Snow!!!

Leaving

When you have kids, the whole concept of leaving takes on a different meaning.

Before having kids, I took the act of leaving for granted.  I simply grabbed put on my shoes and whatever outer wear was required and, well, simply left.  If I had to be out the door at 8:20 I probably didn't give the act of leaving a second thought until maybe 8:19.  Not much planning or thought was involved...I could just..., well, ....leave.

With kids, the whole act of leaving to get to an activity becomes a whole activity in and of itself.  A pre-activity if you will.  With kids, the act of leaving requires management skills, strategic planning,  and patience. Lots and lots of patience. 

With kids, the act of leaving also requires a degree of psychic ability. You must be able to predict and therefore prepare for every possible scenario or need that may arise during the course of your day or outing in order to avoid situations such as finding yourself on the metro with a screaming toddler and NOT having the required cheerios to calm him down and get the other passengers to stop glaring at you (just a random example of course!!!). In short, you must be equipped and ready for anything...(This by the way requires a type backpack or purse which resembles, in its functionality, one of those small circus cars from which piles of clowns emerge).

If it is summertime, the amount of planning and organization involved in leaving is reduced in proportion to the layers of outwear required.  If is winter, however, the act of leaving require being broken down into manageable stages in which another layer of clothing is added to each child to avoid any one of them sweltering while waiting for the others.  Each layer of clothing usually corresponds to another pre-determined task. i.e., Boots on: make sure all teeth are brush.  Coats on: put lunch boxes by the door    etc. etc.

Once you are almost out the door, inevitably one child will mention something he ABSOLUTELY must have RIGHT NOW or life as we know if will come to end.  i.e., "Maman, our teacher said we need to bring in cookies for the bake sale today" .  (It important to note that this is also usually the moment when your youngest, fully-dressed child, chooses to fill his diaper).

Then of course once all the children are finally corralled out the door there is the inevitable trip back of the stairs for some object that has been forgetten.  If leaving involves only a day activity this may involve only one trip back up the stairs (if lucky).  If leaving for a weekend excursion, two or three trips back up the stairs for some forgotten  or last minute essestial need is usually required before actually being able to leave.

Once you finally have  left  there is great sense of accomplishment  accompanied by a huge sigh of  relief that once again you have made it successfully out of the house with all children suitable dressed and intact...! Life's little victories!

Pastimes...

Alex's favourite song lately (which can frequently be heard while he is riding in the car on the way to the cottage or on the back of my bike on the way to day care:  "Mama dey, papa dey, mama dey, papa dey" .  Not much of a lyricist but a catchy tune nonetheless.

Lately, one of Alex's favourite activities is brushing his teeth.  He will stand on is bench in front of the sink for half an hour playing with the tooth brush and toothpaste.  He has to have the water running just a trickle which is completely not environmentally friendly but I admit to giving in to it just for the peace of having him engaged in a quiet activity...!

Quote of the day...

There are so many times that one of my kids says something so cute that I think, "Oh, I really should write that down...!"

So  I decided to do just that.

Todays quote of the day:

Gabriel:  "Maman, I only ate half of my bagel because I not excited to get sick again"

Germs...

I'm so glad that I finally got over the flu that Alex gave me so that I would be ready to catch  Gabriel's cold....

Ugggggh.....The joys of our family germ sharing plan....

Motherhood and work...

Motherhood is: Arriving at work and systematically having to wipe the peanut butter and snot stains off your otherwise professional looking attire....


Motherhood is:  Finding yourself pulling out 2 diapers, a sippy cup, a superhero, a toy car and a half-eaten cereal bar from your purse in order to find the keys to your office


The joys. The joys.

Les retrouvailles....

All of my "boys" came home last night around 9:00.  They had all fallen asleep in the car and so Vincent gently put them into their beds...This morning when they woke up, they were all so excited to see me that they were following me around everywhere.  At one point, when I was in the bathroom putting on my makeup I looked down and all three of them were sitting on their bums on the floor just outside the bathroom looking up at me, watching my every move.  Vincent thought it was so funny that he sat on his bum and joined them-  all of them sitting there staring.

It was so lovely to have the house to myself and to enjoy the quiet.  I so enjoyed going out for a little dancing with my friend and reconnecting with the part of me that used to love a night out "on the town". 

By Sunday night, my house was clean, baked muffins and a pie was in the fridge, and dinner for tonight and tomorow was already prepared...Amazing how enjoyable these tasks are when you just have your thoughts and your music to distract you!

So yes, I did so appreciate having those moments to myself.  But this morning, when each of them woke up from their beds and the "chaos" and the constant call of "maman, maman, maman" started, I was so grateful that they were all back. Family is what gives everything else its meaning...

And after less than 48 hours of not seeing my husband I was so grateful for how much I missed him...

Quiet....

Saturday morning and all is....quiet!!  Vincent took the boys to Quebec city last night and I am appreciating having the house all to myself.  I "slept in" till 7:30 and am just having a lazy morning to myself.  I have been telling myself for the last 45 minutes that I should start cleaning but I have not brought myself to start yet...I plan to do a little cleaning this morning, a little shopping late morning, a  little napping this afternoon to get rid us this cold once and for all, and a movie tonight with Christiane.

Tomorrow will bring more cleaning and organizing as well as baking and cooking.  It's amazing how even cleaning becomes enjoyable when you are alone and there are no interruptions.  I feel so much more productive.

I do so enjoy these rare moments to myself but, don't get me wrong, by the time Sunday evening roles around I will be missing the lovely chaos of the my three boys!!!!

Time flies...

It's been months since I've last written on this blog.  I have even been contemplating abandoning it all together since I never feel I have enough free time to keep it up consistently.  It's always the same old story: by the time we manage to get the kids down to bed it only leaves a little bit of time (where I generally don't feel like doing anything productive!) before its bedtime for us too.  I had thought that now that Gabriel is in school I might manage to have a little bit more "free time" when Alex takes his nap but "free time" mostly translates into cleaning time or lately, nap time for me too as I have been fighting a bad cold.  However, when I had cancellations at work the other day and therefore not much to do I ended up reading some of my old posts on this blog and realizing how much I enjoyed being reminded of different memories or moments with the kids.  I decided then that no matter how cryptic and rushed my entries may be, I should keep up the blog as best as possible since it is a good keepsake for later on.  It is true what every one says, "Enjoy this time while it lasts because it goes by fast"...The kids won't be young for long and I am trying my best to appreciate and remember every moment of it all...There are moments I would love to capture in a bottle forever but I know this isn't possible...