Mama-luia

Isaiah is two now. It's funny, really, because he embodies so much 'two-ish-ness' that it seems odd that it took him this long to reach his birthday. He is one unstoppable force of energy, that child! Shrove Tuesday. Joining in on the parish Pancake Race (which combined all his passions --  running around like crazy,  wearing a costume {the apron} and consuming carbs) But do you know what else he is? A really affectionate little soul. He is actually becoming more cuddly as time goes on, unlike Noah, who has grown into a stage (I hope it's only a stage!) where being hugged or kissed, even by my, isn't to his taste. Isaiah, however, he just loves to cuddle. Painting en plein air (the fancy way of saying painting outside) He also has the most adorable love and reverence for babies. When we were house-hunting in our soon-to-be hometown recently, we saw so many babies. Isaiah was just in awe. He wanted to touch their little faces, mak...

My mind is a little chaotic these days. Don't come for a stay unless armed with Percozet or red wine for yourself, rippled potato chips for me. It is a little jungle in here. Yet in an effort to catalogue the various odd happening in my life, I am writing amidst my inner " Squirrel !"  If your toddler is interested in sampling a loved one's herbal laxative tea, don't let him. He might just like the taste, and ask for another sip... followed by another... followed by it's  efficacious results . Driving under the influence of a) pregnancy hormones and b) Cat Steven's  Cat's in the Cradle  is never, never wise.  So much ugly-crying. Date nights might be essential for some couples, but you know what I've realized? I am with my husband  all the time  because he works from home . Sometimes what we need is a 'Date' Night with  friends  instead of each other. It gives us something to talk about other than, say, depressing news from Lifes...

Just the other day, Isaiah walked over to me in the kitchen and said, "Hi Baby Lemon!" to my belly, and it stuck. He was a Baby Appleseed when in the womb, so it seemed appropriate to make this child a fruit as well. Funnily enough, when I looked prenatal development up on Babycenter.ca, I found out at 14 weeks gestation, this baby's current age, he or she is actually the size of a lemon! What a funny coincidence! I also think it's appropriate because I can't get enough lemon-water, at Little Lemon's constant request. Better yet,  Perrier  water with a slice or two of lemon. Little Baby Lemon, your requests are already so refined! Sidebar: if you feel like amusing yourself immensely  via the Internet,  look up "baby lemon" on Google images, and find gems such as this. Poor, poor little baby. In any case, while this child will be born into a house of wildness and noise, our little family is already full of love for the child we have...

I remember reading a few months back Amanda Soule's blog post about her son's fourth birthday, and feeling excitement and joy at what was to come in the life of our oldest: "I do so love  four . This fourth time around for me, I think I can safely say that it's one of my very favorite ages. Coming out a bit from the early years of rapid growth and intense development,  who they are  begins to really emerge in definitive and unique ways." I see that already, too. I am so delighted in the little person Noah is becoming. It is quite wonderful and surprising all at once to see him emerge as: funny, creative, imaginative, opinionated, compassionate, clever, enthusiastic, 'game' for any sort of adventure or excursion, curious, rambunctious, introspective and much more, all rolled into a sweet little boy who loves to cuddle, be read to, paint, explore the outdoors,  play with Daddy,  and generally live, laugh and be with the people he loves. ...

A more PG foray into blogging. Every Friday I take Noah to a little preschool program in our community. He loves it, I mean loves it, and I enjoy being able to take him, while my generous mother stays home with Isaiah. It's something we both look forward to. Recently a public health nurse showed up on the scene. During the first hour, the moms sit out and drink coffee and gab. Occasionally a guest speaker comes and gives us some tips on parenting. I always would prefer my silence and/or gab-time, but I humor them by listening; I'm polite like that. Anyway the public health nurse came to tell us how to pack healthy lunches for our kids. I was mildly interested, looked at the Canada's Food Guide she passed around, and nodded vehemently as part of the pack, "hand-washing makes all the difference!" Then the nurse got off on a tangent about sex-ed. She gives the lectures at the local schools, and was regaling us with a 'hysterical' story of a child p...

Just in case you were wondering what I meant when I said things are 'a bit hectic' right now, I have some photographic evidence.  My kitchen floor.  Every pantry item, pot, pan and dish in boxes everywhere. Unless of course, said boxes were ransacked Isaiah. Patrick diligently painting the cabinets.  Who knew they'd need to be primed, then painted, and then given a second coat of paint? My kitchen counters.  One of the few things I am somewhat obsessed with is having them clear.  Clear work space, clear mental space. This seems to work with me. * This chaos has continued for five days and we're not quite done yet. Also, because the wet paint is a magnet to run-full-tilt-into-walls-type toddlers, as well as the boxes of dishes (including our irreplaceable china!), the kids and I have been out of the house a lot. A lot . (Which maybe sounds fun, and can be at times, but it's hard to keep on to...

Happy, happy, happy Easter  to the wonderful handful of people who read Mamaluia! I am delighted it is Easter, finally, as the Lent that just passed felt like the longest one I can remember. But somehow griping doesn't suit the joy that we're experiencing during this holy Feast. So today I just want to share a few snippets of joy from the last 40 days in the life of my little family. Before Lent began, Patrick and I were discussing what we were giving up for Lent over dinner with the boys, and Noah chimed in and said "I want to give up my little table." His little table is where he plays with toys, does colouring books, and occasionally he eats his snack there with his brother. (In reality it's simply a coffee table we bought at a church flea market for $15, but with a few kid-sized chairs, it does the preschooler/toddler trick.) So on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, we had one last 'fancy' snack there, and then we placed it in Daddy's office...