children of the forest.

June 16, 2011 by mama lola

we spent a wonderful weekend up at the cottage with some special friends. friends we haven’t seen in about two years as they live on the other side of the pond, in germany.

we had time to chat and catch up on the important stuff, but also had time to just be together. the kids had an especially wonderful time together playing, running, reading and getting to know one another.

the cottage is the perfect setting for all this catching up. there are few distractions, no internet or tv. instead there is plenty of nature to stimulate the senses.

there are also some funky, home made toys at the cottage, like this red wheel thinga-ma-doo-der (see pics below) that dear hubby’s grandfather made for him back in the day. it was touching to watch bear run and laugh, just as his dad had done many years before!

we frolicked in the water splashing and laughing, ran amongst the tall hemlocks, climbed over fallen trees and branches while looking for treasures and kept an eye out for the black bears.

the bugs were almost non-existant, although looking at lion’s wee head that would be hard to believe. he has bizarre bumps and lumps all over his head from the darn mosquitoes!

i know this all sounds too perfect and as though i’ve sugar coated the whole weekend, but really, it was perfect.

the muskokas have a reputation for being the playground of the rich and famous, but as you can see it’s also fun for the less rich and you certainly don’t have to be famous to enjoy its beauty.

even the kids were mostly smiles and giggles; there were only a few tears and only tiny tantrums, which for one 2.5 year old and one 3.5 year old is pretty amazing. they just wanted to play together and that is what they did!

bear is going to miss his new, lovely, lady friend.

happy rest of the week everyone!

a stormy night indeed.

June 9, 2011 by mama lola

it’s all everyone has been talking about in town: last night’s storm. the winds were powerful, the rain immense, the thunder deafening and the lightning shocking. our patio table was blown up and away by the winds, but it survived; no shattered glass to clean up this morning! some people lost belongings to the wind. many in my community lost power and in this heat and humidity i’m lucky we didn’t. If we had we could have gone to a service like https://saltle.com/ to get it back, but even so it would have been exceedingly stressful. But it could have also been worse than that, and these times are when counting the blessings are important. Why? some people need to look for ace roofing companies austin to repair the damage their roofs got in the storm; i never knew that the roof was one of the most vulnerable part of the house during a storm! we were definitely luckily that there was no hail accompanying the storm last night! the car was out in the open, and the hail pellets would definitely have botched up the car, no matter how sturdy it would have claimed to be! looking for potential shops for hail repair near me would have been a pain, which we luckily did not have to endure.

it’s so hard to see the full effect of the wind and the rain.

here are a few pictures i tried to take. i was scared to be outside as it felt like a tornado was going to rip our house apart. i can’t believe both kids slept through the whole thing, not even a squeak out of either cub!

the video was taken with our storm door closed and it’s surprising that you can’t hear the thunder, but you sure can hear the rain and hail!

here’s hoping for a quiet, peaceful sleep tonight.

is this week done yet?

June 8, 2011 by mama lola

it’s only tuesday and i am so ready for it to be friday. or at least thursday, as that’s when we’re heading up to muskoka to the family cottage with some very special friends from germany who we have not seen about two years.

this week has been tough going and it has only just begun! yesterday, bear hit lion’s nose with a broom handle right before dinner, creating a scene of blood and tears and screams. it was a disaster! lion is fine and the bleeding stopped pretty quickly once he calmed down. we called the on-call doctor service just in case there was something we should be watching out for, but they said as long the bleeding didn’t start again he should be fine. bear was quite shaken up by the situation as there was a shocking amount of blood. it streamed down lion’s face onto his clothes, which to a three-year-old (and a thirty-two-year-old) looked quite scary. bear and i had a good talk alone in his room about hitting people and taking responsibility for your actions. I reminded him he would have to apologize to his baby brother before sitting down to dinner. this, of course, received a tearful reception, but eventually, bear apologized. as he was collecting his courage he said “this is hard”, which i thought was bang on. saying sorry is hard, but he did it and the rest of the evening rolled along at home and i hit the gym for my pilates class.

