Puddles

Since it is the middle of January and it's been unseasonably warm, there have been big puddles of the kids to jump in!  Gaetan took the kids out for a little walk and this is what they did...

That's just adorable right?

Bring on the puddles!

Playing on the wet playground...

He was cheering her on!

They had so much fun and they were so soaked when they got in!  Thank heavens for washers and dryers!  They discovered that they could bunda bomb in the puddles and make even bigger splashes... It was a blast for them and what's the harm in a little mess right?  :)

Here's a little video of them splashing in puddles... yes, I know that they drank some puddle water, it happens.  Vid 1: Sliding Vid 2: Puddle jumping Vid 3: Running around likes crazies

JVG

Corned beef with Cabbage

I know it's not St. Patricks' Day yet, but I have been craving corned beef!  I'm not sure why, but I have, and this hit the spot.  It was nice because it is a crock pot meal, but I couldn't believe that it was to cook for 8 hours on HIGH.  But, it the result was worth it.  Lucy loved the corned beef more than the vegetables... haha.  I didn't use onion, and waited 4 hours to put in the carrots and potatoes, and then about 7 hours to put in the cabbage.  Am looking forward to making it again.  Yum yum!

http://www.food.com/recipe/corned-beef-and-cabbage-crock-pot-57299

JVG

Lazy Day Casserole

I tried this new recipe that seemed like it would be good for the colder weather!  I thought it was fairly yummy, and the prep work for it was minimal, so that was a plus!  The only down side is that it does take awhile to cook, so you just have to plan ahead.  After you get everything cut up its really easy and makes the house smell great!  I used turkey kielbasa instead of sausage and that's all Lucy wanted to eat.  I think that I would tune down the fennel amount and the nice thing about this recipe is that you can add any sort of vegetables to it  :)  I might try omitting the balsamic vinegar next time as I didn't see how it was helpful to the flavor.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mattbellassai/27-reasons-why-kids-are-actually-the-worst-6z51?sub=1801947_630432

JVG

Dude

I know that Duder is a smart little man, but some of the things that come out of his mouth are incredible!  The way he reasons and thinks as a 3 year old is impressive.

Since Gaetan's new semester has started he's been a lot busier than we anticipated.  And coming off almost an entire month home, Tristan was taking his absence the hardest (outwardly).  I missed Gaetan, don't get me wrong, but I wasn't about to start throwing fits and such because of it...

One of the things that he was doing was being very difficult to put to bed.  Normally, he is the easier of the two to go to sleep... but he's been crying and saying that he just wants Papa and that he wants him to snug him... it's nice right? To want to be wanted that much... but not in the way he was showing it.  So at first Gaetan would stay with him for a little while but as soon as he would leave he would be right back at it, being unhappy.  We didn't know what the deal was and he would always come up with a different excuse, but we finally got to the bottom of his misbehaving.  He said that he missed Papa and that's why he wanted all this time with him... he was used to having more time with him and now that he's gone at work more it makes him sad.  Heart breaking right?  Oh our sweet Duder.

Also, one of the times Lucy was upset about something so he started freaking out after she was already calm.  We went up to check on them and we asked him why he was crying and was upset... he said it was because he was being upset on Lucy's behalf.  Then he said it was for C-half... and D-Half... what a silly guy!

At the library he likes to play Reader Rabbit.  He is currently killing the 1st grader grade on it.  He can read all the words no problem that they are throwing at him, and he understands all the games that they want to play to learn these words.  The library also go fancy new screens that are touch screen, so even though he's really good at the mouse, now he doesn't even need it!  Lucy was pretty thrilled that it was touch screen... :)

Dude reading to Lucy

Something he said the other day was hilarious.  We had been telling Lucy to stop doing something and she seemed fairly unhappy about not being able to do it... so what does Dude say?  "Whomp whomp whomp..."  I thought it was really really funny... and he knew he was being funny about it too!  :)

The competitive nature these kids have in them already is astounding.  It's nice because I can use it to my advantage.  Especially when it comes to picking up toys!  Lucy is so fast about learning things and just is fast in general, but Dude has the size on her so he can bump her out of the way if necessary  :)

They really do love each other... 

Can't wait to see how they are with another one running around.

JVG

Definitely 3rd Trimester

Man, this week has definitely let me know that I have hit third trimester.  There's this undeniable fatigue/exhaustion I've been feeling, no matter how much sleep I get!  Now afternoon times aren't for the kids because they're tired, it's for me because I can't keep my eyes open!

There is also that hit of hunger like no other.  And, I'm sorry, but if you haven't been pregnant you really can't understand what I'm talking about.  There is this hunger that hits, all of the sudden, and if you pretty much don't eat something in the next few minutes or so you feel like your stomach (or let's be real, the thing growing inside of you) is going to consume you.  And it's kinda out of control because you can have just eaten something but it doesn't matter... this is, as my Dad would call it, "put the feed bag on" time.

