Our New Life in New Jersey

Poison

2009-07-14T23:16:00.002-04:00

I was feeding Cameron his bedtime bottle while James was getting Jameson and Stellan ready for bed. This is what I overheard as James was trying to help Stellan brush his teeth:
"Here Stellan, time to brush your teeth."
"No daddy, that's poison."
"Just brush your teeth, you're fine."
(more persistently) "No daddy, that's poison!!"

By this point I wonder what on earth James is trying to do to Stellan. Then I hear this:

"Daddy, there is hair wash (shampoo) on the toothbrush."

During the trip home from Canada the shampoo somehow managed to open and leak all over the plastic bag filled with toiletries. The boys' toothbrushes were in that bag and were covered in shampoo. Apparently rinsing them didn't get rid of the soap and Stellan felt as if there was poison on his toothbrush. What an imagination! Thankfully we always have extra toothbrushes in the house!

Pit Stop

2009-07-14T23:13:00.003-04:00

Jameson and Stellan were riding bikes with a couple of kids from the neighbourhood when they decided to simulated races. Three of them would ride around while the fourth would be the pit crew who administer tire changes and a refill on gas. During one lap I heard one of the neighbour kids announce, "I don't need gas, I drive a hybrid". How cute! Something you probably wouldn't hear before this generation.

Sand Box

2009-07-11T23:29:00.003-04:00

The boys had a blast playing with Marco at Ed and Marisa's today. They are like three peas in a pod. So cute to see them interact. Jameson was pushing Marco (age 4) on the swing; they bonded while watching "Cars"; they picked on Stellan during lunch; Stellan picked on them.....fun times. The cutest part was when the three of them were standing in the sand box (doesn't sound like a big deal until you notice that the sand box is on legs and stands a couple of feet off the ground). Stellan leaned over to Marco (they are all covered in sand at this point) and says, "Marco, can I hug you?". How sweet is that?! He makes my heart melt.

Time

2009-07-11T23:26:00.001-04:00

Jameson and Stellan were sitting at the table having a snack before bed. Jameson put down his peanut butter toast and asked me how long before it was 8 o'clock. I looked at the clock and noted to myself that it was 7:50. Just to see if he knew I asked him, "How long do you think?". He looked at the clock and announced, "10 minutes". I was shocked! Then he looked at the clock again and said, "oops, now it's only 9 minutes". The time had changed to 7:51. Again, he makes me so proud!!

Two Wheeler

2009-07-11T23:24:00.002-04:00

My almost five year old is training wheel-less!!! I'm so proud of him!!!

We came home from Ed and Marisa's today when Jameson asked if we could take off his training wheels. I told him it was probably not the best time since he hadn't been on his bike in three weeks. Well, later on, when I was in the house, Jameson must have asked James the same question and he willingly obliged. As soon as the training wheels were off Jameson was riding around like a pro. He makes me so proud!

Slice of Heaven

2009-07-11T23:11:00.004-04:00

I had a week alone with Cameron. The two of us flew back while James stayed with the boys. He had training in Toronto and the boys stayed with James' parents. I had booked my tickets before all of this was decided so I ended up coming home with just Cameron. It was such a delightful treat! Here is my top 10 list of why it was a slice of heaven for one week:

10. I got to go shopping for 5 guilt free hours with a perfectly behaved baby
9. I only had to clean up after myself and one little person
8. There was only one person demanding my attention each day
7. I didn't have to cook for anyone
6. Only one little person to bathe
5. Jameson and Stellan had a chance to miss and therefore appreciate me
4. Nap time 3 times a day!
3. I got to sleep in!! (Sure, I got up in the middle of the night but still!)
2. I had unique one-on-one bonding time with my third baby.
1. The house was QUIET!!! I forgot how loud Jameson and Stellan can be!

I didn't realize how peaceful the house was until Jameson and Stellan returned and reminded me how loud and boisterous they can be. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I missed my little stinkers!

We did have some great phone conversations though:

Stellan, who was in a hurry and didn't want to slow down long enough to talk, "Hi Mommy, I love you, OK, bye!".

Jameson was telling me a story when I missed a part of it and said, "Oh, pardon honey, I didn't hear you". "Mommy, I said pardon first because I didn't hear you." I love hearing little boy manners on the phone.

Stellan can be difficult to understand on the phone but Jameson is thoroughly entertaining. He conducts rather mature conversations with a real flow to them. I can't believe how much my baby is growing!

Vacation

2009-07-11T22:59:00.003-04:00

We went on our annual family vacation to Windsor/Harrow. The boys, all three of them, were AMAZING!!! They make me so proud! Half the time they didn't know where they were sleeping that night but they were troopers!

Jameson and Stellan LOVED swimming, especially jumping off the diving board. I was especially proud of Stellan as this was his first summer on the diving board and he worked himself up from stepping off the edge to full fledge jumping. So precious!

I explained to the boys that Grandma Tractor was moving from her house. She was quite upset that the boys were no longer going to be able to visit the farm house. Jameson said, "Oh, but we'll still see her at her new house right?". It's so simple to them. It's all about the people that they love.

Auntie Allison had a special night with the boys. I am sure this was one of the highlights of their trip. They love Auntie, especially her toys, books and cat. She's even expanding their sports horizons beyond NASCAR to croquet. Yes, I realize how opposite those two are on the sport spectrum. Trashy to classy. I'll let you decide where each belongs.

And I have to mention that James is my hero. He volunteered to drive the two older boys to Canada while I flew with Cameron. It made sense; the drive would take forever with a three month old. There aren't many daddys who would volunteer to do such a daunting task. He did it and survived! I love him!

Mother's Day Card from Jameson (made at school)

2009-05-08T15:44:00.002-04:00

This is the fill in the blank card I got from Jameson. Definitely a keeper!

My Mom

My mom is 31 years old.

My mom is the prettiest when she wears her clothes.

My mom likes to make toast.

My mom always sayd, Don't go in my purse.

My mom is funny when she says "I love you".

Glad he's obsessed with numbers, the age is right! Could have been like Matthew's mom, "80". Yikes!

Well, glad to say that Jameson must think I'm pretty most of the time since I'm not in the habit of prancing around the house naked.

Can't get enough toast!

True enough, I do reinforce the fact that the kids are not allowed in my purse. (Remember the gum incident?!)

The last one doesn't make a ton of sense to me but I'm glad he got the "I love you" into the card.

I love Mother's day!

Basement

2009-05-05T20:19:00.003-04:00

I love our basement. It is my refuge. Well, not so much my refuge...it's where I send my kids so I can get them out of my hair. Trust me, there are days when this is a life saver!

I sent the kids to the basement this afternoon because they had a ton of pent up energy that just simply needed to be worked out of their systems. (It has been raining for four days now.) I was on the phone with my sister and could hear that they were getting into a lot of things; most likely dumping the majority of their toys in big piles. Oh well, not an issue for me at the moment. I was holding a sleeping Cameron and didn't want to deal with this rather minor infraction at the present time.

I eventually put Cameron down and headed downstairs. I wasn't surprised to see the piles of toys but I was rather surprised to see my two children stripped down to their underwear. They were climbing on and jumping off the sofa. I asked why they weren't wearing clothes and Jameson's simple response, "I like being naked".

I am so glad I have only boys at times like this.

Jesus

2009-05-05T20:16:00.002-04:00

James and I were getting ready the other morning when Stellan walked into our room with a blanket wrapped around his waist.
"I am Jesus" he proclaimed.
"Why do you say that?" I asked.
"Because I'm wearing a robe."
Simple enough. He proceeded to walk around the bathroom and bedroom announcing that he was Jesus. He then bent down toward Cameron (who was sitting in the vibrating chair) and said, "Cameron, do you want to talk to Jesus?".
So precious!

Jameson noticed that Stellan was being funny so he too grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around his waist. He too proclaimed that he was Jesus.
This charade went on for a little while when Jameson walked over to me. Apparently I was in his way because he announced, "Excuse me Mary".
My kids make me laugh!

Blogging

2009-05-05T20:14:00.001-04:00

Yes I know it has been over 2 months since I last put in an entry. Lots happening...

Cameron Allan Palanacki was born on Thursday, March 26th at 12:04 pm. He weighed in at 8 lbs 5 oz and was 21.5 inches long. He is gorgeous (yes, I'm biased) and doing well. We are all enjoying him, he's such a blessing!

Play Dough

2009-03-04T12:59:00.002-05:00

My kids LOVE playdough. They love playing with it and making huge messes with it. I HATE playdough since my kids love making messes with it. They know the rule, only one colour at a time, but it still stresses me out. This is the way I look at it, don't I shell out big bucks so my kids can play with playdough at school? Sheesh.

Jonah

2009-03-04T12:55:00.003-05:00

One of Jameson's favourite Bible stories is the one of Jonah being swallowed by the big whale. After several readings of the story I started asking Jameson questions to see if he was remembering and comprehending the story. When I asked him which city God told Jonah to go to he confidently replied "Enema". (The real answer is Nineveh.) I have no idea how he came up with that word but it sure did make me laugh.

Well, on Sunday or minister was preaching from the book of Jonah. James leaned over and said, "Didn't Jameson have something funny about that story?". I had forgotten but that quickly brought back the memory, and brought out the laughter. When I whispered "Enema" to James we almost lost it. Then I had to fill Adina in and she almost lost it. I felt like a teenager all over again.

Had a good laugh

2009-02-26T22:11:00.002-05:00

I was looking through the reams of paper work that the boys bring home from school when I came across a handout from the dentist who did a visit the other day. I couldn't help but laugh out loud when I read the following excerpt.

"If your child is uncooperative with the daily task of brushing, you must position them in such a manner in which they are immobilized. A good example of such a position is: Be seated and have the child's back to your chest. Cross your legs around your child's lower body. With your left arm, hold your child in a gentle head lock. Place your left hand under his/her chin to keep their head still and to hold their hands down. With your right hand, scrub teeth at a 45-degree angle using a back and forth motion. Hopefully your child will soon see this as a positive experience and will grow to be more cooperative. Remember that brushing your child's teeth doesn't hurt them; it helps them keep their cute smile!!"

What?!?! "...soon see this as a positive experience..."??!?!?! I just found this so funny. Granted, Stellan can be rather miserable when it comes time to brushing his teeth but I cannot imagine that putting him through this ordeal would make it any better.

Bedtime Stories

2009-02-21T21:22:00.002-05:00

Stellan had a nice long bubble bath tonight before bed. After the nice soak I slathered him with lotion and then put some Aquaphor on his chapped hands. He loves having a nice hand massage.

We went to his room where we cuddled and read "Peter Rabbit" together. I cannot believe that he has the whole book almost entirely memorized. It's so cute to hear his little squeaky voice recite the book. One of his favourite comfort tactics is to twirl his hair in his fingers. Recently he has been using both hands to do this and ends up pulling out some hair. I told him to stop pulling on his hair because he was pulling it out. He looked at me and said, "But Mommy, I like to do this. It's actually my favourite thing to do.". He is just so stinking cute I could eat him up.

Sibling Class

2009-02-21T21:06:00.003-05:00

We took the boys to a sibling class at the hospital today to help prepare them for the arrival of the new baby. They each had to bring a stuffed animal and a receiving blanket so they would learn how to help out with the baby.
During our time at the hospital the boys had a chance to see a new baby in the nursery. They thought he was quite cute and so tiny.

The nurse showed a poster that had pictures of newborn babies on it. She asked the kids what they noticed about the babies. They were small, one was crying, they had bracelets on. That's when Stellan piped up, "His penis is dirty". Lovely, thanks for making mommy proud.

We went back to the classroom where each of the kids had to glue a baby and an umbilical cord onto a uterus. They then put it onto a poster where they had just traced an outline of my belly. The boys thought this was especially fun because they each had their own glue stick. I truly believe that Stellan used an entire glue stick on the thing.

After this they diapered and swaddled their babies. The boys thought this was quite exciting; Monkey and Rascal still have their diapers on.

Each child had an opportunity to show their baby pictures and their recent pictures that we brought with us. Stellan was quite distraught by the fact that the pictures weren't of the same orientation. (He didn't use those words, but it was obvious.) This then set off a pouting tantrum. Lovely, mommy was so proud once again. And I was way too hot to deal with this type of nonsense. (What was the hospital thinking?!?! The room was literally 80 degrees and full of pregnant women with young children!!! Sheesh!)

Each of the kids was supposed to decorate an index card that they could attach to the picture. This will be put in the baby's crib at the hospital so the baby will know his/her siblings. It was so funny to see the difference between the boys and the girls in the room. The girls (albeit, a bit older than my boys) made elaborate and intricate decorations on their cards. The boys just put a bunch of stickers on the card, Jameson also managed to put his name on it. We eventually convinced Stellan to attach the card to his less than adequate picture. It will be cute to see the pictures when we get to the hospital.

