The Journey up north

We recently bought a house north of where we've lived most of our lives. The decision was both an easy and difficult one; difficult in the sense that we weren't sure where in the GTA we wanted to live, and easy in the sense that when we broke it down to what we really want for our lives and our family, this place was it.

So right now, we're still in the process of settling in. I used to love moving. Love love love. The idea of such a big change excited me; packing up my life only to unpack it in a new place, where my life would take a new turn. This time around, though, is a little more of a challenge. Or well, it's really tiring. It's not just about my life -- it's about our life, which involves four separate lives, with four sets of things to pack and unpack and find homes for. Add to that two little boys, full of energy, who, in this new space, want time to play with you. So many things to do, so many things I want to do, but also so many things I need to do. If only I had more time and energy!

Don't get me wrong though. There is still plenty of excitement there. It's exciting to see my husband putting together furniture and the satisfaction in his face when he finishes piece after piece. Every time I open a box that I haven't opened in two years, it's like Christmas all over again. When I finish unpacking a box and putting the stuff in their new homes, I get excited at the result of the love and care I put into making it all work, especially when it looks so neat and organized and makes sense!

When I see the boys screaming with excitement at the idea of so many toys in one space, I remember that this is exactly what I have been hoping to see. For the first few weeks that we lived in the house, we let them make a HUGE mess of the toys. All the bins were opened, empty, and their contents scattered on the floor. It was a big mess, but it was a happy mess. What kid doesn't want to see a mess of toys in their new rooms?

And so, in the bitter cold of winter, we settle in, and stay inside, with eager anticipation for the warmer weather, when we can go out, play with the neighbours, explore the neighbourhood, and enjoy the sun!

Hope you're all keeping warm! Brrrr....

Being grateful - 20120717

I am grateful for co-parenting.

There are many, many, many reasons I am grateful I am married to and am a co-parent with Mr.S. Today, we really needed each other when disciplining D-nut.

D-nut is the King of not finishing his food if he wants something else to eat. We'll be eating and he'll decide midway through the meal that he wants to eat something else (usually junk food, sometimes fruit though!) and will not eat what he's supposed to be eating. So, we tell him that he can have that other thing, but only if he finishes his actual meal first.

Tonight, he was eating pizza for dinner. He had one small piece left and decided he didn't want to eat it. He wanted to eat Smartfood. So, we told him to finish the last piece and he could have some. The boy cried and cried. He wanted Poppa to finish his last piece. So we told him if Poppa eats the last piece, Poppa eats his popcorn too. He cried and cried.

D-nut is also the King of attempted distraction. In such situations, he tries to bring up something else in an attempt to get us to forget what we just said. It never works. Maybe he got this from us -- he's easily distracted, like most kids, so we use distraction when we need him to forget about something.

So, what did he do while crying? "GASP! Where's the broccoli? I can't see the broccoli!!!!" His hand on his forehead, like he was looking for the treelike vegetable in the far-off distance on a sunny day...only his palm was facing upward.

We did not have broccoli AT ALL for dinner. I have no idea where this was coming from.

Mr.S tried to get him to stop it, but then started laughing. And then I jumped in to try to get him to stop it (and also corrected his hand - palm down) and told him if he wanted broccoli, we could find him some...and then I started laughing. Both of us had to put our heads down on the table and hide our laughing. It was horrible. He tried this again a few minutes later, looking for green grapes. We did not have green grapes either. And this time, we didn't laugh, since we got our giggles out already.

Being grateful - 20120711

I am grateful for funny sleeping moments...

Like this one.

Being grateful - 20120606

I am grateful for survival.

The boys each had shots today. And Mr.S was volunteering so I was tackling this on my own. Heaven help me. And Heaven did!

Being grateful - 20120530

I am grateful for Krazy Glue.

It fixed this:

Being grateful - 20120528

I am grateful for organized mess.

D-nut plays in a fashion I've never seen before. He likes to group and align his toys. He does it with his food too. It's kind of awesome. And easy to clean up.

Being grateful - 20120526

I am grateful for Asian grocery stores.

Don't you love how you can find foods there that can't be found elsewhere? And don't you love how some of them are delicious and some of them are, well, kinda, weird? And don't you love that some smell good and some just stink? I have yet to full on smell a durian. And taste one too. I also love how organized and neat some of them are.

I am also grateful for seasonal haircuts.

D-nut got what-will-be-his-annual head shave today. (I make him sound like he's a sheep who got sheared. Oops.) He looks so cute. And even more like his Poppa.

And I thought I'd already seen crazy strollers...

Being grateful - 20120512

I am grateful for patience and Creative Bag.

