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.

Tahiti 2013!!!

Ready to pack!!!

October first finally came, Marc and I were pretty excited and anxious about the whole travelling with two kids thing. At 2 o'clock in the morning, we started packing the van, and dressing up the kids so we can make it to Edmonton at a decent time. We dropped the van off at the jet set parking lot in E-town and took the bus to the airport. Yann was pretty excited about ridding in the bus and had a big smile on his face. Once in the airport, we went directly to the west jet counter and waited for about half an hour in line to get our boarding pass. So far, the kids were doing fine but they started asking for food. After getting the boarding pass, we had to get into another long line in order to get all of our bags through security, and the U.S customs. By then the kids were hungry and started crying a little bit. Thank goodness it only lasted a couple minutes (well, maybe 5). Once we got to the boarding area, we were able to seat and relax a little bit. Then 9 o'clock came around and we started boarding. We liked the fact that they let us in first because we were travelling with young children. In the plane, Yann sat with me and Marc with his dad. Our first flight lasted about three hours from Edmonton to L.A.X. The children were pretty AWESOME, and Marc and I were pretty relieved and happy but we still had an eight hours flight left to do. We made sure the boys were sucking on their soothers or drinking their milk so their ears wouldn't bother them too much. And it worked. From terminal two, we had to walk a little bit in order to get to the Air Tahiti Nui terminal which was located in the Tom Bradley Airport (still in L.A.X).

After spending way too much time in the line again in order to go through security and all, we finally got to the boarding area, and we were hoping to get some lunch before taking off. Well, guess what? All the restaurants in the airport (Tom Bradley Airport) were closed for renovations. Just our luck. Thankfully, we have packed a bunch of snacks and knew that Air Tahiti Nui will be providing one meal just after take off, and one before landing. So, I tried not to be too mad (was though), and my wonderful husband found a little shop that was selling some cold sandwiches and got me one. The airport "people" did provide free water/coffee and apples for the passengers, so we took advantage of that. We didn't have any problems taking big bottles of water and formula through security so that was neat. In order to entertain Yann, we brought the Ipad so he wouldn't get bored. That worked too. We had a lay over of 5 hours in L.A.X. Yann and I did a little bit of walking around and Marc took him to go look at the different airplanes. He sure liked that. My little M just sat with either one of us, and played occasionally with his brother. The time to board in came, and once again we were among the first ones to do so.

I love travelling with Air Tahiti Nui. Not only it is a Tahitian company, but it is beautiful, the food is good, and the crew is 100% Tahitian and they had a bassinet for children like my little Marc, so we didn't have to hold him on our laps for the entire flight. And the children had their own seat belts not like in west jet where they didn't have any. Anyway, once in, we fed the boys and they started falling asleep. So glad the boys can sleep anywhere. We were able to relax a little bit, and watch movies (movies and food are free even the headphones). 

We arrived in Tahiti a bit earlier. As soon as we landed, and started getting down the stairs onto the tarmac, I just couldn't stop smiling and the excitement was even bigger now. I was so happy to soon be able to see my family. Excited to know that they would finally meet my boys.

The local musicians welcomed all the passengers with beautiful songs from my childhood, and a beautiful dancer was performing a traditional dance for us as we walked in the airport building. Because Marc and the boys had Canadian (or foreign) passports, we didn't have to wait in the big line, and we were able to get through custom really fast. We grabbed our suitcases, then got out and were welcomed with beautiful leis by my parents, and the rest of the family. Pure HAPPINESS!!! Of course, they couldn't help wanting to hold the boys. My older brother got to hold Yann and my dad had little Marc.

Yann with his uncle Isidore and Marc with his papi (grandpa).

My mom, my sister, my nephew and uncle joined in for the picture.

Marc and his auntie.

After visiting at the Airport for a little bit, we went to the Hotel Radisson. My sister and brother drove us there. They put us in a hotel room so we could get some rest before going to my brother's place which is located on the other side of the island. It's a short commute but they wanted us to rest from our long trip. We stayed at my brother's house on our holiday. My siblings spent a few minutes at the hotel with us. They got to enjoy the boys a bit more. My sister even had treats for us to eat (which I did, of course). We must have been really tired because the boys never made it in the beds the hotel had for them.
The sound of the waves crashing on the beach in the morning woke me up. What a beautiful sound it is to wake up too. I was so glad to be home. I couldn't help but run outside on the balcony, and admire the ocean, the palm trees, and the beautiful black sand beach we were surrounded by. I couldn't feel prouder and happier to call this beautiful island of mine home. I have missed it so much. I took Yann out for a walk on the beach. He grabbed some sticks on the beach, and played with a small coconut. I took one of the stick he had found and wrote our names in the sand. He was really excited to be playing in the sand and couldn't stop staring at the ocean. I forgot my camera so I didn't have any pictures of our little morning escapade. We stopped by the hotel's pool too, and got to play a little bit before going back to the room. My sister came, and brought some more treats for breakfast. Once again, I had to eat them. An hour later after my sister came, my sister in law arrived with my niece (whose a month older than Marc). They couldn't come to the airport, so I was pretty happy when I saw them. I couldn't wait to hold my princess, my niece. She is so beautiful, and always smells so good. I fell even more in love with her now that I was holding and playing with her. From the hotel, we drove by the house I grew up in. It was sad to see it, and know that I would never go back there. We then went to my brother's house where my mom and my brother Yann were waiting for us.

