I am Not your average hockey mom. I do not get excited about getting up early to sit and chitchat and gossip with other moms. I am the Mom who actively avoids all eye contact. The Mom who finds the chair furtheredt away from any other person.
I am the hockey mom who is the only mom who didn't put their hand up when asked about participating in an out of town tournament with our six year olds (who, haven't actually even played a game against another team yet). But sure, good idea let's head to another small Alberta town and play hockey! Good idea, high five.
I am the Hockey mom who strongly disagrees with ordering 'team' sweatshirts for our six years olds. Here is how I foresee that going. We spend a fortune on a sweater (under armour no less) that our child will wear for possibly four months until the season is over or until it is too small. Then this sweater will end up on the racks of value village.
I am the hockey mom who disagrees with team Christmas parties. In what world should a Christmas party for our six year olds cost $800. The kids have enough going on at Christmas.
I am the Mom that gets looks from all the other parents, perhaps wondering why I seem so miserable. Fact is, I'm not miserable at all. I am merely remembering what hockey really is for a six year old and that is FUN! We don't need all these committees and 'jobs' and expense for six year old hockey. Let them play. All the kids really want is to look up into the stands while they play and wave at their mom or dad. They would not notice either way if they had a Christmas party or sweater. They just want to play hockey.
I get it, I am a single mom who doesn't have the same income as many or most of these parents. But get a grip people.
The hockey world is a little out of control.
Thankfully, the one joy I get in terms of hockey is the pure passion that I see from Wyatt every time he gets on the ice! Wyatt lives and breathes hockey. If he isn't on the ice he is down the street playing with the neighbours, or requesting to watch hockey on tv. There is nothing more amazing as a parent then to watch your son get to play, learn and excel at something he loves so much!
Saturday, November 5, 2016
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
My Pursuit of Happiness
This past year has been one of the most challenging years of my life. It has been filled with some of the highest of highs followed by the lowest of lows. I made some huge changes in my life in the pursuit of happiness.
I've made new friends and lost old friends along the way. I had a hard time understanding how one can walk away from a friendship I had held dear. I have learned to move on, to forgive and forget. Throughout this process I had old friends check in on me and new friends who never left my side. I am forever grateful for all of their love and support.
My confidence took a huge hit. No matter how many people I had around me I felt alone. I was a hot mess. In the start I don't think a day went by that I didn't cry. Not because I doubted my decision but because I was scared. I was scared to be alone, I was scared about money, I was scared about my future, I was sad to not see my kids. I didn't want to burden anyone with my problems. Being away from my kids for a week at a time was the hardest thing for me to get used to. Having been with them 24/7 for 6 years to suddenly not see them for 7 days broke my heart every time (and it still does). I have learned to keep myself and my mind busy and to maximize every minute when I have my boys.
I learned to cope. I realized that life is one giant learning curve. One day you think you think you are sitting pretty, have it all figured out. The next day you are hit with what you think is an unfathomable problem that you will never make it through. But you do, you just keep going.
I am glad to say that I have finally reached a place of happiness. A place where I finally feel content. This is not to say I don't have breakdowns every now and then. Those closest to me have seen me breakdown crying for really no particular reason. But these are getting further and further apart.
I am excited for my fresh start. I am excited for my gym, the gym is my place of happiness. The people I have met through Perpetual and the energy of everyone in the gym brings a smile to my face everyday. I have purchased a new home for my boys and I! I can't even express how proud I am of myself. I have never done something like this, i have never been in control of my own money, my own purchases, my own life. Being able to bring my kids home to a home that is OURS, that we will create together brings me so much joy!
My greatest love is my boys. Watching them grow into the amazing little men that they are! Their hugs and 'I Love you Mom' keep me going. Their nighttime cuddles, their silly antics, their goofiness fill my heart! I look in their eyes and I can see that them just being with me is ALL that they need. And it is ALL that i need.
This entire process has shown me that people come into my life at the perfect time for the perfect reason. I am truly blessed and so grateful for everyone (family and friends) who has stepped up and supported me through this. I feel nothing but love for you all!
I've made new friends and lost old friends along the way. I had a hard time understanding how one can walk away from a friendship I had held dear. I have learned to move on, to forgive and forget. Throughout this process I had old friends check in on me and new friends who never left my side. I am forever grateful for all of their love and support.
My confidence took a huge hit. No matter how many people I had around me I felt alone. I was a hot mess. In the start I don't think a day went by that I didn't cry. Not because I doubted my decision but because I was scared. I was scared to be alone, I was scared about money, I was scared about my future, I was sad to not see my kids. I didn't want to burden anyone with my problems. Being away from my kids for a week at a time was the hardest thing for me to get used to. Having been with them 24/7 for 6 years to suddenly not see them for 7 days broke my heart every time (and it still does). I have learned to keep myself and my mind busy and to maximize every minute when I have my boys.
I learned to cope. I realized that life is one giant learning curve. One day you think you think you are sitting pretty, have it all figured out. The next day you are hit with what you think is an unfathomable problem that you will never make it through. But you do, you just keep going.
I am glad to say that I have finally reached a place of happiness. A place where I finally feel content. This is not to say I don't have breakdowns every now and then. Those closest to me have seen me breakdown crying for really no particular reason. But these are getting further and further apart.
I am excited for my fresh start. I am excited for my gym, the gym is my place of happiness. The people I have met through Perpetual and the energy of everyone in the gym brings a smile to my face everyday. I have purchased a new home for my boys and I! I can't even express how proud I am of myself. I have never done something like this, i have never been in control of my own money, my own purchases, my own life. Being able to bring my kids home to a home that is OURS, that we will create together brings me so much joy!
My greatest love is my boys. Watching them grow into the amazing little men that they are! Their hugs and 'I Love you Mom' keep me going. Their nighttime cuddles, their silly antics, their goofiness fill my heart! I look in their eyes and I can see that them just being with me is ALL that they need. And it is ALL that i need.
This entire process has shown me that people come into my life at the perfect time for the perfect reason. I am truly blessed and so grateful for everyone (family and friends) who has stepped up and supported me through this. I feel nothing but love for you all!
Saturday, May 23, 2015
The fresh smell of poop
Ok so i admit it, last night, for the first time in a long time I had a few margaritas. I had friends over and actually enjoyed my night. It was hot. The house was a flapping' sauna. So by the time I went to bed I was sweating. For some reason (well actually not for some reason, because I live out of my car) all of my pyjama pants were in the car and I was MUCH too lazy to go and get them so I slept in my underwear. (I'm painting you a picture, I am actually going somewhere with this).
Exhausted and sleeping, 7 am comes. I hear this little voice from the bathroom. 'Mom, when I was peeing some poop came out'. I roll over and tell him(Wyatt) that sometimes that happens. Assuming he can deal with this issue himself I go back to sleep. 2 minutes later, 'Mom, there is poop on my foot and some on the floor'. I grumble and roll out of bed. Staggering to the bathroom in just my underwear and no glasses I come across Wyatt in the bathroom. I was hit with an overwhelming smell of poop. I look down and see Wyatt, COVERED in poop, and no word of a lie, POOP everywhere.
The only thing I can think of is going back to sleep, I feel ill (and now even more sick and dry heaving in the bathroom). I go back to my room and search for my glasses, they are nowhere to be found. The house stinks. I find my glasses. I wonder HOW on freaking earth did this happen and WHY today. Honestly, why today. To spare you from the details, I clean Wyatt up and put him in the bath. ALL i want to do is go back to sleep, but what kind of parent would I be if I put my kid in the bath and then fell asleep. I wait for Wyatt to clean up. I go do a laundry. The house STINKS. I realize that SOMEHOW poop got on the carpet. This is perfect for selling a house. Poopstained carpet. PLEASE come buy our house. I clean up the carpet. STILL can't find any pants. WHERE are ALL my pants!
Finally everything is cleaned up. Wyatt, the bathroom, the carpet, my foot (yes I stepped in poop) and i'm ready to go back to bed. Well great, in the meantime Ethan has woken up and the boys are ready to play. I try to sleep through the playing, but they are playing superheros and apparently super hero YELL!
My morning, all before 7:30 am.
Exhausted and sleeping, 7 am comes. I hear this little voice from the bathroom. 'Mom, when I was peeing some poop came out'. I roll over and tell him(Wyatt) that sometimes that happens. Assuming he can deal with this issue himself I go back to sleep. 2 minutes later, 'Mom, there is poop on my foot and some on the floor'. I grumble and roll out of bed. Staggering to the bathroom in just my underwear and no glasses I come across Wyatt in the bathroom. I was hit with an overwhelming smell of poop. I look down and see Wyatt, COVERED in poop, and no word of a lie, POOP everywhere.
The only thing I can think of is going back to sleep, I feel ill (and now even more sick and dry heaving in the bathroom). I go back to my room and search for my glasses, they are nowhere to be found. The house stinks. I find my glasses. I wonder HOW on freaking earth did this happen and WHY today. Honestly, why today. To spare you from the details, I clean Wyatt up and put him in the bath. ALL i want to do is go back to sleep, but what kind of parent would I be if I put my kid in the bath and then fell asleep. I wait for Wyatt to clean up. I go do a laundry. The house STINKS. I realize that SOMEHOW poop got on the carpet. This is perfect for selling a house. Poopstained carpet. PLEASE come buy our house. I clean up the carpet. STILL can't find any pants. WHERE are ALL my pants!
Finally everything is cleaned up. Wyatt, the bathroom, the carpet, my foot (yes I stepped in poop) and i'm ready to go back to bed. Well great, in the meantime Ethan has woken up and the boys are ready to play. I try to sleep through the playing, but they are playing superheros and apparently super hero YELL!
My morning, all before 7:30 am.
Thursday, November 6, 2014
A blog-worthy night
For those of you are new to my blog page.... first of all WELCOME. A few years ago I would write a daily blog post of the trials of semi-single motherhood (or wife of a oil-patch worker). These post were not meant to complain about my life or attempt to show you how ridiculously difficult it is being a mother at times but more to just VENT for myself with a little added humour. And hopefully help other struggling mothers know that they are not alone.
Things settled down, life got easier, the kids were growing up and my days were not so stressful. Less things to blog about. Well the stress level seems to have increased tremendously in the last few months. Perhaps due to the fact that we have brought a puppy into the mix, or maybe because the kids are exhausted from school, or perhaps that our life (as i'm sure with many is like a rat race, racing here and there all day).
I knew the dog would add to the crazy but I do not regret our decision to add a furry friend to the family. We all love Kai and to be honest he is the least of my worries. He has been absolutely wonderful teaching the kids responsibility. And by kids I mostly mean just Ethan. Ethan feeds the dog in the morning and then again at night. Kai waits by the gate for Ethan to come down the stairs. Whenever we get home Ethan immediately takes the dog outside for a pee. Wyatt's relationship with the dog is slightly different. He hasn't quite mastered the technique of being CALM and GENTLE around the dog. Anyways that is an entire different post in itself.
Anyways back to the stress level. Let me just tell you about my night last night. I went to bed late last night (and by late i mean 9:15). I was awoken from a deep sleep around 10:34 to the sound of someone peeing. At first I thought it was one of the boys peeing in the toilet, but as I listened closer I realized it was not the sound of pee on water. Got up and wandered into Wyatt's room. There he is, pants around his ankles, peeing on the floor. Saaaayyyyy whhhhhhhaaaat?? What are you doing Wyatt? "Just peeing momma". As I zombie-walk around the house looking for towels (which I usually keep in the hall closet, but Kelly prefers them under random sinks). So none in the hall closet, I keep searching. Wyatt is rooting around in his drawer for some new pajama pants. I find a towel. Do a semi-decent clean up then try to help Wyatt. He won't just put on the first pair of jammie pants he sees. No he is searching for a particular pair which may, or may-not, be in his drawer. After a small argument and me attempting to keep him from waking the dog (ohhhhh please don't bark Kai) he settles on a pair and is back in bed.
