Working Mom

Mid September I went back to work after a little over 2 yrs off to have my babies.  I'm working half time right now which is PERFECT.  I'm incredibly blessed to not NEED to work full time to make ends meet.
Nevertheless, the adjustment has been considerable!
This evening was just such a perfect example of what life is now like for this working mom.
After putting kids to bed I pulled out all my schoolwork only to realize I had forgotten to make my son's coconut milk for the next day so I decided to treat myself to an episode of my new favourite show while cooking.  30 mins later I was done the milk & had 10 mins of my show left so I actually sat down to enjoy a cup of tea.  Aaaah.
Finally got to work and did a significant amount for the next hour.  Cue the baby waking up screaming, for the next hour.  Sigh.
Got him settled finally, cue his sister waking up with a horrible non-stop cough.  Perfect time to realize I ran out of cough syrup yesterday and forgot to pick some up after school.
So, leave the kids with Grandma & run to the drugstore at 9pm.  Get home, administer cough syrup to BOTH kids who are now BOTH hacking away.  Get them resettled.
It's now 9:30 and I'm exhausted so....do I keep working & risk my IPPs being incoherent rambling or hope and pray I actually have 2 or 3 hours of peace at SOME point tomorrow to get my work done?
The phrase "work and home life balance" now makes me laugh.

Too Smart

We are getting ready to take a family trip to BC & since we aren't masochists, we've opted for the 1.5 hr flight over the 11 hr drive with two babies.
Elli was only 8 mos old when she was last on a plane so she doesn't remember it.  She's also scared of anything loud (motorcycles, big machinery, loud cars/trucks, etc.).  Our neighbour has a STUPIDLY loud motorcycle & when it drives by she will come running from the other room to cling to my leg.
As a result, I'm very nervous about how she's going to handle flying.  She's fascinated by planes & likes to watch them in the sky, but the noise of takeoff & landing has me worried.
So begins my attempt to prepare her for the flight.  Today we coloured pictures of airplanes & talked about them.  I told her that soon we are going on a plane up in the sky to go see Oma.
Her response, "No.  No plane.  Too loud."
I did not expect her to understand that the plane would be loud!  I reassured her that Mommy & Daddy & her brother would be with her.
"Mommy coming.  Mommy stay Elli."
I promised I would stay with her.  Then I told her maybe we would see some clouds & birds when we're up in the airplane.
"Just one bird.  Big bird."
Deal.

Preschoolers in the 21st Century

Happily, I found myself back in Early Ed, subbing for the day. :)
At one point we were looking at things that start with the letter E.  It was a pre made kit the teacher left for me to go through & the kids really enjoyed it.  I pulled out a picture of an envelope & held it up asking, "This starts with "e".  Does anyone know what this is?"
A little girl's hand shot up, "Email!"

*blink*blink*

She was 100% right.  It was the icon you see on every computer for email, and it even started with "e".
I still felt old.

Fun With Toddlers 2

Elli was having a day of being especially 2 years old.  All day long, ALL day long, she was adamant that everything in the entire world belonged to her.
At Costo: "My cookie.  My cracker.  My nama (banana).  My house (a tool shed on display).  My book.  My Fwozen (Frozen DVD)."
In the car: "My twuck (truck).  My red car.  My dasses (sunglasses)."
While baking brownies with me: "My egg.  My chockit (chocolate).  My poon (spoon).  My cake."
The worst of course was every time her brother touched ANYTHING in the house.  Didn't matter if it was his clothes, his toys, her toys, her clothes.  Didn't matter if it was the kitchen chair or her most treasured possession.
It was so ridiculous it was funny by the end of the day.  Especially when the following happened:
Elli was finally happily playing her blocks & ignoring her brother who was crawling all over me.
I started kissing his cheeks cuz it makes him giggle like crazy & I said, "Kisses for Mommy!"
Elli immediately dropped her blocks, came running over yelling, "My kisses!  My kisses!"
Well, that's one way to get her give me kisses. ;)

Fun With Toddler

With Elli turning 2 in a few weeks I've finally had to come to grips with the fact that's she's a toddler, not a baby.  Here's a few of the hilarious signs I can no longer ignore:

She was wearing a dress with colourful polka dots on it.  Since she is obsessed with pointing out what colour everything she sees is, I pointed at a blue dot & said, "Blue polka dot"
She quickly started trying to cover up every blue dot on her dress while declaring, "My blue! My blue!"

She was once again watching Toy Story 2 which is her new favourite.  At the part where a little girl at the yard sale picks up Woody Elli gasped loudly, yelled, "My Woody!  My Woody!" and ran over to where her Woody was lying on the floor.  She then hugged him possessively for several minutes.