We finished up and headed home. Surprise surprise, our early riser fell asleep instantly once he was in the car.

I know it has been ages.....

2009-02-21T20:56:00.002-05:00

I know it has been ages but I just had to write a few things that happened today. These are too funny to forget.

Stellan decided that 5 am was a good time to wake up this morning. He could not be convinced that it was just way too early to get up. He did stay quiet for about 45 minutes or so. At that point I went in to his room and told him that he needed to wait until the first number on the clock was a 7. It appeased him for a while. Then he called for Daddy who ended up putting the clock at the end of the bed so Stellan could see it better. Apparently it was rather cute to see him set up perch about 6 inches from the clock, just waiting for that number to change.

It was only about 10 minutes before we heard, "Daddy, it's 7". James went into Stellan's room to find that Stellan had figured out how to change the hour on his alarm clock so it was indeed after 7. He figured this out at three and a half. What is he going to do when he is a teenager?

Hugs

2009-01-30T21:44:00.003-05:00

I love hugs, especially from my kids. But when Jameson woke up the other night at 4:45 and called me to his room because "I want to hug you Mommy", I have to say, I really wasn't in the mood. Of course, I gave him a hug anyway, who would turn that down? I did tell him to wait until morning next time, sleep is precious.

Now Jameson wakes me up every morning by crawling in my bed and curling up with me. That is truly my absolutely favourite time of day. He snuggles with me in bed until Stellan wakes up and they head downstairs to play together. I truly believe Jameson is the best snuggler in the whole wide world. I don't want it to end.

Absence

2009-01-30T21:01:00.002-05:00

OK, I admit, I've been gone for a while. Let me explain.

First off, we've been battling illness in this house for....all winter? It started two weeks ago with Stellan. He started throwing up on Wednesday night and it continued for a week. He threw up off and on for the entire week. Yuck! Great kid though, he still acted as if he was just fine; just took a few minutes to throw up and then was back to playing. In between the puke periods he got a runny nose for a couple of days. Interestingly enough, that was more upsetting to him than throwing up any food that passed his lips. He woke up every hour asking me to wipe his nose. I eventually got so tired of getting up that I told him if he called me again I would use the dreaded aspirator. That bought me a few extra hours of uninterrupted sleep.

During the whole episode Stellan barely ate anything. Who can blame him? As soon as he ate he threw up. He was able to drink so I was satisfied. Now I can't keep enough food in front of him. I knew he'd catch up.

While Stellan was throwing up Jameson started with a cough. One night it got so bad that he ended up puking too. Sheesh. I had so many loads of laundry. To top it off, my dryer quit working. Murphy's Law? It took a while to get it fixed but, now that it has a new motor it works just great!

Jameson continued with his cough which wonderfully interrupted our sleep even more. I was a bit bitter about this since I figure I have about two good months of sleep left. James was wonderful and got up as much as he could. Either way, we made it through.

Lo and behold, James started getting sick last Friday, early in the morning. I woke to hear him throwing up in the bathroom. Lovely wake up calls I've been having lately. I figured it was going to be a long day so I planned on taking Stellan grocery shopping while Jameson was in school and then the three of us would head to Uptown Playaround. It worked out well until Stellan started whining and getting on my last nerve at Uptown Playaround. He was given one more chance and blew it. We headed home. We were home long enough for me to put on a pot of chicken soup and put the kids down for a nap/rest. I too laid down for a rest and then found out I was not feeling so well either. Now both James and I were laid out with the flu. I can honestly say this was the first time I missed "home", just for a second. I really wished there was someone we could pass the kids to so James and I could focus on ourselves and get better. Alas, there was no one. I could have called a friend but all of them have kids and I didn't think it was fair to pass the germs along to everyone I knew. Thankfully James was about 14 hours ahead of me so he had recouped enough energy to feed the kids and put them to bed for the night. We both had a long and restless night to say the least.

We were so thankful that our kids were able to self entertain themselves (and watch a lot of tv) so James and I didn't have to get off the sofa much all day Saturday. The kids were great, they just seemed to sense that they had to be on their best behaviour. By Sunday James and I felt much better but not back to 100%. We headed out for a bit to get some fresh air and it seemed to help.

On Monday I was ready to head out to MOPS with the kids. I got half way there and realized I really wasn't up to it, I still wasn't completely better. I turned around, went home, put on a video for the kids and had a nap. Sheesh, the kids were great once again. They're awesome! By Tuesday I was back to "normal" and felt as good as I could for being 7 months pregnant.

Now I can say that we all feel good and we are all able to sleep again. Thank God for small miracles.

Oh so Tired!

2009-01-15T15:19:00.002-05:00

With only a few more months until baby #3 is due I will be the first to admit that I cherish my sleep, more than usual. I had some trouble sleeping in the recent past but that has been much better for the last week; I've been having gloriously deep and refreshing sleeps. Until last night....

First off Jameson has decided that he wants to go to bed with underwear on. No problem, most kids his age are night trained anyway. We had a long discussion before bed and he seemed really excited for this new adventure. The first night he peed at 4:30. We were smart enough to have the back-up bedding ready to go so it wasn't too difficult to get everything changed, including him. I did have troubles getting back to sleep though.

Last night he wanted to give it another try. Before we went to bed I woke him up and made him go pee. It was rather pathetic. "I don't have to pee! I'm tired! I just want to go back to sleep." Poor thing!

At 1:30 Stellan started crying. James, the loving husband and wonderful man that he is, got up and dealt with it. I was so tired I fell back to sleep immediately, probably before James was even in Stellan's room. At 2:30 Stellan woke up again. James got up again but I heard Stellan gagging so I quickly got out of bed. He was throwing up, apparently for the second time. He had thrown up the first time James got up but he dealt with it, including changing pjs and cleaning up the bed. This time he had thrown up the medicine James had tried to give him to soothe his sore tummy. Thankfully it was all contained in the sink this time. We cleaned him up and put him back to bed. At 3:30 he threw up again. This time he asked to come to bed with me. Poor angel. I'm not a fan of having the kids sleep with us but this was an exception. He came to bed and soon took over the entire bed, kicking me in the back the whole time. At 5:30, I'm not sure if I had really fallen back to sleep yet, we heard Jameson; he peed the bed again. We went to his room, stripped him and his bed again. James went back to bed while I finished up with Jameson. Rather than sleep with Jameson I opted to lie down with Jameson. He was quite awake and decided to talk to himself for a while. I was not impressed. I picked up and moved to Stellan's bed but had to sleep at the foot of the bed in order to avoid the puke at the head of the bed. What a terrible night. Now I have a day full of laundry and the dryer isn't working properly. Is it bed time yet?

Responsibility Charts

2009-01-12T20:59:00.002-05:00

As part of an incentive to get the boys to be more responsible for their behaviour, we have started using responsibility charts. Granted, it's a huge focus on extrinsic motivation but it does the trick for now. I just have to offer a simple reminder to Jameson about our goals for the day and he quickly modifies his behaviour. He definitely strives for all of the magnets at the end of the day. Stellan, on the other hand, doesn't seem to care all that much but I do try to entice him with it.
The goals that that struggle with the most are "no whining", "no hitting", and "listening". Stellan is particularly bad for hitting and has earned only one magnet since we started.
This morning Stellan came into my room and proudly announced, "Mommy, I haven't hit today."
"Congratulations sweetie but you've only been up for half an hour. Let's try and keep it up all day."
Well, he lost it within the hour. But hey, at least he recognized that he did well to start off today.

Baby

2009-01-10T10:42:00.002-05:00

As I was making waffles this morning I announced to Jameson that Auntie Chris was in the hospital having a baby today. (Not that I found out from Chris or Tom....had to find out that rather important information through the grapevine. Irritated and disappointed? That would be an understatement.)
"Another one?"
"Yes."
"Wow, they're going to have a BIG family. There are going to be a lot of people."

Friends

2009-01-09T18:22:00.000-05:00

The boys were playing downstairs so nicely this afternoon while I assembled the new-to-us swing. Then both boys came upstairs and I heard, "I'll get a car for Arnon, Stellan. Don't forget to get one for Patrick."
I asked the boys if they were playing with their friends in the basement. (I knew full well that no one else was in the house.)
"Oh, we're just pretending mom. Our friends are over and we're playing cars with them."
I love it! They have imaginary friends that are actually their real friends from school but they are still pretending that they are here. I guess it's time to schedule more play dates. :)

Smells....again

2009-01-09T18:19:00.003-05:00

So Stellan made it clear that he does not like the smell of his dad's morning breath. The other day he made it clear what he does like....

1. Before helping the boys put their coats and shoes on for school I started the van to warm it up before heading out. The van was backed up to the garage since we unloaded the crib from it the night before. Because of this arrangement the exhaust fumes were coming into the open garage door. Apparently this rather noxious smell was pleasing to Stellan because he declared that he liked the smell. Weirdo.

2. While reading the boys their new Beatrix Potter books, Stellan started sniffing the book, over and over again. He then declared that he liked the smell and then proceeded to sniff the book while I finished reading it.

3. While taking a break from the aforementioned book sniffing, Stellan lifted his foot to his nose and took a deep breath. He also liked the smell of his own feet.

I just don't know what to say.

Bedtime Stories

2009-01-05T23:14:00.003-05:00

Our nightly bedtime routine usually includes at least one bed time story. We were running short on time last night so I quickly grabbed a book about Joseph and his colourful coat. I figured it was a Bible story so I could also get a quick moral lesson in as well. I was familiar with the story but had no idea how it would affect Jameson.

The story explains how Joseph was favoured by his father Jacob who gave his son a colourful coat. Joseph's 11 brothers were jealous and decided to turn against their brother. They took Joseph's coat, threw him in a pit and eventually sold him into slavery. (Yeah I know, not the most kid friendly material but heck, what nursery rhyme really is? One version of the 3 Little Pigs has the wolf eating the first two pigs. What about Hansel and Gretel? Little Red Riding Hood? Kind of scary stuff.) Joseph ended up in Egypt as an advisor to Pharaoh and (long story short) became well respected. His brothers ended up coming to Egypt during a time of famine (something Joseph warned the Pharaoh about thereby prompting him to store grain in preparation for the famine) to get some food. Joseph recognized his brothers and called out to them in love, instantly forgiving them.

We talked about jealousy and forgiveness. I could see that Jameson looked a bit concerned but figured he would get over it. Well, not so much. He ended up having nightmares, worrying that the brothers would come into his bed and throw him into a pit. I haven't heard Jameson cry in his sleep like that, ever. James ended up crawling in bed with him until he calmed down. Poor angel. (I often call the boys angels, rather endearing. Jameson looked at me the other day and said, "Uh, Stellan's not an angel. Angels appeared to the shepherds to tell them that baby Jesus was born.")

After the story Jameson looked at me and said, "I don't want the brothers to get me". Uh oh, this really scarred him. We explained that the brothers can't get him and mommy and daddy will protect him. We prayed about it too, hoping that all of this would alleviate his fears. We'll see at 3 this morning whether or not he starts crying again.

Tonight I chose to read "Peter Rabbit" to the kids before bed. Now I'm worried that Jameson is going to be scared of farmers.

Sensitivity

2009-01-05T23:03:00.002-05:00

My darling Stellan can be so sweet until it is the middle of the night or early in the morning. For some reason he only wants mommy at those times and it is rather irritating to have to get up being the only one to console him. The other morning he had to "go poo" and wanted mommy to help him. James, the loving husband who is willing to let his pregnant wife rest a little longer, thought he would try and help Stellan. Stellan would have no part of it, he started whining and throwing a fit saying that only mommy can do it. Me, being the loving daughter who wants to allow Ruth whatever precious sleep she can get, dragged myself out of bed and then dragged Stellan to the bathroom at the other end of the house so he wouldn't wake Ruth. Now I'm irritated and Stellan is upset. I put him on the toilet and he doesn't even poop. Grrrrrr....... I gathered my tired senses and sat down with Stellan to try and get to the bottom of the "only mommy will do" issue. I explained that daddy is just as good as mommy and tries to help out. Stellan looked at me, relieved to finally be able to explain himself. "Daddy forgot to brush his teeth so he stinks". Who can argue with that? We all have morning breath but James' must be particularly offensive to Stellan's sensitive little nose.

Pop

2009-01-05T23:01:00.002-05:00

On New Year's Eve there was a large spread of food and drinks at Ruth's house. Jameson was eyeing the pop (I refuse to call it soda even if I live in the States) all night. At one point he looked at me and proclaimed, "My heart is telling me that I need to have some pop". Good try but he still didn't get any.

