Taking a break!

Taking a break from my blog. I just don't have time for it anymore. I'll be back when I'll be back I guess. Shortest post ever.

Best article ever!

Here's an article a friend shared on Facebook that made me smile . I felt gratitude for reading it and mostly gratitude for my parents and my AWESOME childhood.

When I became a mom, I felt a bit awkward because people I knew or mothers on Pinterest I follow seemed to do things so wonderfully I didn't know if I could ever be as good as them. Fortunately that feeling didn't stick around long enough for me to cry my head of because I couldn't make those perfect crafts or bake those perfect cakes for my children. I decided early enough that I was going to raise my children the way my mom did. She let us be children!

I do a lot with my babies and take them out as much as I can and YES, I do let them play on their own a lot and they love it. Nothing makes me smile more than seeing my Yann playing with his toys on his own, and do a lot of pretend play with his dinosaurs. Nothing excites me more than seeing him use a box of tissu papers as dinosaurs feet or other house item as tools for a wonderful creative play. I am by no means the best mom ever and I accept it fully. I do not do a lot of craft with my boys, it's honestly not something Yann seems to like. I truly love this article. I don't need to feel guilty because I don't/can't do what other moms do. I do it my way, the old fashion way (Tahitian style). Of course, I do play with them. I do not neglect them. Family time is important to us.

Today, Yann wanted to catch the snowflakes so I dressed him up and let him out in the back yard and he had fun while I was visiting with my mother in law. After he was done playing in the back yard, he went out with his grandma for a walk and came back with a few pine cones that he collected while walking. He was so excited about them, it made me happy. Here's something he probably won't remember but I for sure will. Ever since he started walking, I used to (and still do) just let him off the patio door so he can go explore the back yard. I used to feel guilty about it because I didn't know if other people did this but I am not anymore. My secret is out!

My sons' mother!

Last week was probably the craziest week I had since I became a mother of two. My children serenaded me with screams, cries and a lot of attitude. Out of the 7 days that made this week, I had one and a half days that were amazingly good and the rest well, the rest was far from being amazing. I enjoyed the good days and dreaded the bad ones. They were so bad. It is hard to find patience in such circumstances.

Someone once made the comment to me that because I have waited so long to be a mother I shouldn't complain about all the "bad" that comes with being one. Dumbest comment ever I would say!

I am a mother! I have high and low moments as a mother. I have good and bad days as a mother. My children are sometimes really good, and sometimes really bad even awful at times. They either scream, cry, yell.  Or laugh, giggle, and smile depending on their moods. I feel overwhelmed at times and yet I feel overjoyed at the thought that I am a mother. I spend my time making sure all their needs are taken care of and forget about my own most days. My children are perfect in my eyes yet so imperfect in their ever changing behaviors. I run and hide in my bathroom for a quick break from my kids once in a while. Does that make me LOVE them less? Of course not. Everyday it seems like I fall in love more and more with them than the previous day, despite the screaming and the loud cries. How? I am not sure myself. Among the chaos of a bad day, there is always a little ray of sunshine that highlights a wonderful trait of the kind of people my babies are.

Yes, I hate the bad moments. But, I love the cuddles, the hugs, the kisses, the smiles, the giggles and the laughter. I love being my son's mother.

Madly in LOVE!

Last week, I had a friend coming over and we got talking a lot about marriage and the things we do as a couple. I got to share a lot of the hardships Marc and I went through in all the years we have been married.

Marriage is a wonderful thing in my opinion. I have met so many people who have such a misconception of what marriage truly is. Some think it is just a means to have control over one person, some think it is a headache, some think in an over positive way that it is all rainbows and fluffy clouds but there is so much more to it. I have friends that have chosen to just divorce because they say it was too much work to try to make it work. Well, I am no expert in marriage but WORK is exactly what makes my marriage to my husband last. We are not a perfect couple and I like that about us. We argue, we butt heads sometimes, we compromise, we agree and disagree, we raise our voices (sometimes, not often), we get annoyed, BUT no matter what, we always show each other that we CARE deeply about one another, we always start our day with I LOVE YOU and finish it the same way, we always try our best to put each other's needs before our own, we HUG, and KISS a lot daily, we strive to lighten each other's burden by giving service to one another on a daily basis, and so on. All those things we do is WORK. Some are big, some are small but nonetheless it is what makes a marriage last (still, in my opinion). Imagine if we stop telling each other I love you? Imagine if we stop hugging, and kissing, and caring, and helping each other?

I am grateful for my marriage as imperfect as it is. I never want to stop working on it and giving my 200%. Saturday morning, I was cuddling with my baby and my sweet husband came and sat next to me. With a gentle voice he told me he was madly in love with me. These words are worth more to me than diamonds.
Photos courtesy of my friend Indie!

My eternal family!!!

My eternal companion!

My ONE year old!

Last Wednesday, we celebrated Marc's first birthday. I made some decorations for him just like I did for Yann. We decide to have a construction theme party.

The day started out pretty crazy with screaming children but fortunately, my friend came to visit and spent most of the day with us. After Marc got home from work, he started decorating the cake while I made supper. After the little party, and when everybody went to bed, I got thinking and reminiscing about Marc's birth and the whole year we had with him. It is amazing how time REALLY goes by too fast.
I still remember how tiny he was when they handed him to me. My 6 pounder has come a long way even though he still looks so tiny. I liked that he was a good sleeper and still is except for 2 nights last week (had a fever so we had to keep him cool and he ended up waking up 3 times at night BUT we are back to normal).

