Moving on

I know I’ve neglected this blog for awhile now.
I started it a couple of years ago and it was perfect for me. It was a place to talk about all the stuff going on in my life.
I loved telling stories about Matthew and the crazy life we had. The title of my blog “Misadventures of Mommy Laural” wasn’t a title I thought long and hard about. To me parenting was just a crazy misadventure and I never knew what I was doing right – or wrong.
I always felt like I didn’t quite know what I was doing. And, because I was (fairly) young when I had Matt, it seemed like strangers felt compelled to offer me advice, give suggestions or critique my parenting.
It’s been 5 years now since I became a mother (to Matt) and I’ve been a mother of 2 for just over a year now.
And, what I’m seeing now is that Matt’s story is his now.
He’s five.
And my five year old has a very strong opinion of what he likes and doesn’t like. Since he’s started school I’ve watched him grow from a little boy whose life was dictated by his parents to a child who clearly knows what he wants to do and when he wants to do it.
That’s one of the most amazing things about Matt.
But, it also has led me to believe that this blog, this discussion of my life, his life, my parenting and his being parented isn’t just my story to tell anymore.
It’s OUR story.
And as much as I would love to share it all here I can’t. I would love to sit and write a post about my fears for him. I worry about social stuff, about bullying, about his attention issues among other things.
But, I’m not sure that a blog is the right place to talk about that.
Miss Chloe has her own story too. But, it’s different the second time around. In a way it’s easier.
The great thing I learned from blogging though, is this. Everyone struggles. And when you put yourself out there, and you admit that you are struggling, that you need help, that you need reassurance, that you aren’t perfect … people listen. And they help.
I rely on my friends, on my WonderMommies, on my family. And for now I’m not relying on my blog.
So am I done? Yes and No. This space here will be shut down soon. And my other blog (that many of you know about) will be also.
But, I’m working on something new. Something fun! Something more me. And, bonus points if you can guess what the topic is.
Once I have it up and running I’ll post the link here.
But, for now, thanks for reading!

The birthdays are coming

In our household, this time of the year is exciting because we have 2 birthdays to celebrate: Chloe's on March 28th and Matt's on April 6th. So, 2 birthdays in 2 weeks.
Of course I came up with the plan to celebrate Matt's birthday by inviting his entire class (19 kids) and my nieces TO MY HOUSE for a Mad Science birthday party. That party will be held exactly one week after our birthday/open house for Chloe's first birthday. Also at our house. Yes. Crazy.
So, of course, when I got an e-mail telling me I could win Disney party ideas and favours I jumped at the chance to enter.
Really, I didn't get my hopes up. I enter contests all the time. I didn't expect to win.
But, win I did!
So, soon I'm getting a bunch of Disney stuff to help me celebrate! I can't wait.
I'm not sure that this will really help me make a better party, but you never know.
For now, I'm just stressing about what I'm going to do. I still haven't sent out birthday invitations for either party. And I haven't planned.
Yikes.
But, one day at a time.
Any party planners are welcome to help out. I have nothing!

Valentines

I love Valentine's Day.
I know some people call it a Hallmark holiday, but I love it for that reason. We don't have to travel anywhere. There's no worrying about changing schedules so that everyone is happy. We simply have to be with each other.
And eat chocolate.


And wake up to a table decorated by my loving husband.
We also enjoyed a lovely dinner out - just Mike and I, because our nanny babysat. (she offered). I paid no attention to my diet and enjoyed every bite of my meal down to the chocolate brownie. It was delicious.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S EVERYONE!

Loving Grandma ...

When Grandma says "smile for the camera" ...



Chloe smiles for the camera!



The cuteness kills me.

Can you believe that tomorrow our nanny starts? I can't. These past 10 months have flown by. I can't believe my teeny tiny baby is getting so big (and funny, cute, crazy, active ...). I also can't believe Matthew has started the countdown to his FIFTH birthday.

