SEPTEMBER COLDS!

We all have September colds. I know it's my fault. I brought all of the germs home from school. We are building up our immunity this year. Hopefully by this time next year, we will all be ready to defend ourselves from "Mom's school germs."
This week was pretty uneventful. The kids and I were super sick with the cold all week. Marty did a fantastic job taking care of all of us.  The one thing he doesn't do though, is hair. Though, I'm sure he could if he really wanted to.  I love trying fun new styles every morning on Payton's hair.   

I attempted this one morning, but forgot to take a pic until supper time...

It definitely looked adorable and way better first thing after I did it....

Bedtime happened early most nights as everyone was miserable and sick. 

The kids are big time into brushing their teeth together!

There is always a little naked time before bed..who doesn't love a little bare baby bum? LOL

 Ryder's favorite game before bed (sick or not) is to pretend he is a bull rider and that this white horse is a bull called Marshmellow.  Mom actually made this horse for Aimee when she was little. (Sure hope Aim doesn't mind that I gave her old horse a new home.)  Mom made a horse for each of us, for our Cabbage Patch Kids, ofcourse she did!  I couldn't find mine though. Yep, awesome MOM!!!!
Ryder plays with it in a very different way than we did back in the 80s.  He sits on it, nods his head with an "ok boys," waits for me to "open the gate" then he starts spinning around, jumping up and down, hollering and yelling about how he is "champion of the world!!  It is stinkin' awesome!!

Tubby time always follows bull riding and it's always together!

We may have been sick but when the sun shone, we tried to soak it up and ever since the freak snowstorm at the beginning of September, the weather has been freakishly warm!

 Marty has even found time to go out wake surfing during the week!

 Despite the sunshine, the "bull riding" the teethbrushing and tubbing there was actually very little sleep happening in our house for Marty, Payton and I because of Payton's cold. Ryder seems to cope a lot better with a stuffy nose now that he is older.  Payton was MISERABLE! Poor lil thing!! Marty actually spent one whole night in the chair with her sleeping on his chest. This is the first time since we had babies that he has spent a night in the chair....he is an awesome Dad!! He let me sleep since I was also super sick with the cold, and now that the three of us (me, Ryder and Payton) are almost over the cold, he has just caught it. :(  Dad's turn to sleep.

Not only did Marty spend a night in the chair with his little girl, but he spent Saturday with them, while I was at a horse event in the city that Mom had gotten me tickets to. We spent hours watching amazing horse trainers share their knowledge and horsemanship skills with us!! Thanks Mom for sharing this passion with me!!!

Then just as the weekend was winding down, this happened. :(

I'm not sure exactly how this happened but I do know that over the course of Sunday, both Marty and I on seperate occasions picked Payton up off the driveway after she took a tumble. Neither of us noticed this giant road rash until tub time when it didn't scrub off. She is one tough little monkey!!

Sunday night, out of the blue, Ryder wanted to make Marty a Thanksgiving Card. He came up with this by himself. We have talked a little about Thanksgiving, mostly in this context as a response to: When is it my birthday?  

First it's Thanksgiving where we eat turkey, apple pie and say what we are thankful for, then Halloween where we get to dress up then Christmas with Santa Clause, then your birthday.

With a bouncy house? 

So the making a card thing seemed random but adorable. I hooked him up with some paper and some markers and then I went to put Payton down for bed. I told Ryder I'd help him when I was done with Payton. When I returned to his room, he had made a card that, according to him said: "I love you Dad. Thank you for taking care of our trees."  And my heart melted. I knew he was referring to the way Marty had shook the snow off the trees in our yard every day during the storm and I had told Ryder that because of that none of our trees got broken like the millions of trees in our city that were destroyed because of the heavy snow!  The things this kid remembers amazes me!! He asked me if I would add something pretty to the card like a drawing of a car and a truck.  I explained to him that I am not very good at drawing. I am better at other things like horse back riding and reading stories, but that I would try my very best to draw for him.  After the car and truck he requested I add an airplane.  I drew what I thought could pass for a plane and asked if it was good enough. Very diplomatically, without hesitation Ryder replyed: Mom, that looks more like a sail boat. Let's just say it's a sail boat ok?  Ha ha ha!!! He spared my feelings. What a sweet kid!! I love him!!

Ok, It doesn't really look like a plane at all does it? See, I suck at drawing. LOL

Sleepless nights and runny noses aside, I love everything about my little cuties!! I am so happy I get to kiss their chubby cheeks goodnight every night...except tonight. Tonight I had to work until 7:30! I hate missing bedtime!!! So happy they have a great Daddy!! 

