It's been a rather pathetic Spring - blistery March has kept us indoors. Luckily, one of Callum's playdates also included a photographer Mom who took some great shots of Simon (Thanks Heather!):
She tried to get the 3 boys together too, but Simon had had enough by that point.
But I managed to catch them all being especially cute just the other day:
The end of March means Max and Jeff celebrate their birthdays! We had a family party a week early for Max:
Max and his best buddy/cousin Lorelei had a heated Jedi training session after he got his new glowing and noisy lightsabers as a gift:
Another of Max's gifts was a paint-it-yourself wooden train. While Callum was at school the next day, Max sat by himself at the table and very contentedly painted for nearly an hour and a half!
For Jeff's birthday, I realized that what he probably wanted most of all was a little time alone with his wife. :-) So, while my sister Kim tended our children overnight, (bless her!), I got us a room at the awesome Fairmont Pacific Rim where we enjoyed some uninterrupted conversation, ordered a lot of room service, had a couple's massage at the Spa and enjoyed the view from our awesome room and the marble bathroom (sorry, I only had my iPhone for pictures). Ahhh. 24 hours went by far too quickly.
Now we are preoccupied with designing the landscaping for our backyard. Jeff cut down nearly all the trees along the east fence, in anticipation for some new Maple trees and Dogwood trees... we think.
Why such a long break since my last post, do you ask? Sigh. Life. Here's a few of the happier moments.
Callum took ski lessons for 5 weeks at Mt.Baker and can now go up the chair lifts and down the hills all on his own! Wohoo!
We brought Max up one Saturday to do some sledding while Callum skied, though, after we got there we learned that there is no sledding on the hill, so we mostly just lied around in the snow...
...and plenty of hot chocolate in the Lodge, of course.
The last day of every month, Callum's school has "Party Day", and they celebrate the birthday's of the month. My iPhone doesn't take great photos indoors.
At the end of January, Jeff was able to take a week off work to go on a cycling holiday to Hawaii with my brother-in-law Sven. He claims it was a great trip.
While he was away, the boys and I continued with regular life, including a visit to the Dentist. I was so proud of both Callum and Max, who not only each got a full cleaning but sat for the fluoride too! They were impressed with the TV on the ceiling. 
Simon is getting bigger and heavier - 22 lbs now!! It seems like he has been perpetually sick for the month of March, which affects his already erratic and rather frustrating sleeping patterns. He still manages to make us smile, though.
Callum likes to use my phone to take pictures and video. Here is a sample of his work.
Max has been developing personality traits of a 3-year old. He tends to lose his patience at the littlest things, like getting his coat off or his fork won't pick up his pancake properly. In one particular instance, he got angry at me because I told him to eat his cereal by himself since he was taking so long and I couldn't sit around to feed him anymore. He curled up in this position and stubbornly stayed there long enough that he actually fell asleep like this:
Callum's patience, on the other hand, sometimes seems endless.
My Dad has been busy working in the freezing cold (it has been such a terrible February and March!) and I my skills have been intermittently called on for trim details, window details and lighting selection.
Otherwise, my sisters and I went to Las Vegas during the 1st weekend in March and had a great time (other than when I got miserably sick on Sunday). I didn't take any pictures but I'll hopefully get some from my sister sometime.
Oh!!!! AND MAX IS TOILET TRAINED!!!! But I will further explain that another time as he is currently dancing next to me while chanting "I'm hungry, I'm hungry, I'm hungry, I'm hungry, I'm hungry, I'm hungry, I'm hungry, I'm hungry, I'm hungry,"
My little boy turned 5 this month. 5 years old. Do you know what that means? I have a 5 year old kid, not to mention 2 other little boys in tow. Crazy.
Gratefully, Callum opted for a party with just his cousins this year, saving me from the more complicated process of planning a party with a number of his 5-year old friends. All he wanted was to decorate cupcakes and play board games, and I love him for it!
And here is Simon. He's a sweetie. A sweetie that drives me crazy, but sweet, none the less.
On another note... With the hope that most people don't actually read most of my blogs, I will take a moment to release some negative energy.
As of late, I seem to find myself drifting off in my thoughts, whether I'm washing bottles for the um-teenth time of the day, or I'm down on my hands and knees wiping up juice that was spilled off the table again, or I'm taking the cushions off the couch in search of the ever-elusive soother, or I've just finished repeating for the hundredth time that my son needs to get dressed, or I'm folding laundry in an attempt to keep myself preoccupied while my 3 -month old is screaming in his crib... Anyway, yes, I drift in my thoughts. I wonder to myself if I can feel some kind of comfort if I could think in absolutes, like "every mother feels completely defeated" and "every mother gets this angry" and "every mother lets their kids watch TV for 5 hours in a day" and "every mother loves it when her kids are not home"... But I have my doubts.
Ya, I'm in a rough patch now, and I try to remind myself that it's just a phase. I wish I could let it go, though, let go of the anger and the guilt, the self pity - why can't I enjoy this phase for what it is? I get the feeling that I'm kind of losing my mind, going a little crazy - if I hear one more complaint about what is for dinner or if I find one more thing that has been broken or ruined or if I have to repeat myself over and over and over and over again anymore, or if I have to hear anymore crying or whining or listen to the noise noise noise... - I'm gonna lose it.
But then, wait, what's that I hear? "I love you, mommy". "Thank you for lunch, mom". The sound of a baby giggling at me. The sound of 2 little boys playing superheros together and laughing. Phewph. I'm not gonna lose it. Instead, I break a big fat smile and a moment of sanity returns.
She tried to get the 3 boys together too, but Simon had had enough by that point.
But I managed to catch them all being especially cute just the other day:
The end of March means Max and Jeff celebrate their birthdays! We had a family party a week early for Max:
Max and his best buddy/cousin Lorelei had a heated Jedi training session after he got his new glowing and noisy lightsabers as a gift:
Another of Max's gifts was a paint-it-yourself wooden train. While Callum was at school the next day, Max sat by himself at the table and very contentedly painted for nearly an hour and a half! 
For Jeff's birthday, I realized that what he probably wanted most of all was a little time alone with his wife. :-) So, while my sister Kim tended our children overnight, (bless her!), I got us a room at the awesome Fairmont Pacific Rim where we enjoyed some uninterrupted conversation, ordered a lot of room service, had a couple's massage at the Spa and enjoyed the view from our awesome room and the marble bathroom (sorry, I only had my iPhone for pictures). Ahhh. 24 hours went by far too quickly.