This weekend we celebrated Mike's birthday. I know we're a bit ahead of things, but instead of spending the weekend stressing about the changes happening in our home I surprised Mike with a trip to Buffalo (Friday night to Saturday) an afternoon at Monster Jam with Matthew tonight and then dinner at my parents. Oh ... and a brand new camera which he seems to love.

Competimommy - the elementary years

I'm not sure who coined the phrase Competimommy, but it's a good one.
I encountered many Matthew was younger. One particular playgroup we went to had the rich moms who compared which Louis Vuitton bag was truly the best to use as a diaper bag (seriously), and encounted the moms who were becoming proficient in ASL so that they could better communicate with their babies. I'm not talking baby sign language (I embraced this). I'm talking moms who paid ASL coaches to made videos for them so they could practice advanced words.
Seriously.
And, I laughed at it. Because I was so far out of their league I couldn't compete. At first I was insecure, but I slowly realized that as a mom I had my flaws, and no designer bag could really make up for the fact that I routinely spilled cheerios, lost soothers and forgot to bring diapers in my diaper bag. And, no matter how many languages I became proficient in, my kid would say his first word when he was ready. (though he did sign "milk" at a very young age!)
And then there was tonight.
Matthew and his cousin Kyla had gymnastics together.
This isn't my first session of gymnastics. In fact, we just finished a session in December. But, the afternoon moms of 3-5 year olds are not nearly as competitive as the moms my sister and I encountered tonight.
First there was the mom who, ironically, is a parent in Matt's class. The thing is, at school I barely notice her. At gymnastics it was a whole other story. It was the FIRST class. We were all trying to get a look through the window at our darlings. I'll admit that. But this mom? She pulled up a chair, stood on it, and when her daughter did something she cheered. At first I thought that this kid was doing backflips. Nope. She was skipping right next to Matt and Kyla. As they progressed through the various activities her mom continued right on, lamenting the kid's body shape (she's 5) and insisiting her husband hoist their son on his shoulder so the whole family could observe.
I was unable to enjoy the moment of snark with my sister, because our conversation (yes, we did get a Starbucks and planned to spend the hour chatting while slightly monitoring our kids) was interrupted constantly by a woman in a peach coloured sweater.
In the one hour session we learned her entire life story.
We learned about the time she sold her house.
We learned about her kids.
And, most importantly, we learned about her daughter who is a brilliant gymnast and was asked to be in this particular evening class. Thrilling.
As she talked Becky and I would casually step back at an appropriate break in conversation only to be interrupted again by the same woman. It was funny.
Now, I know this may sound harsh, but she was a plump woman and about my height. Given the fact that she was wearing a peach sweater and was very round, with a round hairstyle, I have to admit that I kept thinking she looked like a Giant Peach.
And the more she spoke the more I thought it.
But, the clincher of the evening was when we were watching the elite gymnasts doing flips. I was amazed at the ability they had to hop into a flip and do 5 or 6 ina row. It was amazing. And, I said so. And as Beck and I were discussing how many flips these girls could do yet again the Peach interrupted us.
"It's Momentum"
Good to know. I continued what I was saying.
"Momentum. It's momentum. It's the floor and it's momentum. That's how they keep going."
Okay.
"I know this. I was a highschool gymnast."
At this point all I could picture was a giant peach hurdling across the gym floor. Ironically, my sister had the same thought.
I can't wait to go back next week and hear just how well all the off spring did this week.

Why We Aren't Having Playdates for Awhile

Today Matt asked if his friend could come and play. I said no.
Why?

I'm pretty sure the lack of walls may cause a problem.

And, as much fun as it is to play with power tools ... I'm pretty sure that anything our contractor leaves at our house is probably not safe for kids.

Really, our basement is pretty torn up right now. But, renovations are going well.
I was worried that it would be kind of hellish, but so far so good. The cats are a little confused, but other than that it's not too bad.

Imagine

Imagine This ...

Seriously. For Christmas I want to go to Disney World!

Oh Christmas Tree!