I go back to sleep. Around 1 am Ethan comes barrelling in saying he has peed his bed. He has done an entire outfit changed, towelled up his bed on his own and crawls in with me. Instead of going to check the disastrous wet bed in his room I turn over and go back to sleep. That is something I can deal with in the morning. Good, everyone has now peed and is back to sleep. I can relax.
5 am comes, i hear the whimpering start (now I shouldn't complain because he has slept straight from 9:15-5 am) which is a great stretch. I quickly go take him to pee, put him back in the crate and go back to bed. Then..... the barking starts. I just had done some research and they said to let the dog bark (much like the cry it out method with babies). Except the problem is, sleeping through a baby crying is MUCH easier than sleeping through a dog barking. After two hours I give in and wake up for the day.
I am exhasuted, the kids are full of energy, as is the dog. Kai goes in for his shots today so we can FINALLY take him for walks. I am hoping that a daily dog walk will not only tire out Kai but also the kids. I mean here is to hoping!
Wyatt isn't starting the day on a great foot yet again. His listening skills are that of a, well i don't know, something that iso terrible at listening. In the past ten minutes Wyatt has already:
-Told me he hates me
-Told me I am not his mom anymore
-Called me a buttface
I am unphased.
Things settled down, life got easier, the kids were growing up and my days were not so stressful. Less things to blog about. Well the stress level seems to have increased tremendously in the last few months. Perhaps due to the fact that we have brought a puppy into the mix, or maybe because the kids are exhausted from school, or perhaps that our life (as i'm sure with many is like a rat race, racing here and there all day).
I knew the dog would add to the crazy but I do not regret our decision to add a furry friend to the family. We all love Kai and to be honest he is the least of my worries. He has been absolutely wonderful teaching the kids responsibility. And by kids I mostly mean just Ethan. Ethan feeds the dog in the morning and then again at night. Kai waits by the gate for Ethan to come down the stairs. Whenever we get home Ethan immediately takes the dog outside for a pee. Wyatt's relationship with the dog is slightly different. He hasn't quite mastered the technique of being CALM and GENTLE around the dog. Anyways that is an entire different post in itself.
Anyways back to the stress level. Let me just tell you about my night last night. I went to bed late last night (and by late i mean 9:15). I was awoken from a deep sleep around 10:34 to the sound of someone peeing. At first I thought it was one of the boys peeing in the toilet, but as I listened closer I realized it was not the sound of pee on water. Got up and wandered into Wyatt's room. There he is, pants around his ankles, peeing on the floor. Saaaayyyyy whhhhhhhaaaat?? What are you doing Wyatt? "Just peeing momma". As I zombie-walk around the house looking for towels (which I usually keep in the hall closet, but Kelly prefers them under random sinks). So none in the hall closet, I keep searching. Wyatt is rooting around in his drawer for some new pajama pants. I find a towel. Do a semi-decent clean up then try to help Wyatt. He won't just put on the first pair of jammie pants he sees. No he is searching for a particular pair which may, or may-not, be in his drawer. After a small argument and me attempting to keep him from waking the dog (ohhhhh please don't bark Kai) he settles on a pair and is back in bed.
I go back to sleep. Around 1 am Ethan comes barrelling in saying he has peed his bed. He has done an entire outfit changed, towelled up his bed on his own and crawls in with me. Instead of going to check the disastrous wet bed in his room I turn over and go back to sleep. That is something I can deal with in the morning. Good, everyone has now peed and is back to sleep. I can relax.
5 am comes, i hear the whimpering start (now I shouldn't complain because he has slept straight from 9:15-5 am) which is a great stretch. I quickly go take him to pee, put him back in the crate and go back to bed. Then..... the barking starts. I just had done some research and they said to let the dog bark (much like the cry it out method with babies). Except the problem is, sleeping through a baby crying is MUCH easier than sleeping through a dog barking. After two hours I give in and wake up for the day.
I am exhasuted, the kids are full of energy, as is the dog. Kai goes in for his shots today so we can FINALLY take him for walks. I am hoping that a daily dog walk will not only tire out Kai but also the kids. I mean here is to hoping!
Wyatt isn't starting the day on a great foot yet again. His listening skills are that of a, well i don't know, something that iso terrible at listening. In the past ten minutes Wyatt has already:
-Told me he hates me
-Told me I am not his mom anymore
-Called me a buttface
I am unphased.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Barf
The flu is alive an well in the Rogers Hawaiian home. Barf is one thing I just don't deal well with. I can barely handle puke when I puke but when it is someone eles I have a major issue. I mean I can take poop all over the walls but puke is a whole new can of worms.
After the gym yesterday Kelly began complaining of a sore stomach. I of course brushed that off. My stomach has been slightly sore all week. I assumed that it was caused by the large amounts of junkier food we had been eating lately. An hour later Kelly was literally a heap on the couch asleep. I'm not going to lie I was a little bit annoyed, my tummy hurt, i'd like a nap.... Anyways so I took the kids down to the pool to let him sleep in peace. We had a big night out planned last night. Claire and Jake were taking Kelly out for dinner at the Fairmont. I was so excited about it. I had a babysitter planned and really hadn't had a drink since Claire and Jake's wedding so I was very much looking forward to getting out for some fun. I figured a nap my pull Kelly out of his sickness.
While we were at the pool I got a text from Kelly informing me of his violently ill situation and that I needed to cancel the babysitter we would not be going out for dinner. I still wasn't quite convinced that we needed to cancel the entire night. So I didn't cancel the babysitter. When we got back up to the condo Kelly was laying in bed and the kids and I just were relaxing on the couch. Next thing I know I hear Kelly barfing from the the bathroom. There were three doors between me and him, none of which he closed. He came out and said 'Did you hear that'. Yes Kelly, you have not convinced me that you are infact sick. I was NOT convinced however that he could get better in the four hours we had until dinner. So still did not cancel the babysitter. I let Kelly sleep in hopes that his stomach would pull itself together. Finally around 5 he says he is not coming. I go into my room and have a silent cry then come back out and tell him I was so excited for tonight and was very disappointed. Obviously I knew there was nothing he could do about it. Anyways he agreed to come and just sit at the table with us.
Kelly hardly said a word on the way to the restaurant and had his hands wrapped around his waist. I even made him ginger tea before we left. They gave him gingerale and ginger candy at the restaurant but he just wasn't feeling good. So he took the car and headed home. Claire, Jake and I stayed and had a fantastic meal. Very sad Kelly couldn't be there with us.
After dinner we met friends at Moose's for drinks. I was like the 3rd 4th and 5th wheel all night but I still had fun and definitely had my fair share of drinks.
When i got home everyone was asleep, the boys are on the mattress in our room when we have guests. At about three 3 am I hear the distinct sound of projectile vomit. I sprang up and sure enough there was puke everywhere all over Wyatt and all the blankets. Thankfully I was able to hold in my dry heaves and get things cleaned up. Kelly and I were zombies, kelly dealt with Ethan and I put all the sheets in the wash. We put some secondary blankets down and got Ethan a bowl. The next two pukes he was able to go directly into the bowl which kept things clean. Kelly and I have given the boys our blankets from the bed so we were sleeping with dirty sandy beach towels on us. We finally made it through the night. Everyone was exhausted this morning but I had enough energy to head to the gym.
After lunch Kelly slept from 12-4 (it was like he hadn't come back from work yet). Claire, Jake and I took the boys to the pool and they had a ton of energy there. After the pool Wyatt crashed hard. He has been asleep since 2:30 this afternoon and it is 7 now and he is out cold. He has a terrible fever and we have the puke bowl ready for tonight. All I can hope is that I can somehow make it through this barf without catching it!
After lunch Kelly slept from 12-4 (it was like he hadn't come back from work yet). Claire, Jake and I took the boys to the pool and they had a ton of energy there. After the pool Wyatt crashed hard. He has been asleep since 2:30 this afternoon and it is 7 now and he is out cold. He has a terrible fever and we have the puke bowl ready for tonight. All I can hope is that I can somehow make it through this barf without catching it!
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Some Days you Gotta Dance
Well today was an adventure.....
This morning we got up as usual and headed to the gym. The lady from the daycare was 'sick'. The guy at the front desk said he would watch the kids and work the desk. I was ok with this because I really wanted to workout but I still had to rush my workout because I felt bad leaving my kids for that long with him. Anyways he had come up with some sort of payment game and the kids ended up leaving with a dollar worth of change each. So I guess we are ahead of the game.
The boys wanted to go to the pool today. I had bought them some new rings to dive for and they were very excited to try them out. So we got to the pool and we were the only ones there. PERFECT! We had the place to ourselves for a good half an hour. I kept checking the gate thinking I heard the HAG coming. Then .... there she was. She breezed in, walked an inch away from me with a big sneer on her face and walked right by me. I quickly texted mom to tell her the hag had arrived. She quickly texted me back to remind me to take the high road. I was going to take the high road, but I was also going to defend my kids. I was ready, ready for some confrontation. Then I heard the gate open again. A very friendly man walked through. He stopped and chatted with me about the boys then proceeded to go and lay down next to HAG. She was still giving me the evil eye but her husband was very wonderful! I was a little shocked! Anyways I kind of had a sense of relief knowing that she had a sensible side (her husband). I took the kids home after that to give them some peace and quiet.
After a quick lunch the kids and I headed to get groceries in Paia. Our favourite store in the world is MANA foods, we go there every Saturday to load up on the healthy stuff. Paia is about 30 minutes away from us and it is always VERY busy. There is always a line up getting into town and it is a lot of stop and go. So we were in the line to town and the air conditioner stopped working. So I opened the windows. I recently bought the kids the CARS soundtrack and no word of a lie we have been listening to the CD on repeat for two weeks. So we had it blasting with all the windows open. Boys were singing and dancing in the back seat. We finally got to the Mana parking lots and were doing circles until we found a spot. The windows were still open and Ethan says 'Mom it smells like farts'. I naturally (lol) took a big whiff. It didn't smell farts it smelt like someones engine burning. I thought nothing of it and kept circling. On the next round Ethan says 'Mom the car is smoking'. I look at the hood.... CRAP... our car is smoking. It was just a little, but our temperature gage was at top temperature. Here I am freaking out just a little but kept circling because there was nowhere to stop. Then the smoke started coming... more, then more, then it was BILLOWING out of the hood. People were flagging me over and waving at me to stop (because I guess they thought I couldn't see the smoke in front of my face). I had no where to go but with some crazy luck someone pulled out of a spot right in front of me and I pulled in. We all jumped out and a huge amount of liquid spilled under the car.
SO the kids and I were just sitting in the middle of the parking lot and I just couldn't help but laugh. Seriously? Did this just happen to me? It is almost like Maui was trying to tell us to GET OFF THE ISLAND. Well sorry Maui I see your signs, but we are STAYING. So I had a little laugh with the kids and got on the phone to budget. Of course I don't have a phone plan and was on hold for over 30 minutes with budget (that is gonna be pricy). I took the kids over to a little cafe and bought them a snack and the worlds best smoothie and talked to the budget lady.
We were told it would take 2 hours for them to deliver us a new car. I really wasn't looking forward to attempting to entertain the kids in a shopping town for two hours. But the kids and I wandered around for awhile then we went and got our groceries from Mana. I decided that due to stress I needed a Mana cookie (Best cookie in the world). It was delicious... didn't even share with the kids I ate it so fast. The new car only ended up taking about an hour. We went to the car and took everything out. The back seat and the trunk were left with a 2 inch thick sludge of sand and crackers. The tow truck pulled up with a brand new car. We had a versa and now have a flashy little fully loaded Sentra. We jumped in and it is BRAND new. Only 4 miles on the car.... I wonder how long it will take the sand and crackers to consume the back seat.
