Blogs From the Old School

June 5, 2011 - My First Blah Blah Blog

I always thought of blogging as a bunch of "blah blah blahing," so I thought - how fitting to name my own blog, "Blah, Blah, Blogging." My hopes for my blog are to at the very least entertain you all with the craziness that is... my life. With three boys under the age of three... things can be hectic, overwhelming and at times downright silly - but my hope is that you will find some sort of inspiration, guidance, or humour in the stories I will share on here.

That's all for my first blah blah blog... It's 11pm - way past my bedtime - and I have three early risers, none of whom sleep through the night consistently!!!

June 7, 2011 - Trying not to Overthink it

Well, I’ll be honest. I was having one of those days yesterday. One of those, screaming 2 year old in the Superstore line-up, pinching, kicking, biting, losing my first draft of my blog kind of days....
It went like this:
I am a mother of three under three, and every day is a new and exciting adventure! Today I put on a happy face and dragged my children out the door kicking and screaming (literally - they were tired) and went in to Calgary to deliver some coffee to my husband at work while the kids slept, and then to wander the aisles of Superstore.
My oldest son, Elijah (2 ¾), woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning - or in reality on the wrong side of the couch where he’d come out to find me this morning at around 4am for an early morning snuggle. I’ve been sleeping on the couch because our bedroom is in the basement and with the two older ones teething, there have been MANY late night wake ups. If I’m asleep on the couch, it alleviates the need for Elijah to scream like he’s on fire until I come up to “rescue“ him. Instead, he comes and joins me on the couch without so much as a peep.
So he woke up grumpy, pinching and hitting me, Isaac (20 months), and poking at Samuel (my 11 week old baby). There were lots of tears and shouting from the boys and time outs (which I hear we’re not supposed to call time outs any more - so let‘s call them time in the “thinking chair“ even though it‘s exactly the same thing).
I figured this was the perfect time to plan a trip to get groceries.
So off we went. Boys in tow, radio on - Elijah screaming “MOMMY TURN THE RADIO OFF! I DON’T WANT MUSIC.” This was followed by much whining. My response, “Elijah, if I hear one more peep out of you, I’m going to turn the radio on.” (Insert Mother of the Year award nomination here.)
Suddenly…. Silence. All 3 were fast asleep. This is why we do a lot of driving around because it’s the only way I can convince Elijah to nap for me still - and boy does he ever need a nap most days!!!
We arrived at Superstore with three children in pretty decent states of mind after a good rest in the van. Into the store we go, where I get asked once if they are “all mine,” told twice that I must “have my hands full,” and three times stared at by people clearly irritated that I had so many children and was still smiling. (They must not have noticed that I hadn’t brushed my hair yet.) The older boys spent almost the entire time pinching and pushing and hitting each other, while Sam slept soundly in the Snugli.
“Elijah stop pushing Isaac”
“Isaac what is in your mouth now?”
“Elijah stop kicking Sam”
“Isaac sit down.”
“Inside voices!”
A lady empathized with me in the line up. I must have looked embarrassed because Elijah and Isaac had just finished having an impromptu contest - who can scream BANANA the loudest of all? Not surprisingly, they both won, and I lost and everybody stared.
But I love them and they love me, and I know every day that I am the luckiest person on earth because I get to deal with them day in and day out.
Not every day is easy, but not every day is hard either. Having three kids under three is all about just DOING things instead of thinking about them. If I think too hard about the logistics of what I am doing then it does seem rather impossible. If I just go with the flow and make it happen, it seems like a breeze. Except on those screaming 2 year old in the Superstore line-up, pinching, kicking, biting, losing my first draft of my blog kind of days! On those days I’m thankful that my husband Chase comes home from work and puts the boys to bed so I can half listen to the hockey game while I play around on the computer and think about how nice it would be if I felt motivated to do my dishes!
Lucky for me, everyone woke up in a happy mood this morning - AND we got to sleep in until 6am this morning, as opposed to the usual 5:30am!!!

June 9, 2011 - Sleep and Potty Training

What a whirlwind some weeks are.
I am going to share these stories, but wanted to put a disclaimer that I’m not judging anyone who decides to potty train later, or wean their children off soothers or bottles later either. I’m all for you doing what works best for your own children. I’m just sharing my own story and my own expectations of my own children here.
Now that this is out of the way….
It occurred to me this week that Isaac is 20 months old. I had actually forgotten, and mistook him for younger because he is quite a tiny little guy. That said, he is in love with his bottle and soother. It’s all I hear about. He’s always whining for a “baba” and a “foofie” and it has been driving me insane. Elijah was done with these things by around 18 months, the “foofie” which he called a “soosey” even earlier. Elijah fell in love with his blankie and that has been his comfort, and Isaac has one too but nothing is quite as special as the “foofie” to him.
Now, I’m not a complete monster, I’m letting him keep the “foofie” for now. If I took his away he’d just steal Sam’s anyways - which he does no matter how many of his own he has in his hands and mouth - he hides them and will come out of his room with two in his mouth and three in his hands some days. I did, however, take away the “baba.” Recently he was waking up two or three times a night and so I gave him a bottle still - at TWENTY MONTHS!!!! I’m flippin’ tired waking up for all these kids and finally decided NO MORE BABA’s!!!! Last night was the first night. Fifteen minutes of crying and… MAGICALLY ASLEEP WITH NO BABA! He even slept all the way til 5:30am without me needing to go in and tend to him through the night.
So that inspired me to start again with Elijah’s potty training which we have abandoned several times due to my own frustration and Elijah’s stubborn refusal to do anything I ask him to. It’s hard to put him on the potty when he’s screaming and kicking and refusing, and it’s incredibly frustrating when he’s just spent the last week in big boy underwear pooping and peeing on the potty without an issue and then is right back into diapers. BUT… after he pooped in the bathtub yesterday at 2 ¾ years of age, I realized it was time to try again… for the fifth time since Elijah turned two.
For those who have had to clean poop out of a bathtub, you may recall it is not a good time. Especially when they have giant disgusting man poops. I’ve sure painted a nice picture here, haven’t I?
So far so good, but we shall see. He requires a lot of bribery - which I’m not a fan of, but off to Wal-Mart I will go today to get a bunch of candy.
As far as overnight wake ups go, I think I’m a step loser to having Isaac sleeping through the night. Sam is a superstar 11 week old baby that sleeps through most nights (I only admit that because I know it won’t last - my kids lose their minds when they are teething and sleep is more of a luxury for about 6 months). Elijah still keeps waking up convinced that the plants are attacking him - the last nightmare he had the plants were “grabbing him and biting him.” We took the last plant out of his room, but he still woke up crying last night and came to sleep with me on the couch. This has been ongoing with him since Christmas about the plants and I feel he will be the last one to fully sleep train. Or maybe sleep training is just a myth… do your kids sleep?
Well I suppose I should run and take Elijah to the potty again! Oh… it appears I am too late. Lovely. If this keeps up, my own recurring nightmares about tornadoes will turn into nightmares about poopy pants. Sigh…
On a side note, does anyone else have a totally weird recurring nightmare? Or have I totally lost it?