This year's Christmas tree was different from others. There is a lack of ornaments, lights, and sparkly stuff.
We debated a lot about whether or not we would even have a tree.
Chloe is very active, and after spending about 2 minutes around my parents' tree I realized that we really could not do our usual glitz and glamour.
But, of course we have a tree. And of course Matthew wanted to decorate.

So we let him.

The tree is about 5 feet, and he could reach most of it. So, we let him put up whatever he wanted. And we even let him help with the lights.


Chloe also helped.


As I said, this year's tree lacks the Martha Stewart flare of previous years. Okay, I lie. I've never been into the Martha look. But, I do usually have a colour theme, hang the tinsel/ribbon in some order and get a little anal about the whole thing.

I also usually care that there is only one ornament per branch. And ornaments have to be the right way up.

This year all our candy canes turned into J's since that is the letter of the week. And all the J's are grouped together. On one branch. There is no theme. My Kristi Yamaguchi ornament is hanging on top of a bell.

But, this is my favourite Christmas tree ever. It's what Christmas is all about. And, it makes me smile. Sure, I'd love a fancy star, not the dollar store special that blinks. But, whatever. Tis the season. And I guantee we'll remember our afternoon of Christmas carols and tree decorating more than we would a fancy tree.

But, hey...
Since you're asking, want to see my sister's tree too? (and, can we all stop and enjoy the fact that the child who is sitting and smiling properly for the picture is Matthew?)

Chilling With Grandpa

Last night was a tree lighting near the school my dad works at. So, my mom picked Matt up for a special Grandma/Grandpa evening.
My dad plays clarinet and was in a jazz band, and Matt had the role of holding a flashlight so my dad could read the music.
Matt took his job very seriously, and did a really good job, sitting still the entire time.
After the music a very special visitor came out.
The whole ride there and back Matt was thrilled with time to chat to Grandma as they spotted Christmas lights, talked about school ("Q and U are best friends") and enjoyed the festive spirit.

I'm a (Guitar) Hero

Image by smwood71 via FlickrMike LOVES video games. Me, not so much.
I'm not opposed to them or anything. I just have no hand/eye coordination and find them extremely frustrating. Matt has a V-Smile and I find even that frustrating.
So, when Mike got an XBox 360 last year I was happy for him, but not super excited. I mean, yay for him and all, but wow.
It's not like I was about to play.
But then ... Then he went to a friend's house and played Guitar Hero. He couldn't stop talking about it, so I said he should buy it. And he did a couple of days ago.
Last night I was curious and asked him to show me the game. I mean, what's the big deal?
I LOVED IT!
Maybe it's the fact that I have a background in music, so I could actually follow the game, but I was totally hooked.
I did the tutorial. I did the trial, and then I went to town.
Okay, I'm only playing the easy level, and it's not like I'm perfect. But, I'm GOOD! I totally understand the game, I can follow along with the beat, and I'm totally understanding how to do this.
Amazing.
It's only taken me 30 years to find a video game I enjoy.
Mike's so excited that he wants to get me my own guitar. I think he has visions of us jamming after the kids are in bed.
The next thing we're debating ... a wii.

Happy Halloween!

The first Halloween for my princess!

And her brother decided to explain it all to her

We've decided today is a day to eat candy all day and nap in the afternoon. We still have a whole evening ahead of us.

Matthew was thrilled to learn the best Halloween poem ever.
"Trick or Treat
Smell my feet
Give me something good to eat
If you don't
I don't care
I'll pull down your underwear"

Yep. He's 4!

O Canada ... or something!

Image via WikipediaDinner is always an interesting time in our house. We try our best to turn off the tv and have dinner as a family.
It doesn't happen everyday, but we try.
Tonight we were talking about school, and what he does during the day. Of course they sing "O Canada" every day. So we asked him the words.

"Oh Canada. Our home and timberland"
"then there's a whole bunch of La la la"
"Oh Canada we socialize for thee."
"Oh Canada we socialize for thee."

