Dying For Fun

Yesterday me and Mya dyed Easter eggs and Adam documented it for us. Henry wanted in but he was too little this year. Maybe next year he'll be allowed. I think at first she was a little bummed because I may have made the mistake of saying we were going to "paint the eggs" when I meant "dye the eggs" and she didn't understand why there was no paint involved.

On another note, today is Good Friday and it is so nice outside that we're going to get out and enjoy some sunshine on a walking trail. It's going to be 7 degrees this afternoon! That sounds more like a Great Friday to me. (Sorry, bad joke. I wanted to put it on my facebook but I was worried everyone would defriend me.)

On to the pictures! (Oh, and the first ones are from yesterday when Mya came home from preschool with the bunny ears she had made. Her socks are mismatched on purpose too. They make for better hopping, didn't you know?)

10 on Tuesday

1. Two days in, this stay at home mom thing is working out. Yay!

2. I'm ready for the snow to melt and the weather to warm up but not too much! I don't need 40 degrees! I just want to be able to go out without wearing a winter coat and drive with the windows down.

3. We're playing around with Henry's naps trying to figure out how to get him to sleep better at nighttime. This is my first project as a stay at home mom.

4. Henry has started doing things that Mya does. She puts her hands up dramatically to tell a story? His hands go up. Unfortunately, they landed in his hair this lunch hour while they were covered in peanut butter and jam.

5. We still haven't taken down the streamers from the birthday party. It feels nice to be festive, so why not?

6. I've become an avocado fanatic lately. It's so good and it goes with everything!

7. I just spent the last hour + coloring some freshly printed spring pictures with my daughter.

8. I'm watching this tonight: http://www.hungryforchange.tv/ I am excited!

9. I've been really craving cheese lately!

10. We've become slack lately at taking pictures. I think I'm probably going to regret it later.

Staying Home

A few months ago me and Adam started talking about what it would be like for me to return to work. It had been our plan all along and I made a date with my boss for the end of February to come back. But as that date approached we were both getting more and more anxious and we talked a lot about whether this was something we really wanted or not. We thought about whether or not we could afford it, we thought about our new schedules (Mya in school twice a week, Adam working 30-40 minutes away), we thought about how our lives had changed since I was last working. My date to return was getting closer and we still had not made up our minds. I was torn. I didn't want to leave the burden of being the sole financial provider on Adam's shoulders, I didn't want to leave my boss in a pickle trying to fill a spot that had proven difficult to fill while I was on mat leave and most of all, I was worried about what other people would think (more specifically, the stigma associated with stay at home moms. "oh, you're just a mom?" as if we sit around and eat bonbons all day). I know, that sounds stupid. To continue doing something that is making you and your family miserable because of what other people think. But it was true. And on the other hand, I was heart sick thinking about going back and my gut was telling me no.

So, we decided that it would be a good idea to do a trial run. I would go back to work and we would see how things went. If it turned out that it wasn't working for us, then I would stop. The first couple days were great! I fell right back into my old groove, I remembered most things about my job, and I remembered a good chunk of the patients. I thought this was going to be easier than I thought it would be. But, as the days went by I felt myself becoming more and more unhappy and at first I was able to hide it and put on a smile but after awhile I was getting a lot of "how are you making out being back at work?" and "you must be exhausted." And I was. I was very exhausted. I felt like I was working two jobs: my daytime job running around the house with two small children and trying to keep my juggling balls all in the air at the same time and my evening job running around the clinic only to come home and still have to face a load of laundry or some other task. I wasn't getting enough sleep to sustain the kind of days that require that much energy. My days were stressful leading up to my evening departure and it made me short with the kids and our time together less than pleasant. To add to my daily, regular, lead up to work stress, we also had Adam working 40 minutes away and he often had after school commitments like meetings or extra curriculars that made him late getting home, leaving us only 20 minutes to have supper together as a family before I darted out the door.

This was not what either of us wanted. We were both feeling the strain and we were not happy. We decided that it was time for me to talk to my boss. Two weeks ago, I sat in her office and explained to her that it was not working for our family anymore to have me working evenings. I got upset which surprised me because I thought I would just go in there and tell her I was leaving but it was so much harder than that. You see, I am one of the lucky ones who actually likes my boss, my co-workers and my job and it's for those reasons I tried going back at all. I was putting off giving my boss what I considered bad news because I didn't want to leave my little work family. She was really great about the whole thing and said she understood. She said I would always have a job there then she gave me a hug and welcomed my suggestion to do some work from home for them.

