The highlight of the day.....Drew riding on an elephant!

Hunter enjoying lunch

Drew and Nana on the elephant!

Our day at African Lion Safari was amazing.  The day truely exceeded my expectations.  Drew, Hunter and I picked up Nana (daddy and papa were working today) at 9:30 and hit the rode, after a quick stop at Timmy's, we were there in less than an hour.  Hunter slept and Drew watched his DVD. 
Once there (I had picked up the tickets at a discount from Costco the day before) we drove straight to the "drive-thru" game reserve.  We saw lions, cheetahs, giraffes, monkeys, ostriches, rhinos and many other exciting creatures all from the comfort of our vehicle.  Drew was thrilled and so excited with each new animal we saw.  The ostriches came right up to the van, and were nibbling on the mickey bauble thingy we have on our antenae....Drew thought it was hilarious.  I was nervous to go through the monkeys, as I'd heard horror stories of monkeys tearing up cars.  In fact, 2 cars ahead of us, the  monkeys were climbing all over a car, and would not get off!  Once we got home, Drew was telling my dad about the monkeys on the car and said, "the car in front of us drove off with monkeys on it, and now the monkeys are their pets".  Too cute.
After the game reserve, we headed into the "Park".  We went straight to the boat ride and then headed for lunch as we were all starving.  Hot dogs and chicken fingers were the dishes of the day for us.  Pretty good, actually.
After lunch we attempted to head straight for the train ride, but were distracted by a playground.  Drew played on/in it and Hunter just played with the rocks outside of it.  After the playground, Drew had a ride on a pony....you should have seen his smile.
Once at the train ride, we waited for around 10 minutes and then rode the train.  It just goes around in a circle, but part of the trip includes going over a bridge.....made for a happy Drew.  Hunter was pretty tired at this point, so he just concentrated on keeping his eyes open.
While on the train, Drew saw people getting elephant rides  Naturally, that's where we headed next.  Drew and nana had a great time atop of the great big animal. 
The splash pad/pool was our last stop for the day.  Both boys LOVED this part.  It was shallow enough that they could both walk around in the water, but deep enough that when they sat, they could splash/fill their bucket up.  Perfect!
After a quick ice cream cone treat, we hit the road for home.  We got lost, and probably added 30 minutes to our drive, but Hunter slept the entire time and Drew was content playing with the GPS....perhaps we should have used it, instead of letting him play with it!
A dinner of subway and timbits at nana and papa's house capped off the perfect day.  The boys were angels the entire day.  It really was so much fun!

Happy birthday Ethan and Emma!

This morning we went to Drew's friends from school, Ethan and Emma's birthday party.  It was held at Skedaddles indoor playplace here in Milton.  Drew and Hunter both had great times.  Neither of them stopped running the entire 2 hours that we were there.  It was done at 12:30, we left from there to head to McDonald's to get James and I some lunch (James had to be at work for 2).  We figured we could grab a quick lunch there while the boys played in the playplace.

Wrong.

Once there, Hunter was asleep, so he was put into the stroller.  Drew headed straight into the playplace and came out in less than 5 minutes crying.  "I'm tired mommy, I want to go home".  Once we had the food, we scoffed it down and I took the boys home, James left for work.

Drew was awake when we got home, surprisingly enough.  I thought I would have to deal with a crazy cranky boy all afternoon, but once inside, he asked to go up for a nap.  I walked him upstairs, tucked him in with his blankie and he slept for the next 3 hours.  Hunter was wide awake by this point (of course, why can't they both sleep at the same time!?!) and we hung out and played all afternoon.

Got a call from nana at 3:30, informing me that she was buying a ham and our services were required to help her and my dad eat it.  Naturally, we couldn't pass up that offer, and once Drew woke up, we were off to Nana's (again).

A great day.  Glad it's James' day 5 though, we miss daddy being home!

Day 1 of the newer me!

James and I took the boys to the gym this morning.  It had been awhile since we'd been there, but Drew went in to the kids area with no problem.  Hunter started out happily enough, but one of the caregivers had to get James about 20 minutes into it, as Hunter was freaking out.  I guess she had asked Drew to come help his brother.  Caregiver - "Drew, your brother is having a hard time over here, could you come and play with him to help him feel better?" Drew - "No thank you, I'm having fun right here".

Well, at least he was polite, I'll give him that.

James went in, and played with Hunter for a few minutes, calmed him down, and then left again.  Hunter was fine for the rest of the time.

After this, I dropped my 3 boys off at Bristol park in Milton and speeded off to my foot appt.  I had it in my head that I was going to get the same treatment as last time, but at the last minute (well, after the doctor had dug at my foot hard enough to make it bleed) I chickened out and asked her to use a weaker acid.  She did, and while it's a little sore, it is NOTHING compared to the last treatment.  I have to leave it on for 36 hours and then I do a salt-rinse to neutralize it.

