THE FROG BLOG.

SO....it's been a strange past few weeks. I have mostly been trying to lay low, yet keep my kids semi happy, as they have both been sick. Janna had a double ear infection, then reacted to the antibiotics she was on. After switching medications, her new one was giving her some tummy troubles, and she has been awake 3-8 times per night for who knows how long at a time. The same night Janna reacted to her medication, Jesse had to be rushed into the hospital when he woke up barely breathing between intense coughing and unable to talk. Our first encounter with the croup. SO... keeping a 2 year old who loves the outside and being with new people and friends "resting" for a few days has also been a challenge. Throw in that Dave has been away for 3 days on a teaching conference...let's just say Thank God for Grandparents. I think it was Predetermined devine intervention on God's part, when several months ago, my mom-in-law grabbed a super good seat sale for October 20. She arrived the day the chaos began, and leaves this Monday. It's been very fantastic (and might I add necessary to my sanity) to have an extra set of hands and company around through all of this.

Anyways, the past 3 nights in a row, after the kids have gone to bed, I have had some time on my hands, thanks to the dishes and laundry being taken over by Nana. I have spent hours and hours working on Jesse's Halloween costume. I found the cutest pattern for a FROG PRINCE. Floppy feet, and bodysuit with a cute collar-n-bells, and the headpiece with boggly eyes and a golden crown. I was quite pleased to present this to Jesse this morning. He's been asking about his costume and trick or treating over the past few weeks ever since we got our pumpkin.

SO, he was very excited to see it this morning, and we tried it all on, and he loved it. He looked at himself in the mirror all smiles and exuberance. He kept coming back to try on the hat all morning, and finally I tossed the costume on the coffee table when he seemed finish. We curled up to watch some morning cartoons, and not even 10 minute later he went back to his costume to take a look. He picked up the headpiece and sort of held it out to get a good look at it. At the EXACT same moment, Cooper who was curled up behind him took this hair-ball wheezing fit. Jesse stared at the frog head, back to me, then back at the head, eyes wide. Then, he broke into this frenzy of shrieking as he whipped it as far across the room as possible. Screamed all the way to mommy, jumped on my lap, and clung to me like superglue. HE thought the noise was coming from the frog head. I tried through some laughter to explain that Cooper was the one making the scary noises. He eventually calmed down, and got back into his cartoons. It was only 10 minutes later when he hopped off the couch and noticed the froggy head on the floor, that he took another nightmarish screaming and shaking fit.

All morning long everyone has taken turns trying to get him from freaking out. Nana has been dancing around with it on her head, We've shown him Kermit the Frog Cartoons, Aunt Katie has been beating the frog head up, I have tried kissing and hugging the thing. Sigh.... At Janna's nap time, Jesse found a thermometer in her room with a bobbly frog head on it. He usually loves this thing, but picked it up, SCREAMED, And flung it across the room like it was on fire. All this sewing work... and the child has developed a frog phobia because of my dog's dumb hairball. Really? I have a few days to work this out before Halloween. SO with that, thanks for reading. I'm out.

Jeckle and Hyde... The terrible/terrific twos

The dark side:

- Jesse adores Janna, but loves to see how many times he can poke her eyes until I yell at him.

- He also likes to sit on her back when she is on her stomach and bounce a bit.

-Everyday we have this conversation: -Jesse: “Jesse push mommy?” Me: No...you don’t push mommy.

“Jesse push Daddy?” No...you don’t push daddy

“Jesse push Janna, please?” Afraid not. You don’t push your sister either.

“Jesse push Willow(our neighbour)?” Nope. That’s not nice. You don’t push anyone

This conversation will continue until he runs through all of his friends, family, and TV characters. And sure enough, when we are out with these people, if anyone gets too in his face, he pushes them.

-When Jesse wants something I have, “ Have it?! Have it! I HAVE IT!!! Now! I HAVE IT NOOOOWWW!!!”

-Jesse does his best to hold in his number 2’s. This will go on for days, until he is totally bloated and uncomfortable and miserable. We are going on about 1 week now. Today is the day. His body will override his stubbornness today. I have faith.

