Once again, it has been far too long since I've posted. Things are going quite well these days. This past couple of weeks has been a whirlwind of visitors, play dates and soaring temps.
A couple of weeks ago, my dear friend Aisha and her two boys came for a visit for a couple of days. We took the kids to the Zoo and they had a blast. Feeding the giraffes was definitely the highlight for all of them. Aisha and I got a chance to go out for dinner one night while Mike watched all four boys. He was super dad! He even gave them all a bath, and they were all asleep when we got home! Thankful for my awesome hubby!
Last week another dear friend, Lauren, came to visit and to do a jewelry show. She brought her little boy Nolan, who is almost a year old. I'd almost forgotten how much you have to pay attention to a one-year-old! He reminded me! He fell, down the stairs, got into all the cupboards, and ate some laundry lint! He's such a cutie pie though, I was just glad he didn't get hurt. It really makes me appreciate my boys being more independent and able to play on their own without me having to worry about them. Lauren and I had a great time catching up since we don't get to see each other too often. The jewelry show didn't get a great turnout, but we had fun and tried on lots of stuff. Now it's closed and I have a bunch of free jewelry coming next week! Love Premier Designs jewelry!
Finally, this last weekend my college roommate, Kristen, and her little girl Corinne, came for a visit. We checked out the Taste of Kalamazoo, getting a yummy lunch while the kids ate ice cream, got balloon animals and played on the playground. Then Sunday they came to church with us, then we went to Bounceland. Bounceland is what you would expect from the name, a giant warehouse full of huge inflatables. Giant slides, obstacle courses, bounce houses and sports games. The kids wore themselves out! Totally worth the price of admission!
In addition to all of the guests, we had two play dates last week. The first was with another mom from MOPS who also lives in Battle Creek. Anna and I took the kids to a playground at a local school. It was a little hot, but not too bad in the shade. The second was with a mom who may be joining MOPS but also is a newcomer to B.C. The boys had tons of fun playing at the play land and Krista and I got to know each other a little. Hopefully we will do it again soon. I am finally feeling like I'm making some friends around here.
So, yesterday and today have been kind of low key. We have been recovering from an insane amount of activity (for us anyway). The boys and I are about to gear up for a long weekend trip up North to see my parents. The kids are super excited to see Grandma and Grandpa. If they are good, they might even get to go fishing! I am planning on getting together with some friends I haven't seen in a while, so that should be fun too. After this weekend, we have a wedding on August 6th and my brother's wedding in Traverse City on August 13th. From T.C. we are heading over to Presque Isle to my grandma's lake cottage where we are spending an entire week. I am SO looking forward to just relaxing and letting the kids swim and explore. Hopefully Mike will be able to find some golf, and I'm sure we will do a little fishing there too. Let's hope for some nice, not-to-hot weather for that week, since there's no air conditioning at the cottage.
See you in the fall!
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Last Season Catch Up...
Okay, okay, I know it has been a VERY long time since I last blogged. Just haven't felt like it I guess. I have had a rough winter, lot's of anxiety and I have just felt generally down. I'm pretty sure it's been brought on by these major life changes and probably the lack of sunlight. I'm feeling a lot better though. And spring is finally here and we are starting to get out and do more stuff. I will now attempt to sum up the last three months for you all:
I joined M.O.P.S., which I love and the boy love going too. Meeting some great moms and getting a nice 2-hour break from the boys twice a month. We went to Florida at the end of March, we had great weather and the boys had fun swimming in the pool. I was sick most of the time, but it was still nice to get away from home for a while and have Mary and Jim around to help out with the boys. Caleb and Mike went to a Tigers game and caught a foul ball! We spent Easter with my parents and the boys had lots of fun playing in grandma and grandpa's yard and hunting for Easter eggs.
