Great job mama!

Tonight's dinner was a big success for all three family members. I made brown rice pasta with tomato sauce with ground turkey. John said "this is so good" and them Emma chimed in with "yeah mama, great job, this is really yummy. You did a good job so you get to sleep with my favourite puppy!" So cute. Maddie ate a huge bowl and wanted more but then decided she wanted some of John's birthday cake so she couldn't fit in any more. All this after both kids said they didn't want any dinner! Ha!

Great job mama!

Tonight's dinner went over very well with all three family members. It was brown rice pasta with ground turkey tomato sauce. John said "this is so good" and Emma chimed in with "yay mama, you did a great job. This is so good you get a treat. You can sleep with my favourite puppy!" Aw, how sweet! lol Maddie inhaled it too, and all this after both saying they didn't want dinner, just cake (John's birthday cake). So they only had a few bites of cake because they were full from mummy's yummy pasta!

Dad's Happy Birthday

It's John's birthday tomorrow and the girls are very excited. They know that with birthdays there is usually a cake. It's funny because even though they go on and on about cake, when they are actually served a piece, they never finish it and tend to just pick at it (and of course, mummy finishes it)! I told them we are getting dad golf shoes but that they can't tell dad it's a surprise (he already knew what we were getting him as he picked them out himself). So what do they do as soon as they see him today? "dad, we have a surprise for your happy birthday. We got you golf shoes." Good thing I wasn't really expecting them to keep it a secret. But to play along I said "Emma and Maddie, you ruined the surprise, we weren't supposed to tell dad until tomorrow". They looked a bit forlorn and Emma said "how about we pretend that dad's happy birthday is today." Well that works, but we don't have any cake!

The girls have taken to giving me one of their toys in the morning and I am to take it to my school. It's quite touching as a few times I have had the privilege of taking their favourite things. Today I got Emma's holiday barbie and yesterday I got the dog that Maddie sleeps with. If I forget to put it in my purse, they always remind me and get really upset if I've actually forgotten to bring the item into my work!

Outdoor Skating Rink

On one of my runs the other week I came across an outdoor week within a few blocks of our house. Of course John ran right over to check it out. The town of Aurora maintains it and there is even a hockey net on it. It is quite a large size. We haven't been able to go on it lately as it's been too cold, but yesterday with the mild weather we decided to try it out. It was great fun. The girls still use their skating trainer thingies but they are getting more adventurous and using it less and less each time. This rink was less slippery than the indoor rink, so that helped, but it was a lot bumpier so it made for a few spills. After a few minutes of skating they got John's hockey stick, and the stick of another child who wasn't using it and they started shooting it into the net. They would yell "he shoots he scores" and John would correct them with "she shoots she scores" (my dad would be proud)! They had a blast. After that wore thin they decided they wanted to put their boots on and roll down a nearby hill instead. They were laughing hysterically while doing that and had a great time. They came home with big smiles and rosy cheeks. I love when we do active things as a family. I hope they find something they love to do that keeps them healthy and fit. They already want to go running with me when they are bigger. I hope they do, I think that'd be great fun!

You are not my mummy!

Emma can be a bit of a bear when she wakes up in the morning. This morning she was not a happy camper when I asked her to go to the bathroom. For some reason she refused and I calmly explained we wouldn't be getting her dressed or leaving for Julie's until she has tried to go pee. She proceeded to flounce around on the bathroom floor and then she said "you are not my daughter, only Madison's daughter" and I said "actually Emma, I am yours and Maddie's mummy, you are my daughers now and always." She then said "no, you are not my mummy, only Madison's mummy." I asked her why she said that and she said "cause you are not a nice mum you are a mean mum." I said "I'm sorry you are feeling that way but I am not changing my mind, you need to try and pee. A few minutes later she was fine, went pee and we were on good terms! She is so flightly! lol

On the way to Julie's we started talking about how we would be able to clean the outside of the car together once it is warmer. I asked if they would like to help wash the outside with buckets of soapy water and then Maddie says "and a peach?" It took me a minute to put it together but I remembered she calls the sponge in my parents bathroom a peach. So I said "yes, you can scrub the outside of the van with a peach!" Ha! So funny!