On the way home the kids insisted we put the cars CD into the new car, we cranked up the tunes and danced the whole way home. Surprisingly happy considering the very long day that had just taken place! What was meant to be a quick trip to Mana foods turned into a full day adventure but we came out ahead with a brand new car! Now we are rushing to clean the house because Aunty Claire and Uncle Jake come TONIGHT!!!
This morning we got up as usual and headed to the gym. The lady from the daycare was 'sick'. The guy at the front desk said he would watch the kids and work the desk. I was ok with this because I really wanted to workout but I still had to rush my workout because I felt bad leaving my kids for that long with him. Anyways he had come up with some sort of payment game and the kids ended up leaving with a dollar worth of change each. So I guess we are ahead of the game.
The boys wanted to go to the pool today. I had bought them some new rings to dive for and they were very excited to try them out. So we got to the pool and we were the only ones there. PERFECT! We had the place to ourselves for a good half an hour. I kept checking the gate thinking I heard the HAG coming. Then .... there she was. She breezed in, walked an inch away from me with a big sneer on her face and walked right by me. I quickly texted mom to tell her the hag had arrived. She quickly texted me back to remind me to take the high road. I was going to take the high road, but I was also going to defend my kids. I was ready, ready for some confrontation. Then I heard the gate open again. A very friendly man walked through. He stopped and chatted with me about the boys then proceeded to go and lay down next to HAG. She was still giving me the evil eye but her husband was very wonderful! I was a little shocked! Anyways I kind of had a sense of relief knowing that she had a sensible side (her husband). I took the kids home after that to give them some peace and quiet.
After a quick lunch the kids and I headed to get groceries in Paia. Our favourite store in the world is MANA foods, we go there every Saturday to load up on the healthy stuff. Paia is about 30 minutes away from us and it is always VERY busy. There is always a line up getting into town and it is a lot of stop and go. So we were in the line to town and the air conditioner stopped working. So I opened the windows. I recently bought the kids the CARS soundtrack and no word of a lie we have been listening to the CD on repeat for two weeks. So we had it blasting with all the windows open. Boys were singing and dancing in the back seat. We finally got to the Mana parking lots and were doing circles until we found a spot. The windows were still open and Ethan says 'Mom it smells like farts'. I naturally (lol) took a big whiff. It didn't smell farts it smelt like someones engine burning. I thought nothing of it and kept circling. On the next round Ethan says 'Mom the car is smoking'. I look at the hood.... CRAP... our car is smoking. It was just a little, but our temperature gage was at top temperature. Here I am freaking out just a little but kept circling because there was nowhere to stop. Then the smoke started coming... more, then more, then it was BILLOWING out of the hood. People were flagging me over and waving at me to stop (because I guess they thought I couldn't see the smoke in front of my face). I had no where to go but with some crazy luck someone pulled out of a spot right in front of me and I pulled in. We all jumped out and a huge amount of liquid spilled under the car.
SO the kids and I were just sitting in the middle of the parking lot and I just couldn't help but laugh. Seriously? Did this just happen to me? It is almost like Maui was trying to tell us to GET OFF THE ISLAND. Well sorry Maui I see your signs, but we are STAYING. So I had a little laugh with the kids and got on the phone to budget. Of course I don't have a phone plan and was on hold for over 30 minutes with budget (that is gonna be pricy). I took the kids over to a little cafe and bought them a snack and the worlds best smoothie and talked to the budget lady.
We were told it would take 2 hours for them to deliver us a new car. I really wasn't looking forward to attempting to entertain the kids in a shopping town for two hours. But the kids and I wandered around for awhile then we went and got our groceries from Mana. I decided that due to stress I needed a Mana cookie (Best cookie in the world). It was delicious... didn't even share with the kids I ate it so fast. The new car only ended up taking about an hour. We went to the car and took everything out. The back seat and the trunk were left with a 2 inch thick sludge of sand and crackers. The tow truck pulled up with a brand new car. We had a versa and now have a flashy little fully loaded Sentra. We jumped in and it is BRAND new. Only 4 miles on the car.... I wonder how long it will take the sand and crackers to consume the back seat.
On the way home the kids insisted we put the cars CD into the new car, we cranked up the tunes and danced the whole way home. Surprisingly happy considering the very long day that had just taken place! What was meant to be a quick trip to Mana foods turned into a full day adventure but we came out ahead with a brand new car! Now we are rushing to clean the house because Aunty Claire and Uncle Jake come TONIGHT!!!
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Close Call
I am going to chalk today up as the scariest day of my life so far.
Today I decided to take the boys up to the Lavender field in Kula. Kula is in upcountry on the side of Haleakala Mountain. The mountain is very rarely clear and today it was clear as a bell. After a quick swim we loaded into the Versa and headed out.
The Lavender field is situated on the side of the mountain, it is an incredibly steep climb to get there and the entire farm is very steep even to just walk on. They have a wonderful little treasure hunt for the kids. The kids follow a map and collect stamps along the way. When they are done they take their stamp cards to the gift shop for a 'prize'. We had just finished our stamp cards and were on our way to the gift shop. I was humming along to the 'HAPPY' song and thinking about what peaceful day it had been. Ethan was singing the 'Jake and the Neverland pirate song' and dancing away. We stopped at the bathroom on our way to the gift shops. The bathrooms are three outhouses in amongst some beautiful gardens and beside the garage. The whole lavender field is for walking only (no cars). Both the boys peed and I got the boys to sit on the grass just outside the the outhouse (two feet away from the outhouse not really thinking anything unsafe could happen two feet away from the outhouse while I was in there). Boy was I mistaken.
I finished peeing and was just stepping out of the outhouse when I happened to look up, there was a black SUV BARRELLING towards us. I mean it was going SO fast. I didn't have time to think and the only thing I could come up with in my brain was 'WHAT THE HECK IS THAT CAR DOING'. THEN I realized that they had lost their breaks and were out of control. It all happened so fast, they were coming right at us and next thing you know they smashed HARD into the side of the garage ONE foot away from my boys sitting nicely in the grass. I was in shock, i mean I was in SHOCK. This car literally crashed into the side of the garage ONE FOOT away from my boys. ONE FOOT, that is like ONE ruler!! I burst into tears and started shaking uncontrollably. My kids had escaped being hit head on by a fast moving car by one foot. The front of the car was literally torn right off, a complete right off. People came rushing over, the lady in the car jumped out and immediately came and hugged me (oh man just tearing up just typing this). I was sobbing. I couldn't stop shaking. She said she saw me (while out of control) and was swerving away (In my opinion she could have swerved a little harder). I looked at my boys grabbed their hands and we began walking away from the situation. I had to sit on the grass as I could hardly walk, my legs were weak. The boys were fine, hardly even phased. Ethan says 'oh mom they are going to have to plant some new plants' (the car also hit a large planter), and Wyatt goes 'Mom that car just CRASHDED' (that is how he said it). Then they both asked me why I was crying.
I quickly picked myself up and wiped away my tears. I grabbed my boys and we headed into get our prize as we were planning to before. When we got into the gift shop the owners gave me a tea, some bottled water and cookies for the boys. We sat on the deck and had a major CHILL out session. I was weeping and still weak in the knees. I just couldn't believe how my whole world just flashed before my eyes at the so-called peaceful lavender gardens.
We went up and sat at the upper picnic tables and had our picnic as planned. The staff at the lavender field took my information and the police came to do an investigation. They took my number for my statement.
It is unbelievable how fragile life is. I am so thankful that this was only a 'close call'. I am so thankful that my boys are ok. I am so thankful that my boys jumped right up and asked me if I was ok. They are such thoughtful little boys, words cannot even express how much i love them.
I gave both my boys (who thought I was completely crazy) an extra big hug and we packed back into the car. The whole event kept replaying in my head the entire drive home. I take this as my reminder that I need to live my life to the fullest. I need to love my boys harder. I need to be more understanding to their needs and be there for them as much as I can. They are my little guys and my entire world. Sometimes you get so wrapped up in life that you forget that the only thing that matters are the ones you love.
Today I decided to take the boys up to the Lavender field in Kula. Kula is in upcountry on the side of Haleakala Mountain. The mountain is very rarely clear and today it was clear as a bell. After a quick swim we loaded into the Versa and headed out.
The Lavender field is situated on the side of the mountain, it is an incredibly steep climb to get there and the entire farm is very steep even to just walk on. They have a wonderful little treasure hunt for the kids. The kids follow a map and collect stamps along the way. When they are done they take their stamp cards to the gift shop for a 'prize'. We had just finished our stamp cards and were on our way to the gift shop. I was humming along to the 'HAPPY' song and thinking about what peaceful day it had been. Ethan was singing the 'Jake and the Neverland pirate song' and dancing away. We stopped at the bathroom on our way to the gift shops. The bathrooms are three outhouses in amongst some beautiful gardens and beside the garage. The whole lavender field is for walking only (no cars). Both the boys peed and I got the boys to sit on the grass just outside the the outhouse (two feet away from the outhouse not really thinking anything unsafe could happen two feet away from the outhouse while I was in there). Boy was I mistaken.
I finished peeing and was just stepping out of the outhouse when I happened to look up, there was a black SUV BARRELLING towards us. I mean it was going SO fast. I didn't have time to think and the only thing I could come up with in my brain was 'WHAT THE HECK IS THAT CAR DOING'. THEN I realized that they had lost their breaks and were out of control. It all happened so fast, they were coming right at us and next thing you know they smashed HARD into the side of the garage ONE foot away from my boys sitting nicely in the grass. I was in shock, i mean I was in SHOCK. This car literally crashed into the side of the garage ONE FOOT away from my boys. ONE FOOT, that is like ONE ruler!! I burst into tears and started shaking uncontrollably. My kids had escaped being hit head on by a fast moving car by one foot. The front of the car was literally torn right off, a complete right off. People came rushing over, the lady in the car jumped out and immediately came and hugged me (oh man just tearing up just typing this). I was sobbing. I couldn't stop shaking. She said she saw me (while out of control) and was swerving away (In my opinion she could have swerved a little harder). I looked at my boys grabbed their hands and we began walking away from the situation. I had to sit on the grass as I could hardly walk, my legs were weak. The boys were fine, hardly even phased. Ethan says 'oh mom they are going to have to plant some new plants' (the car also hit a large planter), and Wyatt goes 'Mom that car just CRASHDED' (that is how he said it). Then they both asked me why I was crying.
I quickly picked myself up and wiped away my tears. I grabbed my boys and we headed into get our prize as we were planning to before. When we got into the gift shop the owners gave me a tea, some bottled water and cookies for the boys. We sat on the deck and had a major CHILL out session. I was weeping and still weak in the knees. I just couldn't believe how my whole world just flashed before my eyes at the so-called peaceful lavender gardens.
We went up and sat at the upper picnic tables and had our picnic as planned. The staff at the lavender field took my information and the police came to do an investigation. They took my number for my statement.
It is unbelievable how fragile life is. I am so thankful that this was only a 'close call'. I am so thankful that my boys are ok. I am so thankful that my boys jumped right up and asked me if I was ok. They are such thoughtful little boys, words cannot even express how much i love them.
I gave both my boys (who thought I was completely crazy) an extra big hug and we packed back into the car. The whole event kept replaying in my head the entire drive home. I take this as my reminder that I need to live my life to the fullest. I need to love my boys harder. I need to be more understanding to their needs and be there for them as much as I can. They are my little guys and my entire world. Sometimes you get so wrapped up in life that you forget that the only thing that matters are the ones you love.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
HAG
Most times I can let the little things go, but there are some things that really get under my skin. Grouchy, snotty people are things that I just can't deal with.
