Happy Belated Birthday Canada

Wednesday seems to be a very long time ago since the last few days have been crazy busy, but we did have a very good mini-holiday in the middle of the week. We again hosted our annual Canada Day barbeque & due to the weather needed to plan for an indoor party & outdoor party. We were happy to spend a couple hours outside with our guests, but then needed to file everyone into the house when the rain started. Having 35 people file into your house at the same time that you are trying to get dinner items organized so that the kids that are starting to get unruly can get fed, is a little bit of a stressful experience. But all worth it in the end.

I owe many thanks to our good friends who kept the kids at peace with one another & looked out for ours when we were busy hosting. It is great to entertain people in your home, but when you have kids you are even more thankful for the efforts of your friends!

Unfortunately the nice weather did not last long
enough for all play to be outside.

When the weather turned bad, indoors is where the children played.

Thanks Noreen for 'supervising'.

Amongst the chaos, there was some quiet play going on.

Thanks Alison for the awesome Canada Day cake!

Changing Boy

Finally I am starting to see Jason as a little boy who has "friends". His biggest disadvantage has always been that I did not meet new moms who had kids the same age for him to have his own little playmates. He has always played well with the kids at daycare and he LOVES to play with Max, but recently he has also started playing well with my friend Kate's little guy, Matthew. When Wendy was up & the kids were playing, it was neat to watch Jason & Matthew do their own thing among the madness of the girls.

It made me rethink what to do for his birthday. At three Sydney had a "friend" birthday party and although I don't think Jason is quite ready for that, I do think that he needs to celebrate his birthday by having at least one friend there. Not sure what I would get if I asked him, he did tell me he wants to invite Adam because he is his "best friend". So thankfully Adam's mom doesn't work on Fridays and they can make it, so yeah! The bad thing is that a couple weeks after Jason's birthday, Adam will be moving away.

Jason is so much a boy. He has no problem playing with
girl toys, but usually does so in a boy-way.

Hot, sweet, and yummy work

Today Mom did something really special with the kids, something that I like to think I will do with them- but have not actually done it yet. Good old fashioned strawberry picking. Rookies at this task, Mom needed to encourage them to eat the berries instead of just putting them in the basket. When they finally did decide to eat the berries, they were the ones from their baskets instead of direct from the vine. I try not to think of the pesticides that they have just ingested by popping the berries directly in their mouth.


Props to Mom for taking them in the incredible heat of the day & to deal with the 5 busloads of kids who were also there. Thankfully the kids slept in for Mom that morning, so they were well rested for their big outing. I think Mom is in bed on Wednesday nights at the same time the kids are.

Welcome Southerners!`

Last weekend our transplanted Canadian friends headed back to their home in the south. The home was supposed to be temporary, but I am not so sure it will be as temporary as I hoped. :( However, since Wendy and the girls were in the area for two weekends we were sure to round the kiddies up for play & manage some Mommy Pub too. The first weekend they were here Sydney was heartbroken that Ellie didn't stay for a sleepover. But it was chaotic in our household that weekend & I think we would have stressed our visitors out. But alas, they did stay with us last Friday & Sydney got to have her sleepover.

One of the best things about this friendship is the enjoyment all parties get out of the relationship. Our kids play well together & as a result that gives Wendy & I time to chat & catch up. It's much easier to enjoy time with your friend when you are not breaking up arguments between your children. Now that they have headed back home, I just need to convince Brad that the kids & I need to go to North Carolina next March Break!

See Katie, your cow is OK. I will send 'him' back to you!

Wendy, let me know if you want any of these pictures...I will send with the cow.

These kids love their Papa

I was not part of the photo session on Father's Day & when reviewing the pictures tonight they clearly demonstrate that these kids love! their Papa. They have good reason too, because he really is good to them.


Maddy wasn't wanting away from her Papa, but she was definitely wanting the photo-op to end.

Happy Father's Day

Another Father's Day has come & passed & I realized I did not get a picture of Bradley with his children. However, we did get a group picture yesterday when we celebrated with Brad's family since Robb had to work today. It didn't seem right to have our celebration without him, however today the weather was beautiful whereas yesterday...not so much. So Brad's 'father' picture is cropped out of a group photo.