I have NO idea what they are teaching him in class, but apparently socialism is on the agenda!

Of course, we also like to hear the stories he brings home from church. We try very hard to find out what he learned in Sunday School, and talk about it during the week.

One week they "drew pictures for apricots" (wrote letters to kids in Africa)
This week they sang "Thank you God, for giving us poo." (really, food)

It makes me wonder what he tells people we say at home. Cause really, I'm crazy enough without misinterpretations!

Mmmm ... mama mio

I'll admit it. I'm a sucker for yummy body products. But, when they are fun body products designed for mommies, what's not to love?!
For a long time all the mommy products were for mommies-to-be and new moms were on their own. But, finally there are products geared to mommies who have had their babies. One of the newest ones is the mama mio line that is geared toward supermamas. I love it. Their packaging reads "delux skincare for supermamas."
Awesome.
I tried out the Body Buff.
I liked that it promised to make me feel supersmooth and like myself in the buff.
Ha ha. I get it. Body buff - feel great in the buff. Good luck with that one.
Anyway. I liked the product. I had it in my van and let my mom try some while we were chatting. My mom, who has tried all sorts of products couldn't get over the stuff because she felt softer right away.
So, of course I had to try it. And I loved it.
Am I softer? More touchable?
Yep. My skin does feel smoother. And, considering that it's fall and my skin is getting really dry, I'm pretty impressed. And I smell good too.
What more could this Supermomma ask for?
Oh. I know. Enough time to have a long leisurely bath to fully enjoy the product!

Letters Here, Letters There

Image by karen horton via FlickrSorry I haven't blogged in forever. Somehow life just seems to get in the way!
But, I have to tell you about school. Yes. We are still having challenges and time outs, and I still worry about Matthew, but ...
The one thing that worried me a lot was Matthew's lack of interest in letters. Before jk he could not care less what letter his name started with. I'd point letters out to him and he just didn't care. He didn't want to know and did not want to play along with any of my letter games.
I was a little worried. Okay, I was very worried.
A few people told me to relax and let his teacher do her job. And, since I had no choice really, I went with it.
And that teach of his? She works magic.
My child who had no interest in the alphabet has become letter obsessed.
All day he sounds out words and either guesses what letter it starts with or asks me. It's wonderful. Tiring, but wonderful.
And I'll take tiring. Because I was worried that I had a child who wouldn't read.
Not that I jump to conclusions or anything!
And, the excitement of this week?
This week the letter they are working on is the first letter of his name. This was the most exciting thing in the world yesterday.
His teacher truly is a miracle worker.

Fall Is Here

I can't think of anything more wonderful in fall than going to an apple farm.
Matt's "homework" this weekend was to go for a walk with his parents and look for squirrels gathering nuts. So, we got talking about going for a walk and fall leaves and such and we ended up driving to an apple farm and walking among the trees.
Matt found straw!
The kids' play area was a fenced in straw pit and he could have spent the day there. We spent quite awhile and I was baffled when many parents refused to let their kids jump in the hay because it is messy.
IT'S A FARM!!!!
The hay was much more fun than the apples.

You can see Mike directing Matt to the apples. See the excitement on Matt's face? nope? It was all about the straw.

There was some excitement when Matt got ahold of the camera ...
There was more excitement when we went to the apple store and got to push a special apple cart. And then the maple syrup candy. Wow! Life was good in our 4 year old's world.
And as for Chloe?
She was just her happy, smiley self - watching her big brother and enjoying life.

Somedays I am just grateful for all I have.

Time

Remember this little baby? You know, the one who was so teeny tiny we had to go and buy preemie-sized clothes so something would fit?
She's growing.
It's funny how it happens so quickly. She still seems so little to me. And she's still so tiny compared to her big brother.
But, she's growing.

Actually, in this picture she's still small, but it won't delete!

But, she's officially outgrown her bathtub!