I picked them up at the park and we walked over to subway for lunch.  We are addicted to subway.  Right now they have 5$ footlongs, and we are capitalizing on that deal.

James went off to work at 1, Hunter had a nap and Drew and I played in the sandbox.  Once Hunter woke up, we headed up to the Glen and hung out with nana and papa.  Drew was supposed to have a sleepover tonight.  I left him there, but got a call at 8:30.  I guess once Drew had settled in for the evening, he asked to come home.  He didn't cry or anything, but decided that maybe he didn't want to sleep over afterall.  This is the first time he's done this, and has slept at my parents house many times before.  My parents brought him home, he was asleep when they got here.  Poor little man.  I was plagued with homesickness as a kid.....only it would be 2 or 3 in the morning when I would have my little freak outs and my parents would come and pick me up.  I hope Drew isn't starting down this path.....I didn't grow out of it until I was in grade 6.

Lifestyle overhaul needed

I've come to the realization that I'm lazy.  I'm not sure when it happened.  In highschool, I was pretty active.  Ok, I was very active, played most sports available, and when I wasn't at a practice for something, I was probably at the gym.  First year university I took a hiatus from physical activity and drank (and ate) my way to a 30lb weight gain.  I lost most of that during 2nd year, and 3rd year I joined the rowing team where I rowed and ran myself to skinniness.....I then became a personal trainer.  It was during this time that I "trained" moms to be, new moms, and mommys with older kids.  I created exercise programs that suited their experience, fitness level and lifestyle.  I motivated them to come to the gym.  I was there with them while they worked out.  Throughout this time, I can clearly remember thinking that it was ridiculous that these women didn't find time (a mere 60 minutes, I would think to myself) to work out.  It's so important to their health, I would think.  They'll feel so much better afterwards, why is it so hard?!?
7 years later and I am one of those mamas who can't get to the gym!!!  Hell, I can't even get off the couch right now to do a couple of squats.  I need some motivation, or an intervenous of caffeine to give me some energy. 
On another note, Drew was feeling much better today.  He was active and was totally himself.  It was great to have him back.  We went up to the Glen tonight and Drew offered to give Hunter a ride in his gator.  It was adorable.  Hunter had this huge grin on the entire time, and Drew drove slow for little Hunter-bug.  I love my boys! 

It's august.....and you're sick?!?!?

Yesterday, Drew woke up crying.  He was complaining of being dizzy.  We sat him down on the couch, gave him a drink, and took his temperature.  Sure enough, he had a fever.  We turned on treehouse and discussed what to do next. 
We decided to see how he felt this afternoon, and let him just hang out on the couch for the morning.  He literally just sat there the entire morning, and didn't move a muscle.  He wouldn't drink or eat anything.  We gave him tempra every 4 hours, and monitored his temperature.  The tempra was keeping it under control, so I didn't worry too much.
At 3, Drew fell asleep on the couch.  I took him up to his room, and he slept until 6.  I brought him downstairs and by 6:30 he was asleep on the couch again....took him back up to his room and he slept until 8:30.  At 8:30 he woke up screaming that his tummy hurt.  We decided that it was because he was hungry and came downstairs for a snack.  He had a couple of bites of cheerios and then couldn't eat anymore (sore throat).  We watched a bit of treehouse and then he was back in bed at 10.  The little monkey slept through the night (called for James at some point in the middle of the night, and asked him to sleep with him).  They were up at 8.  We took him to the doctor at 11, and she said it was just a cold (his throat didn't look too "scary" as she put it).  We are to keep giving him tempra and to let him rest.  When we got home, monkey pants asked for a nap.  He slept from 12-3 and then asked to go to Nana's.
We headed up to nana's, and he was alot better up there.  We layed low (or as low as we can be up there) and played inside and then headed outside and drove the vehicles.  He's now in bed, and hopefully will be all better tomorrow. 

Cottage Vacay

We spent our longest time up at our cottage since we've owned it.  We went up august 7-12.  James' sister and her family came up with us august 8-9.  My parents also came up on wednesday to see the place for the day...Drew was thrilled!  The week was spent with lots of swimming, canoeing, playing in the sand and playing with trains in the cottage.  We also made a day-trip to lakefield to visit our friends who we would see every year at the cottage we rented (Englewood cottages).  They have a daughter named Meghan who Drew loves to play with, so it was great for him to spend some time with her.  Drew and Hunter had a fabulous time.
We came back home thursday august 12 in the evening, as we had an appt. with an insurance agent the next morning and a date to see our little "niece" Hadley-bear in the afternoon.  That evening we went back to nana and papa's for a visit.  Saturday morning found us back on the road again.  We gave Drew the choice of either going to wonderland for the morning or going to nana's.  He chose nana's, so off we went there.  Showed up, and GASP...nana and papa weren't there!  Should have called first, I guess.  Spent about an hour there, riding his gator, and stealing some snacks (gotta love nana and papa's always stocked snack cupboard) and then hit the road for the cottage again.
Lisa and Norm decided to meet us there again, and Drew spent most of saturday afternoon/evening playing with Katie.  The Leungs left sunday morning, but we stayed on until monday.  Decided to leave mid-afternoon, and hit some major traffic on the way home.  Detoured down the 400 and decided to go to wonderland for the evening with the boys (we are the FUNNEST parents ever!).  Had a great time, rode a few rides, and were on our way again by 8:30......this resulted in 2 sleeping boys on our way home.  High five to James and I for a job well done!!!  :)

