Thursday 9 October 2014

Miriam the Cat Whisperer

Deo hates children. I'm not exactly sure why since he's bigger than all of them and could definitely take them. It probably has something to do with the physical exertion required to fight them off or run away. 
But today there was a huge breakthrough. He and Miriam had a moment! Became friends even. 
They walked off together with a silent, new understanding between them. 
Awwwwwwwww ❤️




Monday 25 August 2014

Say Cheeeeeese

I was trying to snap a photo of G and was asking her to say cheese. Miriam walked into the shot saying cheese over and over again. Behold: Chubby cheeks in all their glory!
Also, Georgina's really giving off an Ace Ventura vibe with this outfit 
For your reference:



Wednesday 30 July 2014

Hansel and Gretel

You know the story where a witch builds a house out of candy to lure children in so she can eat them? Well something similar but way less sinister is happening over at my in-laws. 
It started with a swing set. Pretty basic stuff. But the kids went nuts over it and hours turned to days spent on that. 
Then they bought a water table (a table you fill with water that the children can splash around in without getting wet, Morgan). Nothing too extraordinary but its irresistible to little ones. 
My beautiful niece, Breanne, playing so sweetly with Miriam. 

It isn't just the toys though. Like the witch in Hansel and Gretel, they use candy to lure the children in. Georgina even calls Jan Chocolate Grandma. Actually. 
Are those gummy bears ontop of each sandwich? you ask. Yes. Yes they are. 

They really stepped up their game when they bought the cottage playhouse. Jan says, "Costco can see us grandparents coming a mile away". No kidding. 
Rocks for a floor making all of Miriam's dreams come true. 

But then the real game changer happened this summer. They took it to a whole new level.
The unsuspecting children wandered right into the trap...
Bah-bah-BAH!!! A pool?!?! AH-mazing. 
And it comes filled with cousins!
Georgina wasn't too thrilled with actually getting in the water at first 
But with some awesome hands-on encouragement she soon become a little fish. 
Look at them so proud of themselves; a plan come together. They certainly know what they're doing. On second thought, it's more like A Field Of Dreams. If you build it, they will come. 
Careful, Jan and Bryan, anything more and you'll have to accept that your grandchildren will become permanent residents. 
Or your children for that matter.
We love you. I am one lucky daughter-in-law with even luckier children. xoxo


Wednesday 9 July 2014

My Daughter Looks Like Alan Jackson

A Note: This post was written a long time ago for another blog. A blog with a tasteless name according to my parents. A blog that shall not be named. I've moved it over to Georgina and Miriam to share with more people. And because my kids aren't really generating much content this week so I'm forced to recycle. Enjoy! Or if you read it already on that other seedy blog, enjoy again!

Georgina has had some rotten luck in the hair department.
She started off with very little, resembling George Costanza. Look at all that forehead. We still call her George to this day.
just terrible....
And when it finally did come in it resembled more and more like a country singer's bad haircut.... at least it wasn't George Costanza??
Dead ringer for Keith Urban
The Billy Ray period was brief but no less disconcerting
And finally her metamorphosis was complete when she reached Alan Jackson, circa Chattahoochee, level. (This description was first made by my sister. Sorry G, blame Auntie Morgan).
The worst part about all this is Alan Jackson, circa Chattahoochee, wasn't the low point. The low point came when she was having a bangs-in-her-face problem so I brought her to the hair dresser and with all her talents, the hair dresser did this
Blunt cut across her forehead from ear to ear. Nice. Let's get a better look.
Jagged and uneven. 
Look at that depth. She literally gets it halfway to the back of G's head. And don't think this was a twitchy toddlers fault. My daughter is close to impossible on almost all matters but she behaves like an angel when in a barber's chair. Probably something to do with a complete stranger holding a weapon-like object up to her face....

To resolve this problem we resorted to this
Ya, that oughta do it.

**Update: Since this post Georgina has had better luck in the hair department and for the most part has a pretty stylish coiffe.... for the most part.
 

