Halloween 2014

Costumes were kinda last minute today.  Levi wanted to be Santa for Halloween because he thought it would be funny. We even made a nice, fuzzy beard for him.  But at the last minute he changed his mind and we had to scramble for something different, literally as we were about to walk out the door for trick-or-treating.

While we were out, Levi didn't utter a word.  He was silent the entire time.  Kayden was so nice to give her "thanks" and "bye!" and "see ya!"'s. I wonder if she will end up being the talker of the two?  Cause at home, Levi has always done more talking, even from a young age.  But when we're out, Kayden is definitely the less shy one!

Levi ended up dressing up as a chef...though whenever anyone asked him if he was a chef, he just shook his head. So...who knows. :) Maybe he was actually dressed up as something else in his mind that we didn't know about.

Kayden's costume was just as last minute because I had put together the chef costume for her but then Levi decided to wear it instead.  So I had to run downstairs and find her something and thankfully she let me dress her up, no complaints! She was a cowgirl and actually wore her hat while we were out, though refused to wear it for the picture.  We were loving the tickle trunk today that Auntie Ia and Auntie Carrie put together for Levi a couple years ago. The chef attire was sewn for Levi by Auntie Carrie but the Santa hat and cowgirl costume were both from the tickle trunk. It's a gift that keeps on giving!

A tasty lunch of...my words

Kids always have a way of making us eat our words, don't they? Remember how I mentioned that Levi was giving us a run for our money? That he was just being difficult and stubborn and strong-willed? Guess who has been an absolute delight since then?  This kid:

He has been agreeable. He has been helpful. He has been polite. He has been kind to his sister. It hasn't been PERFECT behaviour, but I'd say it's about as close as a four year old can come. 

Maybe something just had to give. Maybe there's always a calm after the storm. Maybe we wore him down and he figured it wasn't worth the fight. Maybe he had a couple restful nights of sleep. Maybe I'm just feeling more patient, which makes him act out less, which makes me even more patient, and him act out even less. Maybe it's the fact that I finally feel a bit more caught up on orders and have a bit more time/energy for the kids. Maybe it's all of you who were praying after the last post. Who knows. I don't really care what the reason is. All I know is life has been so much more pleasant these last few days. I feel like he's back to his "normal" self now. Happier. More kind. And much more fun to be around! 

I absolutely love this boy and guess what?? I actually really LIKE him too!

"Mom, I don't really like white (President's Choice) apple juice..."

Quilts!

I've finally finished the kids' baby blanket quilts! Kayden was attached to her flannel receiving blankets and I was tired of it (cause they were being dragged all over the house) so I finally decided to make her blankets into a quilt. A quilt that would stay in her bed at all times. And wen Levi saw Kayden's, naturally he wanted one too. So I dug up his old receiving blankets and made him a quilt too. I did most of the stitching back in summer and the kids have been using them. I had a hard time finding the right colour for Kayden's binding but I finally got my hands on a pink fabric that was close enough and finished the binding today! It was the cutest...she was sitting on my lap while I was sewing and kept putting her head down on the blanket while I was stitching, rubbing her face in it and saying "soft." I blame the parts of the binding that aren't completely stitched down on that pulling and tugging... yeah, right. I'm usually just not careful enough the first time around when I sew and end up having to fix and redo. Oh well. The odd time it works out the first time, I do it in less time because I cut corners ;) Worth the extra work every other time? Probably not. Sigh. 

Levi's quilt. 

Kayden's quilt. 

These are beautifully heavy quilts. I bought nice, dense blankets from mcc for the insides. I bleached them and washed them and it was perfect "stuffing" to make the nice and warm and heavy. Now I want one...!

Random facts and pictures, because sometimes random is fun.

Levi rushed outside this morning when he saw that it was snowing, declaring, "I'm going outside to EAT SNOW!" Then from outside I hear, "Mama! It's snow storming out here!" He then cried multiple times throughout the day when he saw that the snow wasn't staying on the ground. Just wait, my boy...you will have plenty of snow and will know what a real "snow storm" is all too soon. 

I busted out the long johns this morning. I wear them basically all winter. Levi did ask, though, what I put on my knees. Haha

Kayden has been learning new words and phrases every day. My favourite lately is, "Wow! What's that?!" which is usually referring to something she sees in a book. I also love how she says "bye!" so readily, even when she's just leaving a room or going for a nap :)

Yay pony tail! Hehe. Cutest :)

I'm going to have been married for 10 years in May. How is that even possible? Seems like just yesterday we were engaged and saying, "time is going so slow right now! But before we know it, we will be married and celebrating our 10 year anniversary." Uh. Yeah. 

Favourite. 

More favourite. 

