life lately

Easter Weekend:

We travelled to PEI this past Easter weekend, so that we could spend time with family. It was also an opportunity for my mom to finally meet Wesley, which was very important for me.
We stayed at the oh so fancy Super 8 motel, but to our 6 and 4 year old, it was the coolest place on earth! A pool and all you can eat waffles for breakfast? Yes please!
Some special memories ... the E.B. leaving us treats in the hotel room, swimming with cousins in the pool, church service at Nana's church, a yummy lunch at Auntie Rhonda's, an egg hunt, meals out all together!
The kids kept telling me that it was the best Easter they ever had, and I was thankful for the lovely memories we get to bank.

...

Wesley at 3 months:

I never put you down for your naps, I either lay with you or carry you. You don't have a crib.
I pick you up at your first cries, the only exception is when we are in the car and I can't reach you that very moment.
I laugh at the mama I was 6 years ago. Worried what others would think of my parenting. Worried that I may be spoiling my then baby by not pushing independence on him. Oh I laugh at her. Not in a mean way of course, but in a knowing kind of way.
My parenting has grown and evolved over the years. With Wesley being our final baby, I just want to hold onto each moment, to take him all in. To savour him.
He is now 3 months and is all kinds of cute. He now laughs at us when we tickle him or talk to him. His face lights up when Noah and Katia play with him. He melts when Katia leans in and kisses him.
He opens his mouth with the biggest, wettest kisses. He adores when Ryder comes over to lick him.
His looks are becoming more and more distinct, and the verdict is that we have no idea who he looks like. He's a "Chatty Cathy", he likes to be read to, and he's into tummy time. He's a little piece of heaven, if you ask me.
...

Around the house:

After much thought, I was excited to find these frames for the kitchen to display Noah and Katia's artwork. They have a little door that opens up, so it's easy to switch out art. We now have a special spot to display our favourite pieces.
For anyone wondering, they are made by Umbra and we found them at Winners.

...

Library time:

Somewhere along the way, we made Tuesday our library day of the week. The Wolfville library is one of those special spots that reminds me of days gone by. It's not modern or techy, it's quaint, cozy, personal and familiar.
It's the kind of place where the librarians know you by name, and there is a little foot stool, so that the children can climb up and see the tank full of goldfish (yes, a goldfish tank).
There is a mechanical model display of trains, that gets turned on for the children to watch, and a big lego table to play at.
Once a month, we are treated to an extra special storytime that includes music (one of the librarians plays the banjo and guitar), a special theme and a snack that goes with the theme. Today the theme was chickens, and they had an extra special visitor - a real chicken! I'm telling you, we love this place!

...

And that is all for now. Life is lovely and I truly am feeling a deep and real sense of gratitude for it all.
xox

celebrating easter

our little patch of grass (wheat grass) 

Happy Easter.
There have been many questions asked over the past few days in this house about Easter, holidays, and celebrations. To be honest, I'm not sure what to say.
In our home, we acknowledge and follow a pretty simple practice of Christianity. We used to attend church when we lived in Whitehorse, and will continue to go to church when we move to our next posting. I think that it's valuable to give children, the knowledge and understanding of spirituality, however one chooses to do so. My spirituality (with all it's ups and downs) has helped me over the years, and I would like to think that it will be a comfort for my children as they grow up.
Then we have the time old Easter Bunny issue. In all honesty, I am not sure if I feel comfortable with mixing the Easter Bunny with the Easter Story together. One is materialistic: about treats and novelties, while the other is the most important grounding story in Christianity. How do they come together?
In our home, the Easter Bunny comes, but I feel like it would be more appropriate to name him the Spring Bunny. I have no issue with a little bit of magic and surprise, and I like celebrating the changing of seasons, I think it is a grounding ritual for children (and adults too). So we will do the Easter Bunny and egg hunt, but I like to make sure that the children understand what the real meaning of Easter is. Or at least understand it to the extent of what they can.
So there you have it. Easter celebrations and Spring celebrations. Childhood magic, and the mystery of the Easter Story. I am happy with our interpretation of it all.
xox

little rambles

 (our first snowman of the year. Our sow is too powdery to make snowmen. We have to wait till the snow gets melty)

 (wearing her big brother's boots around the house) 

The holiday weekend is all over, and now we are getting back into our familiar rhythm. It was lovely to have Dada home for 4 straight days, we all enjoyed the slow relaxing pace of not having to do very much. Katia and Winslow mastered the art of taking naps together, she became quite attached to him actually. 

Today was kind of a long day as we eased back into our week. Winslow went to work and was called in for over time, this meant that I had an extra long day with the children. Despite my best efforts to tire them out with outdoor activities, they both had a hard time settling down at night time. This is very unlike Noah, but he actually asked if we could go for a walk after bathtime (he was in his jammies) and he lasted for a good long walk (which surprised me). Even after his walk, he still had a hard time settling down. 

