If you go out in the woods today.....

This week was a week of firsts for the Yost clan. Teresa rode her trike for the first time, Frances rolled over for the first time and the family attended their first Teddy Bear's Picnic. And while the trike (video to come soon) and the rolling over were very exciting, the picnic wasn't exactly what I expected. The day was lovely and we had a picnic lunch while watching some dance groups do their thing on the Lyric stage, then we waited in line....for everything. Most booths were giving out free stuff, always nice, but you would wait 20 minutes in line so that your kid could spend 5 minutes doing some colouring, or a small game. The wait to get your teddy check-up was in the hours, and after a quick cost benefit analysis, I decided the benefit was not worth my time, or Teresa's. It is not fun to wait in line, especially when you are two. Will we go back? Probably, when Teresa and Frances are both older. I think we will plan to go with other families, so that the kids can run around and play. Not that there weren't some fun moments....

Here we are, on or way into the mayhem....

Frances with her teddy. She has not picked a favourite yet, so I chose for her.

My girls and I.

Rowdy contemplating a nice light snack:)

Teddy Bear Ken

And Frances

Teresa meets Dr. Goodbear

And Goldie, our baseball teams' mascot.

Teresa also saw her favourite TV show character, Super Why. She refused to hug him though, already showing signs of mascot fatigue.

Frances was totally wound up by the excitement.

Teresa was a little too comfortable in the back of the cruiser....she is indeed buckling her seatbelt.

Officer Yost?

Some of you may recall that I spent a summer as Louie the Lightening Bug, this one was okay... 

More Beach Stuff...

Well, I finally have an opportunity to stick my nose into the blog again so I figured why not...

Cara posted some pictures from our beach extravaganza last weekend, but I figured I would add a bit more about the weekend.  We had a great weekend, although I think we finally figured out what our normal stress at the beach is.  I am a beach person, I want to be by the sand and water playing and relaxing.  Cara is a cottage person, and is perfectly happy being in the cottage all day.  Anyhow due to the weather Cara won this weekend's eternal battle.

This is not to say that the weather wasn't nice, on Sunday in fact it was beautiful.  Unfortunately though on the long weekend there was a snowstorm and ice was still on the lake (Bill Evans informed me that when they drove up they passed snow plows and at the front beach you could walk out 100 feet on ice that weekend).  This of course led to a cooler breeze coming off the lake.  Saturday we played on the hill, then lounged and napped with the girls.  Once that was done Teresa and I went down to the lake.  She stayed in the iciest water by lake edge up to her calves for a good 10 minutes playing with a boat.  We built (and smashed) sandcastles, and I convinced Teresa she was a dragon, as we put a princess (driftwood) in the castle and the dragon of course smashes the castle in The Paperbag Princess.  We spent a good hour and a half lakeside and then went back to the cottage, with a pitstop at the play area.  Saturday ended off with a walk to Lanky's, with Teresa walking most of the way herself, then I stayed up and marked into the night.

Sunday we got up early and played on the hill before we went to church.  After church we went on the hill again and up on face rock, all the while making Rowdy run & swim for a tennis ball.  By the end of the weekend, Rowdy actually looked back at me when I threw the ball in the water with a scathing glare as though to ask "Really?  You want me to go out there again?" and then got it and went up onto the hill to lie down.  Sunday after the nap the whole family went down to the beach and walked the boardwalk before Teresa, Frances & Cara played while I went in for my dive which was pretty nice considering what I had encountered Saturday.  The sun all day had helped out.  We had our fun then went home, packed up ate dinner, ran on the hill again and chatted with Bill.  It was a great weekend.

To me though the highlight of the weekend was seeing how much fun Teresa was having.  She loves running up and down the hill, loves chasing Rowdy, loves climbing on the rocks in front of the cottage and most importantly I taught her how to roll down the hill, which is cute & hilarious!  I think that the hill will be a primary feature of the beach for the next while...

People who know me well should know I am conservative, and not just in my political leanings...  Change isn't easy for me to accept when it is part of my long standing memories, and there was all sorts of distressing change at the beach over the winter.  First, they will be knocking down the round bathrooms right at the West side of the beach, which isn't bad but will create congestion by the 2nd concession.  Lanky's has picked a new ice cream provider, increased their prices, changed their cones (two scoops sit horizontally, not vertically) and eliminated their baby cone option.  The ice cream still is good, but I am wary.  Lastly they have taken apart the playground by the second concession.  Why did they not consult me about this?  I had talked it up to Teresa all Sunday and BANG I had to come up with a new idea for what we would do on the front beach on the spot.