Also, and this is actually kind of embarrassing, but we're all friends here right?  And pretty much if I can't laugh about it, then, I'm taking myself WAY to seriously.  And, this is just another step in knowing I am about to get huge.  So, I was playing with Lucy on the floor and she really likes to give knock down hugs.  This originated with Dude when Gaetan would come home from work he would be so excited that he would run from wherever he was and give him a big hug.  And, of course, Gaetan being a fun Papa would fall over backwards and the kids think it's great.  So, now that Lucy is into doing everything that Dude is, she gives big knock down hugs too... so she thought this would be a great idea to do to Momma... hrm.  Well, she gave me a big hug (how I got on my back) and then she wanted an airplane ride.  You know the kind where the kids get on your legs and you fly them around? Well, I did that for a few minutes until I realized, I was stuck.  I realized I couldn't actually delicately put her down without just flopping down and all I could do was call for help and wait.  Gaetan so graciously came over to help to get Lucy down and me off the floor... and then we all had a good laugh.  Whew.  It could've been disastrous if we were home alone...

It's also that time when maternity shirts stop fitting... because my belly is that awesome.  Looking for stylish moo-moo's if you have any suggestions I'm all ears (and belly apparently).  :)

JVG

Eliminating Distractions

I know that people tend to make resolutions this time of year to make themselves a better person... be it better diet, exercise, more sleep etc etc... and it occurred to me why people wait until this time of year to want to better themselves.  Why not see the problem at any given time and then try to fix it then?

Something that I've been working on as an ongoing project is eliminating distractions.  There are so many things in this world that distract us from what is important.  Yes, we all need time to check out and have some time for ourselves, but what about all those other times that we mindless check our email, FB, play a phone game?

I hadn't realized how much time it was taking up until I eliminated them all.  I have an overfondness for games on my phone... why?  Because generally a level takes a few minutes tops, my phone is portable so easy to take with and it does give me those few minutes at a time to check out if I'm feeling a little crazy!  However, I found myself playing them more and more and telling the kids 'in just a minute' (as i quick finished up a level) or 'Not right now'.  I'm not saying that it's bad to tell your kids to wait, but the reason of WHY i was telling them wasn't acceptable.

So, I deleted them.  My personal favorites were games like Bejeweled or as Dude downloaded to my phone Dragon Gem.  It's only been a few days but you can't believe how many times I've gone to my phone and picked it up to play a level and then thought to myself, "Good thing you deleted that!"  I've also found that I have a great deal of time to do other more productive and better things.  :)  For example, Dino hoodies!  Or when the kids are awake, more activities with them.

I've been even trying to be better about checking my phone.  Since Gaetan's schedule allows him to be home most of the day then I really don't need to have my phone on me.  Sure, I still like to use it for taking pictures but I don't NEED to have it always... so there is something else I'm going to have reconcile.

Also, with having kids, they see what you put most of your time into and know that you prioritize it.  They see what you do with your time and how you behave and to them, that is what is reality.  So, not only is it for my benefit, but I've got to think of how this is going to impact them and make them better (or potentially) worse individuals... contributors to society.  So, if the kids see me on the phone all the time then they're going to think that that has to be something pretty important, when, in reality, it's not.

Just think of all the little things that you do... because its in those where most of your time is wasted.  Small gestures and things like that is what surprisingly takes up your time!  You'll be surprised how much time you spend quick checking email, checking FB, etc etc.  Try it!  :)  And, I can guarantee you won't miss it once you've stopped.

JVG

Cookie time!

One of the biggest joys in Dude's life is M and M cookies... and really, can you blame him?  He has requested that we start going back to the Portage Meijer (AKA cookie store) because they have better cookies there, usually M & M's.  haha.  So, I figured if he loves them so much we should just make some at home :)

He's so interested in helping and with cookies there isn't really anything he can't do.  Sure, it takes a whole lot longer, there is a BIG OLE mess at the end, but he loves it so much.  :)  We made half the batch with M and M's and the other with toffee bits... those where really more for me.  haha.  Lucy even got in on the action and helped make sure that nobody ran off with the chocolate chip goodness. haha.

Measuring out the flour

Guardian of the goods

He is really blossoming and showing interest in things now instead of bouncing around from activity to activity.  Today he read books to me for 45 minutes... and they were pretty sophisticated books I thought for a 3 year old!  And he really didn't have any problems with them... most would think that its because we've read these books a bajillion times and he's just memorized them, but he was reading library books that we just got.  He also schooled Papa in some subtraction yesterday... haha.  They were doing some worksheets and Gaetan was trying to be delicate and explain and Dude just busted everything out.  No problems.  It's funny.  It's also interesting because he acts so shy when you ask him to do stuff, but I know that he knows how to do it, so I was happy that he just did it this afternoon.

Cutest dino reader around

Kodak frickin' Moment

I enjoyed our little time together.  Makes this Momma so proud of him.  :)

JVG