The Fairy Of Making Things...

I have to say, that it's been an adjustment for all of us since Bennie and Ollie have started school, and how incredible it is to see how much they've grown in two weeks time.

Benjamin on the school slide 

Benjamin wouldn't even let go of my leg when we would drop him off to school, and he would cry everyday in the beginning, and now he will just go right into his classroom with a sweet smile and goodbye and he's set for the day.

Oliver keeps on smiling no matter what. It's so important to him to be good and follow the rules and make everyone happy. He really is trying so hard, and both of my boys are doing so well.

I think that I'm finally used to the silence and I'm not paranoid anymore that the phone will ring off the hook with a problem at school. So I'm glad to say that I'm more relaxed now when I am at home, and when I'm relaxed, I get ideas, and so I started Drama Group locally for Bridgetown. I don't know what I'm doing at all, but since I have so many eager volunteers, we'll see how this turns out. To my pleasant surprise, there seems to be a need and a thirst for some excitement in Bridgetown. So I'm going to cross my fingers and hope for the best. My optimism is at it's highest. I think we can do something great, and any money we make can go back to the community.

Michael on the other hand, has taken it on as his sole and blood oath mission to gut the house of all it's dust, and clutter. And not only is he tackling the house, he's going hard and steady at the shed, and throwing out things we don't need, or things that have just molded and have gotten old over time.

It never seizes to amaze me though, how much children can see the magic in ordinary things. Like for example, Olive brought home a pine tree branch he found on the sidewalk a few days ago when were walking home from school, and he said "Oh Mommy, look at this cool branch I found, we should decorate it like a christmas tree and put a gold star on top of it".

He also went into elaborate detail about how we should add jewel like ornaments to it, and other flashy things, which I told him very politely that we might have edit out. I told him that we'd work on it as soon as I wasn't working and had a day off. So on the weekend he reminded me again about the tree branch, and I tumbled through my messy craft room and found some pom-pom balls and some pipe cleaners.

I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out as I never seem to have enough hours or minutes in a day to be super creative, but I just did my best with what I had. I remember puffing under my breath saying nicely "Well I'll do my best Ollie, I'm not a fairy and can't make magic happen, but hopefully your tree will turn out just how you like it", to which Oliver replied ever so sweetly "But you are a fairy Mommy, you're a fairy of making things, and you can make beautiful things quickly."

Well I must say, that I stopped puffing under my breath in that moment and looked at Oliver with amazement. What deep insight my little five year old has. I never looked at myself this way, but there was truth to what he said, but as a mother and a parent, I never stop to think all the time about what I do most of the time or how it affects my child, or how my child sees things. Here I was beating myself up in a way because I didn't think I was doing a good job crafting this tree for my child, but it was more than good enough than for Oliver, and he recognized and appreciated all of my good intentions. I guess you could say that Oliver opened up my eyes and made me appreciate myself a bit more, and made me realize that if I can appreciate myself, that I can give so much more to both my children. Sometimes it's good to just turn off the "keep on going" switch and enjoy the moment for what it is.

How many times as a mother or parent have we made magic happen for our kids? We do this everyday out of love, and isn't that one of the main ingredient that kids need to grow and to be healthy and happy? I guess I can sort of crown myself the "Fairy Of Making Things" at home, and it's a title I'm proud of.

Benjamin playing with the christmas tree

My sweet boys after their bath on Sunday, sitting in front of the fire to keep warm

I keep on reminding myself on the days, especially when I'm tired and think my patience is running thin because I have a million things on the go, and both my little ones need my attention constantly, that they will never be this little forever. I will miss these days when they're still so small and sweet. I will miss these moments that we have together, and so will they, and that's why I'm doing my best now to make the magic of childhood twinkle on forever, long into their adult years. 

Oliver's sweet smile...

Full Circle

Hello out there all of my fellow blog followers. So needless to say that I haven't kept up with my blog and that this is my first official blog post in 3 years since we've moved here. I won't get into all of the boring computer technicalities and moving issues, (or the invasion of the ants, heating, dealing with an almost 200 years old house that constantly needs repair issues, etc.) and just flat out crazy busy life that we've had which all contributed to my inconsistency of keeping my blog updated. But I will say this. It's been 3 years of adventures, challenges, and bottom line, just flat out amazingness. Bridgetown has truly become our home, and I'm happy to say, we've established deep bonds and life-long friendships with so many amazing people here in town.