Caleb turned three in January. We had a fun party and he stocked up on toys for the year. He has been completely potty trained since early February. Only wears pull-ups at night time. Quinn is talking more and more. He regularly says two word sentences and sometimes three words in a row. His favorite words are "try?" and "brother." The other day he said "Dada work PopTarts!" He love to "drive," which means sitting in the car, van or on the tractor while it is off and pretending to drive. And he has climbed out of his crib a couple of times. Had to move the changing table since that was how he was getting out. Caleb knows our address and our phone number now. I am so proud of him! He's also learning how to button and zip, still having trouble with the snaps on his pants though. Got to work on the hand strength.
Mike has been traveling A LOT lately. So, the boys and I have been on our own quite a bit. He's been gone since Monday morning and will be home tomorrow finally. The other day the boys and I drove to Lansing to visit my grandma. She's 89 and I want them to know her while they can. They had a lot of fun playing with her flashlight and her walker! Then we met Nana at Chuck E Cheese for lunch and lots of fun games. For those of you who care, the Chuck E Cheese in Lansing is way better than the one in Kalamazoo. We have had a few trips to the library, lots of inside playing, making tents in the living room, craft projects, etc. Lots of walks to the park at the elementary school, a few trips to the awesome playground at Bailey Park. I took the boys to the nature trail the other day too. I really want them to grow up being comfortable in the woods, like I did. If it would ever warm up, we could maybe find some morels.
We have been going to a great church that we all like. They have great music The boys love Mr. Fred, who is their Sunday school teacher. We joined a "small group," which is really a discussion group/bible study. I'm not really sure yet if I like it or not. Right now I'm leaning toward not. It's just very hard for me to see how narrow some people's views are.
We already have lots of plans lined up for the summer: trip to grandma and grandpa's house, two camping trips, my brother's wedding, my friend's wedding, hmm.... I think that's it so far. Planning to buy a family membership to the Zoo so we can go whenever we want. The boys love it. Plan to check out the beach here in B.C., haven't seen it yet. I'm sure it won't compare to Lake Charlevoix or Silver Beach, but at least their's sand and water. Also, there is a water park downtown Battle Creek. The only problem is the boys are not big enought to go on the water slides. I know that would be a pain because that's all they would want to do if we go. We'll see, might try it anyway.
I promise to start blogging a little more regularly. :-) I know you are all hanging on my every word so I better deliver!
I joined M.O.P.S., which I love and the boy love going too. Meeting some great moms and getting a nice 2-hour break from the boys twice a month. We went to Florida at the end of March, we had great weather and the boys had fun swimming in the pool. I was sick most of the time, but it was still nice to get away from home for a while and have Mary and Jim around to help out with the boys. Caleb and Mike went to a Tigers game and caught a foul ball! We spent Easter with my parents and the boys had lots of fun playing in grandma and grandpa's yard and hunting for Easter eggs.
Caleb turned three in January. We had a fun party and he stocked up on toys for the year. He has been completely potty trained since early February. Only wears pull-ups at night time. Quinn is talking more and more. He regularly says two word sentences and sometimes three words in a row. His favorite words are "try?" and "brother." The other day he said "Dada work PopTarts!" He love to "drive," which means sitting in the car, van or on the tractor while it is off and pretending to drive. And he has climbed out of his crib a couple of times. Had to move the changing table since that was how he was getting out. Caleb knows our address and our phone number now. I am so proud of him! He's also learning how to button and zip, still having trouble with the snaps on his pants though. Got to work on the hand strength.
Mike has been traveling A LOT lately. So, the boys and I have been on our own quite a bit. He's been gone since Monday morning and will be home tomorrow finally. The other day the boys and I drove to Lansing to visit my grandma. She's 89 and I want them to know her while they can. They had a lot of fun playing with her flashlight and her walker! Then we met Nana at Chuck E Cheese for lunch and lots of fun games. For those of you who care, the Chuck E Cheese in Lansing is way better than the one in Kalamazoo. We have had a few trips to the library, lots of inside playing, making tents in the living room, craft projects, etc. Lots of walks to the park at the elementary school, a few trips to the awesome playground at Bailey Park. I took the boys to the nature trail the other day too. I really want them to grow up being comfortable in the woods, like I did. If it would ever warm up, we could maybe find some morels.
