Weekend wrap-up!

The weekend was pretty calm, we did much running around shopping, cleaning and then just hanging out at home. It always seems that no matter how much time you think you have, there's still not enough to get everything done. Or enough energy, but that's another matter I think.

K has been enjoying his train set we found at Oma and Opa's so much that when we had found another (cheap) kind on clearance this week, we decided to come back and get it this weekend for him. Of course when we went back, it was packed up on a pallet ready to go back into the warehouse, but Jon managed to wiggle it out (and probably totally wreck the structure of the pallet!). Needless to say K was thrilled, as well as nothing gets by that boy. Jon had bought it ahead of us and wrapped it in two bags so he couldn't see until we wanted him to. He still saw it and asked the whole way home about the trains! When we got home, he didn't want to do anything but play with his trains. He refused to eat Pizza even! We did strap him down and he did finally eat, but it was all business and let him back at his trains! He plays with them non stop. NON STOP. So that's good.

I finally convinced Jon that T is ready for something more substantial than cereal in his solid food diet. He seems to be doing fine with the wheat now, we just backed off a bit and tried again even more slowly. So last night he got his first taste of carrot puree. And ate the whole thing! He rather seemed to like it and I'm sure he'll gobble up another cube for lunch!







This morning T seems to be about an 8 (out of 10) on the Giggles scale, and K I haven't had a chance to try yet. He's busy playing trains.

Pizza and Puffs

Saturday we had a recurring request for "Pee-pa" (pizza) all day from K. So, Jon got sent out with K to get some pizza making supplies. They bought some Pillsbury pizza dough, the mozzarella and some pepperoni. K and I assembled the pizza, he was right in there, didn't want to miss anything. I hadn't even gotten a chance to invite him to come help, he was right in there. Of course, the most important part was "testing" all the bits to make sure they were edible. The cheese, pepperoni and even the peppers we put on had to be tried. He kept pulling it off the pizza to eat it too! Finally, we got the pizza made and he was rather happy to eat!

That night was another milestone as well, we had arranged their room so both boys slept in one room! It made for a much better nights sleep for me the last two nights, I must say. So far so good, we woke up Sunday to K peeking into the crib and talking to T, and T was "playing" with the aquarium toy in there, turning it on and off with his feet. I think he may have been a bit bored in the bassinet honestly, he seems much happier with the crib and a few toys to wake up to! Today K woke up and came out of his room, and T is still sleeping!

We've introduced wheat cereal again the last couple of days and T seems to be doing fine. We have cut back on the amount, just sticking to about 3 servings of 2 tablespoons each, as well as trying to slow him down when he eats it! He just wants to eat it all and eat it - NOW! So, by giving him a few spoonfuls at a time and then waiting a bit, it seems to have made his tummy happier and then he's full at the end instead of screaming for seconds.

This past week I did make a bunch of pureed baby foods, some carrots, green beans and sweet potatoes. I'd like to wait another week or so with the wheat and then hopefully this weekend we can start T on some "real" food! I'd also like to make some chicken puree to add to some of his veggies once he's ready for that.

We went to the museum on Sunday, they had a Robert Munsch display there that I thought K would like. It was really neat with a bunch of hands on displays about writing and reading. K's favourite was a bunch of big foam letters with velcro on them that he could stick to a wall covered in felt. We lost him a couple of times, he ran away so fast, but he ran right back to that display! It had us parents enthralled too, there was so much to look and and try (which explains how we lost him I guess!)! There was also a display on diamonds that was fascinating, but kids were getting hungry. After stopping for a bite to eat, we continued on to the dinosaurs and bugs, then it was time to go. I did buy a few Munsch books in mini form, they are about two inches square, I thought they'd be great for keeping in the diaper bag, to read to K those times when you have to wait at appointments or the restaurant or something.