So why do I choose to update my blog today? Because for the first time in 3 years since we've moved here the house is silent. So silent that I can hear my own breath and hear the crickets outside, and the light breeze brushing the leaves on the trees. And why you may ask is it so quiet? Because today is Ben and Ollie's first day of school! My babies are now 5 years old and they are in SCHOOL!

Ben on the left Ollie on the right, on the way out the door for the first day of school!

How the time has flown and how it hasn't if that makes any sense. It's been five years of challenges we thought we could never over come being parents of multiples, and yet we have over come them, and our kids are still healthy and alive, and most importantly happy, so I think that we did ok, and it felt like the preschool years of insanity would never end, but suddenly, it just has.

Michael and I stayed up a bit late last night prepping their stuff for school today and talking about this transition in their lives. We talked about how good it would be to have quiet in the house for a few hours so we could get things done, and then we got emotional. It hit us. They're growing up. This is it. It's not just the start of school, it's the start of a new chapter in their lives. The days of needing mommy and daddy every second of every day, the little arms and legs that wrap themselves around us so sweetly when we hug them, because we're their universe, the sweet little lull of their voices (when they're not screaming at you), the tender and delicate little kisses, and sweet little flutter of their long lashes on those tiny little faces in which we can see ourselves and all of their hopes and dreams yet to be realized....We're starting the journey of saying good bye to those preschool years, because as of now, we know the years will just fly by, and Ben and Ollie will grow up faster than we can blink, and they will no longer be this little and sweet and they will no longer want to cling to us and give us hugs and kisses all the time. Don't get me wrong. We welcome the years ahead and we can't wait to watch them grow up, but as all parents know, this is the time you will never get back. Once they grow up, they grow up. It's a bittersweet transition. 

Oliver in the Robot shirt, and Ben still waking up this morning before the start of school

Oliver was the first one to get up this morning. He was up bright and early at 6:30 AM  and ready for school. He was so excited to get there and learn new things. Benjamin slept in. I got Michael and Oliver to wake him up and bring him downstairs. He was so sleepy and out of it. It was too funny. When I asked him if he was ready for school, he said he didn't want to go because they wouldn't have the toys he liked to play with there. I assured him there would be some toys and that he was going to have so much fun with all of his friends. It didn't really seem to change his mind about school though. Once the boys had breakfast, the morning just flew by, and before I knew it, they were dressed, backpacks on and ready to go! 

Ollie and Ben's favorite breakfast sandwiches

It all happened so quickly. Michael and I each took a twin, and walked the short walk to school. The morning was cool and foggy, and it was emotional at the same time. I couldn't believe I was walking them to their first day of school. We walked through the front doors of the school, and walked them right to their primary class. We did our best to just get them settled quickly amongst the slight chaos of the other parents and children dancing around in the hallways trying to do the same thing. Oliver found his name easily on his coat hook and hanged his backpack and ran right in. Ben held my hand tightly and asked me to walk him in. I watched Ben and Ollie mingle with their friends briefly and then pick up some ABC books sitting around. It was then that I had to fight back the tears. "This is it", I said to myself. "Here we go". Amongst the chaos of getting them settled, Michael and I didn't get out fast enough and we got stuck in the classroom for the National Anthem. We said goodbye quickly, and their teacher asked all the remaining parents very nicely to leave. Ben started crying when I said goodbye and clung to my leg all the way to the door. Oliver said very bravely, "Bye Mom, I'll miss you!", but he didn't cry. Mrs. Taylor (their substitute teacher), pulled Bennie gently off of me, and then Michael and I were down the hall quickly, and out the front doors of the school in less than a blink of an eye. 

Oliver in his Primary classroom

We walked quietly down the sidewalks for a few moments just taking the moment in. Even the streets seemed quieter without Bennie and Ollie. Our neighbors stopped us briefly on our way home and asked us how we were doing, and then we went home and that was it. We survived the first day of school without completely breaking down and crying, although it wasn't any less emotional for the both of us. Once we were home it was so odd to hear the silence. It was so eerily quiet, and I just didn't know what to do with myself. Even as I sit here typing this blog, I'm looking over my shoulder every now and then because I'm waiting for an interruption, or to hear a noise, and there is nothing. It will still be some time I think before I can adjust to just having this silence all around me, and it just being Michael, myself and our dog Maya (and oh yes the hamsters, new additions to our family, Chris and Martin).

