Forget the noodle!
Grace's swimming lesson last Saturday had her forgoing not only her life-jacket, but also her pool noodle. Our little tadpole was swimming on her own (a rather frantic, uncoordinated doggie-paddle, but that is not the point!) She is the only one in her class making this attempt, and we are so proud of her! I'm just not sure why she can do this with a smile on her face, but still struggles with having her hair washed! What seems to work now is when she is having her bath, we pretend it is swim class and I have to pretend that I'm her swimming instructor ("Emma") and Grace is the best kid in the class who shows the other "kids" (various bath toys) how to get their hair wet.
Poor Edie just gets a bucket dumped over her head.
Website of the day: http://homes.mainetoday.com/homecare/050724bugs.shtml
Still trying to control those mosquitos!

Finally a beautiful weekend! Unfortunately we couldn't enjoy our backyard as much as we would have liked to due to the entire mosquito population camping out at our house. They must have detected Edie's plump little thighs and decided she could feed them for the whole summer. Grrrrr. Yesterday afternoon we went out and spent big bucks on one of these mosquito magnets - it better work.
We had a great dinner party on Saturday night with friends and spouses from our university days - Edie and Grace passed the noise test in the new house as we made no effort whatsoever to be quiet, and they snoozed through the whole party. When Grace was trying to fall asleep, she did complain about the ladies shoes going clack clack clack. I have such great memories of my own parents having parties and falling asleep to the sound of laughter, talking and music all mixed together.
FartMart, or Walmart, I have determined, is in fact Hell on earth. Why I subject myself to the torture of going there for milk because it is a few cents cheaper than elsewhere is beyond me (especially when I don't think twice about spending $20 on lipstick). It reeks, it is full of rude people, it is a mess and it brings out the worst in me. I was getting angry at my cash-lady for chit-chatting too much with the customers. I was actually getting mad at her for being too nice.
As for the kids, it was a bruise-free, blood-free weekend! Edie napped three hours each afternoon (so great); Grace was invited on playdates galore (a trip to the fair, which, upon her return home, resulted in her literally running around in circles due to the heavy sugar consumption!) Sometimes there are benefits to her having knocked out three teeth - she couldn't manage to each a candy-apple (but oh how she tried!)
Edie has added a new word to her vocabulary: shoe. That's my girl!
Website of the day - this is my brother's store in Toronto - there is something here for everyone, Grace loves the crafty little things he sends her from here!: http://www.thepaperplace.ca/

DISCLAIMER *Sorry to all the IKEA shoppers I bowled over on Saturday morning....I was the frantic lady with the stroller pushing everyone out of the way*

So, it finally happened. Jo and I lost Grace. It was only for about five minutes, but let me tell you, it was the longest five minutes of my life. We went shopping at IKEA (Saturday morning of a long weekend, NOT a good idea). The ball room was full, so Grace had to join us in our shopping expedition. IKEA has these little arrows painted on the ground, and we kept telling Grace that the arrows lead to ice cream and we would get one at the end of our shopping trip. I don't know how it happened, because I really was standing right beside her, but I was looking at Jo who was showing me something. I called to Grace to follow us, and she was gone! We remained calm (well, Jo did) while we frantically searched the area for her. She was nowhere to be found. You have to understand just how busy IKEA was that day - there were people and kids everywhere - it was loud and chaotic. Jo and I split up; I was ready to demand a store shut-down where they lock the doors from the inside and don't let anyone out. Jo was a little cooler than me and thought about the arrows on the ground - sure enough, Grace had followed the arrows, found a kind, older woman and an equally kind IKEA employee to stay with until we found her. She was visibly scared, and when I rounded the corner and found her in Jo's arms, I burst out crying. Do you scold or hug a child who has been through this? We figured the trauma of being lost was lesson enough for Grace, and her little hand held our hands pretty tightly for the rest of the day. Jo and I learned our lesson too - don't go shopping on the weekend with the kids (thank god Edie is still strapped in a the stroller!)

Trauma #2
Jo and I celebrated 7 years of marriage this past Sunday (thank you, thank you very much). We decided to go out for dinner to celebrate at our local haunt, and Jo's mom kindly offered to babysit. We figured we would bathe, pajama and feed the girls so they would be ready for bed (oh, and because they were just back from the park and thought a sand-bath was a great idea). A utopic moment turned tragic: picture naked, cute as a button Edie, rocketing down the hall to the bathroom for her bath. Inheriting her mother's grace, Edie trips on thin air and face plants on the hardwood floor. Jo picks her up and there is blood everywhere! And a blood curdling scream to match! Jo called out to me "I think it's her teeth!" Well, thank god it was a just a bad cut to the roof of her mouth. Can you imagine if Edie lost her teeth as well? I suspect Jo and I would be investigated for sure.