After that, we went to the mall to do some errands and just get out of the house for a bit. K got to ride the train (for free! They're not even asking if he's over two, they just stamp his hand. I'm not complaining!), while T and I went searching for cereal for him cause we left it at home. On our way out, there was a really neat ad display. It was like a big screen covered in pictures of M&M's, and as you touched it, the M&M's bounced out of the way! It was really neat to watch the kids play with it. Eventually it turned into Cadbury chocolate that oozed down from the top, and you smooshed it out of the way, and then it was a sheet of ice that melted as you touched it and then the water underneath rippled wherever you touched (some fruit drink ad). I'd never seen anything like it!

Day Nine - Dinosaur sandwiches

So. Glitter.



Not bad really. Although I didn't get the kind that has the sprinkle option, so I wouldn't let K control the glitter. He helped me pick out which colour hearts to use and which colour glitter to put on them. He also helped "fix" the designs I was doing with the glue by putting his fingers in it and smooshing it around. Sometimes with glitter too. I'm sure there will be some glitter in his diaper in the next day or so as I did catch him with his fingers in his mouth as well. I tried to get him to put glue on the hearts too, but he just wanted to play ninja swords with the paintbrushes we were using. We may try q-tips next time, but I think we've done that cause I remember he kept trying to put them in his ears (with glue on them).

The hearts look pretty cool too! It is really hard to let K "help" when I have an idea of how it should look when done and his help doesn't mix with my vision. But I have to remind myself that it's about letting him have fun, learn how to play with the glue or paint, etc, and not about making it perfect. I will post pictures once we get the camera working with the computer. I may go to a photo lab and see if I can get them all on CD or something and do it that way. Right now it's just not working. (Edited to Add - so I finally got some brains and scanned them in since the scanner is working. Duh! I've added pics of the rest here)

Today we went to playgroup this morning. It worked out pretty good too! We all slept in and then I decided we were going to go anyways, so I raced to get us all ready, then bundled us up, put T in the sled and we walked to the church for playgroup. K loves playgroup and went right for the trains, which was great cause he brought four of his own with him today! T loved all the other kids there and had a blast playing with the excersaucer as well. It's a lot like ours, but with different toys on the top, so that was a nice change for him I'm sure.

K, of course, did not want to leave. Cue Toddler Tantrum #1 of the day. In front of others as well. We joked that it's something to look forward to, but really it's just embarrassing as all heck. And of course we were the last ones there, struggling to get the two ready (while one is fighting it) and get out so she could lock up and go home.

But, we managed and walked through the schoolyard. And of course because we didn't put his snowpants on, K had to sit in the snow a few times. And eat it. At least it was white snow!

By the time we got home, T was fast asleep and I actually managed to get him out of the sled and his snowsuit, and into bed without waking him up! He's still sleeping! Must've really tuckered him out. It wasn't that cold out, so lunch did not require anything hot like soup, so I decided quick was what we needed. PB&J sandwiches sounded about right. And hey! We have a dinosaur sandwich cutter! Yay fun! So K had dinosaur sandwiches (which also cuts the crust off, he never eats it anyways), and I just had plain sandwiches.

It's just about snack time here and then I think naptime for K, which will probably cue Toddler Tantrum #2. Hopefully T will stay sleeping for a while longer and maybe I'll get a head start on some tidying and cleaning. Maybe.

Goals this weekend include:
Getting crafting stuff organized
Posting a recipe list and meal plan for next week
Fixing camera to computer issues
And then posting pictures

Day Eight - haven't decided

Well, we made the banana bread yesterday and all K stuck around for was to "squish" the bananas. It's a favourite game of his, we pretend to squish him all the time. We'll half sit on him on the couch, or with shopping carts and make squishing noises while he squeals "Again! Squish!". So I got him to help out yesterday by telling him to "Moosh moosh, squish" the bananas. He grabbed the potato masher and was going "Squish, squish" while pretty much just playing with the mushed up bananas.

But, the banana bread is done and it made the house smell lovely and it tastes awesome, especially with the chocolate chips in it.

