4/30/10

Hiding Places

You would think from the title that I would talk about places to hide for say - a game of Hide and Seek. But, no. This is about hiding places for food. Yes, we have hit the stage in childhood development when they start to think they are smarter than us. And when it comes to dinner, the deceit has begun.

Now I must say that I am no amateur at the food hiding business. I am well known for stuffing my food into my cheeks and then asking to go to the washroom where I would spit the food into the toilet. However, my parents got some satisfaction out of making me wait at the table with food stuffed into my cheeks until my cheek muscles would start to cramp and saliva was dripping down my chin. My dad recently informed me that I usually forgot to flush the toilet, so I guess I wasn't all that crafty. My second favorite hiding spot was the ledge under the table. This took some effort at balancing the food just right and there was a limited amount of food that I could hide there. So, the cheeks were definitely my preference.

Back to my kids, the twins (the toddler just throws his food on the floor) I mean. So far we have found asparagus hidden in the small drawer under the telephone. My husband found this several days after the fact, so mold had already set in. Tonight, twin2, hid his food on his seat. I guess if you hide it out of the line of site, no one can see it!!

The art of food hiding has only begun around hear. With 4 kids, I am sure there will be some interesting places. I just hope that I continue to be smarter than them!!

4/29/10

Green Mashed Potatoes

My toddler has turned into an extremely picky eater. I have no idea how this happened. The twins will eat almost anything and love veggies.

In an effort to get something healthy into him, I puree veggies and put them into his dishes - or should I say his mashed potatoes because he still won't eat pasta or anything with a sauce. Usually I stick to cauliflower because it is white and blends in nicely with the potatoes and there is no extra cooking implements. I just add them right in with the potatoes.

Tonight, however, I was out of cauliflower and many of our staples. So, I thought I would try spinach. As I was putting the finishing touches on the mashed potatoes, the toddler came over and started complaining for food. He even climbed into his chair and waited, impatiently. I tasted the potatoes and they did not taste any different, so I smiled at myself for my ingenuity. I was going to get some healthy spinach into the little guy.

I presented him with the potatoes, put some in my mouth to show him they were good, and then scooped some out for him. He took one look, laughed at the potatoes, said NO, and swatted the spoon away. Laughed. Did I say that he laughed at the potatoes, and ME. Not just once, but several times. Hmmm. I tried several more times. I even managed to sneak some in, which he promptly spit back out. The green mashed potatoes were a no go. Ugg.

Now I have a pile of green mashed potatoes sitting in the fridge. At least I think they taste good.

4/24/10

House

Playing house is not limited to girls. Lately, the twins favorite game has been to be 'Mom and Dad'.

Yesterday we were outside. I was weeding along the fence line in preparation for some hydro-seed that is getting sprayed next week. The twins were once again playing 'Mom and Dad'. Twin1 was 'Dad' and twin2 was 'Mom'. At one point, I heard Twin1 yell, "Mom!" I responded with, "Yes," and was promptly told, "No, that mom (twin2)." Then they moved on to rearranging the yard furniture for a tea party. They asked if they could bring their baby's outside and I agreed as long as the baby's did not get left on the ground. Out came the baby's (2 cabbage patch dolls and one stuffed monkey) and they were all neatly placed around the table. Then on to the swing set. Baby's were arranged in swings and pushed.

Twin1 eventually got bored of playing 'Mom and Dad' and curiously came over to help me with the weeding. He dug out a few weeds when twin2 (Mom) came over and instructed twin1 (Dad) to come help with the baby's. Twin1 informed twin2 (Mom) that he was busy with the garden. Twin2 stormed off, got the baby's, brought them over to Twin1 (Dad) and thrust them into his arms saying, "Your turn."

*******
Hmm. What does that tell you about things around here! And here I thought my husband worked pretty well as a team. Perhaps the reenactment should tell me something. Naaa.

4/23/10

Window Washing 101

1. Empty out entire box of wipes which are usually used to wipe my bottom.
2. Dip the wipe in the fish tank to decrease resistance.
3. Hand soaking wet, fish tank water, wipe to brother.
4. Proceed to smear soaking wet, fish tank water wipe all over the front window.
5. Mom, who was busily putting away laundry, enters the room, sees what we have done and is speechless with delight!

