Zander is two! (and our adult life is officially over!)

Yesterday was Zander's second birthday and to celebrate, I made Zander some excellent double chocolate pancakes for breakfast. Zander got to play his computer games and for lunch we had his favourite! When Stephen got home from work, we headed out to have dinner. We decided to go to Montana's. Big mistake. There was no hostess at the door when we first got there so we had to wait five minutes for someone to realize that there were people at the door. We finally got seated and at the table next to us, there was a birthday. Of course, they come over and sing to the little girl and cheer which is half the fun, but Zander freaked right out! Screaming and crying, terrified! I think we must have sat at the table for a good ten minutes and no one came to get us drinks or anything. The waitress stopped by and said that she would be right over and so we decided to wait a bit more... Zander would not settle down so we started packing up to leave, a little ticked as our waitress didn not come right back, she checked on two other tables first and then had the nerve to give us attitude because we were leaving. So we tried another restaurant. Again there was a birthday and again Zander freaked out. This time he settled pretty quickly and our server was great. He ordered Zander's food right away and made sure he had a drink pronto. Zander's food came and he ate some of it, unfortunately, before our appetizer even arrived, he started acting up and so we were forced to pack up and leave, although this time, we switched our order to take out so that we'd at least have dinner at home. They were also nice enough to give us two balloons for Zander which he loved, especially the yellow one. I suspect that yellow is his favourite colour... other than purple, it's the only colour he will say! While Stephen and I ate and Zander chased the balloons around, we talked about how we used to be able to eat dinner anywhere, in silence if we wished! Stephen asked me when our lives where going to get back to normal, to which I responded, "this is our new normal!" Tomorrow should be a fun day, we are doing another birthday party with Stephen's party... I'll keep you posted!

two in one day!

One of the challenges of being a stay at home mom not working. OK, I know that doesn't sound like it makes any sense, I mean, any SAHM will tell you that it is a demanding job. What I mean actually is doing a job and getting paid. I want to work, but I don't want someone else raising my kids which leaves me with only one option. Work from home. But what do I want to do? Well, I decided to do some research and see what was out there for Moms that want to work from home doing a legitimate business. I googled and was flooded with all kinds of websites some of them info sites, a lot of scams, some MLM stuff and then there might have been some legit companies that would pay people to do data entry at home. The latter are impossible to find out there in the haystack of sites. Correct me if I am wrong here but shouldn't I be able to find work without paying for it? Why should I pay someone to send me work? The other option are the sites that tell you that they can get you working from home if you send them your contact info. Foolishly I did so and have now had two calls from separate individuals wanting to talk to me about their company. Basically they are MLM (Herbal Life and Usana) and they want me to be on their downline. Right now, I am involved in Mona Vie and I'm not really doing much with it. Let's face it, I am not a salesperson really. I believe in the product, I love it actually but I don't love talking to people about it. I don't want to be that person that no one wants to hang out with because all I talk about is Mona Vie. So, I am trying to find another way to make some money at home so that my husband does not have to work himself to death to support us. I've decided to get back to writing, which is slow going and might never make any money but it's worth a go.

the beginning of the birthday celebrations...

Zander officially turns two on Thursday so we started the birthday celebrations this weekend, having my Mom and Step-Dad, Brother and sister-in-law and niece and nephew over for dinner on Sunday. What a busy day Sunday turned out to be! Grace and I went to church while the boys stayed home and cleaned up. When I got home, I made lunch, fed Zander and Grace, ate quickly and started cooking dinner. I made a chicken pot pie earlier this week and Stephen requested it for dinner and it was a hit! The kids had a blast playing with all of Zanders toys and stuff and Zander got a couple of great gifts. Nanny and Poppy (my mom and step-dad) got him a cool toy jeep, and Uncle Jack, Aunt Amnath and the kids got him a Halloween costume, which I love!!!! I was out looking for a costume for him this past week and couldn't find anything for him, not to mention that I had no clue what to dress him up as. Problem solved! This year Zander is going to be Ratatouille. Sounds silly but he looks so stinkin cute in the costume, I can't wait for him to wear it! I'll have to post a picture later, hopefully I can figure out how to make it small.... So other than that, not much else is new. I was hit with a great idea on what to blog on, concerning my kids, last night but the idea has flown the mental coop. Maybe it'll come back to me later! Hope everyone is having a great Monday morning!

Last Friday's outting

Last Friday I headed out to Guelph to visit my Mom and to check out the new Bath and Body Works store. I hadn't been to Stone Road Mall in a while so I was really surprise by how much it has changed. It turned out to not be a great day to be out with the kids. When we got to the mall, the stroller was a bugger to push and Grace decided she didn't want to be in the stroller. So my mom carried her for a bit and then she just wasn't happy so we had to go change her, and of course, the bathroom was way back where we started from. The Family washrooms at Stone Road Mall are not very "family friendly". Right from the time we approached, I knew it was going to be a pain in the neck. Problem number one: The door opens inward but you have to turn the door knob first. I am sure that this is good for parents that have toddlers so that they can't escape but the door is heavy enough that they couldn't pull it open themselves. Problem number two: once the door is open, there is a wall directly across from the wall but it is not far enough away to push a double stroller in without hitting it while turning. Problem number three: It was hotter than hell in there! I think someone thought it was a sauna, not a washroom. Problem number four: the change table is one of those nifty ones that looks like a large, very shallow sink but it was on a counter that was very high and they set them back from the edge of the counter pretty far. Now I am only five foot one or so and it was awkward for me to use it. Whoever designed this washroom needs to go to Limeridge Mall in Hamilton and check out their family washroom. It's not perfect but the parts that are most necessary are great. After doing a quick bum change, we trekked down the mall to find B&BW, and as I figured, there was no negotiating the store with a double stroller so I parked it at the front of the store. Mom carried Grace and I walked Zander. It would have been fine but all these ladies started oohing and aahing about how cute Zander is and of course, he turns into shy boy and won't walk. So I pick him up and check things out, all the while keeping his curious little hands away from the shelves. He likes to pick things up off the shelf and throw them on the floor which would be alright in this store because most of the bottles are plastic, but it wasn't so great in the wine shop at the grocery store a month or so back.... But that's another post altogether. I ended up leaving the store quickly and empty handed, except for a toddler, a unco-operative double stroller and a screaming infant. I forgot that my shopping days are done, or rather limited to the grocery store and Wal-Mart.