Sadly we forgot the camera for Frances' first front beach trip, but we will have one next time I assure you, sadly though that must wait until Father's Day due to wedding & ordinations over the next few weekends.  I will though leave you with a picture of Teresa having given Rowdy a 'hat'.  Teresa sometimes literally doesn't know when to leave a sleeping dog lie, but 95% of the time he enjoys the attention.  The embarrassing part of the picture though is that I got the camera and Rowdy got up after holding still for 30 seconds, so I had him sit and I got Teresa to put the hat back on.  I am an evil dog owner.

Yost Beach Weekend

This past weekend we spent a lovely weekend at the cottage. It was a little cool out, but it was sunny so there was much playing outside, and a family walk for ice cream. It was great to just spend some quiet time together, which doesn't happen as often now that Ken is in class in the evenings. I could blather on some more, but there are cute pictures to view.

Shenanigans in the pink boat

This is for the Yosts...I present your new cushions!

Playing with Rowdy on the front lawn

Teresa making Frances "all cosy"

Cute group shot

Miss Frances

Study of toddler...up close and personal

Ken and T on happy rock.

Total Request Live (Mom Edition)

I have always been serious, well, more serious than your average bear. When I was a kid I used to budget my own allowance with no prompting or arguments. I never did anything really silly in my teenage years (except drive the car into the end of the garage). When I look back at pictures of myself as a kid, I see the same look I find myself giving Ken and times, when he is being a bit over the top, or not taking the situation as seriously as I am at the moment. There has never really been a time in my life that I was just silly. I had fun sure, but silly was never in my nature. I remember speaking to a priest when I was 19, it was just after Ken and I got engaged, about one's responsibility to live the life, make the choices God intended for me. My priest shook his head, took my hand in his and said "you are too young to be this serious, go and enjoy your life." While there is some truth to that, I just couldn't, how does one change the essence of their thought process. Well, they have kids.

The thing I love most about being a mom is that I am learning to be silly, in fact, it is a job requirement. In Teresa's mind right now, silliness=fun, and I am more than happy to oblige. Whether we are singing, doing the pigeon dance or being princesses (I usually get to be Cinderella) silliness is the order of the day. It is very freeing to abandon that serious side of myself for chunks of time, and the bonus is I am allowing myself a second childhood by seeing the world though the eyes of my children. I now love doing things for no reason other than "just because". Like this conversation:

T - "Mommy"
Me - "Yes Sweetie"
T - "Mommy, take my picture with my mouth wide open!"

Okay honey:)

I Am....

Yesterday was a difficult day. Frances decided that screaming because she was tired was much more productive than sleeping because she was tired. There I was, walking, rocking and bouncing for the better part of the afternoon. I was starting to get frustrated around the two hour mark when I realized....

I am a human bouncy castle....the kryptonite for cranky babies. This thought made me chuckle, and thank God it did, as tears were imminent. Frances drifted off to sleep soon after, and I was able to sit down for a bit before Teresa woke up. There are so many things that suck, but holding a calm, sleeping baby makes the world a better place, the perfect place, for that snippet of time.

Frances is now 3 months old....time flies.

She's happy now!

If you build it.....

Mommy will take pictures, and then we can destroy it!

On friday Ken left to spend the weekend with other stinky boys, so the girls and I were left to our own devices. Teresa wanted to play with Legos^TM, so she constructed and I documented.

The beginning...so much promise.

CRASH!

Right now you may be thinking "what was Miss Frances doing during this time?"

Blowing spit bubbles...duh!

Grace in the Mundane

When I am out and about I often fall into conversation with strangers. My theories on this are twofold, one, I have children, which is an automatic conversation starter. Two, I seem to have the kind of face that makes people comfortable with sharing intimate details about their life. Usually this is an interesting event in my day, as speaking to any adult about anything can do wonders. Afterwards, when I think back to it, I sometimes feel like a loser. Is my life so boring that I have to speak with strangers in order to experience some spark of entertainment? All I do all day is nurse, play, clean, read, cook, clean, comfort. I do many of the same things at the same time every day for weeks on end. My life, to many outsiders is the definition of mundane, it is perceived as boring.