Bonding Time

2008-12-17T10:10:00.002-05:00

Last night I had some alone time with Jameson before bed. (Stellan was not allowed to have story time and therefore went to bed early since he does not know how to behave at dinner time.)
We read a story together and then had a chance to chat. He started telling me about ways he was going to help me with the new baby. He wants to help her (he chose a girl but usually wants a girl) play, he'll bring her toys, he'll give her milk from the fridge (I clarified that one) and he agreed to bring her diapers too. He asked what size she needed, just to be sure. He also thought it would be a good idea to bring her a stuffed animal. That gave me an idea.
I suggested to Jameson that we go for a special Mommy and Jameson day after we get back from Canada. We could go out for breakfast and then go out and buy a stuffed animal for the baby. He was a bit hesitant and then asked if Stellan could come along. I told him that it would just be a special day for the two of us, Stellan could stay home with daddy. I don't think he liked the idea too much. I tried to entice him with muffins at Wegmans.
"So...we could have muffins and eat them upstairs at Wegmans?"
"Yes sweetie."
"And Daddy and Stellan could come too?"
He totally doesn't get the whole idea of a Mommy and Jameson day.
I tried to explain that Stellan could stay with daddy and then, on another day, I would take Stellan for a special day and he (Jameson) could stay with daddy.
"So you and Daddy would stay home with Stellan and I would go to Wegmans by myself? I would get lost."
We'll work on it.

I'm Back

2008-12-17T09:47:00.003-05:00

I realize I'm getting to be really bad at this whole blogging thing. Truth is, I'm so tired at night I just want to sit and relax. So, here it is mid-morning and I'm stealing a few minutes to write something.
Jameson made me so angry this morning since he decided to fight (yet again) about his clothing options for about an hour. I need a little break right now so this can be therapeutic.

Updates in a nutshell...

My mom and her friend Desiree were here for 2 weeks over the Thanksgiving holiday. Went to NY for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was INSANE!!!! Glad I can say I did it but don't ever plan on doing that again. Had a nice turkey dinner on the day after Thanksgiving. James got up at 4:30 to do Black Friday shopping and we ended up with a new flat screen tv. Big hassle with installing it but now it is hanging and I'm very pleased with it. (Maybe if I feel like it at a later date I'll write more details, it is really a crazy story from start to finish.)
Went into the city with mom and Desiree for a girls day of shopping and sight seeing. I wore the wrong shoes and my feet ended up being so sore...miserable! Had a great time. Quite an experience being pulled into a back room in Chinatown to see additional knock off purses. My mom bought one but I resisted the temptation.
My mom bought Jameson the Leapfrog Tag Reading System. What a cool toy! Stellan got a new digital camera. They both love their new toys and generally share them quite nicely.

Had a good time but I was exhausted by the end of their visit.

Allison and Anabela came for the weekend. They spent most of their time in the city but I did pick them up at the train station on Friday night. Jameson and Stellan were beyond excited. Anabela inherited the new name "Auntie Bela". So cute how the kids translate what they hear. Allison was heroine for bringing Jr. cars. Jameson chose the Amp Energy car whereas Stellan has the Mountain Dew car. Jameson translates "Mountain Dew" into "A Tree Dude". So funny. I will credit my mother with putting the word "dude" into his vocab. I could think of better words.... Allison, Anabela and I went into the city on Saturday for a girl's day. It was FREEZING cold. The latte and red velvet cupcake at Dean and Deluca really helped to warm me up, yum. More shopping and sight seeing. Crazy busy around the tree, all the tourists who want to see it. I have to admit, pretty cool that the tree was cut down from an area about 30 minutes from my house. Kind of sad though. If only the city had the foresight to actually plant a tree in that spot years ago when they first started the tree lighting ceremony then they wouldn't have to needlessly cut down a huge tree every year. The one in Princeton is nice because it is actually growing there and has been for years. They string the lights on it at Christmas time and it still amazes the crowds.

Expecting a house full of guests on Friday. A bunch of guys are coming to see a performance of the Messiah in the city. They are quite excited about it and, truth be told, I'm just so excited to be able to stay home for a change. I never thought I would say it but I'm getting a bit tired of going into the city. It doesn't help that it is overrun with tourists (yes, I realize I fall into that category) and it's cold. I'll look forward to going again in the spring, if baby is a good baby.

That's been the past few weeks in a nutshell. Busy time of year but we really do enjoy the holidays. Heading back to Windsor/Harrow in a week. I won't lie, excited to see family and friends but not looking forward to the drive or seeing the actual city of Windsor. The boys keep asking about going to Canada, they can't wait.

Oh yes, can't help but add, so excited that my Christmas gifts are wrapped!! It took me three hours the other night but they are done. :) I would put them under the tree but I'm afraid that the boys would rip them open even though they are not for them. I would not be a happy camper.

A slight misunderstanding

2008-12-10T22:51:00.003-05:00

The other night James was reading to the kids before bed when he decided to quiz the boys a bit and see if they remembered the story.
At the time he was reading the story of Jonah and asked Jameson, "Where is Jonah headed?". The answer was Nineveh but somehow Jameson came up with the word "Enema". I'm sure he has never heard the word before but I found it quite amusing that of all words that's the one he came up with. I had a good chuckle.

Four Eyes

2008-12-01T21:29:00.002-05:00

As of tomorrow Stellan will officially be a four eyes. He saw the opthamologist today who determined that he does indeed need glasses. As Dr. Wasserman (amazing doctor!) put it, he has significant vision loss. His eye is healthy but he just simply can't see too well. Now my three year old has to wear glasses full time.

I have to say, Stellan was such a trooper throughout the entire procedure. Even the doctor (did I mention that he is amazing?) commented on how wonderful Stellan was. I was so proud...sniff sniff. Stellan didn't love the drops but put up with them anyway without complaint. Boy did his pupils ever get big! He wondered why it was so sunny outside...yet it was a cloudy day. Poor munchkin.

This afternoon we headed over to Lens Crafters to pick out some frames. I'll admit, he looked so cute in whatever pair he chose, even the plastic red round frames. He liked those best but I just couldn't do it, he needed more subtle frames. We ended up getting a little gold frame that looks just adorable on his face. (I'll post pictures tomorrow after we pick up the frames.) He can't wait to wear them. I can't wait to see his expression when he can actually see things like leaves on trees, features on faces, etc. Poor little angel.

We have a problem though, now Jameson wants glasses. "Mommy, my eyes hurt, I need glasses." Uh, sure. I let him try them on in the store and he picked out a pair in less than five minutes (Stellan took almost an hour). He looked so cute but he just doesn't need them and doesn't get why he can't have a pair like his brother. At what point will he be thankful that he can actually see just fine? We always want what we can't have, go figure.

Bedtime Prayers....again.

2008-12-01T21:26:00.003-05:00

Stellan: "I pray for Nana and Deda and Mommy and Grandma and Auntie Desiree and Daddy and the fences for the chickens to keep them safe."

Fences for the chickens? Where did that come from? When did he last see chickens let alone chickens in fences? What a kid.

New Baby

2008-11-26T07:52:00.001-05:00

Every once in a while I ask Jameson if he wants a brother or a sister and what he would like to name the baby. The usual answer is a baby brother named Jack. So, needless to say I was a bit surprised the other day when he said he wanted a baby brother named Snotrod. He was serious. I think he has watched Cars a few too many times.

It's at times like these that I'm thankful I have boys...

2008-11-21T22:07:00.003-05:00

I was talking on the phone with Nina when Stellan came into the kitchen and announced, "We're just going to cut our hair with these scissors". I like how he makes an announcement even though I know it follows the act that he has already committed.
I grabbed the scissors from his hand and literally ran to the dining room where I found Jameson brushing off the stray hairs from his shirt. I found two clumps (although rather small) of hair, one that he just brushed off and one in the living room. I did a quick head check and noticed that there was a small clump that was noticeably shorter than the rest, right on top of his head. I did a quick hair smooth-down and it was hidden pretty well. I then did a quick check on Stellan to find all hairs in tact.
Again, I'm glad to have boys. Imagine walking in to find a clump of long hair strewn across the floor? Heck, if it was bad enough I could have just buzzed off all of his hair.

Potty Talk

2008-11-19T22:36:00.003-05:00

When we were in the airport a few weekends ago I took Stellan with me into the washroom. He took care of business first then it was my turn. He looked at me and asked, "Why don't you pee standing up like me and daddy?". I replied that mommies don't pee standing up. "Oh, your penis is broken Mommy?"

Tinkle Tango

2008-11-17T17:36:00.003-05:00

Mommy: "Stellan, do you need to go pee?"

Stellan: "No."

Jameson: "He's dancing."

Stellan: "I'm just dancing to the music."

Uh....what music?

Conversations with Stellan

2008-11-14T17:44:00.002-05:00

Mommy: Stellan, why are you so cute?
Stellan: Because God made me that way.

I could just eat him up.

This Past Weekend

2008-11-12T22:17:00.002-05:00

We just spent a short but busy weekend back in Windsor in order to sell the family farm as well as all of the farm equipment and stuff. It was a successful weekend and, overall, the boys were very well behaved.
During breakfast on Tuesday I asked Jameson what was his favourite part of the whole weekend. His first response was the plane ride. I asked again and questioned him as to which activity was his favourtie. A huge smile spread across his face and he happily replied, "Auntie Allison's". Isn't it great to have an auntie like that?

Observations Made by Stellan

2008-11-12T22:13:00.001-05:00

We were driving home the other day when Stellan made an observation.
"Mommy, that bush is still green. God hasn't painted it yet."

How cute is that?

Age

2008-11-11T22:49:00.002-05:00

Jameson is obsessed with age. He often asks me my age as well as constantly mentioning his age, Stellan's age and how old they will be next year. When we were at Deda and Nana's house on Friday night Jameson mentioned that Mommy was 31 and Daddy was 30. Nana then asked him how old she (Nana) was. His simple reply, "Old". Yes, I did laugh and out loud too. It was funny. :)

Our Friends

2008-11-11T22:15:00.002-05:00

With an empty house this weekend the mice (yes, plural) had free reign of our domain. Unfortunately for them the domain had been planted with traps baited with delicious peanut butter. Well, two of them fell for it.
I went to the basement to check the traps this afternoon and noticed that they said "caught". (These are new traps where the mouse crawls into the trap and it swings shut. You never have to look at the mouse. The indicator changes and you simply pick it up and throw it out.) Since it was James who had set them and placed them out I didn't know if they looked differently from when he originally put them in the basement. I waited until he got home and then mentioned that he should check the traps. He sure did check them. He took them outside and smashed them with a hammer to see if they actually worked. Well, they did. We caught two mice, one in each trap. The whole point of these new traps is so you never have to see the mouse. Smashing it with a hammer totally defeats that purpose.

Samaritan's Purse

2008-11-05T22:15:00.002-05:00

The boys came home with a pamphlet from school that described a project they were doing, Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child. This is where you purchase items to fill a shoe box for a child of a specific gender and age. During dinner tonight I told the children about the project and told them that we would be going to the dollar store to fill some boxes. Jameson chose a boy between the ages of 2 and 4. Stellan therefore, by default, got a girl of the same age. Jameson was so excited to do this. When I explained that there were kids who didn't have toys or candy or other fun things, he said, "Like the people in New York who don't have homes?". I was impressed that he made a connection. They then asked what they got to buy at the store. I explained that they didn't get anything, this was a night where we got to share our blessings with people who don't have it as good as we do. They accepted it without complaint.

When we got to the store we each grabbed a basket for the kids to fill. Jameson and I decided to work together and James and Stellan were teamed up. Jameson had a blast. He was literally picking up everything he saw and putting into the basket. He so obviously wanted to buy everything for this little unknown boy. I eventually had to stop him or else we would have to fill a dozen shoe boxes. We did end up getting so much stuff that we could fill two boxes for each kid.

Stellan struggled a bit when looking for toys for a girl. He thought the rubber snake was perfectly suitable. Good thing mommy was there to direct him to the stickers, hair bows and other girlie stuff. I think he was just having fun roaming the aisles of the store, touching all of the toys.

All in all the boys had a great time and I hope they learned a great lesson from it as well.