We have been going to a great church that we all like. They have great music The boys love Mr. Fred, who is their Sunday school teacher. We joined a "small group," which is really a discussion group/bible study. I'm not really sure yet if I like it or not. Right now I'm leaning toward not. It's just very hard for me to see how narrow some people's views are.
We already have lots of plans lined up for the summer: trip to grandma and grandpa's house, two camping trips, my brother's wedding, my friend's wedding, hmm.... I think that's it so far. Planning to buy a family membership to the Zoo so we can go whenever we want. The boys love it. Plan to check out the beach here in B.C., haven't seen it yet. I'm sure it won't compare to Lake Charlevoix or Silver Beach, but at least their's sand and water. Also, there is a water park downtown Battle Creek. The only problem is the boys are not big enought to go on the water slides. I know that would be a pain because that's all they would want to do if we go. We'll see, might try it anyway.
I promise to start blogging a little more regularly. :-) I know you are all hanging on my every word so I better deliver!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Putting myself out there
Well, I am finally taking some steps to get out of the house more. I let myself get a little lazy and put things off until after the holidays, but this whole, “being in the house all day,” thing is getting to me. You can only take so many trips to the library and Target! And it has been three months, and I haven’t met a single friend!
The boys and I will be starting M.O.P.S. in a couple of weeks. I had wanted to before, but there is only one group in Battle Creek, and they meet in the evenings, which is not ideal, and they don’t have daycare specifically for M.O.P.S. Your kids can go to AWANA or some other program they have at the church, which is Baptist, so I wasn’t really in to that. I’ve decided to drive to Richland. I’ve heard good things about this group, so hopefully they are true. And, I am applying to volunteer at the local domestic violence shelter, starting in February. I hope to complete the training then, but daycare may prove to be an issue. I would really like to get back into that field though. Who knows, volunteering could lead to a job down the road. The third thing I am doing is attempting to start my own moms group on meetup.com. I have been searching for months and there isn’t a single moms group or playgroup in Battle Creek. I joined the local “women’s group,” online, but it just doesn’t seem to be for me. Most of the women are retired. I figured I don’t have anything to lose but the $6.00 per month. They will be posting it in two days, so I guess we will see. I’ll try not to take it personally if no one responds.
So far, the chart seems to be working. Keeping my fingers crossed. Caleb has already earned enough stars to play an extra computer game every day, and is well on his way to earning a new book of his choice. He hasn’t had one accident since we started the chart. And, he seems less angry about going to bed and going to the bathroom.
I will end with this: THE QUINNOSAURUS IS NOT EXTINCT. HE WAS JUST HIBERNATING FOR A VERY BRIEF PERIOD.
The boys and I will be starting M.O.P.S. in a couple of weeks. I had wanted to before, but there is only one group in Battle Creek, and they meet in the evenings, which is not ideal, and they don’t have daycare specifically for M.O.P.S. Your kids can go to AWANA or some other program they have at the church, which is Baptist, so I wasn’t really in to that. I’ve decided to drive to Richland. I’ve heard good things about this group, so hopefully they are true. And, I am applying to volunteer at the local domestic violence shelter, starting in February. I hope to complete the training then, but daycare may prove to be an issue. I would really like to get back into that field though. Who knows, volunteering could lead to a job down the road. The third thing I am doing is attempting to start my own moms group on meetup.com. I have been searching for months and there isn’t a single moms group or playgroup in Battle Creek. I joined the local “women’s group,” online, but it just doesn’t seem to be for me. Most of the women are retired. I figured I don’t have anything to lose but the $6.00 per month. They will be posting it in two days, so I guess we will see. I’ll try not to take it personally if no one responds.
So far, the chart seems to be working. Keeping my fingers crossed. Caleb has already earned enough stars to play an extra computer game every day, and is well on his way to earning a new book of his choice. He hasn’t had one accident since we started the chart. And, he seems less angry about going to bed and going to the bathroom.
