Kitchen

We got a big kitchen set the year Cooper was born as a Christmas present for the 2 kids.  We've gotten some good play time in with the kitchen over the past 2 years but in the past several weeks the kids have been playing with it, shall we say, differently.

There is no more cooking happening in the kitchen as it is now being used as a jungle gym.  Literally.  He takes his socks off and crawls up on the thing and walks around the top.  Cooper would do it to if only he could make his way up there on his own!

I considered getting rid of the kitchen since they aren't exactly using it as it is intended, but at the same time, it is great to have a 'girl' toy for our little girl friends that come over to play.  After all, most of our toys are cars and trains.  There are certainly no dolls or princesses laying around our house.

So for the time being, we are holding on to our kitchen that can also be used as a jungle gym!

You win some, you lose some

Two weeks ago I bought new portable DVD players for the car.  We have had the current ones for over 4 years and they finally broke.  Technically, the player didn't break, but the clip that holds the DVD portion closed did.

We started using the DVD player in the car when Grady was 5 months old and cried in the car everywhere we went.  The whole way. Every time.  The TVs worked like a charm and he stopped crying.  We've had them in the van ever since.

We aren't the families that use them only on car trips.  We use them every time we get in the van. Even to drive to Nana's down the street.  Don't ask. It isn't that they can't ride in the car without them, it is just that they have become accustomed to having them on when they are.  It is true that little people are creatures of habit...   Actually, Grady couldn't care less about the TVs, but it is a must for Cooper.  So when the DVD player was no longer reliable it had to be replaced.

Two weeks ago I headed to Canadian Tire and bought the Cadillac of DVD players, a dual player where each TV can play a separate DVD.  The kids love it and I am happy that they have stopped screaming because the player no longer starts over every few minutes!

Fast forward 2 weeks and Nana's DVD player broke and she was not going to replace it.  Grady was adamant that she needed a new one so I looked them up on the Canadian Tire website to see which one she could get and saw that the one I bought was on sale... for $60 off!  I headed to Canadian Tire with both kids in tow to collect on it.

On the other hand, that very morning that I collected on my $60 I lost $40.  I had $40 in an envelope in the van. Don't ask.   I did some running around and when I got home the envelope was MIA.  I've looked everywhere for that thing and it hasn't turned up anywhere.  I am still hopeful that it will turn up but there is a part of me that actually thinks someone took it from the van since I cant remember it I actually locked it.

I am still ahead $20 and I'll take it!  You win some, you lose some.

Second Child

Being the second child, Cooper has picked up a lot of, shall we call them, tricks from his big brother.

In the past few months, Grady has taught Cooper some of these endearing things.

He has taught Cooper the love of cereal.  My boys could eat bowl after bowl, each and every day.  Thankfully Grady has not taught Cooper to dislike fruit.

He has taught Cooper which toys are 'cool' to play with.  Currently it is Thomas the train. Both boys fight over the the toys like they are gold.

He has also taught Cooper how to use and love the iPad.  I most certainly did not teach him that. Little people are just amazing with technology.  It is because they have no fear.  When a choice of buttons come up on the iPad (for example, play, restart, or exit), Cooper looks at them like he is reading them and fearlessly picks one.  If it is the wrong one (say exit) he just tries again.

Recently Cooper has started to hit.  Where do you think he got that from?  It was bad enough when we had one child that hit, not it is both of them.  They hit each other, they hit James, and they hit me. 

Cooper has started to throw.  The odd train has been known to bounce of Grady's head, or the TV, and Grady is quick to point it out. Or throw something back.  Fun times...

What I love most about the things that have rubbed off on Cooper is the random kisses that both boys love to give.  One moment they are fighting like cats and dogs on the floor and the next moment they are running over to give me a kiss on the arm.

Last night as Cooper sat on my lap watching TV before bed, he turned and gave me a random kiss on my arm.  When I smiled and had such a happy reaction, he did it over and over.   The best feeling ever.

When I drop Grady off at school and he is playing with his friends, he'll run over and tell me he loves me.  I often wonder how long it will be before he is embarrassed to tell me he loves me in front of his friends?