Pez

2008-11-05T15:29:00.001-05:00

Trip to Target: $25.04 total
Pez Dispenser at Target: $0.49
Included Candy for Refill: free
Total thrill as son exclaims, "This is so fun!": priceless

The Dentist

2008-10-29T21:32:00.003-04:00

It was time that we finally found a dentist. It's difficult when you move to a totally new place (let alone new country with whole new insurance issues) to find doctors/dentists/hairdressers/mechanics/etc...you get the point. James and I are very particular about our oral health and have always gone to the dentist on a regular basis. Because of this we realized it was really time for us to find a local dentist. We asked around and finally found a friend who recommended a dentist that actually accepts our insurance. Well, today was the day. James had an appointment during his lunch hour and the boys and I each had appointments in the afternoon. James called me to tell me that our dentist was really nice and did the cleaning herself. (I'm not used to that.) The three of us headed out with much optimism. Jameson had been to the dentist before and was a trooper; he did so well that time so I really wasn't worried. Then there was Stellan..... He had never been before but it's a struggle just to get him to brush his teeth. He hates toothpaste so we've resorted to using just water. The other night he clamped his mouth shut and then placed both hands firmly over his mouth. It took two of us (coupled with some bribery) just to get him to open his mouth. I was worried. How was he going to do with the dentist.

Once we got to the office I had a ton of paperwork to fill out. After completing all of the repetitive names/numbers/addresses it was Jameson's turn. He headed in a bit nervous looking. They were willig to take him in alone but I knew he needed me. Stellan continued to play in the waiting area and I helped Jameson settle in. He did great! He let the doctor do a check up and willingly let her do a cleaning and fluoride treatment. I went back and forth between Stellan and Jameson. Near the end of Jameson's treatment I decided to bring Stellan into the room so he could see what to expect. He took one look at Jameson and said, "Mommy, let's go home now". Such fear in his voice, poor little guy. We tried to show him that it didn't hurt and Jameson wasn't minding it but Stellan wouldn't buy it. Well, it was his turn.

We took Stellan to the room next door but he did not want to get into the chair. I offered to sit with him so he reluctantly got onto my lap. The dentist tried showing him on his fingers what she would do; count and touch them. She got him to relax a bit and open his mouth, a teeny tiny bit. She counted his teeth and then tried to get him to open his mouth to check his jaw. He complied, but barely. He wouldn't even stick out his tongue when asked. Hey, I'm happy he didn't clamp down on one of her fingers or scream and spit. Overall, considering what we had to work with, he did quite well. He got a sticker for a good effort. :)

Bad news is that Jameson needs to see an orthodontist. She doesn't believe it will be an issue until he is 6 (or at least until he gets his 6 year molars). I'll be putting it off until we move back to Canada. Besides, I can't imagine taking a 4 year old to an orthodontist. Sheesh.

Flag Holder

2008-10-26T21:37:00.004-04:00

I love hearing what the boys did at school during the day. One day in particular I was asking Jameson what his job was at school. He proudly proclaimed that he was the flag holder. I asked him what everyone else did while he was holding the flag. He said they sing Yankee Doodle, The Grand Old Flag and they say the Pledge of Allegiance. I was a bit surprised and wanted to see if he knew the Pledge. Sure enough he was able to recite it, almost word for word. Stellan also started saying it in a bit of a jumbled up way. Even though it was so cute I was a bit disappointed that my CANADIDAN children were reciting the American Pledge of Allegiance. Apparently I'll have to do some homeschooling and get the kids to learn O Canada.

Little Stinker

2008-10-26T21:24:00.002-04:00

Stellan came up from playing in the basement when James noticed that he has peed in this pants. This has been a common trend recently; he pees a bit, dances around, denies the fact that he has to pee, dances some more, then quickly insists that he has to pee as if it just dawned on him.
When James commented on the fact that he peed his pants Stellan looked at him and said, "No Daddy, I'm sweaty".
Not only is he a quick thinker he's also quick to lie. We'll need to work on that one. It's just so difficult when he's so darn cute when he says it.

House Guest

2008-10-26T20:35:00.003-04:00

Well, we have a house guest, again....it's another mouse. Well, it might be a whole family of mice for all I know. James heard some scratching in the wall so we expected to find a furry little creature one day. He was preparing to set some traps with the hopes of catching the little rodent.
On Friday we were in the basement when I told James that we had to vacuum out the furnace/storage room in order to help me get over the paranoia of the spider I saw there last week. (I truly believe the evil little black creature was laughing at me when I saw it. I wanted to get the vacuum cleaner and the spider was sitting there right next to it. Needless to say I didn't end up vacuuming that day; I had to wait until James came home to get it for me.) Anyway, I hadn't been able to go in the room alone since the spider incident (I usually had Jameson accompany me or I would send him in for whatever it was that I needed). James, being the loving husband that he is, willingly helped me clean the storage room.
When we first started James noticed a cookie crumb. No big deal, strange though. Upon further investigation we found another partially eaten cookie and a few chocolate chips. It was at this point that we decided to investigate a bit. I found the source of the cookie crumbs...the bag of fig newtons. There was a neat little hole nibbled into the corner of the bag and about half a dozen fig newtons were missing. Ah ha..... Upon further investigation I noticed a neat little hole nibbled into the corner of a chocolate chip bag. (Not just any chocolate chips by the way, these were PC Decadent Chocolate Chips directly from Canada.) Half of this huge bag (the biggest I could buy) was missing. I figured we had a pudgy chocoholic mouse on our hands. Thankfully it was no where to be seen.
We continued to clean the room when I opened a drawer to get a card. It was then that I discovered something rather interesting...a stash of chocolate chips. Approximately a half a bag of PC Decadent Chocolate Chips worth. I quickly closed the drawer assuming that I would trap Stuart Little if he was still in there. We now had to pull out everything from the room, continue vacuuming and wash any open dishes. We also threw away the cookies, the chocolate chips and the rice cakes. (It got through the first layer of plastic but not the second. I just didn't like the thought of mouse saliva on the bag.) We ended up spending the entire evening cleaning the room. Not my ideal way of spending a Friday night.
I bought some new mouse traps last night and hope that we catch our furry house guest soon; I really don't want to have to go through the ordeal of cleaning that room again. I also don't want to lose my stash of PC Decadent Chocolate Chips.

Bedtime Prayers

2008-10-25T21:11:00.002-04:00

Every night before bed we all pray together. Here is a transcript of some of our recent prayers.

ALL: "Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. Angels watch me through the night. Until I wake in morning light."

MOMMY: "Stellan, who would you like to pray for?"

STELLAN: "I want to pray for Nana and Deda."

MOMMY: "OK"

STELLAN: "I pray for Nana and Deda and Uncle Erik and Auntie Stephie and Caleb and Noah and Manny (Glenn and Erika's dog) and Uncle Glenn and Auntie Erika. And the beautiful day. And the beautiful flowers. And the beautiful tractors. And the beautiful fields for the tractors. And the beautiful tracks. And the beautiful trains on the tracks. And the beautiful roads. And the beautiful cars on the roads. And for beautiful blankets to keep me warm. And beautiful beds to sleep in. And for all the beautiful people. Amen."

How precious is that? I want to tape it one day...can't wait to listen to it when I'm old and grey.

Eating Dinner

2008-10-25T20:59:00.002-04:00

Whenever we are eating we find it is rather typical that one of the boys eats much slower than the rest of us. Well, last night that happened to be Stellan. Jameson noticed this and said, "Stellan eats like a tortoise". It was so random which made it so funny.

Baby Clothes

2008-10-21T18:56:00.002-04:00

JAMESON: "Mommy, what is the baby wearing in your belly."

MOMMY: "The baby isn't wearing anything, it is naked."

JAMESON (with horror in his voice): "Naked?!?! Why isn't he wearing any clothes?"

MOMMY: "The baby is nice and warm and comfortable in Mommy's belly, it doesn't need any clothes."

JAMESON (with some hesitation): "Okay."

.....a few weeks pass.....

MOMMY: "Jameson, what are you getting me for my birthday?"

JAMESON: "How about I get you some baby clothes. I think that's a good idea. I'll get you some clothes for the baby."

A Break

2008-10-21T18:47:00.003-04:00

Jameson was spending some time in a break this afternoon (it's different from time out, seems to be much more effective). He had to think about his behaviour and how he could put himself in a better mood. This was all due to the fact that he wanted to change his clothes and I wouldn't let him. That launched him into a whining episode that was lasting way too long and was getting on my very last nerve. (I've come to realize that I can be a very patient and understanding person but once whining is involved I quickly lose it. I guess that would be the proverbial last straw or button.)

He was spending quite a bit of time in this break while I was sitting on the sofa with Stellan slathering lotion on his extremely dry hands. I was quite enjoying this time with Stellan when I heard a little voice from the stairs, "You make my heart sad, Mommy". Well, that did it, I immediately was over on the stairs holding him and discussing the error of his ways. He was obviously repentant and his attitude was much improved. He finished this conversation by adding, "I was wrong, please forgive me."

I'm not quite sure how my four year old has mastered the skill of using mommy's own words against her. (In order to try and teach his heart I've used that same phrase, that he hurts my heart when he does something wrong.) If he has reached this stage already, what is he going to do when he's a teenager?

Quick Thinking

2008-10-21T18:43:00.003-04:00

James has recently been quite addicted to cough candies (those are his words, cough drops is what I call them). Anyway, after dinner, while I was still helping Stellan finish up his tomatoes, James mentioned that he finished up his bag of cough candies today. I whispered in Stellan's ear for him to announce, "You're addicted". Being an obedient little boy who is always willing to do anything for a laugh readily repeated it. Daddy looked at him and asked, "Where did you learn that?". (He knew very well where he learned it.) Without missing a beat Stellan proudly proclaimed, "At school".
He's got my back. :)

Grocery Shopping

2008-10-17T13:18:00.002-04:00

After preschool today it was our plan to head to Wegmans to do some grocery shopping and then go to the train station to have a picnic in the back of the van. In the parking lot the boys know that it's a rule that they have to hold my hand. Jameson tried holding Stellan's hand but there was some sort of sleeve issue. (I really don't know what the issue was.) Anyway, I told Jameson that he needed to hold my hand so we could go into the store. "No!". Oh, so he wanted to fight eh? "You have two choices. You either hold my hand now and we go into the store or else you don't hold my hand and we go home." "No!" Okee dokee. I turned them around and marched to the van. "No Mommy! I'll hold your hand." "Well, you should have made that choice a bit earlier."
I oh so gently placed him in his car seat as he was kicking, screaming and flailing. Poor Stellan was upset at this point as well due to the fact that he got the short end of the stick and had to go home too. We got buckled in and headed for home.
Jameson dramatically exclaimed, "I'm going to die".
"Yes sweetie, one day you will die but most likely not today."
"I will die, right now, today!"
"Well, mommy will be very sad and I'll miss you very much. I really hope you don't die."

So much for theatrics, I don't think that was the response he was hoping for.

Before we even got home (after a quick heart lesson) Jameson was truly repentant and said sorry followed by, "Will you forgive me?". I don't expect this type of incident to happen again in the near future.

It was a great lesson to teach but I still need my groceries. Grrr.

Conversations from the Backseat

2008-10-17T13:17:00.002-04:00

JAMESON: "Mommy, when the baby is born can I hold it?"

MOMMY: "Of course you can sweetie."

JAMESON: "I'm so lucky!"

Doesn't that just melt your heart?

Field Trip

2008-10-10T21:18:00.002-04:00

We headed to Rutger's University, Cook Campus, for Jameson's first field trip today. The whole theme was based on "The Little Red Hen". We started by looking at wheat and how it is harvested. Unfortunatley the leader was a soft spoken and rather unenthusiastic man. He did show the kids how to use a scythe and other ancient tools of the harvest. One thing he failed to mention was the fact that no one uses those things anymore. Not once did he mention a combine. I reminded Jameson of the combines we saw in the fields when we were last in Harrow. I explained that farmers use combines these days instead of scythes.

The kids then proceeded to blow away the chaff and grind the wheat into flour. We went on a tour of the muesum and saw a bunch of ancient tractors, buggies, sleighs and other random things. Then the demonstration continued while they made fresh butter (we all got to shake the jar of cream) and pancakes (a demo of how to use flour). They made enough pancakes for each child but us parent chaperones just got to smell them. I was starving! What cruel punishment!! Not only did we need to spend two hours listening to a boring old man while watching our four year olds, we had to stand the entire time. I was quite famished.

We ended the looooong day (well, 2 hours) with a puppet show of The Little Red Hen and the kids putting kernels of wheat in a test tube with some cotton so they can watch them grow. On the way home Jameson couldn't resist and opened his test tube. Sure enough, he lost the wheat. I'm assuming it fell somewhere under the car seat never to be found again. At least this gives me a reason not to water the silly thing.