June 14, 2011 - Big Hill Springs Park

My racing mind managed to come up with another interesting idea for a BLOG, and since I’m not busy enough with three kids, attempting to start a non-profit and going on outings 5 days a week, why not add something else to the mix!!! These posts will be bi-weekly posts, and will highlight some activity, outing or location that I explored with my family and what I thought about our experience there. Now, this is just a BLOG, it is only my OPINIONS of my own experiences there. So it's a take it or leave it opinion!

Today’s location of choice - Big Hill Springs Park - just outside of Airdrie/Cochrane area.

It is located 10 km North of Cochrane, 6km from Highway 22 on Highway 567, in a most beautiful spot with trees, a series of small waterfalls, and a scenic hike.

I went there this Monday - around the middle of the day - and found it to be a most perfect spot. Although the parking lot looked full to me, we only bumped into a few people along the path. The picnic tables at the base of the hike were quite populated, but as we trekked through the trails, it was quiet - except of course for my children who are regular chatter boxes!

There is a slight elevation gain, however, my oldest son, Elijah, was able to walk the entire distance with very little help (he was pretty sure he was Diego on a mission to rescue Baby Jaguar for the duration of the hike), and my 20 month, Isaac, only needed to be carried the last fifteen minutes or so. There are some muddy spots that I had to hold the boys hands through but overall it was quite kid friendly with of course proper supervision. The hike is considered “easy” on the link I will attach below. That said, there are a few spots where it is quite muddy, and there are lots of places to fall into the water. This is why I emphasize "proper supervision" because water + children = terrifying for me. Although the water is quite shallow, it is moving fast in most spots and would be difficult for a toddler especially to maintain footing in that scenario.

This walk is not stroller friendly, and we chose to use a Snugli front carrier for our youngest boy, Sam. We also carried a MEC Child Carrier Backpack for storage of baby essentials (diapers and changes of clothes) and "weary travellers." Snugli's and MEC Child Carriers can often be found on Kijiji for incredible prices if ou don't already have one but want to hike!

This is a dog friendly trail (ours loved it!) and we even saw someone walking their cat - no word of a lie… Dogs are required to be on leash within provincial park boundaries.

I will be revisiting this location on ThursdayJune 23 at 10:30am for those who want to join in on the fun! We will do our best to make carpooling available for those who do not have transportation.

I couldn’t believe that after 7 years in Calgary and 4 out in Turner Valley, that I had never been to this fabulous place before!!!

Please feel free to call or text if you are interested in joining 403.860.4434 or email me at erinnbosch@mothersopposedtoboredom.com.

http://hikealberta.com/hike/big-hill-springs-trail

June 16, 2011 - And We Are Only Human

So in true Erinn fashion, I did a blog last night and at 1am deleted the whole thing and thought… hmmmm…. Fitting considering the theme of my blog was “recognizing that we, too are only human.” It was 1am and I had to go to bed (kids are up by 5:30am daily), but here I go for round two. This time I’m playing the game a little smarter and working in a Word document first…
I do really well getting out the door most days with my three boys. Some days though, it’s a complete gong show and I feel embarrassed by the sheer amount of chaos and mass destruction that occurs in that short period of time. It amazes me how stressful such a small thing can seem in the moment. Afterwards it is silly and today I even laughed about my mishap from Wednesday.
I have been driving my van around for almost a full year with the back hatch broken. It opens, but doesn’t stay that way, so when I load groceries or my stroller or whatever else into it, I have to hold it up myself or prop it dangerously with a piece of wood. My friend’s husband was a bit horrified when he saw what I was dealing with (although I thought the tape deck and blown speaker were much bigger issues), took pity on me, and went to pick your part to get the things I needed to make my van work again. That said, he had to remove the one working piece - making the van door about 4000 pounds heavier than usual. Not a big deal, it would only be for a day or so.
Fast forward to the next day…
Getting ready for swimming was already a catastrophe as I had not prepared anything the night before, and as usual when my husband is at home, I didn’t rush around like I normally do, which left me disorganized and stressed to get out the door on time. (I tend to get the idea that he will do all the work for me when he has no idea what I want and I’m not sure where I get the idea that he should!)
Chase was planning to meet me at the pool after a few errands so he helped me get the kids dressed and took our bags out for us. I managed to get the two older boys to the van and buckled in, and left Sam on the doorstep in his bucket seat. I needed to get the pack and play to lend to a friend that I was meeting at the pool.
Forgetting that I had a large amount of stuff already in the back of the van, precariously stacked of course, I opened the door to put the pack and play in. SMASH!!! A bunch of stuff falls on the ground. I drop the 4000 pound back hatch door.
Swearing.
Rain starts to fall.
More swearing.
Hail followed by torrential downpour.
Even more swearing.
Then it dawned on me that Sam was getting soaked in his bucket seat at the front door.
Mother of the year award nomination, followed by more swearing.
Pack and play was soaked, I was soaked, Sam was… well not affected in the least, and only his top blanket got wet so that wasn’t as bad as I’d thought.
Into the van went Sam, and back into the house I went to do some crazy yelling so the kids wouldn’t hear as I was beginning to lose my mind and realized I couldn’t find my van keys.
I phoned Chase, “Where are my van keys, you drove my van last.” I said accusingly.
“I don’t know, I can’t just magically know where your van keys are.”
My response, “You couldn’t maybe magically remember where you LEFT THEM?????”
Clearly I wasn’t going to get anywhere with this conversation. I found the spare keys and headed back to the van. Thankfully my children did not hear the swearing, the shouting or my irritated phone call with my husband that also included swearing. (Note, he left the van keys on the kitchen table, but for some reason I could not see them with my angry eyeballs.)
None the less when I got back to the van Elijah asked me “mom are you sad?” I explained that I was feeling frustrated because I was having trouble fitting everything in the van and finding my keys. That seemed to satisfy his concerns.
All that stress and I still managed to squeeze in the pack and play, keep my kids out of my insanity, and get to swimming on time. We all had a great time at the pool and I was so thankful we went!
Could I have done it without swearing and shouting like a maniac behind closed doors? Yes. Did I feel better venting my frustrations? Yes. Was I glad my children didn’t have to be a part of my angry outburst? Yes. Am I proud that I become a raging maniac over nothing? No.
But I am human, and as a human, I sometimes do “freak out” over nothing. The best I can offer in those situations is to try my best to do it away from my children, and not to beat myself up over it. I know that there are a few things that make life easier. One of them is getting enough sleep. The other is packing bags the night before. And most importantly, getting the coffee pot set up on auto brew for the next morning, oh that is the clincher! For me, if my husband is getting up with the kids before me, then it also helps if I lay out the clothes the boys will be wearing the night before so that maybe he’ll dress them after they eat breakfast.
Fast forward to the next day…
My van got fixed today thanks to my friend’s kind husband! I am so thankful, and it will make my life so much easier. I forgot how wonderful it is to open the hatch and have it stay open! Now my van is "vantastic" once again!
I hope this inspires you to be more open with those you know about times of stress. It’s ok to joke about stress as in the case of my crazy Wednesday, but if you are finding yourself always stressed or overwhelmed or frustrated and angry, then it’s also important to seek out resources that can take away some of that stress! There are always people willing to help you out if you look in the right places! It also is important if you are always feeling that way to look at whether post partum depression is an issue. There are many resources, groups, individual meetings, and so on to help you with major issues like this.
If you have any questions about resources available, don’t hesitate to contact me at erinnbosch@mothersopposedtoboredom.com and I will be happy to look up resources and help you get connected to the right people!

