Strolling the Boardwalk

Wow, talk about writer's block.  I had it in my head what I was going to write about not too long ago, and it all seems to have disappeared.  Something about long walks, zumba, icecream, and legs feeling like jello......

Anyways, today.  Today we did a lot of walking.  Hence the jello legs.  This morning I took the boys to the park, followed up by a nice stroll around the neighbourhood.  Then after their naps we marched down to the waterfront to check out some of the trails.  We discovered a really great boardwalk trail through a wooded wetland area.  One of the amazing things about living here is the nature trails.  I look forward to checking more of them out in the future.  Well, I did try to take a few pics but they didn't turn out.  I thought I'd share a few anyway.



It was really nice being out on a nature walk, although there wasn't much nature to see yet.  Just a bunch of gulls and a few ducks.  It reminded me of my EVLC days at Seneca King.  Seems like so long ago I was in college, where nature hikes were part of the curriculum.  I really look forward to reconnecting with the outdoors.  That was one of the reasons we were excited to move out this way, so that we could give our children the chance to experience the outdoors and learn about nature, and not just the concrete jungle of the city.  I hope they grow up with an appreciation for the environment and the outdoors.

Unfortunately though, T seems to be terrified of bugs.  I know he gets this from me, as I have a really bad fear of bugs.  But I have always tried to hide my reactions from him, so I'm not sure why he is so frightened of them.  He reacts just like I do.  If he sees one he will point it out and is ok, but if it flies near him or startles him he freaks out.  This really worries me, I don't want him to be held back from enjoying the outdoors the way I am because of my fear.  I hope he outgrows it, little boys should enjoy catching bugs!

Otherwise it was a really lovely day.  We spent most of it outdoors which was just amazing.  Although it's still a little chilly and I wish it would hurry up and warm up some more!

I'm looking forward to exploring those trails more in the future!

Blah Day

Well the blogging voices are starting to let up a bit.  I don't think about it nearly as much as just a few days ago.  Today I hardly thought about it at all, and by the time evening rolled around I wasn't even feeling much like posting.  That didn't take long!  I should probably try to write more during the boys' naptime as my head is much clearer earlier in the day.  By the time they are in bed my brain feels like mush, which doesn't make for very good writing.

Today has been one of those days.  Just blah.  I'm feeling a tad bit down, under the weather, worrisome, and not quite cut out to be a mom. 

I think both boys are going through a change in sleep needs, and I always hate these transition times where I'm not quite sure what their needs are.  T may or may not be starting the move towards dropping his nap, I'm not sure.  But he has been a teeny tiny bit trying.  I can't quite put my finger on why.

F is an overtired, teething mess.  Not that long ago he was still taking two naps that I had to wake him from, and he never wanted to get up from them.  Now he is refusing to nap in the morning, and is not making up for it in the afternoon.  His nights have gone to pot again as well.  Three nights ago he slept through for only the second time ever, but the last two nights he has been up for long stretches, clearly unsettled.  I'm pretty sure he's got teeth coming.  It's getting me rather down that his sleep is deteriorating once again, but I guess I should be used to it by now.

So both of them have been rather clingy and whiny which is really draining.

This morning we went to the Early Years Centre, as we do every Wednesday morning.  If you live in Ontario and haven't checked if there is an EYC near you, do so!  It's an invaluable resource and facility for parents, and it's free.  We go there to play and socialize, but they also run all sorts of activities and programs for kids and parents.  The boys love it and I do as well.  After the boys' naps we went to the park.  I've just been trying to get out of the house as much as possible because I think we're all happier out and about.

Finally the kids are in bed and I think I'm not far behind as I'm completely exhausted.  Like I said, just one of those days.

Zumba kicked my a**

Today was zumba day.  I need to get in shape.  Not that I've ever really been much of a super fit person, but there was a time when I was in pretty good shape.  It's funny because before I had kids I had some small insecurities about my body.  Looking back, it was pretty damn near perfect!  Oh how I wish I had appreciated it when I had it.  Oh well, what can you do.  It's a small price to pay for having such wonderful children.

But even after having the boys I've never really been bothered by the state of my body.  The weight was easy enough to lose, it's just the shape that needs rearranging.  I always thought I looked decent enough.  That is until I went bathing suit shopping a few weeks ago.  Those changeroom mirrors are unforgiving!  So I decided it was time to make more of an effort to get my body back.  Well, let's face it, it will never look like it did before pregnancy.  But there is certainly room for improvement!

I've never been overly athletic.  Before having the boys my main activities for staying in shape were horsebackriding and bellydancing.  Both past times that I miss dearly and hope to get back into one day.  But that is for another post.  Horsebackriding will have to wait until I have more money, and as for bellydancing, well I'm still trying to find that out here!