on my way to my class i saw the aftermath of a terrible multi-vehicle car crash on the highway. there were at least six fire trucks, debris everywhere and shocking remnants of what looked like cars scattered in the intersection and ditches. my heart stopped as i looked at the sleury of young people standing around crying, others running, all in kind of a panic. i’m pretty sure the cars involved had lots of young people in them getting ready for a summer of fun. i can’t imagine everyone survived. It looked like the kind of accident that results in serious injury, and that rarely ends without a death. hopefully those affected can at least get the legal help they need for the costs to come after all that pain and destruction, maybe from a firm like Diamond & Diamond or a similar one. At the very least they were going to be facing complex and stressful car insurance claims and their cars were definitely written off so they’d be relying on getting a full payout for the value of their vehicle. I hope for this reason they were registered with decent car insurance providers. I learned the importance of this the hard way in my younger years, and now I always recommend to people to spend extra on their car insurance so they have a provider that will deliver when they most need it. One way to afford better quality insurance is to have a policy like those from Qantas that allow you to collect points that you can spend on a variety of things. Regardless, it breaks my heart watching the aftermath, and it wasn’t something I wanted my boys to get fixated on. no one asks to go through a situation like this, but sadly, these things happen. during times like these, you may feel like you’re on your own and are not sure how you will deal with all this. but with the assistance of someone like a las vegas car accident lawyer for example, or a Texas car accident lawyer (location varies depending on where you live), getting legal advice may be what you need to move forward in the right way. you don’t have to feel like you have to go through this alone, especially as there are people out there willing to give you a helping hand.

it was the second car crash i had seen in a week. the first was when the boys and i heard a crash and then walked right into it on our way home from the park just down the street from our house. again, pretty serious as one of the passengers was not able to move or get out of the car or something. we watched the fire trucks for a bit, but then left as it was too upsetting. then this evening as we were waiting for dear hubby to arrive home from work, we heard a bang and there had been another crash at the same intersection down the street from us!

maybe it’s being a mama, maybe it’s getting older, maybe it’s after the personal health crisis i had this past year, but i just can’t drive by a crash and not feel deep pain in my heart. crashes are not accidents, as they can 99% of the time be prevented if drivers slowed down, checked their blind spots, signalled and put their bleeping phones away.

slow down, please. here’s two beautiful reasons to abide by the rules.

on monday morning we did have a great time with some friends at the park. babes napped while the big kids did their thing. mamas got to talk and laugh, which is always a great release and a perfect way to start the week.

some of my MAMA friends and their sweet kiddos. in the bottom left pic is MAMA jw who is due in a few days with her second, look at her pushing the three year olds in the swing!

i should slow down too, and not wait for time to pass faster, because truth be told, my life is flying by right now. my little lion is almost one and i am starting to feel the anniversary of his birth churning in my mind and soul, but i will share those aches in another post. i have to learn to enjoy the smallest moments and not always wait for the big, fun events to come by.

hope your week is going ok.

ode to the hammock.

June 6, 2011 by mama lola

there is a sad day looming in the horizon for our family. a very sad day indeed. soon we will be taking lion’s wonderful hammock down from its strong, trusted hook in the heart of our home. this simple beauty has been hanging in our living room since lion’s birth in early july 2010 and now that he is almost one he is just getting too big for it.

tiny lion only weeks old here is almost swallowed by the hammock.

while still pregnant, i was concerned about bringing a tiny, vulnerable newborn home and not having anywhere for him to sleep that was safe and out of reach of his older brother and the dog. we didn’t own a crib or a pack ‘n play and had no intention of getting either of those items, so when this hammock was recommended to us by dear, dear friends it made complete sense to get it. it fit well with our small home and our parenting style. My friend also enjoys having an adult sized hammock in their their living room they got from somewhere similar to JUST Hammocks maybe that is something I might look into at some point judging from how comfy my little one looks in their hammock.

lion at about a month old.

when lion is placed into the hammock he is always fast asleep. he snuggles into the soft organic cotton, while life continues around him, whether it is playing of games, DVD’s watched in the living room or dinner prep in the kitchen. we wanted to teach our kids how to sleep while activity was milling around them and it has worked.

a cozy nap spot, while bear watches DVD’s on the laptop.

it is a soft, comfortable, cozy place where lion can close his eyes and sleep away any worries. he has clocked hundreds of hours in the cozy hammock. i have always felt that he was completely safe in it, but i know many look at it with scepticism and concern, and because it is high up off the floor some assume baby can fall out. but, there are three separate clips to strap baby in that hold a squirmy lion when he wakes up crying.

i want to leave you with this amazing picture of another mama’s baby in her hammock.

sweet dreams…

smart meter bills, bills, bills.

