Where did they go?

Yes, I still have kids. Three of them... boys.... do you remember them? Probably not ;) There is not so much about them on my blog lately. I have put it down to 3 main reasons:
1) They hate it when I take pictures of them. Actually, the only one who tolerates it sometimes is Oliver and that only happens when I bribe him ;) With the others, they make faces or turn their backs so I just pretend to give up... but one day I will get even ;)
2) The activities that they are doing now don't really involve me so much. At birthday parties, I drop them off. They arrange to meet friends on their own. They go to throw around a ball at the park... and I am not invited ;) Even when I am involved (like coaching), I get dirty looks when I pull out my phone to take pictures. That is why I have lots of far away shots ;) Otherwise, I just feel like creepy mother ;)
3) The big recent obsession/pass time is a game called Fortnite, which, I swear, turns them into zombies... so they live in the basement.... and stare at the screen. Trust me, not a very interesting picture ;)

I am still outnumbered by boys... it is just harder to document it lately ;)

Happy Wednesday evening xox

When the boys still took pictures ;)

10 random things that annoy me

Happy Friday! Since it is a week filled with corrections and that I am pretty tired and fed up of winter, I thought it might be fun to share my "10 random things that annoy me" list. Actually, there are quite a few more than 10 things that annoy me but I tried to keep it to the most immediate in my mind ;)  Here it goes:

10 random things that annoy me:

1.The sound of noisy chewers.

2. People try to charge into an elevator before the people that are IN the elevator have the chance to get out.

3. Screaming, yelling YouTubers that play video games and record themselves.

4. The fact that all 3 of my children love to watch the screaming, yelling YouTubers.

5. Snow.

6. Instagram shots that have weather that is WAY too nice (ie: people that get to wear sandals already).

7. The fact that I am super jealous of the people who are wearing sandals already.

8. The calorie listing on chocolate (please, just let me think that there are only 10 calories in a whole chocolate bar).

9. Speaking of chocolate.... Andreas brought me a Marabou chocolate with orange crisp bar from Denmark (it is actually Swedish chocolate but he bought it in Denmark). I hid it, thinking that I will eat it when I really have a chocolate craving... only to find that- when I REALLY wanted it- someone else had found and eaten it already (yes, I know it was Alexander... even though he denies it).

10. When I watch boys at home walk over the same dust bunny on the floor and pretend that they don't see it. I KNOW that they see it....

Stay tuned for the next 10 random things that annoy me... I can go on forever ;)

xox

Random internet/Pinterest image....but, oh, so fitting ;)

Truce with Mother Nature

While I was in Toronto this past weekend, it snowed. Not just a little bit... but a lot. Cancelling flights kind of a lot. Luckily, on our way back, the snow disappeared right around the Ontario/Quebec border. BIG sigh of relief ;)
Monday morning... Mother Nature must have heard my sigh of relief because we woke up to ice rain, snow and overall crap weather. The kids even got a snow/ice day from school (Seriously?!? WTH?!?!! It is now mid-April!!!!). As I trudged to work in my winter boots, I had a little talk with Mother Nature. OK, lady! You win! I give up! She must have heard me because, as I left work, the snow was more-or-less gone... and a few brave blue flowers were sticking up from the not so green grass... I guess that she accepted my truce ;)
We expect 18C weather this weekend... but I am not going to celebrate too much... just in case she hears me ;)

Happy Thursday to you all! xox

What a difference a few hours makes!! The blue flowers are hard to see.... but they are there!!!!!!

Weekend in Toronto

Just a quick hi from Toronto! This weekend I am here for a conference and it is just me (meaning without family... I came with work colleagues). It is always a bit odd to come to Toronto from Montreal- it is not so far away but it feels like another country. It is bigger than Montreal.. more spread out... taller... probably cleaner... more dressed up.... less joie de vivre... no French... and, for some reason, I can never find my bearings here ;) We are staying in a funky neighbourhood near the University, which also has lots of good coffee places within walking distance. Maybe not so different from Montreal after all ;)

Wishing you all a happy Friday evening from TO! I am now going to enjoy NOT having to nag boys to brush their teeth and go to bed ;) Here is some random Toronto photo spam...

xox

Manopause

I am not embarrassed to admit it: I am almost 48 years old. It is a well known fact that women start to go into menopause around my age. I have 3 beautiful boys... with NO intention of having any more children... so I embrace this upcoming next phase of my life. We all expect it happens with women so... why is it my HUSBAND that is experiencing signs of menopause... now, in our house,  known as manopause.

Example: It is snowy outside. It is cold. Our home thermostat is set at 18C. The boys and I are all sitting on the couch... wearing sweaters... Alexander even has a blanket on him... I have my slippers on.... and Andreas comes into the living room... wearing shorts and a t-shirt... and complaining about the heat! Really? At first, I thought that he was sarcastic because we have been having below average temperatures lately but.. no... he was dead serious. Since then, on a daily basis, I am asked "Don't you find it hot in here?" Ummm.... I can see my breath.... no. Manopause. He has even been threatening to bring the fan up from the garage. Next step is the air conditioning? Can't wait to see what will happen when it actually gets hot this summer.... I might find Andreas sleeping in our fridge ;)

Some random internet picture... and NOT Andreas ;)

Happy Friday evening!

I remember (actually, I think I remember... it seems so long ago) a time when Fridays meant going out in downtown Copenhagen, dressing up, drinking way too much Carlsberg, smoking a ton of cigarettes, buying kebab and pommes frites (or visiting the pølsevogne) on the way home, swallowing that preventative aspirin before going to bed and- if that aspirin didn't work- spending most of Saturday morning avoiding life in general. Now, a good Friday night equals nothing to do/nowhere to go, a good glass of wine, pajamas, slippers and cozy time with the boys. It was fun while it lasted but I wouldn't go back for a minute!

Wishing you all a good Friday night xox

Now it is all about the chocolate eggs...

It used to be a lot easier at holiday time because we could include all the boys in the holiday-related activities. We could gear the theme towards Alexander and Nicklas and Oliver was just so darn happy to be a part of it that it worked. I could take the boys to visit Santa or colour Easter eggs and it was guaranteed a good time. Lately, holiday time has become more about stopping Alexander and Nicklas from wrecking it for Oliver. For example, in grade 6, Alexander decided that Santa no longer existed (but of course he does for all of you readers who believe 😉). He was very happy to play along with things for the sake of Nicklas and Oliver... it made him feel very grown up and he enjoyed it. Flash forward to Nicklas in grade 5... and Alexander turning 13... and I had to have a long talk with them about letting Oliver enjoy Santa. Thankfully, they went along with it but it makes me worried that Oliver will have to lose out on some of these memories because his brothers no longer believe in it.
For Easter this year, Oliver was dying to do an egg hunt. When I brought it up with the other 2, I got eye rolls and laughter. The compromise was that I would hide the chocolate (see- we skimped out on colouring the eggs- bad me) and the big boys would cheer him on as he found the candy. It was easy enough to get them to cheer because Oliver would share the 5 million chocolate eggs that he found. It ended up working because Oliver got to do the egg hunt... and the other 2 never complain about getting more sugar ;)
Suggestions about preserving the magic for the younger sibling(s) are greatly appreciated! As I said, so far, the bigger boys have been pretty good at entertaining Oliver during the holidays but I would like him to enjoy it for as long as he can. You know, I also find it WAY more fun when the kids are still into it! Maybe it keeps the magic going for the parents as well 😉

Hope you all had a great Easter/Passover or well-deserved break xox

In the "easier" days ;)