she's here!

Maia Claire arrived this morning at 3am in her parents bed while her brothers slept blissfully unaware of the events unfolding around them. 7lbs, 2oz, dark hair and squawking, we now have a girl in our midst.

Happy, healthy and slightly sleep deprived, we are all doing well.

snow

We got snow the beginning of November. It is still here. My youngest didn't remember snow from last year as 1) there wasn't much and 2) he didn't experience it hands on because he was too little. So the first real snowfall was a bit of a shocker for him. To his credit though, he has gone from feeling like this about the snow:



Sort of having fun but not quite sure what to make of it all.



Liking the whole shovelling thing but not liking the mitt thing.

To feeling like this:



Loving every minute outside, eating snow and sliding down the hill on his belly, head first.

Which is a good thing. The snow will be here for another 4-ish months.

arts & crafts

My oldest must be growing up. Lately the resounding refrain is "Mom, can we do a craft?". I never thought I'd hear those words come out of his mouth...this is my boy that loves all things that go. Things that "do". The one that has the attention span of about 2 minutes for colouring and all things crafty.

Not anymore.

We played bingo at James' Christmas party (with a real bingo machine, cards & dabbers - it was actually kinda fun) and brought home some of the bingo dabbers for the boys to play with. I figured it would be another short-lived venture but to my surprise he quite enjoyed making pictures with the bingo dabbers. Unfortunately, they are somewhat limiting when it comes to creativity...or, looking at it another way, fortunately they hide my deficiencies when it comes to painting/drawing. Nevermind that we only have 3 colours to work with.

My creative attempts with bingo dabbers.

Lane's picture (L), my picture of grass, as requested by Lane (R)

But the now oft-repeated refrain has forced this mommy to dig into the archives and come up with crafts that we can do with supplies on hand in the theme demanded of the almost-4-year-old child.

Lane's butterfly and Christmas tree.

So when my child requested a butterfly craft, the first thing that I thought of was to make tissue paper "stained glass" creations. A bit of work for me but a lot of fun gluing tissue paper for my boy.

Avery & Mom's butterfly.

Lane's soccer ball.

And, as always, it is an adventure.

it's all about the bunk

Bunk bed, that is.

The boys are sleeping in bunk beds. Lane has been sleeping in his bed frame for a while but we weren't quite ready to let Avery get into a "big boy bed". Well, the time has come and we are slowly adjusting. Actually, it is going pretty good...for now. Avery is pretty good about staying in bed. Here's hoping it lasts.

Lane LOVES climbing up and down his ladder. And he loves that he can see out his window. And he loves that he sleeps "up". Really, he just loves his bunk bed.

And now they can both lay in bed and gaze at the machines hanging on their wall:

The "Backhoe Quilt" is finished and up on the wall. The boys' bedroom feels quite snug and homey now!

leaves

It's October and fall is officially here. The leaves are all pretty much off the trees, we count every "nice" day as a treat, the sweaters are out and I have the urge to stock the pantry.

This weekend was a "nice" weekend. Temperatures that still allow a person to work outside during the day, along with sun and no rain or wind. A perfect day for us procrastinating sorts of people to get all the yard stuff done and finally go through all our junk in the garage like we've been talking about for the last 4 months. Also a perfect day for little people to discover the fun of leaves.

Also a perfect day for the big people to remember how much fun leaves can be - no matter the age.

Snippets from the last couple months

So I've finally taken the time to go through the small amount of pictures we have from the last couple of months. Unfortunately when life gets busy blogging goes to the bottom of the list...especially when I haven't taken very many pictures. But we do have a few and they are just too cute not to share:

Driving motorcycles. Gotta wear a helmet and gloves. The youngest one has to make the guttural "bbbbvvvvvrrrrrrmmmmmm" sound. Can you hear it?

I had a hankering for pumpkin pie a few weeks ago. My boys had a hankering to play. We compromised.

And everybody was a winner.

Driving dad's truck is the new favorite pastime.