Oh did I mention the twins taught me how to wash the windows yesterday. What wonderful boys.

4/22/10

Balls

http://http://www.toplessrobot.com/dodgeballs.jpg

Check out this picture. I saw this driving in front of me yesterday. At first I was shocked and dismayed. Then, I just had to laugh. A giggle is a good thing. He, he.

Rhubarb

I picked the first of the Rhubarb yesterday and made a crisp. Yum. Yum. Twin1 did not enjoy it at all. Twin2 thought it was okay and chocked down a few bites. I guess it was a little too tart for them. He, he. Ya for me! Oh and a note for the future - whipping cream can not be made from 'Half and Half'.

It is wonderful having a garden. Being able to walk out my door and have fresh food right there. There is nothing like fresh picked produce.

4/21/10

Confession

I do not fold laundry unless there is a necessary reason. For example, I only fold laundry if what I want to put in the drawer won't fit unless things are folded, or if the clothes are mine and my husbands. Bad, bad. Or is it? I do a lot of laundry - 10+ loads/week. Oh, and I despise doing it. I have only recently started separating laundry because some of my husbands work shirts dyed my brand new white shirt!! However, it seems that my life is laundry, that and poo. So, why not make the process more efficient. The kids wear the clothes so fast there really is no point and who really notices how kids look. Thus, I do not fold laundry unless absolutely needed.

4/20/10

Summer?

Wow. We had an absolutely gorgeous summer weekend. The only this is that it isn't summer yet. I actually had to water the garden because plants were wilting.

We are in full yard construction mode around here. My husband built fences, gates, dug holes. I got the big side garden fully ready for my not being able to weed later in the summer. Lots and lots of bark nuggets were distributed. Oh, and the ever smelly manure, too.

We were outside from 8:30am until 7pm each day. Yesterday the temperature even got to 25C. Wow.

On Saturday, my mom showed me and the boys this great spot along the river to get flat rocks. Flat rocks are just what I needed to finish the side garden. My mom and I picked up 2 back packs full of rocks. I took my husband back there on Sunday. Well bye, bye back packs and hello wheel barrow. actually, we combined the two. Back Packs and a wheel barrow were used to get these flat rocks. Still, we didn't quite enough. Ah well. It is a beautiful spot and the river is far enough away that the kids can run around and we don't have to worry. Interestingly, the kids, even the toddler, got right into rock picking. Twin1 even gave me a heart rock. What a sweet heart! The toddler gave me a few rocks which I prominently located in the garden.

All in all, we had a fantastic weekend and completely wore out the kids. I think it will take all week to recover. Wonderful.

4/17/10

Movie Time


To watch a movie, you need movie glasses and a hat. Right?

4/16/10

Oh, the Terror!

This morning the boys were out on the front street riding their tricycles (twins) and old fisher price horse (toddler), which my husband received for his first Christmas. The twins would go roaring off down the street racing each other to the mail boxes and the toddler slowly pushes himself along, as his feet get caught under the wheels, with a huge grin on his face. Once having reached their target, my designated biking boundary, the twins come roaring back towards our neighbors drive way, the opposing biking boundary. By this time, the toddler has managed about five feet on the horse. With gaping mouth, the toddler giggles as they race on by, narrowly missing him. The toddler lifts the horse up, with him on it, and turns around heading in the new direction after his older brothers.

In the midst of this, a lady heads towards us walking her dog. Everything stops and all eyes are focused on the dog, which is only a tiny puppy. The twins position themselves with their bikes between them and the dog. The toddler looks on with curiosity. Unlike the twins, the toddler is not (yet) allergic to dogs and finds them fascinating. After, the dog safely passes the twins, twin2 realizes that the toddler is still out in the open and could be terrorized by the miniature puppy. Twin2 runs over to the toddler and starts pushing the horse away from the dog and then begins dragging the toddler off the horse so as to have a barrier between them and the dog. The toddler screams with horror at not being able to chase the puppy down the road and tackle it. Twin2, on the other hand, is fully satisfied with having saved his little brother from peril. After the toddler calms down, I hear twin1 whisper, "Phew, close," under his breath. And I proceed to give twin2 complements on helping his little brother. With the threat fully over, on their bikes they go and the race is on.

