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.

Getting Serious: Update

Well I've had my Command Centre for a few weeks now & I am very pleased with it.  It is working so well to keep me organized, focused & on top of things.
I'm especially loving my Clean Home 4 week rotation list.  Crossing things off this list each week is giving me such a sense of accomplishment, I really feel like I'm getting on top of the housework I continually was putting off or forgetting about.
I'm also loving my daily checklist in my Home Organization Binder.  I'm keeping track of my water intake, diet, devotions, and workouts.  I'm aiming for three of my Contigo water bottles minimum each day, as well as three fruit/veggie servings each day.  One 20 minute workout & one sit down devotion time.  I'm nowhere near that right now.  For the last month I'm averaging one workout & one devotion time each week, but 5-7 days a week on my goal for water & 3-5 days a week for my diet goal.  Not a bad start, it really is helping me be more mindful & aware of taking care of myself, body & soul.
In the New Year I'll be starting my monthly deep cleaning rotation as well.  :)

Getting Serious: Fine Motor

We've been having so much fun focusing on fine motor lately since physical space is limited in our house & it's been -40 Celcius lately!

Elli & her favourite cousin playing with playdogh.  It was the cutest thing watching them together, Immi gave Elli all kinds of instructions, "Roll it like dis!  Pat it!  Like dis!" :)

Decorating her personal Christmas tree with her necklaces.

Another great Pinterest idea, pipe cleaners & a colander!  Interestingly enough, she ONLY use the blue pipe cleaners, hmmm, a favourite colour emerging?

Getting Serious: Christmas

I started pulling out the Christmas decorations last night.  I found the mini tree my hubby bought me when we lived in a tiny apartment & instantly thought it would be perfect for Elli to have her own tree. Only problem, I don't have unbreakable ornaments for her to use, so time to get creative!  What I did have was giant decorative paper clips in my scrapbooking supplies. Perfect!  We decorated that tree over & over, so much fun!

In my bins I also found the bag of jingle bells I used in school for caroling to other classrooms with my students.  Jackpot!! We had our own little carol sing on the floor of the kitchen.  What a great night!

Getting Serious: Command Centre

Behold the first 'draft' of our new household Command Centre!
I've spent the last week working on getting organized, the first step in this SAHM Getting Serious.
I realized that I was constantly forgetting important things I needed to take care of/do/buy & so on.  I kept making little lists on post it notes, then losing the notes, lol.  With a 7 wk old & an 18 mos old I am suffering from a serious case of baby brain plus sleep deprivation, never a good combination for being functional & productive!  I have been feeling overwhelmed, scattered, disorganized & kind of lost.
So I put those sleepless nights up with baby (& my iPad) to good use.  I scoured the Internet (& Pinterest) for ideas on home organization & fell in love with the Home Organization binder.  One problem with my hubby & I though is "out of sight, out of mind" applies to both of us right now so we needed something more visual for certain things.  The Command Centre was born!
I attached to magnet strips (IKEA) to the pantry door & hung the following documents: free printable 2014 calendar I found on Pinterest, a Honey-Do list for hubby (again Pinterest), our current grocery list, the schedule for all the indoor playgrounds & free activities in our area, my To-Do List and a Clean House weekly rotation.
My Grocery List is broken down by category (eg Produce, Dairy, etc).
My To Do List is also broken down (eg Crafts/Sewing, Computer/Online Work, Gifts & Things to Buy, etc.)
My cleaning schedule is broken down twice.  The first 4 boxes are things to do on a 4 week rotation so the basic cleaning things I sometimes forget about get done each month.  The next 4 boxes are a 4 month rotation with 'deep cleaning' & organizing things that will get done 3x a year.  I will be laminating this & using dry erase markers to check things off & reuse the list.
Eventually I plan to work on making/adapting my own graphics to get things prettier & more matching with my kitchen decor; but this works for now!

I did end up making a Home Organization mini-binder as well.  I'm not finished yet but so far it has the "Menu" of all our favourite meals for when I need ideas, a list of the meals currently in our freezer and a chart to keep track of my water/diet/exercise.  Once I get it done I'll try to post pics & more details on it as well.