Yesterdays adventure out and about proved exciting. We got picked up by Baby Beastie and her mom (on her school bus! We were waiting for the regular bus and they passed us, so stopped and picked us up) and had some lunch, then walked around WalMart doing some shopping. We found some glitter, finger paint paper (cause the paper roll from Ikea is too absorbent, doesn't allow for lots of playtime with the paints), and I found a cute bath poof with a stuffy seal head on it. K wanted that one cause it was blue.

A little funny, I was writing out the shopping list on Tuesday for what to get yesterday. During the day I had had to toss a couple of T's bottle nipples cause they had been chewed on so bad they had cracked. So my list started like this...

Nipples
Glitter
Heart stickers

Made Jon and me laugh anyways.

So Beastie and her mom had to go and they left us at WalMart. We finished up there, had a snack (while K climbed on the half wall by our table, laughing and smiling at everyone in the restaurant) and continued on our journey.

Which brought us to Michael's craft store. K was actually really good this whole time. I had to strap him into the stroller so I could concentrate on just getting what we needed done, and so he'd been sitting in it for ages. But, I remember now one reason we haven't been going out lots, it's that lots of slushy snow, no plowing of sidewalks and a stroller with two kids in it don't go well together. The only upside is I got lots of exercise pushing that thing around! And of course businesses don't think of leaving walkways for people using transit, so there's no paths from the sidewalks to the business, just from the parking lot into the store.

While pushing our way along a footpath from the sidewalk along the store to the front of the store, I was getting worried I might break a wheel or two off the stroller! We finally made it in and found the place in clearance mode. Lucky! So, we tracked down some heart stickers (finally), and I found stuff to work on next week's project too.

After Michael's, we were done what we needed to do for the day so we headed off to find our bus home. When we got to the transit center nearby, K wanted so badly to go on the LRT (light rail transit) trains. So we changed course and went to ride on the trains. K had a blast going "Trains! Track! Trains Fast!" the whole time! The best part was when we got off at our stop and he goes "Thank you Thomas! See you later Thomas!"! That's actually the direct translation, it actually came out more like "Ake-U Toe-Mas! Slee-lu la-er Toe-Mas!"!

Well, T is down after being up this morning for a bit, and K is playing with his tracks, having just finished breakfast. I don't know what we're going to make today yet, but I do know dinner is pork tenderloin since it's defrosting in the fridge. With what, I have no idea. Oh, maybe baked potatoes! K can help me poke and wrap them. It's not much, but gotta start somewhere.

And it's glitter day! Wish us luck!

Day Seven - Hulking Out

Today is Banana Bread day. I pulled 5 frozen bananas out, the recipe calls for approximately six, but I don't want to go downstairs to the freezer to get the sixth one, so five will have to do.

But, first things first. We need glitter. And Rice cereal. Which brings me to my title.

T's been having some issues the last few days. He gets so worked up that he ends up crying so hard Jon calls it his "Hulking Out" face. He gets all red in the face and is working so hard on crying as hard as he can to try and get his point across, but we can't figure out what it is. At this point, we figure it might be the wheat cereal we started him on on Monday. I hope not. The other option is teething, or I guess maybe a poop/gas issue (which would make that two options really, but who's counting?), but taking the wheat cereal out of his "diet" and seeing if that helps is the simplest solution at this point. The problem with this is I've just fed him the last bit of rice cereal in the house this morning. Good thing we're headed to WalMart for glitter today.

K's just getting up now, I can hear him in his room. Yesterday he was up around 6:30am, it's about twenty after nine now and he's just getting up. Guess he needed the sleep. Which is fine with me cause I don't need a grumpy/tired two year old in a store, that's a combination for a headache right there. Especially when he knows this store inside out and can tell you from any department that the toys are "THAT WAY!!".

Guess I better let him out and feed him.

Day Five - more muffins

So we did have chicken fingers for dinner last night, but the kids didn't help with them at all. In fact their dad made dinner last night, so that was great!

