Happy Mother's Day!

Just wanted to wish all those with children in their arms, hearts or dreams a very happy Mother's Day.

I received some beautiful handmade gifts... the very best kind!

xox

I totally suck at selfies ;)

Handmade treasures

The memory of a mother

Actually, the title of this blog post is a complete misnomer. This mother has absolutely NO memory left. Or, rather, I should say that I have a very selective memory. For example, I cannot remember what I am supposed to do in the next 20 minutes, nor do I remember the names of my children (aren't they all named after the cat?) BUT I can remember the words to most songs from the 1980s. I will look blankly at Andreas when he asks where I will be going on Saturday afternoon BUT I remember the name of my friend's dog from 1975 (it was Rusty). I am very good at forgetting when bills are due (sorry cell phone company!) but will always remember the birthdays of people that I haven't seen in about 20 years and the name of my kindergarten teacher (Mrs. Brabant at Willowdale).

To be honest, sometimes my poor memory worries me (my apologies to my student who has been in about 5 of my classes and I still couldn't remember her name!). I am feeling the need to write things down more and more and my agenda has become my new best friend (that is, if I remember to put it in my bag in the morning). I am hoping that my memory is just hiding somewhere between the lunch requests, grocery lists, play dates, doctor appointments, work meetings and Oliver waking me up in the middle of the night because he had a bad dream ;) Or maybe it just froze in our beautiful winter weather ;)

Oh yeah- the name of the song is Heart of Glass and the band is Blondie ;)

Happy Wednesday xox

Random... but appropriate... thing that I found on the internet ;)

A Mother's Christmas

The other day, Nicka asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I told him that I wanted 1) no fighting, 2) a quiet cup of coffee and 3) to not have to listen to screaming guys on Youtube for a whole evening. He looked at me funny and said that was not a good Christmas present. My son, I told him, it is all relative and, to me,  my choices would make a WONDERFUL present. Oh yeah- I would also like to add to my list: the chance to order something off Ebay or Etsy and not get an eye roll from Andreas when it arrives (please note that he does not have the same appreciation for clothes as I do). There is nothing like an @@ to take away the pleasure of opening a package ;)

A magical unicorn wouldn't be so bad either ;)

Happy day to you all! xox

Please put on your sweater and jacket!

This morning, I kind of lost my marbles...

Around 5:30 am, I took the dogs out. It was cold... Not a snow/ice/freezing kind of cold but a "you-will-need-a-long-sleeve-shirt-and-jacket" cold. So, when the boys got up, I told them that they will- imagine this- need a long sleeve shirt/sweater and a light jacket AND that they could take the light jacket when it got warmer. Predictably, the boys all thanked me for my concern and put on the requested sweater and light jackets. HAHAHAHAHAHA! WRONG! Not only did I have to repeat myself 9 times (yes, I counted) but I had to deal with 1) blank expressions that signified a clear lack of understanding about sweaters and light jackets and 2) arguments about having to wear BOTH a sweater and a long sleeve jacket.

I am so unreasonable :P We were also late in getting to school because it took us that long for the boys to understand that I was not kidding.. but that is a whole other blog post.

Actually, I am being unfair to Alexander who put on his long sleeve shirt with a hoodie... BUT, in his head, he only put on the long sleeve shirt because he wears his soccer hoodie even in the middle of the summer so it does not count ;) It is now considered to be more of a second skin than an actual item of clothing designed to keep you warm ;)

Oh yeah- did I mention that Andreas is out of town until tomorrow evening? ;) He is in Winnipeg for a conference... where there is snow already... I bet that he was wearing his sweater and jacket ;)

Happy Friday! xox

The jacket belongs on your body and not on the floor!

What superheroes choose to do ;)

Today, in the car, Oliver tells me that he wants to be an engineer when he grows up. Good choice, I answer. He gets quiet and then adds "An engineer who is a superhero". I ask him why that combination and he says that he wants to be a superhero but also the guy who builds the superhero houses. Makes perfect sense ;) I take advantage of the conversation: "But, Oliver, superheroes have amazing hearing. If you become a superhero, will you do better listening?" His answer to me: "Superheroes get to choose what they are amazing at listening to... and sometimes I choose not to listen to you". OK- you got me, kid ;)

Happy day to you all xox

Mother of boys

We mothers of boys have a kind of club. I am sure that mothers of girls have their own club but, obviously, I am not a member ;) Anyway, when mothers of boys see each other, we make eye contact with a glance that says "I know what it is like, sister! When is it wine o'clock at your house? Keep sane!". We do. Seriously ;)
On Saturday, after one of many soccer games, I took the boys to the local big grocery store. The woman in line ahead of us- she had two little boys in her shopping cart who were trying to open half her groceries- looked at me, with my 3 boys trying to punch and push each other. She gave me the mother-of-boys look and said that she was pregnant with boy #3. I told her that it does get better... I just don't know when ;) Haha! Hang in there, sister!