Turtles and Frogs

Maddie was watching me brush my teeth this morning. She asked me to spit. When I was finished I cleared my throat and she said "mummy, you have a turtle in your throat!" I laughed as I knew she meant a frog in my throat. I have asked Maddie before when she has phlegm in her throat if she has a cough and she has said "no mama just a frog in my mouth!" So cute!

The girls are still in swimming and really enjoying the lessons. Maddie finally put her face in the water after 1.5 sessions! Her instructor even said that she has improved so much from the first day, so her confidence is definately improving.

Emma is so proud that she is ready for kindergarten, she reminds us everyday after she has zipped her own jacket or put on her boots by herself. We have put their names on masking tape on the floor of our mudroom so they line their boots up every day when we come home. I still have mixed feelings about them getting bigger. I am so very proud of who they are now and they are so much fun, but I love them at this age and want it to slow down a bit! When they go off to school in Sept I will definately be a wreck, but a proud wreck!

Bedtime Stories

The girls love when John and I tell them stories at bedtime. We always read them books but they ask for "a story from your mouth, no book" and so we spend a few minutes rattling off a story about Princesses Emma and Madison. Last night the girls were in hysterics because John named the Princesses Memma and Adison. It was hilarious how funny they thought it was. Throughout the story he would switch the first letter of each name, so I was "dom" and he was "mad". It was funny. I always include a crocodile, hairy beast or octopus in my stories (at the girls' request, of course) and in my story the girls fight over who will get rid of the villain and then they decide that it's better to share the slaying of the beast. Ha! After John's story last night (which was VERY funny) he ended with ...and they lived happily ever after the end. The girls were in an uproar because he forgot to include the part about the crocodile etc so he added that in and they were happy.

We've been watching the Olympics at every chance we get and the girls love the figure skating and the ski and snowboard races. They choose an athlete and decide that is Emma, Maddie, Mummy, Daddy or Auntie Julie. So in one of the races when someone fell they said "uh oh, mummy, you fell" (funny how their athletes never fell. Harumph)! It seems that if an athlete is all in yellow, then it becomes Auntie Julie. I am anyone with "yellow" hair and they are anyone with brown hair. Dad is an obvious male athlete (with some it's hard to tell). They get such a kick out of this game!

Emma wants to marry...

On our way home from daycare today Emma said "can I marry grandpa in the marrying castle when I get bigger?" I said "um, well, you will have to ask grandpa" and she said that she would! Too funny! Maddie is still upset that we don't all pack up and leave for Ottawa the minute she wants to go, but she is much better today than yesterday. I packed te Benadryl for her so she is good to go once she seems the cats. Poor thing loves them and is allergic to them!

I've been noticing lately that Emma needs everything quiet and no distractions in order to concentrate on doing up her zipper. Maddie does it in a flash, but Emma is easily distracted by other things that are going on and then she is unable to focus. She then can't do it or she splits the zipper and she gets frustrated. Julie and I are encouraging her to take deep breaths and it's cute to watch her actually do this. Once she is focused and no one is talking around her, her mood becomes calm and she can do it. Fascinating. She may be like me in the sense that she can't read something unless there is total silence! I'll be the one in staff meetings when we have to read something for professional development that has my hands over my ears to block out the people around me who are talking!

Superbowl 2010

I have absolutely no interest in football but I do love an excuse for a gathering. We had some people over for the Superbowl. There were 7 adults, 5 kids under 4 and a 3-month-old. It was lot's of fun. We let the kids stay up and that meant mine got to bed at 10 (that is my regular bedtime)! They were wild by 8 pm and all 5 kids were running around and around the house giggling, hiding followed by taking a small break. The girls went all day today without a nap and of course within a minute of our house (literally on our street) Emma falls asleep. I carried her in, took her boots off and put her on the couch (still in her jacket). I tried waking her 3 times but she was out like a light, poor thing. We finally got her awake and she was not happy. She went right to bed within a half hour so she was exhausted. Maddie napped a little longer in the car but was still very tired. She had a major meltdown before bed because she wanted to leave for Ottawa today to see grandMA, grandPA, Rocky and Bailey. I managed to calm her down (barely) by telling her I would read her 3 stories on mummy's bed (this is a big treat, apparently) before bedtime, so that worked well. The cuddle and the stories seemed to work and my little girlies are off in slumberland as I type.