But I have discovered zumba.  And oh my am I loving it!  But it's kicking my ass.  Seriously, I can't move today.  Tuesdays are zumba days for me.  I go to the Y and drop the kids off at the childminder's.  It's the one hour a week I get to myself (for now anyway), and it's a whole hour of letting go, having fun, and feeling good.  The instructor is fantastic and I'm really enjoying the class.  It is a hard workout, but for someone who loves dancing it's the perfect way to get fit.  Ok, it's no bellydancing, but for now it's filling the void rather nicely.

A mom on a thread I read recently was asking how others get motivated to get in shape and stay motivated.  Now I'm not one for fitness, like I said.  The gym is no good for me, and I'm not coordinated or confident enough for team sports.  But give me dance any day and that's all the motivation I need.  (Well, that and the thought of my image staring back at me in the changeroom mirror while trying on bathing suits!)  For me, the way to stay motivated is to choose an activity that you really truly enjoy.  If you don't enjoy it, you won't do it.  It's as simple as that.  I love dancing, and if I could take a dance class every day of the week I would!

Zumba has been great because it's dance, but it's also an amazing workout.  I'm certainly feeling it today!  So it's right down my alley and I'm glad to have found something that I enjoy enough to keep up with.  It's making me feel like getting my bikini body back really isn't such a scary task!

There is a Thursday evening class that I'm hoping to take as well.  It's after dinner but before the kids go to bed, so Tyler can do their bath and bedtime stuff and I'll be home to tuck them in.  It will be tight, but totally worth it!

As for bellydancing, well I miss it so much.  I have found a dance studio about 30mins away that offers it, so I'm hoping to be able to afford classes there soon as well.  Between that and zumba I should be able to get my fitness and dance fix, and get in great shape just in time for bikini season.  Good thing too considering we live near a beach.

So if anyone is looking for the motivation to get in shape I have two pieces of advice.  One, go bathing suit shopping.  And two, find something you really love and enjoy, and stick with it.  You don't have to be a fitness guru to enjoy a good workout!

That's how this mom plans on getting her body back!

A Rainy Monday Ramble

So just over a week ago now I got a fancy new double stroller.  Well, new to me as we got it off of craigslist.  Last year I had convinced Tyler to buy me a sit n stand, because I thought I would for sure need something for both the boys.  Well it was a total waste of money.  Not only was it hard to push and ackward to maneuver, neither boy wanted to be in it.  I just ended up having F in a baby wrap or carrier, and T would walk.  I knew that this year I wanted a GOOD double stroller, so we could get around town easily.  F is now too big to haul around in the carrier, and T still prefers to walk but if I want to get anywhere in good time then he needs to be in a stroller.  After asking around which ones were good, and shopping on craigslist, I got a fabulous Bumbleride Indie Twin.  And I LOVE it!!

But the most important part and the point to explaining our current stroller situation - since getting the stroller we have been outside every single day.  Even though it's still been a bit cold, and rainy at times, I have been motivated to get out.  And that feels soooo good!  Especially after a long winter where we hardly got out at all. 

Today was rainy but I had resolved that we would walk to the YMCA anyway, for three reasons.  1) I'm that obsessed with my new stroller that I am willing to go walking in the rain just to take it out.  2) F refused to nap this morning so I wanted him to be able to have some quiet, relaxing time while we walked.  And 3) I couldn't resist the opportunity to put on rain boots and go puddle hopping with my favorite 2.5yr old, who cannot resist the call of a good, muddy puddle!

We marched to the Y for active tots which both boys love.  Then strolled home again, jumping in every puddle we could find.  It was win-win, F got a little snooze, T got some puddle time, and we all got some fresh air.  All thanks to my wonderful double stroller!

I've noticed something else wonderful happening since we have been out and about town more lately.  Something that is making me feel pretty good about living here.  Now when we go out, we are starting to run into familiar people.  At the EYC, at the Y, at the park, even just walking down the street.  Neighbours, other moms, new friends.  It's a good feeling to see a familiar face and say hi, even if it's just in passing.  This morning at active tots I had a nice chat with another mom that I've seen around since moving here last year.  Makes me feel like maybe, just maybe, I will be able to make new friends here.

The rest of the day wasn't too interesting though.  The threatening rain kept us in for the afternoon, and neither boy napped particularly well so they were both rather grumpy.  So we stayed in and hung out.  I spent some time tinkering around with my camera to see if I could figure out how to take nicer pics.

I, unfortunately, am a terrible photographer.  I'm not sure if it's just I have no idea what I'm doing, no idea how to take a good picture, or have no idea how to work my camera properly.  Or maybe my camera's just not that great.  But I thought, there has to be a way for me to take a nice picture!  So I got it out and played around with it a bit.  And I think I'm getting the hang of it.  Also, I think I need to spend more time editing my photos to make them look better.  Maybe then I will have some nice pictures.  Now, if only I could get the boys to sit still and smile for me!