The light side:

Potty trained! No more wipes/diapers:)

When Janna is playing on the floor and starts to fuss, Jesse will go and pick out a toy or book and bring it to her to play with.

Hugs and kisses for mommy still going strong

Jesse likes to try what the big boys do outside. Lately, our 10 year old neighbour has been skateboarding. Jesse will go stand on the skateboard and jump in an attempt to Ollie. So cute

I love listening at the door at bed time. Jesse sings and chatters on and on about his day. Who he saw, what he did. Who he pushed. How mommy got angry J

Jesse is finally getting into artsy/crafty things. He will do playdough and coloring everyday for a good 20 minutes.

Jesse’s laugh is so cute and contagious, and it’s pretty easy to get him into a laughing fit.

Alive and Well

We all made it through the first week of school in one piece!

Truthfully, I kinda enjoyed the Vance siblings being outta the house, and being able to do my own thing with the kids without having to factor anyone else in to our schedule. I am back to my “6:00 rise an hour before the kids” dealio, and it really gets things off to the right start and energizes me for the day.

At the same time, it is definitely more tiring and challenging having both kids to myself all week. By Friday I was pretty wiped. Dave, who has been heading back into the school every night after the kids went down, wasn’t in bed until after midnight most nights, and he was also pretty beat. So, on Friday I decided to do a ton of cooking, cleaning and laundry so we wouldn’t have to do any over the weekend. I was exhausted by the end of Friday, and my work shift on Saturday. But, then we had minimal work to do for the rest of the weekend . It was totally worth it, and I plan on doing this every week from here on out. We both really need a “weekend” these days.

The kiddies are doing well. Janna is super mobile all over the place, and I have had to do some more baby proofing. Her favourite thing to go for was the power bar under the desk and the dog’s food. So, I have fixed those problems. She is also a bottomless pit and is breaking our grocery budget with the amount of canned peas she likes to eat. I think I will have to start making my own to save money!

Jesse is obsessed with Diego and gets to watch an episode every morning after breakfast while I clean up. We have a battle every hour or so of the day when he asks to watch it and I say no. He throws himself into a whiney stomping fit and I put him in a timeout. He screams, then cries, then says sorry and asks for a hug. After reading several discipline books over the past year, I have come to view conflict as teachable moments...not something to be avoided, necessarily. So...Jesse likes to test out who the boss is a few times a day. I don’t usually let him down :) He is also a bit petrified of Janna, who loves to bolt after his toes and bite them. He jumps up and looks at me wildly and says “Janna biting. NO biting Janna!”

They are pretty cute together these days. We bathe them together in the tub, now, and Janna gets kicking and laughing and yelling and splashing at Jesse. He is always a bit timid at first, then joins in the fun after I convince him she isn’t going to bite him, and is having fun!

Well, I hope everyone is enjoying the slightly cooler weather, and the new beginnings that September tends to bring. Thanks for reading. I’m out.

WHAT A MORNING

The school year is pretty much here! Dave is officially back at school this week and we have social engagements of all sorts every night this whole week. We were lucky to have a great wedding and reception on Sunday to relax and enjoy some time off from the kids before the craziness starts up. We left Janna with a close mommy friend, and Jesse had his first teenager come over from next door to watch him. It felt like a big step, leaving one of our kids with a teenager. But, she is responsible and did great! Dave and I particularly enjoyed the few hours between the ceremony and reception. We went to Starbucks and had a long and leisurely drink and chat without any interruptions! We actually started discussing when to have our next child... but afterwards I thought we should probably wait to make a decision until after the school year is underway and I get a dose of reality being at home by myself with the kids, again. The summer was such a breeze. Having 2 of us to look after the munchkins made for a fairly easy going day.