They had better take advantage because we just don't know how much longer it is going to last...

Driving, driving, driving.

Doing dishes is still a fun time; however, it doesn't always work out well to share the same sink...

But they don't mind sharing the same laundry basket/tunnel.

Boys will be boys.

Decluttering, perhaps to your benefit

With another move looming, I've decided it's time to go through some of my "stuff". I'm not a hoarder by any means, but there is a certain pack rat syndrome that I seem to have inherited from my grandfather. You know, I might just need that some day!

Moving often before I was married certainly curbed the tendency but living in a house for 4 1/2 years brought the tendency back to life. As my family and I face the prospect of moving fairly often again, it is time to scale back a bit.

In light of this phenomenon, I am posting pictures of a couple of pieces I have sewn, in hopes that one of you might find a use for them (they'd make great gifts and, you know, Christmas is coming). They need a new home as there is nothing wrong with them, and it is a shame for them to stay hidden in a box. Unfortunately, I am not giving them away, but selling them for a nominal fee in hopes that I can recover some of the cost of the fabric.

Without further ado, here ya go:

Baby receiving blanket - $15
Flannel front, cotton back; approximately 1 metre square

Baby receiving blanket - $15
Flannel middle square, cotton outside border and back; approximately 1 metre square

Ladybug/denim handbag - $10
It was used for a short time as a diaper bag with my oldest; it is washed but the denim bled through a bit into the front pocket. It has padded straps so it won't dig into your shoulder. The inside is open to allow more space for stashing all those essentials.

Orange/denim handbag - $15
It was used for a short time as a diaper bag with my oldest; it is clean and ready to go. It has padded straps so it won't dig into your shoulder. The inside is open to allow more space for stashing all those essentials.

If you are interested in any of these items, please leave a comment or contact me at jamesandjoelle@gmail.com. I'm willing to ship them anywhere in North America!

Programs for Children?

I've been reading a blog on a consistent basis for a while now and, while I started out as a blog stalker (one who reads and never comments), I seem to have graduated to one who actually participates in the discussion. While Lesley never fails to engage me, yesterday's post was one I felt I had to respond to. And I figured you might be interested in what I thought too! I'm sure not everyone will agree with me but that's not a bad thing. If everyone had the same opinions life would be pretty boring.

So read Lesley's post here, ask yourself what you think about all the programs available for young children and then read my response.

Now that I live in a city where I have the option of various classes for my children, this has become a struggle for me as well. We take full advantage of the free storytimes offered at our library and I take them to the pool as a treat every few weeks - partly for something different, partly so they get used to the water and partly so they get wiped out (especially with winter on its way). The thing I have noticed the most, however, is that as much as my kids like activities (of whatever kind) they LOVE the days we stay home and be us. Whether it is playing play-doh, reading books, building a train track or kicking a ball around in the basement, my boys love spending time with me. Those are the days they are the happiest and, coincidentally, I usually am the happiest as well. 

I grew up being allowed to participate in one activity a week; I think a similar rule will be implemented in our house. I do my children no favours by over-programming and over-stimulating them. I agree with previous commenters in that family responsibilities are important - and so is feeling like you have worth in your family. My husband and I are not willing to trade the brief time we have with our kids for the slim chance one of them might be the next hockey wonder. We want them to feel loved and be loved, to feel like part of our family and to be part of our family. They will succeed in life because they will know their value, not because of the classes I put them in when they were 2.

I also think that sometimes classes are used as a crutch - parents not knowing what to do with their kids or how to connect with them - so they enrol them in a program and transfer the responsibility of engaging their children to a "professional". As a parent, you are just as qualified (if not more) to engage your children as the professional you are paying. You know your child the best and it is your attention your child craves. So give them your FULL attention and be prepared to be blown away as you discover the person your child is.

What are your thoughts? Parenting can be a scary undertaking; but it helps to remember that you can do it - and you're not alone. We're all in the same boat, even if the boat doesn't look the same from the outside. I'm always amazed to find out that the things I struggle with are very similar to others' struggles - but first I have to be willing to share what I'm going through which is probably the hardest part to do.

