R n R in Fort Mac

I just love, love, love coming back to my childhood home! 

I know that the time will come when my parents will retire and move but I just LOVE coming back home.  Pretty sure upon retiring we will get to have them closer to us so that won't be bad either. My parents have created this comfortable vibe where after the long 5 hour drive to get there you can walk in the door and just let out a peaceful sigh.  They are so helpful with kids and it is so nice not to have to worry about everything!  Uncle Mikey is pretty awesome also.  We have had a few fires n smores, played the piano and had a ton of cuddles, yep life is pretty good at the grandparents house!!  Also ordered Jomaa's Pizza & Donair....classic Fort McMurray goodness.

~ Mrs. P

Book Babies

The author Mem Fox said, "reading endlessly, many books a day, often the same book over and over again. Don’t just read here or there a couple of times a week.... (as you read to your child they) will not fail to learn to read easily and quickly and happily."

We love to read at our house.

Before bed or nap is pretty standard but I am inspired to read more after coming across that quote by Mem Fox. I was struck by the last part were she says children will learn easily, quickly and happily.  That just seems beautiful!  There is definitely a place for formal teaching of the reading skill but gosh how lovely if children learn it happily through something they have done daily their entire life. I remember reading somewhere that for babies, where attention span is short, reading a short book many times a day is more effective then formally sitting down with a stack of books once or twice a day. Also, reading aloud helps children learn the intonation of language. Just some interesting comments on children and reading. 

I have fond memories of my dad reading to us before bed.  He would sit on the floor by the door where the hall light shone just enough for him to read us Swiss Family Robinson or The Black Stallion. We would drift off to sleep in our bunk beds to the sound of our dad's guff voice reading.  I hope that my little ladies will look back and have similar memories of reading together in our big rocking chair or in the tent downstairs, I know I will.

 

 ~ Mrs. P

Love for the BIG Guy!!!

Valentine's 2009 San Francisco

Oh how Vday celebrations have changed.

In our pre-kid life February 14th was a day where we would sometimes go a little crazy for each other.  In 2009 we headed to San Francisco and enjoyed touring around, a fun get-a-way. So here we are in 2012 and we still go a little crazy on Vday... it just involves Kinder Surprise chocolates and Thomas the Train colouring books.  Both ways rock!!! We feel darn lucky to have experienced both!

I am pretty glad that Mr. P is my sweetheart, my valentine!  So glad that the dude and I are in it for eternity.  He is the perfect balance for me in so many ways; (as per his card last year) he is the mac to my cheese, the frosting to my cake or (as per his card this year) MY MAIN SQUEEZE!!!!

~ Mrs. P

Valentine's Celebrating

We got started on the decorating in mid-January and the crafts just kept-a-coming. My big girl gets all excited at the mention of crafts, so her and I would get our craft on during 'special time' (aka when Stella is sleeping). 

Pinterest is a wonderful place to be inspired, I can take no credit for the fun ideas below.

Paper towel hearts!     How fun!!  Cousin Jacey can over for a date to make these works of art.  Mr. P actually said that it looked a bit like modern art, something you might find in a gallery. Oh dad's they are so proud of their kids. :)  It only required bending the paper towel/toilet paper roll ends into the shape of hearts then dipping and painting away.  We used different colours and next time I would use finger paint instead of acrylic....whoops forgot I was dealing with kiddies.

Tissue Paper Wreath   I wanted to make a wreath for our front door and this seemed easy and would make use of things I already had on hand.  I still have tissue paper from our wedding nearly 10 years ago, yes I am a nerd who kept and folded every piece of tissue paper.  This was a Jenny only craft, started with friends and finished over numerous naps....ya it took a LOOOOONNNNG time to do.  Twist into a rose and glue gun onto posterboard, voila!!!  Cuteness!

Valentine Mailboxes    I saw metal mailboxes with vinyl names but hadn't been able to get to Michael's nor do I own the machine that can cut up vinyl...I just didn't have the supplies BUT I decided to make these based on the idea of old school paper mailboxes that we would tape to our desks to collect valentine's.  I used felt and fabric I had on hand and sewed ribbon on so they could be tied to our kitchen chairs.  Amelia loved these and was forever pointing out hers and Stewwa's!!!  They were a huge hit Valentine's morning stuffed with chocolate, colouring books and board books!!