Semantics

2008-10-08T17:21:00.002-04:00

I was getting dressed when Jameson came upstairs and asked, "Do you hear that?". I had to strain my ears but I did hear Stellan screaming in the distance.
"Did you lock your brother in the basement?"
"No."
I ran downstairs only to have Jameson complete his sentence.
"...there is no lock on the door."
He just turned off the lights and closed the door, leaving his brother in the dark basement. But in his mind it was OK since he didn't actually "lock" the door.

Salad

2008-10-02T21:53:00.002-04:00

For dinner tonight we had a rather delicious (if I must say so myself) roast beef with potatoes, carrots, green beans and salad. I cut up some tomatoes and cucumbers for the boys to dip into the salad dressing. Jameson declared that he wanted a salad too. I had my doubts but James dutifully threw together a quick salad for him too. I was so doubtful that I told Jameson if he ate his entire salad I would take him out for ice cream after dinner. I laughed as I said it because I truly believed that he would never be able to finish it. In the past he would try a leaf of lettuce and practically gag on it before spitting it out on his plate.
I have never seen that kid attack anything, let alone a vegetable, with such gusto. He polished off that salad so quickly it was amazing. All the while he was trying to determine what flavour of ice cream he wanted to eat. Not only did he finish his salad, every last leaf of it, he also polished off his meat and potatoes. I was impressed. He deserved the ice cream.
He ended up choosing vanilla. Kind of boring but he loves it. I chose pumpkin. I sure love fall!

Baby Talk

2008-10-02T21:49:00.002-04:00

Lunch time conversations with Jameson....

JAMESON: Mommy, is the baby crying in your baby?

MOMMY: No sweetie.

JAMESON: Will the baby cry when he is born? (Wishful thinking that it's a boy, we don't know.)

MOMMY: Yes, more than you can imagine.

JAMESON: If the baby cries I'll give him a drink; he is probably just thirsty.

MOMMY: Uh, well, that might be one of the reasons. Mommy will take care of feeding the baby though.

JAMESON: Do you think he will want water or milk?

I love the fact that he is so concerned about his little sibling. I also love to get glimpses of how his brain works. Now I just have to remember to keep my eye on Jameson when he is with the baby to make sure no forein food end up in his/her mouth.

Lucky Charms

2008-10-01T22:08:00.002-04:00

This morning the boys decided that they wanted daddy to give them breakfast. Okee dokee, no complaints here. :)
Well, I got downstairs expecting to see two bowls of oatmeal, one in front of each boy. I did find oatmeal in front of Jameson but not Stellan. Instead I found a bowl of cereal. Apparently my darling husband thought that Lucky Charms would be an acceptable breakfast. (Let me explain why they are in the house in the first place; I like them for an occasional late night snack. They are not meant for the children. I do not want to introduce them to sugary cerals yet less they lead to a lifelong desire for them as an occasional late night snack.)
Lo and behold my darling Stellan didn't exactly like the marshmallows. (Is he crazy!?!?!) In fact he ended up making a nice colourful pile of marshmallows on the table. Someone must have pushed them around a bit because there was a rainbow streak smothered all over the counter in a colourful trail. A lovely gooey mess. Oh well, at least I don't see a sugar ceral addiction in his future.

Teeth Brushing

2008-09-27T20:44:00.002-04:00

James and I were trying to put the boys together. James took control of the teeth brushing while I gathered the pjs. James was trying to brush Stellan's teeth when Stellan suddenly said, "No, I want Mommy to do it. You stink.". How funny!?! What's even funnier is he actually meant it, he has a very sensitive sense of smell. I must smell just fine because he let me do the job with no complaints.

Korean BBQ

2008-09-27T20:28:00.002-04:00

We were supposed to have a Korean BBQ in the park today. Unfortunately it has been raining since Thursday night with no end in sight. We decided to have everyone here instead but our friends still provided the food. What a great deal. :)
After dinner the boys decided to go outside and play in the misty rain. Daniel (little Korean boy) has finally gotten comfortable here so he gladly came out with me and the boys. Daniel got so excited that he started rambling in Korean. Jameson looked at me and said, "Mommy, he's speaking Spanish, what's he saying?".
I think he thinks any language other than English is Spanish since that's what Dora, Diego and Handy Manny speak.

Daddy's Boy

2008-09-25T09:57:00.002-04:00

James would have been so proud. Jameson was playing with the little neighbour boy Ankar (sp?) when he proudly looked at him and said, "My daddy got a new Volvo!!!!". It was as if this was earth shattering news. Jameson was so thrilled to share this tidbit with his little buddy. I think the Palanacki tradition continues, another Volvo fan.

Jameson the Explorer

2008-09-25T09:55:00.002-04:00

It might be a sign that my son has watched a bit too many Dora the Explorer episodes when he describes his trip to church in a manner similar to Dora.
First the tunnel, then the computer, then the hill, then the lake, then we're at church.
I'm just thankful he doesn't have the annoying voice like the map.

Sharing

2008-09-16T16:13:00.003-04:00

Jameson's new favourite thing to do is to colour together. We were sitting on the sofa doing his Colour Wonder book (love it, no mess!) after his nap today. I was colouring Winnie the Pooh's shirt and he was colouring his belly. He then decided that he wanted my marker so he grabbed it from me and told me he was now going to colour the shirt. I took the yellow marker and started colouring Pooh's head. Jameson looked at me and said, "You're good at sharing Mommy". Yeah, like I had a choice. :)

Dizzy

2008-09-16T16:09:00.003-04:00

Poor Jameson rolled out of the bed at the end of his nap yesterday. I ran upstairs to find that he had already gotten back into bed but was quite upset. He held up his hand and said, "My finger is dizzy". I'm not exactly sure what he meant but it was so cute. Maybe his finger was asleep and tingly?

Puddle Jumping

2008-09-09T21:00:00.003-04:00

Thanks to Hurrican Hanna we had a beautiful rain on Saturday. It rained a lot but it was a warm rain and there was no wind.
After nap time I decided to allow the boys to go outside and play in the rain. Afterall, that's the joy of being a kid.
They put on their crocs and bounded out the garage door. There was slight hesitation but they quickly got used to the idea and really enjoyed themselves. They ran along the edge of the street where most of the water accumulated. Then I noticed Jameson as he bent down, cupped his hands and proceeded to scoop the dirty rain water into his mouth. What a proud moment in motherhood.

Slight Confusion

2008-09-09T20:58:00.002-04:00

JAMESON: "Mommy, what wasn't Mrs. Loftus at school today?" (Mrs. Loftus is his teacher.)

MOMMY: "Mrs. Loftus had a funeral to go to today so she couldn't be at school."

JAMESON: "Mrs. Loftus died?!?!"

MOMMY (holding back laughter): "No honey, she didn't die. Someone she knew died so she went to their funeral."

I can only imagine what he might say to her on Thursday.

Preschool

2008-09-09T20:34:00.003-04:00

Today was the first day of preschool for both Jameson and Stellan. I'll be honest, I was totally looking forward to it and had no reservations. James asked me this morning if I thought I was going to be emotional. I didn't expect to be.
We got up at the usual time and got ready. I thought school started at 9:30 so I knew we would be able to take it easy and not worry about rushing. James was going in late so he could come for their fist drop off too.
The boys looked so cute in their new shoes. They looked like such big boys who were ready to learn. (Well, play, it's only preschool after all.)
We got them loaded in the van and then we headed out to Sandhills Preschool. I knew that it would take approximately 10 minutes to get there so we had plenty of time since we were leaving at 9:10.
When we got to the school I noticed that the parking lot was a bit sparse. I thought it a bit strange, afterall, we weren't that early, only 10 minutes.
We walked the kids into the school and noticed that the classrooms were already full of students. I thought, "Wow, these kids sure got here early". Uh yeah, that would be more like they got there on time, 9:00 when school actually starts. I have no idea where I came up with this whole 9:30 start time. Sheesh. I made my kids late on their first day. We'll now be labeled as the late family. This is so not like me, I was not impressed with myself.
Good thing we figured this out though or else I would have had a worse reputation for picking my kids up late. I didn't plan on showing up until 12:00. On the real schedule (not the made up one in my mind) class is done at 11:30. I'm so glad we got that cleared up. I would have felt like quite the fool if they would have to call me on the first day of school and remind me to pick up my kid. Not only would we be labeled the late family, we would also have CPS wondering why this mother "forgot" to pick up her kids. Sheesh.

I was so proud of the boys, they went into their classrooms without any problems. Well, truthfully Stellan decided to go into Jameson's class first but then he had no problems going across the hall to his own room. They both had an idea of what toys they wanted to play with and went right to those stations. Not even a backward glance to say "goodbye" to the mother who has been with them non-stop for the past year. What gratitude! Hey, I was proud, they did so well! I was especially proud of Stellan; he's known to cry in situations like these.

Now....2 hours to myself. What to do what to do??? I decided to check out the local area and see if there was a decent grocery store. I drove many miles north with no luck. Darn it, that would have been a great solution. There is a Stop N Shop that's close by but I don't that overpriced stinky store. I ended up in an Indian market. I had no idea what the majority of the stuff was in this market but there were nice fruits and vegetables for good prices so I did end up buying some things.

I headed home at that point, stopping at Stop N Shop for some OJ (I will actually go in if it's an emergency. It would be an emergency if Stellan didn't have his OJ!). I also stopped at a roadside stand for some tomatoes (so yummy!) and more peaches (want to make another peach cobbler and peach pie).

I had an hour in a quiet house. Wow, the fridge sure sounds loud when there are no other noises in the house. I made an Orchard Fresh couscous; couscous cooked in OJ then mixed with diced pear, plum and strawberries with an OJ/cinnaomon/ginger reduction on top. I was really looking forward to this. I had all the ingredients but only one problem, I didn't have enough couscous. I was supposed to have a cup and might have had a measly 1/3 of a cup. I made some quick modifications to the recipe but it still didn't turn out quite as expected. I liked it but think it could be better if I tried again.

Well, my hour was up so I headed back to school. I picked up the boys, on time, with no problems. They were excited to see me but it was obvious that they had a good morning. Stellan didn't have much to say but Jameson did say that there was a boy, Logan, who had a birthday and they sang the days of the week song. They both said that they had a great time and are looking forward to going back on Thursday. I hope to have them on time on Thursday. :)

Bedtime Conversations

2008-09-09T20:26:00.002-04:00

JAMESON: "Did God make all the people?"

MOMMY: "Yes, sweetie, He did."

JAMESON: "Then why do some people in New York don't have houses?"

MOMMY: "Well, for some reason they weren't able to stay in the houses that they had."

JAMESON: "Maybe God can build them new houses."

So simple in his mind, I love it!

Conversations from the Backseat

2008-09-05T19:58:00.003-04:00

STELLAN: When I'm 16 I'm going to drive a bus and I'm going to go faster and faster and faster.

JAMESON: Yeah, but the cops will pull you over.

STELLAN (sighing): OK, I'll slow down.

Who needs music when you have preschool conversations?

Well Child Visit

2008-09-04T20:48:00.002-04:00

We headed to the pediatrician today for the boys' well child visits. Before going we had to get a urine sample from each boy. That was an interesting challenge. They both went in the potty where it was easy to dump into the waiting containers. Jameson's "wasn't working" at first but he eventually managed to get some out.

When we got to the office the we dropped off the samples (something that I'm totally not used to but I think it's a great idea. They are able to do 10 tests on the urine to check for overall health.) in the lab then met with the nurses who took the boys' height and weight measurements. Jameson is 38 lbs, 40.75 inches. Stellan is 32 lbs, 37.25 inches. Bang on average.

The next step was for the boys to have their vision tested. Stellan was first. He looked at a page that had the shapes on it. He positively identified each of them; a house, an "O" (circle), a heart (or apple), and a square. He had to put on a pair of plastic, lensless glasses with one of the lenses blacked out. The nurse then moved back and Stellan had to identify the shrunken shapes. She pointed to the first and he said, "apple". She pointed to the second and he said "orange". (He was way off. Totally not getting them right.) When she pointed to the third he said, "I no no, Ooo tell me". (translation: "I don't know, you tell me"). We were in trouble.

During the doctor's consultation he decided it would be wise to have him rechecked, in case he was just fooling around. Well, he failed again. Now he is to go to the pediatric opthamologist. Honestly, I'm not surprised. James is blind as a bat and has been forever. After all, Stellan looks just like James he was most likely to be as blind as him too. I called the pediatric opthamologist and have an appointment scheduled for December 1st. Yep, that's right, 3 months from now. I will be calling every Monday to check for cancellations or else finding a new doctor. I expect he'll be wearing glasses before long and I have to say, he'll look pretty cute in them. It'll just be a challenge to keep them on his little head. I anticipate he'll look like little Aidan from Jon and Kate Plus 8. So sweet.