I will end with this: THE QUINNOSAURUS IS NOT EXTINCT. HE WAS JUST HIBERNATING FOR A VERY BRIEF PERIOD.
Friday, January 14, 2011
New Game Plan, Is the Quinnosaur becoming extinct? and Misunderstood lyrics of the day
Okay, so after yesterday's debacle, I have decided to employ a new game plan to tackle Caleb's, shall we say, undesirable behavior. I came up with the idea last night with much help from my blog posts and my Facebook friends. (Thanks guys.) I decided to make a sticker chart for Caleb, but not only for the potty. We have been struggling with an array of issues, mostly treating me really crappy when he's mad at me. So, he now has a sticker chart, on which he can earn stickers for doing things like going potty (obviously), brushing his teeth, listening to mom and dad, picking up his toys, putting his clothes on by himself, etc. When he gets enough stickers, he can have rewards like, an extra TV show or computer game, a new book, working up to things like, lunch with mom or dad at a restaurant, and trips to Kalamazoo Bounceland or Chuck E Cheese. I am uncertain how this is going to work right now. We started it when he woke up from his nap ( which is when I finished the chart,) and he has earned three stars so far, two for going potty, and one for eating his dinner. Somehow I was blessed with an abundance of patience today. I don't know if he quite understands the whole concept yet, but I think he will get it with a little more repetition. I will keep you posted.
In other news, Quinn has been a delightful child lately. He seems very happy and he is talking up a storm (finally)! I made a list and his word list is now over 50. Now, that doesn't mean you would understand all of them, but we do. For example, he says "nk," for drink, and "pop eye," for potty. But we know what he's talking about. :-) I forgot how much fun kids are at this age, and I am eternally grateful for this tiny reprieve from the Quinnosaurus while I am dealing with the Calebopithicus!
One more funny thing that happened today. Caleb has been running around singing "bam bam, baseball lam!" For the life of me I couldn't figure out what he meant. Nothing on any of his favorite shows sounded anything like it. So I just chalked it up to something he invented. Then we were in the car today listening to Nickelback's Rockstar, and he starts singing it again, then says, "See mom, it's from that song!" I want a brand new house on an episode of Cribs, and a bathroom I can play baseball in..." Mystery solved. Duh...
August 2010
In other news, Quinn has been a delightful child lately. He seems very happy and he is talking up a storm (finally)! I made a list and his word list is now over 50. Now, that doesn't mean you would understand all of them, but we do. For example, he says "nk," for drink, and "pop eye," for potty. But we know what he's talking about. :-) I forgot how much fun kids are at this age, and I am eternally grateful for this tiny reprieve from the Quinnosaurus while I am dealing with the Calebopithicus!
One more funny thing that happened today. Caleb has been running around singing "bam bam, baseball lam!" For the life of me I couldn't figure out what he meant. Nothing on any of his favorite shows sounded anything like it. So I just chalked it up to something he invented. Then we were in the car today listening to Nickelback's Rockstar, and he starts singing it again, then says, "See mom, it's from that song!" I want a brand new house on an episode of Cribs, and a bathroom I can play baseball in..." Mystery solved. Duh...
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Epic Potty Training FAIL
Okay, today has not been a good day. I talked with Caleb this morning about both of us trying really hard to make it a good day. We even “pinky swore,” that we would do our best. Well, both of us failed. Things were going fairly well for a few hours. He and Quinn were watching an episode of Dino Dan on the computer in the dining room, and I was chopping vegetables in the kitchen for a crock pot dinner. I went in and asked Caleb to go in and go potty, since it had been a while. I paused the show and reminded him of our pinky swear. He went in there with only a little whining, which is better than sometimes. I followed him after I had paused the show on the computer to find him standing next to the sink in a giant puddle of pee! WHAT???? He purposefully stood next to the sink and emptied his entire bladder. So, that was how he broke his pinky swear.