This morning the kids and I went to the gym , stopped at the farmers market on the way home then decided to head to the pool. I got dressed and made my 'pool watching tea'. I sat down in my beach chair and took a few sips. I just sat there thinking about how wonderful my life is, the kids have been playing so nicely, the weather it beautiful and it was just a great day. About half an hour later I hear the pool gate open. An older lady, who has come to the pool for the last few days, came through the gate. I said a friendly HI. She grumbled something back. There was something about this women that I noticed just watching her. You could tell she was a Hag.
The kids were just playing, diving for rocks and zooming their planes around the pool. They were not loud. They were not screaming (because trust me I put a quick stop to screaming). The kids actually truthfully were just playing, not super quiet but not overly loud. (Certainly not as loud as the huge kid pool party that had taken place a few nights ago, my kids were there and loved it lol). Anyways the HAG goes and sits on the other side of the pool, she puts her headphones on and lays down. Kids still playing.... HAG sits up, pulls her headphones up and says 'Can your kids be quiet'. ARE YOU FRICKING kidding me??!?!?!?! I looked at her and said 'What did you say?'. She says 'Can the kids stop screaming'. I thought my head might blow off, I looked at her and said firmly and extra bitchy "They are just playing". Then i turned away. Normally I only stay the pool for about 45 minutes but today I made it a point to extend our pool visit mostly just to piss her right off. I just couldn't believe it, seems like something so small but after getting a NOISE complaint (Not during quiet time hours...in other words NOT valid) then having some HAG to tell my kids (who were not even being loud) to be quiet, I was just dumbfounded.
If you can't handle the noise DON'T come to the pool to relax and expect perfect silence. Try your porch, the grass or the beach.
If you can't handle the noise go live in the seniors centre across the street or chose another ADULT only facility.
I am so sick of having to get after my kids to keep their voices down or try to stay quiet while playing. How is that fair to them? I will no longer attempt to dull my kids voices when they have every right to be as loud as they want. (Of course within reason, i can't deal with screaming)
As we were leaving the pool I looked at her and she was glaring at me. (seriously glaring). I maturely mouthed the word COW to her.
Tomorrow I think we will bring some super soakers to the pool. Hopefully the kids accidentally hit her.... wooops
We have met some absolutely wonderful people her on Maui and I will be very sad to leave in a month and a half. One thing I am looking forward to however, is to be able to have some freedom in our own house! No one likes noisy kids (myself included) but kids that are just playing, come on. So far our (or my) first rental experience has not been very positive.
Anyways I will try to keep up with a few more blogs before we leave. Just a recap of the last few months! SIMPLY AMAZING! I love this place!
This morning the kids and I went to the gym , stopped at the farmers market on the way home then decided to head to the pool. I got dressed and made my 'pool watching tea'. I sat down in my beach chair and took a few sips. I just sat there thinking about how wonderful my life is, the kids have been playing so nicely, the weather it beautiful and it was just a great day. About half an hour later I hear the pool gate open. An older lady, who has come to the pool for the last few days, came through the gate. I said a friendly HI. She grumbled something back. There was something about this women that I noticed just watching her. You could tell she was a Hag.
The kids were just playing, diving for rocks and zooming their planes around the pool. They were not loud. They were not screaming (because trust me I put a quick stop to screaming). The kids actually truthfully were just playing, not super quiet but not overly loud. (Certainly not as loud as the huge kid pool party that had taken place a few nights ago, my kids were there and loved it lol). Anyways the HAG goes and sits on the other side of the pool, she puts her headphones on and lays down. Kids still playing.... HAG sits up, pulls her headphones up and says 'Can your kids be quiet'. ARE YOU FRICKING kidding me??!?!?!?! I looked at her and said 'What did you say?'. She says 'Can the kids stop screaming'. I thought my head might blow off, I looked at her and said firmly and extra bitchy "They are just playing". Then i turned away. Normally I only stay the pool for about 45 minutes but today I made it a point to extend our pool visit mostly just to piss her right off. I just couldn't believe it, seems like something so small but after getting a NOISE complaint (Not during quiet time hours...in other words NOT valid) then having some HAG to tell my kids (who were not even being loud) to be quiet, I was just dumbfounded.
If you can't handle the noise DON'T come to the pool to relax and expect perfect silence. Try your porch, the grass or the beach.
If you can't handle the noise go live in the seniors centre across the street or chose another ADULT only facility.
I am so sick of having to get after my kids to keep their voices down or try to stay quiet while playing. How is that fair to them? I will no longer attempt to dull my kids voices when they have every right to be as loud as they want. (Of course within reason, i can't deal with screaming)
As we were leaving the pool I looked at her and she was glaring at me. (seriously glaring). I maturely mouthed the word COW to her.
Tomorrow I think we will bring some super soakers to the pool. Hopefully the kids accidentally hit her.... wooops
We have met some absolutely wonderful people her on Maui and I will be very sad to leave in a month and a half. One thing I am looking forward to however, is to be able to have some freedom in our own house! No one likes noisy kids (myself included) but kids that are just playing, come on. So far our (or my) first rental experience has not been very positive.
Anyways I will try to keep up with a few more blogs before we leave. Just a recap of the last few months! SIMPLY AMAZING! I love this place!
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
My Meal Plan
Recently quite a few people have been asking me for my meal plan so I thought I would post a blog to avoid typing and re-typing it (which I have already done a number of times). I have followed quite a few meal plans in the past and they have all been effective but this one is one I have been able to stick with for over three months now and I even find myself looking forward to eating my food everyday!! I am the kind of person who has no issues eating the same food everyday, over and over. Especially if I know it is going to work, and so far in three months I am down 18 pounds. Now don't get me wrong I am not one to turn down a shave ice, gelato and CHIPS and SALSA (they are my vice) every now and then. Infact today I had a gelato with the kids... I do feel bad about it right now though so I have written up an at home workout to do tonight once the kids have gone to bed.
Remember this is just what worked for me, it may not work for you but it will give you an idea. I have also been gluten free (fully) for the past 7 months. I was getting severe stomach pains, i went through many tests all inconclusive but after I completely cut out gluten my stomach pain disappeared. I don't eat many 'gluten free' pre-made food because I mostly eat fruit/veggies and protein but when I do indulge I always make sure items are gluten free.
September 22, 2013. For all of September I had been working out like never before but not eating right,(proof that working out with an unhealthy diet will not aid in weight loss) this is the day I decided to start eating healthier foods.
December 30, 2013. Three months later. My pregnancies resulted in permanently split abs and excess skin, which, my doctor says are both fixable after I am finished having children :)
Anyways here we go, my meal plan
Breakfast (around 8:00). Green Smoothie
1 cup of Kale
1/4 fresh parsley
1/2 an apple
1/2 banana
I mix it with water. The parsley kind of makes this an acquired taste but I love it now. I find the runnier the better so you don't get large chunks of Kale. Every Saturday(after a visit to the farmers market) I make a weeks worth of smoothies and freeze them in ziplocks bags so they are all ready to go for me in the morning.
Each morning after the gym (Around 10:30-11) I have a protein shake
1/2 cup almond milk (30 calories)
3 frozen strawberries
3 frozen pieces of pineapple
Scoop of protein
1/2 banana
ice
I crave my protein shakes....
Around 11:30-12:00 I have fruit an cottage cheese
usually 1 cup or 1.5 cups of Pineapple
1/2-3/4 cups of cottage cheese
Between 12:30 and 2 (I am a snacker and always like to be eating so I space it all out)
1 Apple
Celery sticks or carrots
Afternoon snack (around 3)
1 greek yogurt cup
My dinners (always around 5) ALWAYS consist of spaghetti squash. When Kelly is away I make it in a lasagne pan then divide it into three sections, meaning I am good for three dinners (yay for not cooking every night). A few examples.... I make a spaghetti squash tex mex with black beans, ground turkey, spaghetti squash and every veggie you can think of (kale, spinach, cabbage, zucchini, celery etc). Half a spaghetti squash is only 66 calories so when mixed with veggies the servings are fairly large. Another idea is spaghetti squash spaghetti bake. This has veggies, chicken, marinara sauce and spaghetti squash. Another idea is Spaghetti Squash quiche. The Spaghetti squash is the crust, fill with tons of veggies then pour egg whites overtop and bake.These three recipes are all three meals (days) in one!! Tomorrow I might try to make a spaghetti squash pizza crust, I will see how that goes. Another easy recipes is just baked spaghetti squash stiry fry with tons of veggies or veggies and chicken.
Three dinners in one!
Tonights dinner
Every night while I am 'unwinding' from my day I have a cup of green tea. I Also try to drink at least 8 cups of water a day.
I make a pitcher of this each night, it is a 'recipe' from online which claims to aid in weight loss. I'm not too sure I believe it its weight loss magic (lol) but it is very refreshing! Sometimes drinking plain water is tough, this at least has a refreshing taste. I try to drink a pitcher of this a day plus the regular water I drink at the gym.
One helpful tip that has helped me, Once we return from the gym everyday I pack up our cooler bag with lunch for the kids plus each of my 'meals' so I have them with me all day. This helps me resist temptation of eating out because I have my food with me.
One helpful tip that has helped me, Once we return from the gym everyday I pack up our cooler bag with lunch for the kids plus each of my 'meals' so I have them with me all day. This helps me resist temptation of eating out because I have my food with me.
Anyways there is it, my meal plan. It has worked for me and I am a firm believer that eating right (consistently) and working out (rigorously) is the key to weight loss.
Friday, November 29, 2013
Hawaii Life: Meltdown Central
Today has been one of those days when you look at all those cute skinny little twinks wandering around with no care in the world and you actually ENVY them! It has been one of those days when people look at your kids and say 'Awww what a cutie' and you look at them and say 'Do you want them?' or 'Please don't let their cuteness fool you' OR 'Yah it is a darn good thing that they are cute'. It has been one of those days that I could down a whole bottle of wine in a matter of seconds but I think a drunk mother at home with her two kids is frowned upon by the authorities.
I really don't know what has gotten into my children today. Usually they have their moments by today their 'moments' started last night and lasted literally all day today. So much so that I really questioned why I am a stay-at-home mom. There is no job in the world harder than this.
It all started last night, we had just finished our scrapbook for the night, the TV was off and were just about to head in to read some books. For some reason Wyatt got it in his head that he wanted to watch the movie 'cars'. I told him it was bedtime and he lost his crap. Like seriously instantly fell on the floor into a fit of blood curtailing screams. He refused to calm down for any of my attempts. So I went and read to Ethan, I had to read loudly so Ethan could actually hear the words over the screams. Wyatt screamed for probably an hour without letting up. He was a huge ball of sweat, in the end I can't even tell you what made him snap out of it but all of a sudden he showed up at the bedroom door and asked for a story. The kids fooled around in their room for half an hour and finally fell asleep in a heap on the floor. I wasn't about to move them.
Ethan woke up first at 6:30. Ethan sat quietly and watched a show. I heard the trample of Wyatt's feet coming and knew I would have to actually roll out of bed shortly. Sure enough Wyatt insisted that it was now time to watch 'cars'. Ethan of course was in the middle of the show and didn't want to watch the movie. Commence 6:30 in the morning, in a condo meltdown. Ethan finally just said ok to the movie, thank goodness as I was having a very difficult time trying to get Wyatt to be quiet. He sat and watched cars for a matter of 5 minutes then insisted that he have some goldfish. I told him I would make him breakfast and that goldfish were not the best for breakfast. Wyatt shouted in my face "NO WE WANT FISH" (He always drags Ethan into the mix). Again it is 6:30 in the morning and the rest of the building is likely still sleeping so I gave him 4 goldfish in a bowl. Next issue, Wanted a different bowl. We searched around until we found a freaking bowl that would satisfy him. I put four fish in a bowl for Ethan. Then Ethan had a meltdown because he wanted a bowl like Wyatt's (Of course there was only one bowl like that). OH man.... I made them Mickey mouse pancakes and we managed to make it out of the condo without being shot at by all our neighbours.