Ben and his best friend Hunter in their Primary class

So, Michael and I have planned a bike ride today. We've never had a bike ride together, so it will be fun I would imagine. Even that feels odd to do. I feel like I shouldn't leave the house, but my neighbor (whose kids have already been in school) told me not to worry, that it will be fine and to just go, and I know it will be. I know it's all going to be ok. We've had our challenges raising multiples, but I would like to think that we've always done the right thing in the end for Ben and Ollie, and when I dropped them off at school today, I thought to myself, we did alright. I think we gave them the right tools in life so far to be alright and what amazing little boys they are....

My two brave little boys in their primary class and supporting eachother on their first day of school

The Glorious Heart Of Bridgetown

Oliver playing with kids band aids...

Dear Bridgetown, 

Michael's 3rd official day has in Bridgetown has finally come to an end, and another day starts for him soon again, while I sit here jumping anxiously out of my skin with excitement to join him tomorrow like a silly school girl who just got that toy that she really wanted for Christmas, and wow what a glorious 3 days it has been for Michael! 

His experience in Bridgetown has surpassed his expectations of what he expected small town life to be, as he's been overwhelmed with the countless visits from kind hearted neighbors and Bridgetown folk who have gone out of their ways to introduce themselves to him upon his arrival and to offer their assistance in any way that they could, whether it was to bring a coffee for him, or a sandwich, or to offer a hand to move all of our stuff off of the truck...You've made Michael so very, very, very happy, and you've made him feel right at home....Thank You Bridgetown! 

Everything ready to go by the door!

Thanks to your generous heart, and your close knit community, I was able to sleep a better at night knowing that Michael was taken care of, and was safe...and I just can't wait to hop on the plane tomorrow with my little monkeys and finally get to meet everyone in the community! 

When you have twins, you collect a lot of baby stuff!

So, my moment will finally come tomorrow when I get to meet everyone and see our new home for the first time! I look forward to seeing Michael and Maya (the family dog) again, and I can't wait to see the expressions on the boys faces when they see their father again as they've been asking for him all week.

I've learned from this whole experience that sometimes life throws you challenges you can't even imagine surviving at times, but it really reinforces my belief that everything happens for a reason. When Benjamin and Oliver were first born, we were not only first time parents, but also first time parents of twins, and not only were we overwhelmed (and I was also very sick for about 2 months after my C-Section), we had very little help from friends and family because, well living in the city everyone is busy and everyone's time is limited, so no one could give us the help we needed. We hardly thought that we would all survive the first 3 months of Bennie & Ollie's life, and although things did get a bit easier as the boys got older, life was still such a struggle for us and indeed so much of a struggle that we were forced to really make a life changing decision....

...And so we did! Our decision lead us the best life possible, and the life that would fit us the best! Michael and I are small town folk by heart! And I know we'll just fit right in :) But really and truly, if you really think about it, Bridgetown found us and I think that it was waiting there for us the whole time...just waiting for us to take a step on it's path and follow it all the way home!

Goodnight Bridgetown, sleep tight, and see you tomorrow :)

Touchdown In Bridgetown!

Benjamin feeding himself tonight at dinner time without any help from Mommy - way to go Bennie!

I can hardly believe it! It seems like we waited so very long for this moment to happen, but Michael has finally arrived in Bridgetown!

Ollie enjoying Nannie's dinner!

He arrived in Bridgetown late afternoonish, and everyone is doing well, including the family dog :) It seems like it took forever for us to get to this point, but we only made this decision back in January, so I would say we did pretty good! Michael's determination to provide a better life for his family was the main driving force behind making this life change happen. So proud of you honey! You're a good spouse and father and I hit the jack pot when I found you :)

Playing Choo Choo Train on the huggies box last night!