So there. That's my two cents worth. What's yours?

Work

Work is fairly common word around here lately. Mom has work to do. Dad has work to do. And now Lane has work to do. After watching his dad work on our old house and hearing all about the work that is going on at his dad's job, Lane is determined to get in on the action. The boy has work to do!

Here he is, all decked out in his working gear - safety glasses, like the ones dad has to wear at work; gloves, tool belt and even a cushion for his knees - ready to work!

His younger brother has to be content to watch from the sidelines as he isn't allowed to touch tools yet. Fortunately he doesn't mind too much.

 

And yes, those are real tools. He has a tool box full now, with the most important (and fun to use) tools being his hammer and drill.

 

 

And his work isn't limited to construction, here he is fixing the tires on Lightning McQueen. He's got a worklight set up and special "tool" for changing out the tires.

For those of you who have been to our house lately, you will notice that these pictures are from the summer before the boys started sharing a room... yes, I'm behind. But I thought you might still get a kick out of it.

Helping Dad

We have lived in this particular house since mid-March, making it about 4 months here. Also meaning that we have about 5 months left here. For some reason I figured that it was about time (and worth the time) to start putting stuff on the walls. Don't ask. When we lived in Moose Jaw it was one of the first things I did but somehow I missed it this time when we moved.

Regardless, we now have a few things up on the wall and wow, does it feel good. Feels a lot more homey. But the real story is about dad and his boy.

Our boys love to help, in any way, shape or form. For this particular project Lane just happened to be able to use tools. Real tools. And most of them his. To say he was excited might be an understatement.

To hang the quilt in our living room they used nails. Dad started one and then lifted Lane up so he could "help" drive the nail in with his own hammer. He had no problem hitting the nail, he just didn't have quite enough "umph" to drive it in. No matter. That's what dads are for.

The living room was easy. On to the kitchen/dining area. Using power tools are way more fun! And yes, our son has his own drill. And he got to drill his very first hole using an actual drill bit. Cloud nine? Not really, but definitely proud of himself.

Using a screwdriver to drive the screw into the hole he drilled. It's not quite as easy as dad makes it look.

See? Dad to the rescue.

And here's the finished product. A bit of colour, a bit of art and a little bit of us. We're liking it.

Even if the kid has to make a funny face just because the camera is out.

Just Us

Facebook and blogs are deceiving. Most of us like to show our good sides and hide the bad and/or mundane parts of our life - we show the highlight reel, per se. I'm really no exception to the rule although I do try to give an honest peek into our life.

We all have our moments. The kids aggravate me. They push my buttons and I react disproportionately. It happens. I'm working on it. And in between those times life is just like life in a lot of other houses.

We eat breakfast. Some days it is cereal. Some days I put forth a bit of effort and make something: waffles and syrup, pancakes and bacon, french toast, or, for my southern husband, sausage and biscuits. But it certainly doesn't happen every day.

I do the dishes. Almost every day. Sometimes I'm brave and let the kids "do the dishes" too. They love it and I try not to cringe.

We read books. We're book people so there are always books lying around our house. Kids books (lots) and adult books. Somewhere in between everything going on my husband and I find time to read books...sometimes even the same book. Our kids are developing a love of books too.

The kids whine. I see a lot of this whiny bugger. The kid is so close to talking and is starting to get really frustrated that he can't communicate. Needless to say, there is a lot of crying and whining going around right now.

We play. Some days, like maybe once a week, I manage to get creative with my kids. Last week my oldest was all about the play-doh. Somehow I managed to make a car out of the stuff...

We learn. My husband is great with our kids. He loves to teach them things and they love the time spent with him.

See? Nothing spectacular about our house. We eat, sleep and well, you know, the usual.

But inbetween the normal, mundane, chaotic world of raising kids we grab glimpses of fun, laughter and just darn cute. And we hold on tight.