Treasure Every Moment

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted!  The boys are more and more active every day and I don't have a lot of extra time to spend blogging.  I have a few minutes now, so I'll give a little update on life in the past few weeks.

As I mentioned, the boys are really active these days; they still aren't crawling, but they get on their bellies and spin and scoot themselves around and get where they want to go.  The days of putting them in their swings to play and walking away to get things done around the house are over!  We put off the inevitable as long as we could, but last week, we finally accepted the fact that the boys have outgrown them and they have been packed away :( 

Both boys have mastered the words "dada", "mama" and "ga-ga" (doggy).  "Mama" was both Lucas and Nicholas' first word, but it was quickly followed by "dada" which they say from the time they get up in the morning until they go to bed at night.  It is very amusing for us to watch playtime with the boys now - they are getting more inquisitive and both have developed such a great sense of humor.  Peekaboo, the itsy-bitsy-spider, pat-a-cake and general silliness are very popular with the boys these days. Oh, and the Treehouse channel too (no, it's not their babysitter, but I don't have a problem with a little Toopy & Binoo or Thomas the Tank Engine!). 

I am having a hard time dealing with the fact that my boys are growing so fast.  With every new milestone that comes along, I am very proud, but also really sad that time is going by so quickly - my babies soon won't be babies anymore!   A couple weeks ago, I organized all of the clothes they have outgrown and it was fun to look through all the clothes and look back at each stage that they have gone through.  Looking at the little onesies they came home from the hospital in was incredible - I can't imagine they were ever that small, the clothes looked like they belonged to a doll!

Last week, we had our first evening away from the boys.  For Christmas, we bought my Dad tickets to a Merle Haggard concert and last Wednesday night, hubby and I took him while my Mom and a friend looked after the boys.  It was a nice night out, as Dad is such a huge fan of Merle's (as am I) and it was so nice to see Dad enjoy something so immensely.  Unfortunately, us being away was hard on the boys, as it was the first time in 9 months that anyone other than Mommy or Daddy did their bedtime routine (one of the many downfalls of not having any immediate family living near us). 

Speaking of family, we took advantage of the Victoria Day holiday and went to Larry's River to visit my family and hubby's Dad and Stepmom came along.  Even though the weekend was busy and passed by incredibly quickly, it was so nice to spend time with the family - the delicious feed of lobster was an added bonus!

This week, I am trying to get some prepping done for next week - I am going in for my gallbladder surgery next Wednesday.  Thankfully, my Mom is coming up for a week or two to help with the boys, as I will be out of commission for a while.  So this week, I'm busy preparing food for the boys and trying to get some much needed housework done.

The Spring into Action activity challenge is still going on and I'm happy to say that I have gotten in at least the minimum activity every week.  Since starting the challenge and eating practically no fats (to try to avoid gallbladder attacks) since April 14, I have lost another 5 lbs :)  Another small victory!  Unfortunately, the surgery next week will put a stop to exercise for a week or two, but then I'll be back at it!

And again, naptime is over, so I must go get lunch ready for the munchkins! 

Thanks for reading,
Daphne :)

 

My first Mother's Day with my boys

May 12, 2013 

Daydreams of Home

Life sure is busy these days!  There's seldom a chance on a normal weekday for me to do anything other than feed the kids, play with them, change diapers, make food, clean up, do housework, etc.  Evenings are busy with suppers (we find it easier at this stage to feed our boys and eat our supper afterward), walks, baths and amusing the boys until bedtime, when another routine begins (bum changes/bottles/snuggles/bed).  Most nights, the boys get to bed right around 9:00 pm and hubby and I don't have a lot of energy for anything other than sitting on the couch in front of the TV. Hubby works a busy day job and is exhausted in the evenings and I consider myself pretty lucky if he is awake for an hour after the boys go to bed.  We both look forward to the weekend, but not because we actually get a break - the weekends are just as busy as any other days of the week - but life is a bit more relaxed because both parents are at home and we can all enjoy each other's company.

Although life is this busy, it could be so much worse - I am very lucky that I have a partner who is such a wonderful father and is so involved in the boys' lives.  He isn't afraid to get his hands dirty changing diapers, feeding babies, playing with them, giving baths, etc. and it lightens up my load so much.  It's easy to see that the boys appreciate it too - they light up every time he walks into the room.  If it wasn't for hubby, I don't know how I'd keep up with all that comes with having two babies.  I'd better stop singing his praises now in case he reads this, he'll think I'm sucking up ;)

Earlier this week, the boys spent their first couple hours with the babysitter.  For the last couple weeks, the boys have been whiny if I even leave the room, so I was a bit apprehensive about leaving them with someone other than their Daddy, as I figured they'd freak.  Luckily, that was not the case!  The sitter said that they each whined for a minute, but they were easily distracted and they were happy for the whole two hours I was away (grocery shopping).  She texted me pictures of the happy boys playing while I was out, which was a great reassurance for Mama!  We are going to make visits with the sitter a weekly thing to get the boys used to the sitter and her adorable little boy (who is a month older than our boys).  It also allows me a couple hours to myself, whether it's to get groceries, do some housecleaning or perhaps get a pedicure or even have a nap!  

When I picked the boys up from the sitter, they were exhausted.  They were in the van for not even two minutes before they fell asleep, so I thought I'd go for a bit of a drive so they could have a decent nap.  The drive was actually an opportunity for some down-time for me as well.  I ended up driving along the windy road to Chester.  It was a beautiful day that showcased the beauty in all of the little seaside communities along the way with the ocean sparkling in the background.  It made me homesick for Larry's River.  It made me miss the "community" feeling of living in a small village where everyone knows each other (yes, everyone knows each other's business as well, but that never really bothered me).  Life just has a slower, more relaxed pace in a small community; somehow, nothing seems as urgent.  Living here in the Halifax Suburbs is better than living in the heart of the city, but still doesn't have the small town feeling that I grew up with and love.  If I'm in the middle of cooking and run out of an ingredient, I can't run to the neighbour's house to borrow it.  I can't pop next door for a visit and a coffee.  I can't ask my neighbour to keep an eye on our house when we go away for the weekend.  Our kids won't be able to play in the yard by themselves, they won't get to experience many of the things we did growing up in the country.  We don't walk outside our front door and know everyone we see on our walk to check the mail.  We don't know the mail lady - in fact, I don't even know if we have a "mail lady" or a "mail man."  However, hubby and I both have jobs here, which likely wouldn't be the case at "home" (Larry's River).  Unfortunately, this is the case in most rural Nova Scotia communities; hence, we find ourselves here in the Halifax Suburbs....I guess one can always dream of having the option of moving back someday!

Now, back to reality...It's Thursday, the boys will soon be awake from their nap and I need to get their lunch ready and if I'm lucky, mine.  Then it's playtime, then bottles....and so it goes!