Poison

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

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

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

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

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

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

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.....

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.