It's a dogs life....

Long time no blog......seems now that I am back at work spare time is a very precious commodity, just ask our dog who is sadly lacking in the walking department.  Prior to Ciera he was walked twice a day, Ciera came home and he was reduced to once a day, then when I went back to work it was once every other day and weekends, Tienna came home (mom off work) he was back to maybe once a day...mom back to work now and he's lucky if he gets walked twice a week.  This explains why he does things like......stealing precious stuffed animals from small children.  I regularly hear Tienna "ahhhh..... MINE...awson.... NO!" as Dawson has stolen baby right out of her arms and walked away with it.  He knows better though than to go after Mama fish, Ciera's pride and joy!!!

Last weekend Ciera and I made (ok it was premade we just had to decorate it) a gingerbread house, it came with a marshmallow snowman and a gingerbread tree and it was very cute.

 I placed it on the sideboard in the dining room....it looked great...for about 3 hours.  Then I noticed the tree was missing I looked on the floor and there was half of the tree, needless to say gingerbread and a dogs digestive system are not overly compatible and he spent ALOT of time outside that night. 

Lesson learned I moved the house to the middle of the kitchen table...yesterday Ciera asks "where is the snowman?"...hmmm...I don't know...it's gone.  My best guess is that the cats and the dog joined forces for this one.  Likely scenario is the one of the cats knocked it to the floor and the dog ate it.  Either that or the cats decided it would be fun to play with and I will find it somewhere in say....June?!

Yesterday Dawson somehow got tangled in the lights on our tree, thank goodness he knew to stand still and wait for me or the tree would have been knocked over completely.  It took me quite a few minutes to untangle him.

Hard to believe he is almost 11 years old , he still acts about 11 months at times, but I know he is sorely missing the walks and the attention he used to get, and just like a human kid when he will take any attention negative or positive.  It's one of my resolutions to ensure he gets more attention starting NOW, putting it in writing make me accountable for it!

Today is a beautiful sunny, reasonably mild December day....I think Dawson and I will head out for a quick run....we could both use the exercise!!

Who could resist this face?!!!

Dawson in his new spot...on the couch.  He doesn't even get down or try to look guilty anymore when I catch him there!

Best $20.00 I've spent in awhile

Now don't get me wrong I love these kids,

love love love 'em but yesterday was one of those days.....both kids were driving me insane, both had been great for 2 days.  For 2 whole days I had not listened to whining, had not had to threaten anyone with anything it was like a dream come true!  Then yesterday the whole image was shattered.

Started out with Ciera making 3 distinct play messes in 3 different areas of the house....seemingly all at once, she knows better, once you are done with something clean it up before you move onto the next thing. HA, that daycare lesson seems to have been lost.  The dog needed to be walked so I issued an unachieveable task, "clean all of this up before I am ready to leave or you will be napping after lunch", that gave her about 2 minutes which I knew she could not do.  Fair?  Nope but I knew I needed some "me" time, needless to say she did not make the deadline and she must have been tired as she didn't even argue about the nap and then said she wanted to go in the stroller for the dog walking and not ride her bike.

So she slept for a bit when Tienna did and then I had to wake them for a Dr.'s appt.....they were both awful from the moment we entered the inner sanctum at the office....ok no not quite true, they were not bad until the Dr came in.  I hate that they take my blood pressure there as I am sure everytime it will be sky high!!  Why do kids like to make their parents look bad, I'm sure I never did that!!!

Then on our way home we had to go to Costco and Canadian Tire.  No where in any child rearing book have I ever read that age 6 is the "I want" years, sure you hear all about the terrible 2's and the nasty 3's but the 6's they leave out.  All thru Costco, all I hear is "I want...." until I start to loose it on her and threaten her with nothing for the rest of the summer.   Tienna was tired and she just wanted to lay her head on my arm, which I love but it's tricky to push a cart like that!  So we get to the cash, they ring it up and I asked "can I trade you 2 kids for that?!", the cashier laughed and said "no thanks I already raised 3". 

