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I love to get outside with Leah everyday and make an extra effort to try get outside when I have two kiddies around. Sometimes we just go for a walk but lately I have been taking the girls to this great park as usually no one else is there, it is fenced and it is really close to us. With two girls, I can’t take them climbing on the play structures so they just enjoy them from the ground.

One of their favourite activities is to put bark mulch on and off the slide. They love the repetitiveness and I love they stay and play side by side. Sometimes one of them will wander off to walk along the teeter totter or I will push them on the swings but they always go back to the bark mulch and slide.

I love how the little things in this world open up great wonder and delight in a child’s world. Discovering a special rock, finding the perfect stick and making a new friend on the playground make their day so much fun. I adore how hours of fun can be found with bark mulch and a slide and hope to glean some of that child likeness back.

I have never been one to spend my Saturday mornings visiting garage sales until this Spring when a friend invited me to come along. We go as time allows us, enjoying the thrill of the hunt as well as each others company.

Last Saturday as I was driving to search out the perfect Father’s Day gift on the beachfront stores, I saw a church hosting a huge garage sale that I couldn’t resist. The church did not disappoint selling a wide variety of everything. I only had five dollars but that bought me everything that caught my eye.

Leah is still a bit young for these beads, but as she gets older I am sure she will make many beautiful necklaces that she will love to wear and want me to sport as well.

The swing will be perfect in our new backyard and this tunnel is just plain fun. I had to throw a toy into the tunnel to get her to crawl in. Once she picked up the toy, she tried to stand up which didn’t work so well. I look forward to using it in many obstacle courses and the like but for now Leah gets a big kick out of using it for peek-a-boo, which makes me get a big kick out of it too.

Friday night, Morgan and I left Leah with my parents and went out to watch a friend of ours race at Mission Raceway. Not the most romantic date but fun none the less. Between a busy Friday afternoon that lingered into the evening, trying to rush out of the house to try make it worth the effort and not wanting to pick up Leah too late, we still managed to enjoy ourselves.

The whole atmosphere at the races is definitely worth the admission and the drive out there. When you drive up in your four door, 1998 Honda Civic with a car seat in the back and they ask if you racing or spectating, you know you are up for a good time.

I know, this car doesn’t look like a race car put if you are willing to put a few bucks down, you can pretend all you want. Just please, don’t blow anything up as I need it to put up my child from her grandparent’s after the show.

Some nights even a few mini vans are trying to burn up the quarter mile. I can only assume those men are in denial, having been required to give up their two door sports car in exchange for something that can carry the wife, children, strollers and soccer equipment without making 5 trips. Here is one that I found on their website.

When I first heard of the variety of vehicles that race, I laughed but by the end of the night, I was contemplating putting our car out there. What can it hurt and where else can you find such great entertainment for $30 on a Friday night? Since I wasn’t likely going to be any faster than 14 seconds, no helmets or other safety equipment required. I could choose to race against a Yaris, Mustang, Mini Austin, Dual Cab Dodge Ram or even a Ford Festiva.

That green Ford Festiva had my vote every single time. It may not look like much but often creamed the car beside it while cruising at a top speed of over one hundred miles an hour. This is the Festiva at the starting line and in a separate race, our friend cruising past us.

Watching the races was entertaining but equally entertaining was the crowd which I believe numbered fewer than the cars registered to race. There was the lady in the cow costume trying to get the meager, spread out crowd to do the wave or the drunk guy sitting all alone on the bleachers after the races commentating to himself. The group of young ladies all dressed like there were attending a bachelorette party were also quite the sight though it didn’t appear that anyone was getting married.

So next time you are bored on a Friday night and only have $5 to spend, empty your change drawer as well for some treats and head out to Mission. If finances are extremely tight, just wait until the end to buy your hot refreshments and you will get them half price.

Last Sunday night after our softball game, we were hungry and nobody wanted to cook so we headed off for dinner to the Old Spaghetti Factory with my parents, sister and brother in law. It was past Leah’s bed time and she already had sat in my mom’s lap and her stroller for awhile during the ball game but it sounded like a great idea.

Leah did alright during dinner and was starting to get fussy just before dessert came out. I took her out of the high chair and held her on my lap for a bit before passing her off to Grandma once dessert came. This is when Leah decided she had to take matters into her own hands. Being tired and frustrated she helped herself to something her parents has been trying to keep away from her for at least another year. Seeing no need for a spoon or bib, she dove right in.

But after she had had her first couple of licks, I couldn’t deny her more ice cream with her sweet look of satisfaction. I do have to say there was no fussiness after that.

