Rainy Day Tuesday

Today was a rainy day.  A very rainy day.  We went to gymnastics this morning and it felt like the rain was going to come through the roof. 

Gymnastics was very cute.  They had Drew working on the bars today.  He's learning how to pull his legs up and touch the bar while he's hanging.  They are amazing teachers.  He even has to "present" before and after everything.  So.  Freaking.  Adorable.

After gymnastics we drove to Burlington to have lunch with a friend to celebrate my birthday.  We went to East side marios.  My kids love east side marios.  Drew's addicted to the croutons and Hunter loves the tomatoes and bread (they eat other stuff too, that's just what keeps them happy at the table).

Today was different though.  We had what could only be described as the WORST waitress ever.  My friend ordered the "all you can eat" trio (soup, salad and breadsticks) and within the 45 minutes that we were there, she was served 1 soup and 1 salad.  Now, I don't mean to brag, but I know that I could eat a hell of a lot more than 1 soup and 1 salad.....I'm pretty sure that she could too.  Not really the "all you can eat" she was hoping for.  Not to mention the fact that I asked for more croutons and more bread on several occasions and did not recieve either in a timely manner.  If it were just the two of us, it would have been one thing, but with the kids...a nightmare!  I must have been asked, "mom, where are my croutons???" a million times.  After speaking to the manager, who wasn't the nicest person in the world, I was reassured that our bill would be adjusted.

The bill was NOT adjusted.  And by the time we got the bill, it was time for us to leave, as my friend had to go back to work and my kids were tired of sitting.  I think East Side Marios might be getting a letter.

We headed straight for home.  Hunter had a bit of a nap....ok, maybe 30 minutes...not much of a nap.

The afternoon was spent playing trains, playing tractors, baking (pumpkin cupcakes with maple cream cheese frosting) and reading stories (of course, the usual treehouse tv was in there too).  We didn't get outside at all, it poured rain most of the day.

I chose to stay home today (as opposed to going to nana and papas) thinking I'd give them a break as they babysat last night while I went to a parent's council meeting at Drew's school.  Mom called me at 5 wondering where we were and why we weren't visiting them. 

We will be there tomorrow night, and I hope there is some of my birthday cake left.

Happy birthday to me!

On friday (the 24th) we picked monkey up early from school and hit the road for the cottage.  We had a pretty uneventful drive (by uneventful, I mean, not too much screaming and no puking - yay!).  Went straight to costco.

At costco, we picked up some fruit and some bacon (costco has this maple bacon that is seriously the best bacon I've ever had......it is wonderful!  James cooks it on the bbq, and it's so perfect....we only eat it at the cottage though, because if we introduced it to our diets at home, we would have some serious heart problems)  We also had dinner there.

15 minutes later and we were at the cottage.  Everything was as we left it, which was good....always worried about something being stolen or the roof flying off or something crazy like that (it'd been a few weeks since our last visit).

We hung out a bit, went for a walk, and then it was bedtime for the boys.  They both slept through the night, Hunter for 12 hours!!!  Best birthday present EVER!!!  James and I opened a bottle of wine and watched, "Post Grad".  James was glad for the wine.  I actually enjoyed the movie.

Early saturday morning (my birthday), James and Drew went to "DooDoo's" to pick me up some buttertarts (my favorite!).  We spent a quiet day playing, fishing, canoeing, and then James took us all to East Side Mario's for dinner.  We got there at 5, thinking we'd beat the rush and then be home early so that Hunter wouldn't fall asleep in the car on the way home. 

WRONG

The place was PACKED.  I think there was a hockey tournement or something.  Hunter started screaming, and Drew was being loud while we waited.  A very nice waitor came over and told us that if we sat in the bar area we could be served dinner there.  WooHoo!!!  See, sometimes it pays to have screaming children! 

After a fun dinner (and free cake!) we headed home.  Both boys made it home awake.  After bedtime, James and I polished off another bottle of wine (well, James did, I fell asleep) and watched Harry Potter and the half dead prince (or something along those lines, can't remember the exact title...I fell asleep).

Sunday morning was a bit stressful.  We had to be back at the airport for 2 (when James' shift was starting).  We had to pack up and get the kids fed breakfast, and fit some fun in there too!!  Drew had fun with Ryan (one of the other cottage kids) for most of the morning.  Hunter, Drew and Ryan were playing spies, and then ended up playing Thomas trains in our cottage for a long time!

We left in time, had lunch at McDonalds and then headed straight to the airport, we made it with about 5 minutes to spare...phew!