The next hard step was telling our families whom for most, had no idea we had been struggling with me going back to work so finding out that I gave my notice would come as a big surprise. Some were more supportive than others, which we expected but for the most part everyone was just happy that we were happy.

Tomorrow is my last day at work and Monday will be my first day as an official stay at home mom. I hope my new bosses are as nice as my old one was!

10 on Tuesday

1. March break is over and that means preschool was in session today! Yahoo!

2. Our swing set came yesterday! Our swing set came yesterday!

3. The weather man is calling for snow and freezing rain over night tonight so said swing set probably wont be set up for a couple weeks. Boo.

4. Henry is officially walking now. He walks more than he crawls and he's walking farther and farther everyday.

5. We're trying a new recipe tonight. Butternut squash and lentil something or other...sounds good!

6. Why is Easter so early this year? It seems like Christmas just ended and then there were 2 birthdays and as soon as those were over it's time for Easter. Thank goodness there are no more gift giving holidays until Christmas again. My wallet can't handle it.

7. We realized earlier this month that Henry is old enough now to go on the bike seat or in the trailer with Mya. We just need to get him a helmet and for the weather to warm up. I can't wait!

8. We all went for a long walk the other day and even though it was freezing, we bundled up and trekked for about an hour. Henry slept in the stroller and still got lots of fresh air. It always makes me feel good when babies sleep in the stroller once and awhile. Sleeping outdoors must have agreed with him because that night he slept like a champ!

9. I have a feeling Henry is going to be a little more "push the boundaries" than Mya was. He's already very determined to get into the compost and was caught coloring the window sill with a stray black crayon yesterday.

10. There is someone down the street from us who is STILL turning their Christmas lights on at night. I'm tempted to leave them a note on their front door.

Bonus #11. There's a baby einstein dvd playing right now while the 1 year old is playing with blocks and ignoring the tv while the 4 year old and the adult in the room are mesmerized.

A Double Rainbow Birthday

We had a double rainbow party over the weekend for my two lovelies. There were rainbow pudding cups, rainbow jello orange wedges, rainbow fruit skewers and of course, rainbow cake. And because it happened to be the day before St. Patrick's Day we also had a scavenger hunt to keep the kids busy. I didn't realize until a few days before that rainbows are associated with St. Patrick's Day so it worked out that our themed party was the day before March 17th!

Our swing set has also shipped (finally!) and it should (should) be here by the end of the week.

 

When Mya saw the picture of it we printed off, she said "Ooh! A tree house!"

We had a lovely lady named Michelle Croxen come to our party and take some photos for us since we thought we would be too busy running around to take our own photos (and we were!) plus it was nice to be able to hang out and enjoy the party and not worry about getting the perfect shot. And we were able to be in some of the pictures too, always a bonus. Here are some of the pictures from the big day (all courtesy of Michelle Croxen Photography):

Four

Henry turned one yesterday and Mya turns four today. That was the fastest year to have ever gone by in my life! Now that she's four, she is quite keen on starting ballet. The ballet classes held here start at 4 years old so she's been told for awhile that she has to be four to go to ballet. What I don't think she'll understand is that ballet classes start in September and she'll still have to wait another six months. What a long six months it might end up being! It helps that we've hung a calendar in her room (we cross off each day before bed) to start teaching about time and days of the week.

It is unhelpful, however, that now she knows exactly how many days until her birthday and thinks it's a huge injustice that we aren't having a party on her actual birthday. Almost 4 year olds don't care that most people work on Thursdays and that it's more practical to hold a party on the weekend.

Now that she's a little bit older we're starting to notice more pieces of what makes her who she is and it is so mind blowing how much she'll take after either me or Adam. We play a good natured ongoing game between the two of us that keeps no score. When she does or says something that is straight out of Adam, I'll say "there's a point for you" and he'll do it back when she has a Mabyn moment. Where Mya is concerned, I'm usually winning and I get more than a few raised eyebrows and eye rolls my way for things like her almost neurotic attention to detail, the need for things to be 'just right' and how she'd rather not participate in something if it meant getting dirty.

I always had a feeling when she was a baby that when she got older, she'd be interested in the arts whether it be acting, dancing, singing, writing or actually making art. I'm starting to realize that that feeling wasn't far off. She loves dancing, she loves singing and coloring is a serious business in our house. All the crayons must be sharpened, and each color chosen with the seriousness of a surgeon selecting his scalpel.

As she gets older though, it's starting to really hit me what kind of impact I make on my daughter and how hard it is to raise a girl in this world who feels happy with who she is. We never want our daughters to feel like they aren't pretty enough or skinny enough or that the only way to be happy is on the arm of a guy despite what the media throws in their faces on a daily basis. Right now, Mya associates putting make up on with going to work because that's what she sees me do and for now I know I am still the biggest influence in her life but I know it won't always be that way.