When will I learn!?!?

It never fails that when I tell someone that Zander has slept through the night, he fails to do so that very night. So why bother telling anyone? Well, if someone tells me that I look more rested, or not as tired, I tell them that I was only up with Grace and not with Zander. I am sure that one of these days he will just get back into a normal sleep mode but I am afraid it will never come. A friend told me that her kids are five and three and she is still getting up at night with them! YIKES!!! I need my sleep. Today should be a fun day, I am heading over to visit my Mom and go to the New Bath and Body Works store. I am so excited because I don't have to go to the states anymore to get my fix, but I am weary because I have to push my stupid double stroller around the mall and likely there won't be much room to move around the store. I guess I'll just have to bring Zander's backpack harness and hope that Mom can "walk" him! LOL I know that there are some people who think that harnessing your kid is mean and/or dangerous, but I feel it would be less safe for him to be wandering around with me chasing him and trying to take care of baby Grace too. Anyway, he loves his little doggy backpack even wanting me to put it on him just around the house. Well, I should go and finish the laundry, get Gracie changed and get ready to go see Mom.

Birthday #2 is almost upon us!

It is just amazing how time flies. You don't really notice it until you have kids I swear! I sometimes feel like I just found out I was pregnant with Zander and now he is turning two! So you know what I am up to the next few weeks. Birthday party planning and hunting for a great gift from Mommy and Daddy and baby sister. We were looking at doing his party at this indoor kids playground but it looks like it is almost completely booked the weekend before his birthday and the weekend after won't work, unless we do something at home with my mom and brother and do the party at the playground with DH's family the next weekend. We'll see! But what to get for a two year old!?!? Not only am I doing that, but I am looking for an exersaucer for Grace. I put her in one yesterday and today and she seems to really like it, so I have to add that to the list. Probably the easiest way to get an exersaucer is to order it online and have it delivered. They are far too big to fit into the car... maybe it is time for us to get a van. *sigh* There was a time when I swore I would never drive a minivan but it looks like I am going to eventually have to give in. There is only so much that can fit in the back of the cruiser and right now, the double stroller has permanent resident status. (and that is a whole other post to come!) So, suggestions for birthday gifts would be appreciated.... if there is anyone out there!!!!

Baby chat....

It's amazing how two children can be so very different. My son was a pretty quiet baby, except for when he screamed and then he was so loud he could wake the dead! My baby girl on the other hand seems to be a non-stop chatterbox lately. It only really started the last couple of days, but she coos and goos and shrieks! Not screaming in a demanding forceful kind of way but a happy, look at me kind of shriek. DH and I have to laugh when she is sitting in the bouncy chair or on someone's lap and she just starts. It's like she is trying to tell us something and the look on her face is just so cute! I took some video which I will have to post on here. I am sure the Grandparents will appreciate seeing it.

Another nearly sleepless night

Once again, Zander was all messed up last night. I swear I was up from about midnight until about 2 trying to get him to go back to sleep and then was up for a feeding at 4. Luckily I was able to get in a nap this afternoon, although to be honest, I feel worse than if I had just stayed awake. Today was speech therapy today, which was alright. It's funny sitting there while the therapist tries to get Zander to speak by playing with toys, books and bubbles. He did actually attempt a word today, which was cool. His word of choice is again, but today he said "more" instead. He also attempted to say star, circle, square, and angle. (as in triangle) He says these words at home so it was no suprise to me. He has also attemped to say clock and he can say shoes. It seems weird to me to be writing about my son's "speaking" but for a time there we were so worried that he wasn't going to talk at all, so this is progress!!! Now if we could work on the sleeping, it would be a wonderful world indeed!

I've jinxed myself...

by talking about how Zander had slept in his bed two nights in a row without waking up and screaming. Well, we paid for that last night by him waking up at 3am and refusing to go back to sleep. I sat with him for a while and then he woke up the baby so I had to go and tend to her, which meant that Stephen had to get up and try to get Zander to quiet down and go to sleep. No such luck. After I finished feeding Grace and got her back down to sleep, I returned to Zander's room, where he was simultaneously yacking Stephen's ear off and jumping on him like a deranged mini-wrestler. I told him to go back to bed and tried my hand at getting Zander to go back to sleep. It was like getting a Mexican jumping bean to be still. Eventually, he succumbed to the sandman but only after cajoling, snuggling and a back rub from me. By the time I got back into bed it was 5:30am, only an hour and a half before baby's next feeding. I am theposter child for sleep deprivation!