Took the boys straight to nanas, where we hung out and the my parents and brother took us out to swiss chalet for dinner.  Headed back to the Glen for presents and ice cream cake........

A perfect weekend.  Still having a hard time with the whole "31" thing though.

I'm a big boy now!

Yesterday started out like any old day.  We went to the gym.  Hunter screamed, I stayed in the kids area with the boys so he wouldn't freak out, James worked out a bit, then I got to shower there while he stayed with the boys.

From the gym we headed to Costco.  We buy our baby wipes from costco, the kirkland brand.  We find they are inexpensive (well, compared to the other brands, anyways) and each package has a top on it, so there is no need for an extra "container" to put them in. 

We also love the food at costco.  For lunch, we got the boys and ourselves hotdogs, fries and we brought some veges (peppers, broccoli, carrots).  As we were sitting there eating, nearly every person that walked by did a double take.....some did a triple take.  I even heard one person whisper to her friend (look at the vegetables they are making their kids eat.....). 

Really? 

Now, I'm not pretending to be this wonderfully healthy parent or anything.  The reason we bring cut up veges with us when we go out to eat is because we go out to eat ALL THE TIME.  We get hugs when we walk into McDonalds from the staff there and when we're not there for a few days, they worry about us.  The vegetables make us feel less guilty.

What annoyed me was that other people were judging us on trying to get our kids to eat some more "colours" than what we could provide them with at the costco store.  Again with the judgement!  Gotta love parenting. 

After costco, we decided to head to square one to hit Melonheads to get Hunter's first hair cut.  It's a great place, with fun seats for the kids to sit in.  They are great with kids, there are toys to distract the kids as their hair is getting cut (even bubbles!) and when it's your first haircut, they give you a certificate, take the kid's picture, and give you a lock of their hair.  We had Drew's first haircut done there, so I felt the need to get Hunter's done too.  It's pricey, so from now on, Hunter will probably get a first choice hair cut.....but he did great at Melonhead's for his first time!  Of course, Drew had to get his haircut too (there was a Thomas the train chair, how could we not let him get his hair cut???).

Before....not too sure about this...

After...what a big change!!!  So frickin cute!

There's a Thomas chair!!!

After square one (Drew and James played in the Apple store, Hunter and I browsed in the gap and checked out Aritzia - our property was used as a backdrop for some photos in their fall catelogue....the shots look great!) we headed to the Glen.  The boys wanted to show off their new hair cuts to Nana and Papa.  They were planning on heading to the bank, so naturally Drew invited himself along.  Drew left with them and James and I took Hunter to the grocery store.  It was thursday, so Papa was heading to the auction sale (near our house).  He dropped Nana and Drew off at our house and headed there.  We had dinner with Nana (very exciting for the boys!) and then we walked to the auction sale to see Papa. 

After the sale, Nana and Papa headed home and the boys went to bed.  I should mention here that (knock on wood) our sleep "training" seems to have worked this 2nd time around.  Hunter has slept through the night more times this week than he has his entire 14 months that he's been alive.  Yay for him, Yay for me!!!!  I'm so proud of him (and of us for giving it another go!)

Grey's anatomy started again last night and the premiere was great...although if Meredith and McDreamy break up again this season, I may have to stop watching.

2 Moms in the City

Wednesday, galpal Laur and I hit the road for Toronto.  I had gotten tickets to be in the audience for Cityline.  Laurie left Hadley with Grannie-Annie and the boys stayed with James (well, Drew was at school).  I picked Laur up at her mommy's house at 7 and off we went.  Traffic was terrible and it took us an hour and a half to get to Yorkdale (yikes!  Much longer than I was anticipating).  We hopped on the subway to the Dundas exit and found our way to the City tv building.

Once there we were given our tickets and then escorted upstairs for the pre-show and were given the chance to ask Nanny Robeena questions we had (we were taped).  I asked one about putting the two boys to bed by myself (it gets a little crazy here at bedtime when James is at work). 

We were then walked downstairs and seated for the show.  We were in the front row!

The show was great, we got a few giveaways (magazines, vitamins, a mommy calendar).  We met Dr. Dave (of momshow fame) and tried to clap and smile when we were supposed to (and not pick our noses or yawn when we weren't).

After the show we hit starbucks for hot chocolates and then headed back to Yorkdale for some lunch (pickle barrel and some browsing in the kiddie shops.....)  I don't think we even looked at one thing for ourselves (oh how times have changed!).

