1/28/10

Bye Daddy


We are off to the ski hill today. My husband will join us in a few days.

1/27/10

The Hidden Gem

The Library.

I had no idea the library had such great stuff. We have now been library card holders for 6 months and have visited every 2 weeks. Initially, it was extremely overwhelming - with pee accidents and such. We would walk in and they (the twins) would immediately start fighting over the handicap button to open the door. We have finally figure that out: one pushes it on the way in, and one pushes it on the way out.

Upon entering we would head over to the children's section and randomly pick out books. Usually, these books were a flop and would not be looked at for the next 2 weeks. Then I discovered the video section. Not huge, but large enough and with enough 'Bob the Builder' movies to satisfy my children.

However, the book picking was still a flop and I had yet to peruse any other part except the children's section and that was only as far as my arms would reach for fear of all three kids riping the entire library apart while they screamed and yelled. (Yes, I have decided that kids make noise and that the rest of the library should deal with it for the 5 minutes that we are there. HA.)

Finally, I got the bright idea to checkout the on-line catalogue. After trying various PIN numbers for several days, I finally stumbled on the right one. There in front of me was a whole new world. One with searches that honed in on my kids interests: dinosaurs, machines, trains... Oh, and I could finally look at books for my self. Ya.

Now, when we enter the library, we have organized chaos. Each twin gets a turn pushing the handicap door opening button, we return books, head over to the children's movies and pick one out, stop by to pick up the requested books, hand out library cards for each child to check out their movie/book, and head out the door. All with regular voice levels and completed in 5 minutes. Wahoo. Even I now get to enjoy the library. I have still not walked the entire place, but the on-line version suits me fine for now.

1/26/10

Prego Update

Much to my husband's displeasure exhaustion has hit. My eyes are super heavy all the time. After being awake for just 3 hours, I feel like it is time for a nap. I have been heading to bed early - 8pm usually. An afternoon nap would be grand, but not an option with 3 wild children. At least this only lasts 12 weeks. 4 more to go.

Nausea. Yup, some of that too. Usually only when I let the tummy get empty.

Weight. I am gaining way to fast. I find this extremly upseting since I so much time trying to lose all the previous baby weight. 4 lbs gained, 4 lbs to lose later. I have already grown out of some clothes, although I am no where near prego clothes yet. I hope to stay out of those as long as possible. However, I have already started to wear pyjamas later and later in the day!

1/25/10

Hike

We headed out for a hike mid-day today. Needless to say, we ended up bushwhacking and did not reach our desired destination. Nonetheless, the all had a great time. We'll just have to try again another time.

Note to self: DO NOT TRUST MY DIRECTIONS!! Ha, ha. Everyone already know this. I am not sure why my husband doesn't stand up to it. Eek. He did - That is why we did not head down the rocks along side the waterfall today. He, he.

Wit and Wisdom - Revisited

It doesn't work. Not enough leverage. 'Nuff said!

1/23/10

Toddler Antics












Hmmm. I guess this is the end of our chairs. I was really hoping we wouldn't have to put them all away this time around. Apparently the toddler has other ideas, though.

Picture Time

DRUNK? Nope just sleeping! This is a serious sleep.

My geniuses in the making. Puzzle time.

Twin1 loves puzzling. Oh, and the picture was taken by twin2. Pretty good, eh?


This is the first time Twin2 has chosen to draw a face all on his own, no prompting at all. Wow.
It even has ears.
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Sorry no picture of the baby.
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We have been taking advantage of the gorgeous weather of late. Yesterday we headed off to the zoo. I can not explain what a great day we had. No fighting, yelling - just plain fun. Wonderful. We have also been riding the bikes a lot lately. The baby (who I guess I now have to refer to as the toddler) sits on the back of my bike. We all love it. The twins spend the entire time with huge grins on their faces. And I love because I no longer have to worry about them riding ahead. A blast. We went out this morning and they have already asked to go out again this afternoon. Fun, fun.

1/21/10

Thank you for all the comments and well wishes. Life is pretty interesting around here and it is only going to get better. Fun, fun.

Oh and for those of you who thought we were having triplets - ARE YOU NUTS?

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I mean... we won't find THAT out for another 10 -12 weeks!

