Morning episodes

So, between Hubby's insomnia and the boys not wanting to fall asleep at night, it's made for some interesting days. Friday night hubby didn't get to sleep until four in the morning, and even then didn't really get sleep. Last nigh it was two when he came to bed. (well, he was in bed before then but couldn't sleep either because his brain wouldn't stop, or my snoring was too loud).

So he's sleeping right now. I've been up with the kids for at least an hour. Knowing that Hubby's sleeping now because he wasn't able to last night makes it easier to handle.

So, when I went in for my shower (I have a child coming in a half hour) I set the kids up with some breakfast first. That way I know they'll be occupied with eating instead of destroying themselves and the living room while I'm in the bathroom. And, of course, I kept the door open in case there was a crash or yell, or some other crisis.

Not a peep the whole time I was showering. But, as soon as the water was turned off, I heard this whimpering. "Boy2? What's wrong?" I called out. Again, just whimpering. "Boy? Where are you?" "I'm in bed" came the reply. Whimper, whimper. "Boy2? Can you come here?" No response. So, fearing the worst, I wrap a towel around me and, dripping, go off in search of my youngest.

I found him at the table, syrup all over his hands and face, just looking at me. "Need wipe." Alright. I guess telling him again and again that he wasn't allowed to leave the table without wiping his paws has tuck, because he wasn't moving until his fingers and face were washed clean.

My little boy who really doesn't like food on his fingers unless he's eating. As soon as he's done, the cloth better be at the ready or else!

Changes!

There's been alot going on... Hubby hurt his foot so he's been off work, sleep has become an option lately (difficulty falling asleep for all of us, but severe insomnia for Hubby last night), doctor's appointments, ultrasound, mosquito bites, child care countdown, an awful lot on the mind.

That being said, it's kind of exciting to be standing here (well, sitting at the computer) at the end of one phase and about to begin another. Kinda exciting, kinda scary. The unknown is always a terrifying concept, no wonder young children tend not to do well with huge changes. At least, as adults, we're able to understand that, while things will be changing, some things (like all of us being under one roof, toys and books moving with us) will be the same.

I think the Boy has a better understanding now about the future, but not Boy2. At least he seems less anxious than his brother was. That being said, I think it's going to be a long couple of months. Three more weeks of child care in my home, five more weeks until our moving day, eleven weeks until baby's due date (which only means that baby will come in twelve and a half weeks optimistically). Then you have to add Daddy's birthday, the Boy's birthday, the Boy starting preschool (hopefully), and actually introducing said new baby to the home.

I'm thinking it'll be sometime around Christmas before things are "normal" again:)

Does understanding come with age?

I've been meaning to get this one down for most of the week, but time and kids have gotten away from me.

These last two weeks, I've started packing and cleaning a little bit more. Our notice was given to our landlords last week, we're out of this house July 31st. Not positive where our new home will be made yet, but that will be settled in a few weeks.

Th boy has changed houses so many times in his short lifespan. We moved to Saskatoon when he was a week old, we moved to Calgary for Hubby's internship when he was nearly two and Boy2 was four and a half months old, and we moved back here for Hubby's final year of study last August. That last move was especially difficult because I was ten weeks pregnant and miscarried not even a week before the move.

The Boy is a sensitive child. He quickly picks up on emotions and the stress of others surrounding him, primarily those of his parents. Four moves in the nearly four years of life he's had have taken their toll, but he's resilient. This time, at least, he's more able to understand what is happening and why, although that understanding is still very limited.

Last week, as I was packing up the stemware and platters, the Boy asked why I was packing. I explained as much as I was able. He then asked me if we didn't like this house anymore. "But I like this house!" Poor boy! It isn't that we don't like this house, but circumstances don't permit us to stay in this house. Sometime next month Daddy would go on a trip and find us a different house.

Monday, he was out with Daddy for a bit of a walk. He was asking if there were people living in this house, or this house, or what about that house. Daddy said that people were in all those houses. Later that afternoon he told me that Daddy couldn't find a new house. They were already full. How do you get a preschooler to understand? I know it'll come with time, but in the meantime, my heart breaks.

curiosity?

Well, we didn't get a nap today. Well, one of us did. Something happened today that hasn't happened in an awful long time... Boy2 fell asleep in my arms twice.

We knew we were going to spend a big chunk of our day away from the house today since our landlords wanted to have an open house to find new tenants. The way they explained it was that they like the open house so they are bugging the current tenants less. Have a showing all at once instead of one here and one there. So, yesterday was super cleaning. This morning was tidy odds'n'ends. Church at 11, Boy2 fell asleep right as Daddy was getting the pulpit warmed up with his sermon.

Trying to hold a 30 pound two year old while seven months pregnant and his older brother wanting to snuggle too is not an easy task. (Boy! He's definitely gained weight since he last did that!) Then the church had a picnic (where the boys ate nothing but dessert!) and we decided to go for a walk (we remembered the wagon before we left the house). Ending the walk with some park time, I was convinced that the Boy would be asleep before we reached home, but we stopped to fuel and got slurpees which kept them awake.

After getting home, they were crazy! (thank you sugar high!) After an early supper we figured on an early bed after some play time. The Boy and Boy2 wanted some stories, so I sat with them on either side reading. At the end of the first story, I realized Boy2 wasn't moving but was breathing. Yup, he was asleep. Before six pm, he was out like a light. Didn't even flinch when I changed him into jammies.

So we decided to give the Boy a treat by watching sharks (Blue Planet). The Boy absolutely loves this. He keeps trying to convince us to put it on every time we let them watch TV. "Boy2 likes sharks too! Yes, he does!"