Wishing you all a great start to the week! xox

Things I learned today

These are some things that I learned today:

1) If you leave your eldest son at home with a pomegranate, there is no doubt that your white kitchen will be covered with red streaks upon your return.

2) Ice cream hidden in the bottom of the freezer will not be there when you really want it.

3) If you have to go to the soccer field for a practice, the mosquitos will have been given steroids and multiplied exponentially in preparation for your arrival.

4) You will always need groceries.

5) You will never manage to have all the laundry done.

6) If your youngest son becomes very quiet... in another room... it is always a good idea to check what he is up to ;)

7) Boys like to fight... a lot!

8) If you find dirty socks on the living room floor, it is most likely that they got there on their own because none of the boys in the house will ever be responsible for having left them there.

9) The kitchen floor only remains clean for about 15 seconds after you finish mopping it.

10) When you are in a rush to leave in the morning, someone always has to go for an extended toilet visit at the last minute.


xox to you all!

Mother x-ray vision

Sometimes, I run an experiment at home: I leave something on the floor that I would normally pick up (ie: a plastic bread tie,a dust bunny, a piece of scrap paper). It kills me to leave it there but I want to make a point. I want to find out if anyone in our house also sees it..... besides me, of course. So far, my experiment has yielded some interesting results: NO ONE ELSE SEES THE DAMN THING THAT I HAVE LEFT ON THE FLOOR. They will kick it by accident. They will walk over it. They will look at the floor until they get to the offending piece that should not be there and then conveniently look up at the ceiling. What is my conclusion? I must be abnormal. Secret x-ray vision, maybe? Ability to look into a garbage dimension? I must have some kind of super power BECAUSE I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO SEES THE CRAP ON THE FLOOR!!!!! But, I have to give the boys some credit: I really think that they don't see it. Or they are the best actors in the world when they look at me in disbelief when I point out the offending crap... So, I like to think that I have super powers... Anyone see my cape? ;)

xox

I see a speck of dust under the bed... and it bugs me.... but no one else sees it ;)

Happy Mothers' Day!

Today- for Mothers' Day, I did absolutely nothing. I had my nails done and was fed caviar with freshly peeled grapes. The boys sang lovingly to me, while I enjoyed the moment with a fantastic glass of champagne in hand. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Yes, it was Mothers' Day. Yes,  I was blessed with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and lovely cards. Yes, I am thankful for the honour of being called mamma. I was also blessed with 2 little boy birthday parties... one of which was Oliver's (his actual party... the other was one where he was a guest). Mothers' Day meant putting loot bags together, wiping up spilled apple juice, cleaning chocolate covered faces, singing Happy Birthday in my usual off-key sort of way and trying to supervise 11 sugar filled little boys ;) I also got to help with homework and make cupcakes for Oliver's class party tomorrow;)

Actually, how fitting... and appropriate... and real ;)

Wishing you all a very happy Mothers' Day xox

Fighting....boy version

Kids fight with each other. I get it. Heck, my sister and I used to fight all the time too. My boys, however, seem to have run out of  "good" things to fight about after, maybe, 3 weeks of summer break. That leaves us in week 4 of  "Really? You are fighting about THAT?". They have now started to fight over things like smashed up plastic water bottles, which boy's hermit crab digs down deeper at night (like, you know??), who left the plate in the living room (hey! You are stealing MY fights!), who left the wet towel on the outside table (again? That is MY domain!), how many followers Youtuber X has and who owns which IDENTICAL white t-shirt.

Boys! If you are going to fight, pick a good one. Get riled up over a GOOD subject! Don't steal your mother's nagging rights (I am, after all, pretty good at it myself and don't need help)! Before you pick a fight, ask yourself: is this a good one? If not, just walk away because your mother will be picking a fight with YOU.... and I will win ;)

Happy Thursday! May it be a fight-free day ;) xox

Once upon a time... when they did not fight.... as much ;)

New friends

When we were in PEI (on Basin Head), a teenage boy found a bunch of hermit crabs in the water. He gave them to Oliver, who decided that he was going to be the world expert on hermit crabs. When it came time to leave the beach, I told Oliver to put his crabs back into the ocean. OMG! I was totally the worst mother in the universe. In a moment of total weakness, I promised to get him a hermit crab when we got home. Stupid me! I honestly thought that he would forget... move on.... but, no. I heard from the resident hermit crab expert every day until I finally caved... and brought home.... 3 hermit crabs. Oliver is so excited that he spent 10 minutes watching his crab and is now eating left over pizza... @@ (that is my eyeroll). Names to be released at a later date ;)

Welcome to our new friends ;)

Their new home

Nicka's

Alexander's

Oliver's

Happy Mothers' Day

My favourite all time gifts are the homemade ones... and this year, for Mothers' Day, I was spoiled. The amount of love, appreciation, effort and honest feelings that went into these gifts make them so special. I was given some beautiful works of art... and a summary of me that almost made me pee my pants laughing. It is a good thing that I am friends with Oliver's kindergarten teacher because, otherwise, she may be wondering what kind of mother he has... Hahaha!