They each picked out a toy to bring to the gym, while I was working out I could hear some Wyatt shrieks coming from the daycare room but I pretended I didn't hear them. I saw the Dad of one of the other kids peek in there several times. I soon learned he was peeking in because Wyatt was having a meltdown when he dropped his little girl off. Meagan (Daycare lady) said the guy couldn't understand what Wyatt's problem was haha. Meagan told him it was a boy thing, all you lucky people with golden quiet, play-by-themselves girls. Megan said the kids were absolutely wild today. Of course that always upsets me because I don't want people to dread my kids coming into the daycare. We packed up and were heading out the door. For some reason Wyatt didn't want to leave. He started screaming in the gym. I managed to drag him outside where he proceeded to scream for 20 minutes all while I was trying to convince him to get in the car. I kept calm but inside I wanted to just get in the car and drive away. People walked by, some people giggled, some stared. Finally when I turned on the car and sat in the drivers seat he decided that he'd better get in. On the way home he was talking about rainbows and the beach. Different kid. Two personalities in a snap.
Made it home and after the morning I was way to nervous to even attempt to go out in public for fear of a meltdown from either of them. I set them up with their crayons and turned on a show. They were happy with this for about half an hour then they decided to make a fort with all the cushions. This drives me crazy but I thought I would allow it because it was keeping them busy. Well of course they got in a fight so the fort very quickly was taken apart (in a fit of rage I might add, pillows flying everywhere---me) and I made the decision that TV privileges were gone for the rest of the day. Ethan hit me in the head with a stick so I put him in his room. I told him when he could be quiet for one minute he could come join us again. Well 30 minutes of crying (When if he was just quiet for one quick minute, could have been alot less). Anyways he calmed down and finally came out and apologized.
Taking away TV privileges is a great punishment for the kids,(as I think most of our troubles are stemmed from the TV) they were really upset about it which was somewhat satisfying for me but I swear it was like punishment for me as well because now they are running around like wild fools, took all the puzzles pieces and made a huge mound (about 7 puzzles combined). I was too nervous to go out but finally deiced to stick them in the car and go for a drive. We drove to the drug store. The kids and I had a huge talk about appropriate behaviour in the store. They promised to stay with me and listen carefully. Well that lasted all of three minutes. Next thing you know they were tearing around the store laughing and giggling leaving me to look like a completely useless parent who had no control of their children. Plunked the kids back in the car. No one was falling asleep, they seemed to be just playing off each other and the energy was building. We came home and made some Christmas cards which they seemed to enjoy.
Usually the kids watch a show right before bed but because I took away the TV for the day tonight we could not do that. We did our scrap book, had baths, brushed our teeth. I looked at the clock, it was 5:47. i made the decision that I didn't care what time it was they were going to bed. We read four extra long stories, I kissed them tonight and have retreated to my room. I am listening to Songza 'UNWIND' which is classical music. Surprisingly very calming but I can hear the kids fooling around in the bedroom and every so often one of them comes out and complains about the other one, I send them back. All I can think about now is that I have to make them both their advent calendars because tomorrow is the end of the month. Argg.... the things a mother does for her children after a day like this.
So hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. My plan is to take them up Haleakala and go for a hike. Tired them out (which really isn't possibly). I wonder if I treadmill would work....
I really don't know what has gotten into my children today. Usually they have their moments by today their 'moments' started last night and lasted literally all day today. So much so that I really questioned why I am a stay-at-home mom. There is no job in the world harder than this.
It all started last night, we had just finished our scrapbook for the night, the TV was off and were just about to head in to read some books. For some reason Wyatt got it in his head that he wanted to watch the movie 'cars'. I told him it was bedtime and he lost his crap. Like seriously instantly fell on the floor into a fit of blood curtailing screams. He refused to calm down for any of my attempts. So I went and read to Ethan, I had to read loudly so Ethan could actually hear the words over the screams. Wyatt screamed for probably an hour without letting up. He was a huge ball of sweat, in the end I can't even tell you what made him snap out of it but all of a sudden he showed up at the bedroom door and asked for a story. The kids fooled around in their room for half an hour and finally fell asleep in a heap on the floor. I wasn't about to move them.
Ethan woke up first at 6:30. Ethan sat quietly and watched a show. I heard the trample of Wyatt's feet coming and knew I would have to actually roll out of bed shortly. Sure enough Wyatt insisted that it was now time to watch 'cars'. Ethan of course was in the middle of the show and didn't want to watch the movie. Commence 6:30 in the morning, in a condo meltdown. Ethan finally just said ok to the movie, thank goodness as I was having a very difficult time trying to get Wyatt to be quiet. He sat and watched cars for a matter of 5 minutes then insisted that he have some goldfish. I told him I would make him breakfast and that goldfish were not the best for breakfast. Wyatt shouted in my face "NO WE WANT FISH" (He always drags Ethan into the mix). Again it is 6:30 in the morning and the rest of the building is likely still sleeping so I gave him 4 goldfish in a bowl. Next issue, Wanted a different bowl. We searched around until we found a freaking bowl that would satisfy him. I put four fish in a bowl for Ethan. Then Ethan had a meltdown because he wanted a bowl like Wyatt's (Of course there was only one bowl like that). OH man.... I made them Mickey mouse pancakes and we managed to make it out of the condo without being shot at by all our neighbours.
They each picked out a toy to bring to the gym, while I was working out I could hear some Wyatt shrieks coming from the daycare room but I pretended I didn't hear them. I saw the Dad of one of the other kids peek in there several times. I soon learned he was peeking in because Wyatt was having a meltdown when he dropped his little girl off. Meagan (Daycare lady) said the guy couldn't understand what Wyatt's problem was haha. Meagan told him it was a boy thing, all you lucky people with golden quiet, play-by-themselves girls. Megan said the kids were absolutely wild today. Of course that always upsets me because I don't want people to dread my kids coming into the daycare. We packed up and were heading out the door. For some reason Wyatt didn't want to leave. He started screaming in the gym. I managed to drag him outside where he proceeded to scream for 20 minutes all while I was trying to convince him to get in the car. I kept calm but inside I wanted to just get in the car and drive away. People walked by, some people giggled, some stared. Finally when I turned on the car and sat in the drivers seat he decided that he'd better get in. On the way home he was talking about rainbows and the beach. Different kid. Two personalities in a snap.
Made it home and after the morning I was way to nervous to even attempt to go out in public for fear of a meltdown from either of them. I set them up with their crayons and turned on a show. They were happy with this for about half an hour then they decided to make a fort with all the cushions. This drives me crazy but I thought I would allow it because it was keeping them busy. Well of course they got in a fight so the fort very quickly was taken apart (in a fit of rage I might add, pillows flying everywhere---me) and I made the decision that TV privileges were gone for the rest of the day. Ethan hit me in the head with a stick so I put him in his room. I told him when he could be quiet for one minute he could come join us again. Well 30 minutes of crying (When if he was just quiet for one quick minute, could have been alot less). Anyways he calmed down and finally came out and apologized.
Taking away TV privileges is a great punishment for the kids,(as I think most of our troubles are stemmed from the TV) they were really upset about it which was somewhat satisfying for me but I swear it was like punishment for me as well because now they are running around like wild fools, took all the puzzles pieces and made a huge mound (about 7 puzzles combined). I was too nervous to go out but finally deiced to stick them in the car and go for a drive. We drove to the drug store. The kids and I had a huge talk about appropriate behaviour in the store. They promised to stay with me and listen carefully. Well that lasted all of three minutes. Next thing you know they were tearing around the store laughing and giggling leaving me to look like a completely useless parent who had no control of their children. Plunked the kids back in the car. No one was falling asleep, they seemed to be just playing off each other and the energy was building. We came home and made some Christmas cards which they seemed to enjoy.
Usually the kids watch a show right before bed but because I took away the TV for the day tonight we could not do that. We did our scrap book, had baths, brushed our teeth. I looked at the clock, it was 5:47. i made the decision that I didn't care what time it was they were going to bed. We read four extra long stories, I kissed them tonight and have retreated to my room. I am listening to Songza 'UNWIND' which is classical music. Surprisingly very calming but I can hear the kids fooling around in the bedroom and every so often one of them comes out and complains about the other one, I send them back. All I can think about now is that I have to make them both their advent calendars because tomorrow is the end of the month. Argg.... the things a mother does for her children after a day like this.
So hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. My plan is to take them up Haleakala and go for a hike. Tired them out (which really isn't possibly). I wonder if I treadmill would work....
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Hawaii Life: Happy Thanksgiving... Again
Today we are lucky enough to get to celebrate Thanksgiving again. I have so many things to be thankful for that I could write pages and pages. Of course there are the usual things I am thankful like my family, my health and the amazing life I live. But day-to-day I notice some smaller things that I am very grateful for.
I am so thankful that I have two boys that are so happy (well for the most part). My boys are each others best friends and that couldn't make me happier. They play so well together and when we are so far away from our family and friends this couldn't mean more. When they are separated for even an hour both of them are constantly asking where the other one is. Considering the amount of time they are together (heck they even sleep together) I am so grateful that they get along so well.
I am thankful for the wonderful lady (Meagan) at the daycare at the gym. She is so kind and caring with my kids. She treats them as she would her own. She does cute little crafts with the kids, the other day they both came home with handprint turkeys. (This is more than I can say I did for our second Thanksgiving)
I am thankful for deodorant. Those who do not wear should try (uhem...man on treadmill next to me at the gym). I mean seriously I could hardly breath...
Familiar faces- Yesterday we met up with Kim, Ian and their little one Camille. We don't get to see each other much in Canada but it was so nice to see a familiar face! This morning we met up with Gord and Allison, long time family friends! The kids were SO excited to see them. Ethan keeps asking when we will see them again.
I am grateful for the farmers market, fresh, delicious produce!
Gluten Free Cinnamon Chex. This is a tough one, not sure if I am thankful or not. They are SO good but being that they are so good means I tend to eat more of them than I should. Even still I think I am thankful as I just bought three boxes for $8. I just couldn't resist the supersale!
I am thankful for the Hallmark Channel. Now growing up the rule was always December 1st for any Christmas movies/decor/anything Christmasy. I can't even tell you how wonderful it is to sit down at night once the kids are FINALLY in bed, with a green tea and watch a sappy, romantic super-Christmasy movie. So relaxing.
Zuzka Light- Online Fitness programs. These workouts are awesome and I include her daily workout into my routine everyday! Absolutely love them, they have re-inspired me to get 'super-ft' and I am feeling awesome! SO very thankful for her!
Huggies wet Wipes, Thank you for being so durable. Saved the day many times (Including today at the park) when Wyatt SH*&s his pants......
Anyways some of these might seem silly but they are definitely things I am very thankful for.
We aren't making a turkey, instead a spaghetti squash quiche...we haven't even done anything to celebrate, we drove into the city to go buy some new books for the kids but seriously the entire city is shut down. Since when is Value Village closed on a holiday... Not in Canada, that is when the die hards go. Anyways it was closed and we had driven all that way so I took the kids to the IOA state park. It was beautiful, very easy to walk and the kids loved it! Plus it was free. Doesn't get much better than that.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Hawaii Life: Life is Good
Wyatt trying to stop the waves
Would only stop for one photo
About to be taken out by wave, he loves it
Beach wrestling
We had a late night last night, Kelly's flight leaves at 11:40 at night so we try to stay home as late as possible to maximize out time. We dropped him off around 8:45 and got home around 9:15. The kids fell asleep instantly and even slept in this morning! So I can't complain!