What parent puts their baby on her tummy for a bath? Not me. Don't worry. But, she flips, and she has decided that she much prefers swimming to being bathed.

She has also discovered the joy of food.
We're all about the organic brown rice cereal around here. Yummy! (or not so much). Carrots aren't the hit I was hoping. But, bananas seem to somewhat of a hit. I forgot what a pain trying to get babies to eat is. She is a much neater eater than her brother.

And Matthew. Well, he's growing too. It's not quite as evident on a daily basis. But, having a kid in school. Wow! I am amazed every day by him. It's been an adjustment, but it amazes me to find out what he learned. In a week he's memorized a snake poem, learned the letter S and knows to say "here" when the teacher calls his name.
And, like a typical elementary school boy, he's learning to pose for pictures. Smiles are for wimps! It's all about the crazy faces these days.

In some ways I'm a bit sad about them growing up. But, every day I learn something new. I love that Chloe recognizes us and smiles so much. I love watching her recognize her big brother. I love that Matt's learning and growing and stretching his vocabulary. And, yet, every day I know I need to hold them close because these days fly by way too quickly!

A Picture Says a Thousand Words

I won't say Chloe is crawling yet, but she's getting around.
Last night during dinner we put her on her play mat (see it in the background?) while we all ate dinner. She made her way off of the mat and saw one of Matt's toys. It's a fake transformer - dubbed Optimus Joe* . So, she sort of scooted over to Joe and was playing with him.
Matt was so focused on his meal that he didn't see her. So I said "look! she's playing with your toy!" Matt hopped of his chair and ran over. I thought he was about to take it away. But, no. He wanted to show her how it worked.
Chloe just laid there watching him. In awe of her big brother.
I love those moments.
Yesterday also happened to be Matt's first FULL day of school. That meant I had an entire day to fill with Chloe. I was at a bit of a loss because it was so quiet. I know some people would have done stuff like tidy or nap or stay home, but I didn't. Oh no. I went out.
The church we attend (on a not-so-regular basis) has a moms and tots group. I got an e-mail from another mom inviting me. So I decided to go. I was surprised because I really enjoyed it, and relaxed. I didn't have my usual "moms are judging me" anxiety. I was chatting to the mom who invited me, and it turns out that our kids are in the same jk class, we just didn't know each other. And, when I went and looked at the pictures I took her daughter is actually in pictures with Matt.
So, it was nice to find a group of women to get to know. And it was also nice to meet another mom to say hi to in the playground.
Of course I also went to the mall - just because I could!
I've been trying to find Halloween costumes. The one I was going to get for Chloe was at Gymboree. It looked so cute online, but I decided against it because when you added in all the accessories the outfit was about $100. And, even if I was considering it, I wasn't about to spend all that money on a costume that you can't even wear outside.
But, I did find some great deals. And got a gym buck. Yippee!
The best part of the visit? The coolest pj's for Matt

He is obsessed with the human body and skeletons. I loved these pj's becase they are skeletons without all the scary and gross stuff that usually accompanies skeletons. He was sooooo excited, and he rarely gets excited by clothes.

* Optimus Joe was purchased at a garage sale. Matt asked his name, and since he's clearly a Transformers rip off, I said he was the cousin of Optimus Prime and his name is Joe. Joe Prime. Somehow that translated to Optimus Joe.

First Day of School ... Well Kind of!

