Living the Dream

I've always known I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. I struggled through career and personal planning classes in high school because "mom" didn't make the career list and nothing else appealed to me like being a mother did. Of course, when you dream up your life long purpose it's always in the most ideal form... Being a mother definitely has it's ups and downs and it's not always the way I pictured it, but I still feel as though I'm living my dream. I love my boys with all my heart (maybe more!) and I am privileged to be at home with them each day. It's not for every mom, and for those of you mothers who juggle a job outside the home in addition to all of life's other demands I applaud you... It takes a very strong and selfless person to be able to do all that you do in a single day. I worked 20 hrs a week from home after my mat leave with Nate and that was exhausting!

In our day and age, though, it's tricky financially to make it work living off of one income. No matter what your spouse does for a living, it always seems to be tight. I suppose we have our previous "lives" to compare it to, when we were both working full-time and had dispensable income. As of July I'll be done my mat leave with Cody and it was really stressing me out. I shouldn't have been stressed because all my life (especially my adult life, when there seems to be more at stake) God has never failed me and ALWAYS provides what we need. So I did up our budget and figured out exactly what we needed, and started to pray about it. Usually something like "God, we need this and I can't even imagine how we'll get it, but I know you can take care of it." And God, as always, blew me away. A few weeks into this constantly weighing on me, I got a call from Monte's mom. A doctor in her office was looking for part-time childcare for her 2 1/2 year old daughter, starting in June. And it would pay the EXACT amount we needed. So I've started looking after this little girl a few mornings a week to ease into this new schedule, and to get her comfortable with being in our home. I hope that she and Nate will become good friends, and that she will one day drive by our house to show someone she loves where she spent a good portion of her childhood, with fond memories. Sure, it's a lot of work, but I'm at home with our boys where I want to be. And I get to be a part of another kid's childhood. I am truly thankful for the way God answers prayers.

Healthy Choices

Ever since I went from having a job that kept me on my feet 8 hours a day to sitting at a desk 8 hours a day, weight loss has constantly been a goal of mine. But it's not easy, especially as you get older and your metabolism slows down. I've never been a fan of diets, and don't feel they work for long-term success, so over the past couple of years I've been trying to make some permanent healthy changes in my lifestyle. In the last few weeks, I've especially made an effort to eat better: using whole wheat flour instead of white as much as possible, adding in ground flax to baking, and making whole wheat pasta and brown rice at dinner. Last week I made cookies from a recipe I found on a website called Whole Grain Gourmet, which exchanged olive oil for butter and honey for sugar. They turned out pretty good, for a healthy cookie! And earlier this week I made quinoa for the first time, which is high in protein, fibre and calcium (among other things). It was also tasty which is great because I'm always looking for ways to get more protein, and in a grain no less! The down side to making healthier meals and snacks is that the three year old at the table prefers the old stuff, and mealtimes - which were already frustrating - are even more drawn out and dramatic.


I'm also trying to be more intentional about excerising daily. I've always been on my feet since having kids, but it's totally different than getting your heartrate up for a good 20 minutes. Now that we have a dog I really enjoy going for walks, usually by myself once Monte gets home from work. It's amazing how getting some fresh air and exercise puts a new perspective on your day. I love my walks with Bailey; I spend the time thinking and praying and it's just the perfect change of pace for me.

The Boys

Ahhh, coffee time. After the usual chaos of the morning - ignoring the fact that both boys are awake (I'm so not a morning person), getting them up, changing & dressing Cody, helping Nate with the potty and teaching him how to get dressed, letting the dog out, feeding everyone, and somehow finding a minute to get some breakfast for myself and squeezing in a shower while keeping Cody content and breaking up potentially dangerous situations between Nate and Bailey (Bailey seems to think Nate's just another puppy, and Nate thinks of Bailey as something he can control) - I relish the quiet time when Cody's napping and Nate settles down for a little TV time and some apple slices. It's the best part of my morning!

Cody's on the verge of crawling; he sort of scooches forward by pushing with his toes. He has finally cut his two front teeth, making it four on the top and four on the bottom. And he's been feeding himself rice puffs and cheerios for a few months now. He is very vocal, especially in expressing his frustration and anger when he's sitting in his highchair with no food. He's seriously a little porker. I checked back on my old posts to see what milestones Nate reached at Cody's age... Wow, what a difference! Nate was waving, clapping, crawling, pulling himself up. Even saying his first word! Crazy. I suppose it's a combination of differences in personality and having a lot more time to just play and interact with a firstborn than with your second. I know Cody will get there at his own pace, and I certainly don't want to compare my boys. It just surprised me to read the differences between Nate & Cody at 9 months.

And Nate... what can I say? What a whirlwind of activity this boy has become! We were all sick last week and even then he was tearing around the house and chatting endlessly. He's still asking a billion questions a day which sometimes drives me crazy! He's learning to count from 10 to 20, and we found an Elmo placemat at Wal-Mart recently which has been helping him learn to recognize numbers. Best dollar we ever spent! We play Memory (the matching game) and he surprises me with how much he remembers. He's doing very well with potty-training, with charts, stickers and rewards to motivate him. We're concentrating now on getting through an entire day in underwear without any accidents. He especially loves running around in just his undies! He's figuring out how to do a lot of things on his own which is exciting for him, but at three years old he's not quite aware of all the dangers that opens up for him. In just one day I discovered that he could unlock and open the front door, turn on the faucet for the bath tub and turn on the hose in the garage. There's nothing like finding your front door wide open with your preschooler wandering outside, or discovering your deep-freeze is sitting in a pool of water in your garage. So I'm facing a new challenge of how to encourage him in exploring his independence while teaching him the dangers that lie within that independence. It's exhausting!