June 17, 2011 - Counting my Losses

A late nap in the van is sometimes all it takes to ruin a 7pm beditme. We figured that today and right now I am "cutting my losses" so to speak. Two out of three sleeping is not so bad. Elijah is playing in his room with some irritating musical toy I just got him and I am quite happy to just let it go like that for now. He's obviously not tired. We tried.... EVERYTHING.
At first it was the usual...

"Elijah get in bed."
"Elijah get back in bed."
"Elijah get back in bed NOW."
"Elijah, SERIOUSLY, get back in bed NOW!"
Then Isaac started up.
"WHAAAAA, no night night, WHAAAAAAA."
Of course that's two out of three up and my husband is at his friend's house an hour away... I'm outnumbered.
Both kids in Elijah's bed to snuggle me was step 1. The giggling was so out of control that even I was starting to laugh. I have to admit, watching how funny they thought it was to lay in bed next to each other was pretty darn hilarious. It also made me dread transitioning them to share a bedroom in the future!!!
Back in their own rooms in their own beds. That didn't work again either. Both kids in the crib with me too (a tight squeeze but possible if necessary). Good until Isaac started poking me in the eyes and giggling. Back in their own beds in their own rooms again.
Isaac cried it out in his crib (so sad, I hate that) and fell asleep by 9:15 - almost 2 1/2 hours later than usual. I had enough of Elijah's back and forthing to and from the kitchen because it usually also included scream crying the whole way back to the bedroom which was waking up Sam (who miraculously slept through all of this in the living room in his little vibrating chair).
I lay down with Elijah but after almost an hour passed, Elijah started wiggling like crazy again.
"Elijah I am NOT going to lay down here for even one more minute."
Now he's playing quietly in his room at 10pm (3 hours past his normal bedtime). I am not going to fight with him over it, I can't force him to be tired. I have to chalk it up to the late afternoon nap in the van ruined my life.
Ok maybe I'm being a little over dramatic...
I still have to make a birthday cake for my brother in law, and I sure hope Chase gets home soon so he can try to get Elijah settled again.
I'm starting to wonder if kids ever develop consistent sleep patterns... so far the only consistent thing about my children sleeping is the 5:30am wake ups... speaking of which... I better get that cake in the oven so I can go to bed myself!

June 21 - And Today Was a Good Day

So I spend a lot of time talking about how “crazy” life is with three under three, but not a lot of time talking about when things go perfectly fine, which happens more often than not really.
Today was one of those fabulous, everything ran smooth, kind of days. It went like this…
After sleeping in Elijah’s uncomfortable bed again last night (more nightmares about plants attacking him - now the plants are growing legs and chasing him - seriously what the heck?), I got up and hung out with Sam and Elijah for almost two hours before Isaac decided to wake up! So although it was a 5:30am wake up, it was a pretty mellow, relaxed morning.
I had enough time to get stuff ready to go to Riley Park today.

I didn’t say swear words under my breath, nor did I rush around.
I did not panic that I was going to be late for anything.
I thought happy thoughts and had happy times.
I made coffee even before Chase left for work, so he had some too on his way out!
Elijah only pooped his pants once this morning (potty training in full swing at our household) and I did not even have to throw out the underwear - I caught the accident before he sat down!
There were minimal tears and we got into the van without anyone darting towards the road.
Riley Park went well, Elijah only tried to run away once, and both boys had an amazing time with Grandpa in the water and at the park! I did forget my wallet but managed to find free parking right next to where the wading pool is so it wasn’t detrimental to my cause.

The kids ate well at lunch and played at the park in the afternoon. There was uncontrollable giggling going on while Grandpa pushed them wildly on the swings. They both slept the WHOLE way home, as did Sam, so I was able to listen to some country tunes.

They played nice when we got home for the most part (Elijah got a bit squirrelly but managed to pull it together). Elijah had such a good day potty training that he earned special time with Daddy - they putted around in the alley on his quad for a short time which was a blast!). Dinner was had (not much eating but some), and bedtime routine was crappy as usual but both kids are in their beds and staying there - sort of - Elijah is still screaming like he is on fire! Sam is not asleep but is hanging out quietly in his swing for now.

Doesn’t make for very interesting stories when all is going according to plan, but I thought I’d share that it isn’t all crazy and it isn’t that bad! My house is still a mess and my car smells like a trash can, but my kids had an amazing day, and I’m proud of that. We’re making lifelong memories for these three boys out of simple outings and special time.
In the wise words of Ice Cube, “Today was a good day.”

June 24, 2011 - And there Was Poop EVERYWHERE!!!
Potty training with my oldest son, Elijah, has been going much better, except for the fact that he almost consistently poops his pants at least once a day, if not twice. Yesterday, he did a most fabulous job of telling me he needed to go poop. I was so proud. Today… we did a bit of a backslide.

After a beautiful hike and potluck at Big Hill Springs today, we were toodling around and getting packed up from our picnic when I went to help Elijah “pee in the grass” before we left. This turned quickly into “smearing poop down his legs” as it appeared he’d had an accident while we were hanging around. After a frustrated “why didn’t you tell Mommy?” I got him all cleaned up and ready to rock.

It was only his first accident today, so I didn’t give it too much thought after all was said and done.

We got home and lo and behold, he tells me “Mommy, I just peed on the floor over there.” Puddle. On the carpet. Great. Another, “sweetie, why didn’t you tell Mommy?”

This was not the last of it. Peed pants a second time, but only a little, and he managed to get to the potty with the rest of it.

So about thirty minutes later I’m in the kitchen when I hear Elijah talking to Isaac. Not abnormal except for the fact that I heard the words “pooped” and “uh oh” in the same sentence. That was it… I ran… FAST to the bedroom!

Too late.

Poop everywhere. On the carpet, on a book, on Elijah. Seriously who puts their potty training child in boxer shorts? It holds NOTHING in. (I also clearly overfed Elijah fruit today, kinda my own fault that this happened.)

Washed Elijah up, scrubbed the carpet, then had a heart to heart with my bright eyed little man about what to do if he feels the urge to poop again. This is where it started to get a little strange.

“Elijah, who do you tell when you need to poop?”

“Um, Daddy.”

“Yes, Daddy is one person you should tell for sure! Who else could you tell?”

“Oh yeah. Mandy.”

Our neighbour? I guess we have been spending a lot of time with her and her son lately so it wasn’t completely bizarre. Ok, but I’m standing right in front of him, why not me? I could see he was thinking about it very hard so we kept going.

“Very good Elijah, who else could you tell?”

Thinking hard about an appropriate answer…

“Um, Jesus Christ.”

Silence. What do I say to that?!!!! Talk about coming completely out of left field! This kid comes up with the weirdest things sometimes.

“Yes Elijah, you certainly could tell Jesus Christ that you need to go poop. Is there somebody else though, like perhaps ME that you could tell, who might be able to help you get to sit on the potty?”

“Oh yeah, and Mommy!” he proudly exclaimed.

Seriously.

June 27, 2011 - Open Creek Dam Campground

Open Creek Dam Campground. Have you heard of it? Me neither, and if you search it on the internet, you don’t get a heck of a lot of information, and even less photos.

