a family date night.

April 21, 2012 by mama lola

instead of just going out with just dear hubby for friday night date night, i was picked up after my hair appointment and taken out by all three of my guys! we went to a wonderful local joint that has lots of vegan friendly menu options, which are perfect for bear with his egg intolerance and me, as i am still on my cleanse.

the food was taking a while so it was time for phone games!

we sat by the window so that the boys could stare at the train station across the road.

there was a promise to go over after dinner.

oh, what fun! it was windy and the temperature was dropping but the kids loved waiting for and then seeing the train.

a cheap date. but, certainly one of the best i’ve had in a while.

****
this weekend is a bit of a birthday extravaganza for us. tomorrow we’re heading to the big city to celebrate the fifth birthday of wild, wild wes! it’s going to be a bowling party and the kids are going to love it. hopefully i can get some good pictures of the kids in action!

then, sunday is my dear hubby’s birthday. we have family coming over for some treats and fun in the afternoon. bear is so excited for dad’s birthday and already gave away his surprise card! haha! birthday’s are just too exciting for the guy and he can’t control his enthusiasm!

have a wonderful weekend everyone!
joy!

dinner time BULL.

April 18, 2012 by mama lola

today is a sick day. lion had a fever, bad cough and lotsa boogers! we stayed in.

every night at dinner it’s the same thing. i make dinner, we sit down at the table to eat and then the bull$hit begins. dear hubby and i sound like skipping cd’s, repeating ourselves a million times with statements like “sit down and eat your dinner”, “stop putting your fork in your glass”, “stop touching your brother” just to name a few.

it makes dinner difficult and unpleasant, in fact. the nonsense is always the same and no matter how we threaten, the kids continue to not listen. because, i am the one who usually prepares the dinners (and i try to be very mindful about our meals), i take so personally when the boys act out. i go from zero to rage in a second and desperately try to keep my mouth shut so that i don’t yell something terrible.
usually i fail.
it seems as though the kids only really listen when i yell and stomp my feet, which is so upsetting to me. we have obviously lost any power we ever had and the kids are in control.

but, things are changing and i have stomped by feet in anger for the last time. dear hubby and i are laying down the law in a heavy way, which is awful and hard, but hopefully the tides will change. hopefully we can all just eat dinner together. bear is really testing us and yesterday refused to eat anything. so, when 7pm rolled around and he complained about being hungry it was difficult to deny him, but a lesson had to be learned.

tonight, dear hubby was held up in the big city due to traffic issues, so i was alone with the two kids for dinner. i was expecting the worst after last nights fiasco, but the kids ate everything that was served to them and lion even asked for more soup. we had an unusual pajama dinner, as lion was quite sick today with a bad cough and a fever, but by dinner most of the symptoms seem to have subdued.

look at this smile!

whew! so glad we ended the day on a positive note. dear hubby came home to two little dudes who were so happy to see him.

a cloth bum.

April 17, 2012 by mama lola

i’m spring cleaning and getting rid of stuff. there is a local kids clothing swap coming this weekend, so i’m getting my bag of goodies ready to go.

then i started sorting through the diapering supplies. oh, my! we sure have accumulated lots of different kinds of cloth diapers and accessories over the past four years. we started using cloth right from the beginning with bear. his wee bum would get lost in all the fabric and folds of the diaper and he was more diaper than baby in those days! we’re still going strong with the cloth diapers on lion’s bum. many of the prefolds we were gifted for bear are so old and torn, so we had update and get some new ones (new ones meaning they’re second hand! new to us i suppose.)

i’m feeling ready to start potty training lion. it seems absurd on one hand, i mean, the wee dude isn’t even two yet! but, i think it’ll be easier with him than it was with bear. lion already wants to sit on the toilet and likes to talk about pee and poo. and with the warmer weather it’ll be easier, from what i remember, although it won’t be easy.

but back to the diapers. i feel quite happy and even proud that we can confidently say we cloth diapered two babes. that’s not to say we haven’t used disposables, because we have and i have no shame in admitting that. but, we are mostly a cloth bum family! it was and still is a commitment, but in the long run it’s better for the environment and better for your baby. cloth diapers have come such a long way too, even since bear was born four years ago. they just keep getting better and cuter!

looking at the small diapers in our basket, i am hit with waves of nostalgia and memories of my guys as tiny wee babies. bear, now four years and lion now 21 months, are far from babies. where did the time go?

i wonder if we will ever have a third… so much depends on what my neurologist and endochronologist say in july.