For the time being, I love having 2 little boys that give me kisses whenever I ask and like to shower me with affection.  Since I know it will be short lived - I'm going to love every moment of it while it lasts!

Speech

We all know that i am a talker. Maybe talker is an understatement.  I like to ask questions (or so my mom tells me) and am always interested to hear what people have to say.  As a talker myself, it was hard to accept that my son's talking wasn't coming along as quickly as I hoped.

Last week, we had a speech pathologist come over to work with Cooper.

I've alluded to the fact that Cooper doesn't say much but haven't really opened up much about it.   I've contemplated many times how much I wanted to share of this journey or if I wanted to share it at all.   In the end, I decided to share for 2 reasons.  First, because I have always wanted to be a blogger that is real.  One that doesn't always talk about how great her kids are or how well behaved they are, but one that talks about real life. Yes, my kids are great and yes they can be well behaved, but that isn't the case 100% of the time.

Second, it was from reading blogs and the advice I've gotten from others that helped me move forward in having him assessed and seen by a speech pathologist.  And if I can help another family that is wondering whether they should have their child assessed I would be happy to know that our experience has helped someone else.

Don't get me wrong, Cooper can talk.  Right now his favorites are 'Apper's turn!' 'I to!' and 'Milk'.  He tells us goodnight by name, points out whose cars is whose, and the list could go on.  But comparing him to other 2 year olds I just had some concerns.

I was waiting for that ah ha! morment I had with Grady and spoke about in this post.  I just thought he would catch up.  And I am still more than confident that he will.  We see improvements with him weekly and are happy to see him still learning new words. But, I wanted to speak with a professional who sees 2 year olds every day and knows what 'normal' is.  I wanted to talk to someone who could give the tools I needed to help Cooper succes with his communication.

We first got him on the public system (free!) waiting list, which we were informed was a 4-6 month wait.  You do NOT need a referral from your doctor to do this. I acutally didn't find that our family doctor had a lot of information on speech development and what to do if you have concerns.   When I spoke to him about it he didn't mention the public place and gave me only the name of one private clinic to call.  I have always been an advocate of looking out for you own health so I started using google and contacting others who had been through it.  Becky has talked in detail about her experience with her daughter's language development and happens to live in the same city as me. 

Thanks to her we found this website and contacted the number and left a message. Surprisingly, they called back!  They were very informative about what the next steps were to get on the list.

Since James and I's benefits covered Speech Pathology, we decided to make some calls to find a private one that could come in immediately.  The great thing about the private ones is that they come to your house.  Talk about service!  So last week was our first vist with R.

I was scared.  They were going to assess my child.  Thinking he is delayed and knowing he is delayed were very different for me.  At first I was excited to have made the call and got the appointment in the calendar, then I immediatley got scared of what they would tell me.

All that fear was for nothing.

R was great.  She started the hour session by watching the kids play and asking James and I lots of questions.  We went over his words and any concerns we had.  Then she actually got on the floor and played cars with the boys.  I found it so informative to watch her interact with Cooper and the language she used.

She gave us a hand out for Step 1.  Essentially, James and I each have to spend 10 minutes interacting with Cooper and showing lots of interest in what he wants to play with.  She said it is really important for us to stop talking and start listening.  So after asking Cooper  a question, instead of answering for him or asking another questions, she told us to count to 5 and wait for his answer.  It feels very uncomfortable but after seeing her do it with him it seemed to actually work.

So for the next 2 weeks, we will be listening to cooper and trying to give him 10 minutes each day of special cooper time where it is all about him and talking about what he wants to talk about. Something tells me that getting this time is going to be easier said then done.

So my assessment of the session is that it did go good and we are happy we did it.  I feel like we took charge of the situation and despite being nervous or scared we made the phone call that we hope will help develop Cooper's language while we wait for the public system to call. 

I hope that by the time they call, Cooper has caught up, but I know deep down that it is probably optomisitic to think that.  But in the mean time I will be doing my best to zip it and listen to my precious little boy who needs that extra quiet time to express himself.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Last year, Grady was sick for his Valentine's Day party at school.  We still packed up all his valentines and brought them to school the following day.  It was easy. We picked out the little cards he wanted to give his friends, Grady painted the back, I wrote his name on all the cards and we sent them to school.  That was it.