We got a late start on our weekend and arrived at the campground in the afternoon. It was easy to find and we were able to make our way there with only a few stops for feedings and toddler leg stretching. On our way up we went through Red Deer, then headed west towards Rimby. Open Creek Dam Campground is about 32 km West of Rimby on Highway 53. There is a sign to mark the turnoff to the campground itself. A left hand turn at RR 55A.

Once in the campground, it is beautiful! A picturesque lake with campsites nestled along it’s shoreline. It was very quiet there, and we got to hear the amazing calls of loons on the water which brought me back to camping in Manitoba and Ontario. The group campsite we were in was mostly just dirt, with a few grassy spots for tents. It was definitely better set up for people with tent trailers or RV’s - although there were individual sites that looked well suited for tenting.

We set up our tent somewhere right in the middle of the site (all the edges were taken!). Rain set in… it rained, and rained, and rained. We stayed dry but there were a few wet spots in our tent by morning. The best part about all the rain is that it allowed for hours of entertainment in the morning for my boys to collect worms!
The outhouse was directly located in the group site, and it did not smell as bad as most outhouses. We were also fortunate enough that it had been cleaned just as we showed up.

As far as this site being kid friendly, it was directly beside the lake, which is always a little stressful when supervising multiple toddlers. There were steps leading right down to the water, but the boys never found them so it wasn’t a concern. There’s a giant hill and thick bush on the other side of the campsite (seriously it was beautiful!), and Elijah tried to wander off into it at one point, but we were watching him closely and reminded him that going in the bush = getting lost. Isaac couldn’t make it up the hill so it deterred him from wandering away.
There were several playgrounds at the site, which would have been awesome if we had been there in better weather, or for a longer period of time.

Overall, this is a kid friendly place (again with close supervision of your children around the water and the bushes). I would return here, and wished I’d known about it sooner! They do take reservations for campers but when we arrived on the Saturday, there were still vacancies. It is a bit of a drive for those travelling from Calgary (or those travelling from Turner Valley like us), but it is definitely worth it to have the quiet beauty of the lake and the forest.
I also caught a photo of the natural spring, which unfortunately, looks more like a culvert with some water trickling out of it. It is a cold spring, not a hot spring, although the photo looks much cooler in sepia!!!

July 2, 2011 - Taking Time for Ourselves
First things first, HAPPY BELATED CANADA DAY!!!!

My husband is out of town this weekend camping with his best friend. Now, before you cringe at the thought of him just darting out the door like a total turd while I struggle here with three children under three alone, I must tell you, it’s not like that at all.
One thing that Chase and I do well is respect the other person’s need for time away from the demands of family life. I know Chase is 26 years old, and I have no problem being realistic when I think, a 26 year old needs time away from his wife and children as much as a 31 year old wife needs time away from her husband and children. Chase tends to need more small breaks than I do, but I also get into a mood where I want “me time” NOW.
Chase has always gone on one “boys trip” a year - although this year will be two between Cuba in the winter and this camping trip. I went on a “girls trip” to Las Vegas in November when I was 5 ½ months pregnant and left Chase with the two boys.
We trade off.
Chase comes back happy, I miss him. We get along for at least three days before I start nagging and he starts ignoring my nagging. It’s a beautiful and much needed part of our almost 10 year relationship.
That said…
Here I am. Outnumbered in my own home.
So far, we attended Canada Day celebrations on Friday, and went out for dinner. Today we went to the zoo with family and friends, and painted Dora figurines. I got the kids mostly into bed on time, bathed them and fed them all their meals. Fed my lactose intolerant son Elijah, ice cream which has completely ruined potty training again (oops). Managed a bath myself, and got some laundry done. The house is starting to look like a bomb went off but I plan to fix that up tonight, and we have plans to go for a picnic at Sheep River Falls tomorrow as well!
If you are wondering how I'm managing, I'll let you know on Sunday evening. I find that if I don't think about how much work it is to manage all three alone, then it tends to go much better. Plus he took the dog. Phew!
Truth be told, I’m exhausted, have very little time to get my own things done, and after Elijah’s scream-a-thon until 10pm on Friday, I foolishly stayed up til midnight trying to make up for lost time. I payed for this the whole entire next day with a twitching eye from lack of sleep.
I think that by the end of tomorrow, I will be very much looking forward to having my husband back home to help me put Elijah to bed (he is very poorly behaved for me at bedtime for some reason that I am unwilling to admit - that may have a lot to do with me being a total sucker that will cater to his every whim).
I am also thinking that there will be something strangely liberating about walking out the door with NO KIDS in tow for five minutes on Sunday evening! I might even come back after! HA!

July 11, 2011 - Okotoks Spray Park
Okotoks Spray Park - located off Milligan Drive next to the parking lot for the Okotoks Recreation Centre. What a great place to take the kids to run around!

We went here on a very hot and sunny day, to reap the benefits of the heat! Thought it would be a good place to take our kids (easier to manage 3 under 3 without having to worry about the typical water dangers), and it was!

The benefits are the easy ability to manage the kids while they have fun in the water without drowning dangers. The sprayers are fun all around, the bucket is hilarious when it dumps, and the kids love pushing the button to start the water up again (shuts off every 4 minutes). The water is also on a recycle system - so it’s not an insane amount of water waste either. Plus it’s a lot more fun than running through the sprinkler in our scary backyard!
The cons… if that bucket of water dumped on Isaac’s head, I think he would never go near water again… if he wasn’t paying attention or if I wasn’t, this would be a risk for the little guy (at 1 ½ years old). There is no fence blocking the kids from taking off to the playground equipment nearby… which the boys did of course as soon as I began breastfeeding. My husband was there too so it worked out alright, I had another set of ears and eyes!
The amount of shade was not as much as would have been ideal. Bringing your own shade might be a good solution to this problem. They seem to sell these “half tents” nowadays that provide good shade, or umbrellas. The alternative is to wear loads of sunscreen and hats, or sit further away from the action. My boys always wear those fabulous swim tops that they sell at Old Navy. I was fortunate enough to have had some handed down to me!

We packed some snacks, and juice and water, and thoroughly enjoyed our day there! Definitely somewhere I’d take the boys again.

July 18, 2011 - My How Some Things Change
So I haven’t been blogging as regularly as I would like, and I am starting to realize that as time goes on, your responsibilities and abilities tend to shift. I was once very driven by tasks, loved to complete them, and was able to pull off a good amount of work in a very short period of time. I am now finding, that with three kids under three, I am struggling to attain the same level of “diligence.” It frustrates me to a certain degree, but I have to accept it as part of being a “good mom.” My time is devoted now to bedtime snuggles, diaper changes, and preparing food for the next day‘s picnic adventures.

Hearing my boys say things like “Come on Ikey, lets go, we‘re going on an adventure!” is enough to motivate me, and stop my constantly stressing out about my sudden inability to perform like a prostar at work. Not that I was a “prostar“ but I certainly was the “never says no“ girl.

Now I get to be the “often says no girl” to my kids, to my friends and to my “work.” I can’t stay up as late around the campfire anymore in exchange for early mornings, I am unable to go rip it up at the nightclubs (ok - I kind of stopped wanting to do that anyways), I haven’t been away for the weekend with JUST my husband in almost 3 years, and I tend to over dramatize my need to “be there” for my boys just a tad.