1/20/10

6 - SIX

6. Yup. Six. In September, we will be a family of 6!!! Are we ready? Nope. Excited? Yup. Scared? You betcha.

Gulp.

1/18/10

The King


Check Spelling

Twin1 set his chair up on the coach, plopped himself down and announced, "Me King." I guess so.

The king and his loyal subjects! Well, sometimes.

My husband and I had a major cheat on the diet last night. Uncle R was visiting and my husband and I were having major cravings (I know it has only been a week), so we ducked out the door and off to McDonald's. Not 4 minutes after scarfing down my French Fries, my head got all stuffy and my ears started to ring. It was like I had a cloud in my head. So, we thought about it. I obviously have an intolerance, but to what: potato or MSG? Hmmmm.

The twins are starting to have cravings - for Fruit. Just another 2 days and we can reintroduce Fruit. Ya.

Oh, I have to give out a big cheer to my husband. He has finished the baby's room. Wahoo. Just a few days f airing it out and we can make the move.

Swimming today. Better get things going.

1/15/10

House

Oh the wonderful world of imagination. We built a house, stole a heavy duty flash light from Daddy's shed, and set up their car garages. I really do love the age of 3. Twin1 changes his identity on a daily basis: pilot, Bob the Builder, Handy Manny, Fireman, Mom, Dad. I love it. We put together a tool box for them (originally there were two, but my husband re-claimed his) and they alternate 'Bob the Builder' days. Today is Twin2's day.

1/14/10

Wit and Wisdom

I went to a parenting lecture tonight about parenting with Wit and Wisdom. It was a very interesting lecture. Much appreciated and needed. I have begun to hit my head against the wall lately because my yelling has become louder and a lot more regular around the house. I have felt a little stressed and overwhelmed by things lately and have felt like my 'punishments' were getting no result. I was struggling with the same problems each day. ie. 'gentle around your brother', 'we don't hit', or the one that I hate 'what were you thinking?' I knew that I needed to change my punishment, but how?

Well, as it turns out I have been punishing (yes, I know I said that above) and not disciplining. So, my new motto.

Have the child recognize the misbehaviour, decide together how to fix it, and fix it.

Oh, and I guess I have to stop with the bribes!!! Sometimes a little leverage is all I have got against the three hooligans, though.

What I did discover, however, is that I am doing a pretty good job. Just need to do some tweaking. Sometimes things get overwhelming and you need to take a step back and look from the outside.

Part of this, I think, has been the lack of 'me' time. December and January have been so crazy that it was hard to find the time. Now that we are back on track and in a routine, I will have to start the 'me' time again. Tonight was great, but not fully about me. So, I am back looking at cooking classes again. Who is in for some Indian in February? February 16 or 28? Let me know.

Food Intolerance

Here are the foods we can no longer eat.

Grains: corn, oats, rye, spelt, wheat
Fruit: apricot, banana, cantaloupe, grapefruit, orange, pineapple, raspberry, strawberry, watermelon
Chemicals: Aspartame, MSG, Sodium Bensoate, Sodium Metabisulfite, Sodium Phosphate, Tartrazine
Veggies: Green Beans, Soy, Cabbage, Cucumber, Green Pea, Mushroom, Peppers, Regular Potato, Tomato
Nuts/Seeds: Cashew, Hazelnut, Peanut, Sunflower, Sesame
Dairy: All (Goat is only a mild sensitivity so we are still eating that)
Fish: Lobster, Shrimp, Tuna, Sole
Meat: Beef, Lamb, Pork
Other: Baker's/Brewer's yeast, Chocolate, Fructose, Honey, Sugar, vinegar
Misc: Dust, Mites, Feather


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(Oh, I guess I better get rid of the feather pillows they are sleeping on. I was so focused on the food, I didn't notice.)

So, like I said. They have a sensitivity to everything!

Gluten Free / Yeast Free Recipes

We made it. We got through the critical time in twin2's cold with no hospital visits. YA for us. My mom asked for the Gluten Free recipes that I have found so far. We have found all of them to be a success and have had no problems at all with the transition of these items. Here they are.