4/15/10

The Spirited Child

When the toddler was a baby, my mother nick-named him the "Jesus" baby. This, as it turned out, was much like the baby I had been: content, smiley, happy. Now a toddler, and with 2 brothers to contend with, the toddler has had to develop some survival skills. We now refer to the toddler as, "the spirited child." He is independent, strong-willed, stands up for himself, and is by no means a wimp or whiney.

This morning, I was in the kitchen getting his bottle ready. He walked in clutching his blanket and began complaining that I wasn't getting the bottle ready fast enough. He proceeded to drop his blanket and sit on the ground as I was shaking it up. I picked up his blanket and then reached to pick him up. He threw himself back on the floor refusing to be picked up and screamed for his bottle. I gave it to him and once the bottle was being drunk, he grunted for his blanket as well. Then, he contentedly lay on the kitchen floor clutching his blanket, slurping his bottle until his dad came along and picked him up.

Yes, he is a spirited one.
i

4/14/10

New Baby Pictures.


Sorry they are so small. I couldn't figure out how to get them off my scanner program.

4/13/10

Ultrasound

Well we had our 19 week ultrasound today. We were hoping to find out the sex of the baby, but alas it was playing shy. The umbilical cord was between the legs so nothing could be seen. So, a surprise baby we will have. Oh, and yes, there is only one.

4/11/10

A Stroll

I took the boys for a walk along an old train bed yesterday. The trail is close to home, so we weren't in the car long. We had a blast. The twins noticed all sorts of interesting things: fallen and broken trees (owy), foot prints and tracks, the river and creek. We even saw some Bleeding Hearts. They adventurously headed out on a little path by themselves. They gave me strict instructions to wait right there, though. I was not to move. He, he.

The toddler had a blast, too. He managed to trek quite a ways on the uneven, rocky, and muddy ground. He did, however, emerge from the trail very covered in mud.

We ran into the twins 'Strong Start' teacher along the way. They really weren't sure what to make of her outside of her school environment.

What a great way to spend a beautiful, but cool afternoon. Although, it must have tired them out more than I thought because upon returning the fighting and cranking ensued in full swing.

4/9/10

Vocab Development

So, the school board phoned the other day to find out what my plans were for the following school year. I said that I would be on maternity leave. The secretary said, "Okay extended maternity." I replied, "Ah, no. Actually, I am due September 7." "HA, HA," a shocked laugh was the secretary's response. Hmmm. Is 4 pushing it? I thought it was sort of the norm at the moment.

On to new words and phrases from the kids.

Toddler: (of course only I can actually tell what he is saying)
"Weeeeeeee" as he slides down the way to big for him slide in Nan and Papa's living room.
"Oh no."
"What's that?"
"Dog."
"Thank you."
"Na, na." (see why below.)

Twin1:
"Na, na. Na, na." (of which I truly dislike because he says it when he has taken something from one of his brothers.)

Twin2:
"My told you so." (This is even said in a condescending tone. Grrrr. And is often followed with "Seeeeeee.")

4/7/10

Prego Update

I spent the day yesterday finishing up some odds and ends that have been unfinished for some time. One of those tasks was to clean up the bottom of my closet, packing away the toddlers too small clothes, bagging my husbands ratty looking work clothes and taking them to the second hand store, and (sniff, sniff) pulling out my maternity clothes from storage. I am officially too big to fit my non-pregnancy clothes. Pants are too small at the waist and shirts are too short. I really thought I was putting those clothes away for a few years, but just 8 months later out they come.

My ultrasound is scheduled for next week. We plan to find out if we truly are having our 4th boy.

Oh, and I can now feel the baby move on a regular basis. That is the best part about pregnancy. In my opinion.

4/6/10

A conversation

Mom: "We are going to see some Dinosaur bones. Do you know where bones are?"

Twin2: "The dog house."

Mom: "Uh. Yes. But there are bones in your body too. Can you show me them."

Twin2: "Back there. (pointing to the back of the car) In the dog house."

Mom: "I see."