Raising a Man

I have mentioned this before, but prior to having Lucas little boys were a foreign entity to me, having grown up solely with sisters, and having mostly girl cousins to boot.  I was equal amounts excited and scared for what the future held for me when I found out I was expecting a baby boy.  I didn't really know what to expect, but figured that a lifetime of cars, trucks, and anything that revolved around a ball and sports would be running my life forever.  I wasn't really far off on that prediction.

But you want to know something.  I have loved every single minute of being a boy mom, and I can't wait to double that when this little guy arrives in 6 short weeks!

Boys seem to always have an endless amount of energy, pretty much only stop when they are sleeping, I never have a moment of peace until bedtime, and I know far more about trucks and cars than I ever thought was imaginable.  Scrapes and bruises are a common occurrence around these parts, and death defying climbing has already started giving me heart attacks on a regular basis.  Boys are also to a large extent so much more low maintenance than girls; he falls down yells out I'm ok and is on to the next adventure; starts having a tantrum most often than not a snack changes his mood (which reminds me boys are ALWAYS hungry); and daddy may be his hero and teach him all about hot wheels but its to mommy's arms that he always runs to in pretty much any situation.

I am raising boys, who will be teens, and one day men in their own right, and I don't have to look very far for a model in which to raise them.

I lucked out in the husband/father of my children department.  He is a kind man, puts his family's needs always first, is compassionate when necessary, fiercely loyal and protective of the ones he loves.  He can use a washing machine, show the kitchen whose boss, and never complains about vacuuming for me.  He's a provider, but never once makes me feel like my work at home is less than his own, and if anything helps me more than most men who are working all day.  He is an amazing role model for our sons on how to be a modern man.

I want nothing more in life than to raise our sons in that emulation.  I am completely aware and conscious that one day they will also be husbands and fathers, and I want them to be just as hands on as their father, and I have this innate responsibility to ensure that they are strong and purposeful men in their futures.  I never shy away from the stereotypical gender roles that my parent's generation grew up with, knowing that girls were raised to take care of the home, and boys to provide for their families; however I am a firm believer that those traditional roles have no place in the world that I am raising my sons.

I want them to learn to cook, clean after themselves, and be aware that they should be fulfilling those roles at home just as much as their future wives.  I want them to grow up respecting a woman, and provide a safe and happy home just as their father is doing everyday.  I want them to learn to fend for themselves and to never live in a world that teaches men that women should be putting the food on the table and keeping the house clean and organized.

I love that Lucas loves to be in the kitchen with father and I, that he is keen on helping me switch the laundry (which has been a blessing in disguise during this pregnancy lol), or that he knows exactly what a vacuum is supposed to do.  This also makes for learning experiences with him, and lord knows I can actually get some stuff done around the house if Lucas thinks its a game, which is what I do; make it fun for him.

 I'm not encouraging any child labour around these parts, just encouraging a little boy to a man one day.  I'm sure his future wife will thank me one day.

Niagara Family Getaway {June 2014}

Its been well over a month since we went on a little family vacay to Niagara Falls.  We wanted to just get away for some family down time before the hubby moved to a new job site that I knew would eventually be taking a lot of his time, plus we are saving the bulk of his time off for when the other little mister makes his debut in September.  We have actually never gone away with Lucas before, due to time and financial reasons and we weren't really sure how he would handle a new environment for naps and bedtime since he is a pretty routine kid.  We learned a few things on this trip but I must say that overall he was amazing.

 

The trips is a mere hour and half for us, and we decided to time our departure during Lucas' naptime to avoid any shenanigans and upsets from the little guy who for now still hates extended periods of time in the car.  We arrived in the city literally just as he was waking up from him nap, so I'm calling that one success so far.  We checked in, got settled in our room, and let Lucas explore the new surroundings.  We had no plans for that evening, since the real purpose of the trip was our plans for the water park the next day.  We headed to an arcade style area across the street where thankfully Lucas was happy just walking around and exploring the different "rides" without insisting on wanting to partake in any of them, score for mommy and daddy since those things are pricey! 

