Blink

Just like that, I blinked and the summer was gone.  This is the last week before school starts and I'm back to driving my bus.  The summer has been good to us so I cannot complain but I do wish it was a little longer!  This week Mike and Oz are camping with my parents and my sister.  I know they'll be having a great time....oh to be young again ;) 

I think we almost have everything for back to school supplies.  I had Mike and Oz help me label stuff and sharpen pencils and organize before they left. 

I'm happy to say that Dylan is FINALLY potty trained.  It's been a few weeks so I'm relatively confident about that.  Good thing since Kindergarten is next week!  That will be a bit adjustment for us all.  I told him we are going to meet his teacher and see his new classroom on Thursday and he was not so excited about that idea....hopefully he changes his mind on that! 

We're going to take the two little ones camping for one night this Sunday.  I can't believe this will be our only camping experience this summer.  For our holidays this year we went to Vancouver for a few days.  The day we arrived my nephew was born.  I love that boy so much already and feel so blessed that he arrived in time for us to meet and hold him before we had to leave again.  His parents are keeping me up to date with photos so I can see him growing which is bittersweet only because it makes me realize how much I'm missing by living far away. 

I decided to look for another bus job with another company.  Some things with my current company were rubbing me the wrong way and I have accepted another job with a new (to me) company.  I hope it all goes smoothly.  I go for my driving evaluation with them this afternoon.  I'm looking forward to the new challenge but am really going to miss the kids on my old route!

Summer

Wow, where is the time going?  Michael and Austin finished Grades 4 and 6, Dylan finished playschool and we're well into summer now!  We're dogsitting a Labradoodle right now and it's confirming that I'm a small dog lover ;)  She's really a very sweet dog but our house is already full and an extra animal seems like a lot now!  I'm also watching a couple extra kids this summer which makes things a little more busy but we're having a lot of fun.  You know what's not fun?  Potty training a kid who won't poop in the toilet.  The only thing we've had any success with (and it hasn't been many days so I could be jinxing it) is letting him be naked from the waist down until he poops that day.  He hates it but he really didn't care if he was wearing a diaper or underwear!  Ahhh, the joys of parenthood ;) 

I'm not sure how this is possible, but my oldest "baby" is turning 12 tomorrow.  I'm so proud of the person he is today.  I just don't know where the time went.  <3

Update time!

Wow, who knew I would get so distracted by life so easily that I forgot to blog!!!  Well, life has been busy.  After speaking to A's school staff about the bullying we've had a few good days and a few not so good days.  After one incident last week I found out that A's older brother, M went and gave the bully a piece of his mind....M said the bully didn't care but it warmed my heart a bit to see one brother sticking up for another :)

The sun is out, the temperatures are warmer and the snow is melting.  Bring on Spring!!  The hubby and I took D for a walk to the store last night that involved a lot of splashing in puddles :)  D loved it.  D just discovered his rubber boots and splash pants and put them to good use.

I've started another selling adventure with Jamberry nails.  I've still got the Scentsy going and the Discovery Toys but I think the Discovery Toys will be fading out this year.  I can pretty easily meet the minimum annual purchase at Christmas time but the mandatory paying for the website irritates me.

I'm looking forward to a little roadtrip to Vancouver during the first week of April so hopefully the weather cooperates with us.  We're probably just taking the little ones as well as a truck full of baby gear for my first niece or nephew arriving this summer :D

Bullying

What does bullying mean?  We hear this word so much these days and it's so easy to call someone a bully.  Now one of my own sons is being bullied and he didn't even know the kids were being bullies to him.  I try hard not to over-react to life in general.  But the more I find out about what my son's been going through and having to deal with the angrier I've gotten.  My son, who has loved school since he started, no longer loves it.  He looks for excuses to avoid it.  He fakes sick.  This is a kid who took his class photo on vacation for summer when we went away for 10 days because he missed it so much he had to see that photo daily.  He went away with his dad and brother in November and was sad he was missing a week of school.  Somewhere between there and now we've lost him.  I'm frustrated with the bullies but I'm also angry with the teacher for quashing his enjoyment of school.  He's not just being bullied by these two boys, his teacher is developing a void between them instead of a branch.  The teacher didn't like the way A cheered for himself when he got something right (but it's ok for other students).  A is sure his teacher hates him and I don't necessarily think she does....but she's certainly not his friend either and I think that's wrong.  Today I go to speak to the school counselor to get A some help within his school and I'll also meet with the principal to see what can be done to help the situation before we lose his love for school forever.