Knee Surgery

I seem to have failed miserably at blogging more often... Two months was a pretty good start, though. I've never been much for change, and March held some big adjustments. I suppose that could be why I didn't feel much like blogging.

Monte's been seeing a doctor and several specialists attempting to fix a knee problem he's had for years. He finally got in to see the best specialist around, and was told his name would be put on the waiting list for surgery; possibly to happen in April or May. At the beginning of March he got a call saying there had been a cancellation and his surgery was bumped up to March 17th. Yikes! Two weeks to prepare for this. So we made a list of all the tasks that needed to be done before he'd be off his knee for who knows how long and plugged away at it until the day of his surgery. He was told he'd be off work for 4 weeks, and that's about all that we knew. Surgery went well, Monte felt great... Dropped him off at the Chilliwack Hospital at 9am and he was home by 4pm (with a stop at Starbucks of course). And then he went back to see the specialist two weeks into his month at home and found out that they did at lot more on his knee than they expected. He was told he'd have to wear his leg-extending brace until the end of April, be off work for 4-5 months, and have no physical activity for 9 months. Not exactly what we signed up for. I mean, we're so grateful to have had this surgery so that Monte can eventually be physically active without feeling knee pain... But come on! As much as I don't like change, I really don't like surprises. This news took a few days for me to process. And now Monte's started back at work as of today, after arranging to do light duty tasks.

With Monte being at home for over four weeks, every day felt like Saturday. We slept in (as much as kids will allow), played outside, went to the States a few times and just spent lots of time together. Sometimes it felt like too much time together, but overall it was a great month as a family.

Bailey

On Nate's birthday, after his party, we drove to Aldergrove to pick up our new little addition... Our shepherd-malamute-cross 8 week old puppy we named Bailey. That Saturday was busy and overwhelming, but we were just so excited to bring her home! She has been a great dog so far, learning well and becoming quickly adjusted to her new family and surroundings. Monte spent quite some time researching the best ways to train a dog (you could even call him the new Dog Whisperer, thanks to Cesar Millan's teachings!) and Bailey has picked up on Monte's leading very well. She's still got some house-training to do; we have about an accident a day to clean up. And I will admit, there have been a few moments when I've been on my own with both the boys and Bailey and felt completely overwhelmed. But overall she's a very well-behaved little pup and we're excited to have her grow up with our boys!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Boy!

Today is Nate's third birthday, and we partied it up! Monte set up the plastic Thomas track we bought him last night (while watching the opening ceremonies for the Olympics) so that when Nate woke up this morning he was surprised and excited to play with his new toy. Nate opened the other presents we got him, then we had breakfast together and had a relaxing morning drinking coffee and watching Nate play with his new track. His friends came at 10:30am for his party, and Nate was ecstatic! Elijah & Micah, Tydin & Jarris, Isaac & Owen, Annah & Julia, and Kate & Lincoln came to celebrate with Nathan, and we had a great time playing together, eating pizza, corn dogs and cake, and opening presents.

This was the first real birthday party we've ever thrown for Nate, and while I was so excited about it, it was also bittersweet. Monte & I reflected this morning on the day of his birth, and just how fast these past three years have gone. We feel so incredibly blessed to have Nathan in our lives, and I'm grateful for the special relationship he and I have. He is a true sweetheart, with a gentle spirit and a sensitive heart, and I love him with all my being. Nathan, happy third birthday my sweet boy!! We love you and are so proud to call you our son!

A Battle of Wills

It's been five nights of my cry-thru-the-night plan, and it's not going very well! Most of the experts out there reassure parents that it'll be a rough couple of nights, but it shouldn't take more than three and then you'll have relatively peaceful sleeps. What a joke! I'm learning as I get to know Cody that he is nothing like Nathan, and that is constantly keeping me on my toes. He cried twice for about a half hour the first few nights, for which I was pleasantly surprised. I figured that was it - I had done it! I had sleep-trained my kid with ease. Then night #4 came, and that's when I felt the wrath of Cody. Man that kid can scream when he's mad. I finally gave in around 4:30am, when just getting a few hours of sleep became top priority. But I felt so defeated and like I had lost the control. As a mother I don't like losing control; it makes me mad! So these last few days have not been pretty. But I know from experience that within a few weeks I'll be sleeping just fine again and will have forgotten all about this ugly phase.

I suppose Cody has a right to be miserable right now... He's cutting two more teeth, making four teeth total on the bottom (and none on the top). For a brief moment I panicked and thought, what if my kid has some kind of dental problem that makes it only possible to grow teeth on the bottom? I just can't remember what order Nate's teeth came in. Anyways, Cody's growing like a weed, now in 12-month clothes and eating solids three times a day. I'm gradually introducing him to vegetables, as I have time to cook and puree them. He's rolled over both ways and is starting to sit really well on his own, although he still needs support since he topples over whenever he tries to reach for something. He's a very 'grabby' baby... wants to hold everything in sight and has a fetish for remote controls. He likes the buttons. Nate can now sing the entire alphabet (with the exception of a few misplaced letters) and enjoys singing to a wide variety of songs, his favourite being the VeggieTales album. He is also growing like crazy, becoming very long and lanky. It's now so hard to imagine that he used to be even chubbier than Cody when he was 6 months. We're now two sleeps away from his third birthday, and sometimes I'm overwhelmed at how fast he's growing up. He's extremely curious, with endless questions including tricky ones like "what's in a banana?" or "what do you mean, you're driving?" It's very difficult to explain how to drive to a preschooler, especially with a crying baby in the midst.