It was a great day.  It's been a long time since we've had the chance to spend the day together without a child (or two, or three) in tow.  We got to catch up and gossip and remember old times.  I love our children (and our husbands), but I love my friend too....and I hope there are lots more days like this in our future! 

Thanks Laur, for a great day!  Love you!!

xoxoxo

Yowza!!

I forgot to mention in my last post that I'm in so much pain.  Because I stopped nursing Hunter cold turkey my body is going what the f@#&#???  and is still producing a lot of milk.  I am so engorged, I feel like I'm carrying around rocks on my chest.  Rocks with jabby knives attached to them.  I'm sitting here with cabbage on my chest, apparently that's supposed to help, according to the experts on the internet....they are always right, right?

I tried pumping a bit, just to relieve a bit of the pressure but that hurt so much.....hopefully it passes soon.  I hate the smell of cabbage.

So, last night wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  As I said in the last post, Hunter went to bed after about 30 minutes of screaming (not fun, but better than what happened in March).  He woke up at his normal times during the night (every 2-3 hours) and would scream...we did a check each time, and waited.  Before the 10 minute check each time, he was asleep.

Tonight, I did the same routine as I did last night and he only screamed for 5 minutes before falling asleep.  Knock on wood, he's learning to soothe himself.

This morning, Drew had gymnastics, then we headed to McDonalds for lunch (we have coupons, what can I say.....it's an addiction, I guess).  After McDonalds (where we ran into Brenda and Allie, a great surprise!) we headed to Springridge.  Had a GREAT time there.  Drew passed out on the way home, napped for a few hours and then we all hung out in the playroom for the afternoon.

It's so great to have James home.....a great day today.

A big day for both boys

All set for his first "FULL" day of JK!

Today, Drew had his first "full" day of JK.  James took him (he was writing a test this morning, so it was on his way).  Apparently, he said goodbye and just walked in the door again, no questions asked. 

Hunter and I were to meet my mom at Timmy's at 9 (after her bus run).  We got there a bit early, ordered her coffee and muffin for her and waited.  At 9:20 I was a bit worried that we were at the wrong place.  I packed up Hunter and headed out the door, back to the van.  My plan was just to go to the Glen and wait for her (had forgotten my cell phone).  Once out in the parking lot, my mom's boss shows up.  She tells me that my mom had been in an accident in the bus (she is fine) and would not be able to meet me.  We took her coffee to her at the scene of the accident (she was a wreck). 

Hunter and I spent the morning at the georgetown mall (woohoo!).  We got home and there was a message from my mom that she wouldn't be able to drive Drew home today (he rides her bus home from school)....I was in tears.  He has been looking forward to Nana picking him up from school since he found out he is going to big school. 

It turned out that Nana finished all of her paperwork and whatever else she was requried to do in time for her afternoon run, so Drew was able to go on the bus afterall! 

James, Hunter and I met Drew at the Glen and what did my little man have to say when he saw me afterschool???  "Mommy, can you go home so that I can play with nana??"  "I missed nana today".......WHAT ABOUT ME!!?!?!?!!?

After his first day of JK....not sure where his vest is!

James, Hunter and I went for a walk around Glen Williams (SO want to move there one day, even have my house picked out!  LOL) and left the little man with his nana.

We left at around 5, went to McDonalds for dinner and then headed home to spend some time outside on our climber and in the sandbox.

We are "sleep training" Hunter now (we tried in March with no success).  Tonight was the first night.  I've cut him off from my boobs too.  Today was the first day of that.  Poor little man.  Put him in his crib after a few stories and some songs.  He screamed for about half an hour (with me doing "checks" every 5, 10, then 15 minutes).  He's sleeping now, we'll see what happens for the rest of the night.  Up until now, I would nurse him to sleep and then whenever he would wake up in the middle of the night (every 2-3 hours) would nurse him back to sleep.  NO MORE!  He's almost 15 months old, I want my body back!  I also would like to not feel like a walking zombie every day......cross your fingers that this sleep "training" works this time!

Hunter - "wah wah wah"  (crying, screaming, you get the picture)

Drew - "Mommy, come quick, Hunter is crying"

I run into the room (I was in the kitchen, doing some dishes).  I see Hunter crying and Drew is standing near by looking perplexed.

Drew - "Mommy, I couldn't make Hunter stop crying....I don't have any milk in my boobs".

Friday September 17, 2010

Friday was another perfect day.

My husband has been on days for the past week as he's had training.