Today marks the first day of school for Matthew. Kind of. He's starting JK which means that at his school we have graduated entry.
Today we go as a family to meet the teacher.
Thursday he goes for a half day with half of his class.
And Tuesday he gets to start full time (every other day).
So, I'm not quite sure which day is technically his first day of school. We're going with today since it's the first time he got to wear his fancy new shoes, try on his backpack and we will be walking over.
This graduated entry thing poses a lot of problems! I mean, he has a special first day t-shirt, but he has decided to wear it on the first day he meets the other kids. That shirt is the shirt that his Uncle Steve picked out for him. It's Transformers. Very cool!
So for today we decided that we would just wear clothes that match his new shoes.
Truthfully, I just can't believe he is already in JK!!! When he was born the thought was so far from our minds. I couldn't imagine that one day my little baby would be big enough to be going to school. But here he is, very independent and very ready to see all the toys that he will see in the classroom.
I'm hoping he'll learn a lot too. I know that he likes his numbers. He loves to figure out what different numbers add up to. He's definitely a number guy. My attempts at teaching him the alphabet haven't really gotten very far. So, I'm hoping that this teacher will work some magic and show him how exciting learning is.
So, we're off. We've arranged to have Miss Paige babysit Chloe (accompanied by Aunt Becky) and Mike is coming home for our first visit.
We're so excited!!!

Girls Night Out

Before Matt came along I bonded with a lovely lady named Kyla, who happens to be my niece. The very first thing that we discovered we have in common ... a love of shoes!
So, before long we started shoe shopping. I really did take an infant to try on baby shoes. And as she got older kids shoes. When she turned 3 she enrolled in ballet class and my gift to her was ballet shoes. This year her sister turned 3 and she is also enrolled in baby ballet. So I promised to take her ballet shoe shopping also.
This week turned into a girls' night out week because how could I take Paige shoe shopping one evening and not continue the tradition with Kyla.

First we measured her feet



Then we danced around the store

















And then we donned an apron to get ice cream...






Things started off well. Then ...








OOPS!!!!
























Phew. Aunt Laural always carries wipes and a tide to go pen. We cleaned up the chocolate and did some more ballet before buying a "Sleeping Nudie" nightgown and leaving.
















Since Kyla isn't taking dance this year she decided she needed school shoes. We also decided that we were far too mature for Laura Secord and went to East Side Marios. (that's Princess Power Punch... yum.)
We did some rocking out to Hannah Montana and ended up buying Polly Pocket shoes. I didn't take enough pictures because we were having too much fun! But, all in all it was a lot of fun.
And, while all this was going on, Matt was having fun too. The first night he stayed home with Daddy and watched Spy Kids (we're loving spies lately) and the second night he had a playdate with Paige. As he pointed out to me when I told him about the girls' nights ... "I hate princesses but I hate shoe shopping even more. I'm a boy." So, he had no problem with me shopping with my nieces!

Organized

Here's a newsflash. I suck at organization. I have never been a tidy person. Growing up my parents and I had numerous fights over the state of my room. At school I could never keep my desk or locker clean. And, at work I'm constantly reminded to tidy my office or tidy my desk.

So, it comes as no surprise that I can't organize my house.

Don't misunderstand. My house is clean. Our dishes are washed and our bathrooms are clean. But when it comes to organization ... we suck!

I hate a messy house, but I just can't get it together. It drives Mike and I nuts. And his issue - he microorganizes. So, he'll have every single dish lined up in the right direction but step over piles of clothes. Really, it's a huge battle for us. And, the battle gets worse since I'm home from work right now and see the mess all day.

My big fear is passing this disorganization gene on to our children. It seems as though we have. Matt has no interest in tidying up. He loves having his toys spread out. It's been annoying me though, so off I went to Ikea to get an organization system. And I put it together (which took me 2.5 hours). Both Matt and I were dreading the cleaning. But can I tell you how much fun it has been? Seriously.

We've been sorting through all the toys and sorting has led to all sorts of discoveries. We found the complete train set! We found all his Cars toys! We found missing trucks! Life has been great. And, through it all we've been getting organized. Slowly organized, because every time we find a long lost toy a new game begins. But, I'm trying to remember that this is the whole point. I'm trying to teach Matt that it can be FUN to have a place for everything (and everything in its place).

And who knows, maybe it will spur me on to organize my stuff or come up with some great system for sorting all my kitchen containers. My real hope in life is that since I didn't manage to find a husband who likes organizing nor did I manage to have a child who likes organzing, perhaps the nanny we've hired will have some sort of organizing gene and whip our family into shape!