Well, yesterday went pretty great. TODAY, However has been a bit of a disaster. To begin with, Janna was up just about everyhour last night for fairly long chunks of time. I think her top tooth is causing her some discomfort and she has a bit of a cold. So, I started off the day totally exhausted. After stumbling through getting the kids fed and dressed and things cleaned up after breakfast, I put Janna down for her morning nap. Jesse was pretty grumpy and asking to go outside, so I promised him after a quick shower we would go out. Well, of course, as soon as we are all set to go out, it starts raining cats and dogs. Sigh. He just didn’t understand why I didn’t want him playing in the pouring rain. (He, too, is fighting a cold). I decided that we would have a special snack to try and entertain him, and realized I am pretty low on groceries. So, plan B was to go to the store to get some things for lunch. Janna woke up and I got the kids all ready to go, only to discover that Dave had taken the car for the day. So, we waited for the rain to blow over, and I reorganized the kids and got them into the stroller to scoot down to the quickie to grab something for lunch.

The rain seemed to pass over and we finally got outside, to the store, then home. Jesse was dying to play outside , even though Janna and I were getting pretty hungry, so we stayed out to play for a while. Sure enough, like 5 minutes later it starts to rain, again. A few kids from the neighbourhood had my stroller and were pushing around their toy dolls a ways away, and so I couldn’t get into the house without my keys. They were in the stroller. After arguing with a 4 year old (yes, that’s right) to please bring back my stroller so I could get my kids in out of the rain and for lunch, we headed inside kinda wet and uncomfortable. The kids asked if they could come inside to pet the dog, and proceeded to come inside after my response of, “not right now- I have to get the kids lunch.” Cooper decided to make a little bust for the door as I sort of Dive trying block him, I just about dropped Janna on her face I didn’t drop Janna, but did spill my tea(thankfully cold by now) all over her! I shooed the kids OUT and turned around only to discover that Cooper had got into the garbage while we were out, and it was ALL over the house. Jesse was playing with a bunch of broken egg shells and gobs of meat fat. I put Janna down, covered in tea, and freed Jesse from the mess and went to clean his hands. Janna at this point, starts crawling all over the floor and dragging her tea soaked clothes all over my recently washed floors. Ah! I strip her down while hollering at Jesse NOT to Go back to playing with the fat globules. The dog is barking, the house is hot and stinky, the kids are fussing, and I am starving and needing to pee.
So, I feel like a bad mom, but put them both in front the TV and decide I need to clean up. Well, I put on a Dora DVD, and don’t you know it, Jesse does not want Dora. He starts SCREAMING, “ NO DORA! WATCH DIEGO. DIEGO!!!! DEEEEEEEEE-AAAAAAA-GOOOOOOOO. ”And flailing his body like a maniac. This scares Janna and she starts bawling her eyes out. So, I feel like an even worse mom, but I take them both to their cribs for a time-out. Really, the time-out was for me. To clean up the floors and get lunch without the screaming children so close at hand.

Man. I am happy to report, they are both now fed and happy and playing together nicely on the clean floor. Nap time is in 15 minutes, and you gotta know what I’m doing at nap time! I’m so thankful for the way that God created time, and that we get a sleep break between each day. His mercies are new every morning. Amen. He HE. Alright, well thanks for reading, I’m off.

THE FAM JAM

Whoa. It’s the end of August. Who knew?? The summer has flown by, and with a lot of routine out the window, I have failed to blog as consistently as I would have liked to. I find when Dave is around to help me with the kids, and with vacation and what not, I get in the summer groove of laziness. I hope with Back to School around the corner I will get better at this blogging thing. At this point, I feel overwhelmed with everything that’s happened over the summer and am not sure what to write about. I think Point Form will have to do.

DAVE
Has been awesome over the summer! He has been taking care of the kids first thing in the morning and getting them breakfast and ready for the day while I take my grand old time getting ready in a very leisurely fashion. He’s also been taking care of most of the dishes and keeping the kitchen clean all summer, which has just been a tremendously beautiful and much needed break for myself. It’s been great to see him having some quality time with the kids. The other day they were both crawling on him on the couch, and I walked into the room with the camera. He said to me, “This is my dream..to be covered with my children” Implying a few more could actually cover him totally. Dave has also put on 10 pounds...and after our vacation out East and dessert everynight... he’s got a bit of love going on around the mid-section. It’s pretty awesome. He is quite proud of this ability to finally pack on a bit of weight. I imagine it will all come off with the busyness and stress of a new school year.