And yet, it isn't. I may do the same things every day, but it is the people I am doing them for that make my life interesting. The truth is, I like being a housewife. I was not pressured into it, it was a choice, my choice. It was a choice that was surprisingly easy to make. I love being there, cooking for, caring for the people I love most. My priest told me once that the work mothers do for their families is a form of prayer, a gift to their family yes, but it is also a sacrifice. My staying at home may be a gift to my family, but they are also a gift to me. Being a mother has made me softer, more patient, kinder. My children are making me a better person, there is more work to be done, but every day, as the girls grow and change, so do I. There is a certain grace in that. I am learning to live my life for others, and most of the time I am grateful, so grateful for the opportunity. I am blessed, and every day, no matter how bad my day has been I thank God I was able to experience it, to grow and change along with my children. Some may look at my life and see only the routine, the boredom, the mundane. What they are not seeing is the fact that my life is a living, breathing form of prayer, and through this I am slowly being transformed into the woman I was meant to be. That is grace.

Happy Mother's Day

You can shower a child with presents or money, but what do they really mean, compared to the most valuable gift of all - your time? Vacations and special events are nice, but so often the best moments are the spontaneous ones. Being there. Every moment you spend with your child could be the one that really matters.

 - Tim Russert

A big hug goes out to our moms, who gave us so much of their time (and still do).

Narcisse Snake Pits

Well Teresa, Ray & I went to the Narcisse snake pits today where by early May red-sided garter snakes have been emerging from their winter brumination for weeks numbering about 75,000.  Teresa seems to like snakes so I figured this would be a good idea.  Unfortunately due to Al Gore's excellent work in reversing global warming, the limestone dens are still quite cold and this was the first weekend of their emergence this year (in fact one den was still quiet).  The Conservation Officer at the site said we are two and a half weeks behind schedule and that if we have a solid week of warmth, but more likely in two weekends, the numbers at the pits would increase tenfold.  For us there were a bunch of snakes, but no mating balls in the trees nor were they so plentiful that they were easy to catch.

The day began with dressing Teresa & Frances in their little sister - big sister outfits and taking pictures.

Can we spell 'New Desktop'? 

"Daddy, I want to see these!"

We brought Rowdy with the nose harness and he was great.  Teresa loves walking / being walked by him.

The star of the show.  I got ahold of one, and Teresa was unwilling to touch it.  It crawled all over me, but was unwilling to give itself up for a picture.  When I gave it to a ~8 y/o girl to hold, she squished harder and dropped it when I told her to not be so hard.  Teresa then turned tail and screamed.  She told everyone later "I am getting out of the way, I am getting out of the way!"

This was the most active pit, but most were still in the caves underneath, and not slithering about.  They get in the tall grass and they perfectly hidden.  Anyhow, Teresa also accidentally stepped on one that seemed OK after.  The Conservation Officer made an interesting point - that for a change of pace human interest helps the wildlife it seeks to see.  Our presence keeps away the crows that love the taste of their internal organs, so the sacrifice of a couple to kids like Teresa is minimal compared to the avian slaughter that could await.

Manitoba's official flower (Ray saw it I must admit), the wild crocus.  It is bigger & fuzzier than I expected.

"Daddy, see a snake!"

"Yes Teresa, it's a nice snake."

"Look daddy, see another snake!"

"Yes Teresa."

"Daddy, another snake!"...

Continue for 5+ minutes and you know how most of our conversations went.

Post-trip.  Teresa hadn't napped on the way up (about 50 minutes North of Stonewall), and she ran for the first half to 2/3 of the 3+ km trail, and I carried her the rest of the way on my shoulders.  I need to work on my neck, as it was sore.  Or course that also could be caused by her constant twitching up there.  Anyhow, Frances wouldn't calm down for Cara and we ended up having a nice little snooze together after I calmed her.  In appalling news though this angle makes my face look longer than Jay Leno's.

A nice picture taken whilst I was napping.

We had a great time.  I leave you with two things - a short video I took on my camera (it is old enough that it does not have sound) and another interesting fact - snakes do not hibernate, they bruminate.  The difference is in hibernation the animal's body maintains the heat, but since snakes are cold blooded they actually must get below the frost line as their bodies take on the ambient temperature.