Awhile ago I asked Brad if he would like tickets to see a comedian he likes for a Father's Day gift. He said it didn't seem right to get a gift for Father's Day that meant he was not spending time with his kids. We could get the tickets for another reason, but he did not think it was the right thing to get for Father's Day. This is one of the things I love about him being the father of my children, he is very focused on his children & what it means to be a dad.

The Taylor Dads

Future Stars

Saturday was Sydney's first day of soccer. Since Sydney continually says that girls do not play sports (who knew my non-participation in sports would have such an impact?), it was a toss-up to see how it would go. I was very pleasantly surprised. She really dug in & played. There were many moments of comedy, such as:

• the line of kids following the ball
• confusion over where the goal is. The kids use the width of the field, therefore their nets are the pylons, but when the real net is there on the sidelines it is rather confusing for a bunch of 4 & 5 year old (see video)
• Sydney losing interest in the second half & watching the airplanes flying overhead

There was only one bout of crying & it was well warranted since the little girl did get the ball in the face- ouch! Sydney's team is called the Future Stars, but time will only tell.

Hey, there's an airplane!

Coach Nick telling Sydney to get her head in the game.

Long weekend "leisure"

Although not part of the long weekend, Thursday at school was backwards day. So, Sydney picked out a hoodie to wear backwards. I talked her out of wearing all her clothes backwards & to focus only on the clothes that people see. A day is a long time to wear your underwear & pants backwards. She seemed to have lots of fun & it brought memories of childhood back to me...my favourite was pajama day though.


When the May long weekend is early as it was this year, you more often than not get really cold weather. This year was no exception, but we had plenty indoors to keep us busy. It was a very exciting event for Sydney & Jason. Sydney got a new-to-her bed (it was originally her great-grandparents bed), her "big, big girl bed" as she calls it.. I let her pick out her new bedding & she decided she wanted everything in yellow. Jason got his 'big boy bed' because we moved the bed from Sydney's room to its permanent location in Jason's room. When we originally bought this bed it was with the intent of eventually being in Jason's room.

His room was repainted to get rid of the baby green colour & I found bedding that I loved that allowed us to keep the blue ceiling (because painting over it will be a nightmare someday). Since Jason often does not adjust well to change, I was a little apprehensive about how all this change would be received. However, I worried for nothing. He keeps telling us that he loves his "woom", he loves his bed, he loves his paint, he loves his bedding- especially the tow trucks & dump trucks- it is a smashing success.

Luckily all this came together much quicker than I anticipated & we were able to get all the "work" done & do some fun things with the kids. The main attractions for the weekend were: (1) fireworks at Grandma & Papa's & (2) throwing stones in the water at Grindstone creek.

The Reveal

Sydney's reaction to her new bed


Jason's reaction to his new 'woom'

Chilly Night for Fireworks


Hiking & Pitching Stones at Grindstone Creek

Mini Olympics

Saturday was Sydney's gymnastic class & they had a mini-Olympics. Sydney seemed to enjoy it, but this too she tells us she is not going to take again next year. I haven't quite figured out her reasons for continually saying she doesn't want to take lessons anymore (swimming, skating & now gymnastics). I am not sure if it is a confidence thing (being around new/different kids & learning new skills), a perfectionist thing (not learning the skill to perfection), or just a don't like it & don't care attitude. Swimming is not negotiable, she has to take those lessons. Skating is also not negotiable for at least another year. Gymnastics is purely her choice, so if she doesn't want to take it next year- that is fine. I am thinking she would like Sparks, so maybe we will try that.

Here are some pictures from the Mini-Olympics.

Happy Mother's Day

Upon hearing the news that I had quit my job, a friend at work had said she was not surprised that I was choosing to stay home with the kids. She said if Kelly Bowman had quit she would have been shocked, but Kelly Taylor quitting did not surprise her at all.

I think this reaction perfectly sums up what Mother's Day means to me. The day I became a mom, changed my life completely.

(Afterwards I asked Brad if he felt that he saw this change as completely as my friend & wondered if he missed Kelly Bowman...he just shook his head & told me I am nuts.)