Mother's Day 2013

Well, I didn't get breakfast in bed or the day off. In fact, I was on duty almost the entire day because Kevin has some urgent deadlines tomorrow. But I still felt like a total queen today. This was the love offering I got this morning from the men in my life. (And there is nothing this mama loves more than a hand-made card and some flowers!)

The weather gods blessed us with a glorious day, and the boys and I spent it all outside, doing a little Spring cleaning and enjoying our new bouncy castle (a hand-me-down from some friends). Everyone was so happy and helpful. It was a totally relaxed, totally pleasant day. Can't ask for more than that—although next year a nap might be nice ;)

Guess who just turned two?

I'm sure every mother says this every year on the birthday of her youngest child, but that makes it no less true: "I can't believe how big my baby is!"

Archer turns two today, and this birthday has caught me unawares in many ways. We've been so busy as a family these past few weeks, that I haven't finished sewing the homemade birthday gift I had planned to give him (that I had planned to give him last year on his first birthday, actually). Kevin and I haven't written our annual birthday letters to him yet (but there's still time this afternoon, right? After we finish work and before we pick them up from daycare?). And I didn't even bother making a birthday cake for him. We have some decadent cupcakes leftover from a friend's wedding celebration on Saturday. That's right: my second born will be getting leftover cupcakes on his second birthday. I shudder to think what this bodes for our soon-to-be third child's future birthdays.

But even though I haven't had the chance to prepare much for his birthday celebration, I have been paying very close attention to the changes—big and small—I see in my growing boy every day. For one, he's just so big! Even though he's only 24 pounds, he is strong and solid and commands whatever space he is in. And he does so many "big boy" things, that I never would have expected in one so young. We've only be able to go to the playground for the past two weeks, but already he's figured out how to do everything except the monkey bars—and he's only kept from those by his height. He races across the bouncy bridge, slides down the very biggest slide, climbs up every ladder (including one made of chains), and can scale the five-foot climbing wall at a speed that terrifies me.

He's also become very verbally agile in the past few weeks. Just this morning he told us three elaborate stories in more or less complete sentences: about the tigers we saw "fighting" at the zoo yesterday, about how Colin snuck out of the house last week and took off down the street on his bicycle (yikes!), and about how he wanted Kevin to make us pancakes for breakfast this morning.  And lately he's on a "counting spree": counting out his numbers 1-12 whenever there's some counting to be done. (I don't think he has any sense of what the numbers mean, but he's got their order down pat).

For all of this, there are still the occasionally moments when he's my little baby: when I drop him off at daycare, and he crawls up my torso and wraps himself around my neck like a koala bear. I'll enjoy those moments, too, for as long as I can, because I know it won't be much longer—especially with another baby on the way.

So happy birthday to my big boy baby!

Strongman!

Is there nothing this boy can't do? I fear we've got our hands full with this one...

Do these stripes make me look fat?

I had to buy this dress at the superstore this morning, just so I would have something to wear today in the unseasonable heat we are having. As much as I didn't want to have to buy an more maternity clothes, I think I will have to break down and go shopping again, because it finally occurred to me that I have never been pregnant in the summer—and I have never been this pregnant before in my life! And I still have seven weeks to go...

Trying out the new birthday wheels

But his favourite part so far is that little bumblebee bell. Thank you, Mae Mae!

Crocuses in my garden ...

... And a robin on my deck. I know we just had snow a few days ago, but could Spring finally be here at last?!

Treasure Hunting

The other day, I found myself in every mother's worst nightmare: It was three o'clock and my kids were bored! OK, maybe that's not every mother's very worst nightmare, but it's pretty bad. It was still hours before Kevin would be home, we had already had our outing for the day, and the boys had played with every toy they own. It was way too early for them to be restless.

Fortunately, I remembered an idea I had seen on the internet a few days before, for how to entertain whiney kids during the dreaded witching hour: a "sensory bath." I'm not really sure of the pedagogy behind them (I'm sure there is one, though), and some of these baths looked like huge messes. But there is nothing my little boys love more than making messes ... with water ... and their food. So before you could say "Long John Silver," we had made ourselves a "Deep-Sea-Diving, Treasure-Hunting Sensory Bath."

Surprisingly, this was the easiest, cheapest, and mess-free "craft" we have probably ever done. The ingredients were all things I already had on hand, and it took maybe 10 minutes to put together (or however long it takes you to boil pasta). I just added blue Kool-Aid to a warm bath, added a little vinegar and a lot of green food colouring to pot of boiling spaghetti, and found a few bath toys and treasure loot for the kids to "dive" for, and, Voila!

The boys were entertained for over an hour. They even ate tons of the spaghetti! (Apparently, all I need to do to get Colin to eat his dinner is dye it green first.)

And when it was all over, I just dumped the spaghetti and drained the tub. The best part was that Colin said, as he got out, "Mama, you made a really amazing thing!"

Next time: Black-Light, Space-Foam Sensory Bath?

If you're interested, check out my Pinterest board for some other "sensory" activities I plan to try in the coming weeks.

What are your favourite ways to get through the witching hour?

Dishwasher

He likes to wash dishes with his shirt off—just like his daddy (who we are so glad is finally home again).

By the way, his new trick is moving this stool around the house and climbing up it to reach everything: the sink, the cabinets—even the stove top. I think we are in trouble!

Lazy Sunday

Sunday afternoon is usually my favourite time of the weekend. I do all of my running around—grocery shopping, errands, meetings with friends, and (if I'm lucky) a date—on Saturdays, so that Sunday we can stay home as a family and relax. If I'm really lucky, I might have an hour or two to myself on Sunday afternoons, while the children nap. I like to sit in my rocking chair, drink a pot of hot tea, and read a good book or knit. (God, I sound old!)

This doesn't always happen, though. Often one or more of the children will thwart my best-laid plans and refuse to nap. Yet despite their age, they seem to have internalized that Sunday afternoons are a sacred, quiet time. And sometimes their company is not unwelcome.

Game On

For the past few month my big boy has been obsessed with boardgames. In fact, for his fourth birthday, that's all he wanted—and he got four of them, of course! 

Now, every night after we put Archer to bed, Colin, Kevin and I stay up and play a boardgame for at least half an hour. Some nights I am so tired (even though it's only 8:00 p.m.), that I can't imagine playing yet another round of Busytown, but Colin loves it so that I just can't say no. (Even if I have to lie on the couch and have him "spin" for me.)

I also love what he's learning through the games: how to follow the rules, how to develop a strategy, how to win—and lose—graciously. There are often a lot of tears when the game doesn't go his way. He is four after all. But he also surprises me with his empathy and generosity. He will often give Kevin or me a hug when we face a setback in the game and say, "It's OK. You'll do better next time." These are not qualities I saw in my biggest boy when he was three.

Yes, we are learning and growing all the time!

What are your favourite boardgames for little kids?

Here's a sample of ours:

Richard Scarry's Busytown

The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel

Magnetic Dinosaur Bingo

Chutes & Ladders