby bought be a beautiful locket. i’ve wanted one for a long time, but a clean, simple piece has been hard to find. but, now i have it and i love it! he also got me a huge pot of mixed plants and sweet little blue berry bush! man knows what i like!
thanks babe!
the boys also made me a funky picture lantern type deal. it’s super creative and of course i love it!

what did you do for mother’s day?

i will add pictures of my gifts tomorrow and i include the craft we made grandma and mummo.

time for sleep!
xo

why is every day not mother’s day?

May 13, 2012 by mama lola

well, it is mother’s day weekend!
today we celebrated motherhood and grandmotherhood with dear hubby’s mama. she took the boys to the park for some quality alone time, but we caught up with them after spening over $100 at the local bookstore! (dear hubby spent the gift card he received for x-mas!) and then we ordered some yummy indian food for dinner.

it was a glorious day filled with lots of laughter and smiles. i realize that sounds cheesy and cliche, but really, we all had a genuinely wonderful day together. sure, the kids hit their usual low blood-sugar points after playing hard for hours at the park, but they got over it once their bellies were full of aloo gobi and samosas and continued playing nicely on grandma’s floor.

fine tuning the family pictures is hard. there is always someone looking away from the camera!

grandma looking so happy with her boys!

tomorrow we’re off on an adventure with my mom.

the owls at the park.

May 12, 2012 by mama lola

there is a lovely family of seven living high up in a tree at our local park. the five fuzzy babies belong to a mama and papa eastern screech owl, who have built a home high up in the maple tree.

this is not my picture, augh i wish! it`s from this blog. isn’t this family adorable?

after bear’s ballet we went to the park for a dinner picnic to see if we could get a glimpse of our new neighbours, and we sure dud. it was amazing! the owls were really high up and camouflaged by the new leaves on tree, so the kids couldn’t see them. but, i stood there with some avid bird watchers and there cameras with massive lenses, gawking away.

dinner consisted of the usual after ballet food, pinaattilettuja, some pasta salad with a yummy pesto and veggies, and fresh cut cucumber and strawberries. yum!

it was fun to eat and play at the park like that. a little bit of spontaneity and fun on a weekday evening before bedtime.

tomorrow is the start of our mother’s day celebrations!
fun! fun!

am i enough? am i doing enough?

May 10, 2012 by mama lola

[ i didn’t post anything yesterday. it was a busy and when i got home after zumba and yoga at 9:45pm, i could feel my body getting sick. instead of blogging, dear hubby and i watched thirtysomething while i sipped hot tea.]

so, often i wonder if i am balanced in my mothering with the boys. it is clear that each child has experienced a very, very different first couple of years, which i think, is neither here not there. but, my concern is, have i given enough of myself to my youngest, lion. we attachment parent and try to be mindful about the choices we make as parents, not just following the norm. although, lion and i co-slept longer and he’s still nursing (only about once or twice a day) it feels as though my bond with him is not as tight as the one bear and i had at that stage.

is it because with bear i only had one child pour myself into?

now i have two, and with my health issues i have perhaps, become more selfish?

does any of this matter? both of my little dudes is healthy and developing wonderfully.

for the first two years of bear’s life it was just the two of us during the day, with lots of extra time with dear hubby as well, since he was a student back then. the three of us would get into all sorts of adventures and fun things. now with two, i feel like the flexibility of one kid is long gone, but as the kids get older they need more predictability and consistency. spontaneous adventures are hard to figure out these days, also because dear hubby works at a regular nine to five job.

when i am at home with just the boys, they play together and leave me out of it. they only need me when a disagreement arises (which is often) and if the other kid is away at preschool or napping and the one ho is alone does not want to be alone. they play nicely together and obviously enjoy each other’s company a lot, which is amazing to watch. my heart melts hen i see them busy with a game of sorts.

but when bear was this age, he and i would colour together, do all sorts of sticker creations and other little projects, but i worry that lion is not getting that same focused time with me. as a stay at home mama, it feels as though there is an endless river of hours to spend with ones kids, but truth be told, there really aren’t. sometimes it feels like, because i am an at home mama, i should be doing more with the kids (whatever more means), but we constrained by naps, meal times and the two outside of the home activities bear participates in.

how do i know i am enough?

how do i know that what i am doing is enough?

i would love to hear from you and how you handle loving, caring, and nurturing more than one child.

playing by the rules.

May 8, 2012 by mama lola

for bear’s 4th birthday he got a super fun game from his super fun friend. it’s a cat in the hat game that is all about doing silly things with your body, in a dr.seuss kinda way. bear LOVES this game, but seriously struggles with following the rules. i get it, the kid is 4, but still… c’mon he’s ALREADY 4! i remember playing games with my parents or friends, and following the rules in order for the game to flow nicely. the rules weren’t the fun part and often hindered me from winning, but they’re there for a reason. right?

today bear was playing this new cat in the hat game with dear hubby and i heard him at one point say in a huff “no. i don’t like the rules. i am going to do it my way”.
oh, dear!!!
he gets completely bent out of shape if he’s not the first at things; the first one at the dinner table, the first one upstairs for washing hands and so on. he also struggles with not winning or being the best at something. the wee fella gets so frustrated with himself quickly saying “no, i will never learn to do up the zipper” and then he just does it the next day. but, as his mama it’s difficult to listen to his attitude and negativity; i think he’s a genius (as is his wee brother) and already capable of so much.
are all kids like this?

[i haven’t taken any pictures thanks to my pathetic finger.]

i will leave you with this sweet face.

this is mark ruffalo, a hollywood dude who also had a brain tumour. his was different from mine, but he had his removed via surgery and he too is fine now!

*remember, if you are still interested in donating to the brain tumour foundation of canada’s SPRING SPRINT, you have until july 31, 2012. so far i have raised $485 and would love to at least reach $500!

email me at
lolas_mail@yahoo.ca and i can forward you the details!

a bad monday.

May 8, 2012 by mama lola

today both boys woke up with boogers ga-lore!
that means no play dates or anything fun outside the house. i didn’t want to push their wee systems, as they obviously need a rest after our busy weekend.

we played cars. decorated a box and made it the playdo box. the boys watched netflix. we ate. they horsed around. then as i was making dinner i seriously sliced my finger. let’s just say i found a huge chunk of nail on the cutting board and a part of my nail bed is exposed. there was blood.
it hurts to type.

that’s all i’m going to say for today. this mama has got to relax and wait for dear hubby to get home and do the dishes….

[ source ]

see you guys tomorrow. i promise to have something more interesting then.

i am content.

May 6, 2012 by mama lola

i feel very content right at this moment.

this weekend was one that was filled with emotion, laughter, friends and family, and sun!

i have been able to release some of the stress related to my tumour, that i guess i continue to carry. the walk on saturday, provided dear hubby and i with an opportunity to re-visit some of those emotions and talk about things. it was easier to talk, because we aren’t in the mess of things and have had a lot of time to reflect and move on.

today i hosted my NORWEX party, which was such fun. if i invited you and you didn’t come, make sure3 you come next time. terri-ann did some amazing product presentations and not just blabbing about the stuff, but she took a fist full of vaseline and smeared it on a window and then cleaned it off in like a second. it was amazing. she also cleaned my oven without any toxic stink or much effort. it was incredible!

i have that feeling of peace and calm and contentment in my core. life feels like it’s moving the way i have yearned it to for so long. it has been too long since we’ve been able to just enjoy life, but here we are. the kids are thriving; bear’s eczema seems to be getting better and lion is turning into a chattering wee fella. dear hubby’s job is going well and keeps him busy, but not overly stressed or away from home like other jobs have in the past.

looking forward to summer…