Time to Get Serious

I never thought I'd be a stay at home mom.  Honestly.  It was just not something I wanted or saw myself doing.  Sure, I wanted kids, but the assumption was I'd go back to work ASAP.  Too much time at home drove me crazy.  I got stir crazy quickly, very quickly.  I barely made it through summer holidays each year without cleaning & organizing the entire house as well as taking on a new hobby...and I'd still be dying to go back to work by mid-August!  I figured being home full time, even as a mom, would be pretty much the same.
Also, teaching is something I am so passionate about, something I love doing.  I worked hard at bettering myself as a teacher, at making myself & my classroom more organized & efficient.  Every school year I chose a few things about myself as a teacher, my themes & plans & my classroom to focus on & improve.
So between my inability to spend too much time at home & my sincere love for my career, it wasn't in the "plan" to be a SAHM.
As with all the best laid plans, that went out the window! ;)
First I was taken off work & put on augmented bed rest when pregnant.  Next, right as I began looking to go back to work, we found out I was pregnant again.  So here I am, almost two years into being home full time & probably looking at another year at least.
I'm going to be honest here, I struggled with that for months.  It was a very tough thing to wrap my head around, not going back to teaching when I thought I would.  I miss teaching, I miss my coworkers, I miss the school environment (I miss the paycheque!).  I miss the independence, I miss feeling like I have a bit of my "own" life (I miss showering & getting dressed up every day too).  I miss the challenge, the joy of learning new things, the sense of accomplishment & pride.
Today as I was (finally) getting in the shower (at 11pm cuz that's when both my babies were finally asleep) it hit me.
 I need to stop whining!
Yes, I want to go back to teaching & I will one day without a doubt.  It's my calling.
That's no excuse for my attitude though.  Right now, I'm a SAHM.  It's not what I planned but it's a huge blessing & it deserves MORE of my dedication, creativity & energy than I ever gave to my job.
If I spent that much time & energy to constantly improve myself & my classroom to meet the needs of my students better, why would I not do that now?
Instead of "missing" the opportunity to be creative at school, I need to be creative at home.
Instead of "missing" teaching my students, I need to teach my children.
Instead of "missing" being active during the day, I need to be active with my children.
Why am I not using all those talents & skills I funneled into teaching now with my children & in my home?
So it's time to get serious.
To dedicate myself to doing this SAHM thing my way, the Princess Teacher way.  ;)

A Thank You Letter to My Daughter

Dearest Baby Girl,
You are my miracle baby.  The one we waited for 4 years to hold in our arms.  The one I endured hospital stays & bed rest for.  The one we came close to losing several times, including during your birth.
You are also my sunshine & joy.  You truly embody the meanings of your name: Light & Grace.  You have taught me so much in the short 16 months you've been in our lives.  You have made me a mommy.
With the arrival of your brother I have also realized that you prepared me to be a mommy to him too; because of you I am a better mommy to Flynn than I would have been otherwise.
You have taught me understanding is more valuable than "patience".  You have taught me to pay attention, to see & hear all the ways you communicate (not just the obvious ones).  You have taught me to let go & be silly.  You have taught me that a bad night/day/week is just that, one rough moment in time that will soon be a hazy memory.  You have taught me that a smile or giggle is all I need to turn things around.  You have taught me the power of quiet snuggles & affectionate rough housing.
You have taught me to trust my "mommy gut" & also the importance of seeking help/advice.
You have changed my life completely & I can't thank you enough.

Your Mommy

Why Didn't I Do This Sooner?

Seriously.  I was terrified of cloth diapering, I thought it would be messy, disgusting, smelly, kill my washing machine & once I factored in all the extra laundry there was no way it would save us money.
Wrong!
I got an amazing deal on all in one Kushie diapers for the new baby at a garage sale which is what started our little journey. For the price of one case of latex free diapers we got 40 Kushie newborn ones.  Couldn't pass that up!
Which got me thinking.  Elli is going to be in diapers as well for at least 6-12 mos yet, I was cringing at the cost of TWO in diapers now that money is so tight.
So I pulled out the computer & commenced research!  I decided on all in one, one size diapers so they could be used for both kids at the same time.  I also wanted this to be as easy as humanly possible. ;)
I found an incredible deal on ebay for 40 brand new diapers with 80 inserts in an assortment of colours that are adjustable for 8-33 lbs.
It's been a week now of having Elli in cloth & I love it!!  I got a recipe for homemade diaper laundry soap from a friend which is excellent & washing them is so easy!  Elli's super sensitive skin has never been less irritated & we have already saved money.  We only use disposable now at night & in the diaper bag when we're out & about.
The absolute life saver in cloth diapering though has been the flushable paper inserts from Kushies, makes poopy changes so easy!
Seriously don't know why I didn't try this sooner!

Mario NURSERY!

Well we did it, we successfully converted my hubby's Super Mario "playroom" (aka man cave) into a nursery for baby boy who should be here in the next 2 weeks.  :)  I hope he loves it as much as we do!

The change table/dresser my dad made for us in his garage!  No plans, just a picture printed off the Internet for inspiration.

I love the red shelf we got at Ikea, it fits so perfectly!  We've loaded it with toys so Elli can play in there while I nurse her brother.