One of these days I will get the hang of this blogging thing, and will hopefully stop feeling so overwhelmed by it.  I'm enjoying the idea of blogging, but am frustrated that I can't yet wrap my head around making it how I want it to be, including adding some pics.  Which I will do, once my photography skills improve.

So this ramble of today has left me thinking one thing at the moment.  I am not very good at writing!  There was a time when I considered myself a rather good writer, but something tells me that any talent I might have possessed disappeared years ago.  Because once again I've had some great ideas for posts over the course of the day, and yet here I am with nothing to show for it.  I always think "well there's always tomorrow's post".  Oh well, I'll try again tomorrow!

I haven't given up yet

I've been without internet for the past 24hrs or so.  It feels like an eternity for an internet junkie.  But that is the reason that I didn't post yesterday (I had fully intended to).  So it's not that I've already given up on my blog, on the contrary I'm still pretty much always thinking about it, just haven't been able to get online!

However now that I am back I am so very tired that I'm afraid I don't have much to post.  I mean, I know I have tons to post, but sleep seems like a much better option at the moment.  So I will make this a quick one.

It's funny, before I had kids I worked several jobs that consisted of long hours and hard physical labour.  And yet nothing I've done in the past is nearly as exhausting as being a mom.  It's physically tiring, but even more so it's mentally exhausting.  It's a non-stop, 24hr job.  Rewarding and worth every minute, but my oh my, I'm so very tired.

So I'm reminded of this great column a friend of mine once posted on FB.  Pretty much sums up being a mom perfectly.  I know all my fellow moms will appreciate it.

Why don't friends with kids have time?

We didn't do anything extremely interesting this weekend and yet it feels like it was a crazy weekend.  Yesterday we took the boys to swimming, it was their second class and so far neither of them seem really sold on the whole thing.  We also took them for haircuts yesterday and they were both surprisingly good, no major meltdowns.  Since it's been so lovely out we've basically just been trying to spend as much time outside as possible.

Last night as we put T to bed it struck me (as it has on so many occasions) how lucky we are to have such wonderful children.  T in particular is turning into such a lovely, sweet little boy.  He is so easy going.  Don't get me wrong, he certainly has his toddler moments.  But sometimes when I see or hear about other people's young children, I am so thankful that he is so good natured and doesn't give us too much of a hard time.  F is really coming into his own as well and has a fun little personality.  We are truly blessed!

So tonight's post didn't really have much of a point, just a bit of dribble to make up for my lack of posting this weekend.  Maybe once I get some more sleep I will have some more in depth thoughts to share!  But for now, my pillow is calling.  Nighty night!

Family Pictures

I wanted to add as well that I will try to post a few pics here and there on my blog, however I do have a separate site where I post pics to share with our family and friends.  They can be found here:  http://tristanandfinley.shutterfly.com/, however it is password protected so feel free to contact me for the password if you'd like to join the site.  Cheers!

Springtime = Fresh Start for the Speirs Family

Only my second post and I've already encountered a problem with this whole blogging business.  I feel like I have too much to say!  I feel as though all my thoughts are now consumed with things I want to write about.  It's like my entire day is a running blog commentary.  I think about past, present, and future.  I think about my boys, my husband, my family, my hobbies.  Anything and everything really.  This is what happens when you've never really kept any sort of journals, there is an overload of things to get out.

I'm starting to realize though that my millions of great blog ideas per day are really pointless as they are just fleeting thoughts, and no matter how great they sound at the time I can never remember it all by the time I get in front of my computer.  So I need to just focus on this moment, right now.

The biggest thing that has stood out for me today is how we are finally starting to feel like we're getting ourselves on track.  And just in time for spring too.  Funny how that happens?  The weather picks up and it's like we've suddenly turned a corner.  The dark days of winter are hopefully a thing of the past, with only sunny skies ahead.  I'd like to think so anyway.

Continuing from yesterday's thoughts, this past year has not been a walk in the park for us.  We chose to move knowing it would be chaotic for awhile but that in the long run it is what's best for our family.  Let's be realistic though, a new baby, a new job, and a new home in a new town is a lot of change for anyone to handle, so I guess we should be proud of ourselves that we have made it this far.  Still, the events of this last year have taken their toll, on our relationship, on our bank account, and on my emotional and mental health.  It has definitely been a challenge for us.

Now that spring has arrived I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Not that long ago the boys and I were cooped up in the house, with no motivation to go anywhere and nowhere to go really.  Now we are getting out every day, the days are just packed it seems.  It's a lovely feeling to be outside with them.  I can't wait for it to get nicer out still, so we can get out and do more things as a family.  This summer is going to be fantastic.  The beach, the Village, Elmvale Zoo, hiking, biking, swimming, fishing...yep I can see it already.  Ahhhh......

Welcome spring, we are so happy to see you!  Love, the Speirs Family