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.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
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?
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?
Friday, January 30, 2009
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.
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.
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.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
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?
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?
Monday, January 12, 2009
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.
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.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
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."
"Another one?"
"Yes."
"Wow, they're going to have a BIG family. There are going to be a lot of people."
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