This year was a whole other story.

First, Grady picked out these Cars valentine's one day while we were shopping at Walmart. They didn't have Thomas so Cars would have to do, and these particular ones came with lollipops to put in them.  We brought them home and forgot about them for a week or two while we waited for Vday to get closer.  This past weekend we pulled them out to start working on them. 

My first complaint about the Vday cards was about the names.  How do you motivate your 4 year old to write his name 20 times?  20 times.  Grady was actually excited to do it which I was thankful for.  What made the task even more difficult was that the card is only about 3 inches wide.  Grady's 'G' is sometimes 3 inches wide! Not to mention that there is a picture of a car on the back he is supposed to write his name under.  Not happening.  He wrote the letters of his name randomly around the page which I was thankful for.  He wasn't concerned about them being in order and neither was I.

After we had bought the Cars cards, Nana found some Thomas Vday coloring books and bought one for each boy.  The books had 8X10 Vday cards you could fold in half and give to your friends.  So.... Grady wrote his name in the 12 Thomas cards as well. 

Given that the Thomas cards were so much bigger there was much more room to write his name. That was great!  What wasn't so great is that they were also big enough to decorate.  First he taped some left over lollipops form the other cards in the Thomas ones.  Then he added stickers.  Then we cut out hearts and glued them on.  Then he wanted to color inside all of them.

His cards were going to be the most decorated cards in class I am sure.

We spent an entire afternoon and more getting the card ready to hand out at school.  I was a little annoyed that he was being so particular about each card having specific things, like 2 stickers (except for Davids because he just turned 5 so he got 5 stickers).  On the other hand, I found it so endearing that he wanted each card to be just perfect.   After all the decorating, Grady went to his party with his valentine's day cards in hand ready to hand out. 

We survived this years Valentine card project.  I am already dreading next year when not only will he have to write his own name, but all the kids in his classes names too!

I couldn't resist posting this pic of my youngest Valentine in his new shirt.  My middle Valentine was still in bed so I couldn't snap a picture of him before I left for work!
Have a great Valentine's Day!



Monday

For the most part, our Mondays at home together are pretty standard.  We get up and take Grady to school, then Cooper and I come home.  He often plays uninterrupted while I do something around the house or watch a taped episode of the bachelor while I pick up toys.  Then we pick up Grady, Cooper naps and Grady and I color or play a game.  Once Cooper wakes up it is time to make supper and before you know it James is home and it is time to get ready for bed.  Pretty typical.

Every once in a while we have a list of things to do on Monday and I drag Cooper around with me while Grady is at school or Grady and I go out during nap time while Jasmin stays home with Cooper.

The Monday we got home from vacation was one of those days.  I know that was was weeks ago now but I just couldn't resist posting about that memorable day.

Why was it so memorable you ask?  Because we registered Grady for Kindergarten!

Registration for kindergarten was actually while we were away which could have been a disaster.  I called to ask if my MIL could register him and she said it had to be a guardian, which I think is just ridiculous given I had signed the application and such.   Thankfully, the school we registered Grady in is his designated school and he lives in the first priority neighborhood so we got in... Yeah!  It would have been a whole other story if the school was full and we were away.  I am just so happy it wasn't an issue!

The school we are sending Grady to is right behind our house so he can walk every day! In the summer we play at the 'school park' often so he is really familiar with it.  Now when we drive by I always point out the school and tell him that will be his Kindergarten school.  At this point, he is really excited to go to kindergarten and I really hope this continues into the September :)

On a side note, we also registered Cooper for preschool in the fall (which absolutely blows my mind!) and it was actually really hard to coordinate the drop off/pick up with G's school hours to make sure there was enough time to get them both.  I had hoped for C to have the same teachers as G since we have grown so fond of them, but it just wasn't possible with the timing.  So Coop will be at the same school but will be moving into the other classroom with different teachers and a slightly different time that accommodates G's school hours. What a job!