I shamefully report that I completely lost it. I yelled at him and made him clean it up. I proceeded to stomp around the house and spout off about how upset I was and how he was in so much trouble. Then I sent him to his room.
What is wrong with me? What is wrong with him? Why can’t he just go in the potty without all the drama? Why do I have to take it so personally and let my anger take over? At this point I am so exhausted by these antics, I just feel like putting him back in diapers and giving up! It would be different if he were having true accidents. These are not accidents. He can go for a whole week without an accident. He definitely does this on purpose. I know it’s probably my fault, but what do I do now? I am at a complete loss. We have been working on this for MONTHS and we just seem to be going backward!!!
I shamefully report that I completely lost it. I yelled at him and made him clean it up. I proceeded to stomp around the house and spout off about how upset I was and how he was in so much trouble. Then I sent him to his room.
What is wrong with me? What is wrong with him? Why can’t he just go in the potty without all the drama? Why do I have to take it so personally and let my anger take over? At this point I am so exhausted by these antics, I just feel like putting him back in diapers and giving up! It would be different if he were having true accidents. These are not accidents. He can go for a whole week without an accident. He definitely does this on purpose. I know it’s probably my fault, but what do I do now? I am at a complete loss. We have been working on this for MONTHS and we just seem to be going backward!!!
Friday, January 7, 2011
Return from hiatus
I took a hiatus from blogging over the holidays. We hosted three different dinners here, attended another one with Michael’s family and spent the night in St. Joseph for New Year‘s Eve. Needless to say, we were busy. I hadn’t realized how crazy busy I was until it was over, and I just wanted to lay on the couch for days.
I’ve always felt a little sadness after the holidays are over. It’s such a let down. You spend months preparing: shopping, baking cookies, planning meals, decorating, wrapping, etc., then it’s all over in a few days. At least this year we spread the cheer out a little more than usual. We were so lucky to have my brother and his fiancé here for two nights, one before and one after Christmas. The boys loved having they “Uncle Phil,” here to play with them.
As usual, the boys got more toys, books and “stuff,” than we thought possible. I keep forgetting that everyone buys gifts for them, even if we don’t exchange gifts. They are the only kids on both sides of the family, so there ya go. A few days after Christmas I secretly purged the playroom and toy boxes of :
Baby toys
Junky toys from Happy Meals, etc.
Anything that makes annoying noises or tends to go off without warning
We still have a plethora of toys. And Caleb’s birthday is only two weeks away! (to those of you who may be coming to his party, think “books.”)
In other news, we may have finally gotten over the last potty training impediment! Caleb had a really rough time right around Christmas. He was having multiple accidents daily and just basically not going potty at all. I had finally had enough and had a mini-breakdown over it on the day after Christmas. I just felt like he was slapping me in the face every time he chose to poop in his pants instead of going to the bathroom. I had a good cry, then had a little talk with him. He could see how upset I was, and I think he decided to really try hard. He managed an entire week without a single accident after that! So, as promised, he got a fish on Monday. His name is Goldie. J
In another completely predictable move, we have again decided to “Get Healthy,” in the New Year. So far, the kids and I have taken a few walks around the neighborhood and I’ve been preparing healthier snacks. I really need to get my but in gear though, and start using my elliptical. Baby steps.
Happy New Year!
I’ve always felt a little sadness after the holidays are over. It’s such a let down. You spend months preparing: shopping, baking cookies, planning meals, decorating, wrapping, etc., then it’s all over in a few days. At least this year we spread the cheer out a little more than usual. We were so lucky to have my brother and his fiancé here for two nights, one before and one after Christmas. The boys loved having they “Uncle Phil,” here to play with them.
As usual, the boys got more toys, books and “stuff,” than we thought possible. I keep forgetting that everyone buys gifts for them, even if we don’t exchange gifts. They are the only kids on both sides of the family, so there ya go. A few days after Christmas I secretly purged the playroom and toy boxes of :
Baby toys
Junky toys from Happy Meals, etc.
