Life's Whirlwind Adventures

Lent is a time of the year when Christian's give up something as a form of reflection to mimic Jesus' choice to give up all he gave up for us.  And blahdeeblah.... anyways I don't usually give things up, I like to hoard my obsessions and addictions but I found like I'd stated in my previous post that Social Media was not improving me but in fact it was impeding me from becoming a better person. I've now taken to writing letters to friends, some of you will get them, some of you may already have gotten them.   I'm spending time with my kids, I'm planning my blogs more efficiently, I'm spending time writing my novel and working on that aspect of my writing.  I'm also focusing on what I've got to do when I get back to work, what I want that to actually look like. Not constantly checking in with Social Media has freed up more time in my day to spend with the boys playing. We stay focused on what we are doing and notifications of a like or new pos...

I am self professed morning person,  I love early mornings, sunrises, hearing the house wake, hearing the city wake as traffic increases, when I was in the country I loved hearing the birds warble, everything about mornings I find refreshing and lovely. You know when I don't like mornings?  I don't like mornings when I have been up every hour or every two hours with a screaming, crying baby!! It sucks the life right out of me, I don't even like afternoons, evenings or nights at that point.  I still love mornings in theory, but in actuality with three kids one a baby that won't sleep through the night I knew I needed to do something so that I could sleep through the night. I would say it's been a good year since I've had a decent nights sleep. I suffered from heartburn when I was pregnant so that would wake me up in the middle of the night, my baby would try to Irish Dance on my bladder around 4 am every morning as well (To clarify, 4 am is too early in t...

There are few things in my life that I am solely intrinsically motivated to do.  For most things in my life there is some kind of extrinsic motivator that encourages me do the best job possible.  Parenting, seeing the smile on my children's face as we build memories is amazing and I'd do anything to see them smile everyday.  Working, I really enjoy the pay check and I enjoy knowing that I am helping others, I'm a fixer I like to fix things and my job is full of things that I have to fix.  I've talked about my WHY for healthy eating and exercising, having that extra energy to do all the things I have going on is amazing.  I guess that one might be more intrinsically motivated then any others, but it ties into my parenting motivators.  I think that's why I'm struggling with my writing. I write because I love to write, but because there is not extrinsic reward (I'm not making money blogging, nor am I gaining incredible number of readers to garner infamy) it of...

I am feeling the need to stand on a soap box right now.  I've recently heard that some schools are considering doing away with recess (this is an older report)because they are unable to meet all the objectives of the curriculum in a school year.  I think this will only make the situation worse, it will not improve it!! Kids need unstructured time in their day, especially the 4 and 5 year olds in Kindergarten and grade one.  Kids are being pushed to hard to be academic, being pushed to hard to grow up and they are missing out on their childhood.  Ok that last statement may be a bit of an exaggeration, but come on, school is putting a lot of pressure on kids now a days. Now it's been many years since I was a student in an elementary school, but I remember my school days very clearly.  School started at 9 am, but the buses started arriving at 8:30.  I was a town kid, so I walked to school, now because I liked to play before school I would get to school jus...

This is a hard post for me to write, because I'm going to have to admit some secrets that I'm not really sure how people will take, but I'm also going to give some advice to people because somethings need to be said. In my youth I played with all sorts of girl toys and lego. But the way I played lego and the way a boy would play lego were vastly different.  I made houses and cities, they made guns.  I made families and used the little two blocks as imaginary people because then you could make more people.  I played video games in my youth as well, Mrs. Pac Man, Mixed Up Mother Goose Rhymes, Kings Quest, but they were more strategical then killing stuff. I also played a variety of sports, volleyball, basketball, figure skating, baseball.  But at 15 I stopped all sports, not because I wasn't interested but because I was working and didn't have time. My new sport was learning how to drive. At 19 I was a girly girl.  I got my hair coloured and cut, I even had ...

In my worst nightmares I was a hockey mom.  Up early to get to practices, giving up every weekend of the winter for games or tournaments.  Taking out second mortgages on my house to pay for equipment and hotels during tournaments.  Having to deal with the politics that hockey inevitable has; who makes what team sometimes regardless of ability and skill.  Seeing nepotism that I could do nothing to help avoid because I don't know the sport so I'd never be out coaching, assistant coaching or anything like that.  So being a hockey mom was never something I was going to do, but I realized having boys I might fall into this label. I enrolled my kids in soccer, soccer I understood.  I didn't play it growing up, but I played in University and I enjoyed it.  Chandler started playing soccer when we moved to Red Deer, he really enjoyed it. It was a youth rec league so it wasn't highly competitive but they still played games, they still won medals, and most im...