During the consultation the doctor asked the boys what their favourite food were. "Racamoni and Cheese". Why couldn't Stellan mention his favourite breakfast food, oatmeal? It just sounds so much better. Sheesh.

Both boys needed to get flu shots. Jameson obviously had a memory lapse as to what shots really were like because he offered to go first. Once he got poked he quickly remembered what they were like and started crying; I call that a reality hit. He got over it quickly but I anticipate that he won't be the first to volunteer next time. Stellan didn't love it but didn't cry; what a trooper.

Well, we're good for another year. Hopefully we won't have to be back until then....wishful thinking!

Orientation

2008-09-04T19:36:00.001-04:00

Today was preschool orientation. It was supposed to be for just Stellan and the other 3 year olds but I had no one to watch Jameson so he got to tag along. I lost the paper with the information that told me when to arrive so I had to wing it. I figured that it would start at 9:30 since that is when school starts. I pulled into the parking lot about 9:25. The lack of other vehicles should have been my first clue. I walked in with the boys and ran into the preschool coordinator. She confirmed that it was orientation day but it didn't start until 10. Okee dokee. We headed out to the van and went for a drive. I was going to take them to McDonald's to play in the play land but I didn't have any socks for them and wasn't about to let them go barefoot. So we drove and looked at houses. I like doing it, the kids tolerated it.
We got back to the school and a packed parking lot just before 10. Jameson needed to poo so the washroom was our first pit stop. I still need to work on getting him to wipe himself....
On the way in I had to remind the kids that they were only allowed to walk. Then I asked them, "What are you going to do in preschool?" Jameson responded, "Play, share, be nice". So cute! Stellan just looked at me blankly. He'll figure it out one day, hopefully soon.
We headed into Stellan's classroom where there were many cute little kids and just as many parents. Quite a full room. The boys immediately started playing with the trains, what else. They eventually wondered over to the play dough and the painting centres.
We didn't get to stay long since we had to head to the pediatrician for the well-child visits. Stellan was not too pleased when we had to leave and started to through a small fit. I explained that I would tell Mrs. Browne that he wasn't ready for school if that was the way he was going to act. That quickly put a stop to the behaviour. :)

New York City

2008-09-01T23:15:00.002-04:00

We headed back into the city on Saturday with Glenn, Erika and Morgan. James decided that driving would be a good option since we had never done it before and traffic was supposed to be much diminished on the weekends.

We made it from our house to the city in about an hour. Then the fun began. It was recommended that we park at the Port Authority, supposedly good rates. We found the Port Authority after a few hair raising turns but then had the adventure of trying to find parking. I have to say, I was so thankful that it was James driving and not me. I was still scared for my precious van though.

We drove around for a bit looking for this garage we had heard about. Not sure what garage we were supposed to find but we did end up finding one right near where we were. We were impressed, only $18 for the day. (Shocking that $18 is a deal.) We hauled out all of our stuff (four adults, three children, three strollers, bags, purses and jackets for the threatening rain). We got the kids buckled in and headed out. I have to say, the boys were so wonderful considering they are not typically stroller kids; they much prefer exploring on their own. It's as if they know they have to behave while we are in the city, there are just no other options.

We walked to Times Square (Erika wanted to see what all the hype was) and then hopped on the subway to head down to South Ferry Seaport. Due to the three strollers we had to use the door rather than the turn style. James swiped the card and then opened the door. The attendant started yelling at us but we couldn't understand him. He then continued to try to get our attention over the loud speaker but we just simply could not hear nor understand him. James eventually realized that this man wanted to get our attention and headed back to the gate. Well, we forgot to swipe the card four times for the four adults. Oops. Then he threatened that, if the police were there, they would have given James a ticket. Yeah, whatever, just let us on the subway.

As always the kids were thrilled to be on the subway; it never seems to lose it's thrill. Morgan was a bit indifferent.

We made it to South Ferry and grabbed a quick lunch (yummy fish and chips for me!). There is a great view of the Brooklyn bridge and some man-made waterfalls. What a gorgeous day. We headed back to the subway to head up to Central Park. On the walk to the subway Stellan conked out. That dear boy must have been so tired. Not only did he sleep through the streets of NY, he also slept through the descent to the subway, the entire subway ride, the ascent to street level, and part of our walk through Central Park. What a trooper! I wish I could have had a peek at his dreams during that time. Morgan also was a trooper and slept through the entire thing.

When Stellan woke up, the boys went on a carousel ride in Central Park. I told James to make sure to get the boys on horses that actually move up and down. Sure enough, when I checked on them, Jameson was on a stationary horse. Sheesh. He moved him and away they went. The boys loved it. (OK, Stellan needed to be convinced that it was fun.)

We continued our walk through the park and then headed out to Fifth Ave on our way to the subway. What a gorgeous area! I would hate to imagine the price of an apartment in that location. I would have to say that living there would make New York City life a bit easier to tolerate; especially having a view of gorgeous Central Park.

We got back to the car, programmed the GPS (my birthday gift to James...just in time) and headed home. What a long but wonderful day. I'm always so proud of the boys, they do so well. I'm sure they'll be big city boys one day.

Labour Day

2008-09-01T22:58:00.002-04:00

We had such a lovely Labour Day! Glenn, Erika and Morgan left in the morning for their long drive home. (I do not envy them...so glad to be the one staying put.) We packed a picnic lunch and headed out to the park. It was Stellan's choice and he chose the Lake Park (aka Mercer County Park). While we were eating our lunch (I had a selection of cheeses and olives, what a delightful meal!) we noticed many paddle boats out on the lake. That was enough motivation for us, we finished lunch and headed out to rent a boat. The boys were excited (OK, Stellan needed to be persuaded to be excited) as we put on our life jackets. I wanted to be a good example and wear my life jacket too but it was just too warm and uncomfortable. Bad mommy moment.
We took our seats and James and I got to work. Now let me just say, it looks much easier than it actually is. We started feeling the burn right away. It was also quite warm out on the lake with the sun beating down on us and limited breezes. Oh well, great family time together.
We were going around the lake at break neck speed (yeah right). I liked it best when we would rest so I could drag my foot in the refreshing water. Jameson and Stellan were quite persistent and wanted to help with the pedaling. Stellan was the first to give it a try but he was much too short. He was pleased to sit and steer. His method of steering didn't accomplish much but it was entertaining to watch. He would take the "wheel" and move it all the way to the left and then quickly move it all the way to the right. Then he would repeat the action. He thought he was doing a marvelous job. So cute.
Jameson sat on my lap and decided to take a turn at pedaling. With James' help he was able to do quite well. What a great little helper.
They took a break for a while and then decided to help out again. By this point I wanted to relax a bit on the water but they were rather insistent. This time Stellan wouldn't be appeased with just steering, he wanted to pedal. James slid down in his seat and put a life jacket on his lap, this provided a suitable place for Stellan to sit while bringing him close enough to the pedals. Now it was Jameson's turn to steer. He did a bit better than Stellan but not much.
We headed back to the dock much warmer than we started out. Not quite the relaxing ride I was expecting but fun nonetheless. Next time I think we'll try a row boat, it should be easy enough eh?

After dinner we decided to head into Princeton and treat the boys to ice cream at Thomas' Sweets. Since the flavours are constantly changing we all had to wait in line in order to decide what we would enjoy for the evening. The boys have no problem deciding the flavour, it's always vanilla for them. They just have to decide between a cone or a cup. Jameson much prefers the cup but we tried to convince him that the cone would be much neater. Once Stellan made the proclamation that he would be having his ice cream in a cup, Jameson decided it was a good idea too.
I was torn between three flavours, Amaretto, Drambuie and Ginger Snap. After a quick taste test I decided on the ginger snap; an excellent choice. We sat out on the lawn and enjoyed our treats. What a delightful way to end a terrific day. :)

Toilet Paper

2008-08-25T20:49:00.003-04:00

So I decided to try and save a few pennies here and there. Afterall, we're expanding our family (nope, it's not an April Fool's joke) and every little penny counts.
One way that I thought I could save a bit was to buy a less expensive toilet paper. I decided to buy Scott brand toilet paper. Let me just say, IT'S NOT WORTH IT!!! It's practically like wiping your bum with old tissue paper. It's the worst toilet paper I have ever used. It's only one ply and thin as can be. On top of that it's rather rough. Needless to say it leaves one feeling a little less than satisfied when finishing one of life's necessities.
So, a word to the wise, don't skimp and buy cheap toilet paper. It's just not worth it.

Games

2008-08-23T21:20:00.002-04:00

As many people know, James and I are avid gamers. Yep, we love to play games. We often have people over until all hours of the night playing competitive games that rial up many of the players.
So, in typical Palanacki fashion, we're getting our kids started early. After dinner we like to pull out games for our kids to play. It might be a simple as Memory or a bit more challenging like Candy Land or Chutes and Ladders. (That can be challenging if you're three.)
Tonight we decided to take a turn at Candy Land. I have to admit, this was not a game that occupied my shelf as a kid. Tonight was the first time I have ever played. I caught on quickly and gave the kids a brief run-down on how it worked. They did remarkably well and only tried to cheat a few times (that is inherited from dad, not mom). I found myself getting irritated at times and had to remind myself, they are only kids and they are having fun. Jameson really needs to work on volume control; he gets so excited he starts screaming which then gets Stellan screaming with excitement too. Other than that they were great sports. Jameson got the special card that sent him all the way to the ice cream cone, almost to the end but then, on the next turn, got a sucker (or lollipop) card that send him practically to the beginning. He's too young to realize that that really sucked. He kept playing with a smile on his face, just happy to be spending time together with his family. Again, my son always has a lesson for mommy.

Splash Pad

2008-08-18T22:18:00.003-04:00

I decided to take the boys and the twins, Aaron and Allison, to the new park and splash pad in Amherstburg. I expected it to be a cool day so I didn't plan for the kids to go in the splash pad. They had a great time in the park but the twins kept looking longingly at the splash pad. My boys decided that it might be a good idea to go in, after all, their role models the twins thought it would be a good idea. I changed them into their spare clothes so they could run around in the water but still have something dry to go home in. They both ran excitedly to the edge of the pad but then looked hestiantly at the other kids running around. With much encouragement and prodding they edged closer to the water where Jameson, inevitably, got a little wet. That was enough to send him back to us crying and wailing that he was wet. (Uh, wasn't that the point?) I was not at all sympathetic; afterall, if you go to a WATER SPLASH PAD, chances are pretty good that you are going to get wet. He continued to cry and I continued to give limited sympathy. Since I wasn't anticipating the romp through the water I didn't have towels to dry them off. This upset Jameson even more and the crying elevated. (Let me clarify, he was barely wet. There were a few wet drops on his body but nothing was completely soaked.) At this point Stellan came over where he proceeded to take off his shorts. He wasn't bothered by the fact that he had gotten a few drops on him. He then took his shorts, walked over to his brother, and started rubbing his back in order to dry him off. What a great brother. What a lesson to mommy.

Animals

2008-08-18T22:07:00.002-04:00

During our extended stay in Canada it gave Jameson a great opportunity to become comfortable around animals, especially dogs. While we stayed with my in-laws they played with Glenn and Erika's dog, Manny. Stellan loved him instantly and Jameson eventually warmed up to him and actually started liking him. This was quite an accomplishment, before this he would scream as soon as a dog would come close to him.

One night, when the boys were staying with Auntie Allison for the evening, they had an encounter with Allison's neighbour's puppies. The neighbour was taking the dogs (not sure what breed they were but they were of the teeny ankle-biter type) out for a walk. As soon as Stellan spotted them he wanted to run over and pet them and kiss them. (We're working on that, I don't trust dogs.) The lady did bring over her 3 dogs and the boys instantly crouched down to pet them. I was eventually able to pull them away so we could head into Allison's house. On the way in Jameson asked, "Why didn't the doggies talk? Oh yeah, only pigs talk". Guess who just finished watching Babe?

Cloud Watching

2008-08-15T21:19:00.002-04:00

The boys and I were driving somewhere during our stay in Windsor/Harrow. It was one of those beautiful days; a bright blue sky dappled with big white clouds forming various creatures and other imaginary objects. The boys and I had never cloud-watched before so I didn't really expect them to look for objects in the sky. Before long Jameson looked up and said, "Look Mommy, it's a smiley face in the clouds. Grandpa is in Heaven and he put the smiley face in the cloud for us." How simple and sweet.