I like the life changes, and they weren’t so difficult for me, I just pour the same amount of time and energy into my kids as I once did to my work, and voila!
Tonight I was reminded why I can’t take on more than I can handle right now.
We had a meeting with our MOB directors this evening, to which I brought Sam. He’s pretty easy to handle and since I am still breastfeeding it’s just the way it goes. This relieved me of my duty to put the other two boys to bed, as Chase was at home, and would be in charge.
What a nice night out and great company!
I returned home ready to blog, pack a picnic, and head to bed at a decent time of the evening…
Now, I’m pretty certain my kids wait patiently for my return when I am not at home for their bedtimes. Tonight it was Elijah who woke up… the second I walked in the door and said hello…
This turned into an hour long drama of it being too hot upstairs, and then he was too squirrelly downstairs and then I was laughing my head off at all the hilarious things he was telling me all about, and in the end, I left Chase to snuggle him to sleep in our bed.
I am terrible at bedtime, because this has always been the time Elijah wants to “chat” and it’s hard to resist because sometimes he is SO darn funny.

And go figure, now Isaac is going… I imagine Sam will be next, so I suppose my time blogging has been cut short!

So be it. It has made me appreciate the time I do have, but enjoy also the time I get with the kids who are really what this life of mine is all about! I may not have as much time to diligently count statistics anymore, but I sure can change a mean diaper!

Off I go to “rescue Ikey” as Elijah would say!

July 29, 2011 - Top Ten Things I Would Cry Without
I had a recent post to my Facebook page suggesting I talk about some of the things I “couldn’t have lived without” as a mother of three children under the age of three.
This got me thinking… were there things I couldn’t live without?
And indeed there were!!!
However, like all the fabulous personalities of my three boys are so glaringly different, so are the things I needed the most for each of them.
1. The Baby Swing - Right from birth I used this fabulous contraption for Elijah. It was the only way I could put Elijah down and know he wouldn’t be screaming. As with many first time moms, I wasn’t sure if putting your baby down - even for five seconds - was “allowed!” I carried Elijah around everywhere, and I was EXHAUSTED. Someone bought me this great swing second hand and I began to use it. Elijah would nap in there and I would be able to give my poor back a break.
I did not use the swing with Isaac because Elijah constantly would grab onto it and stop it from swinging which as we all know - a swing that is not swinging is not a very fun swing at all. So I gave it away.
When I got pregnant with Sam, I purchased another swing via Kijiji, which he is sleeping in right now as I type this. A must have.
2. Baby Carrier - Although “wearing” your baby like a sweater or scarf has become rather trendy, I do it more out of practicality than anything. I have a collection of different carriers, but my favourites so far have been the “Cuddle Wrap” and the “Snugli” for the smaller guys and the MEC Backpack Hiking Carrier for the bigger guys. I also recently tried out the “Hipster Sling” which I found awesome for Isaac the middle guy who is small but sits up in there nicely.

This has been a life saver for a few reasons…. For starters, I hated using the stroller unless I HAD to. It’s a bulky pain in the butt sometimes, and I find especially if I am toting around only one of the boys, it’s way more useful to just throw them on me and go. With Isaac, it was a great way to get in that extra snuggle time so he would get a bit of that individual attention that Elijah had. As for Sam, it was more out of survival. Isaac kept biting his toes and Elijah was always mauling him to try to hold onto him and pick him up so this way I could still do stuff but also did not have to be concerned about his unsupervised safety! He was always right there with me.

3. Baby Trend Double Jogging Stroller - Might not go out in public now if I didn’t have this stroller. I have tried a few different strollers that I bought second hand, but this one, although a bulky monster, is my fave. The giant wheels make it a great offroading stroller - I have taken it hiking through some insane conditions - but also makes it easy to steer through snow!

4. The Pop-a-Tot (Now known as the Go-Pod) - a portable exersaucer. How could I have camped with babies without this? A must have for if you picnic or camp at all.

5. Bibs… with SLEEVES - A huge thank you to a certain someone who kindly gave me a bib with sleeves. This is an essential tool for self-feeding. My kids are messy now but if I don’t want to clean them up afterwards then it is an awesome thing to be able to put on them to avoid ruining yet another outfit!
6. Soothers - Yes, we used soothers, foofies, sooseys, whatever you want to call them. They were a lifesaver. I usually take them away when my child ceases to be soothed by them. I told Elijah at 14 months, “if you are going to scream with the soother in your mouth then you can darn well scream without it.” Isaac is getting there albeit much later than Elijah did, and Sam rarely fusses, so he doesn’t use his much.

7. The Exersaucer - Where does one put their child when they no longer like the swing, but they also can’t be left on the floor to fend for themselves in the dangerous world of older siblings? The Jumperoo and the Exersaucer (or Jolly Jumper for those who have places to attach those) are fabulous tools. They help the baby strengthen their body and they give them a bit of independence. It also gives you a rest from carrying them around constantly, and it tires them out for a good nap!

8. The Portable DVD Player - We live outside of Calgary, and spend a lot of time in the van. I don’t like to let the kids watch videos every time we ride in the van, but lets be honest, if they are starting to go insane, it doesn’t hurt to shout “Let’s watch Mighty Machines!” and watch those frowns turn upside down… ha!

I like to foster the appreciation for what is OUTSIDE the windows of the van, but there are times when we are on extended trips or I am running a lot of errands, that I feel it is much better for the kids and for myself to pop on the DVD player and let the kids concentrate on that instead of the other 8,000 things they feel they need to cry about.

9. An endless supply of books, flash cards, activities and children’s music - The kids love reading. And the great thing about reading is you can do it ANY time. We like to look at Flash Cards and Activity Cards like those Brain Quest ones. It amazes me how these very active boys can slow down at the drop of a hat after a crazy wrest mania session with their dad or grampa and sit and look at books quietly before bed. Even tonight, I did Brain Quest with Elijah for a half an hour before he went to bed and he was starting to go through the cards and tell me about them. He then tried to convince me he wanted to “snuggle” with them at bedtime - but I was onto him, he wanted to play with them still!

The books we have in the boys rooms started out as only board books so they could play with them any time and they were virtually indestructible. Afterwards I started leaving other books in there and to my surprise, they were so used to being around books that they may have ruined only one or two since I started putting more papery books in there. I buy all of these items second hand (surprise surprise!) through Kijiji or at Once Upon a Child. I also found Value Village or garage sales to be a great place to buy books dirt cheap.

As for music, I have learned an amazing amount of kids songs in a short period of time, thanks to the Wiggles, Raffi and friends. Although my husband teases me relentlessly about how he feels I like this music more than the kids, I believe that the kids benefit greatly from these songs and they are able to learn the simple verses and eventually sing them or ask for songs by name! My husband Chase, although he sounds like a monster sometimes, learned how to play "You are my Sunshine" for Elijah on the guitar, and sometimes we even sing it to him (off key of course).

10. Last but certainly not least… my camera! - If I didn’t have the camera, how could I prove that I have children? In all seriousness, I take about a thousand pictures a month (I am not exaggerating here), and I am madly in love with documenting the lives of my little ones. They enjoy it too, sometimes I print pictures up for Elijah and he carries them around with him. I put pictures of the kids up all over and we also sit and look at photos of things we did in the past on Facebook. I have also made slide shows in the past years for the boys and they enjoy watching those as well and pointing out who is who in the family!

So overall, those are my major survival items that make it possible to watch my children beat each other up all day… I mean survive!