Kiss your babies, count your blessings and learn to draw airplanes!!!

WEEKEND!

How can the weekend be over already?? Tomorrow the craziness begins again! We love craziness. We thrive on it, but it was nice to have a little break from the "go go go" that week days have become now that I'm back to work.  

The Masters was on at Spruce Meadows and several of our friends were heading over there to watch the world class horse jumping event, however, we opted to stay home. Part of me felt lazy, part of me felt tired and part of me just felt too sick (I have a nasty cold) to venture out of the house early Saturday morning.   Mostly, I knew that my kids and Marty and I would actually love to have a day at home. NO rushing out of the house, no getting dressed the minute we got up, no alarms waking us up! All week Ryder kept asking, "When can I stay home and play with MY toys?" Well Saturday was that day!! The good thing about the kids going to a Day Home every day is that their own toys suddenly become novelties again and they genuinely just want to stay home and explore their own stuff!  I drank coffee at the table instead of inside my car. Ryder didn't get dressed til 11am and Payton slept til after 8am!!! Marty cooked us breakfast and we all ate it together! It might sound boring, but it was bliss!!!! At 1:30pm, Payton and I had a nap. Together. In a chair. We slept like that for two hours. Two hours!!! Ryder and Marty played leggo the entire time we slept.  I came downstairs to what looked like a leggo explosion in the living room and two very happy males submersed in childhood fun!  The day ended with a Family trip to Costco (God help us) and a bottle of wine with the neighbours. It was a great day!!!

Staying in PJs all morning! Best thing about Saturdays at home!

Sunshine after a freak week of snow, meant lots of walks outside!

Lazy afternoons filled with intense lego creations!

Marty keeps reliving his childhood by looking up things kids built in the 80s and recreating them.

 Ryder is really getting good at using his imagination and has come up with some fantastic lego planes and boats and cranes that he plays with all day!! Marty had to explain to Ryder that you can also use your imagination during the day as Ryder apparently told Marty he has only ever used his imagination at night time while he dreams....LOL

 Costco on a Saturday afternoon is stupid. Bringing children on a Saturday afternoon is just plain idiotic!! Why won't our kids stay IN the cart? Why do they have to be the only onces running down the aisles sliding on their knees, rolling around squealing with excitement? It's a miracle they didn't get run over by a stranger's cart. It's a miracle we didn't leave them there! ha ha ha...seriously, there was a point when we were tempted.....

Oh, they stay in the cart long enough to eat the samples since we won't let them have a sample unless they are IN the cart...

Who doesn't love bedtime??? I love how the kids get so cuddly at bedtime, with me and with eachother!!

Today (Sunday) was an interesting day.  Marty and Ryder had a boy's day taking in the Monster Truck Jam with another friend and his son.  Payton and I had a girl's day! So much fun!! 

Before they left, Ryder found a ladybug.  He was so sweet and so nurturing with it. He named it Sam. That's what he names everything and when he was done playing with Sam, he said, "hey little buddy climb on my finger so I can take you to safety." and when he let him go, he called out, "Have a safe adventure Sam!"  So stinkin' sincere and cute!

I loved having some one on one with Payton. She is actually really funny! She loves to make me laugh and she does it without even trying sometimes. She climbed all the way up the stairs this morning with one rubber boot on!! (She went to the shelf, grabbed a boot for some random reason and put it on herself even though we weren't even going outside.) She  still won't wear shoes, but for some reason these rubber boots make the cut of acceptable footwear for her. She likes these rubber boots and her pink Walmart sandals that she now has to wear with socks even though it looks ridiculous. Ofcourse she refuses to wear the sneakers I got for her, you know, the ones that are appropriate for this time of year..so socks and sandals or rubber boots it is....

 She also really likes to show off her tummy!!!

 Ryder, ready for Monster Truck Jam!

While the boys were away, Payton and I went to the Farm after her nap. I didn't get to sleep today, instead I had lesson planning to do....

We brought Dirt apple slices and I attempted a few "horsey selfies..."

The whole family gathered again in the evening for dinner on the deck (yep the sun is back in full force) and a walk around the block before tubby time and stories.  It was a wonderful, slow paced weekend. Now I need to get off the computer, and go to bed so I can be ready for the craziness Monday morning always holds!!

Kiss your babies, count your blessings and don't be afraid to stay home now and then!!

WTF?

Today is September 8th. Today, it snowed. All. Day. Long! WTF?? It's still Summer!!!!! 