Gluten Free Flour Mix (it is listed in parts so that you can make as much as you want)
3 parts Brown Rice Flour
3 parts Tapioca Starch
2 parts Chickpea Flour
1 part Almond Meal

Gluten Free / Yeast Free Flat Bread
*substitutions: Stevia for sugar, Flax Eggs for eggs


Gluten Free Pancakes
*substitutions: Stevia for sugar, Goat milk for milk, Flax Eggs for eggs

Gluten Free Tortilla's

1/13/10

Candida Diet / Asthma / Baby Update

The recipes went over beautifully. The pancakes were delicious. They tasted like multigrain pancakes, but otherwise very good. Now we have something to eat for breakfast other than goat yogurt. Ya. The flat bread at lunch was also a huge hit. The twins gobbled it down and didn't blink an eye. Phew. I am very happy about all this. Now that we have spent an arm and a leg finding foods the twins can eat, the next step is to source out places to get all these high cost ingredients for less. Thankfully, my cousin also has a lot of the same allergies, so he already know where to go. He also lives in the city and has offered to bring ingredients out when he comes to visit. Thank you very much, cuz.
On a not so great note, my husband and I spent the entire night trying to keep twin2 out of the hospital with another asthma attack. It has been over a year since he has had a bad one. We were up every hour giving him meds. I believe that we have it under control. YA. A hospital trip right now just is not what we want to do. Lets hope we get a full home based recovery. The difficult thing with keeping him at home is not giving him the meds at the right time, it is keeping him from over exerting himself causing his oxygen levels to go really low. So, I guess there will be a steady stream of movies on the TV today. Yuck. Just when we weaned them off again. There just is no hope for me and the anti-TV attempt. Oh well. We are still cutting it off after the Olympics.
The baby has cut a molar. Cranky city. We are running out of Tylenol. On the cuter side of things, he now says 'Done' when he is finished with something. Such a smarty pants. Also, he can now climb down a full flight of stairs unassisted and he is no longer a major worry when he is on the couch. He can get down all by himself. Oh, and he has taken to running everywhere, which has resulted in quite a few bit tumbles because he doesn't wait until he is steady on his feet before he takes off. It is a bit of a giggle to watch. Oh, and the funniest is that he has started to twirl. He waits until you are watching, keeps one foot planted, and pushes around with the other. He is going to be an entertainer. And as you can see from the picture, he is getting in to EVERYTHING.

1/11/10

Another one of 'those' nights last night. Not the twins, though. The baby is cutting more teeth, which means he is in a lot of pain, extremely snotty nose, and, this time, a croup like cough. Fun, fun. The baby's preferred sleep position when he is feeling like this is upright on his daddy's chest. So, poor husband had a very poor sleep. On top of that, the twins are rising very early lately - 5:30am. Ugh.

The is going shockingly well. I have searched out some recipes for tortilla's / flat bread / pancakes. I am going to try some of those out today and see how they go. We are still consuming some sugar, though, in the form of their yogurt. So, I am hoping that the pancake recipe that I found will alleviate this. It took some time, but we have found some snacks, besides veggies, that the twins can have. (ie. rice crackers, rice chips) The hardest thing so far has been keeping ahead of their hunger. Oh, another thing that I am having trouble with is finding a yeast-free bread. The rice loaf that we thought was good has yeast in it. So, hopefully the flat bread recipe and tortilla's will be the answer. Other than that, the transition has been pretty easy. A few more tweaks and I think we will have it. YA.

The baby is now talking on the phone. When he is given the phone he puts it up to his head. Too cute. Also, yesterday, we caught him doing the actions to the movie the twins were watching. In 'Little Einsteins' kids are encouraged to pat their laps and throw their hands in the air yelling blast off. Well, the baby was kicking his legs for the patting and threw his hands in the air for blast off. Adorable. But, also made me realize it is definitely time to limit his TV watching when he is alone with mommy and daddy. No more late night action movies when he is up in the middle of the night.

The twins had swim lessons today. They both jumped of the diving board twice without life jackets! I stayed home while the baby slept, so I didn't get to see. I am guessing the instructor was in the water to catching them as they can not yet swim.

Ah. Baby is up from his nap. Gotta go.

1/10/10

Train Table

1) Found a step up to a whole new world. Now at the same level as his brothers. 2) Just another step and taller than his brothers he will be.