One thing I absolutely have learned the hard way to avoid is wooden toys that you pull on a string. Elijah recently learned that if you swing the toy around it makes a loud “WHAP” when it hits one’s brother in the face. Poor Isaac… I also found that I don’t use the Bumbo chair much. All three boys found it very easy to wiggle out of the chair by about 4 months old… and didn’t want to be put in it.

I’d love to hear what your baby essentials are? What items could you NOT survive without? The ones you use the most? The ones you would never have wasted money on? The obscure ones that you discovered that you loved?

August 19, 2011 - New Beginnings

I have recently fallen off the planet... my brother and sister in law's home got struck by lightning during a freak storm in Calgary (and burnt down) and of course I am a maniac when it comes to "helping" and jumped out of life itself to organize donations so they could get their new rental furnished in record time. It was a great success, and we owe many thanks to those who donated, my husband for truck usage, my mechanic for fixing my van after I drove it to death, and Alexis and Derek for allowing me to forcefully take over. With any luck, they won't get struck by lightning twice, and life can go back to 'business as usual.' I'm very proud of the one week turnaround, but also have suffered in some areas as a result.
I'm exhausted, which doesn't go well with toddler temper tantrums. Thus I have not been an exceptional, available parent to my three boys. Not entirely, I just get grumpy in shifts. Then I feel guilty. Then I'm grumpy. Then guilty.
My house is a mess. My laundry mountain is finally a clean mountain but still a mountain.
My husband and I had an argument over doing the dishes, where I shouted AND swore at him, both things I have never done. Who knew dishes made me SO angry? (Confession: this is my most hated chore.)
I have not had much time for me, which leads me back to exhausted, which leads me back to being parent of the year.
Today I was so oblivious to the world around me that I thought I had dirty laundry stuck in the bathroom door, and pushed harder to close it. It was actually Elijah's sweet little baby hand. I felt awful. I then opted to stay home from camping with Sam for tonight to get some sleep, do a blog and fold some of laundry mountain. Everyone left. I cried. Elijah's poor hand. I was so frustrated with him all day and then I squashed his hand. I felt like a monster even though it was a horrible accident.
Forgiveness doesn't always come easy, but then again neither does patience or understanding. We need to work at these things, and being a parent is really hard some days. I wanted to go and hide out with the piles of dust under my couches today instead of being a mom. Instead, I piled my screaming toddler and his brothers into the van and said, ok, lets go to the corn maze! Elijah screamed the ENTIRE way there. I went anyways. When we got there, he was totally fine and had the time of his life! We ended up having a pretty amazing day, and I was so glad we went. Even though the screaming started up again as soon as we buckled him back into the van. The last 2 out of 3 days have been really hard like this.
I got a few snuggles out of the boys before they left with dad to go and meet Grampa and Gramma for a weekend of camping. I opted not to go because I am miserable and exhausted and need to have some time to myself. I have a very hard time admitting I need this time, but I know that it's necessary and I can't be with them all day every day without taking any "Erinn time."
I need a weekend to regroup (even if it is with Sam, he's easy and I know I can manage one without losing my mind...).
So I think part of my plan is to clean tonight and spend some of the morning sleeping and relaxing with Sam without interruption! I have a hard time knowing where to start when it comes to cleaning though so I think step 1 is blogging, step 2 is sipping wine while watching an episode of "Hoarders" and step 3 is tackling the laundry...
Wish me luck... if Sam wakes up it might just look like step 4 which is go snuggle Sam back to sleep!

October 1, 2011 - Road Tripping Even Though You Have Children
As of late, I have been really struggling to find time to Blog… I realize that sounds silly coming from someone with three small children. You might be thinking, “when do you find time to do anything?” In all seriousness though, I need to make more time for this because it is something I LOVE to do. I’m full of useless information and stories and I LOVE to share them. Sleep has been a bit of an issue lately, and my boys have also all gone through being sick which meant needing mommy more than mommy needing to BLOG.

On the eve of the day I’m leaving for Winnipeg to visit my friends and family back in what I like to refer to as my “homeland”… I thought I would do a little blog about ROAD TRIPS!!!

Hmmmm… are you starting to wonder if I’m driving my rickety old van with three kids ages 3, 2 and 6 months for 14 hours to Winnipeg by myself? HA!!! I’m not that crazy. I’m driving my husband’s lovely new truck, and my father in law is coming along for the ride, on the way out at least…

Now that you likely think I have lost my mind completely, just know that my kids are quite well prepared for such drives as I haul them around in my “rickety old van” often and they just stare out the windows and point out every single piece of heavy machinery we pass by. They also spend a lot of time asking for "double doubles."

We have in fact done this drive with the boys before… well, at least Elijah and Isaac and I did it by ourselves during a really bad winter blizzard (what a bad idea that was…).

There are a few things I do in order to have “great success” on my child friendly road trips.

1. If the kids are happy, I am happy. If I have to listen to hours of screaming in the van, I will forcefully poke out my own eyeballs with a fork. Thus, I stop when the boys need a break. We get out, stretch, visit every park along the way. We visit spray parks, or stores or playgrounds depending on the weather. We work on their timelines, not mine. A big exhausting hour at the park sometimes means three hours of quiet sleeping children on the road! Despite the trip taking longer… it is a much happier experience.

2. No pressing timeline for travel. We don’t focus on “GET THERE GET THERE! GET BACK GET BACK!” I try to leave my start date and end date as open ended as I can (within reason, obviously there are some timelines that need to be adhered to!) The less rushed I am, the less I worry about not being able to follow rule number one which would result in fork to eyeball action.

3. Full tummies are quiet babies. If you are hungry, you are grumpy. That is a statement of truth. Eat eat eat! Feed feed feed (the children).

4. Although Doritos may seem like a good idea… your car will be a mess and your wallet will be empty. Your children will be nuts, and your eyeball will end up with a fork in it. I’m a firm believer in minimal spending “en route” and think that this is easily accomplished by packing a picnic meal to stop and eat at whatever playground break you take. Also bringing healthier snackies will keep the kids from bouncing off the walls while they are stuck in the car. Buying things like juice boxes (as a fun treat), bottled waters (I found short bottles that are great for the kids), and other snacks like bananas and Kashi soft fruit bars… keeps you from having to pay a billion dollars for a bottled water and fast food while you are on the road.

5. Lower your expectations. If your kids are small, they can NOT be expected to sit still for 14 hours without a break. They can’t be expected to be silent spectators the entire time you are driving. You might have to stop and camp or stay in a hotel. Budget for it and be prepared. Understand that little kiddies get bored just like we do!

6. Bring a portable DVD player. My kids have really adjusted to staring out the windows instead of at a screen. This does get old after 14 hours (I have been making the trek to Winnipeg from Calgary for 11 years so I do say this KNOWING that it is true.) Having a distracting backup plan for the boys is key. We listen to CD’s (they love The Wiggles CD’s - and I know every word because I am… um… really cool!) I also bring books to read them and so on (which is great if there is another person in the vehicle to do the driving - otherwise it is dangerous and not recommended). When that all gets old, then a few episodes of Diego can do the trick. Portable DVD players can be a bit pricey but I would recommend borrowing one if you are going on an extended trip like this and aren’t able to pick one up.

