No one said it was easy.

Certainly no-one has ever said that raising kids was easy, in fact there are more proverbs and quotes emphasizing how hard it can be. Even Socrates said: "Children today are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food, and tyrannize their teachers." And that was 470BC! I think as parents go Roger and Tracey try their best and they'll be the first ones to admit that there's always room for improvement. Some days can be simply exhausting, simple tasks like getting dressed can result in a tantrum, times outs and lots of mood changes in both child and parent. A few weeks back, they were especially having a hard time with Mr. Malcolm's behaviour and bad attitude. In recent weeks they've implemented a new technique modelled after Dr. Thomas Phelan's series called 1-2-3 Magic. So far there's been significant improvement in Malcolm's behaviour. There are still time outs, but I've noticed they're a lot more infrequent these days. The biggest lesson from the series is to remove all the emotional baggage that comes with power struggles and discipline. Let's just hope it goes in the right direction. Here are some pictures from a quick home photoshoot Roger did. Also, I'd like to end to two great quotes I heard about raising children: "Raising children is like chewing on a stone". "Those that teach children learn more than they do".  

Happy Birthday Tracey.

This is the year of the Water Dragon, it's supposed to signify abundance and good fortune and also specific to Roosters and Rats, that's Tracey and Roger, whoo hoo! Unfortunately, it also says to avoid year of the Dog people (which is Malcolm). We're not sure what this all means, but let's hope good fortune trumps anything bad for 2012. Here are some pictures from the past week. Here's a picture of me! "This is my tough face". Here's Melody and Uncle Glen, playing on the iPad. Melody has taken a liking to Roger's iPhone. It's difficult to get it back sometimes. We can only wonder what kind of technology is in store for her generation. Just last week we had so much snow. This week with the increasing temperatures and rain falling from the sky, the snow is almost a distant memory. Here's Malcolm building a snow castle in the backyard.

We enjoyed a sudden snowfall late Friday night, so the kids woke up to a winter wonderland this weekend. The family got together and built a snowman. There's talk of more snow on the horizon with Wednesday bringing 5-10cm. I have to say, I love the snow a lot and Malcolm is excited as ever. Melody on the other hand likes to be outside, but is not as adventurous, that will probably come in time. Here are a few pictures from the weekend. Let's hope driving conditions don't get too hairy during the week.

Happy New Year!

Welcome 2012, Roger mentioned that I'm going to be 49 this year! Whoa, I never really understood the dog years thing, but that seems too old. After all, I've got some spring in my step still. Well, I'm happy to announce that the family rung in the New Year with an outing up the mountain, a quick visit to the playground and also a celebratory brunch and dinner with the family. Here are some pictures from the past few days. Happy New Year to everyone, especially our friends, family and followers abroad. Best wishes to everyone in 2012!