I love early mornings, truth be told I'm a morning person and I've always been a morning person.  Seems to me I've got a little one now who shares my love for mornings so having quiet hours by myself in the morning are going to be rare commodities in the future.  But it is so peaceful and serene to sign in my house while the boys sleep, traffic rolls by creating a peaceful beat as the furnace kicks in and my coffee brews in the Kuerig. Today the baby is up, but he's happily playing on the floor.  He has learned to crawl over the past month and takes every opportunity to get around and find things I thought I had picked up.  Chandler and Lil man are still sleeping, Lil Man thought getting up at 6 was an idea, but I told him we still had to sleep, so I laid still in bed until his breathing evened out.  After his breathing evened out, I stole from my room with Prince T and we came downstairs to sit in the solitude of the morning. Unless I want to get up at 5:30...

My mother works for Healthy Moms Healthy Babies with the Saskatoon Health Region and in her office this poem hangs It says: (sorry the picture is so horrible) Comfort me when I cry I need to feel you close Watch over me keep me safe from harm Give me your guidance I need to know my limits Smile at me let me know I am your joy give me hugs and kisses show me that I make you happy Play with me I can show you how to have fun read to me it will help me learn talk and sing to me I will learn to speak Answer me when I talk I will learn to communicate Wonder what I am thinking I want you to understand me Give me quiet time I need time to rest and think teach me about my family I need to know I belong guide me through my life I want to follow the right path be patient with me I have a lot to learn I need to know I am important to you be in my life always I'm not sure who the author is or where this came from but I love it!!I think it's great and ...

Well it's been 15 years since I blessed my siblings with their first nephew and finally my sister has given me my first nephew that is rooted in my family tree.  I've many wonderful nephews and  nieces from my amazing girlfriends and I cherish that these kids want to call me Aunty and I wear that badge with just as much pride and honour as I have for my sister's little guy. But this isn't a post about the craziness that is my extended family, this is a post about my adorable, squeezable, sweet and innocent new nephew!!  He's an eager beaver that one, he came three weeks early, but he's also a determined little guy!! He was so small when he was born, and I guess small by today's standards and what I'm used to for average weights of babies, not necessarily small for other people and stuff. But he was just over 5 pounds which I think is small.  But was he put together just right!! He is a little perfect soul and I just love that little bugger. Now...

I've spent a lot of time this last week listening to Lil Man.  He is constantly asking me to play with him, but he's also constantly climbing on me and wanting to cuddle.  What does that tell me about his love Language?  It tells me he understands love through quality time and physical touch. Lil Man loves to hug and cuddle. When we watch television together he has to be sitting on us or right next to us, he likes to be in proximity so that he is touching whomever he is spending time.  He's a very touchy feely kid, and others recognize it, he's not much for recognizing personal space either.  He will get right in your face when he's talking to you and the more excited he is the more he will reach out to touch you as he's talking with you.  So I'd bet his primary language is physical touch, followed by a close second to Quality Time. Lil Man loves to spend time playing with anyone.  But he loves doing things with us.  He is always asking that w...

It's been two months since our Teddybear joined the family!! It's been a busy two months and there have been some interesting adjustments that we have made.  Your big brother, who used to be the baby,  has taken on his role as Big Brother with love and grace. It's taking him some getting used to that Mommy can't jump every time he calls, but he loves you and is trying to understand. He has even verbalized that now that you are here I can no longer call him Baby.  My Baby is now Teddybear,  Lil man is now my little boy. As for you my sweet little Teddybear, you are a sweet, bright eyed, happy little baby.  You've started smiling (not for the camera) and we've even gotten a laugh out of you. The air is doing a number on your sinuses as you seem to have allergies, but you tolerating the nasal aspiration and you continue to look around in wonder at the world around you!  You've started holding your head up more and more and even now are enjoying some time i...