Michael was greeted by our lovely neighbor Jai, who showed Michael and his friend John where they could get a good bite to eat and they all went out for dinner together, and Jai also offered to give Michael and his friend John a hand to move all of our stuff off the truck!
Thanks Jai! And thanks to your equally lovely wife Lauren as well who has been checking up on my blog frequently for updates and for being so eager to answer all of my questions about Bridgetown and to offer advice. We look forward to having you has our neighbors and I can't wait to meet you both on Thursday!

I emailed Rachel (the reporter who did the story on us coming to Bridgetown) to let her know that Michael was in town today, and she said she would also stop by tomorrow and check in on him. A BIG thank you to  Rachel as well for publishing our story in the first place and for making us well known in Bridgetown.
Rachel also went out of her way to answer all of Michael's questions through many phone conversations, and she also went out of her way to take pictures of the outside of our house for us so we could get a better idea of what it looked like, and the list goes on, and on of the many things Rachel did for us on that end.
THANK YOU RACHEL :)

I'm so relieved that they all arrived safe in Bridgetown - Thanks John for getting my other half there safe and sound! Now I'm just jumping out of my skin with excitement to get there!

So thanks too all of our Bridgetown friends who have also made this life change possible for us and for opening up their hearts to the new family in town.

Can't wait to meet everyone!

The Mother's Day Departure...

As I type away at this new blog post, Michael is currently in Grand Falls, New Brunswick with his good friend John and our dear family dog Maya! They all arrived in New Brunswick safe and fast, considering they left Toronto, ON at 6:00 AM this morning!

Benjamin, the woodland forest creature!

It was indeed a bittersweet and crazy weekend leading up to Mother's Day today, because even though it's only my 2nd official Mother's day being a mother, it's officially my first time spending it without Michael, and it feels odd to sit here and type this without him by my side. The last time we were apart for this long was about 3 years ago when my father passed away and I had to fly to Guyana for his funeral for a week. It was hard being away from him then, but it's different now, because our relationship has evolved and changed so much since then, and of course we have Benjamin and Oliver now in our lives. So our relationship has enriched over the years, and even though we're far from being the fresh starred crossed lovers from 4 years ago, our relationship has grown into something so much deeper and stronger...

Let's play with all the woodland creatures of the forest!

They're hiding in the most unexpected places...

So as usual, I took on the duty of taking care of the boys, while everyone else followed Michael to the storage unit to empty all of its contents into the truck, and then on Saturday we had to actually rent a cube van to move all of the stuff we brought over to my Mother-in-law's house and to load on all the extra stuff she gave us for our house! Thanks to her we don't have to buy anything for the backyard!

Here's one!

So long story short, we couldn't fit the big moving truck up our in-laws drive way, so hence the cube van to move the items to the storage unit where we ended up packing the moving truck...

Saturday was just madness for me, as all of the baby stuff got packed and taken away, so I was left without any highchairs, and no cribs! I felt like a busy mother hen chasing after her little ones running in all directions and trying not to loose them and keep them out of trouble, and of course I was also playing double duty trying as I was moving things at the same time.

Here's another...

So my last night with Michael was a restless one, because we all slept in the same room - Michael and I slept on the bed, and we placed the boys on a the floor on a futon, and they both had a restless sleep because they weren't in their cribs. They kept on turning around in their sleep and bumping into each other or rolling off of the futon all together! Poor little things...I finally managed to get the playpen from downstairs and somehow get it upstairs to the bedroom where we were all sleeping and put Oliver in the crib, and let Bennie have the futon all to himself which seemed to solve the problem...however by the time we had resolved the sleeping arrangements for the boys it was 4:15 AM and it was time for Michael to get up.

A glimpse at the Mini Van...

So my Mother's day started out with me falling asleep from exhaustion on the too small of a couch in the downstairs living room while Michael packed up his back pack and a few essential items along our family Dog Maya and left with his Mother who dropped him off at his friend John's place in the wee hours of the morning - so I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to him officially!

Lots of stuff!

Oh well, good news is that I touched base with him as soon as I woke up, and everything is packed and is on it's way! So I can't complain, and I'm feel very lucky and blessed that we had SO MUCH HELP from our family and friends, and overall it was a nice quiet Mother's day with myself and the boys.

Surviving this morning without the highchairs!

The boys woke up very happy his morning with big beautiful smiles for me, and it started off my day on a good note. I then took the boys for a walk in the morning today and bought them a couple of toy cards and picked up my Mother-in-law a card for Mother's day, and then the rest of the day was pretty much my usual routine with the boys.

