Not much new is happening around here. Three of us have been sick with colds for the past week or so (Chris is the lucky one who missed it) so I’ve been busy wading through snot, vomit and various other disgusting things. Everyone finally had a good sleep last night, so things are looking up. I still can’t figure out how my own mom managed to raise three kids with only one humidifier (apparently they chose their favorite child and the rest of us had to suffer). We’ve survived with just one so far, but every time someone gets the sniffles we’re tempted to get a second one cause we know someone else is bound to get sick too. The boys seemed improved enough yesterday that I stole the humidifier from Brayden’s room and put it in our bedroom so I could finally get a reprieve from my stuffy nose. Ah, to breathe again…

Brayden is two years old today but we haven’t actually told him that — we’re doing the celebration with his grandparents tomorrow, so to avoid confusing him we’re just pretending that tomorrow is his big day. Chris spent the morning assembling the new full-size twin bed we bought, so we’ll see how he likes that. I suspect he’ll be thrilled to get a real big-boy bed (and perhaps even more thrilled that he’ll now be able to climb onto his windowsill if he so chooses…sigh). We also got him a little school bus, since that is his current obsession, although the one we bought is metal and I’m a little concerned that it’ll get smashed into walls and doors and so on. That one might have to be an outdoor toy.

So now I have a four-year-old and a two-year-old. Wow. That makes me sound so grown up.

There have been lots of new developments in the Lee household lately. Justin has more or less figured out how to pedal his bike, he’s starting to read and he has FINALLY decided to learn how to use the potty (hooray!) The reading thing is largely a result of a phonics game he plays online (which he would play all day if I’d let him). It got him started sounding out words, and now he reads everything he sees. He even spells out words when he’s playing with his magnetic letters: dog, duck, jet, jump, Mom, Dad, Justin, hug…it goes on. We’re pretty impressed.

Brayden is turning two this coming Saturday — whew. He’s really into books these days, even the longer ones that he never used to sit through, although for some reason he absolutely refused to let anyone but me or Chris read to him when family was visiting this past weekend. He wants to do everything for himself (climb into his car seat, close the car door, put his cup in the fridge, turn off the TV) which still blows my mind because Justin would be quite content to let other people do everything for him for the rest of his life. At his two-year checkup Brayden was 34 inches tall and weighed 30 pounds, so he’s shorter but heavier than his big brother was. The story goes that a kid reaches half his adult height at age two, which would make Brayden 5′8″ as an adult — no giant, certainly, but still tall when you look at his family tree.

Speaking of family, my parents, my older brother and my sister-in-law were all here for the Easter weekend. We golfed a couple rounds, played plenty of board games and hung out with the kids — good stuff.

Time to rest (yawn)…

OK, so I didn’t write anything for Justin’s fourth birthday last week. (I did post pictures from his party, so I’m not a truly terrible mother.) I was a little nervous about trying to entertain six kids ranging from 15 months to six years old, but it all worked out pretty well. I did a Sesame Street theme (naturally) so I made a ball toss game using Elmo’s picture and a pin-the-nose-on-Elmo game, both of which Justin absolutely loved — to the point where he continued to play pin-the-nose even after his guests had gone home. I think everyone had a good time.

Mother Nature seems to be seriously disturbed these days. I was convinced that spring was here to stay, but we’re still getting a bit of snow every few days, and it’s pissing me off. I’ve never seen a winter this long, this cold or this snowy in the entire 10 years I’ve been in Kelowna (and yes, I know it’s a lot better here than in most of the rest of the country, but c’mon!) And yet I saw a bit in the news the other day about how the lower-than-normal snow pack is going to mean trouble for our water supply. I just don’t get it.

Spring break has begun, which simply means the activities we normally do are shut down for two weeks. Yay. That wouldn’t be such a problem if the weather would cooperate, but we’ll see how things go. Ho hum…

It took us a while to acknowledge it, but Brayden really is growing up. Over the past few weeks he’s given up the playpen, and the crib, and his little bouncy chair, and the booster seat at the table…which means there’s almost no way to contain him anymore, so things are interesting. He’s a lot more mischievous than Justin ever was (Brayden’s favorite thing to do these days is run off giggling in the exact opposite direction I want him to go) and it frustrates me to no end, but c’est la vie.

He babbles all the time now (sounds like a constant stream of “duckaduckaducka”) but still no real words, so it’s easy to forget how much he actually understands. He knows most of his letters and numbers — no surprise, really, given that Justin is obsessed with both. He’s also capable of responding to simple commands, but the real issue is whether he chooses to comply. Sigh. And he’s not even two yet…

This is a good day: Brayden actually slept all night (hasn’t happened in weeks, so we’re thrilled), the sun is out and the kids went to Grandma’s this morning. Thank God for Mondays. Actually, the whole weekend was pretty good. Chris and I went to a movie Friday night and the kids were in bed by the time we got home, so that was awesome — Brayden has been kind of tough to put to bed lately, so we were impressed that Uncle Greg got him down in minimal time. Saturday night was free family night at the rec centre, so we took the kids to the toddler play area to let them run around. It was total pandemonium in there, with a room full of toddlers riding bikes and climbing slides and parents everywhere trying to keep their kids from killing themselves or each other, but the boys seemed to have fun.

