I'll take you to the Candy Shop...

What a great weekend I had. The Stagette was so much fun. We didn't actually learn pole dancing but a stripper/fitness instructor taught us a whole choreographed lap dance routine to the song "Candy shop" by 50 Cent. It was hilarious and by the end of the session the girls were taking it pretty seriously (myself included). When I got home I told Iain about it and for the rest of the weekend he kept singing "I'll take you to the Candy shop..." everytime he saw me - in hopes of a little demonstration I'm sure...
He had a great night with the kids too. He said around 4am Ty came into our room and said "Daddy where's my mommy?" Iain told him I was sleeping at Uncle Ry's house and asked him if he wanted to cuddle but Ty said "No Daddy I'm going back to my own room"
I was so happy to see the kids on Sunday when I got home. They were pretty excited to see me too. It was awesome.
Here are a few pictures from our great girls night out - that is not me dancing btw- I was taking the pictures.

A Muddy Morning at Knox Farm

We really are back to reality - and off on a field trip to the farm with Ty's preschool class. In spite of the miserable weather this morning it was a really great trip. We were ushered into the barn immediately and stayed there playing with the farm animals and listening to the Farmer so we didn't really get that wet. The weather cleared up enough at the end of the trip for the kids to go on a wagon ride too. I just love these field trips b/c I love watching Ty's eyes light up when he is discovering something new and I have to laugh at the questions that the kids come up with. One kid yelled out "Do cows have teeth?" Everyone laughed but it ended up being a really good question- the farmer actually had to check the cows mouth to confirm it and found that they only have bottom teeth. Who knew?? So this wasn't just a learning experience for the kids... I had Vanessa on my back (in a carrier) and she enjoyed the trip just as much.

( Ty with his teacher "Miss Peggy")

(Nolan & Ty meeting Archie the Turkey)

I'm pretty excited for this weekend - I'm going to a stagette Saturday night and I'm leaving the kids alone with Iain all night!! I'm so nervous (which sounds ridiculous I'm sure) but Iain has never been alone overnight with them and when they wake up in the middle of the night they can be really tough to deal with. They usually just want me. I'm determined to go and have a great time though - we are going to be learning to "pole dance". It should be a great night!!

Hope everyone has a great weekend too!!

Part 4 - The Final Instalment

Day 6 - Back to the Animal Kingdom for Breakfast in Dinoland (we ended up spending most of the day there again)

Day 7 - Another Waterpark- Typhoon Lagoon and celebrating Melanie's 30th birthday

Day 8 - Our flight home :( I seriously spent time trying to figure out how we could stay longer. The good news is we are already planning our return in 4 years!!

I am so depressed to be home already. It was such an amazing week for all!! We are reliving it with our pictures now (all 400 of them- I'm not kidding) Fortunately we do have the summer ahead to look forward to.

Part 3- The Disney update

Day 4- Animal Kingdom then back to the Magic Kingdom for dinner at the Crystal Palace

(Posing in front of the best ride at Animal Kingdom- Expedition Everest)

(Waiting outside Crystal Palace with my brother & the kids)

(Meeting more characters during dinner)

Day 5 - MGM Studios followed by a Luau at the Polenisian Villas resort

(Another favourite ride at MGM -The Tower of terror-we are in the front and second rows on the left)

(My parents with all their grandkids before dinner)

"The Happiest Place in the World" - Part 2

Day 2 - Magic Kingdom & Dinner at Chef Mickey's

(Vanessa waved happily to all the characters from a distance but not so happy when they came close to say hello)

Day 3 - Epcot

(There was an amazing exhibit at Epcot called "The living seas" where the kids get to talk to Crush (from Nemo) It was really unbelievable)

(Watching the Fireworks show that night - it was spectacular!!)

Day 4 - Blizzard Beach (our first and only rain day!!)