Potty Training

2008-08-15T13:42:00.003-04:00

OK, it's time. I can't avoid it any longer. It's time to potty train Stellan. Yeah, so he's almost 3 (on Wednesday) it's not like I'm rushing things. I just wanted it to be as easy as it was for Jameson (he practically trained himself). We tried it a bit while we were staying in Canada but I didn't push things, he was out of his element. Now that we have been home for a few days I figure it's time for a whole-hearted effort.
He is pretty good with peeing, as long as he doesn't get distracted. If he's busy playing he might forget to actually go to the toilet and will end up peeing his pants. Pooping was a big issue, he always said that "it doesn't work". I decided to offer a reward, 2 M & M's everytime he pooped. (2 for his brother too, just to be fair.) That worked a bit. Then I finally decided on a BIG reward. A new Geotrax train once he was all done with potty training. It is quite an incentive for him. The train is sitting on our fridge, just waiting for the day that we say good-bye to diapers.
Today is day one and I have to say, no accidents! Yippee! Let's hope the diapers are coming to an end!

I'm back...let's try this again

2008-08-15T13:35:00.001-04:00

OK, I realize it has been a while since I actually sat down and typed something here. Being in Canada for 6 and a half weeks (4 weeks without internet access) is my excuse. :)

I'll try to remember some of the fun/interesting/crazy things that have happened so I can write about them.

Sigg

2008-06-25T14:57:00.002-04:00

So, I've heard that the latest reusable bottle rage is the Sigg bottle. (OK, maybe not "the latest" but I just recently heard about them.) They are BPA free so that's HUGE. I just bought some for myself, James and each of the kids. So cute and so green! Love them!
If anyone is interested in getting one, let me know. The cheapest ones that I found are at Wegmans. I can pick them up for my Canadian friends before Sunday. Let me know!

New York

2008-06-19T08:18:00.002-04:00

OK, this info is old but I feel that I should still post it.

Allison and I planned a girls day to New York City while she was here. It was something we were both looking forward to. We decided on Saturday so James could be home with the boys. He was a willing participant, such a sweetie!

The night before, Jameson was going for a bike ride while I walked behind him. He asked me what Auntie Allison and I were going to do the next day. I didn't want to tell him (I thought he'd be jealous) but decided to just tell him that we were going into New York. I didn't mention the fact that we would be going on the train. He looked at me and said, "You and Allison are going to have beeeeauteeeful time in New York". How sweet is that? And I thought that he would whine and want to come with us.

We got up bright and early and headed to the train station. As always, we were rushing for the train but we made it! An uneventful trip, we just sat and talked. So nice for a change. I loved being able to sit there without having to worry if someone was licking the window or stepping on a stranger while trying to get a better look out the window.

We got out at Penn Station and then started our day. Let me just add that we had been following the weather and knew that it was supposed to be hot and steamy. 97 degrees to be specific. Plus humidity. Plus the fact that we were surrounded by concrete and sky scrapers. We headed down the street and were quite thankful for the slight breeze that offered some relief in the heat. Sheesh, it was only 10 in the morning and we were already hot.

I had no plans for the day, I was just happy to be in the city sans children. Allison, on the other hand, had a long list of plans with coordinating maps and directions to all of our desired destinations. I was happy to just tag along.

Our main goal was Greenwich Village. Neither of us had been there. There were also several things that Allison wanted to do. We figured we would have breakfast down there. By the time we actually got down there we were famished. We were looking out for Magnolia Bakery, a to do on Allison's list. On the way there we saw a cheese shop that looked quite inviting. We popped in, just for a look. I was looking at their selection of yogurts when Allison came over. She immediately recongized one of the yogurts from a foodie blog that she reads. (www.amateurgourmet.com) She knew she had to try one even though it cost over $3 for an individual serving. She even treated me to one. We both chose the orange ginger flavour. Now, let me just say that this is not your ordinary, run of the mill Danone, Yoplait or whatever. This was Siggi's Skyr yogurt. Apparently there is a traditional yogurt in Iceland called Skyr. It's specially made and.....well, I don't remember the details. (You can google if you wish.) This yogurt is naturally fat free (bonus!!!) and not very high in calories. When you take your first bite you immediately notice it is so different from American yogurt. It was so thick, it was practically cheese. There is no added sugar (he uses agave juice) so it's not sweet but very pleasant. All of the ingredients are completely natural. I have to say, it was a delicious experience. I love yogurt and I have to say that Siggi's Skyr yogurt was the best yogurt I have ever tasted. I would gladly make it a part of my regular diet but, simply, I cannot afford it.

We walked a bit further and found a quaint little shop called Aphrodisia. We walked inside to be greeted by a grumpy lady (she was not pleasant nor friendly) and rows upon rows of herbs and spices. It seemed like we stepped back in time and walked into an apothecary. It looked vaguely like the ones Claire describes in the Outlander Series. (For those of you who have not read that series, go to the library and get it. FABULOUS!! The authour is Diana Gabaldon.) Allison couldn't resist and bought a few ounces of some herbs. Truthfully I think it was the smallest amount that she could buy and still say she bought something. I'm looking forward to trying the food she puts them in! ;)

We continued on our adventure through Greenwich Village. There were street vendors set up along Bleecker Street, so much fun! I stopped at a hat booth where the man promised to find me the perfect hat. I warned him that I had an especially large head and have a difficult time finding hats that fit. He said not to worry, he would find the perfect hat. At the same time, he gave me a glance of disbelief. He quickly brought back a hat for me to try. As expected, it was too small. "Oh, uh, no problem, I'll find one that is perfect". "See, I told you, I have a large head." He did come back with another hat and, after some minor adjustments, the hat actually fit. It was a great sun hat and I liked it very much but I was just not willing to spend $55 on a hat when I am not one to wear hats regularly.

We continued to walk down Bleecker St, looking at the vendors all the while keeping our eyes open for Magnolia Bakery. We found it when suddnely Allison said, "I think that's Adam". Now, I had no idea who she was talking about, I was just surprised that she saw someone she knew. Come to find out, she doesn't really know him personally, he just happens to be the guy who writes the foodie blog. This was all quite exciting for Allison but she was too nervous to go over and find out if it was definitely him. I don't have a lot of inhibitions so I went up to him and asked if his name was Adam. Sure enough, it was him. He asked how I recognized him and I told him, "Honestly, I have no idea who you are. My friend recognized you." It was at that point that Allison joined the conversation. They chatted for quite some time. He was very polite and tried to include me in the conversation but I just outright admitted that I had never read his blog and definitely did not consider myself a foodie. After a picture together and quick good-byes, we headed into Magnolia Bakery where we treated ourselves to a pumpkin cheesecake and one of the famous (to some people at least) cupcakes. My opinion...I LOVED the pumpkin cheesecake. The cupcake was dry and the icing too sweet. Go figure. I won't rush back.

Well, it was middle of the day and Allison had visited the cafe and seen a famous (to some) person. She was quite pleased. Me, I'm pleased because she's pleased. Again, I had no goals.

I've only gotten to lunch time but I need to go. I will write the rest later.

Swim Diapers

2008-06-19T08:04:00.002-04:00

Swim diapers are a wonderful invention, everyone who has ever used them know how superior they are to regular diapers when used in water. I have to say though that they can wreak havoc when one pees in them and then has diarrhea as well. I have no idea how long Stellan sat in the pee, I suspect that is the culprit. Once he went poo he promptly told us. It was then that we immediately took off his trunks and then his diaper. (Let me just add, we were just playing on the beach, he was not in a pool.) Then we realized the damage. Not only did he have diarrhea but he now had welts on his inner thighs from sitting with a wet swim diaper. His inner thighs were completely red and chapped. It must have been so painful when we changed his diaper; what a stinky mess that was! He screamed when we even mentioned putting on another diaper. We cleaned him up and then figured it wouldn't be so terrible if he walked around on the beach without a suit for a little while. He really needed to air out. It was actually quite cute to see him walking on the beach with a little white bum sticking out from under his t-shirt. He continued to play with Jameson and everyone was happy. And then he was spotted.

There was a family set up just in front of us on the beach. They were quite a large group with some girls who were probably between the ages of 8 and 11. I was watching to see how they would react to seeing a naked little boy bum. The first girl didn't notice but before long her little friend quickly whispered in her ear and I watched as two little heads indiscreetly gawked at Stellan. The giggles followed. It was obviously quite entertaining and shocking to these little girls. Soon after some more friends joined them and I watched as they quickly brought their new friends up to date on the spectacle right in front of them on the beach. It was rather entertaining to watch. I wonder if this was their first little boy penis that they have ever seen. For some reason I have a feeling that, when Stellan is older, he will be quite proud that he was their first penis sighting.

Flashlight

2008-06-19T07:57:00.002-04:00

Last night the boys decided that they wanted to play with their flashlights. They are the type of toys that come out once in a while, are played with constantly, and then forgotten for a period of time.

I was making dinner in the kitchen so Jameson joined me and sat on the stool at the counter. Out of nowhere he said, "I'm shining the light on the person who doesn't like the old hotel". Sure enough the flashlight was directed at me. This stems back to September when we first came here and had to stay in a hotel for a week. Understandably so I was not the biggest fan of our hotel room. Afterall, I was there with the kids all day, every day. I knew we had a house it just wasn't quite ready. For some reason the boys have stored this in their memories and bring it up at various times; such as every time we drive by the hotel. I'm guessing that the hotel memory was stirred by the fact that we had just gotten back from a three day vacation where we were staying in a hotel at the beach. Regardless, where does he come up with these things?

The Neverending Bowl of Cereal

2008-06-10T10:34:00.002-04:00

It literally took Stellan 2 hours to finish his cereal this morning. It's what he wanted for breakfast so it's what he got. He quickly, without complaint, drank the milk. Then he was finished. He didn't want anymore. Uh, not happening. He chose it, he needs to eat it. It was a two hour battle of the wills but he finally ate it. And he actually enjoyed it. Let me just say, after two hours Life cereal becomes quite mushy. (I had added more milk in an effort to entice him.) I think he preferred the cream of wheat type texture. He ate it with a smile on his face. What a stinker!
I have no idea where he gets his stubborn streak from..... ;)

Helmets

2008-06-10T09:40:00.002-04:00

My boys are both really into biking right now, especially Jameson. He knows he is not allowed to go biking unless he wears his helmet. He does it without complaint and often reminds Stellan to put his helmet on. I love having a child who is concerned with safety! Problem is, he concerns himself with the safety of others too. Wherever we go, he always looks at people riding their bikes. Without fail he will comment on their use or lack of helmets. When they aren't wearing helmets he comments, "They aren't wearing helmets, that's a safety violation". It's cute, the first time or two. It's excessive and potentially embarrassing every time after that. He had a great time pointing it out as we walked the streets of New York. Now I'll have to teach him discretion.

Northlandz

2008-06-10T09:19:00.002-04:00

Since Auntie Allison was here we decided to do a special trip to a place called Northlandz. This place, about 45 minutes from our house, has the world's largest model train track measuring at 50 000 feet. Crazy! I didn't really know what to expect but it was truly a sight to behold. It was all housed in a very large museum-type building. The track circled through many different floors and looped back on itself several times. It's difficult to explain. The man who dreamed it up has quite a sense of humour. There are little labels throughout explaining some of the sites. There is a common theme about grandma. It started when she refused to sell her land to the quarry so they dug around her. Since they destroyed her plumbing in the process, they ended up building her an outhouse. The outhouse theme continued througout the display as did several adventures involving grandma. The observant visitor noticed that all the outhouses basically emptied either onto other houses, the train tracks or simply into the valley below. It was a humour that was lost on the kids but definitely put a smile on my face.
After touring through the museum (which is also filled with an odd collection of paintings and some creepy dolls) we headed out to the little train station to wait for the train. We had packed a picnic lunch so we ate it in the station while waiting for the little train to arrive. It's amazing how long it can take Jameson to eat half a sandwich when he's eagerly anticipating the arrival of a train. Such a struggle. Good thing is that I had leverage, the train ride! I think he finally swallowed the last little bite as the train pulled into the station. Nothing like waiting until the last minute!
We boarded the train with the other 6 people (not a very busy place during the week) and went for a short ride around the track. The kids LOVED it. After the ride they were able to blow the whistle and even stand in the caboose. Kiddie heaven. We chatted with the conductor for a short while afterward. He just seemed so thrilled to have people to talk to and share his passion of trains. What a nice man.
All in all, a fun time was had by all but I'm not sure if I will rush back there. It was somewhat pricey and I don't know if the boys really appreciated it at their ages.

On the way back from Northlandz the boys both fell asleep in the car (mommy heaven). I decided to take Allison sight seeing through some of the impressive areas of Princeton. We found a house for sale near the Hun School that has a price tag of $3, 750, 000. That's right, yours for the bargain price of just under 4 million!! Then you have to furnish the place. But, story has it that Albert Einstein spent many hours in the music wing playing his violin. That's a pretty cool thing to be able to tell people about your house!