June 3, 2011 by mama lola

time of use billing.
for our household it started on may 1st according to the bill we received yesterday, although we never got any formal letter or notice informing us of the start date. there is much confusion among the residents of my community as to when the billing for water and electricity will switch to time of use. the local hydro company has been giving mis-information to residents and there has been nothing on their website about the may 1st start date. strange, eh? some friends of mine were told june, others july, and when i checked their website on tuesday (31 may, 2011) it said people would be notified.
i guess our letter got lost in the mail.

so, now what?

i’ll have to revise my laundry routine and figure out how many loads i can get done in an evening after peak times. some people wash their laundry in the evening and then hang it up in the morning, which i think is what i’ll end up doing. but, evenings are when the kiddo’s bathe, the adults shower and the dishwasher runs, so our hot water use is maxed. it’ll be interesting to see what our bills will look like in the future. it’s hard to plan for something that hasn’t happened yet, but at the same time, it’s always good to be prepared and to have some extra money saved just in case. there was this one time when my friend didn’t have any cash to pay for one of her bills, and she decided to borrow a loan using the value of her car. i think she said it was called a car title loan and it can be done by a company similar to Qik Car Title Loans. depending on how much your car is valued at will determine how much of a loan you can receive. it’s a good idea if you ask me, and it could be useful if you only need to repay a short sum of money because your car will be used as collateral until it gets repaid. so obviously, you don’t want extra bills and debt hanging over your head. but i’m hopeful that it won’t come to this. in preparation for the billing switch i’ve already started unplugging small appliances that are not in use and i walk around turning off lights. these new habits, i think, bug dear hubs, but he knows better not to say anything. i also hardly ever use our clothing dryer; we have a great clothesline in the basement and one in the backyard plus two racks. now that the weather is hot and sunny, i can start using the clothesline outside more regularly. which is really lucky considering that this will help lower our electrical bills at the end of the day. the idea of cheaper bills this month is actually a great comfort. perhaps i should start looking at using a different energy provider though, as this will surely help me save money on my energy bills. perhaps i could use someone like this Chariot Energy company… i should probably spend an afternoon thinking about this first though.

stuff i found in pockets; front loader; stuff i found in pockets wet with detergent, oops!; the detergent i use; deets of my AMAZING machine!

i feel a bit targeted by this new billing method, as i am an at home mama. that means that, while most people’s homes are quite dormant with electricity use, ours is at its highest. whether it’s to clean, cook, brew coffee, or watch a DVD, peak times are when we use the most electricity at home. it’s very rare that we go a day without using a lot of electricity. it’s quite bad really, but it’s true. I’m just glad that we’ve had our electrical panel checked recently, as the electrician said that it was starting to look faulty, and we could’ve run into trouble if we let it go on. with that being said, I would recommend that you do the same, as you can try Aardvark Electric, Inc., or somewhere similar, to make an appointment with their electricians to get it checked right away, as it could have consequences if you don’t. and you’d hate for it to be too late. in this instance, you could say that the new billing should be the last thing on my mind, but it’s not. it’s really affecting me. i don’t think at home parents are the only ones who are really going to feel the ramifications of this. what about the elderly who live at home, or people with disabilities or the unemployed, what about big and small businesses whose electricity usage is probably the equivalent of 4 “always-on” households, do they get different Business Electricity offers? on an environmental level i get the whole concept, but my laundry isn’t really the one depleting our natural resources; it’s the INDUSTRY out there. all the factories, offices and stores have their A/C’s cranked, computers humming and other equipment or machinery sucking all the power from the grid.

i also think having the non-peak time so late into the evening, it encourages people to use their dryers, instead of hanging up laundry, which is the whole point of this, right? the environment, conservation, mindfulness?

i am already behind in my laundry and the thought of going into the basement right now to sort colours, delicates, diapers and what have you, kind of makes me want to stab my eyeballs!
wish me luck!

sunday was party day!