He eats a LOT but doesn't seem to fatten up. He is now 19 pounds! Has been walking up a storm in the past few days and tonight I can finally say that he is full out walking. He is my smiliest son but also my whiniest one. I love him despite his whiny self. He is an adorable little boy, with such a contagious smile and is a lot of fun to snuggle with. I love his laugh and giggles. Most people I encounter make comments about his crazy hair. He has beautiful hair I have to say. We talked about cutting them but I really don't want to anymore. He is just so darn handsome! I am so looking forward to see him grow. He will be doing so much growing from now until his next birthday. I love my little boy!

The cake!

The Birthday Boy!

Menu: Roasted veggies, baked salmon and couscous. And the birthday salad, a Bennetts tradition.

Big brother wanted to help blow the candles!

Helping dad cutting the cake!

Opening presents!

The playroom!

We gave our boys a playroom for Christmas. I reused the furniture they had for their toys and turned a space in the basement into a playroom for them to enjoy and go crazy in. We bought crayons, felts, doodle pads to complete their space and the rest was already there. We all love it and the boys can do almost whatever they want there.

The boys!

Well, here's an update on my monkeys.

Yann turned two a week ago. And let me tell you, he did it with a BANG. Apparently he was really thrilled about being two years old, so he decided to wake the whole house at 1:30 am and threw the biggest tantrum ever for almost 2 hours. Really? Who does that? My son does! The day got even worse, to the point that his dad decided not to celebrate his birthday. But suckers like we are we did it anyway but kept it really simple with just us. Beside this monstrous tantrum, Yann is a good little boy, really funny and smart. He does have micro tantrums from time to time but nothing that would push me to pull my hair out. He used to like nursery but now just hates it unless he sees his favorite person in there. Yes, you guessed it d'Indie, it's you! He is officially bilingual to us switching from French to English with such ease. He occasionally says his own prayer now, especially when he is hungry. He is not taking a soother anymore (thank goodness) and has been off of it for a month now. Still not potty trained but really I am not going to push the "issue". He is only two! He still likes to cuddle his brother but lately has been a big bully as well. His favorite thing to say  is "papa, wanna take him?" when he sees his brother with me. It's hilarious and cute.

Marc, well where do I start? He is still such a cutie pie. Kissing him all day long is my favorite thing to do (talking about my son, although I do like kissing my husband too). He eats a lot but doesn't seem to fatten up, haha! Like his brother, he is not a picky eater. Lately, his favorite thing to eat is broccoli and cauliflower. He is an active little boy! He is not full out walking yet. Ever since he got sick, he decided to be lazy at walking. He is turning 11 month tomorrow. He is my little shrimp. He is so tiny but like I said so darn cute. Beside being a handsome guy, and being so cuddly at times, Marc is my fussiest kid! He cries a lot. Mostly when he is tired and wants to be held. He still sleeps through the night but lately has decided to fuss and stay up later than he should so we just leave him in his bed now and let him fuss. It works! Marc is off the formula now which make us really happy. No more bottles in our house.

All in all, they are little boys! Growing like every other children. One step at a time and one tantrum at a time.

A climber!

New year's resolution!

It feels like forever since the last time I posted something on here. I have thought of a million posts to write over the past month and a half but never really took the time to actually sit and write them out.

 Where to start?

With the new year, came new resolutions and goals for our family and for myself to accomplish and reach.
The most important one I would say is my goal of being a healthier  me.

Over the years, I have struggled with my weight. Growing up I always was such an active person, going on bike rides for hours at the time, doing boxing and kickboxing, playing sport at school, running few kilometers as a family on the beach, the track or the road, fully active, always walking everywhere, and it was taking away from me when I turned 20. Being diagnosed with severe rheumatoid arthritis (R.A as we call it) at such a young age has shook me really badly and I started packing the weight on when I moved here. I could barely walk and even brush my own hair, I had no friends, no family. Depression hit me! I found comfort in eating. My weight went up and down (mostly up) and I became comfortable with the way I looked. Even though I always tried my best in doing as much as I could despite the painful life I was now living, I never really did anything serious about my weight gain. Like I said, I was too comfortable!

In 2011, I was expecting my first baby! I knew I had to do and be  my best for him. I wanted to be an active mom (despite the R.A). The pain was bearable during the pregnancy, and in January 2012, my baby came and so did the pain. Instead of being able to be a healthier me, depression hit me again (I will write a post about it. ), and pregnancy number two was on its way. My weight went up and up and up while expecting my second son, and stuck around. The R.A pain was incredibly high, and for the first time I thought I wouldn't be able to cope with it like I have done in the past 14 years.

However, my friend started offering/selling the Vemma formula, and I knew I had to try it. Am I ever glad I did. From the first time I took it, it had rocked my world and changed it for the best. I was able to enjoy summer with my boys and be as active as can be. I enjoyed walks with my family and friends and for the first time ever in a long time, I was living an almost pain free life. I decided to do something about my weight now that I was "active" again. With a few tips and help from my friend, I started to eat better and started exercising on my own

I couldn't be happier with the life I have now and the blessing I have received. I am not about to throw away this second chance of an active me. I may not be living a 100% pain free life but I sure am doing my best to kick my R.A's butt.