JESSE
Is potty trained! Well.. sort of. He is 100% good in our house during the day, but is still wearing a diaper at naps and through the night. He has also had no accidents during the trips we’ve taken outside, and in the car. They have only been 1-2 hour long segments, though. He is talking up a storm and can repeat just about anything you ask him to say. He also is coming up with good questions to ask us. He ran into the kitchen this morning and asked, “where daddy is?” He is putting so much of the world all together, and I am just loving this stage! Janna was yelling today and whining a bit, and Jesse looked at me and said, “Janna screaming. Janna have nap. Have Sleep. ” I think that 18-24 months was harder as far as discipline and terrible 2’s go. I might just be blinded, though, by all the help I had all summer with the kids. Anyways, the little guy still melts my heart with his cute little ways, and sensitive soul. We had a date on the couch after Janna went to bed. I put on his favourite show and let him have a pogo for the first time, and told him we were having a “pogo date.” And that only Jesse and Mommy could have pogo dates because daddy was allergic and Janna was too little. He was pretty excited about it. “Jesse. Mommy has Pogo Date. No daddy. No Janna.”

JANNA
Speaking of the Miss. She can YELL!!! Yowzers. I call her my 50% sweet 50% feisty girl. It’s so funny. She rarely cries or fusses. She is usually pretty content doing whatever, and just ADORES watching Jesse doing all his playing and silliness. But, when she wants something, or is not happy, she just YELLS! Her little fists ball up and she shakes with rage while she just hollers at the top of her lungs. It’s not a scream or a cry, just an angry wail. “AHHHHHHH” She does this when we don’t feed her fast enough, or she has decided she’s had enough in her jumper, or we take away something she shouldn’t be chewing on. The little one can get anywhere she wants now with a pretty fast army crawl, and I really need to do a bit of baby proofing. Jesse was not one to put anything in his mouth or explore sockets, and he couldn’t even crawl till he was like 13 months. So, I didn’t have too much to worry about. This little girl is gonna be a busy one. But, she’s happy. SO, I’m happy. We had her 6 month shots today, and she was a total champ. She is growing well, even though she is still JUST 14 pounds.

ME
Ahhh...I started back to work the start of July for just one very short shift on Saturday morning. It’s been refreshing to get out of the house and do something different. I really thrive on a strange combination of Routine AND planning new things and having short bursts of change in my life. I’m really excited for the fall. Summer was awesome. Especially our trip out East. We got to see both of our families and had a great visit in the fantastic Fredericton. BUT, I’m ready to get back to some structure. I have set some new goals for myself. One of which is a good work out routine and healthy eating plan. I read a great e-book earlier this summer called “the Diet Solution.” It’s not so much a diet as a lifestyle change with regards to nutrition. I’ve been incorporating this lifestyle slowly over the summer, and I’m feeling really great. Just sort of care free and happy and way less moody. It’s been good for everyone :)

Well, with that I’m off to eat! Thanks for reading. I’m out.

STARTING Solids

It’s crazy how different I find myself treating Janna, compared to Jesse when he was her age. With Jesse, I was so eager to have him hit all his milestones and try new things. Funny enough, Jesse was slow to do a lot of things...like sit, crawl, walk, feed himself, etc. With Janna, I am in zero rush for all these things! They are just more work, and life is so simple right now. It’s funny, because even though I don’t encourage her to learn things on her own (example- I pass her toys, and avoid belly time) she seems to be the opposite of Jesse and picks up on things too fast! She is now inching forward and pivoting all over the floor, and won’t stay off her stomach. Little munchkin. With Jesse, I was all pumped to start solids and at about 5 months started rice cereal. He sort of hated it, and it was a funny first experience. I wasn’t planning on starting Janna until 6 months, but lately she has been stalking our food with her eyes when we eat. Yesterday, she just about flopped out of her bumbo trying to mouth dive onto some food that was a on a plate close to her. So, after brushing up on the baby readiness signs and solids guidelines, we decided to start her on sweet potatoes today

She was so cute! She was very excited about the whole process of eating. She would open her mouth so wide and lean into the spoon, then look at us like “what the heck” as she swallowed down the orange mess. After a confused look, she would give us a huge grin and stick out her tongue for more. I don’t know if she loved the taste of the food, but it was like she loved eating. A definite Smith trait.