Saturday 5 July 2014

Ice Cream For Breakfast

Apparently we don't feed our kids and they are left to fend for themselves. Maybe it's neglect or laziness. Or maybe we are fostering independence? Or maybe I turned my back for one second and my child's an opportunist. Either way, this morning Miriam took matters into her own hands. I'm quite proud of her actually. I walk into the kitchen to find this
I'm not even mad. Just impressed. She even used a spoon! Such etiquette. At least we know she's not an animal. 
And what does one do when they find their wee one eating icecream out of the bucket for breakfast?
Join them! Naturally. We shared a few bites together and all was merry. A sweet moment of bonding. But there's only so much chocolate icecream a mother can allow her child to eat for breakfast (I'm not a grandma!). That's when it all went sour. 
She had a full blown screaming tantrum and was so overcome with rage she hid herself in the garbage cupboard when I said "All done!"
I can see you! 
Such big feelings in such a small body. The chocolate sugar high only working against her at this point. 
In general Miriam's pretty easy going with a sweet disposition. But she turns into a tiny tornado when she's mad. Us laughing at the adorable futility of it only fuels her rage. 
Kudos to you Miriam. You get a gold star for resourcefulness. 

Friday 4 July 2014

Walking Ben

My parents got a puppy (as I'm sure my limited audience is well aware). His name is Ben. He's so darn cute. But he does a great job reminding Dave and me we are not fit to own a dog of our own. At this point in our lives at least. 
See how cute he is!?!?!? This was his first day home. He's growing into his teenage stage already but still pretty cute. 
Anywaaaaays.....
My parents are off gallivanting this week (again) and so I'm helping their friend, Sharon, with Ben duties. The other night while he was here I thought it would be a great idea to take him for a walk with the girls. Dave was beat from a long day at work so I also thought "I'm such a clever and good wife giving Dave a break and an empty house. This is going to be fantastic!" Ha.  
It started off lovely
This is Miriam asking Georgina sweetly if she's okay. "No otay? No otay? No otay." as she rubs her belly. Georgina was completely okay but M uses the word no when she means yes. And when she means no. But that is a whole other story. 
As I was saying, it was all going well but we didn't make it a block before it started to fall apart. 
First, and I blame my mom for this, Ben refused to walk and insisted he ride in the stroller. I'm NOT joking. I had to the find the least resistant child to displace so Ben could have a seat. 
Miriam's smallest. Out you go kid. G loved the change. Everything seemed to be going smoothly until Miriam found a rock bed. 
Backstory: Miriam MUST play in rock beds. She can't just walk past them. She picks the rocks up, throws them, then collects the rocks she's thrown and puts them back. Or she picks them up and hands them to me. Repeat. 
(Photo evidence from other times)
So ya, Miriam found a rock bed and refused to walk further. She had work to do! Georgina didn't like sitting still so she got impatient and jumped out of the stroller. Ben didn't care either way. He was comfy.
I tried to put Miriam back in the stroller while g wandered ahead. Nope. No chance mom. So on we walked. The girls running ahead, Ben in the stroller. I'm not making this up!
As crazy as this is it was working out okay. But then I guess Ben felt he was missing out on all the fun and wanted out too. So now I'm pushing an empty stroller and Georgina, Miriam and Ben can't seem to agree on a direction. Oh boy. The details are complicated and boring. So I'll skip the part where it all fell apart and a neighbour and driver passing by both stopped to laugh at me. "Seems you have your hands full. Har har." I call Dave and ask him to leave his peaceful break and come rescue us from ourselves. 
Daddy shows up and everyone's suddenly a cooperative angel again. Final note: he didn't even have to walk a block to meet us. We were gone 45 minutes and could see our house the whole time. 
To wrap up, here are a couple more pictures of Ben riding in the stroller. Because it really is actually a thing. 
Mom, dad. Should I just pass this stroller onto you when the girls outgrow it?