 

We headed to the Rainforest Café for dinner.  Lucas was in love with the scenery since he loves animals and being in "nature".  The waitress had advised us that there would be periodical "thunder storms" and we thought Lucas would get a kick out it, yup not so much.  The first time it happened he looked all around in such concern that you thought he was sure that some apocalyptic downpour was going to ensue.  Thankfully he got used to them eventually even if he was never a fan.  We never really have too many problems dining out with Lucas, he's pretty happy walking around for a little bit, or stays entertained with a video on our phones until his dinner arrives.  Then he will sit through his whole meal no problem.  Kid was hungry that night!  We finished our meals well before Lucas did, and while we usually take leftovers of his meal home, he cleaned his plate of pasta clean!

 

Before heading back to the hotel for bedtime Gianni took Lucas to the glow in the dark mini put.  While Lucas has no concept of the game, he loved running around the ball, and since the hubby has not enjoyed his usual golf game since Lucas was born, I'm pretty sure he was enjoying himself as well.

 

We pushed bedtime an hour later to avoid any antics, and Lucas went down no problem.  He did wake up in the middle of the night and transferred to our bed with us, but I'm blaming myself entirely for this problem.  First I didn't bring a night light, so even though the bathroom light remained open with the door slightly ajar, it was definitely darker than what he is used to.  Also I should have brought his aquarium with us, for some sort of comfort.  Finally our child is so tall, that the crib provided by the hotel, while appreciated was so small for him; and I really should have just asked for a small fold out bed and I'm sure he would have been much more comfortable. 

 

 



The next morning after breakfast we headed to the Fallsview Water Park that was connected to our hotel through a large skyline bridge.  There are really no words how much fun we all had at the park.. Lucas has always loved water and the pool since we introduced him to it at six months.  I have always believed that paying for tot lessons at such a young age is kind of a waste of money but I am a firm believer in making sure that he would not be afraid of the water, so I put the onus on the hubby and I to take him to the pool regularly, and it has certainly paid off.  He was not allowed down any of the big slides, but our little fearless one would have gladly gone down them had he met the height requirement.  We had brought lunch fixings with us so that we could have a quick lunch in our room, and then head back to the park, and let Lucas skip his nap for some more quality enjoyment in the water; but he wasn't having it.  After lunch he snuggled against me in the large king and just fell asleep for almost two hours.  Hey who was I to complain and deny the kid a family nap time!

We enjoyed a great dinner that evening, where Lucas walked the whole half an hour to the restaurant, and then again all the way to the falls!  He's so independent, and while by the end he was asking to be put in the stroller for a break, I sometimes find it lucky that he likes to walk on his own, always requesting that we hold hands. 

The last time the hubby and I were at the Falls was for our first dating anniversary and we have an identical picture to this one.  I actually recently found an old journal entry of mine from that trip, and wrote about how I knew that it was only a matter of time before him and I started planning a future together, getting married and having children, so its kind of nostalgic and beautiful to come back indeed together still and with our son.

We ended up leaving early the next morning, since there was little else we wanted to do in the area with a little one in tow.  For our first time away with a little one, I think we all did ok, and I am already planning, and looking forward to a big week long family trip next April with both my little boys! 

Birthday and Family Fun Weekend

Today is technically our Monday, as we are coming off of a long weekend celebrating Canada Day, and the hubby was fortunate enough to get both Monday and Tuesday off, for a much deserved break.  It was one of those epic summer weekends, where we spent 95% of our time outside, in the sweltering heat, but blissfully happy nonetheless.

Saturday the hubby took advantage to get some more work done on our kitchen ceiling renovation with his dad, so Lucas and I took off for the morning and spent it with my sister and niece.  They live about 45 minutes away from us, so its not always easy to see each other regularly, add to that busy lifestyles well it had been a while since we had hung out, and we were all missing each other.  We headed to the farmers market near my sisters house which conveniently has a splash pad that helped everyone cool down considerably.  Seeing the two cousins play and interact with each other is by far one of my favourite things to see.  They are about 18 months apart, and my niece Emily is such a doll with her cousin, while Lucas "plays" with her but still wants nothing to do with her per say, what a typical boy.

I can't get over how they are almost the same height in this picture!  The hubby is a pretty tall guy and clearly Lucas has taken after his father, which just means with baby boy number 2 on the way, I will be a look like a little munchkin in the middle of them by the time they reach their teens!

We headed out to dinner just me and the boys later that night to begin the celebrations for the hubby's birthday on Sunday.

Is there any better way to begin your birthday morning than snuggled up to this cup of sunshine!  The look of love and contentment on the little man's face is to die for, and it really seemed that he understood that it was daddy's birthday cause he was all snuggles and kisses for his hero.