There is one part in the first episode where you see herring going up and finding a place to reproduce. The females lay eggs on vegetation, then the males come along and fertilize them, releasing their semen all over, leaving the water milky with white foam on top. The Boy, ever curious and wanting to understand everything, asked what that was. All I could think of to say was "You'll learn about that when you get a little older." That has never satisfied my oldest, so I told him that it was to help the fish eggs grow. "That's milk?" he asks (of course, since milk helps little boys grow that's what he'd think). "No, it covers the fish eggs and helps them grow into baby fish." That seemed to be an alright answer. Either that or he was too busy watching the other animals now feasting on fertilized herring eggs.

It does amaze me, his understanding and curiosity about life, animals, how things work, you name it. I wonder what he'll be when he grows up?

growing grass (my lawn)

Well, four kids are down for a now, one is playing quietly on the floor, there's a short list of things I wanted to do at nap time today, but they'll wait.

It's been a pretty good week so far, aside from the Boy catching my cold and now having a voice that's so hoarse. Boy2 has been talking up a storm (I think that the hatch is open and the words will just flood his brain from here on out). It's very exciting to see/hear.

I was so excited yesterday afternoon when the kids went out to play: there's grass growing in my yard! Now, I know that for most people this is an everyday occurrence, but we haven't had a normal spring and what with the ice, water, and kids stomping and trying to dig in the mud, the grass in our backyard hasn't really had much of a chance. For most of the month of May we seeded and put soil down in the worst areas and did our best to keep it moist and soft without letting the kids out there. When we gave up on that, we let them outside but under close supervision so there would be little or no traipsing through the seeded area.

After being away this weekend, looking out in the backyard and seeing those new shoots coming up was like witnessing a miracle! Now I just have to keep the kids away until the rest comes up and it gets thick enough. Yay.

Spoke too soon!

I guess I spoke too soon! Boy2 only slept for an hour, baking commenced (not bad playtime actually, just a HUGE mess in the living room when I was done), everyone ate their lunch (grilled cheese is always a hit), then the caos commenced.

The boy didn't sleep at all, or rather he did sleep all of two minutes as he fell asleep and then the doorbel rang two minutes later to wake him and his brother up. At least all together Boy2 slept for about an hour and a half. I'm just glad the extras who normally sleep did for as long as they normally do.

Sticky buns got done, taken out just in time for Hubby to surprise us by coming home for lunch. He got back to work and was called nasty names because he didn't bring any back with him to share this time. Floors got washed (took nearly two hours and at this point you can't really tell they were done at all), and Hubby started some laundry when he got home.

The living room is currently a disaster, but that will wait until morning. There are at least two hours between the time we'll be up and the time the first kids will be here. I may have overdone it a bit today. There's a certain tenderness felt, but Baby's still moving around, so I'll just have to stay off my fee a bit more tomorrow.

We are currently under a severe thunderstorm warning. I saw it moving in when I called the boys in from the back after supper, and the thunder woke Hubby, who laid down pretending to sleep after supper and actually did. He doesn't often get sick, but between the allergies and the rain combined with working outside all day, he's feeling pretty worn out. (His poor nose!)

But there may be 2-3cm hail and funnel clouds coming out of this one. Kinda exciting for the first one of the year...

Kids are asleep (benefit of the short/nonexistent nap), Hubby is asleep, I'm just waiting on the dryer so I can get it emptied then empty the washer into it. I can fold it in the morning too (are you noticing a trend towards procrastination?).

I promised the Boy that I would read "Cookie Monster and the Cookie Tree" first thing in the morning, and Boy2 "One Fish Two Fish" so I need to set those aside in the "not to be put away" pile.

Side note: set cell phone alarm tonight in case power goes out, and put flashlight beside the bed. That's an awful lot of thunder and lightning!

Random thoughts this morning

It's nearly nine in the morning as I write this, and it's been an incredibly quiet morning thus far. Well, the last hour. Boy2, for one reason or another, has started needing a little bit more sleep than he used to. So, sometimes he sleeps for and hour or so a couple of hours after getting up, or he if he doesn't nap early morning, he sleeps for two+ hours after lunch (How did that happen? Neither one has napped more than an hour at a time until recently!). So, with him asleep by eight this morning, we welcomed the extra playmate this morning with very little fuss.

We set up some train tracks, got out the garage and cars, there are vehicles ALL over my livingroom floor, but it's quiet. (Could it be that my little angel is an antagonist?) The boy has his own issues (not the least of which this morning seems to be very selective hearing) But it is kind of odd to have the house as silent as it is.

This morning, after two days of sunshine and warmth, we woke up to the smell of rain. I love the smell that rain brings. It's so fresh and clean. Added bonus is that it's still supposed to be warm today, so we may even get another thunder storm (the boys actually enjoy them!). Poor Hubby, though. As he left for work he made some comment about mold growing on him. I just told him to stop standing still. His response does not need to be repeated:)

I have a whole list of things to do today. The cleaning I didn't do last Saturday and won't get to do this Saturday because we'll be out, baking for the weekend, maybe a load or two of laundry... it'll get done. And if it doesn't it'll be waiting for me later.

Yesterday I made peanut butter chocolate chip cookies for the first time in a long time. Boy2 has rediscovered the joys of peanut butter recently and I just though "yummy" so I did. I think that more baking should be doe today, though. I've been meaning to do sticky buns for the last three weeks, plus more blueberry muffins. Tomorrow is going to be a super full day with ALL the extra kids ALL day long, so I really should do all this stuff today.

The boys got hair cuts on Monday. They had a shower with Daddy afterwards to rinse off the loose hair. Now, everyday when Daddy gets home from work, the Boy wants to come in from outside and shower with Daddy. Tuesday it was a good idea since he looked like he'd been using the mud in the back as jungle camoflauge. What a mess! Thank goodness for running water and bathtime!