So after we finished up at the school, the big guy and I headed to the show store to get new shoes.  He got his coveted lightning mcqueen light up shoes for his birthday in June and wore the things out.  This is the first pair of shoes I actually threw in the garbage because they were in such rough shape!  Thankfully, Grady is no longer 'into' McQueen otherwise we would have had issues getting rid of these shoes.  The supply was very low at the she store in his size given that they were waiting for the spring shipment.  One of the pairs Grady wouldn't even try on. I don't blame him, they were actually brown and quite ugly.  The second pair were blue star wars light up shoes.  Grady couldn't care less about the star wars part of the shoe but loved that they were his favorite color and that they were light up.  Score.

Next stop, the car wash.

On the way there, I casually asked Grady if he wanted to get his hair cut since Beaners was right beside the car wash.  He of course said no.  In case you have forgotten... James has been cutting his hair since his first Beaners haircut in the fall of 2009.  Then I upped the prize and said if he got a haircut that we would go to Walmart and he could pick a new train.  He said OK.  I asked if we should wash the van first and he said no. So straight to the hairdresser it was!

I was so proud of him.  He didn't cry, fuss, move around... He just sat there like a big boy and hoped like heck that it would be over soon.  She cut around the ears and evened out the back which is where James struggles the most cutting G's hair at home.  It looked great!  He even got his hair colored blue and of course he got to go in the ball pit!

We headed to Walmart and he picked out a train.  We cruised through the boys clothes and he also insisted on buying this size 6 angry bird shirt.  It is a little big but at the rate he is growing it will fit him perfectly in no time!

If you look closely you can see the blue hair.

On top of all the other treats he got for his haircut, he convinced me to buy him an app for the ipad. 

Grady:  Can I get a new app after every haircut?

Me:  For $2... Sure.

Grady:  Can I get my haircut again tomorrow?

Me:  Ummmmm.  I don't think so.

Grady:  Cooper needs a haircut. Maybe he should go and then he can get a new app.

Smart kid.  Cooper does need a haircut, but something tells me he isn't quite ready for Beaners yet.  I think he is stuck with Barber Daddy for the time being!

While most Mondays are quiet and low key, every once in a while a busy day full of new things is good for us!

Me Time

Let's be honest, as much as we all love our kids, every once in a while we need to step back and have a little me time. 

I was in desperate need of some 'me time' last week.  Since Christmas, I hadn't been away over bedtime except the one time in Hawaii where James and I had date night.  So out of the last 45 days or so I was away from the kids in the evening once.

Let me back up a few steps. My kids, for the most part, have a good bedtime routine. Cooper goes down without a peep and Grady would complain about bedtime but in the end always went to sleep without an issue around 8pm and I'd have a solid 2 hours of adult time.  That was before vacation.

Since we've been back, bedtime has been horrible.  For the first week,  The kids were all over the place going to bed as late as 10:30 and sleeping in until after 7 and as late as 9:30. While this may sound great to some parents, we were not used to having our kids up until we went to bed.    I wanted, no needed that hour or two to myself in the evening to do what I wanted to do, like watch trash TV.  And to top it off, with the kids going to bed later, I too was hitting the hay much later than usual and still getting up at the same time.  This led to one grump and tired mama.  Something had to give.

The second week got better.  I had Jasmin wake the kids shortly after 7 to try and back their bedtime up.  So as it stands now, the kids are back to getting up between 6 and 7 but have pushed their bedtime to 8:30.  I am managing the 8:30 bedtime much better than the the 9:30 so for that I am grateful.

To make a long story short, I needed a night out.  I craved some alone time.

I had a haircut scheduled last week at 8pm, at the mall.  So I decided that I would leave at 6pm and give myself some time to shop and cross a few things off my list of things to do.

I looked forward to my shopping trip all day and came home in a great mood.  That quickly changed when Grady colored on my table and then starting hitting me because I wouldn't color with him anymore.  Just another reason to get out of the house and take a break. James would handle Grady :)

I had a list of things to do and I accomplished all but one thing on my list and that was only because they were sold out of the lotion I wanted.