May 31, 2011 by mama lola

yesterday, sunday, was party day for us. we hit two birthday do’s and lived to tell the tale!
whew!
the first party was a kiddo party for lil’miss C who turned the big 4. bear had a fantastic time in his own quiet, shy way. there were a lot of kids there he didn’t know or remember, so considering, he had a blast. then it was off to grandpa E’s birthday. He had a lovely birthday. We decided to treat him to a new cellphone from somewhere like fanmisenior and he was overjoyed. I’ve never seen him so excited! We don’t live very close to him so it’s good that he can call us whenever he wants now.

horatio.

check out horatio’s V-tongue!

playin’ with auntie K’s turtle puzzle and empties.

lion LOVES dogs.

this was a family do with lots of chatter, beer and laughter. the food was great and the strawberry cheesecake was fantastic [props to dear hubby for baking it].

lion sleeping on the couch before dinner was even served.

a birthday “ta-daa” for grandpa E; thanks for teaching everyone bear!

birthday cake with sparklers.

as we were leaving an incredible thunder and lightning storm rolled in and dumped buckets of rain on us.

i caught a bolt of lighting!!!!!!!!

p.s. bear got a new hair do on saturday.

meet tallulah.

May 29, 2011 by mama lola

about 12 years ago i was selling soap at LUSH in the big city. the job was great and i made some wonderful friends [props to sun], but as a poor twenty-something living on my own it was tough to pay for rent, booze and public transit. so, my mom bought me a bike from crappy tire. this supercycle and i spent years clocking gazillions of kilometres together. i named her betsy. i eventually spray painted her bright blue and added a basket decorated with dollar store flowers. but, unfortunately all good things must come to an end and it is now time to bid adieu to betsy. she rode well, but in her final years her brakes just stopped working, as did the gears and it seemed silly to invest money into her. plus, she weighs about 100lbs!
so…
today is the start of a new era. meet tallulah, my beautiful new bike with a shiny white seat and gears built into the handles. she’s a perfect lady’s bicycle for someone like myself who likes to wear dresses and skirts.

we went to crappy tire to get me another supercycle, but as we perused the bike aisle, that’s when i saw her. tallulah, sitting all pretty like with her pretty white paint and dainty curves; the opposite of the cheapo super with harsh angles. dear hubby saw how smitten i was with tallulah and told me that’s what we were getting.
sweet.
sweet hubby.
sweet bike.
bear told me i looked good sitting tall on tallulah! oh, that little cub knows how to sweet talk me!

can’t wait to start using tallulah and the chariot together. i’m hoping to hit the parks and trails with the boys this summer and this is such a fun way to do it!

there’s the chariot, tallulah and myself going for our first neighbourhood cruise.

heading to the park. lion was not impressed with being stuck next to bear,
so dear hubby carried him in the ergo!

le park.

May 27, 2011 by mama lola

the weather has been so dreary and soggy this spring. we have had a minimal number of bright, sun filled days with warmth. bear talks about the rain as though it is normal for it to be this wet; i guess he doesn’t remember springs past!

love these rain barrels all decorated. looks like a fun DIY with the kids!

i hope these pictures warm your toes! as i type i am sitting under a duvet, wearing a cardigan and a scarf. i am ready for things to change.

me first, yeah right!