*****
today we went from this…

to this….

i am grateful today is almost done. now, off to the Y for my zumba and a break my guys.

way up in a tree!

April 15, 2012 by mama lola

we LOVE this little gem of a book!

the renowned canadian writer, margaret atwood wrote a delightful chidlren’s book called “up in a tree” (1978). our boys love this book and bear can read it to his little brother now. when we went to the park with friends on friday, the big kids found a tree they could climb on their own and it reminded me of this book.

look at these cute dudes up in a tree! i have always encouraged my kids to climb, because it is helpful skill to have and i think it has helped shape bear’s confidence.

the missE enjoyed her first spring swing and loved it. look at all the kids! Wweeeee!!!

today it has been raining all day, but nobody seems to mind. last week we played outside a lot and yesterday was a super busy day for all of us, so it’s nice to take it easy for a change.

are you enjoying a lazy sunday as well?

bad mama!

April 12, 2012 by mama lola

i was busy making my super-yummy chowder for dinner. the boys were in the playroom, which is adjacent to the kitchen and i knew they were dong some colouring with markers, but the one time i peeked around the corner and saw this….

… and i couldn’t stop laughing. when i brought my camera out, lion started smiling broadly and proudly, while his insides were most likely suffering from toxic shock from the ink pad. oh, boy!

we had a great day regardless of the ink incident. everyone had good spirits tucked into their pockets and would bring them out when the grumps would set in, which meant we were actually enjoying each other’s company. for a change.

just back from yoga. my left knee has been in a brace all day as it’s screaming in pain. let’s hope tonight’s stretch class did the trick!

happy hump day y’all!

spring cleaning: my insides!

April 10, 2012 by mama lola

i start a liver cleanse in a matter of hours. it’s going to be a tough 14 days, let me tell ya! i gave up my most special vice, coffee, last week in preparation for this cleanse. i have no shame in admitting that i love a good cuppa coffee first thing in the morning and will hold on to it as my vice for the rest of my life. i have some last minute cleanse shopping to do for myself tonight. luckily, the lovely expert who has developed this particular cleanse has also included a meal plan and a grocery shopping list, so getting ingredients will be easy. I’ve also thought about looking at a foot bath detox, I have heard that they can be beneficial for body cleansing so it might be a good idea to try! I’ll check it out with my doctor first to see what they say.

i am already a grump, though. no coffee makes me super cranky, which i didn’t know! i wonder what will happen after i cut our dairy, breads, fruits… oh, boy! look out family!

but, i think i really need to get my body balanced inside. i had strep throat five times this winter and the amount of antibiotics i consumed is ridiculous and kind of gross. plus, with all the surgeries and T3’s i was popping while pregnant with lion, i think is still just stuck in my organs jamming things up. i good liver cleanse is exactly what my body needs and deserves.
*******
had a frolick through the woods with good friends today. kids loved it, so did us mama’s!

*******
for tonight’s dinner i tried something new, rice paper wraps with veggies.

i took one tomato, one perfect avocado, asparagus, green onions and some left over green pepper, chopped them up stirred them around in my cast iron pan until warm.

then, i placed the veggies on the softened rice paper with a piece of seaweed and sprinkled some sesame seeds for good measure.

they were easy to make, but a bit time consuming and the texture wasn’t the kids’ favourite, but dear hubby and i loved them. i will definitely be making these again, since i can’t use wonton wraps anymore due to bear’s egg intolerance. we also had some quinoa-chick pea salad and sweet potato fries! yum!

ok, time to shower and binge on some fantastic treat once dear hubby gets back from the store!
i am so scared of this cleanse and worry that i will not have the discipline to follow it, although at the same time i feel like it’s exactly what i need.
wish me luck!

the easter bunny dropped by.

April 8, 2012 by mama lola

we had a great time in the big city for easter. we had a nice dinner with my parents and then dear hubby and i went to a movie, while the kids stayed with my folks. we saw an iranian movie called, a separation. it was incredible, powerful and heartbreaking. i would recommend it to everyone.