3) Ha, ha. Made it. Now to destroy what ever they are doing.

4) I win. HA.



Everyone loves the new train table, as you can see. The baby is getting a little precocious.

1/9/10

SCORE

I spent the day really playing with the boys yesterday and as a result noticed some new happenings.

The baby: raises his arms in the air when you yell 'score.' I had no idea that he was doing this. I was playing hockey with the twins and whenever they 'score' we all yell and raise our arms in the air. I guess we do this a lot because the baby has now picked it up. Another thing that he has learned is to kiss. When a person says kiss, he smacks his lips. This is very cute.

We have started our Candida Albicans/parasite ridding diet. Oddly enough, the thing that I thought would be the hardest - switching the twins to Goat's Milk - was very simple. Why? Because the containers look the same!! It took 5 days of mixing the milks, but now they are on straight Goat's Milk. They didn't even notice the switch to Goat Yogurt. Now, I think the hardest thing is going to be me and my husband. I have really restricted my diet already and really rely on a few certain foods - Greek Vanilla Yogurt. I love this. It is dessert to me. Also, popcorn. No more popcorn - or at least when the kids are awake!! It is only for about 6 weeks all together, though. I will persevere. I hope. My husband has already put up some red flags. He tried the Goat Mozza Cheese and said that he was not going to eat that. He. He. I put it in his Egg/Spinach Wrap this morning and he didn't even notice. Giggle.

1/8/10

My Handsome Man


I thought I should share this pic. The jacket was made by a cousin of my mothers. Isn't it adorable. Absolutely gorgeous.

1/7/10

Settling In

We are starting to settle in after 2 weeks of family help, including 1 1/2 weeks of my husband being home. Oddly enough, the transition has been very easy. The kids are back to playing with each other the majority of the time and the baby once again has free reign. We have headed to 'Strong Start' 2 mornings this week. I am back to cooking all the meals and am happy to be doing it. The hardest part has been my transitioning to my husband's new work schedule. Every other week he works late 2 days a week. This means that I really need to pace myself a lot better. I need to slow down in the morning, which is normally my hustle and bustle time to get things done, tidied, cleaned up. This is the time that I have the most energy. My afternoons in the past were spent more with an outing, reading books, craft, puzzles. Now, when 6:30pm rolls along, I need to keep going and get all the kids ready for bed and in to bed by myself those 2 days. It really shouldn't be that hard, it is only 1/2 hour from when my husband gets home to when the kids go to bed. But, that 1/2 hour seems to make a huge difference. Oh and not to mention that on those 2 nights I know have to clean up the house and kitchen on my own. After just 2 days of this new schedule, I am realizing that pacing is going to have to be key. I definitely can't leave any big chores for those days.

1/6/10

Norwex

I have procrastinated the last few days in confirming my Norwex party. Why? Because I hate talking on the phone. So, for those who read this: Norwex offers Environmentally Friendly cleaning products. I have tried a few of their products: clothes, dish soap, dishwasher soap, and stainless steal scrubber. So far I have been very pleased with all except the dishwasher soap. I gave the stainless steal scrubber to my mother and she loves, LOVES it. She has already put an order in for more.

What: Norwex
When: January 17, 2:30pm
Where: 21366 Lakeview Cres. (Scotti's House)
Who: Anyone. Bring a friend.

See you all there.

1/5/10

Vega Testing

Twin1 had his Vega testing done yesterday to determine any food intolerance he many have that contribute to his asthma/eczema. This test is a little controversial, but if it works then I will be very happy and so will twin1. He will finally be able to sleep without scratching.

The results: He is intolerant to everything. I mean everything. Ug. So, we are in the process of eating all the foods he shouldn't eat and replacing it with food that he can eat. Once that has happened, then we begin Phase 1 of riding his body of bad yeast. This entails a very strict diet for 14 days. We are all going to give it a try. After 14 days, we can introduce a fruit and yeast bread. This will be an adventure. However, if it works, I will be a proud and vocal supporter.