The boys and I woke up, had breakfast and then got down to business......the business of playing.  It's serious work.  The usual, trains, trucks, tractors, and cars.....gotta love boys.  It always amazes me how drawn they are to typical "boy" toys.  Why can't we just have a tea party, or play with dolls once in a while???  lol.

At 11, Hunter had a nap and Drew and I just hung out.  We read stories, watched treehouse, played trains and made lunch.  When Hunter woke up, we packed up the van and headed to Nana and Papa's.

Once there, we played with Nana for a while and then she had to leave on her bus run.  Drew didn't want to go with her (something we're a bit nervous about, because up until two days ago, he would have sold his brother to get on that bus....maybe he's really nervous about school?  He starts getting picked up by nana's bus from school tomorrow...we'll see).

When Nana was gone, the boys and I walked down to the park.  My parents joined us there once they got home from work. 

Once back at the Glen, James joined us after work, as did my brother and we just all hung out for the evening.  We set up the bouncy castle, played trains, drove the gator and played hide and seek.  We love the Glen so much. 

My son is now a "kindergartener".

Drew trying to show off his backpack.

Today, Drew began his adventures in school.  Today was his first "half" day (he starts full days on monday).  I was quite anxious about this day, because throughout the past couple of weeks, he has been "melting down" whenever the subject of school came up.  He was quite excited about big school until I had to break the news to him that his friends Ethan and Emma were not joining him at his big school.  Poor little man.

This morning, we rushed to get breakfast in, got dressed and headed out the door.  There were no tears, and not much resistance to leave....I was still nervous for the actual drop-off. 

Once at the school, we headed inside through the main office doors.  In order to get to the kindergarten rooms, we had to walk through half the school.  Drew, Hunter and I are walking through the halls, I'm carrying Hunter and holding Drew's hand.  Drew looks up at me and says, "I'm so excited for big school".  My heart skipped a beat.  He is now STRUTTING down the hall.  It was adorable.

We get to his room, and the rest of the kids (only half of his class was scheduled for this half-day) were heading into the room.  Drew lets go of my hand and heads into the room.  I am trying to stop him to give him a hug, but he is completely ignoring me...I follow him into the room (the only parent to do so), frantically saying "bye Drew, bye Drew, BYE DREW, I LOVE YOU DREW"....Drew does not hear me.  He is standing in the room, with his little back pack on, hands behind his back, listening to what the teacher is saying.  I give my head a shake, realize that he is fine, and leave the room, trying to hold the tears back.

There you have it.  School has begun.

I pick him up, and the first thing he says to me is, "is tomorrow my bus day, mommy?"  "Is Nana going to pick me up from school tomorrow???"  (My mom is going to be his bus-driver for home time - he will be taken home to the Glen...he is SO EXCITED).

I took the boys to McDonalds for lunch.  The first thing Drew had to do was go potty.  He held it all morning.  I'm nervous about what will happen when he's there for a full day.  I hope he goes while at school on monday.

I am so proud of him.  He did so great.  I miss my baby.

My baby is 4!

Happy birthday, little man! 

Drew woke up this morning, saw his gifts from us sitting on the playroom floor and wanted to open them right away (naturally).  I told him he had to wait until daddy woke up, before I knew it, he was jumping on daddy and running straight for his gifts (poor daddy).

After the gift opening extravaganza, Drew and James headed outside to take the recycling out.  Surprise!  There was cow poop at the end of the drive-way.  Never a good sign.  A trip back to the field found our bull standing at the gate (which was left open yesterday - oops!).  I'm not sure where he went, but he went for a little adventure and then tried to go back to the field before we found out.  Newsflash buddy, when you leave poop, we're going to figure it out!  Thank goodness he was the only one who went for a walk.  Gate was closed, all is well now.

A while back, I had found out that Thomas the train was playing (through toons for toddlers) in Oakville at a real movie theatre.  I was very excited about this, so I said to Drew, "why don't we ask Nana and Papa to watch Hunter and mommy and daddy can take you on a movie date".  His response?  "Can Nana and Papa take me to the movies and you and daddy watch Hunter?" 

And so it went...

Nana and Papa taking Drew to see "Misty Island Rescue"

While Drew was at the movies, Hunter had a nap, and I iced the cupcakes for the party and got the last minute preparations together.