My friend Nicole, who was at our house yesterday and has a son, Ben, is visibly pregnant. As Emma sat on my lap she patted my belly and said "mummy, can you put a baby in there too?" I said "do you want mummy to have another baby" and she said "yes please." I told her she would have to share me with Maddie and the other baby, and share her toys too. She said that would be ok. I asked her if she wants to be a big sister and she said she did. I then broke it to her that I was not ready to have another baby but maybe another time. She seemed ok with this. Nicole is trying to get Ben (who is 3) used to her baby, who is due in July. When asked if Ben would share his toys with the new baby he said "no, I want to throw the new baby in the garbage!" Uh oh, they are in for it! Ha ha! She asked Ben what they should name the new baby and he said "Thomas" (after Thomas the Train) and Nicky asked what if it's a girl to which Ben replied "if it's a girl we name it Oatmeal!" Kids are hysterical!

Feb 5th

Not much to report for this past week. The girls are happy and as fun as ever. They really enjoy entertaining each other by dressing up in full princess regalia which includes the dress, shoes, veil, gloves, ring and purse. Today they played Cinderella and the Stepmother. Maddie was happy to be the stepmother to Emma's Cinderella. But their story had a twist as Maddie would pretend to clean up but in the movie it's the sisters. They have the gist of the story though. Emma said "the glass slipper doesn't fit the sister because they are mean inside. But it fits Cinderella because she is nice." Sweet! They are still stalling at bedtime but not by much, and they are nowhere near as difficult as some of the stories I hear from other mums. They were very tired tonight and apparently Emma had a big tantrum at Julie's today. Julie said she has never seen her do that before. She worked herself up to the point of gagging. We have only seen her do this a few times and it's not fun. She gets so upset. And then she was fine. But they were both tired enough that they went to bed early with no problem. Let's hope they sleep in tomorrow as it's Saturday! Ha, fat chance!

Registered my babies for kindergarten!

The girls are officially registered in Junior Kindergarten. I can't quite believe it. It seems I blinked and almost 4 years have gone by. My dad once told me in my mid-twenties that life goes by really fast especially after you have kids. How true. The line-up was fast. My type A personality made sure I was there well before 9, so I was about 6th in line. This means I should get my request for Tuesday/Thursdays and alternate Fridays. I also need the girls and their friend Ben to be in school on the same days. This should work out too as per the receptionist. Ben's mom will be picking the kids up after school and I will be taking all 3 kids to Julie's on alternate days. It's a great arrangement and the girls and Ben are already great buddies.

The girls were very tired after Julie's today. They were up late last night as Ben was over for a playdate but got up at 7 for daycare. Maddie was asking to go to bed at 6 but I cuddled with her on the couch and kept her up until 7. She was asleep practically as her head hit the pillow. Emma was a little better but she tends to crash right before bed and gets cranky. They are both very excited about their birthday. I sent a few invitations to Julie's today as she often has the older kids (like Zoe and Rhett) on PA days. We don't see them a lot so I figured I better give them the invites today or else. So that sparked an entire "it's our birthday" discussion where I had to explain "not for another 6 weeks, that's a LOT of sleeps."! Emma wants this Queen Clarion figuring. It's a tiny thing for $12 but that is all she wants. Unfortunately it is only available in the states so we are trying to finagle some sort of arrangement where we get it shipped to someone we know in the states and they send it to me. Crazy! But she never wavers after she decides what she wants. Maddie is the opposite and it varies depending on what she is watching on tv! If' it's Dora, she wants a Dora doll. If it's Ariel she wants baby Ariel. I wish she would stick with one thing! lol I am sure they will love whatever we get them!