Sunday

Good morning!

Lately, it seems like I only post on Sundays ;)

The weather outside is very typical for this winter (read: crappy). We are getting a mix of rain, sleet, hail and snow. Awesome ;) You know what is even more awesome? I don't have to go out this morning ;) So, I am enjoying some coffee, somewhat quiet boys (read: they are gaming) and writing a seemingly weekly blog post ;)

Happy Sunday to you all! Hope you have a good day xox

The rare moment of peace between brothers ;)

Outside... at least it is not minus 100C ;) Got to look at the bright side ;)

Ninja school

Lately, Oliver is obsessed with Ninjas. So are most of his school friends... They, collectively, have decided that it would make much more sense to focus their energies on Ninja school as opposed to grade 1. Seriously, when Oliver gets home, he shows me the Ninja moves that he has practised during the day with his famous friend W. Homework? What homework? It is all about Ninja moves ;) Listening to my teacher? No way! Ninja moves ;) He has even asked me to put a platform on our staircase so that he can practise jumping between the floors of our house. Guess what? I said no... ;) I know... terrible mother ;)

Anyway, I have to put on my very serious face when I watch his Ninja moves. It is very important that I don't smile (although the Ninja moves are very cute) because, mamma, this is very serious. His brothers are a little less respectful than I am.. although, when they were his age, Ninja moves were also part of the daily routine. Alexander thinks he looks like a hamster when he does the moves... I kind of agree ;) But, please, don't tell the Ninja ;)

Happy Ninja Tuesday to you all! ;)

Random internet Ninja hamster picture because, of course, we all need to have access to it ;)

Burning off some energy

Today, I took a few hours off from work and took the on-spring-break-and-starting-to-get-bored boys skating. Of course, as always, Oliver is in a new place for about 15 seconds and he has a new friend. He met a sweet boy named Hugo... with tons of patience. All he did was follow Oliver and help him up every time he fell... which was quite a bit ;) Anyway, despite the fact that Hugo didn't speak a word of English and Oliver's French is pretty basic, they had a great time. Alexander and Nicka just chased each other around... and around... and around... ;)

Best 90 minutes spent... burning off energy... ;)

Merci, Hugo ;)

Friends

Sometimes, the boys don't fight and are actually a bit like friends. They can play together (even if it is a video game), help each other, have fun hanging out and enjoy each other's company. It doesn't happen often, so I appreciate every moment.

Excuse the dark photo but I didn't want to jinx the non-fighting time so I took the picture and quickly got the heck out of the little boys' room... and went back to my quiet cup of coffee.... :) I just needed to document the moment so that, when they start fighting again, I can remember this ;)

Happy day to you all! xox

Living in a house with boys: the competition factor

Nothing ever happens in my house without competition. Asking the boys to brush their teeth results in a mad dash to the bathroom (complete with major pushing and shoving). Getting up in the morning results in a heated discussion about who got up first, who needs the least sleep, who had the scariest dream, who needed/didn't need a night light.... Eating results in an argument about who ate what fastest, who likes what best, who had what for lunch (usually, I make the lunches and they are all the same so I never get this one)... Going to the mailbox is a sprint/push/shove/yell/pout... Getting into the car is total craziness... They even compete about who is the first to know what the capital city of Nicaragua is... seriously ;)

Andreas, having been a boy, gets right into it. He teases them, riles them up and sets them against each other... and the boys fall for it EVERY FREAKING TIME!!! Sometimes, Andreas even competes with them... ugh! On the other hand, I- of the female/mother persuasion- just lose my patience... after all... WHO THE HECK CARES ABOUT BEING FIRST TO GET INTO THE STUPID CAR!!! The boys (all 4 of them) just look at me like I am from another planet... Don't get me wrong... I like competition... I play soccer... I like to win... BUT, in a sport, this is kind of part of the point- not the whole point though... there is also fun... and sportsmanship...and hanging out with friends... and developing skills.... and getting healthy... and earning my glass of wine ;) 

Maybe I should start to use the competition factor to get them to do the housework or put groceries away or make dinner... If I find some good earplugs, I won't have to listen to their yelling about being first.. and, if I have a pre-dinner cocktail, maybe I won't even care ;) Who will be first to put the dishes in the dishwasher? Who will be the first to do the laundry? Who will be the first to get into bed? ;)

Happy Friday to all xox

Random picture from the internet

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 ;)

Cosy day

Today I stayed home with the boys because it was a day off from their school. It was such a beautiful day and I felt so fortunate to be able to be outside! When Andreas got home, he put up the long awaited trampoline and we got some gardening done. Alexander, the lucky guy, was invited to go overnight camping with one of his best friends so he head out mid afternoon. To make up for it. Oliver and Nicka helped put up the trampoline and got to jump, jump, jump...
Now we are winding down for bed... I hope that Alexander remembers to brush his teeth ;)

Happy Friday to you all!

Flashback Friday

While working today (on a well deserved break, of course ;) ), I looked through a picture folder and took a little trip down memory lane. These pictures are from 2010/early 2011. They made me laugh... and feel a little sentimental at the same time.

Happy Friday! Wishing you all a great weekend xox

First day of school

As much as they were dreading today, I think that the boys are happy to be back at school again... even if it is only to catch up with their friends ;) Both Alexander and Nicklas have great teachers (as always) and have lots of friends in their new classes.
Oliver is now in the big boy class at daycare. Only one more year and then he joins his brothers at their elementary school! For one year, all 3 boys will be together... saving me lots of driving ;)

Happy first day of school! Hope we get a little bit of a warm up period before homework hits ;)

Here is a picture of the "cool dudes". Andreas couldn't get a picture of Oliver on his first day because he had already run into his new class to see his friends even before his bag could be hung up! Guess that is a good sign ;)

Last day at the pool...

Today was the last day at the pool. Really, it feels like the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. I have to admit that I was not at the pool to witness it because I really had to catch up at work for the start of teaching (first thing on Tuesday... argh!) but I know that the boys are sad to see this summer go. They had a great time... and I did too!

Can you tell that Nicka lost both of his top front teeth? ;)

Wishing you all a very happy weekend :)

Brotherly love ;)

Over the past few days, it has been super cold and very rainy so we have been stuck indoors. We were supposed to have left to go camping on Tuesday but, thankfully, the men (we're going with another couple) decided it was best to pospone the trip. I CANNOT imagine being stuck in a tent with 3 bored small boys and 1 bored big boy ;) Torture! Even in our house, with 2 floors and different rooms, the boys keep fighting because they are bored. Today, I found a note, written by Alexander (see pictures). Guess we all know how he feels about his brother? ;)

Happy weekend to you all!

This is what our weather looks like lately...

So, Alexander, how do you really feel about your brother? ;)