DIY Rainbow Crayon Valentine's  This idea was all over the Internet.  I found the mold at IKEA and everything else I had on hand, packages and cool tape, ya I have a ton of stuff in my craft room from my Teacher/Young Women Leader days.  We used old crayons that I had collected from restaurants, pulled off the paper, chopped up and melted'em in the oven.  The only thing is that even at 275c it took 15-20min and if left a bit too long the clear wax would rise to the top.  We discovered this with the first batch. An eagle eye is needed and a mother of two little peeps doesn't always have an eagle eye on the baking crayons.  I found a cute printable on line to print and use.  Who doesn't want a rainbow crayon saying that they have made someones day 'colourful'!?!  Mia thought these were cool!

Paper Heart Banner #1   I cut, we stamped, we coloured, I sewed!! A perfect combined effort.  Simple and the end result was adorable!

Paper Heart Banner #2   This ended up being a little more of a mom craft then intended.  I cut the strips of paper and then the stapler was too hard for my Miss Mia to push.  She did match the paper though getting it ready to be stapled. Cuteness!

 Oh my sweet Valentine's!!!

            How I adore these chicks! 

 My wee babe Stella is so smiley and happy now.  She makes me laugh!  And oh her cheeks, her soft, soft cheeks so perfect for me to kiss.  Exploring the floor and anything within her reach is so fun to watch but I love that she would choose a cuddle with me over any cool toy.

My big girl Amelia Ann has become quite the independent.  This mostly makes me smile with pride that she is asserting herself.   Her gentle, nurturing demeanor warms my heart as I see her 'mother' her dolls and her baby sister.  She also keeps me on my toes as I watch her mimic my words and actions. 

Happy Valentine's ~ Mrs. P

TLC

I said a prayer of thanks for the sling again this week. 
Seriously, the best investment I have made for Miss Stella and I.  Now I am a touch chick but not as strong as I would like to think and the sling has saved me. Oh the many hours I have carried/held our second born. Stella has literally been attached to me much of the past week.

The poor little lady has teeth coming in...that is the only thing I can conclude. So the cranky evenings, different appetite and need to be attached to me are the result of new teeth.  Oh how every little person is different, Mia would wake up in the morning and a new little chomper would have popped through. With Miss Stella, we know they are coming. I am totally ok with giving out a little extra TLC!!!!

She was looking all cute so I took a picture and the bottom two teeth she has can be seen.  There is one  on the top and I am thinking another is coming soon.  Adorable right?!
 

Fast and furious little teeth, not fun I tell ya!!

~ Momma P

Be Still...

I am really trying to BE STILL.

The kind of BE STILL where I relish in the moment and don't rush along to the

next thing on my to-do list. 

Amelia is really into putting out her little hand and asking me (or whomever) to come with her and she sweetly takes us off to play or read.  I have had too many 'in a minute' responses lately.  It totally struck me that the day will come where I won't be her top choice of people to hang out with and she'll stop extending that little hand out to me.   Ahhhhhh a mother's heart ache and remorse.  So I took my  realization and turned it into a motivation to put first things first and just BE STILL....with her, with Stella and with Mr. P.

I use to kind of pride myself on being a multi-tasker, you know doing a bunch of stuff simultaneously.  I recently heard a comment that multi-tasking means nothing is getting your full attention. Crazy true!!! I never want my little women to feel like they hadn't received my full attention.  So today I had a ton of laundry, a pile in the laundry room floor, in the washer, in the dryer and an unfolded basket on my bed - nothing moved BUT Mia and I cuddled on my bed during Stella's morning nap watching Thomas the Train, eating chips and salsa.  My arm was around her and she held my hand, soooo wonderful. Then in the afternoon we read a ton of Robert Munch books in the tent downstairs.  The hilariously weird author is becoming a favourite of my big girl. 

A bit of time was spent playing in the cradle, while I tried to change the bedding.

BE STILL Jenny, BE STILL!!!

Even tonight as I write up this post Miss Stella is fighting sleep on my lap, grabbing for the computer with random spurts of energy. Alas, I'm not folding clothes but cuddling a teething woman.

  So the laundry still needs to get done but I feel good about how today rolled out.

~ Mrs. P

Let's keep this real...

I just thought I would show this pic to record some realness of what sometimes happens at the Polischuk house.

Oh to be a toddler. 

Life can be hard sometimes.

Usually smiles are the dominant emotion.

~ Momma P