Jameson woke up shortly after we were looking at houses that are way out of my price range. Stellan was still sleeping peacefully. I asked Jameson if he would rather go to the Sandbox park or go home and play basketball. He chose basketball. All of a sudden a tiny voice piped up, "I want the sandbox park". I think he has selective hearing even in his sleep. He heard park and woke up. Jameson then remarked, "Uh oh, we have a problem". How funny is that! So cute! Well, we solved the problem. We went to the park for a while and then headed home where the boys played basketball and rode their bikes. What a lovely day that was topped off by James' homemade bbq'd burgers. Splendid!

Hot Wheels

2008-06-10T09:17:00.002-04:00

Jameson was colouring in his Hot Wheels colouring book this morning after breakfast. He looked at the title and said, "Hot-We don't touch that-Wheels". So funny how his mind works. He knows not to touch things that are hot.

Auntie Allison

2008-06-09T23:31:00.002-04:00

Allison come for a week! (That explains my absence from my blog.) The kids had a great time and miss her already. I'll write more tomorrow. It's late and I have a lot to say. Lots of fun stuff happened while she was here, always a great time when Auntie Allison is around!

Soccer and Rain

2008-05-31T13:29:00.002-04:00

The neighbour boy, Kunaal(I asked him how to spell it), had a soccer tournament today. We thought we would take the boys to see him in action and hopefully inspire some hope of playing the game themselves. We made it there a bit late but still we were able to see him play. Unfortunately their team lost. Jameson was quite thrilled to be there and told me that he also wants to play some day. The game ended just as the first heavy drops of rain were beginning to fall. We made it to the van before the down pour, thankfully. As we were driving home it was quite rainy and windy thereby making it difficult to see and also quite loud. Stellan asked why it was raining and I explained that God was watering the earth. He than said, "Turn it off". Apparently he didn't like the rain. Too bad it's not that simple.

Smilebox of Stellan Potty Training

2008-05-28T23:40:00.002-04:00

I wrote about the experience earlier but here are the pictures/videos of Stellan's first attempt at potty training. I've seen the video many times but it still makes me crack up every time I watch it. I will cherish this one for years to come. I just love how he was so "done".

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Voyeur

2008-05-28T13:57:00.002-04:00

Jameson is officially a voyeur! We were doing some shopping at Kohls when he took a quick peek up the manequin's dress. He was looking for her vagina. Let's just hope and pray that he doesn't graduate to real people. I will die of embarrassment!

Neighbour Kids

2008-05-28T00:05:00.002-04:00

Our neighbours are wonderful. There are two boys Kannal and Akil (yes, I'm sure I spelled them wrong, that is just how they sound) who are 9 and 6. My boys (especially Jameson) look up to them and love playing with them. The bonus, the neighbours love playing with my boys! It's a win win situation. Even better, Jameson wants to do everything Kannal does. When Jameson falls off his bike he stands up, shakes it off and gets back on....because that's what Kannal does. So cool! When Jameson picks his nose I say, "Oh, Kannal doesn't pick his nose". The finger comes out immediately. It's great! I love having great neighbours; we had them in Windsor and we have them here! Yay!

Preschool

2008-05-28T00:02:00.002-04:00

Today was the first official orientation at preschool. For those who have not heard, both Jameson and Stellan will be going to school in September. (Yippee!! Horray!!! Oh wait, am I supposed to be sad?) Jameson will be going Tuesday, Thursday and Friday for 2 and a half hours each day in the morning. Stellan will be going Tuesday and Thursday for 2 and a half hours in the morning as well. Yes folks, that calculates to 2 and a half hours, two days a week (5 hours total) of kid-free time. What on Earth will I do with myself?
Back to orientation.....the kids were in their respective classrooms where they were able to play and meet other little preschool friends. Very informal but a great way to get them comfortable. They both seem quite excited although I'm not sure Stellan understands that he will also be attending; he thinks it's just for Jameson.
Bad news, I have to potty train Stellan. That's my mission for this summer. Any prayers sent on our behalf are much appreciated! :)

Snot

2008-05-27T23:55:00.002-04:00

Poor Stellan is a bit under the weather. He is producing large amounts of snot due to this. The little stinker still has not figured out how to blow his nose so we end up wiping it constantly. In order to alleviate snot blockage and hopefully encourage learning how to blow, I pulled out the trusty aspirator today. One look at it caused him to scream and flail with all of his might. I had to call for back up and reinforcements. James came in to hold his arms while I steadied his head in the crook of my elbow. With tears streaming down his face he looked at me and said, "Mommy, you're bad". Ouch, the first arrow strikes right in the heart. I gathered my courage and gently shoved the fear inducing contraption up his left nostril. I sucked out some snot, emptied it into the sink and then repeated the process. Much more screaming followed as well as, "Mommy, you're all done". So sad and pathetic. Jameson came in to see what we were doing to his brother. He took one look at the aspirator and said, "Do it to me!". Well, he asked for it. I inserted it into his nostril, tried to suction (no snot in there nor any boogers due to constant nose picking, although the nasty habit is getting better...more on that later). Jameson thought it was hysterical. He laughed so hard and then told me to do it to the other nostril. After 2 more hysterical outbursts I told him we were done. Poor Stellan was confused. He hated the procedure yet his brother found such hilarity in it. So much so that Jameson asked me to get the other aspirator from the medicine cabinet and do it again.
Go figure, Jameson already knows how to blow his nose.

My boys...new photos

2008-05-27T23:52:00.000-04:00

Make a Smilebox postcard

Here are some updated photos of the boys! Enjoy!

So cool!

2008-05-27T23:29:00.002-04:00

Make a Smilebox postcard

This is such a cool site! My friend Amy introduced me to Smilebox so I decided to upload some photos. So much fun. Bear with me, it was my first attempt but I'll be sure to do more. Enjoy!

Sorry

2008-05-26T23:37:00.003-04:00

Wow, that last post was long! Sorry the pictures are so small. I hope to be back soon with more updates that some of you have been asking for!
Goodnight!

Bike Tour

2008-05-26T22:34:00.005-04:00

OK, this info is old but I never wrote about it. Now I'll do that so I can share it with all of my friends.

James and I decided to do the New York 5 Boro bike tour which was held May 4th. It is a 42 mile bike ride that started in Battery Park and ended on Staten Island. We were nuts to consider it but thought it was a great opportunity since we were living here and wanted to take advantage of things in the area. We are far from being avid bikers but we thought it was a challenge that we could meet head on. It ended up being an expensive proposition since we had to invest in some biking gear. We had the bikes but we needed basically everything else. I had no idea what we needed. Thankfully we had some friends who offered us advice. We got biking shorts (yes, that would be spandex shorts) with gel padding in the seat (felt like wearing a thick maxipad but it really helped), long sleeve thermal shirts, waterproof jackets, new helmets, and non-cotton socks. We were ready to go. Sure, we were dressed the part but we weren't sure if we were ready for the ride.

We took the boys to Phil and Adina's. The plan was for them to spend the night since we had to get up so early the next day. Phil and Adina would take them to church and watch them for the day and then we would pick them up when we were done the tour. It was a bit traumatic for the boys and they didn't sleep that well but everyone survived. So thankful for Phil and Adina!

The forecast was for a cold and rainy day. That was why we had all the layers. I hoped and prayed for a different outcome but braced myself for the worst. When we got up at 4:20 (no that wasn't a typo) it was a bit drizzly and quite chilly. We left our house at 5 and headed up to Staten Island (an hour drive). Most of the cars that we met on the way were carrying bikes. There were 30 000 people registered for the ride. That's crazy!

We got to the ferry, parked and unloaded our bikes. We were so thrilled. We had no idea what to expect but the adrenaline rush was totally pushing us on. There were so many people lined up for that ferry. I have never seen so many people proudly wearing spandex in my life! Granted, there were all types of people there. Die hards, pretend to be die hards, and people there just for the ride. There were all types of outfits too. Some people even decorated their helmets. There was a group of ladies with pink feather dusters attached to the top of their helmets and a group of guys with rats mounted on top. The group with the Guinness cans on top certainly garnered some cheers.

The ferry ride over was freezing cold, there was a cold wind whipping off the water. We huddled down to try and stay warm but it seemed like a losing battle. Definitely not an encouraging outlook for the day.

We docked at Battery Park and got off with the thousands of other bikers. We met up with our friends and headed up to the starting line. There were already thousands of people in front of us but there were even more people behind us. It was just crazy to see all of those people. We waited for about an hour before the tour started. The group was divided so not everyone started at the same time, thereby eliminating some of the strain on the city and hopefully preventing some bike jams. We crossed the starting line at 8:15. Our first major bottle neck was as we entered Central Park. The ride through the park was great as was the scenery. We then headed into the Bronx. It was great, the roads were closed so we were totally safe. Well, except for crazy bikers. I was a bit disappointed because I couldn't really look around. I had to focus and pay attention to the road and the bikers around me that I couldn't really look around and enjoy the sights.

After the Bronx we headed to Queens, at one point crossing the Queensboro Bridge. Gorgeous. There were points during the ride where we had to get off and walk our bikes. This was due to the sheer number of people and the fact that we had to navigate through some bottle necks. We stopped at the first rest stop where we were given water, juice, nutrition bars, bananas and oranges. There were port a johns lined up along the entire stop. Gross but necessary.

From Queens we headed into Brooklyn. We stopped for lunch at another rest stop where we ended up stripping off some of layers. What was supposed to be a pretty miserable day ended up being sunny and GORGEOUS!!! Thank God for small miracles.

At one point during the ride we ended up in an hour long bike jam. It was insane. We had to go from essentially four lanes of traffic down to one. So frustrating! It gave my bike a much needed break but it also broke the momentum. James and I were able to break out and get ahead. Our friends were quite a bit behind us in the crowd so we ended up pulling over to wait for them. We had gotten in some good riding but felt it was important to meet up with our group again. As we were waiting for them at the side of the road we watched as a father ran over his son on his bike. It was heart wrenching. The father was in front, his son's bike was in tandem behind it and then there was also a bike trailer behind that. They were slowing down to get off at the rest stop when the boy fell of the bike. The father couldn't stop and ended up running him over with the back tire and the bike trailer. I totally started crying. The boys crying was heart breaking and sounded just like Jameson. He was about the same age too. James and I pulled the bike off to the side where the father was tending to his son. Poor little tyke peed his pants in the chaos but thankfully was not hurt, just scared.

As we were sitting there waiting we had a beautiful view of the Verrazzano Bridge. Beautiful but daunting. That was the last leg of our ride and it loomed high above our heads. That meant that we had to ride up hill to get to the bridge and the ride up hill for the first mile of the bridge, only to be rewarded with an entire downhill mile on the way down. Sheesh, what a scary thought.

Our friend eventually caught up and then we started the trek. I was silently pumping myself up and willing myself to make it the rest of the way without stopping. At the beginning of the bridge there was a bit of a bottle neck. It didn't help that the bike-walkers were walking two deep when they should have gone in single file. James and Olivator pulled ahead but Marije and I were left a bit behind. I couldn't wait to break out, I was anxious and had built myself up to make it across that bridge. Once it opened up I wanted to get ahead. Marije told me to go at my own pace so off I went. It makes sense to to ride in a low number (I have no idea the biking terms for all of this) so you don't have to put a lot of effort into each pedal. But I wanted each pedal to count. I pushed myself very hard but I made it. I was breathing hard but I pushed myself to make it across the bridge. It was AWESOME!! What a thrill!!! I made it across the bridge. In fact, I made it the entire way without voluntarily walking. So amazing!!!

I pulled into the station at the end of the ride. James and Olivator were waiting for me. (Yes, I was a bit disappointed to come in third from our group but it was impossible to break free of that crowd on the beginning of the bridge.) James and I didn't stick around long because we had to go and pick up the kids. We headed out for the last 3 miles (from the end station back to our car which was parked at the ferry). My poor butt was so sore, as were the palms of my hand (from leaning on the handle bars). We got into the van and the exhaustion and hunger hit us. We didn't have much more than protein bars all day. We picked up the kids, headed home and put the kids to bed. Shortly thereafter James and I were in dream land too. Not before I had a nice long soaking bath though. :)

What an amazing experience! If anyone wants to join us next year just let me know! We definitely plan on doing it again. My goal is to finish in the first third (10 000 people). So excited. There is another tour in September and I would totally be willing to do the 75 miles but I really don't want to leave the kids again. We might just do the 30 miles and bring the kids with us. Not sure if that would work though, they might beat each other up in the bike trailer. Correction, Stellan might beat Jameson up and Jameson would whine and cry the entire time. The thought of that is enough to prevent me from going on the trip. :)