No longer toothless :)

I'm so excited the pediatric dentist fixed Matt's tooth!  The appointment with the specialist confirmed that the nerve was exposed and therefore to leave it alone would just invite an abscessed tooth and pain for our little munchkin.  We put the quote through to our insurance hoping they would cover the general anesthesia (most won't cover the full amount and when Michael needed to go "under" for dental work when he was about 5, we still had to pay $700 out of pocket!).  Thankfully our insurance covered the whole quote except for $28 - AMAZING!  The day after I got the quote approval from insurance, the dental office called to book Matt's appointment and had a cancellation for the following day.  I took the appointment, got him in to the doctor for his pre-op and Trev took Thursday off to come along.  Everything went well, even the fasting which we were concerned about how Matt would get by without his sippy cup (ok, we were more concerned about the headache inducing crying that would be sure to happen).  The dentist cleaned out the tooth, filled it and put a cap on it so that you can't even tell his tooth was broken.  He recovered from the anesthesia quickly and was relatively normal the rest of the day :)  Glad it's over and thankful everything went by smoothly and quickly :)

Two means trouble...or toothless!

Or both.  A week ago, a day after turning 2, Matthew fell down a couple stairs into the garage.  He landed face first on the concrete and when Trevor passed him to me all I could see was blood coming out of his nose.  I took him inside and wiped him up and noticed blood was in his mouth too.  Upon further investigation I saw one of his front teeth was broken :(  I wanted to cry but since he was upset and I didn't want him to see me crying, I didn't.  But I did cry later! 

It doesn't seem to bother him as far as sensitivity goes, he doesn't touch it or hesitate to eat or drink or keep those dee's (his name for pacifier) in his mouth.  The dentist has referred us to a pediatric dentist because the nerve appears to be exposed.  The pedi dentist will advise us of our options, be it to pull or cap.  Thankfully it's not his adult tooth that's broken (like Michael!) but it still makes me sad so I'm hoping the dentist just caps it!

Happy 2nd Birthday to Matthew!!

Today my "baby" turned 2.  I guess he's officially a toddler now although he's been one for a while, I'm just in denial.  The picture on the left was taken within 12 hours of being born and the picture on the right I took last week.  Matt is such a fun kid.  The more he grows the more I look forward to getting to know him more.  Foo got a lot of presents today but loved his balloons!  That may change if he pops one and hears how loud they are hahaha.  We had family come to celebrate with us and had a minion party (from Despicable Me 2 which is constantly playing in the van).  Trev found this idea for a cake and we created it, turned out pretty good!

I can say that it was QUITE tasty :)

My camera was not behaving tonight but I managed to get a few good shots.

Try not to grow TOO quickly, little man.  You're our last baby and I'm not ready for you to grow up yet!  You're becoming such a little chatterbox and those gross motor skills are developing well (but can you please stop walking on the kitchen table???)

Grabbing moments wherever I can

Life is so busy.

Every day there are little differences but the big things are the same: get up, get kids up, get off to the bus, take bus back, drive home, play, nap, lunch, D to school, back home to play or errands, get bus, pick up D, do bussing, take bus back, drive home, make dinner, wash dishes, make lunches, Mike and Oz have chores, homework (hardly), shower, quiet time (reading) and bed, the little two sometimes have a bath, then a book, bed.

I try and sneak my shower in between the younger two's bedtime and the older two's.  It's busy.  And often loud.  Did I mention we also have 4 animals??  (<--- someone isn't too bright).

Tonight when I went to send the older two to read for their quiet time they begged me to play a game with them instead.  I was strong and said no, it's important to get reading in.  Then they brought out the big guns "you never do anything with us that's fun anymore, there's never time for games".....and they are right.  We are so accustomed to our schedule that there really isn't extra time.  So I relented and told them I would go have a shower while they read, then we would play until quiet time was over.  I enjoyed it, as did they. 

And I almost missed it because I was too busy worrying about the stupid schedule.

2014, where has the time gone?

This blog is going to be a way for me to document my journey through motherhood, the good and the bad.  It's also a place for my family to check in on us since we don't live as close as we'd all like.  I have 4 wonderful boy and life is busy (to say the least!).  I'm not sure yet how often I'll be writing probably more at times and less at others. 

I'm hoping I'll be able to post pictures as well to this blog.  Here's one I took this week of Matthew, who will be turning 2 on Saturday!  He's such a happy little guy and loves having free reign of the toys when his older brothers are at school ;)

Anyway, I was up bright and way too early at 4:30 this morning (it was my morning to check busses) so I'm planning to take a nap now since both little guys are asleep!