We had breakfast with Gianni's family that morning, and then we took Lucas to a splash pad near my in laws.  I wish I had pictures, but this place was a lot larger than the ones near our place, and Lucas was just so overwhelmed and in absolute heaven that the two of us spent most of the time just keeping up with him and chasing him through the water.  It was a pretty hot day so after a few hours even the little man had had enough, so we headed back to my in laws for some lunch and a glorious two hour nap.  Glorious nap for Lucas that is!  I'm always worried about napping elsewhere with Lucas cause he is such a creature of habit when it comes to sleeping and rests much better in his crib, but I guess the combination of the heat and the morning activities had him easily passed out in bed with me, and on top of me!  I slept for half an hour and then I really needed to turn around since my hips are always in pain when I'm sleeping lately, but there was no way I was moving, kid was firmly ensconced on my arms and against me...oh well at least he got to rest.

We spent the rest of the evening hanging out with family and enjoying a lovely BBQ.

Monday, since Gianni had the day off we decided to have a family birthday celebration just the three of us, so we took Lucas to Downey Farms just north of our house, strawberry picking, and for some farm fun.  Funnily enough Lucas is not a fan of berries, he enjoys the taste of them in smoothies, but won't touch the actual fruit, so he literally could care less about picking the fruit.  We spent the rest of the morning just enjoying the farm activities, until the heat started getting too unbearable.  After another nice nap we headed out to dinner and a walk, capping off the birthday celebrations with a movie in bed!

Tuesday was Canada Day, and since we had spent the whole weekend doing lots of outdoor activities we had planned to tackle some home projects before heading to my sister in law's for BBQ.  Instead we vegged for most of the day since Lucas had an awful night, spending more than three hours up in the middle of the night alternating between laying with Gianni and I.  After he finally got back to sleep at 4:30am, it took forever for the hubby and I to actually settle ourselves.  So needless to say we were tired, and doing nothing sounded a lot more appealing.  

Here's my little cutie before heading out to dinner yesterday, sporting some obligatory red!  His new favourite thing to say when I take pictures is CHEESE, its too cute for words. 

Hope everyone else was out enjoying the wonderful weather this weekend!

A Boring Life

I wish there was a better reason for being absent from the blog this long, but we have just been living, tackling my ever growing list of pre-baby things to do, and enjoying the weather when it graces us with sunshine.  I got pretty sick at the end of May, and it made for a week of pure survival mode.  Luckily Lucas just got the sniffles but the illness hit me like a ton of bricks, and for you fellow mommies, we all know too well there is no break for us when we are sick, they really should invent something to help us moms avoid illness!  Thankfully the hubby was as helpful as he could be the moment he would get home, and during the day I have to say that it felt that Lucas sensed I was definitely not myself, and he was overall a champ at entertaining himself for extended periods of time, or was happy with an educational video while I watched from the couch stretched out in miserable head cold gloominess.  With all that said blogging was far from my mind that week and I found it difficult in the weeks after to write, especially since sometimes life seems a little boring around these parts.

During this time away I've been reflecting a lot on how life will be changing all too soon with baby number two's arrival, and my overall decision to stay home and raise my children.  I had visions of play dates every week, taking the kids to educational excursions, basking in the joy of watching every milestone with my own eyes, and activities galore that I could partake in with him.  The truth is being a stay at home mom is work, more work than I ever tackled in my professional career before babies.  It sure isn't glamorous, unless living in yoga pants is is your idea of glamour, if so then I'm living the life.  There are days that we don't leave the house because someone decided to wake up on the wrong side of the bed and I cannot fathom dealing with a tantrum mid shopping trip or in the middle of a play date (lets be real sometimes that person who woke up cranky is me).  Some weeks go by and the most interesting thing we did was go to the park every day to play with the neighourhood children. My life is ruled by a routine that I have created myself, a routine that I consciously try to pepper with trips to Chapters to play with other children, play dates, and yes I try at least once a week to fit in that all allusive education excursion.