I managed to spend a gift card and more at lululemon.  I bought some great 'Christy blue' shorts and matching long sleeve shirt, both on the sale rack I may add.

I spent my gift card from Victoria's Secret but instead went to Pink which is filled with comfy clothes. I snagged a great pair of purple sweats and some comfy waffle shirts.

Not to mention a stop at Pandora to get some stoppers for my new bracelet (wow is that store expensive!) and a stop at Sephora.  My friends back home would be so proud of me for shopping at Sephora, by myself.  I've never done that.  All I needed was some powder with coverage for after the gym and I walked out with a great pressed powder and a new brush that I adore....  I texted Gina from the store to tell her what I got and she assured me it was a good choice :)

The funny part is that James and I had hair cuts on the same day only his was earlier. He called me from there to tell me that I wasn't booked in with our regular girl and that I had been booked in with someone else.  I couldn't decide what to do... shop the extra hour and re-book or just try someone new.  In the end I still got my haircut.  My Mom always tells me that every so often it is good to try someone new as they will have different ideas and have a different cutting style.  I am happy with my haircut so it was a good decision to try her out.  Although I really could have used the extra hour in the mall.

After a great 1.5 hours in the mall to myself I wondered why I don't do this more often.  The kids are fine without me and I feel so much better after I have a little time to myself, whether that be to treat myself to a new lulu outfit or to grab a drink with a friend.  I feel like a much better wife and mother after stepping away from my responsibilities and just enjoying some time doing whatever I want.

Although I'm not sure James is going to like the cost of this excursion :)

'Noodles'

Earlier this week we headed over to the public health clinic so Grady could get his vaccinations.  Or 'noodles' as he referred to them.

I started telling him a few days before we went that we were going to the doctor.  He started asking A LOT of questions.  Which doctor? Had he been there before?  What was he going to do?  And the list went on...  I tried to avoid most of the questions and tried to focus on the fact that this was his kindergarten appointment and that everyone had to see this doctor before kindergarten.

On the car on the way over I got a little more specific and told him that the doctor was going to give him medicine.  He of course asked how and I told him with a needle.  With a 'noodle'?  Yes, a needle.

I reminded him that we have been there with Cooper and even Grady went to this same 'doctor' when he was a baby.  He whimpered in the back seat and told me he didn't want any noodles.  I tried to change the subject but it was near impossible.

James met us at the clinic which was nice, just in case things got wild.  Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst!

Before being called to the back they weigh and measure you.  Grady was a whopping 41.7 pounds!!  I couldn't believe it!  Last time we were at the doctor in August Grady only weighed 37 pounds so that kid is a growing machine right now!

Interestingly enough, that means he can move up to a booster seat.  So if you have any suggestions, send them my way!

We went to the back and the nurse asked us many questions about what he ate and drank before finally moving on to the dreaded needles.

Grady started whimpering again but didn't cry.  She got the 3 needles ready where he couldn't see and then got him into position on my lap.  He didn't cry on the first one but as the second one went in he started crying and saying it hurt.  He did cry and had tears down his cheeks but it lasted less than 2 minutes.

I did come prepared.  I had 2 leftover trains from vacation already wrapped that I threw in my purse.  As soon as he got those he was fine.  Nothing like a little bribery!  I also promised him McDonalds and a new app for the ipad.  So between all the treats that I promised him he forgot about the needles very fast.

So in this case, I expected crying and screaming and an utter nightmare and I got what I hoped for - a young boy who impressed me with how brave he was.

I am VERY glad that Grady doesn't get any more shots until grade 5 and Cooper still has more than 2 years before his next needles.

Our smart little boy did milk it for all it was worth.  At bedtime when I told him I wasn't going to lay with him, he quietly said 'but my needles hurt'.  So I crawled back into by oldest son's bed and laid with him until he fell asleep.  Smart boy.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Running

Here I am heading out for a run on a Saturday afternoon... in February, wearing only a long sleeved shirt.  Now if that isn't a good reason to head out for a run, I don't know what is.