August 7, 2010

Today was a crazy day.  It all started out normally enough.  Our plan was for me to take the kids to my parents for a visit and James was going to do all the last minute things around the farm (we planned to leave for the cottage this evening after Katie's birthday party).
I took the kids to the Glen and we had a great time.  Drew drove his gator, and I hobbled around with Hunter (yesterday, before we went to meet little Hadley, I met with a foot doctor to get a treatment for a wart on the bottom of my foot - she put some sort of acid on it, and I wasn't able to walk on my foot due to a large blister that formed over the wart - completely normal apparently.....fun times!)
Here, on the farm, things weren't going so smoothly.  James cut the grass, and noticed a gaping hole in the fence, so he had to fix that.  Then he helped a cow deliver her calf, but the calf did not make it.....why do things like this always happen when we have somewhere to go?  We were supposed to be at our nieces birthday party at 3 but did not even leave for the party until 4:15.  Thank goodness we didn't really need to bring all that much with us to the cottage, as we've pretty much got everything we need up there.
Once at the party, we had a good time.  There was a cotton candy machine and cupcake decorating....we were in sugar heaven.  The boys had a blast.
Left the party for the cottage and stopped about 15 minutes later when Drew said he was "starving", and James spotted a McDonalds.  We pulled in there, underground parking and all, and hung out there for an hour or so before we were on our way again.  10 more minutes on the road and we had 2 sleeping boys....ahhhhh.
Arrived at the cottage, put Drew in his bed and assumed the usual routine with Hunter of waking every 2 or 3 hours.  Honestly, it's like he's still a newborn.  I keep saying I'm going to "do" something about it, but I'm sort of at a loss as to what I should do. 

August 6, 2010

A significant date in history.

Our friends Laurie and Andre welcomed their daughter, Hadley Elizabeth Allard, into the world at 4:20am.  I am thrilled to bits for them, and she is the most beautiful girl. 

Welcome to the world, little Hadley!

poop, poop, more poop and some sand....oh, and ants too

It's one of the farm chores that I"ve always hated.  Getting rid of the manure.  James announced this morning that it was time to spread the manure from the barnyard and you would not believe how excited Drew was to help.  Let's go, daddy! 
Off they went, hand in hand, to shovel the poop.  I wouldn't let Drew ride on the John Deere with James while he was loading the spreader, as it doesn't have a cab on it.  So, Drew patiently waited, on the house side of the fence, while James filled the spreader, and then he'd grab Drew and off they went in the international tractor (with the cab).  James taught Drew how to turn the manure spreader on and let Drew steer the tractor as they worked.  It was adorable to watch them work. 
Once they were done that job, Drew decided that it was time to finish off his sandbox.  They got out their tools and set to work.  A very productive day, as the sandbox is all ready to be filled with sand now.  We even called Harwood's and it's being delievered tomorrow morning! 
After all of this, we headed up to Nana and Papa's to await their return (they have been in Las Vegas for the week).  We had Swiss Chalet for dinner and when we returned, there they were.  Drew was thrilled and threw a huge fit when it was time to leave.  Can't really blame him...it's been a while since he last visited with them.  Poor little man.
And where was Hunter during all this?  Napping in the morning, playing with me in the afternoon, and chasing Nana and Drew around in the evening.  He's getting so fast, and is starting to be so interested in whatever Drew is doing.  So very much in love with his big brother!

I have these memories of my mother.  I remember her frantically running around the house before company (read  -extended family) with a broom and a dustpan, getting frustrated with me and my brother if we left messes around the house.  My brother and I would look up at her with confused looks on our faces, because she was usually so fun.  We'd look around the house, and not see anything wrong, the toys on the floor were just evidence of our fun.
Fast forward 20 years.  I am EXACTLY like my mother.  Today for example.  James was supposed to have his "team" from work over this evening for a bbq.  I sent Drew to my in-laws for the afternoon and cleaned like a mad-woman for seriously 4 hours (Hunter slept for 2 of those, and then I just cleaned around him).  I have this fear of what people will think of me and my messy house.  The thing is, it wouldn't induce such a panic if I just cleaned on a regular basis....did a little bit at a time, instead of a whole house, mad-dash clean when we have people coming over.  It's not like I don't clean ever, I just choose to play with my kids instead of scrubbing the floors, or vacuuming the carpets.  Each time the panic happens, I vow to make cleaning more apart of my routine, and this time, I really will...promise!  I'm a bad housewife, there I said it.