Thank god I just had my hair done last week - I'm sure a few gray stress hairs have popped out of my scalp after this weekend!

The adventures continue, and they make us all stronger (?!) At least I'll never run out of things to write about....

My favourite webiste today (if you like celebrity gossip):
www.thegildedmoose.blogspot.com

Ahhhh, don't you all aspired to have a perfect household just like ours?

Abracadabra - make Mommy let me do whatever I want whenever I want, wherever I want!

Not much to say today. This shot of Edie was taken in February, looking back on those cheeks I can't believe she hasn't popped more than 4 out by now!

Grace started soccer last night! I am officially a soccer mom, driving the kids to soccer practice in the mini-van. There is nothing cuter than a four year old in tiny soccer cleats, shin guards and a soccer shirt. Grace did not give it as hard as I thought she might - instead of winding up and kicking the ball, she places her foot on the ball and shoves it. Jonas will have to practice a bit with her. She is very good at traveling with ball though and passing. So, she has practices on Monday, and Wednesdays are "game day". I can't believe I have arrived at a point in my life where I stand around watching my daughter play soccer with all the other neighborhood parents - it is a little surreal.
Edie thoroughly enjoyed the practice too - she stayed up past her bedtime to come watch and kept running away from the soccer field and flirting with anyone who would let her bat her long eyelashes at them. I gotta admit, my heart was full of love last night for my two girls. Now, when Grace woke me up at three in the morning with an itch on her back that only I could get for her, that is another story......
my favourite website today: http://pandora.com I'm listening a Stray Cats station I created!

I hope all my Mom friends out there had a wonderful Mother's Day! Grace certainly felt Mother's Day should be like a birthday - with lots of cake, candy and loot bags - such a thoughtful little girl!
We had a pretty good weekend, lousy weather aside. Yesterday, I brought Edie to her swim "lesson" (honestly, can you call singing "Ring Around the Rose-y" and splashing the water a lesson? I think Jo and I could have pulled that one off on our own, without writing a cheque!)
My chest looks like I was attacked by a tiger with all the scratch marks from Edie's sharp little nails. I brought Grace along too so she could watch, and watch she did - she stood about an inch away from the water the whole lesson and never took her eyes off Edie - it's like she didn't trust me and was ready to jump in and save Edie at the first sign of a problem!
Grace and I then went out for a mother daughter lunch and museum outing. I took her to my favourite restaurant, The Green Door, a vegetarian eatery, and I'm not sure if she could have said any louder "Where are the hotdogs???" - she was a good sport though and sampled a few wierd looking things, but ended up mostly grazing on some bread.
We then went to the Museum of Science and Technology. Now, for those of you who now Grace, you know that it is hard to get her to sit still for any length of time. I finally found something that caught her attention - Cryogenics. Yup, Grace sat for a full half hour, completely in awe of a lecture and demonstration of cryogenics. Weird eh? She was by far the youngest audience member, and was shouting out answers (maybe not the right ones, but good for her for trying!)
On our return home, we hooked up with Jo and Edie (looking more and more like Einstein everyday with her Hair) and prepared for our Mothers Day dinner guests.
Edie has discovered her party smile, and pulls of the fakest, work-the-room smile you have ever seen. She's starting to pull that one out more and more - she has us wrapped around her little (very little!) finger! Her naps are way too short, but she is so much fun to have around, it's not such a bad thing (exept when she starts falling over and stumbling because she's so tired!)

A quick little note while I'm on break (ha! you can tell that I'm at work, as I don't get a break when I'm at home with the rugrats!
History of the name "meanoldmommy": a term coined by Gracie. When I'm not tolerating her behavior. Now, after a few really good days, when she has an off day and I have to resort to a time-out, she mutters "mean old mommy's back in town". Hard not to laugh at that.
Have a great weekend!