7. HAVE FUN! Road trips were meant to be the most supreme form of AWESOMENESS! That is something that I am so eager to teach my children. I love road tripping, I love exploring new places and if I was independently wealthy it is ALL I would do.

8. A camera is key in case you spot some unique wildlife (we have seen Grizzly Bears while travelling the Highwood Pass, and Black and Brown bears while travelling in Waterton!!!) . Also great to capture the fabulous memories associated with road trips! Then you can remind your kids when they moan and groan that they have to go somewhere that they actually LIKE it and to stop being miserable… HA!

Anyhow, as I embark on this crazy journey home, I know my kids will have ups and downs. My husband and I drove back from the Nelson, BC area this summer and the kids cried for 2 hours straight - right at the beginning of the trip. We thought… hmmm…. It appears this was a bad idea! It did get better, they slept and stopped fussing. We also stopped in Creston at the awesome spray park and playground and they worked out their “crazies.” It just meant more little stretchy breaks than usual. Adjusting to the different type of road tripping has been a challenge for my husband too. Once he lowered his expectations and dropped the timelines, he was much more relaxed and is now quite pleasant to travel with when we take the kids. (Despite the fact that I generally tell him at least once a trip that I’ll never go anywhere with him again unless it is without the children!)

I once drove up north with the boys to visit a friend and it took me 12 hours to get there and 7 hours to get home! My brother in law (who at the time was only about 13) was amazing to travel with in that instance. He was very patient with the kids and extremely helpful! He didn't seem bothered by the timelines and talked to me and to the kids the entire time we were driving!!!

I’d love to hear about your experiences road tripping with children. Where do you go? What are your strategies for success?

Road tripping isn’t for everyone… but maybe it’s for you? Is it?

October 16, 2011 - Enjoying Winnipeg

I recently endured the insane drive to Winnipeg with my three boys. It was an adventure indeed! My father in law and I drove out there together, and as we left, I had intended to stop somewhere overnight. The kids were fast asleep and we ended up driving straight through the entire 14 hours! On the way home, my dad joined me (Dennis had flown back after the first week.). Same thing happened where the boys fell asleep and we kept driving! I didn't pull out my DVD player even once on that whole trip amazingly enough! The kids were very entertained by the trees and prairies, the birds, and the insides of their eyelids!

Other than completely overstaying my welcome at my mom and dad's place like I always do, we had a great visit with friends and family alike. We drove up to the beach, enjoyed some insane hot weather, went to the Corn Maze, shopped at Costco (this is crucial to our survival in all cities apparently!).
True story: It was enjoyable but exhausting.

Also true: The first week was too easy with my father in law, Dennis, there to help! (Thank you Dennis!)
Once Dennis returned to Calgary, I was doing bedtime routine with two toddlers who do not go to bed easily, and a 7 month old who wakes up a thousand times a night all of a sudden. We made it work by reading the kids a few stories before bed while I breastfed Sam. Then I'd put Sam in his playpen to sleep and go lay in the bed with the other two til they were asleep. This usually resulted in my falling asleep by about 7pm. The boys wouldn't sleep unless their warm little bodies were glued to mommy.
Now, this was all well and good except for the one night where I went to Kenora to visit with my dear friends who I haven't seen in about three years. I told them (as I was exhausted completely) that I would likely fall asleep putting the kids to bed but to feel free to wake me up. I fell asleep at 7pm... and didn't get up again til the next day. I felt so bad... drive all that way for an early bedtime!
The next day, still tired and overwhelmed in Kenora, we attended a playgroup in the morning and had a lot of fun. Then once we were headed back out into the parking lot to the truck, my kids, who are normally cooperative in the parking lot, stopped walking. They stopped RIGHT in the middle of the road. I grabbed Isaac's shirt and started trying to shuffle him forward (Elijah was still walking) but this threw him off balance in his oversize rubber boots and he went flying into the pavement face first (bleeding lip... sigh - I felt horrible). Then as we are standing there, Elijah started to get swarmed by an aggressive wasp that landed on his head and no matter how much I "shooed" it away it wasn't going anywhere. I must have looked ridiculous but my lovely friend put her girls in the car and came to rescue us. Still tired, I had another 7pm night that night too when I returned to my parents' home in Winnipeg.

Another highlight of my trip was at the park with the boys. I bought a portable jolly jumper for Sam who seemed bored of trying to learn how to crawl and brought it with me to the park. He had a blast and so did the other two. Afterwards, as I was buckling the boys into the truck, Elijah says to me, "mom I have to poop." Keeping in mind that we were a block away from my sister's house, I figured I could get him buckled and drive there without pooped pants. I suggested this to Elijah (who was on the other side of the truck) but he responded "no mom, I'm already pooping!" At this point I leave what I am doing to see what he means (this never sounds good... it usually means a mess is to follow!). There's Elijah, in the middle of the path, pooping. Sigh... my response: "Elijah, that is SO awesome that you didn't poop your pants! Next time, lets try not to poop in the middle of the path, ok?" Of course I picked up the poop (scooped it into an empty coffee cup) and threw it out.

My boys were obsessed with making sure I had coffee at all times and pointed out every Tim Hortons along the way.
I discovered that all three of my kids LOVE intensely windy days.
Raking leaves was a blast, the kids helped, and made messes, and played with ladybugs. The ladybugs were the best part of leaf raking! My parents have about a billion trees in their yards and we brought a whole truckload of leaves to the leaf drop off and it barely put a dent in what still needed to go. Lucky for us, we had weather that went right up to +32C! Certainly odd for October weather!
Overall, I enjoyed my time away, but eventually missed my awful messy disorganized house.

My husband cautioned me to "not mess up his truck" while I was gone with it. I thought that was rather presumptuous to assume that we would make a mess in there! Although, if you have ever seen the inside of my van, you would understand completely why he said that to me. At any rate... I came back with a clean truck, and traded it for my van which then had a flat tire, no gas, a broken windshield and a rotting lunch. My kids were gentlemen in daddy's truck, now if only I could train my husband to do the same...

October 19, 2011 - Preschool Already

Preschool! Wow. Never thought in a million years I'd be saying that! Elijah, my oldest boy is now three years old and pooping and peeing on the potty! (Or on the ground at the park... or in the back yard.... but not in his pants!) This means he is READY to be a big boy and go to school.... right? Well in Elijah's case, he is showing all the signs that would make me feel comfortable to send him to preschool.

