all in a weeks work..

here we are again. having a few minutes to spare while the boys nap and since i have wanted to update this thing in so long i figured now is a good time.. only two weeks left of my parents trip and you know i am quite proud of myself for how things have gone. i think there has only been one meltdown day and my sister-in-law saved me from that.. i feel i have been able to stay pretty close to on top of things and stay sane at the same time. it helps that the boys have been so good.. a bit fussier at times (thanks to little white dots on their bottom gums - oh God help me)
i have been learing so much too about my role on this planet and how easily i revert back to the mind set that i have to have ALL things together... the perfect wife, mother, friend, daughter, sister) at my women's bible study group last week i shared this.. and someone gave me an encouragement - its not possible to be perfect but in doing everything we can strive to be excellent.. yes, i have been trying to be excellent in all i do and not being so hard on myself when the floor is dirty, the dishes are everywhere and my stupid cassarole is rock solid frozen after being in the oven for what feels like forever.
so in the small things i continue on.. and when i look back at last week i did pretty good..

cleaned my house - one room at a time
did massive amounts of laundry
baked a pie
caught up with an old friend
changed ALOT of diapers (you should make a guess at how many i go through in a day)
played with my boys
pulled out all my flowers and got the yard winter ready
made a card for a friend whom i miss dearly
baked cookies
taught Ari to nap in his crib
got supper on the table pretty much most nights
cuddled with my husband
did i mention laundry
laughed with my boys who turned 5 months old yesterday
cleaned up so many diapers along with some poop that went up to the shoulders
spent time with friends
attended my weekly women's bible study
turned off the tv every once in awhile and listened to a good cd

its all in the small things..

to the loewens down under...

grandma & grandpa we miss you!!!!

and ari really wants you to come home... he even put on his saddest face when i mentioned your name....

the view from here...

yep its that time again. the snow has started to fly. (this is a pic of just snow - not the snow here.. yet) i had to add drama some how. anyways makes going out with the boys that much more difficult. but we will make it. anyways completed 5 days of my mom's absence already.. for those of you who don't know my parents are having a wonderful month down under - visiting my brother and family in Perth. we have done well here without them although i sure miss her coming in the door every morning around 10.. oh only 27 more days.
we had a good thanksgiving weekend - i love long weekends when dave can be home. have not been sleeping well these days. noah and ari have decided to have a major growth spurt so feeding LOTS and not at the same time which gives me a total of about 2-3 hours sleep (never consecutive) that has been hard but we will press through.
not much else is new here.. just gearing up for cold weather. another update to come soon. here is a little collage of new noah and ari pics..

27 years...

i had a lovely birthday weekend. my first birthday as a mom. on friday i did what every good mother should do i left.. i decided it was time to get away and do something for me. i drove to wpg and went shopping. it was time to find some fall clothes that fit. i met my good friend lindsey there who by the way is one of my favorite persons to shop with. we used to go all the time in vancouver as it was theraputic for us and again it was no different. we had a great time. i was gone from 2:30 till 10:00 and the boys were so good for my mom and for dave. i really felt energized and it felt nice to have some me time. on saturday morning dave took the boys out of bed early and let me sleep in till almost 10 which was awesome. when i finally rolled out of bed there was a beautiful breakfast waiting for me. the best surprise was the handmade card my not so crafty husband made for me. it was special that he took the time to dig into my card making stuff and make me something. we were visited by daves parents who were passing through town and later went to friends for dinner and church in the evening. it was a good day. sunday we went walking at Stanley park (nothing like the vancouver park) but with the fall leaves it was a nice change to sitting inside. the boys love being carried around and the fresh air was good for them. then it was off to mom and dads for birthday dinner which was so yummy i could barely handle it. it was a good weekend..the boys are doing so well. they are getting bigger and bigger. in fact they are going through some kind of growth spurt thing cause all they want to do is eat. our nights have been funny with that as they wake up alot more to eat..i am hoping this is just a phase and they will begin to sleep longer again. they smile and giggle so much now. they wake up happy and are beginning to nap more regularily. its a fun stage of new things and more interaction. anyways enjoy the pics from our family fun day on sunday. Noah is in blue and Ari is in red (or maybe you could tell all on your own)