DEAR SAM

Dear Sam,

5 has been challenging so far.

Sometimes when you are unhappy with me you kick me in the shins and tell me that you don't like me. Sometimes you make threats, such as "I am never going to play with you again" or "I'm going to run outside and the wolves will get me." Sometimes you try to negotiate with me. You ask me "what are you going to do if I don't do what you want me to?"

Getting you to come can be very difficult and can take a very long time, and so is getting you stay close me. You love to run ahead...really, far ahead.

You love to torment your brother and make him scream, as well as your sister. You love to talk about pee and poo and penises and you think it is hysterical to show your friends your bare butt on the playground. Impressively, you can also burp on command, and who needs a toilet when there are trees and walls and sidewalks to pee on?

Mostly I am calm. Sometimes I yell. A few times I have pinched you.

But you are still my darling Sam. My boy who loves hot sauce, olives and cuddling. Who loves to laugh, go fast and have a good time. And you may be stubborn and persistent, but these are qualities that I think can be valuable.

I do love you to the moon and back Sam. And I know you love me too cause you just whispered that to me when I tucked you into bed tonight. Sleep well, my love. And hopefully tomorrow you won't run too far ahead!

THE FIRST FALL FROM THE TOP BUNK

Last night was the first fall from the top bunk. Will was showing off his going up and down moves (he is quite proud of himself), and got a little too cocky. He tried to dismount by hanging and dropping instead of using the ladder.

This is him telling me (in his without words way) the story of what happened:

And this is him showing me what happened after he dropped unexpectedly onto the bottom bed and then did a backwards somersault onto the floor:

No injuries, thankfully.

How is is going with our au pair, you ask?

Well, we think Charline is the loveliest (and also a foot taller than me). Day 7, and I am almost used to having someone live with us.

These have been some of my personal highlights this past week: 75 glorious minutes at Wholefoods all by myself, 2 runs in Lighthouse Park with my dog, holding hands with Clara and walking to school together just the 2 of us, not rudely waking Will from his nap and stuffing him in the car so I can pick the kids up from school, and tomorrow...a date with my husband!

I also have not pinched my kids this week, or really even yelled at them. Our meals have been top notch too, even when Jake didn't come home for dinner one night, and I have been practicing mon Francais. I'm going to be fluent before I know it.

I just need to stop worrying about if she is happy, is she having fun, does she like Vancouver, is it too rainy, too cold, does she think my kids are crazy, does she think I am crazy, is she homesick, did she like the tacos I made, is she lonely, is she annoyed that Kirby keeps sneaking into her room...??

Here we are on a little walk:

65

It is my mom's birthday today.

I love my mom. I feel so wonderfully blessed to be her daughter.

And I really do love living next door to her.

As a surprise for her birthday, my Auntie Shannon (her sister) flew from Ontario late last night. I love my Auntie Shannon too. They used to have the same haircut and they look kind of alike, so I always was comforted when I used to sleep over at her house when I was younger. That, and the fact that they had fruit loops or lucky charms in the cupboard, helped ease my homesickness.

I took my mom out for tea and petite sandwiches today (my favourite kind of sandwiches...they always taste so much better when they are small). It was really quite lovely.

I ordered a vanilla matcha latte. So good.

After a morning at the bouncy castle, Will falls asleep while working at his tool bench:

It is always alarming when you go peek on your kids while they are sleeping, and they are not in bed where you left them. Although it didn't take me too long to find Will, unlike the other night, when I finally found Sam in our master closet with his jammie pants down around his ankles.

I LIKE

A few random things I saw this week and really liked:

I love this journal. The 365 daily entries appear 5 times on each page. I miss writing daily in a journal.

And a book specifically for me to write more lists in! I just saw this at Indigo Books. They have a kids version too.

How cool would this be? I really like homes designed with children in mind. I mean, a couch is so much more than a place to sit. It is also a fort, a boat, a trampoline, a comfy place to eat a bowl of cereal, a soft place to land when practicing flips...

I would really like to have some pretty Japanese paper tape! So much nicer than scotch tape. You can buy it here:

INSTANT FRIENDS

Last week I took the boys to a friend's house. This was the conversation Sam had with her boy:

Sam: What do you want to be when you grow up?

Her boy: A race car driver

Sam: Me too!! (looking at me in disbelief and awe)

Her boy: What team do you want to be on?

Sam: The fast one

Her boy: I want to be on the Ferrari team

Sam: Which one is the fastest one?

Her boy: The ferrari team

Sam: I want to be on that team too!

They were instant friends.

Notice Sam in his jammies. He takes after his mom. He would prefer to wear jammies over any other clothes:

A few other pictures from our lovely morning together. She has almost one year old twins! I was a bit obsessed checking out how it all works (having 2 kids exactly the same age).