I know it's bad.....

I have just gotten back from an amazing weekend in Paris with my family. I love traveling with my boys. We have so much fun and I love watching T explore new places. Traveling is something I love and I'm so happy to share it with T.

However, on our way home I always feel really good about myself and my family when I see other families and how hassled they seem. There was one family yelling at their kids in the airport and another Dad getting really pissy with his son getting into the car. I can't help it, I know it's bad but it really does make me feel like a

great parent. Now don't get me wrong, I get annoyed with T and with R but the traveling doesn't stress me out. Coming home makes me sad our vacation is over but we always seem like a closer family after spending time together. Seeing other parents, who frankly don't seem to be enjoying their family at all, makes me value my family even more.

So thanks to the stressed out traveling families for helping me appreciate my family even more.

Must Get More Organized

I love organization! I love files and sticky tabs and clips and folders and anything else that helps me be organized.......Well I did. In that magical time I call BT (before T) when I had time to be organized. I was a teacher in my former life so organization was key. Now I can't even manage to print pictures never mind actually get them into albums or frames. You can see my former skills in action when I do laundry. I fold and sort clothes according to who then belong to, what they are (i.e. shirt, pants, etc.) and what order they go on. Sounds crazy but it does make getting T dressed much easier.

Today T and I spend 2+ hours at our local Starbucks uploading pictures to be printed. I can't believe it took so long. Poor baby was so patient waiting for me to finish....Good thing they have food there to keep him entertained. But all this adds up to the fact that I will soon have a massive pile of pictures to sort and put away. Wish me luck people.

Does anybody out there really manage to have kids and stay organized or it more a fake it 'til you make it kind of thing? Am I being unrealistic that I will be on top of things again one day? I don't see how it's going to get any easier as we are talking of more kids (yes plural) but it seems like it's only going to be more and more necessary.

Any tips? or are al the organized mums keeping that to themselves........

Becoming Domestic

It's official, I am a housewife....well all except for the actually being married part. I have spent the night watching Desperate Housewives while doing laundry, cleaning the kitchen and baking bread from scratch. When did I become this woman? Not that I'm complaining, I love it.

I received two cookbooks for Christmas (and was over the moon) and bought two more right after. I have been cooking up a storm. My favourite book has been Quinoa. You guessed it, it's all about quinoa and more delicious then I could have thought. My favourite recipe in it has been for Apple Strudel Breakfast Cereal. The best part about it is not only do I love it, T loves it too. My boys are reaping the benefits of my newly discovered domestic side, and I'd say they are happy about it.

This started as just curiosity and just general interest but turns out, I'm hooked. I love being able to make something from scratch and then share that with the people I love. I started with basic meals, things that sounded good and thought, "I could make that". So I did. Now I have moved on to something that slightly scares me, bread. I think I can do it BUT it's daunting. I'm not sure why but I'm worried it won't turn out. I promises you this much, if it doesn't turn out this time I will keep trying....but I may not tell you that it didn't work.

This looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship

Terrible Twos already?!

Well I've always said T thinks he is older then he really is, so why does it surprise me that we have hit the terrible twos early? Full on with temper tantrums and all. We have already had more then one full on melt downs today and it's only 1;30. Oh help me people. The worst part of it might be dealing with it in public. I don't mind the people looking on, it's that T hams it up when other people are around. He loves an audience.

No wait.....the worst part is definitely all the "no" and the "mine" I hear all day. Everything I ask him is "no" whether he means it or not.

me: "T you want a cookie"

T: "no....cookie, please"

I give him the cooking and then it's, "mine!"

All day this is what I hear, "no, no, no, no........" It's a good thing he is still super cute because otherwise I may have a baby for sale (just kidding, by the way). It's too bad he is still too young to bribe him with Santa threats.

Winter-blahs

How is it that winter has only started but I'm already feeling the effects? I amdreading going out and just feeling tired. Our house is just so warm and cozy and outside is NOT. A temperature of -13 degrees just isn't inviting, no matter how you look at it.

We had our first real snowfall this week and I can actually admit I en

joyed it. Let me

state that I usually HATE all things winter. T was just so happy to be out in the snow, building snowmen, throwing snowballs, just running around like a

little mad man and it was awesome. He was so proud of his snowmen that he wanted to show everybody. So much so that I had to carry one over to his grandmother's house and show her. Again, SO cute!

Back to the blahs, I feel like I am running on empty all day long. I think that if I got up in the morning and went for a run I'd feel better throughout the day but ......blah..... Have I mentioned that tired feeling and that it's cold outside. See catch-22. I don't want to go outside because I'm too tired but if I go outside I'll get more energy. I've asked R to set my bike up inside on the rollers so I can't use the outside excuse but as of yet, he hasn't done it. Okay in all fairness, he did try but my bike didn't work so he has asked a friend to help. I just hope it gets done soon. Otherwise this may be a long, sleepy winter made doubly hard by a very active one year old.

This mamma says, I need energy. Anybody have any extra?

Remember when....?

I remember a time, not too long ago, when I looked forward to the end of daylight savings time. That weekend was the best. It meant an extra hour of sleep or an extra hour of partying or dancing or whatever else I wanted an extra hour for. Not anymore. This years "fall back" has resulted in a week of 5:00am wake-ups and then to days of a less then impressed one year old. All of which leads to one sleepy mamma. Is this what I get for wasting all the extra hours of my past in less then productive manner? If so, I'd love to say it was all worth it but I don't remember all the hours wasted, and I can't blame it all on the mum-dumbs.

This has brought me to remembering other child-free days. Not all the memories are ones I wish to share, some more embarrassing then others. For the most part however, they were great memories. Nights spent with friends having, mostly innocent, fun. I started........I started this sentence and then was interrupted so now it is gone...Thank-you Mum-Dumbs

So with that I will call it a night.

Until next time

Sweet Sweet Baby

This mamma is going to use this post to do a bit of bragging....consider yourself warned

I have the sweetest baby, ever. Not only is he sweet and cuddly with me and his other grown-ups, he is so generous with other children. Today I bought him a new pacifier, which was actually a package of two. He was so excited when I showed him the package he wanted it opened right away. I told him I first had to sterilize them but he could have them after his nap. After dinner I remembered the pacifier and showed T. Again he was so excited so I gave him one. After a few minutes he noticed the second one. Instead of demanding that one as well, as many children would do, T said it was for "NoNoNo" (his "girlfriend"). I said, "okay we can give it to her next time we see her." Well T did not agree with that, he was very insistent we give it to her right then. He was at the front door with the pacifier saying, "NoNoNo, that" and pointing to the door. Sweet baby just wanted to share with his girlfriend. So I packed him up and walked over to her house (luckily it's close by or else we wouldn't have gone). As soon as we saw her, T was handing over the pacifier. He was so happy to give it to her. It really was the sweetest thing.

I don't know what I have done to have a baby who is so sweet, with a kind, loving heart but I am so blessed.

Mamma loves you BuggyBoy xoxo