*******
then on saturday we headed to the famous st. lawrence market. the market was beautiful with shelves overflowing with bright fruits and veggies, with tanks crawling with lobsters and counters filled with yummy fresh, fish and various cuts of red meat. bear was very curious of the beat, since we’re vegetarian and never have meat in the house, seeing meat was so interesting for him.

the market not only had food, but lots of vendors selling colourful kitchens gadgets, wordly jewellery, and funky clothes. there was so much to see, but with the crowds and a four year old with a sudden case of spaghetti legs, it was difficult to navigate and take pictures!

then, it was off to the beach in the cities east end, where the outside space gave us lots of freedom and the earlier case of spaghetti legs suddenly disappeared!

the kiddo’s soaked up the warm spring sun, as they ran through the sand to the shoreline, where they threw stone after stone into the lake. it was so fun!

*******
today we had a wee egg hunt in our backyard. i dragged my butt out of bed before everyone else and secretly hid some eggs around the yard. after breakfast the kids went out and found the yummy treats; mini eggs and small jelly beans in wee plastic eggs and one kinder per kid.

a lovely easter closing with a lazy-bum-day at home with my family.

how was your easter? did the easter bunny drop by your house?

easter fun!

April 6, 2012 by mama lola

we’ve been busy getting ready for easter.

i purchased some wee chicks, tipuja, and set them out on our table and at breakfast the boys were so delighted to see them. i have tried to enforce the rule of “not for touching, but for admiring”, which bear has always seemed to understand. here’s hoping lion will too!

yesterday in the basement i found a carton of already-blown eggs (meaning the insides have literally been blown out by making two small holes at each end of the egg), so the boys decided to paint them. i was so scared they would break the eggs, but the painting project progressed without any smashes!

both, lion and bear painted with such focus and artistic flare; they will make their mummo so proud. she has painted perhaps about a 1000 blown eggs! here are some from our small collection my mom gave us. this year we couldn’t find any good pussy willows, so we hung a large branch from the ceiling and hung the eggs from there. bear and i added some of our own fancy decorations onto the branch to fancy it up some!

today we are baking egg-free sugar cookies. we found the super simple recipe here. bear has been asking questions about chocolate and whether or not they contain eggs, and if he can eat the chocolate eggs the easter bunny will leave. poor kid and his worries! i explained that i emailed the easter bunny and told him about the new egg allergies. that seemed to calm bear’s nerves a bit!

saturday first thing we’re heading to the st.lawrence market in the big city. it was recently names the best food market in the world by the national geographic! check out the top ten here and note that number 7 is kauppatori, helsinki! oh, this dual-citizen mama is bursting with national pride for both markets; how wonderful to have a good food source in one’s two hometowns.

we’ll have small easter egg hunt in our backyard on sunday, i think. i will sew quick pillow cases as gifts and i bought some funny little things and some chocolates as well. i’ll post pictures of the delight later!

HAPPY EASTER!!!
HIP–PA–TY–HOP!!!

starting new.

April 4, 2012 by mama lola

i don’t what happened to me. i’ve been intending to grow some easter grass this year, but somehow the time slipped away from me. so, i started it today. better late than never, right? bear was delighted.

then, my green thumb got an itch. so i started a few morning glory seeds and a few lupins. we’ll see if anything comes from them. i want to transfer them into my garden once the fear of frost melts away. i love morning glory’s. check out my stick markers. pretty clever, eh? idea from here.

kefir snack break. the kids love sippin’ away with their butterfly straws!

and finally, here’s tonight’s dinner. yum!

how was your day?
did you get outside and do any gardening?

maple syrup festival.

April 1, 2012 by mama lola

saturday turned out to be a wonderful day. we headed to a maple syrup festival at a local conservation area and enjoyed our afternoon immensely. although the day started out cold and cloudy, by late afternoon the sun was out recharging our batteries in its warmth.

we walked through the woods and checked many buckets slowly filling up with sap, later to be made into syrup.

we enjoyed a wagon ride, pulled by two beautiful percheron horses, each weighing about 2000lbs. odessey and ollie. the kids loved the ride and we learned about the impending doom and gloom waiting the sugar maple trees in the near future. basically, thanks to climate change the sugar maples will start to move north looking for cooler temperatures. so sad.

we didn’t eat any pancakes as they contain eggs and we are officially egg free, but we did nibble on our own snacks and sipped hot apple cider. the boys ran and walked and frolicked the way kids should out in the fresh air. we checked out the birds of prey section, and saw some stunning snowy owls and two massive bald eagles.