Five on Friday

It's been a pretty busy week around here. We have been taking advantage of the nice weather and spending lots of time outside, and running errands. Lucas and I have slowly moved into our warmer weather routine that always includes daily walks and at least three visits to the park a week, sometimes more when we make it out in the evening with Daddy. Here are some highlights of my week!

ONE

Lucas spent a few weeks in April waking up super cranky from his naps, it was instant crying and fussing and wouldn't stop until either Daddy got home or well until dinner time. Not even a snack would make him happy and those weeks were plagued with some awful weather so we couldn't even go outside to ride out the bad mood. I'm happy to say that we are over that little road bump. Kid has been super jovial and playful the moment I grab him from his crib. We have been enjoying some time in his room reading some stories or just being silly and it makes for a more relaxed progression into our family time evenings.   I mean this face says it all, someone woke up on the right side of the crib!!

TWO

Growing up summer always meant lots of time outside, playing with water, and summer treats!! My all time favourite guilty pleasure was orange creamsicles. This week while at the store I spied a box and my big pregnant self could not resist and they made their way home with me. Just as I was about to indulge in some after dinner sweetness I decided to offer some to Lucas to see if he would like it  (kid is not the hugest sweet lover so I wasn't sure how he would react). Well he took one lick and the rest is history, and gone was my sweet.  I have to say though its amazing how much a pleasure it was to watch him enjoy something that is such a staple of my own childhood, and rather than grab another one for myself I just sat there and watched him devour it!

THREE

Sometimes Lucas is just so easy to please!  We headed to the mall this week to grab some water essentials for a mini family getaway and they have those contraptions that all parents dread and which brings instant glee to all kids.  The small mall rides that usually entices tantrums galore when the word no passes any parents mouth.  Usually Lucas doesn't show much interest but this week he was so keen when he say a car one, but I sadly did not have any change, or bills to even make change (it was seriously not a ploy, I would have actually gladly let him ride on until his heart burst with glee), I calmly told him I didn't have change but let him sit on the ride anyway since there were no other waiting children.  Well to my own happiness he was happy just pretending to drive the car for a good ten minutes.  Mom win!!

FOUR

Speaking of family getaway, we really have no means for an extravagant family vacation this year, with the new babe on the way, the hubby having a hard time getting time off since he's being transferred as foreman to a new job site next month (and needing all his precious time off for the new arrival anyway), added to all that we try to live on a very strict budget as a single income family so that we can always try to put as much in savings as we can.  So we decided that we will be spending the summer taking Lucas on several day trips to local attractions, with the exception of the beginning of June  We are off to Niagara Falls for three days where we are staying right on the falls and visiting the FallsView Water Park.  I cannot wait to see Lucas' face when we go to the water park, he's literally a bubble guppie during the summer, and visiting the splash pads are usually enough to bring him immense joy, this is going to totally blow his mind.

FIVE

I have been suffering from some bad back muscle aches, and to add to that I pulled a muscle in my left arm getting Lucas into a shopping cart yesterday.  So to say that I am looking forward to an hour long prenatal massage my husband is sending me off to tomorrow is really putting it lightly.  I mean I seriously cannot contain my glee!

I hope everyone has a great weekend, I will spending it with the handsome boys in my life, and speaking of handsome I leave you with this pic of the little guy.

Five on Friday

Its been a long week for me and the little man.  We dealt with tantrums, poor sleep, and overall just sheer exhaustion.  I'm so glad the weekend is here for some upcoming pampering coming my way.

ONE

I have spoken before of my worries and constant anxiety over Lucas' language skills and overall development.  Earlier this week I had a huge mommy meltdown over it, I was overtaken with worry, and felt like I wasn't doing enough for Lucas, or that he was presenting serious delays in this department and knowing that boys develop later in this department was just not putting my fears to rest..  I turned to my mother in law who is the only one I know and trust who has raised a boy herself.  I'm so grateful for all her kind words about my mothering, and for putting what was really a hormonal outburst to rest.  I realized that I just need to enjoy watching Lucas grow, and realize that he understands so much more than he is able to communicate to me.  I was rewarded the next day though when we were getting ready for an outing to the park and as I grabbed Lucas' coat he turned to me and said "oh that's mine".  I really should learn to not have outbursts while pregnant and my hormones are at an ultimate high.

TWO

In my over zealousness at wanting to do as much as I can for Lucas' development I bought on Amazon at the encouragement of a fellow mommy blogger the Preschool Company Prep DVDs.  They teach letters, numbers, colours, shapes and words in a way that appeals to the developing mind. We started with the letters DVD.  Each letter is repeated often, and they become figures of words that start with that particular letter (example, the letter D becomes a dancer).  I had previewed the DVDs on youtube to see how interested he was in them before I made the investment, and he was mesmerized.  He even tried to repeat some of the words when we previewed the sight words' DVD.  We have been pretty busy this week and we have probably only viewed it twice, but so far we are huge fans.