Anything that makes annoying noises or tends to go off without warning
We still have a plethora of toys. And Caleb’s birthday is only two weeks away! (to those of you who may be coming to his party, think “books.”)
In other news, we may have finally gotten over the last potty training impediment! Caleb had a really rough time right around Christmas. He was having multiple accidents daily and just basically not going potty at all. I had finally had enough and had a mini-breakdown over it on the day after Christmas. I just felt like he was slapping me in the face every time he chose to poop in his pants instead of going to the bathroom. I had a good cry, then had a little talk with him. He could see how upset I was, and I think he decided to really try hard. He managed an entire week without a single accident after that! So, as promised, he got a fish on Monday. His name is Goldie. J
In another completely predictable move, we have again decided to “Get Healthy,” in the New Year. So far, the kids and I have taken a few walks around the neighborhood and I’ve been preparing healthier snacks. I really need to get my but in gear though, and start using my elliptical. Baby steps.
Happy New Year!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Getting into the Christmas spririt
The last several days have been filled with preparations and decorations for Christmas. I am usually the first one to hop on the "let's decorate for Christmas," bandwagon. But this year, despite having a beautiful new house to decorate, I hadn't been too excited about it. But then my mother-in-law told me she was going to get rid of her 10 foot pre-lit Christmas tree, and for me, it was free.
Now, I am definitely a real tree kind of girl, buuuuut, we have a two-story foyer that is just begging for a nice, tall Christmas tree. Of course, I wasn't going to spent hundreds of dollars on a fake, pre-lit tree, and I we didn't want the mess/hassle/expense of two real trees, so I thought we would just have the one tree in the living room this year and be happy. But, my in-laws made my dream of having two trees come true! :-) So I set out to decorate it beautifully but cheaply. For several years in my old house, I had decorated in the dining room with just silver and white, so I had collected quite a few ornaments in those colors. Next, I hit the dollar store and found a bunch more, and some snowflake garland and some pretty ribbon. It turned out really nice.
So now comes the difficult part; keeping the kids from touching, grabbing, pulling, batting and just generally destroying TWO Christmas trees. Caleb is not much of a problem. He might touch now and again, but he's not really destructive. Quinn, on the other hand, doesn't have the nick name "Quinnosaurus," for nothing. Needless to say, there have been lots of time outs and lots of smacked hands. :-( It is getting better though. Today is day four and he is was only interested for the first few minutes after he woke up.
So I am officially in the Christmas spirit. The trees are decorated, the stockings are hung, andthe presents are (mostly) bought. Looking forward to a little more shopping, some cookie baking, and spending time with friends and family soon.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Now, I am definitely a real tree kind of girl, buuuuut, we have a two-story foyer that is just begging for a nice, tall Christmas tree. Of course, I wasn't going to spent hundreds of dollars on a fake, pre-lit tree, and I we didn't want the mess/hassle/expense of two real trees, so I thought we would just have the one tree in the living room this year and be happy. But, my in-laws made my dream of having two trees come true! :-) So I set out to decorate it beautifully but cheaply. For several years in my old house, I had decorated in the dining room with just silver and white, so I had collected quite a few ornaments in those colors. Next, I hit the dollar store and found a bunch more, and some snowflake garland and some pretty ribbon. It turned out really nice.
So now comes the difficult part; keeping the kids from touching, grabbing, pulling, batting and just generally destroying TWO Christmas trees. Caleb is not much of a problem. He might touch now and again, but he's not really destructive. Quinn, on the other hand, doesn't have the nick name "Quinnosaurus," for nothing. Needless to say, there have been lots of time outs and lots of smacked hands. :-( It is getting better though. Today is day four and he is was only interested for the first few minutes after he woke up.
So I am officially in the Christmas spirit. The trees are decorated, the stockings are hung, andthe presents are (mostly) bought. Looking forward to a little more shopping, some cookie baking, and spending time with friends and family soon.
Merry Christmas everyone!
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