Bed time!

Getting ready for the day!

With Ohana!

Meeting my princess!

From that day on, we did something different everyday. We went to the beach. We had a pig roast. We even had a French pastries tasting day. Ate all of our favorite foods. Visited families. Played in the pool daily. Visited places. Toured the island, and so on. Too many things to write about. We went to show Yann the fire trucks his uncle drives (my older brother is a fire fighter). IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!!!

Yann enjoyed the beach and the ocean, and water in general. I am convinced he loved it over there. He spent most of the time wearing just a diaper and a t-shirt. No socks, no shoes. He was free to go anywhere, running in the yard, following his uncle Yann. Going in and out of the pool any time of the day. Just having a blast. Meal times were always outside. No walls, just the beautiful trees, and plants around us. He ate all the food they had for us there. He loved the fresh fruits off the trees like coconuts, bananas, papayas, Tahitian apples, yellow watermelons, etc... He enjoyed eating the lamb, pig roast, mussels, different Tahitian and french sausages/meats, french pastries, local fresh juices and yogurts. Everything really. He warmed up to my brother Yann easily, and my dad too. A couple days in and he got used to my mom and my other siblings, and loved his cousins. He was so gentle, and careful with his cousin Ohana (my niece), and loved giving her kisses. His favorite was probably uncle Yann. Every morning he would wait for uncle Yann to wake up, and just followed him everywhere. Yann's French vocabulary expanded while we were down there. He learned to recognize a few colors too like blue, orange, green, yellow and if you ask him (in French) what color mama is he would tell you that I am maron (brown). My whole family just loved/loves him. Daily they would say to each other how cute my Yann was.

Little Marc was good with everyone. My mom was crazy about him maybe because he is more sociable than Yann, lol. He had smiles for every body. He ate a lot when we were there. He spent most time in just a diaper and a t-shirt too. Drank a lot of liquids and ate anything we gave him. He enjoyed the ocean, and the pool too if the water was warm enough. He would fall asleep easily with my mom. My siblings, and parents were crazy about his eyes, and smile and hair. Every day they would comment about how cute they were and how cute he was. My parents kept saying that he looked just liked me when I was his age :). Marc's eyes were crazy beautiful in Tahiti. They kept changing colors depending on the weather. Sometimes they would turn grey or just looked like beautiful pearls. I'm NOT kidding. They really were amazing. He learned how to crawl in Tahiti, and holding to furnitures so he could stand. As with Yann, everyday my family would comment about how cute my Marc was. They loved/love him a lot too.

Marc and I didn't really get to go on a one on one date together but we were able to rest and have a lot of relaxing time among my family. The boys were at times demanding (especially at night) but it was nice to have family members that were always so willing to take them off our hands :). We had a lot of great time together. Long nights of just talking, holding hands, cuddling and more... feeling grateful for my family's kindness, and love for us and our sons.

The weather back home was mostly beautiful with a couple days of rain but it was so hot and humid that I sometimes wondered how I ever survived the humidity growing up. I don't mind hot but humid? Bath time for the boys was outside in a baby tub every day. All we did is filling some water bottles with water and leave them out on the sun and you had your hot water for bath. Sometimes you had to add cold water to it because it was too hot. The boys sure loved that. They could just splashed water everywhere. Yann would run around the yard naked at times, and make you run after him. Lots of fun! We did enjoy the beautiful weather we had because we knew what we were coming back to.

IT WAS A LOT OF FUN!!!! We have a lot of beautiful memories of our holiday, and created some new ones with our sons. We brought a few souvenirs but forgot to take a lot of pictures. I kept forgetting my camera and was having way too much fun to even think about taking photos. My bad!

Our last day in Tahiti, we packed our suitcases, did some shopping, went to the beach and wrote our names in the sand again, went to say good bye to some of my family members (uncles, cousin, etc...), drove to the airport where my dad treated us to some tasty food then we did some more shopping and had to say good bye to my parents, siblings, nephew and niece. My least favorite thing because it always hurts so much.

My family was once again WONDERFUL!!! Their kindness and generosity was out of this world. They always do so much without ever expecting anything back. I love them. So looking forward to our next trip to Tahiti.

I'll post some pics on facebook but here's a few for now.

Breakfast time!

My brother and his daughter.

Uncle Yann and his favorite niece.

The cousins!

Pig roast.

yum, fresh shredded coconut.

With their great grandpa :).