I was determined to go out on Friday night after work. Before picking up the girls from daycare, I took a power nap (it's amazing what ten minutes can do!) Armed with a new pair of jeans and my red stilettos, Jo and I stuck it out until about 2:30 in the morning......I actually didn't feel too rough Saturday morning! Jonas on the other hand.....
The main reason we went out was to watch the Sens game - a super exciting game, but also a super depressing game. Oh well, they have another chance tonight
Most of the excitement this weekend though was focused on Ms. Grace and her busy social calendar. Saturday morning swim lessons (floated on her back and stomach, and put her face in the water! Yay!) In the shower room, while other kids were screaming about having their hair washed, a very stoic Grace grinned and bore the torture of a shampoo. I LOVE it when other kids are acting like devils when mine isn't - it makes me feel so superior....Next, a trip to WalMart (or, the Yucky Store, as we call it in our family). We had to buy a birthday present for one of Grace's little friends, and I spent about an hour explaining to Grace that she didn't get presents as well. She was easily distracted by some Trident gum (hee hee, she still thinks Trident is a special treat!)
Next up was Dora the Explorer Live! In Concert! Don't need to say much here, just think of the show, and picture it done live on stage (with a bunch of 2-6 year olds having meltdowns everywhere). Grace thoroughly enjoyed it; she danced, shouted and sang her little heart out (and
dropped her popsicle all over me in her excitement). I was talked into buying a 15 dollar Dora thingamajig...I guess I got caught up in the excitement too. Unfortunately, the 15 dollar thingamajig has turned into a royal pain in the ass at home.
Sunday - off to a birthday party - the host parents said I could drop her off and come back for her, but I'm not into that yet. One little boy whose parents did do that started crying for his mommy midway through the party - I would be so upset if I found out Grace did that and I wasn't there! Besides, I wanted birthday cake. After the party, I whisked Grace off to her next appointment - a swim date with her Auntie Lesley at the Wave Pool. I felt quite comfortable leaving Grace at that point and I took two hours to go shopping, have some lunch and enjoy my own company. Grace had tons of fun with Lesley....I wonder how tired Lesley was after a few hours with Hurricane Grace?
After a busy weekend, Grace finally succombed to all the activity and had a meltdown that I would rate 9 out of 10. After two time outs for playing too rough with Edie and stealing her toys ("But Mommy, I want to play with the empty juice box!") and Jo and I refusing to put up with her dinner time antics, she cried for a good 10 minutes. When she realized she wasn't getting anywhere with Jo and I, she stopped her crying and ate her dinner quietly at the dinner table. Thank you Nanny911!
I hope Grace doesn't expect this much activity every weekend. A) we can't afford it B) we don't have the energy!
Yes, Edie still exists. She and Jo had a great weekend of Home Depot-ing, shopping and hanging out. I didn't get much time with my little cutie, and when I did get some alone time with her she fell on the driveway and got a fat lip. Bad Mommy!

I really missed my girls yesterday. I vowed after work to spend some quality time with them and have fun (instead of barking orders and running the tight ship that I like to usually run). When I went to pick them up at daycare, Edie was still sleeping, and the whole daycare was a-buzz with excitement due to the power outage (hey, there is NOTHING more exciting to a four year old than having lights, t.v., music all go out at the same time.....). Grace was in no mood to go home yet with all this going on! Needing some love, I poked Edie until she woke up - at least she seemed happy to see me! When I did finally get the troops home, we all dressed up as princesses (Jo excluded, though invited to) enjoyed a nice meal at Uncle Gordon's table and took a beautiful walk before bedtime. It was a hoot watching Grace in her princess gown (tucked into her underwear so it wouldn't get dirty) motoring down on her bike - she is like this fierce little princess/warrior these days, a real study in personality. Poor Jonas keeps introducing these crazy tricks for Grace that require much effort on his part - his back is just killing after these walks!
I also went for a great run last night while Jo choralled the girls to bed - it was great, except for the mentally challenged man who kept trying to corner me....oh well, made me run faster and get a better work out.
Will try and post pictures this weekend.

As I got dressed this morning, I realized I am in desperate need of some new threads. Being off work for over year on maternity leave, and the "wonderful" changes my body has gone through after having two kids, my wardrobe needs a major upheaval. Working in the government, it is way too easy to be complacent about fashion and wear jeans and t-shirts every day. I don't want to be complacent. Ottawa has some great new shops that I need to check out. I used to pride myself on knowing all the hot spots to shop, but I realize in past year stores have popped up, mostly on Dalhousie that I never even realized existed! And they all haver super-cool names! Now, the challenge is to see if the little rugrats will give Mommy some time to go shopping (I don't want to bring them with me - an afternoon of shopping is an afternoon of pretending I don't have kids, as far as I am concerned).