Happy Mothers' Day to all who have children in their arms and children in their hearts... xox

According to this, I am 83 years old and drink wine every day... well, he is close on both fronts ;)

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I am one lucky mamma!

Mother talk (or wah-wah-wah)

Do you remember Charlie Brown cartoons? Remember the teacher? All you would hear was "Wah-wah-wah-wah-wah-wah" whenever she spoke. I swear that is EXACTLY what my boys hear when I speak to them. Not "Can you please put down your tablet?" Not "Please get ready to leave in two minutes."  Not "Please clean up your room and put away your stuff." Not "Time to brush your teeth." Not even "Dinner time!" All of that just sounds like "Wah-wah-wah-wah-wah".... On my end, it also means that I have to repeat myself over and over and over and over....

Some days, honestly, I lose it. It would be SO nice just to say something once. OK.... maybe THAT is TOO much to ask... Let's say twice.... maybe even three times... but sounding like I am on repeat mode makes me a little bit nuts... AND then they wonder WHY I am freaking out. It is not like they cannot hear me because they can hear when I silently eat a piece of candy... in another room.... There is just something about the voice of a mother (wife) that they can just tune out from.... wah-wah-wah.....

That is when I count to three and go to my happy place.... the one where boys are not allowed... not even the adult ones.... My happy place serves wine... with chocolate...  ;)

Mothers, you are always welcome to join me ;) I go there often ;) xox

Boy, is this ever right!

Good grief! ;)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I put the boys in green to celebrate the day.... only to forget and wear pink myself ;)  I blame mother brain! Maybe I can find a green eyeliner in my bag ;)

Have a very happy St. Patrick's Day! Find something to celebrate xox

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Yes, Alexander made that face on purpose. He is losing patience for my blogging photos ;)

Mothers' Day

Yesterday, my sweet boys spoiled me with lovely gifts for Mothers' Day. I am blessed for the love that I have in my life.... even if they make me crazy some days.... like now.... because we are doing homework.... ;)

I hope that all of you who are mothers at heart were well-celebrated xox

A Nicka bookmark!

A beautiful card and necklace from Alexander

Love it!

Coloured carnations from Nicka

Paper flowers from Oliver

A very personalized card from Nicklas :)

Nicklas didn't want to leave his father out ;)

A flower made with Nicka's hands (PS: he is our crafty kid) ;)

From Oliver (with a little help from his daycare teachers) ;)

Warning

Not sure if you remember, or if it was even in your country, but the advertisement against drugs that went: This is your brain (an image of a nice oval egg). This is your brain on drugs (an image of an egg cracked open, sometimes even frying in the pan). Well, in my humble opinion, they should run another campaign that shows that same cracked open egg but with the slogan: This is your brain on motherhood ;)
Ever since I had the boys, I could feel my brain cells slowly dying. I remember the first time that I realized that my memory wasn't it used to be. I had just come back from mat leave with Alexander. I was about half way through my PhD and someone had asked me what my project was about. I could not answer them, at least not in a way that sounded even a little bit intelligent! All the abbrevations for terms that I was studying, things that I used to know, suddenly were GONE! I must have looked like a fish out of water! I think that I garbled something and ran away ;)
Of course! You just came back from mat leave! That makes perfect sense! Hahaha! It has been a downward spiral ever since!
Now, probably giving most people 90 years+ a run in the memory department, I am now faced with having to remember things for work, remembering things for home, remembering to pay bills, remembering which account I wrote which cheque for, remembering who has a birthday party on what day, who is playing soccer when, which car has to go to the mechanic for what, who is able to come to what practice, who has what homework, who needs which appointment with which doctor... anyway, you get the message! I am facing the most amount of need to remember with the least amount of functioning brain cells! Worst thing is that I have a type A personality and I hate forgetting things! Please have pity... or at least a glass of wine ready so that I don't care ;)
Yes, this post was inspired by a real life situation which required brain cells. Sadly, I did not live up to the task ;) Thanks for the patience, Jen!

Oliver's ball also looks kind of normal from the front....

Aha! Clear evidence of a brain cell deficiency ;) I can relate!

Happy Mothers' Day....

I just finished playing a round of Snakes and Ladders with Nicklas and Oliver (aka Cheater 1 and Cheater 2). I got some sweet kisses from all the boys and am now enjoying a good cup of coffee and a bit of computer time. We plan on sitting outside in the beautiful sun today and having some cake this afternoon. I tried a new recipe.. if it is good, I'll post it later on.

Happy Mothers' Day!

Flowers from Oliver :)