Levi has been a difficult 4 year old so far, just like he was a difficult 3 year old and difficult 2 year old. He can be SO delightful. But he also spends a fair amount of time throwing angry fits, making his sister cry, and just doing things he knows he's not supposed to do (or more often refusing to do things he has been asked to do). It's tricky and I usually feel like I'm a failure as a mom. But I see how Kayden is responding to the same parenting and am realizing that he's just a strong-willed/spirited/whatever-you-want-to-call-it child. And not even the worst in the spectrum of strong-willed children because really he has entire days that are good. But so many days are just hard. Everything feels like a fight on those days. And a fight we're losing because he is just.so.stubborn. I love him to bits. And/but he certainly inspires me to seek God's parenting wisdom!

Kids holding toothbrushes from the public health nurse. Kayden in the middle of potty training so no pants. Sorry. Believe it or not, this picture was not posed. Stuff like this just happens when Kayden is around and Levi copies :)

Levi was telling me about Santa today and I was trying to convince him that there is no real Santa. We've never talked about Santa, and certainly never tried to make him believe, but he is convinced that Santa is real. Haha. So...I wonder what Christmas will bring this year. Oh, and he also wants to dress up as Santa for Halloween because he thinks it would be funny to have Santa at Halloween :)

This is what Sunday afternoons are good for :)

My little farmer girl. This pic is from months ago but I don't think I ever shared it. What a cutie :)

Potty Training - day 3

I've always known that all kids are different. But the longer I have two kids, the more I just keep realizing what that actually looks like!

When I potty trained Levi, he was basically done with accidents by after his afternoon nap on day one. Day two was just spent practicing the new skill and by day 3 he was more-or-less accident free!

Here we are on day 3 with Kayden. She is a few weeks younger than Levi was when I trained him, but it is a completely different experience with her...and I'm sure it would have been even if I'd waited a couple weeks until they were exactly the same age!

Day 1 with Kayden saw the progress of not even noticing that something was happening when she had an accident at the beginning of the day to walking to the bathroom after the accident. She also learned the word "potty." Cute.

Day 2 started out rough because I was SO tired and Levi was tired of so much attention going to Kayden and not to him.  The day evened out behaviour-wise - yay! But as far as potty training went, we were in exactly the same place at the end of the day as at the beginning. There were some successes on the potty but they were no more intentional than the accidents on the floor. She just happened to be in the right place at the right time and distracted enough to just "let it happen." Of course we cheered and danced when she peed on the potty, but more often than not it was dribble on floor-->go to potty-->nothing-->dribble on floor-->go to potty-->nothing. (Continue trend until bladder is empty...)

Day 3 has been more of the same. There is just no bladder control. It's like she doesn't understand which muscle controls that action. Except that she has become quite good at stopping herself and going to the bathroom after an accident. But she can't make herself finish on the potty. The only time she pees on the potty is when she gets distracted and it just happens. So after a few accidents this morning and the realization that it wasn't going anywhere, I got out the diapers. I am confident that she won't refuse potty training next time because we got the diapers out this time - that's just not her personality. If we had gotten out the diapers again after packing them away with Levi (if he hadn't caught on so quickly), he would have been more likely to want to get the diapers out every time he got tired of peeing on the potty. But I think Kayden, in about 6-8 weeks, will be much more physically ready to be trained.

In the meanwhile, I am treating her diapers like panties, pulling them up and down instead of laying her down to change her (unless there's a big mess, of course!). I'm taking her pee before nap and bed...and throughout the day. I'll be doing my best to keep her in a dry diaper so she realizes how uncomfortable a wet diaper is. And I'll keep asking her to tell me when she needs to pee. I just couldn't handle any more messes on the floor with no progress to be seen! It truly is all about knowing your kid and following their cues. And if you're not sure, there's no harm in giving something a try and then backing off and giving it more time once you see the results. I'm glad I tried it. I'm excited to try again!

Potty Training - day 2

Yesterday was an excellent day of potty training. We mostly had accidents, but after supper there was a great success...well, maybe not great but enough to enourage me! 

Throughout the course of yesterday, Kayden went from being completely oblivious (not even noticing that she was standing in a puddle the first time) to, at the end of the day, saying "uh-oh" when she had an accident and heading for the toilet by herself. She also says "potty" now :) 

The second day of training this time around has just been exhausting. I didn't have a great night sleep (one unsettled kid at 1am and early morning) so I'm tired. And Levi is feeling the lack of attention on him and extra attention on Kayden, which is hard on him - and therefore hard on me. And Kayden seems to be in the same place as yesterday (uh-oh's after the fact and not much happening on the potty). All that makes me wish I hadn't started yesterday.  I could be enjoying a beautiful 20*C day at home with no plans but instead I'm inside following around my toddler, reminding her to tell me when she needs to go, and trying to distract her from her many "side?" (outside?) requests. I won't lie, I have thought about just pulling out the diapers and trying again in December. But...but. What will make day 2 more fun next time around? 

