Valentines schmalentines

I have to admit, hubby always goes out of his way to spoil me on 14 Feb. This year I was spoiled with the traditional bunch of red roses, but what made this year different but also extra special was the dinner.

Usually we have to ask grannies to babysit and get a few hours of alone time to go to a restaurant that specifically does not have a play area... We enjoy a glass or two of bubbly and keep an eye on the time so as not to miss our curfew ;)

Now with the baby, it just didn't feel that easy to ask... Let's face it looking after 2 is a lot easier than 3.

By pure chance, I came across an ad on Facebook by our favorite local restaurant. The ad read 'valentines shmalentines' ..rather do a family valentines . Bring the kids, let them play  whilst the parentals enjoy a champagne dinner.

So I got baby fed and burped and all cozy, and bundled everyone into the car for our family valentines dinner. The kids were eager to burn off some energy, plus we had a sleepy baby with a satisfied belly and us adults keen for some un interrupted adult conversation.... We couldn't have asked for more.

As evenings go, this was pretty successful. Kids happily dug into their dinners, made some friends whilst playing. Hubby and I got to have some bubbly, share a few laughs and reminisce on how our valentines has changed over the years  The best part is we both were quite content with not dining alone.. At this stage in our lives, this valentines day was just perfect. No dishes to wash up, happy kids, no rushing to finish an overpriced dinner to meet our curfew.
It also helps that baby Nik is just an angel when we go out. He loves to people watch and is a charmer of note.

As we get older and our priorities change, it's important to still make time for each other... Sometimes it just requires a bit more creative way of making it all fit...

I'm baaaaack!!

So a quick recap of what's happened over the last 5 years?

The twins have evolved into witty, quirky young men. Their personalities have developed and they come into their own beautifully.
They fight like nobody's business but also share such a close bond, that I suppose only twins will understand.
They always have an answer for everything these days.. Which causes a lot of eye rolling moments in our household.

We have also been on quite a few lovely family holidays and they have thoroughly enjoyed learning new facts about our country whilst exploring.

Oh and we added another little bundle to our brood !

Yes !!  Our littlest munchkin is 5 months old and just the cutest little bug.

So life has changed quite a bit over the last few months for this family.

My hubby asked me quit nonchalanty the other day 'what happened to the blog you started' . To be quite honest, I had clean forgotten about it .. In my defense, having rowdy twins is most definitely reason enough to neglect ones blog.

I will however endeavor to try to make time to update this blog at least once a month.

So we have decided to start the boys with swimming lessons. We have a pool at home which stays protected by a pool net, and only sees warm bodies in the heat of summer. Basically we use the pool maybe 10 days a year. As the boys are now becoming more adventurous and boisterous, we thought best we keep it safe and get them water safe.

Boy oh boy were we unprepared! So we go for lessons twice a week, for half hour lessons, straight after work. So I rush from work, to grannies, bundle up boys in cozzies and our nanny ( affectionately known as Gogo) get home, change into my cozzie, wait ford hubby to get home and change and then off we go. All this happens in 45minutes...I kid you not!

The difference in personalities could not be more evident than when they are in the water. Sadey is calm, collected, easy going...a model pupil for the swimming teacher. Sam on the other hand is a completely different story! I have to mention that we have to get in the pool with the boys to do all the basic swimming antics all done to cute little nursery rhymes. This is all well , if you are fit, which I am not.
So picture this: the rest of the class are merrily singing along to the wheels on the bus, whilst swishing calmly in the water, while Sam thinks it's way more fun to wriggle and splash mum with water, scream at the top of his lungs and just be plain down defiant. By the end of the class, whilst all the other mums exit the pool calmly and looking like yummy mummy's, there I am....out of breathe, completely drenched,  carrying a screaming child that just wants to play. Hubby , on the other hand, exits calmly with Sadey...proudly having mastered rolling onto his back in the water.

This morning my son looks up at me and randomly says 'I love you sooo much mummy' and stretches out his arms for a hug. I grabbed him and smothered him with a bear hug. He had just made my morning!
It's funny how these little things in life leave have such huge effects on a person. I swear, I just sailed through the  rest of the day. A friend of mine keeps reminding me I should treasure these little moments, as when they get older, I'll be lucky if they allow a kiss on the cheek!

I really can't fathom that!

I truly am blessed to have these adoring little treasures in my life, and very often we forget to be thankful for what we have. I know I am quite guilty sometimes of focussing on what we don't have , as opposed to being grateful for what we do have.  A sort of glass half empty vs half full type thing.

Interesting things to ask :
When u think of your house, do you see a warm family home,.....or a huge bond that will be with you for 15 years?
When you think of your kids, do you see healthy, lively children, or noisy, overly active kids that you wish would just sit quietly through a full meal at a restaurant.
When you look in the mirror, do you see a health, blessed self looking back, or do you focus on all the bits that stick out a little more than they should ?

It's very easy to forget the blessings, and begin to wallow in self pity. This is why I keep a photo of my family at my desk at the work. His reminds me of what is waiting for back home, no matter what a crappy day I'm having.

So after an absence of a few weeks, withdrawl symptoms have start to set in...so im back.

What a crazy few weeks it has been....sick relatives, tantrum-toddlers, and on top of all that...some scary health news...ie very high cholesterol levels...

So Im now on a health mission...wholewheat, veggies, fruit low GI diet....even joined the gym ..i kid you not!.

I always wonder why the Indian population always seem to have genetically high cholesterol...I mean, really in this day in age, our diets are not that different to any other race group. Personally my family indulge in a curry maybe once a week, which I think is quite ordinary.
We dont really drink ghee or have loads of savouries deep fried, any more than  a westerner would have burgers and fries...so the mystery really baffles me...