Some would say its a boring life, but you want to know the real truth.  I wouldn't trade my boring, ordinary existence right now for anything in the world.  I don't miss the office gossip over morning coffee, I don't miss the deadlines, other people's expectations, or dressing up for meetings at all.  Sometimes I crave more adult conversation, one that doesn't revolve around us moms discussing the latest sleep problems, or what food our children this week has decided is no longer part of his diet.  But nothing beats the little conversations I have with my every growing son, and learning to decipher his "language".  I do sometimes miss having a little more me time in the week, I'm not going to lie, one that doesn't involve running to the grocery store to get 15 minutes to myself, or taking an extra long bathroom break when the hubby gets home (admit it you have ALL done this!).  But then in the middle of the day when I'm exhausted from running after a toddler, and I just want five minutes of peace, he grabs my hand and a book and sits in my lap, and its pure bliss.

There are days when Lucas decides to tackle and finish a difficult puzzle, or he cuddles up to me on the floor for no apparent reason, or he cries out mommy the moment he wakes up from his nap; and I realize that I wouldn't want to miss any of that for anything in this world.  Would it be nice to have a little more money in the bank for bigger vacations, sure but we aren't struggling with our everyday expenses and that's all that matters.  There really is no money that could buy this time with my children while they are young and are completely dependent on me for their every need.  I will take every single ordinary day with my children any day.  You may call it boring, I call it experiencing my children's every firsts with my own eyes.  I'm off to have a boring day with the little guy, but let's be real with smiles like this its far from ordinary.

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.

Baby, You're a Firework!

Here's a few snaps from our long weekend.   We spent most of it outdoors whenever the sun was out!  Last year Lucas was too young to try and stay up for fireworks, but this year we tried to push back his bedtime as much as we could, he still didn't quite make it to the firework shows so on Sunday he enjoyed some my sister in law bought for his pleasure, and then on Monday after attempting unsuccessfully to stay for the local fireworks the hubby surprised him with some small ones at home.

His tiny little voice whispering wow whenever he saw the bright colours and lights shoot up was enough to make my heart melt in delight.  You forget how fascinating little things can be until you experience them again through the innocent eyes of your children.

23 Weeks - Baby #2

How far along - 23 weeks

Baby is the size of - a mango

Sleep - its was just ok this week.  Every night about an hour after I fall asleep until rough 3am I am up almost every hour and a half to pee, along with some hip pain it makes falling back asleep a little difficult.

Gender - Sweet little boy again!

Movement - Little man has been very active this week, and more and more of his kicks can be felt from the outside now, which I love.  I actually had Lucas feel the baby this week, he just kind of looked at me with this vague look like he had no clue what the big deal was.  I do love though that the baby seems to respond to his Lucas' voice a lot, and tends to give me his most prominent kicks when Lucas is talking.

Food Cravings/Aversions - Water, water, and more water.  Also loving on minute maid frozen juices, which is really unlike me, but I like this alternative to juice so I can add extra water and cut back on the super sweet taste, and overall sugar.  I had gestational diabetes with Lucas, and I am trying to be extra mindful of foods and drinks that could make it worse, since it is most likely that I will have diabetes again.  Still can't stand beef this week, so I stocked up on some extra chicken and pork meat to have at home, instead of red meat.

Symptoms - Same ligament and back pain as last week, but with some severe muscle pain on my right side.  I have a feeling I picked up Lucas in a wrong way and have tweaked my back in some way.  Its not a constant pain thank God, but when it comes its severely uncomfortable.  I have a prenatal massage this weekend that I'm looking forward to big time, and I'm hoping it will help ease some of this pain.  HEARTBURN!! Yup it has finally reared its ugly head in this pregnancy.  I suffered from some really bad heartburn and acid reflux with Lucas, and this time around its presenting itself much later, but it came with a vengeance.  I am popping tums like its candy, and pretty much everything I eat causes some degree of discomfort.  Not even milk seems to help, I avoided taking zantac or any other prescribed anti-acids the first time, so I'm hoping I can bear it again.  The old wives tale of heartburn being related to how much hair your child is born with actually rang true with Lucas who was born with a full head of the darkest hair, so I'm planning for another hairy child in my future lol.

Best moment this week - We had another epic family weekend.  It was a long weekend here in Canada, and we spent most of it outdoors between small bouts of showers, and Lucas got to see his first fireworks, which at first he was not too sure what to make of it, but last night the hubby surprised him with some in our backyard and he was much more interested.

What I miss - Still missing a little fruity alcohol drink or beer with some BBQ.  I may have to pinterest some mocktails for the summer to tie me over.