Here are a few pics of my angel baby.

Summer (Break) is (almost) Here!

Summer finally feels like it’s here! Not just because of the gorgeous weather we have been having the past few days, but things all of a sudden feel a bit slower and more exciting at the same time. Dave had his last day at school on Thursday, and while he is taking a course next week, he will be basically free in the evenings. Yay!

We had a fabulous long weekend. It kick started with my darling friend, Grace, and her husband, Tavis, visiting. We haven’t seen them for almost a year and were delighted they could make it for brunch, and then an afternoon at the park with the kids, then some catching up over games and food while the babes napped.

The first year we were in Ottawa for Canada day, we did the crazy downtown thing. The past few years, Dave has gone back to Parliament with friends, and I have stayed at home with friends. While I LOVE fireworks and parades, I’m totally claustrophobic around big buildings and crowds. So, the combination is a bit of a killer for me. Dave loves that atmosphere, so I always encourage him to do his thing. This year, I was thinking of putting the kids to bed, then waking them up right at 10 to take them to some fireworks a bit closer. However, it seems that lately, both of my kids are never happy at once. In fact, it seems that the happier one of them is, the more upset the other one is, and it’s made social occasions hard. Pulling Jesse away from the park when he is having a blast because Janna all of a sudden starts bawling.... or having to come home from a walk in the stroller that Janna is loving because Jesse is being a tool. Oh fun times...

Anyways, we ended up putting them to bed, and joining in a BBQ that our neighbours were having out front. The way our townhouses are arranged, all of our front doors sort of circle around this big patch of lawn woven with walkways. There are a handful of neighbours with kids, who will sit out there and watch the kids play and just chat and eat and enjoy the summer. It’s great because there is often someone around for Jesse to play with and we can step outside while Janna naps. There are a ton of bikes and toys, and even a little pool that are all considered communal. Anyways, we hung out with “the crew,” as I call them, for a good part of the evening, and somehow all the our kids ended up elsewhere...going to fireworks with other families, or playing with other kids a few houses down. So, it was just a bunch of grown-ups, which was a nice change. We ended the night with some sparklers and listening to some fireworks that were going off near by. Enough excitement for Me!

On Saturday I headed back to work. I am just going to be working a morning shift once a week until I head back part time in January. It was only 2 minutes being inside the building, and it felt like no time had passed. It was a quiet morning at the center and quite enjoyable. I have been working there for 3 years now, and know a lot of the families from the preschool program. A lot of the kids end up coming back on the weekends for parties or drop in play. I always end up seeing my little former preschoolers and it’s really nice to see how much the kids have grown and changed and catch up with the parents, too. My work shift was a nice change of pace in my week. I just adored getting up and getting ready all by myself while Dave dealt with early morning diapers and messy breakfast and a grumpy kid. It was the first time that Dave has really had to deal with both of them for more than an hour, and I think it gave him a little perspective on my days J I did a little shopping before coming home, climbed in bed for a nap (as the kids were down for their theirs), and felt totally refreshed and ready to go when they woke up and needed me. It’s amazing how half a day away from my kids, makes me feel like a better mom for a week! Anyways, after supper and bath time, Katie graciously offered to put the kids down and stay home so we could get out for a date. We took her up on her offer, and went out and saw Super 8. I really enjoyed it! It was so strange because it’s the kind of movie that really can’t be put into one genre. It’s like action and comedy and drama and sci-fi all in one. I recommend it!

So... the weekend was definitely a taste of summer break. Nice weather, special plans, help with the kids, back to the good old Gym Tale. This week will be the last with Dave gone through the day, and then the real deal begins. Also, Jesse has his minor surgery at the hospital tomorrow. He has to be put to sleep and have a scope and tissue samples taken in his upper stomach and intestines. He will have to stay for a while afterwards to be monitored for any complications, although the odds of any serious complications are very low. So, I’m a touch anxious to get this over with and put the celiac and stomach issues to rest. Wish me luck. Thanks for re