Once over the shock, I have to admit, it was kind of exciting! The kids (my own and all of them at school) were absolutely pumped!! Snowmen were made, forts were built and sleds were dug out of the sheds! 
I had sent the kids to the Day Home in rain gear as it was raining when we left home, but by the time I arrived at my school, it was full on snowing!! I had to dig out all of our Winter gear when we got home!  Ryder was amped to get out and shovel and play in the snow so supper (chilli and buns) was inhaled and dessert was skipped!  Payton was unsure about the whole getting dressed process and when it came time to put the Winter boots on she flat our refused to entertain the idea. She stood at the patio door dressed in snowpants, tuque, coat and mitts screaming her ever loving head off! "No boots, no playing in the snow." Marty eventually wrestled her into her boots, but she was too pissed off about them to enjoy the snow...it could be a LONG Winter!! Here's hoping her footwear attitude adjusts before "real" Winter arrives!

This much snow, September 8th!!!

Cute but cranky...if only she could be barefoot....

 My guess is that all three year olds were pumped to have this blanket of snow covering their yards!!

Yep, he's shovelling off his sandbox!

 ..and building a snowman!

Something Payton did enjoy was the hot chocolate and marshmellow tradition Ryder and I have after playing in the snow. He remembered. :)

Hot chocolate. Something she can enjoy without pants or boots on!

 She really loves the marshmellows! LOL

 Cheers!

Kiss your babies, count your blessings and if it snows in September, make like a three year old and get out there and build a snowman!!

NO SHOES!

Marty left Thursday morning for the weekend.  The kids and I got to spend some quality time together finally! It feels like ever since School started I have hardly seen my little kiddos! Marty has definitely been picking up my slack pulling some serious Daddy Duty so I can spend the time I need to getting my new classroom all ready. 

Payton has been really starting to "express" herself. She has definite ideas about what she wants and what she doesn't want.  She has recently decided that she doesn't want shoes. No shoes on ever.  "NO SHOES!! This I discovered over the weekend is apparently something she is not willing to compromise on. There is no reasoning, no pleading and no forcing her chubby little feet into shoes of any kind.  The first incident was Thursday nafternoon when I insisted she wear shoes into the library, you know because it's a public place and all.  "Library? Who cares, I will not wear shoes in there and if you make me I will scream the entire time you choose books, check out books and drive home. Infact, I'll scream about it until bedtime and maybe even longer...."  That was fun. Friday was better only because I decided I preferred to grocery shop without ear piercing squealing in my ears and let her ride in the cart sans shoes.  Saturday she spent the day taking off every pair of shoes I put on her.  She used to wear shoes if I let her pick them out, but now even that doesn't work. I did manage to convince her to wear shoes while riding Uncle Dirt Saturday, but today was a different story.  I wrestled shoes on her feet while she was still buckled in her car seat, but the minute I set her on the ground she sat down and pulled them off. I explained to her how dangerous it is to have bare feet around horses and forced the shoes back on her feet then carried her as far as I could before her screaming and squirming became unbearable. I put her down and she yanked off her shoes, screamed for a while and proceeded to spend the next hour and half, feeding, riding and brushing horses in barefeet while I prayed we wouldn't have to take a trip to emergency with her toes in a baggie on ice....I know, I know, your thinking, "Hey, arn't you the MOM??? Get control of that kid!" Ha!! Your life must be perfect. If it's so easy for you to get your kids to do what you want, you are awesome! I bow down to you!  My world isn't quite so black and white.....My kids are "free spirited, strong willed, stubborn and loud..oh so loud...but then so am I!! Lol! I wouldn't have 'em any other way!! I also love that they both still have ten toes!! Eeeek!

Sunny, beautiful day today! Sandbox time!!

Yep, holding a horse brush, inches away from a horse wearing horse shoes....living on the edge!

Appropriate footwear? Nope. But hey, she's wearing a helmet. That's something, right?

 She loves riding. She hates getting off and she hates sharing Uncle Dirt with her brother..but she does reluctantly....and loudly!

 Good thing he likes to play trucks as much as he likes to ride. He's very patient waiting for Payton to be done riding so he can have a turn.

 Leading him out to pasture...no shoes....

 Yes, Payton is loud and opinionated, but she's also really funny, sweet, giggly, tough, determined and cute as can be and I love her to pieces!

Apparently she has no problem putting on her brother's shoes, especially if he also wants to be wearing them....lol

Kiss your babies, count your blessings and try to make them wear shoes around very large animals who may or may not be wearing iron shoes themselves. Make them wear shoes or pray alot!