I was sitting on the couch working on the computer as she played.  I recently got a pedicure & she often likes to admire whatever colour is on my toenails.  I was absentmindedly wiggling my bare toes when I felt something odd.  I looked over to see her gently biting my big toe.

Toddlers are crazy.

Sew Fun!

Well here are a few pictures of a few of things I've been sewing. :)

Here's a summer dress I whipped up.  After putting it together I decided to shorten it several inches & to add some tie-up halter straps.

This is my FAVOURITE new item.  It's a twist on a skirt extender I saw on Pinterest.  I used Heat n'Bond to add lace ruffles to a slip I had, it worked so well I'm going to make a white one too!  Here's a picture of the slip itself & what it looks like under a skirt I bought (it was $5, how could I not even though it was too short).

Next is a "pillowcase" dress I also found on Pinterest.  It's actually made from a super soft, flowy knit fabric.  A length of ribbon serves as "straps" & here I paired it with a polka dot belt.  It's going to be so cool & comfy for the summer.

Little Things

Everyone has those mundane, everyday little things that melt their hearts. Maybe it's an inside joke with your spouse, or the book you read every night to your little one.  For me it's something really simple, it's when Elli takes me by the hand & walks alongside me. It turns me into mush. She reaches out to mr with her tiny little fingers & says, "Hand?"
She wants the safety & security she finds in my touch. She wants me beside her, guiding her. I feel like I'm floating when she takes me hand.

Flynn's Dedication

My princess in her AMAZING dress thanks to Grandma.

Grandpa R praying for our little man.

Hamming it up!

Convos with Toddlers

Before I talk about the hilarious, awesome conversations I now have with my toddler, let's bask for a moment in the awesomeness of the fact that I can HAVE conversations with my daughter!  Real, honest to goodness conversations.  It's amazing, beyond amazing.  She tells me what excites her, what delights her, what frustrates her, what she likes and doesn't, what she wants to do and what she is done with.  She asks me questions, she requests my help and my presence, she expresses affection and love, fear and joy.  Her voice is small and sweet and incredibly beautiful.
So now on to the funny stuff!
Elli picked out a pair of pink sparkly sunglasses recently and loved them.  She asks to wear them and then wants everyone else nearby to wear theirs too.  She goes back and forth calling them "dasses" or "asses".  Yup, you see where this is going.
On the way home yesterday she gave me a running commentary "Elli asses.  Mommy asses.  Daddy asses.  Fwinn no asses."

Getting Serious: Fun With Toys!

Elli & I have had so much fun lately as we discover her toys together.  We have been pulling out toys she hasn't played with in weeks or months & reintroducing them.  It usually begins with me getting out the toys & beginning to play with them on my own.  She starts by watching out of the corner of her eye, then coming closer to see what I'm doing, then joining in.  Lastly the most important & best part, I fade out & she takes over the play.
I can't describe the amount of joy I get from watching her play.  Watching her discover, build, learn & enjoy.

We had a tea party one day with Lightning McQueen & Mater.  It was fantastic!

We started out by building towers with the blocks from one of her puzzles & I demonstrated different ways to use the blocks.  This turned into making "trains" with the blocks, then with anything she could find.  

She saw me feed some cereal to the baby, when I was done she took the spoon & bowl & proceeded to feed her kitty.  She even washed it's face when she was done!

This is my absolute favourite.  We were buying groceries & she spotted this crocus plant (or "fowa").  She picked it up & carried it around with her & begged to take it home.  For days she watered it every day, carried it around the house, sat it beside her while she played.  She even wanted to share her juice with "fowa".  It was adorable!!

My Daughter

My daughter who eats salsa with a spoon.
My daughter who calls puddles "bubbles" because when she stomps in them she it bubbles.
My daughter who kisses me, her brother, the dog, her Dolly and her Blankie good night.
My daughter who loves jewellery & Lightning McQueen equally.
My daughter who learns new words almost hourly (today was applesauce).
My daughter who can eat cereal & soup with a spoon with basically no mess.
My daughter who loves her brother so much she won't leave him in one room while she goes to another.
My daughter who still wants to cuddle & snuggle every chance she gets.
My daughter who makes my heart melt completely just by being present.

Renewed Convos with Preschoolers

I didn't realize until the other day just how much I miss talking with my preschoolers.  I seriously had the best conversations with them!  So I was excited to hang out with a friend's little guy while we all had a play date.  He was building a motorcycle toy he got for Christmas and having a little trouble.  Staring at the instructions he mutters:
Him: Why do these silly instructions keep telling me to do things I just can't do?
Me: Oh, honey.  Just wait until you're older and putting together Ikea furniture.
Him: I can't do that!  I'm not.....Ikea Man!

Love it.