We decided we were going to go to a water park this day. Unfortunately when we woke up it was pouring and continued to do so all day. The kids didn't seem to mind though and we had the entire water park to ourselves. It was set up like a ski lodge - really neat. Iain went down the largest "slope" and clocked 60 miles/hour on the way down. That night we celebrated Ethan's 10th birthday back at the lodge restaurant. For a rain day we had nothing to complain about - still a great day!

**Once again I'm having trouble adding pictures so I'll try again later**

"The Happiest Place in the World!!"

We are back! It's starting to sink in that our trip is actually over and we are back to reality again. What an amazing vacation we had though. We all agreed that it was truly the best trip all of us had ever taken. The kids were awesome and Iain and I got to do everything we wanted to do and more. It was the fastest 8 days I can ever remember. Here is a quick summary...
Day one- Arrival, Checking out the hotel

(The flight was perfect - I can not say enough good things about WestJet)

(Ty makes new friends everywhere we go- this is getting off the plane in Orlando)

(The Wilderness Lodge was emaculate and so great for the kids and the adults - we plan to stay there again next time we go)

We spent that evening Downtown shopping and having dinner. The kids were already having a blast - so were we...

(Shopping with my SIL Melanie)

** Blogger is not letting me add any more pictures so I'll post this now and try again later**

And we're off...

I can not believe how quickly this week has gone by, but even more so, I can not believe how much I still have to do before we leave tomorrow morning. I've got laundry on the go right now and most of our clothes and toiletries thrown all over the bed and floor. In the meantime Vanessa is napping and Ty is playing with Nolan in the basement. You'd think I'd use this free time more wisely but I think I work better in a real time crunch so this afternoon will be very productive.
This week Ty has had minimal sleep - he is up so much at night and all he wants to talk about is Disney World. Last night we was very concerned about how we were going to get Vanessa's crib and our TV on the plane with us. I'm really hoping once we get there we will actually sleep at least a few hours at night from exhaustion.
Well, this week I did something I vowed I would never do. I bought my son a leash...I used to see parents with their kids on a leash and think it was the cruelest thing but now I'm looking at my options of 1) looking like a cruel parent or 2) losing my son at Disney World. I'm thinking I could live with other peoples negative comments and looks. I can honestly say that it wouldn't matter how closely I watched him and how much I tried to force him to stay close to us I know there will be a time that I will turn my head (even if it's just to sneeze) and he will see that as the perfect opportunity to run off. It's just not worth it for me so I will be one of those parents "walking" my son. I just hope this doesn't scar him permanently. I'll make sure not to get any pictures of him on his leash.
In the meantime here are some pictures of my kids this week. Vanessa is on a mission to climb the stairs any chance she can. (Thank goodness for the gates!!)

(Trying to squeeze herself under the gate)

(That didn't work so she decided to try to wedge herself through the rungs of the gate)

(Planning her next move to get up those stairs)

(Ty and Nolan eating a pancake lunch- we are low on food right now)

I hope everyone has a fantastic week and I look forward to posting all about our trip. Back on May 22nd!!!

The weekend

We had such a busy weekend - again- that I thought I'd try to do a couple blogs about it. This should wrap it up though. Friday night once Iain got home from work we took the kids over to Dairy Queen for a little treat. I enjoyed a yummy peanut buster parfait - and I wonder why I've gained 5 lbs in the last couple of weeks. (Vanessa had the giggles that night and wouldn't stop smiling)
Saturday we had our friends from Milton - Krisha, Craig and Sydney and my old university roomy Robyn over for lunch and to celebrate, Iain, Sydney and Robyn's birthdays (all at the end of April). The kids had a great time playing and the adults got all caught up. It was a great visit.

(Enjoying delicious Licks burgers for lunch -thanks to Krisha & Craig)

(Helping Sydney open up her gifts)

That night Iain and I headed into Toronto to visit my brother's new place and to go to a Jack & Jill party of friends Iain went to High School with. It was a great adult night out. Unfortunately once we got home I was up with both kids from 2-5am that night/morning. I was absolutely exhausted. Apparently Ty & Iain felt it too. They crashed for an hour Sunday afternoon.