THREE

I'm not one to complain about Lucas having a bad night of sleep since for the most part we have been really lucky in this department.  Since we slept trained Lucas at 5 months old, he has always slept through the night, even when he's been teething or sick.  One night this week he got tangled in his sheets in the middle of the night and it disrupted his sleep big time.  He was up from 2:30 until 5! He finally fell asleep in bed with me in a position that didn't really allow me to fall asleep with him.  Then the little bugger has the nerve to wake up and hour and half later and look at me as if nothing had happened.  He was all chatty and well pleased with himself.  Unfortunately nap time has been a bit of an issue lately too.  He fussed the other day for an hour in his crib so I was convinced that it meant no nap was going to happen, only for him to fall asleep in my arms five minutes later.  He knows just how to get his way!  Although I have been pretty tired this week as a result, I will cherish every moment he wants to sleep snuggled against me.

FOUR

Note to self: don't go out in public when your toddler wakes up at 5am!  Thursday I had errands to run and I was anxious to get out for a bit since Lucas had woken up at the crack of dawn.  Why oh why did I think that was a good idea.  First I ran into Chapters to pick up an order, well Lucas was none too happy when he realized we were leaving, especially since he loves that place just as much as I do, so he threw himself on the floor,and I had to figure out how to carry my screaming toddler, pick up the box that had fallen out of my hands, and make it to the car in one piece all while 6 months pregnant.  Yeah it wasn't pretty.  I still ended up going to Costco (Yup I was that foolish).  Lucas ten minutes into the shopping figured out how to climb out of the cart and almost threw himself onto the floor.  So I bribed him with a snack and put hims standing inside the cart (yup mother of the year award).  It didn't last that long, and I was literally almost to the check out when Lucas decided to show his displeasure for how long I was taking by grabbing a package of cherry tomatoes and flinging them across the store floor.  We made it home in one piece (barely) and then as I was bringing in the groceries he kept closing the door on me.  I really wanted a glass of wine after that excursion but I settled for a sugary coffee, and let him blow off some steam in the backyard.  I love this kid to bits, but some days he really knows how to test my patience.

FIVE

After all the ups and downs this week, I'm glad I made mommy plans with my sister tonight for some much deserved me time.  I told the hubby I wanted nothing this year for mother's day, just some time for myself.  So tonight my sister and I are going out to dinner and catching the new movie "Mom's Night Out", what could be more appropriate.  I'm sure we will spend more that 50% of the time talking about our kids, but it will be nice to have a meal with her without little hands grabbing at our arms requesting something from us.  Plus both my sister and I have been so busy and sick at different times this month that it will be nice to just get together and catch up.

Happy Mother's Day to all you mamas!

Potty Mouth

I have never really had a potty mouth although in extreme situations, or when very upset I have been know to add some colourful language to my arguments.  So when people advise you to start cleaning up your vocabulary before you have a toddler who resembles a parrot, well I just didn't think that would be a problem for me.  The hubby on the other hand, well he needs to be reminded on a daily basis to edit his language.  So when we had a "funny" scenario happen the other day, the fact that it was all my fault, well damn I was just a little surprised :)

I became all to aware the other day that I tend to frequently say Shit for a slew of situations.  I drop something on the floor. Oh shit.  I bang into something (which is often cause I'm a total klutz).  Shit shit.  I remember something I had forgotten to do.  Big shit.  You get the picture.

Now let me preface this all by saying that I work on a daily basis to implement new words into Lucas' vocabulary, and repetition is a standard tool for toddlers learning new words.  We read a lot.  I point out animals, fruit, letters, and am constantlys reiterating them in hopes that they are sticking and he will repeat them back to me.  Often I realize that he has learned to identify them and will point them out correctly but refuses to voice the words coherently.

So I was changing Lucas' diaper the other day after nap, he was in a good mood, and very helpful which is so unlike him when it comes to diaper time.  I swear if he could he would just run around naked all the time.  I reached for his cream and Lucas lifted his legs at the same time and knocked it on the floor.  Oh shit.  I didn't even register it coming out of my mouth until my little stinker looks right at me with this huge grin, and says it "oh shit mama", and he starts laughing hysterically, like we are sharing some profound inside joke.  

Great mother of the year award right here.  How is it you won't repeat apple, bear, and water that I say to you probably a hundred times a day, but this, this you say back to me with perfect diction I may add.  Thankfully it has not been a repeat performance, but Lord knows I have been trying even harder to make sure I don't say it in front of him in case he decides to parade in front of his grandparents chanting oh shit.  Well got to go, just remembered I forgot to take dinner's meat out of the freezer for dinner.  Oh shit!