Funny Water

I planned for Jonas to have a bath this morning . I had all his clothes off and he was going "pretend potty" (he's sat on his potty a lot but has never actually"gone" while on his potty). He was all ready to jump in when I remembered I needed to grab some clean laundry from the basement. I told Jonas I would be right back and ran downstairs. 

When I came up Jonas kept repeating "Funny water!" "Funny water!" as we walked towards the bathroom. Suddenly a thought occurred to me that drew me up short.

"Show me where" I said.

So Jonas pointed at a dripping wet mark on a basket in the kitchen bookcase which culminated in a puddle on the floor. 

When I heard him proudly declare "Spray!" I connected all the dots.

The funny water was urine and Jonas had discovered his hose.

I love basking

in the light and love of my boys, all four of them.

Trippin'

At last the long awaited day...

24 hours without children!!!

Matt and I's parents generously watched the boys so we could get away for a whole date day. We were giddy with excitement! But it did feel eerie to travel with a completely empty backseat!

We slept at Bri & Ashton's because their guest suite is better than any hotel I've stayed at!

And then we raided their kitchen to make a gala breakfast.

We had one of those rare shopping days where we found almost everything we were looking for, at  sale price and within two hours.

The dreaded swimsuit picture. I've lost 15 pounds. I need to lose another 15 by January.

Moving on.

Then after riding all the slides at West Ed I slicked my hair under a baseball cap (I've smoothly evaded having to choose between being a poser or following a baseball team by choosing a vintage team, the Chicago Whales) 

and we headed to our favorite Indian restaurant- Zaikas!

Then I got my haircut in Red Deer by Tarilynn who is a hair wizard.

I doubted temporarily when I saw her using scissors like a razor in my hair, convinced this was a 

wear it straight only cut.

But Saturday I let it airdry to survey the damage and...

my hair dried in an hour and a half!

and I liked the way it looked a lot!

and it looked even better a little later when I took a half hour walk with my boys in the wind!

That is magic.

I have never had such low maintenance hair in my life.

I seriously can't recommend her enough.

Matty and I took the boys to the Calgary Zoo where we met up with Karen and Eva, Amy and her boys and my parents.

It was 6 hours of fun which we paid for with grumpy, overtired children who wouldn't nap 

when we got home.

But it was worth it, especially for the penguins!

None of our children travel well. 

Matt and I finally caved and wore earplugs to soften the ringing Harker chorus in the back on the ride home.

But even that wasn't enough so we had to stop for a park break to let wiggles out.

Then we came home even more exhausted than when we left.

A Glorified Sweatpants Mom

Long before I even thought about having kids I've had a secret horror I would one day grow up to be a sweat pants mom.

I couldn't fathom having the will power to shower, dress and style myself if I had no obligations to present myself in public.

Well when I had Jonas we did go out a lot. Nearly every morning and afternoon involved an outing. Neither of us it turned out was a homebody. And so temporarily my sweat pants Mom fears were laid to rest. I had passed the test, or so I thought.

But now that our backyard is about the only place we get "out" and going downstairs to the basement feels like a "trip" my will power is crumbled.

Most mornings I reach for my exercise clothes or if they aren't clean then one of Matt's shirts or hoodies and basketball shorts or sweatpants (because I purged mine after having Jonas thinking I might fall victim to wearing them everyday).

Sometimes I do the snuggli-one-baby-and put the other- two-in-the-twin-stroller-thing to walk to Nana's or the park and then I at least smudge a little concealer under my eyes and throw on some jeans. But the truth is I detest the stares and questions I inevitably get from strangers. And as soon as one child starts to fuss, I'm done. My only option is to flee for home.

And so my decline. I hardly ever bother with makeup and sometimes I don't even run a comb or some product through my hair after a shower.

So while I am holding onto some of my birthday money in case I ever find a dress that is flattering, comfortable and modest for church (which hasn't happened in the last six years so it might be time to turn to a seamstress), I am allocating half to some "glorified" sweat pants Mom clothes.

And so if I'm going to resign myself to a sweat pants wearing Mom I might as well make it a glorified version. I think I have just enough will power and energy to muster that.

Harker Boys (and Eva too) Adventures

Story Time and Grins

My Jolly Little Jumper

Harland has THE best grin- it's too bad he mostly saves it for Matt and I.

Then again maybe it's not.

While I was cleaning up the dishes Jonas said "story time" and then proceeded to educate Rhett all about trucks and turtles. 

Sometimes when Matt and I feel like we could not possibly survive another child we joke 

"Yep, the Harker gang is all here".

But then those jumps, and grins, and story times convince me I want a lot more of those moments!

And so more babies!

But maybe we'll take a few year break the better to enjoy those future moments!

Field Trip Time

Jonas' weekly dates with either Matt or I have been a huge hit over the past month. Jonas calls the Jeep the "Magic School Bus Jeep" when it whisks him away on one of our dates. A couple weeks ago I hired a babysitter so I could take Jonas to Whoop-Up Days with our two favorite people to have "field trip" time with, Karen and Eva!

First we hit up the rides with a kind-of-wild-for-young-kids roller coaster that didn't even seem to phase Jonas. That poker face didn't budge over the next few rides until the train warmed him right up. Then suddenly he was smiling and waving like he was the King.

Jonas had the cutest nervous-excited laugh whenever one of the petting zoo animals came up to us hoping for a food hand-out. He thought is was hilarious when the pig was eating an ice cream cone off the ground and holding the baby bunnies was his favorite.

In the evening we went to the wild show where Eva rode a camel by herself! Jonas' attention span only held out a few minutes until he alternately would try to escape and tease Eva by crowding her personal space so much he was practically sitting on her lap!

Last night Jonas and I went to the pet store and then to the new Frozen Yogurt spot in Lethbridge where Jonas ate exactly two bites of yogurt being too enticed by the colorful fish candies and then the yogurt covered raisins when those ran out.