Nothing new, nothing exciting just a beauty life in a beauty place! Yesterday I had a bit of a clumsy day. I was out for a run in the morning, on the way home, after I had been running for well over an hour, I tripped on the side walk (you know when one piece of sidewalk sticks up a little bit higher than the other). Yes well I usually daydream when I run so I was off in lala land. I was on the main road in Kihei (which is a busy road) thankfully it was only 7:30 in the monrnig. Anyways I felt myself fall, it was like it was in slow motion, I managed to get my foot down and save myself, but then it was almost as if someone pushed me and I did a huge starfish faceplant onto the pavement. Scratched up the palms of my hands and my waterbottle. A nice old man helped me up. Only a little bit embarassed.
The clumsiness continued at the gym when I straightup walked RIGHT into a lady in a wide open space. Again clearly I was in lala land. After the gym I was making a smoothie and was cleaning the blender with my hands.. Stupid idea as most blenders have razor sharp blades inside. Well I jammed my finger in and cut it. Hurt! I made it a point to be a little more aware of my surroundings for the rest of the day.
I admit that I kind of dread the days that I am on my own because the kids don't get along often and they are long long days. Today the kids slept in until 7:30, happily got dressed and ate all their breakfast. I was very happy. After the gym Ethan requested we go to the 'Secret' beach which is a beach past Wailea. So we packed up and headed out. The kids kind of took a turn for the worst. I just sat down to relax, dumped all the toys out for the kids and they immediately start to wrestle. Ethan's new 'THING' is to push Wyatt's head into the sand or under the water. Highly dangerous. So I played referee for awhile. Ethan also trys to get out of actually doing the 'work' to play. 'MOM make me a castle", "Mom make me a monster jam track". Because clearly making a mound of sand is near impossible. So I quickly made a castle and a road (not my best work but wanted them to just play). They seemed satisfied and finally continured to play for an hour or so. Then of course a trip to the beach wouldn't be complete without Wyatt pooping. Mound in butt returned before we were able to make it anywhere appropriate to poop. Captain MOM dug a nice hole and discarded the mound. Probably the grossest thing ever. I thought the spot I chose was appropriate, it was between rocks and in a place where the waves could eventually wash it away. I mean what would you have done?
I later saw people walk darn close to the mound.
The kids were ready to leave the beach at 2:30, kind of early so I wasn't sure what we were going to do, but nothing a shave Ice couldn't fix. We stopped and the kids were overjoyed!!
My spaghetti squash is cooking, kids are playing very happily. We are making Christmas wreaths tonight. That is all! My internet is spotty, seems to crash every 5 minutes, driving me nuts, since I can't make calls here I can't call to fix it. Affects my facetime and texts. Grrr to seclusion...
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Hawaii Life: Sun, Sand and Poop.
Well it was another beautiful day here on Maui! Sometimes I have to pinch myself to remind me that this is not a dream! We have been in Maui for over a month, Kelly thought I would be sick of it by now but quite the opposite, I never want to leave. I still have a huge list of places to go and things I want to see.
Today was a fantastic day, mixed with a few ups and downs along the way. We go to the gym every morning around 8:30, so we did the same today. The kids have a great time in the childcare centre and there were a few other kids there today so that was nice for them! After our workout we headed home very excited to walk to the farmers market. We decided to bring the stroller to help carry our veggies/fruits and just incase the kids got tired. Well the kids got 'tired' about a block down the street so very thankful we brought the stroller. We LOADED up at the farmers market. I bought all of my fruits and veggies for the week. It is cheaper, fresher and local so why not! The farmers market is every Wednesday and Saturday so I think that might now be included in our routine. On our walk home I looked down at the BOBs tire and it was flat as a pancake. Lucky for us there was a bike store about a block away. The had the tire fixed and us up and running in a matter of five minutes (for a small fee of course).
We had a delicious fresh lunch then headed off to the beach. We found a beach we had never been too just across the street from our place. It was absolutely amazing and were pretty much the only ones there for the entire time! The kids were having a ball, Kelly and I were tanning. Wyatt came and stood beside me and said 'I have to poop'. We jumped up, but while we were jumping up a softball size mound had grown out of Wyatt's butt in his swimsuit. yup he had already gone. Wyatt was not disturbed at all by the poop in his butt. WELL what to do, too far to walk to the condo (or we really just didn't want to leave). So there was a small cave at the top of the beach... we dug a hole (Well Kelly dug a hole) and that is where the mound now rests. Wyatt came back to the water for a good clean and we were back in action for another hour.
A fellow and his girlfriend showed up and were fishing, didn't want to tell them that their fish may be contaminated with poop.... lol. Anyways the man who was fishing caught a fish and let Ethan reel it in. He was really excited about it. It was a trumpeter fish, one you cannot eat. Well the fact that Ethan caught a fish and Wyatt didn't spurred a huge major catastrophe meltdown from Wyatt. So we packed it up. Wyatt screamed the entire way home, dragged himself along the road. Tough life this little young man has.
I have no idea what to do with Wyatt and his poop. We can't even go to the pool no for fear he will poop in the pool. Tempted to put him back into diapers but he pees on the potty and when he is back in his diaper he just pees in it so we would be going backwards. So frustrating. I guess we will just give it some time.
Super excited for tomorrow we are off on an adventure and to explore more of Maui!
Today was a fantastic day, mixed with a few ups and downs along the way. We go to the gym every morning around 8:30, so we did the same today. The kids have a great time in the childcare centre and there were a few other kids there today so that was nice for them! After our workout we headed home very excited to walk to the farmers market. We decided to bring the stroller to help carry our veggies/fruits and just incase the kids got tired. Well the kids got 'tired' about a block down the street so very thankful we brought the stroller. We LOADED up at the farmers market. I bought all of my fruits and veggies for the week. It is cheaper, fresher and local so why not! The farmers market is every Wednesday and Saturday so I think that might now be included in our routine. On our walk home I looked down at the BOBs tire and it was flat as a pancake. Lucky for us there was a bike store about a block away. The had the tire fixed and us up and running in a matter of five minutes (for a small fee of course).
We had a delicious fresh lunch then headed off to the beach. We found a beach we had never been too just across the street from our place. It was absolutely amazing and were pretty much the only ones there for the entire time! The kids were having a ball, Kelly and I were tanning. Wyatt came and stood beside me and said 'I have to poop'. We jumped up, but while we were jumping up a softball size mound had grown out of Wyatt's butt in his swimsuit. yup he had already gone. Wyatt was not disturbed at all by the poop in his butt. WELL what to do, too far to walk to the condo (or we really just didn't want to leave). So there was a small cave at the top of the beach... we dug a hole (Well Kelly dug a hole) and that is where the mound now rests. Wyatt came back to the water for a good clean and we were back in action for another hour.
A fellow and his girlfriend showed up and were fishing, didn't want to tell them that their fish may be contaminated with poop.... lol. Anyways the man who was fishing caught a fish and let Ethan reel it in. He was really excited about it. It was a trumpeter fish, one you cannot eat. Well the fact that Ethan caught a fish and Wyatt didn't spurred a huge major catastrophe meltdown from Wyatt. So we packed it up. Wyatt screamed the entire way home, dragged himself along the road. Tough life this little young man has.
I have no idea what to do with Wyatt and his poop. We can't even go to the pool no for fear he will poop in the pool. Tempted to put him back into diapers but he pees on the potty and when he is back in his diaper he just pees in it so we would be going backwards. So frustrating. I guess we will just give it some time.
Super excited for tomorrow we are off on an adventure and to explore more of Maui!
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Hawaii Life: Free Shipping
I am offering a child (or two) depending on the hour/day. I will pay for shipping to anywhere in the world! Alexis in Aussie, Aunty Sue in England or even Dad in Nepal. The child will be a surprise again depending on hour/day. Definitely a boy between the ages 3 and 4, cannot guarantee behaviour and both will break out in meltdowns over what is seemingly nothing.
Oh what a day it has been, there are glimmers of fabulous then it quickly turns and those glimmers fade, then they shine brightly again the lightening strikes and the glimmers burn. My two beautiful children have been nothing short of a nightmare today. When was one is gold the other is poo.
We woke up late this morning (7:15) after a night of no sleep. The kids have been so great at going to sleep together they usually sit and play for awhile, read some books, wrestle a little then fall asleep, the past two nights have been hell. Last night the two boys wrestle, screamed, hurt each other, talked ridiculously loudly for over an hour. I was loosing my mind. (Being in a condo just ups my stress level because we have people all around us who can probably hear everything). Finally after an hour I took wyatt and put him in my bed. Now normally I would never sleep with Wyatt because he is like a rollie pollie kicker but it was Ethan who was misbehaving so I put Wyatt in the big bed with me. Ethan cried for awhile about that then eventually fell asleep. Wyatt too fell asleep, but then started snoring loudly, then kicked me all night. Finally I had to wake up him and move him over so he cried, 3 am cry. Again in the condo, so hard to get Wyatt to stop crying once he starts. Anyways I managed and I am positive my neighbours hate us.
This morning we went to the gym, after my workout the lady in the daycare told me Wyatt was not pleasant to deal with. I chalk that up to lack of sleep but I was still a little angered. I took them to the park to try to run off some energy. Then we headed home for lunch and to make some cookies.
After lunch we decided to head to the beach, Ethan had a MENTAL breakdown when I told him to turn off the TV because we were leaving. So us leaving was a 20 minutes struggle dealing with Ethan. I asked him to sit down and when he calmed down and was quiet for 1 minute we could leave. Easy right? Well he did my most hated thing, pointed his finger at me (like a gun) and said 'I'm going to shoot you'. I tell you there is NOTHING I hate more than that and he knows it, so in his room he went. When he had calmed down (several minutes later) we headed to the beach.
Ahhhhh the beach, my golden glimmer of calmness, the kids love the beach. We had tons of fun playing with trucks, digging holes, splashing in the waves. We brought lunch and stayed for three hours. It is really too bad our house is not situated RIGHT on the beach, we would never have to leave. but alas it was time to leave, I told them if they could behave at the beach we would stop for a shave ice on the way home, and they did they were wonderful at the beach so shave ice it was.
On the way up to the car Ethan sprinted right up, Wyatt 'ran out of energy' and insisted on me carrying him. I was packed down with a cooler, chair and the big bag of toys/clothes. Since I am absolutely sick carrying him honestly because he is just being lazy and knows I will usually say yes to get it done quicker. I said no.... commence mental breakdown. Ethan was already at the car so I just left Wyatt. Put everything in the car, Wyatt was still seated in a hump on the grass waiting for me to come and get him. (We are causing somewhat of a scene I might add) I think when he saw me put the stuff in the car he realized that his free ride was over he jumped up and sniffled over to get in the car. Once he was strapped in, just like that he was a happy camper again. WTF
When we get home I go to making dinner, dinner was all ready and Wyatt sat in the middle. Ethan's next mental breakdown began. He wanted to sit by me. Same breakdown as before, told him to calm down and come back after one minute. He 'SHOT' me again, I may go batty, in his room he went, I swear there is nothing that gets my heart rate going like that 'shooting' business. After his chill out time in his room he came back happy as a clam and ate dinner.
Here I am counting down the seconds until bedtime, look at the clock and it is only 5:30. I got a craft out to do with them, craft takes in-full, five minutes. We do our scrapbook (We are keeping a scrapbook of our time in Maui, the boys love it). Finish that up, put on jammies and brush teeth. To avoid the crazy hour long wrestle I put Ethan straight in my bed. Wyatt can't seem to grasp that it is not his turn to sleep with mom. Screaming on the floor for half an hour, the neighbours really don't know what hit them.
Now they are both sleeping peacefully, if only it wasn't such a struggle to put them to bed, and I honestly don't know what else I can do to tire them out, they wake up at the crack of dawn and we are gone all day, no naps.