Leah loves being outside. When she sees me hanging laundry on the drying racks on the deck,she pushes on the screen door wanting to come out with me. Usually I will then let her come out with me and watch so she doesn’t pull up the lettuce or pull one of the drying racks onto herself. The other day, she noticed some empty pots and had a heyday with them. I let her play with them for quite awhile, even after I went inside. She had bits of soil all over her but I figure that is well worth the fun and quiet time.

Leah spends quite a bit of outside time at my parent’s house as well. Whether she is sitting in her wagon watching me garden or playing peekaboo with the freshly hung laundry, she always seems to have a blast. I hope the trend continues.

Leah has become a little pickier when it has come to eating lately. Sometimes Leah will not be pleased with the standard fare I have prepared for her (yogurt with applesauce and fruit or whatever we are having for dinner) and would gladly scarf down bread or cheerios instead. She has learned how to shake her head saying no and will increase the head shake and may even escalate into a complaint/cry if the spoon keeps on getting closer to her mouth. I explain that she needs to eat her vegetables and fruit to grow into a big, strong girl but it doesn’t even faze her. Just kidding, I actually haven’t tried the speech but maybe I should.

Carrots seem to be her main irritant as of late. I still try take all the finger food that she hasn’t eaten of her tray and put it into her yogurt or dinner so she still gets a balanced diet even if she doesn’t choose to eat them. The problem is my little girl is getting smarter. I used to be able to pick up a carrot off of her tray, put it directly on her spoon with a touch of another food and voila. Now, depending on her mood, I have to be all secretive about it so she doesn’t see the whole process. (Put the carrots in the bowl, preferably while she is not looking, stir it around in yogurt or tomato sauce making it unrecognizable and spoon feed to child.)

Yesterday, Morgan was trying to help feed Leah with her dinner. Near the end of the meal, Leah would eat what she had taken off her tray and put on her empty spoon Morgan was holding. She seemed to pick up the smallest of crumbs making it a long, drawn out process. l guess this is what they mean when you always have to be a few steps ahead of them.

I will continue offering all sorts of fruit and veggies in the hopes she will try and like them. I heard some kids need to try a food up to thirty times before they like it. At first, I thought that was crazy but now we are doing it as I don’t think a bread and water diet will sustain all her needs for the next few years.

(…or have been affirmed)

I have amazing friends.

God’s grace is absolutely amazing and mind boggling.

Running without my running partner turns into more of a leisurely walk than a great workout.

Life can change so fast.

I have an amazing family.

I am very impatient.

Fresh strawberry jam is worth all the effort.

So, some big decisions have been made very quickly in this past week that I am super excited about but have yet to be totally confirmed. (No, I am not pregnant.) I have felt such a huge range of emotions and am so grateful my husband balances out the emotional side of me. These decisions have added a lot of things on the immediate ‘to do’ list which means I have been super busy.

Now that this week has arrived, it seems things have had a chance to settle down and my house has had a chance to be cleaned as well as laundry laundered and grocery shopping bring completed. I don’t think I have been so excited about fresh vegetables in my fridge in a super long time.

All this to say, I am grateful to my friends, family and God for how they have blessed this season in my life. (And on a totally unrelated side note, Leah has her two top molars. Good job girl! Not that you had a choice in the matter but you dealt with it well.)

There seems to be no reason or rhyme to what nicknames I choose to call Leah at any given time. Lately the winner has been ‘chickie’ and I tell her often she is my favourite girl in the whole, entire world. Yes, there is absolutely no doubt about it, she has stolen my heart and I love it.

What do you do when we are enjoying extremely warm temperatures? Well, grab yourself an ice pop full of sugar, fructose and food colouring and pass one on to your toddler without opening it. All the fun and no preservatives, food colouring or sugar highs, just petro-chemicals from the plastic. Much healthier I’m sure.

Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I feel like I turn into “Supermom”. I am ultra organized, use nap times for ultra efficiency and am all around ultra busy. I guess this is what mothers of twins do all day. For three days of the week, I look after a friend’s beautiful, little girl who has turned into Leah’s ultimate play mate.

Here is a glimpse into our days:
Playtime

Nap time

Snack

Going for a walk

At the Park

Lunch

Playtime

Naptime

Snack and Goodbyes

All in all, it has been a great experience. I am sure Leah will reap many benefits including friendship and sharing. I am already trying to teach the values of gentleness, patience and turn taking though we are only at the very beginning steps of the journey. This journey is not easy but I think learning young is helpful and who better to do it with than a good friend.