We held Drew's party at his old nursery school (Hornby Co-op).  We ordered pizza, wings, had chips, fruit and cupcakes.  Our friends and family joined us for the occasion, and we had a great time.  Drew was spoiled with a ton of gifts, and played wonderfully with all who attended.  I am very proud of him!  He was very excited, and had a TON of sugar, so today could have gone very, very badly!  LOL

Aunt Laurie and Hadley

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you..."

The boys with Hadley

Decorating cupcakes

After the party, we headed up to Nana and Papa's to open up their "big" gift to Drew (and to Hunter).  Drew was thrilled to have his own bouncy castle.  Lucky little man.  He also set up his new Thomas tracks (all the new ones he got were for his set up at Nana's). 

I thought for sure that Drew would fall asleep on the ride home for the Glen.  Hunter fell asleep, but Drew was still going strong when we got home.  James whisked him off upstairs and read him a few stories.  He's sleeping right now, hopefully he has a great sleep after that busy day!  Hunter is sleeping now too, hopefully for a while....because I am TIRED!!!

Happy birthday, Andrew.  I love you so much, and am so proud of the little man you are growing to be.

The birthday festivities begin

Taking a break from the art action

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Happy birthday little man.  I love you more than you will ever know.

Wednesday is our playgroup day.  We belong to "Momstown Milton".  For those of you that haven't heard of Momstown, go to momstown.ca to check it out.  It's a wonderful program for moms and their kids.  Wednesday in Milton is preschooler playgroup day, and we try to attend every week....although, lately, we haven't been quite as regular (being at the cottage and sickness have gotten in our way).  Anyways, since Drew's birthday is on saturday, I offered to host a "birthday" playdate for Drew at our house.  Unfortunately, at the same time as playgroup today was a free trial class of kindermusic.  Most of our playgroup friends had signed up for the free class, so we were going to reschedule.  Our friend Kristi, though, had just opened up a kid's art studio RIGHT NEXT DOOR TO KINDERMUSIC!!!!  How convienent.  She offered to host Drew's birthday playdate right after kindermusic.  Perfect.  Her studio is called "Scribble n' Splatter.  It's located in Milton.  Check it out at http://www.scribblensplatter.com
The kids painted, beeded, chalked, dressed up and just plain had fun.  Hunter kept trying to eat the beads, I guess they looked like candy to him.  It was really quite funny, every time I looked, he was grabbing for them.
I made cupcakes and ordered pizza and Drew was even spoiled with a few gifts!  A great morning!

Today started off on a bit of a sour note for my husband.  He worked until 2am and then was up at 9 (when he apologized to me for "sleeping in" - oh, how our lives have changed).  I then informed him that the cows were in a field that they were not supposed to be in.  Ugh.
He promptly went out (in the cold and rain) to get them back to where they were supposed to be and to fix the fence.  They did a number on the fence, and poor hubby was out there all morning.
The boys and I spent the morning munching on breakfast, watching treehouse tv, playing trains, and crafting.  Drew and I had hit the dollar store yesterday and had some brand-spanking new glue.....VERY exciting!
At noon (James has to leave for work at 1) the boys and I got dressed up in our boots and coats and headed out to the field (Hunter in the backpack).  We found daddy, working hard on the fence, surprised at what time it was.  He rushed to finish and then took Drew to give the cows some hay (Drew was thrilled)....Hunter and I headed back to prepare a quick, warm lunch for everyone.
Once daddy left for work, the boys and I did some more crafting, played some more trains.....and made it "rain" diapers......long story...but the boys loved it (they were clean, don't worry).
The afternoon found us at nana and papa's, where Drew and nana looked for worms in the garden, hosted a pretend birthday party (which Drew invited Hunter to, but not me......something I could live with), and played trains (surprising, I know).
We all played hide and go seek and tag in the front yard, and played throw and catch with a giant ball that we found in the basement.
After this visit, we headed to the grocery store where I found cake mixes on sale and water wings for next to nothing.
It was a perfect day, I am a lucky woman.......ask me again if I care that my yard looks messy and my house isn't sparkling clean......cause I don't, I played with my boys today, and it rained diapers.....lol......:)

Garden

How the #$*#&# do people with kids keep their property looking good?  Seriously.  Our home is a mess inside, but outside.  My dear lord.  My beautiful vegetable/flower garden that I had spent many an hour tending to (even once Drew came along, I managed to keep it under control) is one big weed.  Even Drew commented on what a mess it is.  I have a rose of sharon tree in the middle of it that can hardly be seen due to the weeds.  We are going to tear it up and spread grass seed over it (keeping the rose of sharon tree) and I feel like such a failure.