When we started seeing a naturopathic doctor, I said I was going to give this a try. I really want to get my kids off all the steroids and so on that they ingest everyday. I just cannot believe that it is healthy for them to take these things everyday for who knows how long. They now take their supplements without much protest. Twin1 still spits out his Omega supplement dribbling fish oil all over his clothes, which has gone through the wash and caused all our clothes to have a fishy scent. Despite that, I am pleased with things so far.

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Oh. We are now the proud owners of 5 Danio fish. Fun, Fun. The twins quite like them. Fish, Fish, Fish. Soon all the neighborhood cats will be circling our house with the new pets and the fish oil scent.

1/3/10

Today

We had a great day today. We got a lot of things cleaned up around the house: laundry, emptying suitcases.... Tomorrow we have a big day. Twin1 is getting an allergy test done at the naturopathic clinic, we are picking up a new cabinet to help organize the chaos of toys in the living room, and then we are picking up a fish for each of the boys. I scrounged up mom's old fish tank today for the fish to live in. We still have no idea what type of fish to get. I have yet to clean the tank and find out whether everything works. The boys are pretty excited, though.

At the moment, the twins are happily playing with a new Thomas train set. A friend of my husbands wanted to get rid of it and gave it to us. It even came with a storage table. It is very nice and the twins are playing wonderfully with it. The baby, on the other hand, would love to get right in the and rip everything apart.

I started a new quilt last week. This one is much harder than the others. I finished cutting it all out today and began sewing. I think it is going to take me several months to finish this one. I spent approx. 1 1/2 hours sewing today and only completed one row. Then, there is the back, ribbing, and quilting. Ug. What was I thinking? Oh, I know, it is going to be gorgeous. I can't wait to see it together. Perhaps it won't take me quite as long as I previously thought!! I am counting the minutes until the twins head to bed so that I can finish sewing together the top row. Fun, Fun. Who knew?
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Stop the presses. The twins just called me over to show me that they put away the train set in the storage table. They even organized it with trains on one side and the tracks on the other. Perhaps their is some hope.

Glorification

They fell asleep like this watching a movie after a long day of skiing, sledding, hiking, and playing. Too cute.

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My husband has officially been glorified. Twin2 said, "Your right, Dad."

Oh, and I thought I should let everyone know that the Nipple situation is not over. Twin1 lifted up his shirt the other day and said, "My feed baby." Ugg.

We are all very happy to be home. The twins have played non-stop. And no TV. Ya. I like them so much between sans TV. The are much more pleasant, cooperative, and imaginative. My husband has been furiously trying to finish the baby's room. One more sanding and we are ready to paint. Yahoo.
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Happy to be home.

My Little Skiers

Twin1 in Green. Twin2 in Orange. And, of course, Nanny and Papa :)

1/1/10

Last Day

Good morning. And I mean MORNING. Yes, wake up was a little early today - 5:30am. I believe today will be the last day of our wonderful ski holiday with my family. We will make the journey home tonight after dinner in hopes that we will have a peaceful drive while the kids sleep soundly in their car seats. Yes, it makes for a late night for us, but the peace is well worth it.

Our stay at the ski hill has been awesome. It was great to have all the family spend so much time with all the kids. My husband and I even skied together and got a dinner out together. I napped one afternoon, my husband slept in most mornings. Besides the PMS days where my cranky B**** side let loose, we had a fabulous time. However, I am most definitely ready to head home. I have now been socializing for 9 days straight. Yup, I am ready to be anti-social. Although, I am not sure that I am ready to start doing all the cooking myself again.

Well, on this New Years Day 2010. I am sure you are all wondering what my New Years Resolution is....... um, I don't have one. I didn't even manage to stay awake past 8:30pm last night. Aren't I sad. But, I wasn't about to miss out on sleep just so I could see 12am. In fact, if I had been wearing my watch, I probably was awake at 12:01am feeding the little man that never sleeps. As it turned out, it was a good thing that I didn't stay up since morning came very early today.

My poor husband, he only has one more question to finish for his Distance Economics course. I woke him up at 6:00am this morning so that he could finish it. He, he. I can be a little mean some times. He thought he was going to sleep in - Again!!

Well, it has been an all out eating, movie watching, game playing, visiting, playing frenzy. We have all had a blast, but home bound we will be. Thanks everyone. We had a great, GREAT time.

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Oh, and your squash soup was delish, cuz. Thanks.