Speaking of making an impact on my daughter, I love that she copies what she sees. For the most part. She breastfeeds her baby. She makes everyone supper in her little play kitchen. She makes grocery lists. Just another reminder that we are their first teachers.

Being four means doing things by yourself to learn how they work. Even if it takes twice as long to accomplish the task and frustrating your parents. No matter how many times this happens, it is still something I need to learn. She wants to buckle her own seat belt, pour her own cereal, make her own bed and help with the laundry.

She is definitely a girly girl who loves pink, purple and red. We are told regularly that those are her favorite colors. I love the simplicity of being a child. If someone else's favorite colors are also pink, purple and red then you're destined to be best friends.

This girl is smart as a whip and a hard negotiator. She finds loop holes in things you didn't know had loop holes in order to get what she wants and it cracks us up to find out she's much brighter than we give her credit for. And speaking of cracking you up, she tells a good knock knock joke too. However, she's at her most hilarious when she isn't even trying. That's a trait straight from her father.

She's the most affectionate child I've ever known, she takes a mean silly picture and she continues to teach us things every day. I don't know what my life would be if she hadn't joined our family 4 years ago but I know it wouldn't be nearly as hectic, tiring, silly, fun, rewarding or entertaining.

Cheers to you my beautiful girl!

Dear Henry (One Year)

Dear Henry,

It was a year ago today that sweet you entered our lives and decided to be born. You have grown and changed so much in the past year and learned so many things! Your little personality is starting to show and gives us a glimpse of what kind of child you're going be compared to what kind of baby you were. I can't wait to see as you get older what other isms you gets from me and dad.

You are quite confident when it comes to feeding yourself with a spoon, so much so that if we hover in case you need assistance, you become upset with us for doubting you. 

You can take a few steps and seem to be making steady progress on a daily basis. It seems like everyday you walk a little more than the day before.

You like being carried around in the ergo as it lets you see more of the world around you.

You're a curious little boy who loves to check things out and see how they work even if it means doing something you're not supposed to over and over.

You're a sensitive soul who gets upset even when a gently toned "no" is said to you.

You're caught between wanting independence but not being able to do a whole lot by yourself.

You're definitely developing a taste for what you like and what you don't. It doesn't make mealtime very fun.

You like being read to and even turn the pages for us.

You clearly communicate which parent you prefer in certain situations with "mum mum" or "dad dad".

You don't like juice and prefer to drink water.

 You're not really a morning person (just like your mama).

You've taken a hiatus in the teething department and are happy with the 8 you have so far.

You want to eat everything we eat which has prompted us to have better eating habits (and get better at hiding our junk food!).

I think you might be due for your first hair cut soon. It isn't thick but some pieces are quite long which makes it look funny sometimes.

You've taken to biting as of late but only where Mya is concerned. We'd often hear her say "stop biting me!" and thought she was just being dramatic because we'd never seen the crime and you had never really bitten either of us but the other day you chomped right down on her arm and left a mark through her shirt. There were tears. I felt bad for doubting her.

You have a mischievous smile when you're doing something you know you aren't allowed to do like climb the stairs by yourself or open the cupboard to the kitchen garbage.

You follow your sister around and want to do everything she does, even if it's something you're too little to do yet.

You like going for walks in the buggy but I have a feeling you'll soon want out of the buggy so you can walk by yourself.

You're always so happy and good natured. Everyone comments on what a happy boy you are!

Your little tummy still can't handle dairy so for the time being you don't eat anything that has dairy in it.

You love sitting in the "fun cart" with your sister when we go grocery shopping. You put one hand on the steering wheel and hang the other outside the cart like you know exactly what you're doing.


You like when we rock you to sleep and sing you songs. Right now you like "Highway 20 Ride" and "Daisy Bell".

You're good about sitting and playing quietly. Right now your favorite toys are the wooden train you got for Christmas, the stacking blocks and your drum.


You also like to play with the alphabet magnets on the fridge and with the pots and pans.

You laugh when we tickle your legs and think it's funny when we smell your feet and tell you they're stinky.

You enjoy car rides as long as your back seat companion is there to keep you company.


Even though you bite sometimes and you don't always sleep like a champ, we all love you just the same. We couldn't have asked for a better little boy when we had you. You've taught us a few things and I'm sure you're going to teach us a few more over the years. I love being your mom and watching you grow.
                                                                     

Happy 1st Birthday sweet boy!