Justin’s birthday is only a few weeks away (he’s going to be four years old — that just blows my mind) but the snow refuses to disappear entirely, so I guess it’ll have to be an indoor party. Last year the snow was gone and we were out enjoying the yard by the end of February (I think, although I could be wrong) but that doesn’t appear to be in the cards.

I haven’t talked to my mom in over 10 days due to the fact that my parents are in the midst of a two-week cruise in the Caribbean. I normally talk to Mom almost every day, so I’m going into withdrawal. I’m not into tropical trips, so it’s not like I wish I could be there, but I do envy the fact that she got away on a holiday. Chris and I have plans to go to Orlando, but not until October, and only for a long weekend. Sigh.

A couple friends sent me lists of odd facts about themselves on Facebook, so I finally decided to give it a try. Here it is:

1. I sometimes find it odd that I’m way more of a sports fan than my husband.

2. I’ve kept a personal diary for 20 years now that neither my husband nor my children will ever read. I do, however, plan to will it to my future descendants.

3. I hate tropical vacations. I would rather visit cities with historical sites and museums.

4. I don’t like to admit it, but my best friend is my mother.

5. I have a journalism degree, but I never read a newspaper and only occasionally check the news online. Perhaps this explains why I found it so hard to get that journalism degree.

6. I like to think of myself as creative and artsy, but in reality I’m very structured, orderly and organized. If I didn’t hate math so much I’d make a good accountant.

7. I secretly wipe Cheezie residue on my socks when no one’s looking. I only recently discovered that my dad does the same thing.

8. Despite the Cheezie thing, I’m actually quite a neat freak. I’ve had to let some of that go, however, since the kids came along.

9. I hate shoe shopping and I never notice what people have on their feet. I wish it could be acceptable to wear running shoes to any event.

10. Chocolate makes me sleepy. I don’t really enjoy eating sweets at all, but I’m a sucker for a bag of chips.

11. I have a green sweater that still looks brand new despite the fact that I’ve been wearing it for 17 years. Sadly, I have photos of me wearing it in high school, and in my engagement picture, and after my children were born…

12. I’m a huge history buff, particularly when it comes to the monarchies of the world. But I HATE the TV series The Tudors.

13. It really annoys me when people treat their pets as if they’re human.

14. I love being a stay-at-home mom, but I wish it was a job with a little more prestige.

15. I’m waiting for the coffee craze to pass so more people would realize it’s way better to just drink milk.

16. The only thing I know about wine is that it comes in white and red varieties.

17. All my favorite recipes involve cheese.

18. I’ve travelled so much that I’m running out of places I still want to see. Which is fortunate, since I now have small children and can’t go anywhere.

19. I don’t really know how to use my cell phone.

20. I find it hard to believe I used to routinely stay up until midnight or later when I was in high school and college. I rarely stay awake past 10 anymore. I blame my children for this.

21. I love useless bits of trivia. Sometimes I think I’d like to be a researcher for Jeopardy.

22. I know nothing about Harry Potter.

23. I don’t quite get why people want to work from home. I need to get out of the house at least once a day. I find it hard when my husband works from home because I hate it when he’s here but not helping me with the kids.

24. I had a security blanket until I was eight years old. I actually remember waking up one morning and realizing I didn’t need it anymore, so I packed it away. I still can’t believe my mother never took it away from me.

25. I wish I could see my brothers more often.

And as for family updates…the biggest news is that Brayden is now in a toddler bed. He’s been giving us endless grief at night for the past little while, and then yesterday he actually escaped from the crib when he was supposed to be napping (and ended up with a split lip). So we took down the crib and set up the toddler bed, which he LOVES. So things are better there.

I think I’ve been remarkably restrained on this subject, but it’s time to vent: we haven’t had any sunshine in weeks (very little if any this year) and it’s really starting to get to me. Granted, it’s better now than last week, when the valley was shrouded in fog and I literally saw clouds floating past the street lights. And temperatures have been decent, although it’s supposed to snow tomorrow. But what I would give to see the sun…

Ten years ago today I moved to Kelowna. I can’t believe all the changes I’ve gone through in that time: I got my first full-time job, met Chris, bought a house, got married, had a baby, quit my job, had another baby…and here we are. I don’t think I’m fundamentally a different person now than I was back then, but marriage and motherhood have a way of rocking the world. My priorities may have changed, but I don’t think my personality has.

I guess one way to gauge the change is to look at my friends. Out of all the people I was close to 10 years ago, I still keep in touch with two regularly and a few more not so regularly. Would they say I’ve changed? Who knows.

When I arrived in Kelowna all those years ago I never thought I’d be where I am right now, but I’m happy things have worked out the way they have. Here’s to another 10 good years!

I guess you could call it a belated New Year’s resolution: last week I finally decided I need some professional help to get rid of the slight bulge around my middle that came from having Brayden. Motivation has not really been my problem, cause I do enjoy exercise — I just don’t know what kinds of things I need to do to accomplish my goal. So I’m meeting with a personal trainer on Monday. I’m pretty excited about it, so we’ll see what happens.

Justin is also making a new start these days: he just got glasses. For a long time now he’s been squinting or closing one eye when he focuses on something up close, so I finally took him to the optometrist. It turns out one eye is fine but the other is a bit farsighted. The good news is that he loves the glasses and we haven’t had any trouble getting him to wear them (maybe they actually work!) Good stuff.