First week after holiday!

We survived the post-holiday week back to work and daycare. The girls were excited to see Julie and Bruno (I was much less excited to go to work). Julie has been taking the girls out in the snow and she pulls them around in the sled. They also love to make snow angels and their favourite thing is to make "tracks" in the snow with their footprints. Emma has really become attached to this toy fairy that Kristina, her friend at daycare, has. She holds it all day long and often has it in her hands when I pick her up. She always gives it back to Kristina and asks me if she can have her own. I have gone to 5 stores looking for this thing over the last few weeks and no luck. I am going to try and track it down online for her birthday. The girls love watching the Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas cartoon and they sing along to all the songs and say all the words. It is the cutest thing and Maddie is particularly fond of it. She can actually turn on the tv and dvd by herself!

They loved their swimming lesson on Tuesday. They are in different classes: Maddie is in Sea Turtles and Emma is in Salamander. They have the same instructor though, Andreas. Emma has all boys in her class and Maddie has all girls. I had to take them to their first lesson by myself, one was at 6 and one was at 7. Maddie and I sat and watched Emma's lesson first. If I had a dollar, no, if I had a penny for every time Maddie asked if it was her turn yet during that half hour I would be able to retire comfortably! But she was good, other than that slight annoyance! Then Emma and I watched Maddie's lesson. I had packed a snack for them and as Emma munched on her snack she said "this is like the fuatre" (theater). "We are watching Maddie at the fuatre."

They are fighting a lot more over toys and things, and they take turns antagonizing each other. It's grating on our nerves at times, but a normal part of raising children. We are still finding the counting system extremely effective and the girls know if they hit each other they go to time out without warning, and if they fight over a toy the toy gets a time out. Let's hope this system lasts!

I watched Dateline tonight and it was the story of the little boy, Sean, who was kidnapped (parental kidnapping) by his mum when he was 3. His dad fought for his son to come back to the US for 5 years (the mum actually died and they still didn't return Sean to the US). Anyway, the story was devastating, but the father and son are now reunited and the dad has full custody. I cannot imagine being separated from my girls for that long. Heartbreaking! Sometimes when I am annoyed with the girls or I don't want to play barbies with them (barbies is so boring, people) I think about people who have lost children, and it puts a different spin on things. I get a little less annoyed and playing barbies on the floor for a few minutes doesn't seem so horrific, I look at it more like time spent with them. I tell them I love them all the time, but I know actions speak louder than words, so I want them to feel they are loved. If that means playing Barbies with them, or reading them the same story for the 50th time, I will do it gladly!