Here is a dirty shameful secret I am going to share, I have a temper, and usually I an control it without incident, but every once in awhile it flairs and I see red and then I have a mini explosion and then i feel the worst guilt EVER!!! The worst of it is, though, these temper flairs are always directed at my kids or loved ones.  And its always the proverbial straw that broke the camels back that does it.  Its never a big thing it's always the last little thing that tips the scale, but I think that's how life is at least my life.  The trouble with my temper is that I have a hugely long fuse and many times things can improve and the fuse expands, but when things don't improve and my nerves continue to be rubbed raw on a daily basis, eventually the dust blows the bomb and it's a big bomb. It's a lot of yelling, a lot of theatrics, a spank may be involved. (Oh if you are going to pass judgement, go right ahead, but I am not going to pay any attention to those nega...

Today many people are celebrating fathers, and we are too, but I am taking a small break to celebrate Prince T, he's one month today!! It's amazing how when babies join families they help everyone grow, and they show where  you need to develop new routines and ways of doing things so that everyone still gets the time and connections they need.  It's not an easy road but it's worth every struggle, because it builds your family stronger. So it doesn't matter if you have one baby, two babies, five or more babies or fur babies, whenever you change your family dynamic things CHANGE!! For us it's been a great change and I feel like my little family is complete.  Three boys, ranging from 15 to one month, a wonderful husband, the cutest kitty, a Dane and St. Bernard!! We are a busy family but I wouldn't have it any other way. But this post is supposed to be about Prince T, our little teddy bear!! He really is a teddy bear because he likes to be cuddled an...

Have you met Lil Man?  Whether you answered yes or no, I've talked about him enough on here and Facebook that you probably have some sort of idea about his personality and stuff.  He's an amazing Lil Man and I can see the amazing man he is going to become as he grows older as long as he stays true to himself and does not worry about what other people think. See little kids don't care as much as to what others think, they do sometimes, sometimes Lil Man and I have to have conversations about why it's not important that his friends not like something he does because he can be different from his friends and they can still be friends (he's four), but it's still not to the extent that adults seem to care what people think.  I've had similar conversations with his older brother at that age as well, my boys are very attuned to others emotions but also to what is fair and just. So let me tell you a little more about Lil Man. He loves babies, absolutely adore...

So my lil man enjoys being photographed and video taped, as long as he is the center of attention.  Here are three short videos of him from the past year. This is from his family birthday celebration, he is "singing" Happy birthday. There is a Looney Tunes show where Bugs Bunny is at a saloon and Yosemite Sam comes in and they play a game of 21 for Bugs' Gold nuggets.  Bugs asks Sam if he can stand on one card and Sam is like oh Sure sure.  Uncle Nelson taught Lil man to do this routine and this is him doing it.  Lol. This last video is Halloween night, it was cold and Lil man doesn't really like chocolate so we stayed home doing something he wanted to do!!!

I don't usually blog about things like this, because sometimes I would like to just let things roll off my back and be forgotten, but this just ticked me off. Society is a fickle beast.  They don't want you to hit your children or yell at your children in public because it would be so bad for the child's self esteem etc, etc.   However, they want you to control your child in public and make them behave like little robots with no expression of feeling.  So if they misbehave and you buy them something to shut them up, you are a bad parent, however if they are good and you buy them something you are still a bad parent, it's like you can't win with society. So I take a middle of the road approach, I don't overreact in public because if my child is causing a scene I won't cause a bigger one.  I don't buy him something all the time but if that was the agreement to begin with then I will comply.  So when strangers come up to me to offer me unsolicited 'pa...

So how is this for a conundrum: I am anticipating a fabulous holiday in Vegas with my sister, a GROWN UP holiday, yet I am super apprehensive about leaving.  Not because I have any fears of flying or any fears of anything bad happening while I am down there.  Nope super apprehensive about leaving Little Man alone for five days with his dad.  I have never spent the night away from Little Man his entire life.  I have wanted to, but it's just never happened and now that it is, I am upset about it!!  It's all silly.  It's all those irrational fears coming up and it is driving me crazy.   Here are some of the irrational fears I am dealing with.  Sometimes  think I am just nuts, but whatever.  So one fear is that maybe he will think I have abandoned him in the night and that I won't return.  I put him to bed tonight but I won't be there in the morning when he wakes up and that is definitely something out of the norm for him.  Or ma...