Errands. Insert silent scream here.

One thing that kills me in this whole 'mom' job description is errands. I just don't feel like I have a handle on this task. I blame the two year old. She makes every excursion such an utter pain in the ass that I just can't stand doing errands any more. Add the baby in her enormous lead-lined (or at least it seems that way) carseat, and I'm exhausted just thinking of it.

Katja is now too big to go in the cart, according to her. If she does go in, she typically lasts 15 minutes before she starts grabbing stuff or freaking out to get down. She takes her shoes off Every. Time. We. Get. In. The. Car. So on an average day with 3 errands, let's say, I have to get her shoes on her five times. And have to put her in her carseat 4 times. And she usually fights me at least 2-3 out of those times.

She usually has to go potty at least once during our errands. This is always a total gong show, with me holding the baby, my purse, and trying to get her not to pee all over herself. Then finding a way to wash hands again with baby in mei tai and toddler needing help. OMG.

My favourite is when she pees, then I decide I'd better pee too while I'm at it, and she chooses that moment to demonstrate her new skill - unlocking stall doors, while I say nonononono wait wait (all in French, that's what we speak..which reminds me, how do you say "pain in the ass" in French? Just curious). Then she bolts while I finish up. Joy.

Then there's the baby - option 1 - carseat, which weighs 300 pounds (ok that''s approximate) and put it in the cart. Disadvantage - baby stuck in carseat all bloody morning, baby gets hot, I so damned short (5'1") that I can't see over carseat in cart and bump into stuff. Option 2 - carseat in stroller, all the disadvantages other than lien of vision; less storage, plus stroller has to be taken out of car, assembled, and put back in car after. No toddler option either. Option 3 - baby in mei tai - makes toddler wrangling challenging and makes me look like such a MOM.

Then there's the other stuff toddler does. Demanding candy. Grabbing peppers and eating them before I pay. Seeing a 5 dollar plastic crap toy and being mesmerized by it for 15 minutes to the point where I have to bribe her to get her away from it. Running amok in the parking lot. Grabbing sunglasses Every. Single. Time. We. See. Them.

Another favourite is trying to climb into the cart at the butcher's - we go to this natural butcher shop (incredibly far from home - it's a 40 minute round trip but it's the only place with naturally raised humane society certified meat, so "we" - meaning "I" go there). The carts are ancient and greasy. So of course Katja loves to climb into the cart from below, usually when my back is turned, becoming either filthy or completely stuck (resulting in shrieking). Joy.

One of the challenges of a big family is food. But that's for another post.

It's a good thing they're cute. HEre they are with new hair bows from Etsy - can't remember the name of the seller, but I love them.

More on the "big family"

So back to this big family - I have "big" kids and "little" kids. Since the littles (as we sometimes call them) were born, the big kids have had to do without movies with mom or extended "big kid" times with mom. I really do miss that - I remember taking them to Valley Fair when they were 8 and 10 and we had such a freaking blast. Part of me regrets that we are still a couple of years away from being able to leave the littles and do that again.

At the same time, we DID have those years, which is cool. And they have my ex (their dad) who does those things with them, like golfing, and movies, and other stuff. When they're with me, they're stuck doing little kid stuff, but it's kind of cute how my almost 14 year old DS stares at the baby giraffe in wonderment and tickles his baby sister and how my 11 year old DD invents the most ridiculous and crazy and hysterically funny games for her baby sister.

I love my photo of my big guy, minus the sullen expression that sometimes seems permanently affixed to his face, at the Como Zoo. Okay, he wore his headphones the whole time, but he did usually leave one out so we could talk.

I think it keeps them young in an age where kids are growing up so fast, and closer to home because they do enjoy the little ones. It gives them license to PLAY. It also is teaching them a lot about how much responsibility and sacrifice is involved in having children. I'm pretty confident my big kids will be very responsible when they start having sex LOL

Here's ODD who was pissy about going to the beach, finding her smile while playing in the sand.

(The cutie in the blue trunks is the hubby - he's a big kid too when we're at the beach!)








I get one on one time with the big kids. The other day, ODD came with me for lunch with a friend, which she thought was neat. Tonight the littles were so exhausted they were both asleep by 7, so we played scrabble and pictionary and made nachos and her birthday cake too.

DS and I sometimes sneak out to the library alone together, and he stays up the latest so we chat, or play cards, or he sits and reads while I knit. The two year old still gets lots of time with mama while the baby naps, and the baby gets her mama time at the breast, and at night sleeping with me, or when she's in the mei tai and we just snuggle and I breathe her in. She's so sweet and warm and yummy.

Speaking of the baby, there hasn't been much baby action in this post:

How's that for unbearably cute? New longies in Alligator Knits "On Safari" BFL - my own pattern, adapted from several I've tried.

And of course the two year old terror. She's so gorgeous and full of life. Drove me bonkers today but she's so worth the effort.

Big Family

I guess we are a 'big family' now, it's not many moms out there these days who have four kids. My situation is a common one, I think, where someone has a first and a second family. Some people wonder how I manage, others like to comment on how I have my hands full. Which..well, I do. I totally do. Today Katja played with a box of band-aids, making a mess and wasting a bunch of them. But she was blessedly occupied and quiet while I just drank coffee and knitted, so you know what? I let her. DH was a bit horrified, but honestly, for me? Whatever.

So what if the baby has a band-aid on her leg? I didn't see anything.

Random Thursday

I don't have a lot to offer today, since my main goals right now are to wrap up my practice (starting a real job in September....which is terrifying and exciting), and to keep the kid away from Caillou as much as possible. That kid drives me nuts.

A few random pics -



My three girls, just the other day. Yes, Katja is naked. Any tips on how to get a 2 year old to wear clothes? She's so funny, she always asks me who is coming over when I insist she get dressed. She will happily wear clothes (except her $50 Geox sandals that she LOVED and insisted I purchase, and now eschews in favour of her $9 Joe shoes that are two sizes too big and utter crap) outside of the house, then strips the minute we get home. Weird.




Anika and Memere (Dan's paternal grandmother) at Nadine's baby shower.












We just got back from Minneapolis (all of us except Meredith, and with an additional two - Dan's parents). We hit the Como Zoo on Friday with the kids. Great deal - admission is free, though they suggest a donation. The zoo kicks Winnipeg's zoo's ass down the block. There's also a butterfly exhibit (free) and a conservatory. Max had fun photographing everything.




Anika and papa











Anika and mama

















Max had a great time - I was really pleased that he didn't pull the sullen teenager schtick - although the ipod was on throughout, of course.















This is Max's favourite photo that he took













And Katja's up from her nap, so I guess that's it for today.

lying to my kids

Recently a discussion took place on one of the forums I frequent. The original poster (op) mused about lying to kids and said she's pretty honest.

Some of the responses astonished me. Some people said 'I never ever lie to my kids, and how can you expect them to be honest if you lie and it's disrespectful etc.

Ok seriously? I lie to my kids all the time. All. The. Time. Like Caillou is still asleep.Of course I would love to read you this book for the thousandth time. Mama will be back in 2 minutes, just lie in bed and wait for me. Caillou is broken. Your going potty thrills me. I am so interested in playing play-doh.

And the lies I tell my husband, don't get me started. Yes, I sure appreciate the one time in our entire marriage that you vacuumed without my having to ask. Of course I don't mind going to your work an hour out of town with two kids in tow to help you out. Can we have sex? I want it SO bad. I love my crap minivan and of course I don't wish you made more money so I could trade it in.

But really, are these really harmful? I'm sure hoping they aren't. Because life is going to get a lot more complicated if I have to stop.