Elijah is very outgoing and social. He likes to be around other people. He is not shy. He enjoys learning so much that he seeks it out. He is happy to be with me and happy to be away from me. I feel happy sending him to preschool. The socialization and learning will be great for his inquisitive mind and I think even if he was shy, he could benefit from being around other children in a learning setting. Sometimes my children act like caged animals, and it's nice for me to know they can actually attend a classroom type setting and not be "monkeys jumping on the bed."
He will be going two afternoons a week. With all my kids being so little, it is nice for me because I can have some quiet time with Isaac, who really seems to need it right now. He has been extra clingy and ADDICTED to his "foofie" which is his soother. He often says to me "I want it foofie" with a big angry frown on his face. He's a doll.
Elijah had his first day at preschool and it clearly exhausted him. We ran out the door to get class pictures done on short notice, (thank goodness for a wonderful neighbour who saw me on Facebook and asked me why I wasn't at the school with Elijah getting his pictures taken) and then he had class in the afternoon during what was usually his nap time. He went happily into the classroom. He previously went to daycare in that building so he was comfortable there. He did well for a first day, and then screamed and cried because he had to leave his indoor shoes there.
No, he SCREAMED and CRIED like a beast until he got to the van. I thought, wow, he really loves those shoes. Spiderman shoes. Pretty cool if you ask me. I assured him if he uses his words properly we can consider trading them for another pair on Thursday. He calmed down somewhat. We then drove home. As I was going to take the boys out of the van, I looked over at Elijah, his eyes closed, FAST ASLEEP!
So I think maybe the shoes weren't the issue. He was exhuasted from all the excitement!
Oh my big boy. So grown up at 3. Yet still sweet and little.
Unfortunately, this has ended my "footloose and fancy free" lifestyle, as I am subject to a "schedule" which sounds a bit like a swear word now! I have to work around Elijah's classes, and will need to for the next 15 years of his schooling. It'll grow on me. He looked so cute getting his picture taken with his class. It almost made me have a teary eyed moment... They just grow up way too fast.
In the meantime, I'm going to hold on tight to the other two, in hopes that they don't grow up too fast!

October 20, 2011 - Be Prepared - Or they will Poop Just to Spite You

The sheer number of times i have left my house WITHOUT appropriate items leaves me wondering how I survive "in the wild" with my children on a day to day basis.

For example... today I went to visit the public health nurse. Elijah was in preschool, so it was just Sam and Isaac and I. Sam was there to get his shots (and I'm not up to debating the risk/reward of doing this, we chose to immunize, but I am fully supportive of those who don't. We don't get the flu shot and that raises some peoples' eyebrows, so I think its a very personal decision for you and your children...). Anyhow, I changed Sam's bum (bathed him) before we left but didn't have time to change Isaac.
When I got to the Black Diamond Hospital's public health unit, I realized I had no diapers or wipes. Searching my van I came up with a clean pull up, so that is what I put Isaac in. Sam was still dry so I figured we were good to go until we got home. After all, the appointment is usually only about a half an hour anyways, right?
I'm sure you can imagine where this is going.
Sam gets weighed, measured, then put back in his diaper. Then he poops. Oh man. No diapers, no wipes. He hadn`t pooped in two days... why now? I say spite!
The public health nurse (who probably wonders how I function on a day to day basis) helps me find a diaper and wipes.
No sooner do I sit down when I smell something funky. "Isaac, did you poop?" He says, "no." I check and sure enough, he pooped too. What is going on here???
Public health nurse helps me find another diaper and more wipes.

I change him and pick up Sam again. He has pooped again but at this point I'm so horrified that I don't bother saying anything and changed him when I got home.
I once also showed up at a birthday party for Toni Boss`son Marcus. I didn`t bring diapers or wipes. I have three kids in diapers at this point so you`d think I might have thought to bring some...
Some days I`m just happy to get out the door without one of my children crying, so I guess I can`t remember everything every time!
The moral of the story... someone will always help you find a quick way to make your children stop stinking like poop if under pressure.
Just kidding.
The moral is... be prepared! I think I`ll take my own advice, effective immediately!

November 12, 2011 - Lazy Blogger
Life has been so busy in the last little while, that it has been difficult for me to manage my time and do a proper blog. I usually get all my burning desire to yammer out on the Facebook group, but realize of course that I need to save some of that excitement for our website, since there will come a time when this is the primary focus of the group.

Recently I was able to do a shameless self-promotion for M.O.B. on Virgin Radio Vibe 98.5's morning show. I was the very proud winner of their "ReMarkable Wednesdays" contest, where a person is chosen for doing something that someone out there deems "remarkable." I had a fabulous little interview in the morning and then waited patiently with my kids and friend and her children to hear myself hopefully not sound too nerdy, on the radio.
It was an honor to win the prize, and amazing and wonderful to talk about M.O.B. on the radio! It was another step in the right direction... the direction that leads to non-profit status, and many wonderful things to come! A special thank you to those who felt I had done something to deserve this enough to nominate me, and to those who were on the panel to choose the winners. It felt weird accepting such a large prize. I dontated $400 back to M.O.B., $500 is designated to spend at Mark's Work Warehouse (best jeans ever by the way!), and the rest is going to build my dream office in the basment of my home. It will lead the way to an organized space for M.O.B.'s evil bidding in my own home. I'm so excited!

My life seems to be a whirlwind. A tornado. I wouldn't have it any other way. Things are exciting and never seem to get any less so. As such, I am exhausted, and it is 10:15pm on a Saturday night. I can hear Elijah, who has suddenly started coughing in his sleep. It sounds nasty and I'm concerned what tomorrow will bring. I'm off to bed, I know he'll be wakeful/restless, so I'll sleep upstairs in the bunk bed tonight. Poor guy.
I will blog more often. I will blog more often. I will.... ok, I don't need to write lines, I just need to blog! It is not like I don't have time, I have lots. I am just a hopeless Facebook M.O.B. group addict. I know there are others who are addicted like me... I'm not alone.

November 15 - MOB's Birth Story

So I guess you could call me the "founder" of M.O.B. if you wanted to. It would mostly be true anyways, so I think that's fair to say. There have been some people asking me recently how I went about starting this craziness that has become Mothers Opposed to Boredom! I thought, instead of answering it right away, I'd build up the suspense and blog about it!

After I had Isaac I started to think about this idea... really threw it around a lot. After meeting some people who inspired me to believe there had to be more to maternity leave than boredom and isolation, and then meeting people who suffered from post partum depression, I felt it had to happen.
I added 35 friends on my friend list to a group that I had named with the loving asistance of my husband, Chase. We were in the kitchen coming up with acronyms and he had a whole list of inappropriate ones for me to pick from. I came up with M.O.B. and it stuck. I didn't do much after I started it (November 2010) as I had gone back to work part time. I waited to have Sam and went FULL ON. I invited Toni to be my right hand "woman" and then lured a few others to join the cause. All of these ladies have different skill sets that compliment the group in different ways.
People added people who added people and here we are today with three new helpers that have just come on to join us! We are slowly but surely getting closer to non profit status. Dotting T's and Crossing I's. Wait, that's not right... haha!

It was my husband's suggestion that got me thinking of creating a non profit organization, so I blame him entirely for it really. He often gets frustrated with the sheer amount of time I put into it, but it is a passion I can't even walk away from now, so it is becoming my life!
I am a helper by nature, and this is the ultimate "helping" program, very early intervention...compared especially to all the work I have done in the past with teenagers in non profit organizations, and I wouldn't look back for anything! A special thank you to all of the members, the helpers, Chase for putting up with this, Dennis (my father in law) for helping me so much with outings when Sam was really new still and I was exhasuted! Thank you especially to Toni, you were the main inspiration that made me finallly take the plunge and press the Facebook "create group" button.
And to all of you who continue to provide us with amazing feedback so we can continue to grow, develop and become what you want and need us to be!!! Thank you thank you thank you!!!

I don't want to forget to thank my children. Without them I wouldn't have much in terms of reasons to create a mom and baby group....
Not very glamorous I know, but that's it. I just had a dream about a community raising children and supporting moms and went for it. In true Erinn Bosch tornado fashion. Thankfully I have all of these beautiful volunteers on board who believed in my dream as much as I did enough to pick up the shrapnal after the Erinn tornado comes through....