Sunday morning Iain's parents came over to visit and give the kids Easter gifts. That afternoon I picked up my new coffe table but I'm not going to post pictures of the living room again until it's painted- which is happening while we are away next week!! Finally to end the weekend off we headed over to my brother Jeremy & SIL Melanie's place to celebrate Ethan's 10th birthday. Unfortunately I forgot my camera but it was a great afternoon. The men spent all their time putting together a 15ft. trampoline (from Costco) that my parents bought the kids for their birthdays. Ty had a blast in it once the men finally got it together (after 3 attempts Iain finally grabbed the instructions!! lol)

Today (Monday) I dropped the kids off for a couple hours with Melanie while I went to go see a play that my matron of honour helped put together at our local school. Since being home Ty has been napping but in very exciting news - Vanessa took her first steps!! My mom is on her way over right now to witness it. She is able to take 2 steps before falling on her face - but she's smiling the whole time.

(Baby girl is so proud of herself - after she falls she claps)

Ryan's Condo

Saturday night on our way to a Jack & Jill, Iain and I finally stopped in to the "big city" (Toronto) to check out my brothers new place. WOW!! is about all I can say. We were so impressed. It seems huge. It's considered a loft and I'm sure the 11 ft. ceilings add to how big it seems. He's only been in for 2 weeks and has already painted the ceilings and gotten a few decorative items in place but he just ordered a couch this weekend which hadn't arrived yet so we really didn't have anywhere to sit. That was fine though- we spent most of our time enjoying the view from his balcony. It was great to see him and see how excited and happy he was in his OWN place. (both him and my parents are saying FINALLY!!! ;) ) Seriously though- my mom is already missing him and I'm sure even though he swears my parents are losing it - he is missing them too. I know I wish he didn't move so far but I have already booked my first overnight stay so I'm sure we'll still be seeing lots of each other. (and really, it's less then an hour away so there are no excuses) (The kitchen- already fully stocked - he was even able to offer us a drink)

(The main room- where we will eventually be able to sit and socialize)

(Enjoying a drink - and the view of Lake Ontario and the city)

(The main bedroom- already furnished and very cozy)

Lots to update...

Since my last post we have been very busy. The evening after our visit to Daddy's office Vanessa surprised us by standing on her own. She is walking holding our hands and her walker so far but hasn't been adventurous enough to try it on her own yet.

On Saturday we had some gorgeous weather so I took the kids for a walk to my parents place. We passed a field of horses along the way and Ty was not shy at all. I kept telling him to stand back a bit. He said "Mommy can you put me up on that horse?" He decided that next time we should bring apples to feed the horses. Monday was a very exciting day for me. I finally got Vanessa's hair up in a ponytail. She wasn't thrilled about it but I thought it looked very cute. I am loving this girly girl stuff!! Soon enough we'll be painting our nails together.Tuesday Vanessa surprised us again making it all the way up the stairs with no hesitation or trouble. She is constantly on the move now but thank goodness I'm used to that with Ty. We never did take our gates down so we are well prepared for this active little girl. Yesterday afternoon was another gorgeous one so the kids had a great time outside in their motor cars & playing in the backyard.
Finally that brings us to today - we had a playdate this morning with my next door neighbour that I lived beside for 20 years growing up. She has two boys, Jordan who will be 2 years old this month and her newest boy Nathan who is 3 weeks old. Another fun morning for the kids.

(My mom came to see the baby too- he made Vanessa seem so big & old)

I was a little worried this week that we would have nothing to do b/c Ty's preschool teacher canceled class this week (she is having gallbladder surgery). Fortunately we seem to have kept busy and the week is flying by. Let's hope some of this awesome weather sticks with us for the weekend!!