When I was feeding them their afternoon snack, Ollie said "Dada?", and I told him "Daddy is on a truck with his friend John with all of our things and he's going to our new house!" Then they both smiled when I said this, and said "Daddy, Daddy!" I think they sort of got it?! :) At least I think that Oliver got it, since he's so obsessed with cars and he actually does understand what a truck is :)

So I will try to update this blog again tomorrow as soon as I have any updates...at the speed that Michael and John are traveling at, they might even get to Bridgetown by tomorrow afternoon!

Shifting Gears...

A look up at the magnificent Oak tree in my In-Laws great big back yard...

Spring is in the air and it's my favorite time of year (next favorite season is fall, with all the beautiful colors of the leaves and Halloween!), but I just love the first couple of weeks of spring when the air is cool and fresh and everything is starting to bloom and blossom. It's the perfect time to have a fresh new start in life with a season that represents fresh new change and new opportunities awaiting each and every creature in life...

So since it's been awhile since my last post, here's a quick breakdown of what happened quickly in the last month and a half of so...

March 19th we celebrated Michael Birthday at our apartment (while trying to pack in between). I made a quick last minute cake and the boys decorated it. I couldn't find the candles, so a tea candle sufficed and we sang happy birthday, and back to work we went.

Oliver adding sprinkles on the birthday cake

Oliver and Maya behind him waiting for a piece of Birthday cake

Vicky and Michael's dad came by a few times to help us out, but we still weren't able to get much packed as I was chasing after the boys most of the time trying to keep them out of trouble and of course Michael was up to his ears in it with trying to hit his sale goals for all the house expenses that would be coming up and trying to deal with all the legal stuff, and house insurance and all that fun stuff that comes along with purchasing a home...

My Benjamin...

 And of course we we're scrambling around like crazy chickens the last couple of days before we had to move out because half of our stuff was still not packed away, but thanks to Michael's Dad, and Vicki who stuck to the very end we were able to get the stuff done...

Broken China Plate...It all goes with the territory of moving!

So now we're here, at the in-laws and we've been here since March 31st. Michael's mom and his Step Dad have been very accommodating and they are helping us throughout this whole process, and have been feeding us all very well too....


...It's been nice to have the nice backyard for the boys to play around in and we're definitely getting more fresh air, and so is our dog Maya, we miss having our own home of course, but we can't complain about our accommodations or treatment here...

Oliver blending in with the flowers!

Spending some time with mommy...

Taking a closer look at the things crawling in the grass...

Time to play with Nannie...

...Easter rolled along and Michael's mom planned a small little indoor Easter egg hunt for the boys and their bigger cousin Jayden (don't let his size fool you, he's only 5 years old).

It was their first official Easter Egg hunt and they had fun!

Benjamin, cute as a button...

And FINALLY, we got all of the financing sorted out for our house!!! So I'm so glad to announce that's it's now really official, WE NOW OFFICIALLY OWN THE HOUSE ON COURT STREET!!!

Doing the final countdown of all the Easter eggs...

The financing was the hardest part, and the irony of it all was that we couldn't get a mortgage from any banks or investors because our Mortgage loan was too low! Something we never thought of when we purchased our home for the bargain price that we did! It makes sense of course, that no one would want to invest in such a small mortgage as there would be little money for them to make from such a small mortgage loan!

Benjamin admiring the outdoors...

Well the good news is that it all worked out well in the end! We got the financing through our bank (we ended up going through the branch in Nova Scotia), and we extended our closing date from May 1st to May 8th at the suggestion of our Lawyer as he has still not received all the paperwork he needs from the Vendors in order to close the deal.

Wearing a funny hat for Easter...

So the plan is that Michael and another party (friend or family) will drive down to Bridgetown with all of our worldly possessions (including the family dog), spreading it out to a 2 day road trip, and then my mother-in-law and I will fly down with the twins and meet up with Michael in Bridgetown and plan on all doing this right around May 8th when the house officially closes! Should go smoothly right?

So Bridgetown, here we come! We've really shifted the gears in our life, and what better time to make this all happen than in the Spring when everything is fresh and new. Can't wait to arrive at our new home and to become official East coasters!