I forgot to mention that Saturday Kenton and I went out, just the two of us, to go get a few things that we needed, as well as look for a birthday present for a party we went to yesterday. It was nice to have some just me and Kenton time, and he behaved really well in the stores. We quickly found a great gift, which he helped carry around the store since it had a handle. But, he was very upset when we got home and he found out it wasn't for him! Oh, well. He did find some Thomas stuff that I couldn't find a good reason to say no to in the last store we visited. It was cheap, it made him happy, he had been a good boy and since it was a pack of valentines, I knew it would make others happy too!

Yesterday we went to a first birthday party for a special little "Beastie" girl. I apologize that K kept trying to open the presents. And stealing B's toys from her, and eating everything, and running around, and terrorizing the birds... maybe we need more practice at this birthday party attending thing. Who's next!?

Today is going good so far. I got up early so I could get my shower and breakfast in before the kids get up. I hate waking up early, but I have to remind myself that I'm less stressed during the day when I do, since I get some of this stuff out of the way right away, and am not trying to fit it in with both kids awake.

After T got up and ate a ton, played, and then ate some more, he fell back asleep so K and I made another batch of muffin mix muffins. Carrot (bran, I think) this time. Today he was much more in the mood to help out, and we counted the cups into the tins, 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 4... 6... wait... try again... And I showed him how they go into the oven, and made sure he was there when they came out. He was very good about staying away from the "Hot" oven, and was excited about his muffins. Then I made us lunch, plain old macaroni and tomatoes today, but I hope to have something more exciting planned for tomorrow.

I mopped up after our lunch, and K even helped wipe the "Mess" off the table. Then I decided we'd do some finger painting with the new paints I got him on Saturday since we were already at the table and his shirt had to come off anyways, there was tomato juice all over him! So we went through the colours, and he told me which ones he wanted and where on the paper to put them. It was pretty funny, cause he'd never finger painted before and didn't really like getting his hands dirty, so only used his fingertips! But, we did manage a nice painting (okay, I helped) which is now drying on the fridge. My plan is to let it dry, then we'll cut out hearts and make valentine cards with them for friends and family. Some days I feel so smart! No pictures though, the camera card is full and we still haven't figured out the problem so we can start uploading them onto the computer again.

Well, I think we've had a decent break from lunchtime, so it's muffin time then (at least I hope) naptime for K.

Day One - Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

To try to give some focus (and fun!) to our days, I'm going to try to make one thing to eat with the boys everyday. Well, really with K right now, as T's still too little, but he's great for supervising! So yesterday is was muffins from a muffin mix, since it was there and easy to do.

The camera is still not uploading, I even tried doing it through the PS3 and it doesn't recognize the camera either. I do have pictures, but I will have to add them later. I wanted to get this out before I get too far behind and forget. (ETA - we have pictures now!)



I felt rather smart and got everything set up ahead of time, a bowl, the water and an egg white and a couple of spoons. Then I was re-taught cooking lesson number one - read the instructions! Turns out you're supposed to mix the egg white and water together and then add the mix to the water. Okay, fine. Actually it worked out rather well. K had poured the mix into a bowl, and I had him help stir the egg white and water together. So then I started pouring the mix into the water while he stirred. He actually got rather bored of this quickly and left me to finish, with a howling T in his Jolly Jumper in the background.





I finished mixing the mix up and was ready to pour it into the muffin tin. After calling repeatedly for K to come and help put the muffin cups in the tin, I just went to him and we counted out 6 muffin cups into the tin.



I took the muffin tin back and started pouring the mixture from the glass into the tins (while holding T on my hip, fun). Finally I had to put T down, since I needed both hands, so I laid him on a blanket on the floor beside me so I could finish. Then I just threw them in the oven. K's helping part was now to eat them, but he didn't like them very much, so I got to eat his too!


Today I plan to do chicken fingers and fries. We have a great recipe we haven't used in a while, though I want to adapt it to a Shake and Bake style so Kenton can help.

And, looks like last night T developed a cough too. His Dad and I were up till about 5am trying to help him out to get some sleep (for all of us). I hope there are many naps in store for us today...