I started running in Saskatoon over a decade ago and have always loved it.  There is really something to be said about the runner's high that comes (for me) somewhere after the 5 minute mark.  That being said, I don't get it on the treadmill like I do running outside and that is really a shame.  I do most of my exercising these days at lunch in the gym which means most of my running is done on the treadmill.

Not to mention the fact that I have had some knee problems that took me away from running since before Cooper was born.  After a failed attempt at the chiropractor I found a physio guy that has been working out my tight IT band with needles.  It sounds awful but it really isn't that bad and the best part is that he has me running again after more than 2 years.   Although he also has me on the roller at the gym and daily strengthening exercises which I hate.  But since I love to run I'm forgiving him for it.

So to make a long story short, this weekend's run was the first time in years that I got that runners high and it felt so so good.  There is just something about the fresh air and the great outdoors that makes exercising that much better.

My mom and I are hoping to do a 10k run in June and that means that I hope to make these runs a more regular part of our weekend while I condition my body to run straight for more than an hour.  Now that is something that I have never done but finally feel up to the challenge :)

When I got home, the weather was so great that before I took my gear off I grabbed the kids and we headed out to puddle jump.... yes in the middle of the street.

How could we not?  When do you get to puddle jump in the middle of winter.  Now that is one of the reasons I love living here.  Chinooks are something that I did not grow up with back home.  As you read this, SK is a snow filled wonderland.  Maybe some of you want to come and visit?

The forecast is looking good for the week so maybe there will be more running and puddle jumping lined up for us next weekend!  One can only hope.... 

Hawaii 2013 - Lessons Learned

• Always use good communication.  Without going into to much detail.  There was one day that my mom left her condo before 8am, forgot to text, and didn't get back until after 1pm.  At some points I thought they got taken out by a wave or robbed in their ground floor unit they left the patio doors open to so they could listen to the waves.  Turns out they left the cell at home while they took the bus so Mom could go to cross fit.  Now that is dedication!

• Always send an extra set of clothes for the kids.  One afternoon while Cooper napped Grady went over to swim at G&G's.  He left in his bathing suit and came back wearing my Mom's PJ top.  Apparently he couldn't believe that I didn't pack him clothes and insisted on running around naked all afternoon.  Kids!

 

• Always pack an extra camera.  Thankfully we did have an extra but we have travelled without.  I still am sad though that we missed out on some spontaneous photos because I didn't have a purse Camera.

 

• Always pack your Costco card.  We always go to Costco on our trips and I always forget my Costco card.  Thankfully we have always been with someone that has one but one of these days I am going to forget it and i will have no ones card to use.  They really do have some fun stuff at foreign costo and for cheap.  Like wine.

 

• Always question whether you need a stroller.    The day we went to the flea market an hour away from our condo, we forgot the stroller.  I can't really even say forgot since it wasn't even on my radar of things to bring. I just didn't think about it.  As a result, I had to carry my 30 pounder around since he refuses to be held by any one else for longer than 5 minutes. The stroller would have made the outing so much better.

 

• Always pack a hat on a beach vacation.  It will allow for you hide the hair that haven't touched in a week, will protect you from sun stroke, and will hide the frizz that apparently is inevitable.

• Always travel with lots of books.  Just when you go on a trip where you think you will have no time to read is the trip that you will get to read almost 3 books!  Although let's be honest, I think I have only read about 5 pages since we've been home. I really like my book but just have so much TV to catch up on.  I love that I have so many shows just waiting to watched :)

• Always travel with Grandparents because they make vacation more fun.  Before kids, travelling with your parents wasn't exactly our idea of the perfect vacation, but now, I'm scared we couldn't travel without them!  We got a date night, some afternoons to ourselves, and help with meals.  The kids got extra playmates at the pool, a change of scenery, and most importantly, great quality time with their grandparents. 

And there you have it, all the VIP details of our trip.  In the end, we had so much fun we are already talking about doing it next year.....

I couldn't resist posting a comparison pic of the boys on each of thier first trips to Maui. When I showed Cooper the pictures from 2010 he thought it was himself.  Yes, my boys do look alike and I love it!

 

Next week, back to our regularly scheduled program!

 

Good night Maui, good night.