Road Trip 2014

Travelling with 2-yr old twins from Regina to Vancouver and back was a lot of fun. 

However, it was also a lot of work. 

Keeping toddlers strapped into car seats for hours at a time can make them ornery. We kept our travel days short and took long breaks. 

But the key to keeping our sanity was our built-in DVD player in our minivan. That, and a great selection of kid's movies, including:

The Gnome-Mobile

Annie

Mary Poppins

But, the whole adventure came together through the planning and hard work of Saskatchemom, who thought of every little detail to make the trip perfect for the twins.

Nobody likes rain storms....except kids.

Rain pours down all weekend. Water seeps into basement. Garden is flooded out. 

What kind of crazy people would actually be happy with this kind of weather? 

Toddlers!

Admit it...your inner child is screaming out to you to buy some rubber boots and to splash in some puddles.

Father's Day

The best Father's Day gifts are the ones that are homemade.

This video will be hard to beat in future years. Although, with kids these days, and advancements in technology, Pritam and Darshan will likely be able to program robots or holograms to send me a Father's Day message in 2025.

Link: VIDEO

Bring your kids to work day

It is a good idea to occasionally bring your kids to work. Nothing livens up the atmosphere at your workplace like the sight of 2-yr old twins crawling through the hallways, pretending to be puppies. 

If you are really lucky, your kids might even create some artwork to adorn the walls of your office.

Caught up to the Present Day

After a whirlwind recap of the past two years, this blog has finally caught up to present day.

I feel like I rushed through the past two years, overlooking events that probably seemed that they would be unforgettable when they were happening.

But one cruel reality about parenthood is that, as so many new experiences and amazing memories are being experienced, some of the things that were once memorable are now lost and forgotten. 

The dust on the road of life is swept away. 

Milestones

After the twins had their second birthday, it seemed like there were new milestones every week. Expanding vocabulary, developing mobility, intricate dance moves...it seemed like there was something new every day.

It's amazing to see children grow up, but time also brings a sense of wistful nostalgia, as you think about how your little toddlers are no longer the babies they once were.

One day, the front wall comes off the crib, and now they have toddler beds.

This bed will never be a crib again, but I think I can handle that. 

Fun times in Punta Cana (Part II)

Looking back at our final days in Punta Cana, our experiences do not seem as bad as they were while we were living them.

I am not ashamed to admit that I was very afraid. I had searched medical websites and researched possible complications from Hand Foot and Mouth Disease and looked at the dangers of children with ear infections flying on airplanes.

When Pritam woke up one night writhing in inconsolable agony, I was terrified that something was horribly wrong (this turned out to be pain from the ear infection).

As the date of our scheduled return flight approached, we began to make preparations to stay longer until Pritam's ear infection might clear up. We also kept a close eye on Darshan, who had started to develop a few spots on his hands. We looked ahead to later flights to Toronto, Calgary and Edmonton. Our Air Transat tour representative was very reassuring in telling us that he would take care of us if we were forced to stay longer.

We went to see the resort doctor several times each day to check if Pritam's ear infection was improving with a new course of antibiotics.

On the date of our return flight home, several hours before our scheduled shuttle departure time, the doctor gave us the news we were praying to hear. Pritam's ear infection had cleared up and she was able to fly!

Normally, going through the process of traveling home from the Dominican Republic would have been a stressful ordeal. But the next 12 hours were made easier by the relief we felt by simply being able to go home. Not often does one get excited about leaving +30 Celsius weather to get somewhere with -30 Celsius weather.

The cold Regina wind felt good that night when we arrived at midnight. We were home.