Now I get to work on my photo book and look at the happy smiling faces of my boys playing happily on the beach. At least I don't go to bed angry :)
Tomorrow we are hopefully going to go to an event where they put all the big trucks (garbage, fire trucks, diggers etc) out and allow children to get in and explore them. I think the kids would LOVE it, but if they sleep in I am not waking them up lol
Picnic in Paia
Their favourite part of the beach, hosing off in the shower
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Hawaii Life: Locked Out
I woke up really excited about the day. It was Wyatt's third birthday and we had a big day planned. Wyatt wanted to go to the aquarium for his birthday. So I thought we would do the aquarium then go for a shave ice after. I got the kids up, fed and dressed, ready to go to the gym. We made it out the door and Wyatt realized he had forgotten his water bottle so I turned to go back inside and couldn't get in. I tried the keys several times but it was not working.
How can this happen you may ask? Well at night I worry, I worry about everything, I worry about the bad guys, I worry about life I worry about everything. Last night I was worried about two things, the bad guys and the Tsunamis (I spent two hours researching evacuation routes and watching videos). Anyways back to the bad guys, We have two doors on our condo, one is the actual door and one is like a heavy metal screen door. The heavy screen door has a deadbolt and a lock on the knob so I locked them both, then I locked the inside door. This morning on the way out I didn't think about it and just shut the screen door without thinking that we may not have a key for it. Turns out that we didn't have a key. I was too frustrated to deal with it at the moment, I figured I would go to the gym and deal with it when we got back. I texted Kelly and asked him what the deal was, he swore up and down that it was the same key. I kind of questioned whether I was a key idiot or something and just couldn't figure the darn thing out.
Anyways after the gym we got back of of course it really didn't work. I found the building manager but he had no spare keys. Meanwhile Kelly had called the realtor and they had the other key. So instead of driving (don't ask me why I chose not to drive) we walked the few blocks to the reality office. Well Wyatt ran out of energy, so I was carrying him and my gym bag, it was SO hot and I was dragging Ethan behind me. By the time we picked the key up and returned I was sweating like crazy. Thankfully though this key worked. PHEW, we had a snack, changed and we were on our way to the aquarium.
I stopped to drop the extra set of keys off at the realtors office. I took the key I needed off, well this wasn't cool for them. I was a little grumpy at the time and possibly quite rude. He said 'Well we need the keys to the apartment incase something like this happens again'. I said well it will happen again if I DON'T HAVE THE KEY for the door. He then suggested that I go get one cut. I was snappy and said 'sorry I have two kids with me and taking them to the hardware store to do and pay for something that you should have done is not something I am interested in doing'. He suggested I just drop the key off tomomrrow and he would do it. Since I just wanted to get out of there I agreed and left.
I ended up taking the kids to the hardware store and getting a key cut, only because this company is slow as molassas and I knew it would never happen, it was quick and easy for me to do it. Finally off to the aquarium. The kids love the aquarium but they speed through it so fast that if I let them we would be done in ten minutes. Today we went around three times and stopped for a picnic lunch. Wyatt had some money sent to him for his brithday so I told him he could pick ANYTHING he wanted from the gift shop. Now if this was me I would go for the biggest most expensive thing. Wyatt comes out with this silly little glo-octopus and Ethan chose a mini-flash light (I have two identical ones in my purse). I didn't argue but suggested they each also pick a magnet to put their beauty drawings on the fridge with. While we were choosing a magnet the boys were going crazy pulling one off then putting it back, we broke two in the process, i slyly put them back on the shelf and shooed the kids to the till quickly.
They wanted to stop at this boardwalk on the way home, i wasn't really interested but Ethan has been talking about it for a few days, so we stopped and ended up finding a beauty beach to just chill out on. We packed it up when the boys were so covered in sand I could hardly recognize them.
They both had a bath when we got him and I put them in their 'nice' clothes and decided to take them out for dinner. Mostly selfish on my part really, I have been eating clean for two weeks straight, right down to every calorie and I was CRAVING chips and salsa so we just had to go out. The boys were so cute, they each got a fancy little drink, coloured happily and I devoured my chips and salsa. Things only got a little stressful when Wyatt spotted the birds that were wandering along the floor in the restaurant. He decided to start chasing him. He was all over the restaurant, I was sweating again chasing him around. Thankfully he is cute and most people found him humorous.
Finally home, put the kids to 'bed'. I say bed in the loosest sense of the word as they were rolling around and wrestling for a good hour while I mopped the floor and did the dishes. I just finished p90x abs and I am exhausted.
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Hawaii Life 11 days in
Wow I haven't written a post in quite sometime. I decided before Hawaii that I would try to start updating this a little more. Kelly had all my previous posts printed into a book last Christmas and it was an amazing keepsake so I guess this is a great way to document our life.
Eleven days in Maui so far and WOW what can I say this place is just as I had remembered it from our previous trips, absolutely amazing, beautiful weather, amazing beaches, I mean I could go on and on. I know one thing is for sure, this is one of the best decisions that we have ever made (That made even more clear this morning when I saw Facebook photos of SNOW in Alberta....NO THANK YOU).
The first few days were a bit of a blur. The flights were not bad, better than to be expected when travelling with toddlers. I foolishly booked our flights in attempts to save money. This attempt to save us money took us on three flights through DENVER, then HONOLULU. SO three flights when the direct flight was 6 hours total. Kids were decent on the first flight, slept the entire time (well Wyatt). We were split up in to two rows and I selfishly chose Ethan and gave Wyatt to Kelly, surprisingly Wyatt was asleep in seconds and Ethan literally didn't stop talking the entire flight. I quickly regretted my decision to chose Ethan when he was shouting "We are going Down' or "We're gonna crash" as we were landing. Thankfully we didn't. We sprinted through the Denver airport to JUST make our connecting flight to Honolulu, Wyatt 'Runs out of energy' (as he calls it) very quickly and has to be carried everywhere. Didn't think the airport would be such a workout. On the next flight I was with BOTH kids while Kelly was seated behind us alone. One would think that the grouchy lady sitting next to us would offer to switch but she didn't. It wasn't too bad my laptop battery lasted the entire trip so we watched movies the whole flight, although it did anger me slightly when I turned around and saw Kelly sleeping away peacefully. Infact I did wake him up a few time to remind him that I was watching 'Super Why' for the 8th time in front of him.
We arrived on Maui, managed to somehow cram all our stuff into our little rental car and headed off to our condo. The condo is great, very nice, modern, just how I like it. Two bedrooms and only a block from the beach and about two blocks from the park with the playground. We usually go there every night for sunset and a runaround before bedtime. We dropped off our stuff and immediately headed out for dinner, we were all starving and exhausted. Wyatt fell asleep at the dinner table and I don't think I have ever downed a daiquiri and burritos so quickly. We all fell asleep instantly that night.
The next few days were us just getting settled in, grocery shopping, dealing with a few things that needed to be done. We managed to get a few beach visits in between errands. The kids were a little bit crazy for the first few days, if one was being good the other one would be kicking and screaming on the floor. We figured they were just getting used to everything, there is a four hour time difference here (we are behind). Up until today the kids have been very good!
We visited the most amazing pumpkin Patch, up in Kula, it was all along the side of the mountain with a beautiful view of the entire island (And it was free!!). Ethan started his soccer academy last Monday, he played awesome and is very excited to go back tomorrow We did a playdate in the park with some mom's from a Facebook group, they gave me lots of information on event,s playgroups and different programs so hopefully that help us make some friends. Kelly and I can both tell that Ethan is eager to meet some other kids.
Both Ethan and Wyatt have taken a liking to the pool, they beg to go every minute of every day. Wyatt literaly has no fear, takes off running and does cannonballs off the side of the pool for two hours straight (with a life jacket of course). Ethan is much more timid but is working on it, his cannonballs are off the bottom step of the pool. At the beach Wyatt is in and under the waves in a second but Ethan is right there with him which is really great to see his confidence in the water grow!
Kelly and I have been taking turns running in the mornings and we found a great gym (well a little bit old school) here but they have childcare and the kids really seem to like it. So we have been running and going to the gym every morning. This place couldn't be any better for us.
Not too many hiccups along the way, of course it wouldn't be a 'Leslie Q's World' blog without a poop story so I will tell you the tale of the poop in the pool. We were at the pool the other day doing cannonball after cannonball, i decided to head up to start dinner. about 20 minutes later Kelly arrived with a bowlegged Wyatt. Wyatt had pooped, Wyatt had pooped in the pool. In attempts to keep the poo (wet poo, please picture) we strategically tagged team the taking the swim suit off, major fail the bathroom was covered with wet poo. Once we finally cleaned it up Kelly kind of got to thinking that perhaps if it was that messy in the bathroom then perhaps there was poo on the sidewalk up. He headed out with the lysol wipes. Low and behold there was a small trickle here and there on the path. We decided we would take a break from the pool for a few days after that one.
Anyways that is all that is new in our Hawaii life, oh ya the groceries here are absolutely out-of-this-world expensive.....
A few things that I have noticed, we came from living in a large house, the boys have every toy under the sun, all the clothes in the world and pretty much as much space as they need. We have moved into a small two bedroom condo with one very small basket of toy cars, some sand toys and a puzzle and the kids are happy if not happier here than they are at home. Really gets me thinking about how much the kids actually need, how much we really need to buy for them and spend. Also makes me think that we really don't need such a big house! This place is so easy to clean (thats right I actually clean). Things to think about for when we get back home....
Eleven days in Maui so far and WOW what can I say this place is just as I had remembered it from our previous trips, absolutely amazing, beautiful weather, amazing beaches, I mean I could go on and on. I know one thing is for sure, this is one of the best decisions that we have ever made (That made even more clear this morning when I saw Facebook photos of SNOW in Alberta....NO THANK YOU).
The first few days were a bit of a blur. The flights were not bad, better than to be expected when travelling with toddlers. I foolishly booked our flights in attempts to save money. This attempt to save us money took us on three flights through DENVER, then HONOLULU. SO three flights when the direct flight was 6 hours total. Kids were decent on the first flight, slept the entire time (well Wyatt). We were split up in to two rows and I selfishly chose Ethan and gave Wyatt to Kelly, surprisingly Wyatt was asleep in seconds and Ethan literally didn't stop talking the entire flight. I quickly regretted my decision to chose Ethan when he was shouting "We are going Down' or "We're gonna crash" as we were landing. Thankfully we didn't. We sprinted through the Denver airport to JUST make our connecting flight to Honolulu, Wyatt 'Runs out of energy' (as he calls it) very quickly and has to be carried everywhere. Didn't think the airport would be such a workout. On the next flight I was with BOTH kids while Kelly was seated behind us alone. One would think that the grouchy lady sitting next to us would offer to switch but she didn't. It wasn't too bad my laptop battery lasted the entire trip so we watched movies the whole flight, although it did anger me slightly when I turned around and saw Kelly sleeping away peacefully. Infact I did wake him up a few time to remind him that I was watching 'Super Why' for the 8th time in front of him.
We arrived on Maui, managed to somehow cram all our stuff into our little rental car and headed off to our condo. The condo is great, very nice, modern, just how I like it. Two bedrooms and only a block from the beach and about two blocks from the park with the playground. We usually go there every night for sunset and a runaround before bedtime. We dropped off our stuff and immediately headed out for dinner, we were all starving and exhausted. Wyatt fell asleep at the dinner table and I don't think I have ever downed a daiquiri and burritos so quickly. We all fell asleep instantly that night.
The next few days were us just getting settled in, grocery shopping, dealing with a few things that needed to be done. We managed to get a few beach visits in between errands. The kids were a little bit crazy for the first few days, if one was being good the other one would be kicking and screaming on the floor. We figured they were just getting used to everything, there is a four hour time difference here (we are behind). Up until today the kids have been very good!
We visited the most amazing pumpkin Patch, up in Kula, it was all along the side of the mountain with a beautiful view of the entire island (And it was free!!). Ethan started his soccer academy last Monday, he played awesome and is very excited to go back tomorrow We did a playdate in the park with some mom's from a Facebook group, they gave me lots of information on event,s playgroups and different programs so hopefully that help us make some friends. Kelly and I can both tell that Ethan is eager to meet some other kids.
