Beautiful Chilliwack

This is how we spent part of our Sunday afternoon. Throwing rocks. Climbing rocks. Marveling at God's creation - both the the nature around us and these little characters. Oh they make us smile. Most of the time..

Time with Daddy is precious at this time of the year. The countdown to the end of basketball season is approaching. Of course, we have the provincials to get through. The provincials which Unity is hosting this year (insert groan). Because the games are usually at 8pm and we have 3 small children I'm not involved like I used to be when I would tour small town Alberta with Mike and his teams.

Provincials will be an exciting time for Mike. And me? I'm looking forward to getting my partner back - That said, I have the solo three children bedtime routine down pretty nicely. Tonight there was only one meltdown. With only moderate wailing...

But don't they look angelic?

2-year-old

Why I have whole wheat flour mixed in with my white.. The 2-year-old wins again.

I should note that prior to finding this scene I was panicking out because I couldn't find her anywhere in the house - I looked in all the rooms, closets etc. and somehow forgot about my major kid magnet, the pantry. First came relief, then irritation- I had just cleaned the floors after all- and finally, laughter and a dash for the camera. Monkey.

Reminder to self- child lock on pantry door knob.

Feeding small children-

Feeding small children - this is a big part of my day. Just when I have a good routine down pat, and have each little monkey's preferences accounted for, someone throws me for a loop. A few new tricks I've been tinkering with lately:

• Mix it up sometimes - most kids will eat veggies with dip. And even more kids will eat veggies when they look like an airplane (no, this is not an everyday plate at my house).

• Toothpicks are fun - this is a new discovery. You don't want to overdo this or the novelty will wear off, but I've made a few skewers lately and they were big hits-

• And don't ever turn your back, not even for a minute, or you might find something like this-

Snow Week

Tonight feels like the last day of holidays. School was closed due to snow every day last week, which is basically a teacher's wife's jackpot. This meant lazy days- with tobogganing runs, snowy hikes around 'our' park, book reading, board games, family movie time, and general hibernation. Having Mike and Grace home also meant additional arms for baby cuddling and playmates for a 2-year-old who is starting opt out of naps (Nooooooooo) .

I wonder if I will ever again spend 7 days without getting into a vehicle? I kind of hope so.

Finn stayed true to his Calgary roots, spending countless hours sledding on the mini-ski hill at the end of our culdesac.

Post-tobogganing hot chocolate

Lately-

Christmas and the festivities, the germs, the great family times, have come and gone. What hasn't come and gone is the mountain in my living room (not laundry this time)-

If you've been to our house lately you'll have seen the climbing wall that some little Elves deposited in our house on Christmas Eve (Thank you VanWyks!). The plan was for it to spend Christmas morning indoors, and then to find its permanent home in our yard; of course, it is still sitting in my living room. Every time I holler at Mike, 'This thing needs go outside NOW,' I come upon scenes such as this, and the climbing wall manages to eke out shelter one more day..

And on Babies-

Yesterday I swooped Asher off his play mat for a cheek-to-cheek cuddle. It's pretty much impossible not to go cheek-to-cheek with this babe all day long (my babies are genetically endowed to have the roundest, softest, babiest cheeks possible, it took me till my first baby at age 28 to finally appreciate my round face as an asset). In the swooping motion, a trickle of cheek-pooled slobber, with Asher's ever-present hint of vomit, landed directly in my mouth. Probably the most disturbing part of this story that I wasn't even phased, my only reaction-

'Grace would be so grossed out right now.'

Did I mention that this baby is THE BEST BABY. If you're reading this, and you have a baby, I'm still not taking it back.

Christmas Excitement

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in our house. Leading the way in Christmas excitement is Finn - he decorated with gusto today, exclaiming enthusiastically over ornaments, asking where they came from and who made them. A few of my favourite Finn quotes during tree decorating-

'This one is sooo beautiful'
'I love this one!' (every other ornament)
'This one is from Jesus' (because it was awesome).
'Wow mommy, this is a lot of work. I'm sooo hungry and thirsty.'

Our tree has an assortment of ornaments all with special and quirky value - some from my childhood, some from Mike's, and some that we've acquired together. The angel atop our tree comes from a thrift store in High River Alberta; this find was made years ago during a break in one of Mike's basketball tournaments. When Mike and I were engaged we purchased our first joint item together, a Playmobile Nativity Set. We set this up each Christmas in the years before we had children, and now it's even more fun to set it up with the kids. This is an interactive set, most beloved by Coby, and perhaps a sign of our times, this year we seem to be missing Baby Jesus.

When Mike and I spent our first Christmas in our new house in Calgary, Mike delighted in shopping for Christmas decorations - his favourite destination was Liquidation World, and I dreaded seeing what he would come home with next - a bobble head snowman? Check. Bobble head Santa? Check. Or our now cherished black Santa. Check. Check. Martha Stewart they're not, but now I love to share the stories behind these objects with our children. But in the end, as special as these decorations are, and as important as it is to build traditions and memories with our young ones, they are just objects. Our most important task is conveying to them the real meaning of Christmas - about a little baby in a manger, and the importance that Jesus has in our lives and home.

Sleep, or lack thereof

Since becoming a parent, one of my main obsessions, like most mothers of small children, has been sleep. When I'm not sleeping I'm counting how many sleep hours I had, I'm tallying my children's sleep hours; and using a system approaching advanced calculus, I am plotting out nap times and the amount of nap time permitted before bedtime interference becomes an issue (small children bedtime is sacred). Then, when small children are tucked away in dreamland I play mind games with myself. This seems to be worse when Mike has a late school meeting or basketball practice - 'Haley, go to bed.' 'Haley, if you go to bed now you will have X hours before you need to feed baby, and X hours before the first small child climbs into your bed.'* Of course, then the quiet house, my book, my chocolate stash, and my couch all become that much cozier and I wait another 15 minutes until I repeat the same conversation. Repeat. Every day.

I've also got into the nasty habit of mentally scoffing at those 'without-small-children' when they even mention that they're tired. Now, I know that many people have difficult sleep issues to deal with, including insomnia, shift-work, or teenagers with drivers licenses. I realize that I chose to become a mom, and that I chose to have subsequent children. That said, I didn't quite know what I was getting into in the sleep department. I remember a friend of ours in Calgary (who did have small children) chuckling at something to that effect when he heard that we were expecting Finn; Mike and I didn't get it. It wasn't until a year and a half later - during a 3am 'toddler-got-the-flu-and puked-all-over-his-crib, and now puked-all-over-mom-and-dad's-bed' kind of night that I got the joke. Definitely on me. The good news is that one day my children will have children. And then they'll thank me.

Here it is, my official thank you- Mom thanks for your sleepness nights 32 years ago.

* Note to concerned readers:
I don't actually talk to myself in the first person, this is purely for blogging purposes. Though if you are worried about me, and think it might help, please come and look after my children for a few hours. So I can sleep.