Spring seems to be lingering in the air. Despite some fresh snow the other day, we have been hitting plus 2 and 3 temperatures lately, and it feels great! We also have longer days now, the sky is still quite bright even at 9 pm, and the snow is slowly but surely melting. Noah loves to watch the water (from melting snow) trickling down the sidewalk. He calls them rivers. 

I've been thinking a lot about our upcoming move this summer and how Noah will do with the adjustment. I think this is one of my biggest worries about the move. For those wondering (it still isn;t 100% a done deal), we will be moving to a very small and isolated community (caled Beaver Creek) this summer for a 2 year posting. Just to give you an idea as to how small this community is, I'll leave you with this little bit of info to digest. Beaver Creek has a population of 80 people, our closest grocery store will be 1.5 hours away in Alaska and Noah's school will be a "one room school house" type of school with 8 kids in it (kindergarden to grade 7 I think). Yes, I am sort of kind of freaking out ( a little bit). But please don't worry about us (or me). We've known for a long time that this would be part of our Yukon journey. I am nervous/worried about quite a few things, but am also excited for the many adventures and new experiences that we will have. It's only 2 years and someday, I know we will look back fondly of our time there (I sincerely hope). 

And so that is all for now. I'm off to catch some sleep and rest up for tomorrow. I need all the energy I can get to keep up with my two little ones. 

xox

ps. pictures are from a little egg hunt that I did on Easter Monday for Noah and his friends Sunny and Evey 

Easter (and the weekend of naps)

 (Katia and I have matching hair first thing in the morning)

This lovely 4 day weekend has been a much needed break for all of us. For the first time (in a while it seems), Winslow has had the whole holiday off, and we've just been relaxing most of the time. 

This morning the kids woke up to find that the Easter bunny had made a visit. The children were very excited to find some little gifts and treats laid out for them on the kitchen table. In case you are wondering what the ugly doll is that Noah received, it is a Gruffalo from his current favourite story. 

After some breakfast and treats, Noah and I got ready for church (Katia stayed home so that she could nurse her cold). Noah did very well at church (3 weeks in a row!). After church we went to our friend Leanne's house for a delicious brunch (yum!).

This evening we will go to our friend's for dinner, and tomorrow have a small dinner (and egg hunt) at our house. This weekend has been all about taking it easy, resting (both kids are sick), eating delicious food and celebrating the blessings in our life.

Happy Easter.

ps. I've been on pie making duty this weekend. 1 Banana cream pie (I took a picture to show my sister Katie), and 2 lemon meringues. 

weekend wrap up

This is the time of year where I start to get a little bit bitter about living up North.
When I log in to read my favourite blogs (many of them are bloggers who live in the US), I start to feel a tinge of jealousy and resentment. Oh why must you taunt me with your blog posts about blossoms on the trees and after dinner walks with cute kids wearing rain boots. Bah!
Spring is not showing her face around here anytime soon. While I am more than ready to bid farewell to the wintertime, it feels strange to be reading books to the kids about Spring and doing crafts with them, when we wake up to freezing temps and cars not starting. Hats, mitts, snowsuits and dry skin are still very much a reality for us here. (update- I wrote this last night, and today we had beautiful plus 3 weather!)
A few random things from the past weekend.
Yesterday Noah and I went to church together and we both really enjoyed it. This was our second week doing it like this and I like our little arrangement. Winslow gets to stay home with Katia and take it easy (which he really needs to do), and I get to take Noah to church. Noah is at the right age now where he can sit through the first 15 minutes of the service and then go down and participate in the Sunday School. I stay with him for Sunday School, but he actually participates in the lesson now, which means I'm not just playing with him in the nursery. I like this new arrangement of ours.
The other part I enjoy of our little date to church is the after part... Starbucks! Noah and I go on a little "after church date" to Starbucks. I get a coffee, he gets a little treat, and we both get to spend uninterrupted time together. Noah likes to sit by the fireplace... how romantic.
We are crafting up a storm around here. I am working on a batch of homemade Easter eggs for our egg hunt. I saw this tutorial and loved the idea (mine are not nearly as nice as hers, I should add.) I have a huge bin on scrap felt that I have been hanging onto for a long time. This uses up those scraps and we can reuse these eggs many times over.
We've also been working on making eggs for our Easter tree. We've cut out and painted some airdry clay eggs and tomorrow we will dye some eggs to hang on our tree. I can't wait for it all to come together.
I've been in the mood to do some baking lately. These orange date squares and these lemon squares are on my baking to-do list this week. I also need to get back on my meal planning schedule. I hate not knowing what we are doing for dinner.

Yesterday after church, I asked Winslow to take a few pictures of the kids and I. It doesn't happen often and I want to make an effort to be in the pictures (we need more pictures of Winslow with the kids too). Someday when we are all looking back, it would be nice to see the whole family in the pictures, nit just the kids.
And so that's the end for tonight. I hear that our temps might warm up this week, which means we will be heading outside more for some nice walks. I'm so ready for winter to be over (did I mention that? ;)
xox