Both Ethan and Wyatt have taken a liking to the pool, they beg to go every minute of every day. Wyatt literaly has no fear, takes off running and does cannonballs off the side of the pool for two hours straight (with a life jacket of course). Ethan is much more timid but is working on it, his cannonballs are off the bottom step of the pool. At the beach Wyatt is in and under the waves in a second but Ethan is right there with him which is really great to see his confidence in the water grow!
Kelly and I have been taking turns running in the mornings and we found a great gym (well a little bit old school) here but they have childcare and the kids really seem to like it. So we have been running and going to the gym every morning. This place couldn't be any better for us.
Not too many hiccups along the way, of course it wouldn't be a 'Leslie Q's World' blog without a poop story so I will tell you the tale of the poop in the pool. We were at the pool the other day doing cannonball after cannonball, i decided to head up to start dinner. about 20 minutes later Kelly arrived with a bowlegged Wyatt. Wyatt had pooped, Wyatt had pooped in the pool. In attempts to keep the poo (wet poo, please picture) we strategically tagged team the taking the swim suit off, major fail the bathroom was covered with wet poo. Once we finally cleaned it up Kelly kind of got to thinking that perhaps if it was that messy in the bathroom then perhaps there was poo on the sidewalk up. He headed out with the lysol wipes. Low and behold there was a small trickle here and there on the path. We decided we would take a break from the pool for a few days after that one.
Anyways that is all that is new in our Hawaii life, oh ya the groceries here are absolutely out-of-this-world expensive.....
A few things that I have noticed, we came from living in a large house, the boys have every toy under the sun, all the clothes in the world and pretty much as much space as they need. We have moved into a small two bedroom condo with one very small basket of toy cars, some sand toys and a puzzle and the kids are happy if not happier here than they are at home. Really gets me thinking about how much the kids actually need, how much we really need to buy for them and spend. Also makes me think that we really don't need such a big house! This place is so easy to clean (thats right I actually clean). Things to think about for when we get back home....
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Day-home Disaster
A couple weeks ago a customer of Little Peanut told me about a day-home in Spruce Grove who does drop in. I thought this would be great as I could just drop the boys off for a couple of hours and go to the gym or take a break on the weeks when Kelly was away. I actually know the lady who runs the day-home so I felt completely comfortable leaving my kids there.
Last week while Ethan was in a morning class at the Rec. Centre I left Wyatt there for a couple hours in the morning. I came prepared and I gave her a huge warning on his major meltdowns and screaming attacks. I even, at the last minute, threw in some marshmallows (as sometimes Marshmallows are the only thing that will pull him out of his meltdowns). She looked at me and kind of laughed saying she has done this for along time and that she knew what she was doing. Everything went great, Wyatt was a perfect little angel.
This morning I had arranged to take both kids to the day home together for a couple hours so I could go to the gym. Everything was going great, dropped the boys off and they both seemed happy. Halfway through my workout I got a text with this photo
Last week while Ethan was in a morning class at the Rec. Centre I left Wyatt there for a couple hours in the morning. I came prepared and I gave her a huge warning on his major meltdowns and screaming attacks. I even, at the last minute, threw in some marshmallows (as sometimes Marshmallows are the only thing that will pull him out of his meltdowns). She looked at me and kind of laughed saying she has done this for along time and that she knew what she was doing. Everything went great, Wyatt was a perfect little angel.
This morning I had arranged to take both kids to the day home together for a couple hours so I could go to the gym. Everything was going great, dropped the boys off and they both seemed happy. Halfway through my workout I got a text with this photo
Apparently Amanda (Day-home lady) had asked Wyatt to move the horse (that he was smashing against the wall) away from the wall. She said he came up to her and screamed NO in her face, then did it three times again. So she put him in time-out. She said he literally screamed, kicked his feet and rolled around for 20 minutes until he got too tired to cry. I texted back asking if she wanted me to come and pick up my little bundle of joy but she didn't respond...so I kept working out.
When I finally got back to the day home Amanda replayed the story for me, she was absolutely shocked at how he acted and shocked at how he just screamed for so long.... I of course told her that this is really just the every day for him. It is almost somewhat gratifying when he has these fits for other people. Last week Amanda really didn't believe that his fits were any different than any other child's.
Anyways I start packing the boys up , Ethan puts his boots on and starts stamping his feet on the ground. Amanda had apparently already had asked him to stop stamping his feet many times and here he is still stamping. So I asked him to stop as well (a few times). Of course he does not listen to me pretty much ever so finally he keeps stamping until the baby downstairs wakes up. I felt terrible. I start putting Wyatt's jacket on and Ethan says "DAMMIT" then says "DAMMIT" again. I look at him and tell him that is not a kind word, but by that time our little parrot Wyatt starts saying 'Dammit' as well, so both boys are saying it. I look at them both and ask them to stop, then my lovely son Ethan says "Only Mom and Dad can say Dammit right"? OH GOSH, so embarrassed....
I am almost 100% we will not be welcomed back into this day-home ever again....
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
The Wild Child
Spending two hours with Wyatt is like spending an eternity with Dennis the Menace, i almost feel like we should have named Wyatt, Dennis. If we had only known.... He also reminds me a lot of Stewie from the Family guy (and not only because of his exceptionally large head). He is a schemer.... always out to get his momma!
Yesterday we had two hours together while Ethan was at play school. I had two prescriptions to pick up from two different places. Thinking things would be easier with just one kid. Started with Rexall, I carried Wyatt in, of course the line up was done the lane. Wyatt was arching his back and screaming in my arms to get down so I put him down. Almost immediately he takes off running, I grab his hood just before he really escapes. He quietly waits with me for oh I dunno 1 minute then finds some shampoo on the shelf, he brings them to me one at a time insisting that we must bring them all home with us. A brilliant idea pops into my head...'TALKING TOM' so I pull out my iphone. He plays happily with Tom, finally I can relax, the older fellow behind us and numerous people around me are telling me how adorably cute he is. Of course I agree but in my mind i'm thinking ''Oh he may be adorable but he has an ATTITUDE'. We finish in Rexall and thanks to Talking Tom we make it out of there alive.
At this point we have an hour, I debated going to Superstore but I figured it would be a quick stop. So again I decided to pass on the cart. Hmmm another big mistake. Wyatt doesn't want to be carried, so I put him down, we get in the drop off line. The fellow says he will do it right away and to go stand in the pick up line. I figure we will be outta there quickly. Not so much. Wyatt takes off, stops, looks at me and smiles then literally puts his arm out to his side and runs down the vitamin isle, taking all the vitamins off the shelf as he goes. I was trying to keep cool but oh i wanted to freak. Anyways we picked everything up and the lovely lady behind the counter called me out of the line and said 'Yours is covered so i'm just going to give it to you'. People in the line were either angry that I had budged or happy that we had left the area.
I decided to quickly look at the half price Christmas items. Wyatt liked looking at all the Christmas stuff so I thought we were good, then he takes off. Now I don't really believe in a leash for my child but I definitely can see the benefit lol. It was like straight out of the movie, Wyatt takes off and all the things that can get in my way do. A cart moves in between Wyatt and I then there is an old man in the isle who really doesn't seem to understand that my kid has run away from me and he won't move. I finally catch up with him, pick up him and we head to the till. He isn't happy, on the way he somehow grabs some raspberries and smashes them to the ground. I had to sit in my car with the heat on and relax for a minute before I began driving.
We picked up Ethan and headed home. The boys were playing so nicely upstairs then they came and asked for a snack. So I gave them a snack. Wyatt saw some Rainbow marshmallows in the cupboard and insisted that he must have some. So I have gave him a few. When I declined his next request to have some more he completely lost his mind (this is why he was crying in the video, yup for real two hours of screaming because of marshmallows). Usually I can snap him out of a fit but once he is over the very fine line there is no stopping it. Its funny because after he had a bath he was the sweetest little man and right now he is wandering around the house with a wipe telling me he is cleaning.
Wyatt has a huge personality, I am always walking on eggshells with him. You never know how he is going to react, sometimes he will just respond with a simple 'OK' but other times he immediately falls to the floor and cries for hours. Thankfully I am able to keep relatively cool when days like yesterday happen and even laugh about them the day after. He is such a sweetheart and when he is not crying he is so thoughtful and well-mannored. I really don't know what is going on in his little brain when he freaks out.
Yesterday we had two hours together while Ethan was at play school. I had two prescriptions to pick up from two different places. Thinking things would be easier with just one kid. Started with Rexall, I carried Wyatt in, of course the line up was done the lane. Wyatt was arching his back and screaming in my arms to get down so I put him down. Almost immediately he takes off running, I grab his hood just before he really escapes. He quietly waits with me for oh I dunno 1 minute then finds some shampoo on the shelf, he brings them to me one at a time insisting that we must bring them all home with us. A brilliant idea pops into my head...'TALKING TOM' so I pull out my iphone. He plays happily with Tom, finally I can relax, the older fellow behind us and numerous people around me are telling me how adorably cute he is. Of course I agree but in my mind i'm thinking ''Oh he may be adorable but he has an ATTITUDE'. We finish in Rexall and thanks to Talking Tom we make it out of there alive.
At this point we have an hour, I debated going to Superstore but I figured it would be a quick stop. So again I decided to pass on the cart. Hmmm another big mistake. Wyatt doesn't want to be carried, so I put him down, we get in the drop off line. The fellow says he will do it right away and to go stand in the pick up line. I figure we will be outta there quickly. Not so much. Wyatt takes off, stops, looks at me and smiles then literally puts his arm out to his side and runs down the vitamin isle, taking all the vitamins off the shelf as he goes. I was trying to keep cool but oh i wanted to freak. Anyways we picked everything up and the lovely lady behind the counter called me out of the line and said 'Yours is covered so i'm just going to give it to you'. People in the line were either angry that I had budged or happy that we had left the area.
I decided to quickly look at the half price Christmas items. Wyatt liked looking at all the Christmas stuff so I thought we were good, then he takes off. Now I don't really believe in a leash for my child but I definitely can see the benefit lol. It was like straight out of the movie, Wyatt takes off and all the things that can get in my way do. A cart moves in between Wyatt and I then there is an old man in the isle who really doesn't seem to understand that my kid has run away from me and he won't move. I finally catch up with him, pick up him and we head to the till. He isn't happy, on the way he somehow grabs some raspberries and smashes them to the ground. I had to sit in my car with the heat on and relax for a minute before I began driving.
We picked up Ethan and headed home. The boys were playing so nicely upstairs then they came and asked for a snack. So I gave them a snack. Wyatt saw some Rainbow marshmallows in the cupboard and insisted that he must have some. So I have gave him a few. When I declined his next request to have some more he completely lost his mind (this is why he was crying in the video, yup for real two hours of screaming because of marshmallows). Usually I can snap him out of a fit but once he is over the very fine line there is no stopping it. Its funny because after he had a bath he was the sweetest little man and right now he is wandering around the house with a wipe telling me he is cleaning.
Wyatt has a huge personality, I am always walking on eggshells with him. You never know how he is going to react, sometimes he will just respond with a simple 'OK' but other times he immediately falls to the floor and cries for hours. Thankfully I am able to keep relatively cool when days like yesterday happen and even laugh about them the day after. He is such a sweetheart and when he is not crying he is so thoughtful and well-mannored. I really don't know what is going on in his little brain when he freaks out.
This morning at 5:45 he wakes up screaming for water, so I zombie walk into his room and give him a drink. He looses his mind because the water was not in a Thomas cup. He screams and kicks his crib for an hour keeping Ethan and I awake until he falls asleep realizing that I am not coming back with a Thomas cup....
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