Back into the car and off to Cdn Tire where I only needed a price adjustment for something I had bought last week, it was a $30 difference so well worth stopping in for. I put both kids in the cart and head to the returns desk, the man in front of me notices I have nothing to return and quips with a nod towards the kids "I hope you have the reciept for them".......I laughed as with the way they were behaving a return wasn't a 1/2 bad idea at that moment!

Ok so back to my $20.00, I had arranged for a babysitter to come after she left work at 6:00 with the original intent of taking Ciera to a movie, but I decided I needed to get out and run by MYSELF!  So out I went, I got to my original intended turn around point and thought "nope not far enough" so I ran more.  It felt soooooo good to be out running without pushing a stroller, pulling on a leash, talking non stop and stopping to pick up poop!!!  By the time I got home my head was clear, and I had run over 7K, BONUS!  To top it off she stayed for dinner and then after the kids went to bed I got to talk to an adult for a whole hour without interupption.  It felt so good she's coming back on friday and I hope to convince her to come Sunday morning so I can attempt a long run so I can see if the 1/2 marathon is attainable for October!

Best $20.00 I ever spent....got my sanity back with one run and today the kids behaved better.....hmm wonder if they needed time away from me too?!

Just look at these angels how could they possibly misbehave!!!

Where has the summer gone?

My gran was right...as you get older the time just flies right by....

I honestly started to hyperventilate when I looked at the calendar this week and realized it was just over 3 weeks until school starts and worse yet…..shudder….5 weeks until I go back to work…shudder. There was so much I was going to do this summer, move the shed, clean out the garage, paint my garage door and front door, clean out the basement, go visit friends in the US and in Ottawa and have loads of fun with my kids. I have abundantly done the last one!!!!  

We have been camping twice (so far), splashed lots in our little pools (decided not to put up the big one this year as it would be too tricky to watch 2 kids in 2 different pools!), been to Centre Island 3 times, Wonderland countless times, playdates, splashpads, been to the ROM, just us 3 hanging out, spending time with friends, and marveling at the change in my daughters.  I cannot believe I have not even had my bike out yet. But pulling 2 kids in the trailer might be a bit heavy but I should at least try it :-) and today Ciera was downhearted when she saw another little boy on the street had his training wheels off, she has tried it but she panics everytime her bike tips and I keep telling her "you will get it you just need to stop going "uuuuu" everytime I let go and you tip". 


For every busy fun day we have we seem to spend the next day as a quiet day, Tienna catches up on her lost naps, Ciera chills and watches classic Disney movies (she has found my VHS collection in the basement, from back when they first came out and I bought them thinking I'd have kids much earlier!).

While Ciera is freaking about grade one, I am freaking about work, and how I am going to manage to drop off Ciera (no earlier than 7:30) , then Tienna, get to work (30-40 minute drive), work 8 hours, drive back 30-40 minutes, pick up Tienna and have Ciera picked up by 6:00. I feel awful for her, it’s going to be long days for her, much longer then when she was in daycare. Not to mention that on Wednesdays she will have dance at 5:00 (seriously who thought of this one?!) and Fridays hockey at 6:00, that’s dressed and on the ice, which is picking them both up then backtracking to the arena. This is when a husband would come in handy! I know lots of people who are in the same boat but right now it just seems a bit overwhelming, I’m sure it will all work out in the end.

In the meantime here are some fun pictures of the summer so far……

Tienna's first ride

A gaggle of geese walking down our street!!!

Ciera, the dragonfly whisperer, she does this all the time!

How many kids can you fit in a Costco bag?

Snorkeling in the backyard!

Scary isn't it?

Ciera feeding a groundhog a frenchfry at Wonderland, he was picky he would not eat the bread only fries.

On the boats at Centreville

Ciera unearthing dinosaur bones at the ROM

Tienna unearthing dinosaur bones at the ROM!!!!