One of the things I'm learning as a mother is what true patience really is. There was this one episode of The Simpsons (Oh goodness, I hate that show) where Marge Simpson was telling Lisa (I think it was Lisa?) that when she becomes a mother, she learns to hold in her feelings. I remember hearing that and thinking, "Oh no, what's gonna happen to me?" Well, I learned that very well today.

We were at my nephew's First Communion, at church, and well, D-nut's nap for today took place in the car ride to church. We live maybe, 15-20 minutes away from the church. You do the math. He woke up and saw so many familiar faces, he started to get hyper. Add to that lack of sleep and a desire to snack. He was making a fuss about having milk and we left his sippy cup in the car (don't worry, the cup is insulated as is the bag). He stopped, looked at me with this look I had never seen and yelled, "MILK!!!!" in the middle of the mass. I think any colour I had in my face sank away at that moment. I had it. I looked at Mr.S who had a facial expression I probably had on my face as well and said, "Outside." With that, he swooped D-nut into his arms and brought him to the hallway just outside, where D-nut continued his demands for milk. (Mr.S ended up going to the car to get his sippy cup because of all the fuss he was making, disturbing other parishioners and guests. I also want to add that I couldn't take him outside because I needed to stay with W.)

Oh man, patience is definitely a good thing to have, and to have a LOT of when you're a parent. Oh man.

-o-

Anyway, my nephew/sister prepared some pretty cool goodie bags for all their guests today. Double butter popcorn in resealable bags with a window to see what's inside. You can even seal the top and use the tear notch. Awesome.

Being grateful - 20120510

I am grateful for conversations with D-nut.

Despite the Terrible Two+New Older Brother thing D-nut has going on at times, D is at a really funny age. He makes me laugh so hard sometimes. They say the Twos are Terrible because they're just starting to understand how things work but don't quite have it down yet. It's nice to see him understanding a little bit more every day. We have some pretty funny conversations sometimes, and when you think about it, it's nice to be able to have a conversation, period. You take things like that for granted, and well, conversing with someone who's just learning to converse is quite entertaining. Also, it's quite nice to talk to someone whom you've been talking to all his life, and finally have him understand you. The exchange is quite an amazing thing. I know conversations with him are going to get more and more ordinary as he gets older, so I'm doing my best to remember how fun our conversations are now, while he's still young and learning how things work.

Being grateful - 20120503

I am grateful for disassembly of child products.

D-nut threw up in the car today. He was having one of his terrible two fits (ugh!!!) and was crying/screaming to the point where he was gagging and BLINK! He had vomit all over himself and his car seat.

NOT COOL.

Luckily we were on our way home (and if we weren't, we would be on our way home) and the extra clothes we always have on hand were quite handy.

We got home and I bathed him right away, while Mr.S took his car seat out of the car and cleaned up whatever mess might have lurked there (luckily very very little).

After cleaning up D, I tackled the car seat. All the pieces that needed to be washed came off, and I washed all the nastiness off. Ick.

Being grateful - 20120309

I am grateful for the joy of our biggest little boy.

D-nut turned 2 today. All day, flashes of what I was doing 2 years ago today went through my mind. My memory is horrible, but days like that are so vivid in my head. It's great. It's also great that the mind erases any memory of pain I went through that day and holds onto all the little treasures and blessings we were given that day.

Like all birthdays, we started the day off singing Happy Birthday to him when he woke up. He looked so surprised when we said his name, like he had no idea it was his birthday (he probably didn't). And as with all birthdays, we stayed in bed to open some presents. His first was a gift from his unborn brother, all the parts individually wrapped so that he could get excited with each one...and he did! You could give this boy coal wrapped in paper and he'd love it.

As the birthday boy requested, we had Mr.S' pancakes, along with some bacon and plenty of fruit. That boy loves his father's pancakes. Mr.S makes cute ones just for him. Sometimes he eats them with his hands, but today, he tried tackling them with a fork after we cut them up into smaller pieces. He's such a big boy, eating all by himself for the past few months. He's getting neater and neater with his eating too, which helps us with the cleaning after meals.

We spent the day at Fantasy Fair, continuing our journey there from Family Day and found it to be MUCH less crowded, with almost no lines for anything. D-nut was so happy to be going on the train multiple times and even got his "CHOO CHOO!!!!!" perfected, complete with hand motion. He also ended up bored of the carousel, which was fine with me because I couldn't go on it with him (the horses are just too high! Haha!). We took a break for lunch and went back.

The evening was spent with family, some of whom aren't able to make it to his party. He enjoyed their company and playing with his cousin, as well as opening his gifts...if you ever need someone to open some of yours, he's the boy to call.

Happy birthday D-Nutty!!