May 26, 2011 by mama lola

my self-care is the pits. i joined the Y in the new year not as a resolution, but as a way to get my self-care started. some weeks i go more than others and then when dear hubby got laid off i felt guilty for wanting to hold onto my membership. the thing with the Y is this: it’s good for me on so many levels; it’s fantastic for my mental health, my physical health and my intellect. getting all that blood pumping and really surging into all the nooks and crannies of my body makes a world of difference. plus, it’s that always important alone time. i crank the radio and sing all the way there and all the way home, pretending i know the words to all the latest pop songs.

i have had two big ol’ surgeries this past year, four months apart. both times i was put under a general anaesthetic, which was quite stressful for my body. then, i was knocked on my butt to recover for a few weeks each time, while also caring for a baby and a toddler. it’s been tough to fit any real self-care into my life. but, after having the tumour removed from my head last november it really put things into perspective for me. i faced my mortality at the age of 31 and realized i wasn’t ready to die as i had not finished living yet. and a part of living meant putting my needs back on the priority list. so, i’ve slowly gotten myself out of the house and back into the world. luckily, i have a very supportive partner who understands this need and tries to be as accommodating as possible.

these guys are a lot of work. for me.

all that being said, sometimes it’s hard to find the motivation or the energy in the evenings to go out and exercise. and sometimes it’s not even an option. dear hubby has been doing contract computer programming work since being laid off in march, which means he is sometimes hunched over his laptop ’till the wee hours of the morning working (literally).

the logistics of consistent self-care are difficult, practically impossible, in fact. i can’t put off dinner clean-up or vacuuming, because if i don’t do it when it needs to get done then when am i going to do it? i sure as hell am not going to leave my dinner dishes in the sink and food on the stove for the next morning. the recommendation that chores can wait, was advised by someone who is not responsible for running a household. sure laundry can wait, but only some laundry and only sometimes. if i don’t keep on it, it piles up fast and furious, creating more work for another day. and i’m not down with that!
but at least i have made myself somewhat of a priority again. i try, when i have to the opportunity, to do things that make me happy, healthy or are fun. often these activities are kidless, but as much as i love ’em i do need a break from mothering, regularly. as a stay at home mom, it’s hard to separate work from play, as playing with the kids often ends up being work, because they are still so little. i imagine that will change as they get older and gain more independence. right now, today, the key for myself is to strive for balance and not let one part of my life dominate the rest.

BALANCE.

beach bums!

May 23, 2011 by mama lola

all winter bear has been asking to go to the beach and i kept explaining that we could go when the trees had green leaves on them. well, yesterday as the temperature soared and rain gave way to beautiful sunshine we took advantage of the summer-like weather and headed to the beach.

the cubs napped in their car seats as we drove down to the lake to one of the best beaches around. it’s a beach we visit A LOT in the summer, even though the drive is about 45 minutes, it’s totally worth it. there are change rooms, showers, tons of free parking, lots of soft sand to dig and play with and an upgraded down town with lots of yummy food.

this weekend we all tested the lake water and it was still freakin’ frigid. the water level was high, but i suppose that is expected after all the (bloody) rain we have endured this spring. bear frolicked in the waves, while lion watched closely taking notes. we sat on our mats and ate snacks as food always tastes better outside. there was a nice breeze and tons of people out enjoying the beautiful weather.

these lazy beach afternoons are the kind where play is important and time loses its meaning. it’s a great place for us to spend time a family, reconnect and i can’t wait to spend more beach bum days like this with my guys!

it’s a long weekend for us thanks to Q-vickie, so our beach adventure was extra fun! after surfing the waves we drove two minutes into burlington’s down town. the city has invested some serious cash into re-vitalizing this area and it has paid off. it is so vibrant with people, restaurants and shops. there is a fantastic play ground surrounded by grass to one side, the lake on the other and a gorgeous art gallery on the third. the playground is always busy with kids of various ages.

bear loves to climb and this playground comes with a climbing wall — fun.

now as we head into the week, i feel energized and as though i have shed my winter’s skin, finally. the temperatures are warm and the rain fall hasn’t been as intense the past couple of days. we have had a busy long weekend filled with sunshine and family time, which we all have been deprived of lately. our newly planted hostas and ferns are looking good as is the beautiful bleeding heart. my mom gave us a peony and (fingers crossed) it survived the transfer from the big city!

home made yoghurt, strawberry and blackberry pop-sickles!

planting the peony.

bear passed out before lunch today. this guy has been napping all weekend, which for a kid who dropped his nap a year ago, is unusual. it’s amazing what a few days in the sun will do to ya!