So I'm sticking with it. Yesterday was fun and exciting. Today feels like drudgery. Hopefully we will see some big progress by tonight so that tomorrow we can be a bit more back to routine. Oh the joys of potty training. Now you know, even I, who started out excited, have bad days in the midst of training. Here's hoping it pays off!

Confession: I may or may not have put my babe in the tub for a little bit of a potty training break just now. It's been a long morning :)

Potty Training - Kid 2

For those of you who don't want to hear about potty training, this post (and possibly the next couple) won't be for you. Now you can't say you weren't warned :)

First off, I just want to set a few things straight. I have heard people bash the idea of potty training early ("early" being pre-24 months) and the moms who do it. They say that the moms do it to show off. They say that the moms just want to make themselves and/or their kids look smarter...more advanced...more accomplished. Well, if this is you, listen closely: 

I am potty training my 20 month old because I did it with my son and it worked. Amazingly.

I am potty training now because right now she doesn't have an attitude that I know will be huge(r) while she's two and three. 

I'm potty training now because she hasn't learned to say "no!" and be completely uncooperative yet.

I'm potty training now because she still wants to help, to do everything to please me, and to work for my praise. 

I'm potty training now because I enjoy the potty training process and, frankly, I just couldn't wait to get started!

So, it was kind of a spur of the moment decision to start today. I haven't had a chunk of 3 uninterrupted days at home for months. I have been waiting for a window of opportunity to open up. This morning, Kayden really didn't want a diaper on so I mentally checked the next few days and realized that I have time! I told her that we were going to pack up her diapers and say bye-bye to them and only pee on the potty now. 

Levi took the box of diapers downstairs for us and Kayden kept saying "bye! Stairs..." all morning. I spent the morning reminding her to tell me when she needed to go and I feel like we've made some progress! The first time she had an accident, I took her to the potty and sat her on it and she was so tense/upset at being put on the potty. She didn't like it AT ALL. But by the end of the morning we had made 6 trips to the bathroom (yes, I'm pumping juice boxes through her like mad to make for lots of "teachable moments"!) and she was actually happy to sit there and "finish," then clean up the accident with me. 

She's down for a nap now. I use some cloth diaper liners/soakers inside her panties for sleeping to save her entire bed from needing to be washed a couple times a day/night. I call it her "night-night panties" so she doesn't feel like she's wearing a diaper. With Levi, this is all I needed to do for night-time training and within a month he was waking up dry. Crossing my fingers for the same luck this time because I have no idea how to go about night time training if it doesn't come naturally!  

So that's been the morning! It's actually kind of fun...it's an excuse to do absolutely no housework and pay undivided attention to the kids all.day.long!  It is usually tiring to do that because I have a list of things that also need to be done around the house. (I find it exhausting to feel like I'm constantly being pulled in two different directions) But when a day is set aside for a specific purpose, I don't know. I guess it just gives me extra energy to play! Here's hoping that a couple days from now we can say that we're officially diaper-free!!

P.s - if you want to read more about the 3 day potty training method that I'm using, just google it and you should be able to find some info on it. I know there's an ebook to purchase but you may find the gyst of it and maybe a few pointers anyway. Or you can keep following along here and ask me any questions you may have. I don't have all the answers but I have used it once before (though it was 2+ years ago already!). 

Busy, busy, dreadfully busy...

You know what I'm realizing?  That the busier that I am, the more I enjoy my days at home with no plans. I treasure those days. What felt like the norm all last winter and summer, has turned into the exception this fall. Appointments, commitments, routine...suddenly it all leaves little time for just me and the kids at home. But oh are those days lovely when they happen!

Right now the kids are having a "play bath" so I have a few minutes to myself. There is nowhere to rush off to this morning. Not much that needs to be done besides a few loads of laundry and perhaps some floor washing. Oh, and the animals need to be fed...maybe I should do that right now before I forget again! Be right back...

"Chores" for me consist of feeding and watering the cats, dog, and rabbits. The cats and dog are fed on the deck so that's easy. The rabbits are in a cage on our yard so I go out there each morning and drag it to a fresh patch of grass for them to eat that day. I wish it was a consistent way to keep our grass cut, but the cage is only 4x8 and the lawn is brown when they're done with it. So we've got a bunch of ugly brown rectangles on our lawn. At least they fill in nicely!  And I mean REALLY nicely!

Whenever I have a chance to be in our house with nothing on the agenda, my mind often turns to renos. We have been slowly making this place ours by putting our own touches on it. So far we have painted (walls, doors, trim) the bedrooms and dining/living room. We have a big family room addition that wa built into the house which I think will be our next project. I'm the kind of person who just wants to go when something is on the to-do list. Just start. Rip up flooring or paint trim or SOMETHING!  But we have bigger plans for that room so I'll have to hold back. For now. 

So a few hours have now passed since I started this post and you know how I said that when something is on the to do list, I am fairly impulsive and would rather just do it NOW?  Well, potty training has commenced. Another post on that is sure to come...!