Festive Day

Last Sunday we had a very festive day. In the morning we went out to rivers to meet up with Ryan's parents and sister. From there his sister's boyfriend took us out to cut down our Christmas tree. This is Ryan and I trying to tie it down on the roof.

Once we dropped our tree off at home we headed to Winnipeg for the evening. My work was holding a dinner with Santa at the Manitoba Childrens Museum. The boys got to run around and explore for an hour before dinner. Everett went straight to the water station and even with his apron on he got soaked.



After dinner Santa was there and evereychild got to have their picture taken with him and got gift from him. Rawley got a little 3d viewer and Everett got dirty pigs that come clean in the bath.

After hanging out with Santa they got to play till 9 pm, and we stayed right till the end almost. Everett was asleep in the car a block from the museum and Rawley fell asleep half way home. It was a long busy day with lots of driving but it was so much fun. Greatest family day we have had in a while.

And this is just Everett on the swings looking cute.

Toys are so overrated

Hello world,

Its been a while I know. I have no spare time in my life right now. I have not even mailed out my Christmas cards and it is already Dec. 7. I always mail them out before Dec. Anyway, I just wanted to share these.

Last week i took him with me to watch Rawley curl and he was so bored until he found this large empty box. Then for the next 30 minutes he pushed his box back and forth across the lobby happy as can be. Too bad I already bought him 2 christmas gifts this year I could have just given him everyones boxes.
:)

Everett has a ride on fire truck that was Rawley's, he also has a bounce and spin zebra that we bought him a few months ago. He has ridden both occationally. But ever since I left the vaccuum in the living room on Monday he has been laying it down on its back and riding it instead. He is more happy on that vaccuum than any toy we have ever bought him.

Kids are so fun.

A Busy Saturday

Saturday morning Ryan and I got to sleep in because the boys spent the night with Grandma & Grandpa. It was a much needed break for us from all the crying. Mid-morning I headed out with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. We went to check out the craft sale in town.

The boys picked me up from the craft sale and we headed out to the pumpkin patch by Oak Lake. Everett fell asleep in the car for about 15 minutes, and then slept for about 30 minutes in his stroller. It was nice that he was sleeping though because it rained pretty hard for bit right after we arrives. It also gave us time to eat and drink some nice warm beverages. The meander Creek Pumpkin patch has amazing Apple Cider (and i don't usually like apple cider).

~Rawley had a hot dog and hot chocolate~

Rawley really loves the pumpkin patch, they have these huge mazes made out of large hay bales, and they are pitch black inside. I remember last year Rawley asked me to go in once with him and i nearly had a nervous break down. Rawley found some friends there and they played hide & seek in the maze.

Rawley did the corn cannon last year and he actually got to shoot a dried up corn cob, but this year they just shot tennis balls, yet still called it the 'corn cannon' (not quite the same). He pressed the button to shoot at the same time as I got this picture, i think it is so funny.

Once Everett woke up it got a lot nicer out so we headed over to the hay ride. It is a 1/2 long ride in which we stop to feed the horses. We were the first on so we got great seats. We had to wait a bit because the tractor had a dead battery. Everett did not mind the wait at ll because the smaller tractor was going and he just enjoyed watching it and waving at the kids.

The hay ride was bout 5 minutes too long for Everett, he had trouble sitting still the last little bit. So, once we got off we let him run wild for a while and i think this was his favorite part.

Weeeeee

Everett has definitely grown since last year.

They have a separate smalled hay bale maze for toddlers, but Everett preferred to hang with the big kids. he even crawled in the dark tunnels a few times. Ryan had to go in a fetch him.

After the pumpkin patch we came home to have dinner then headed out to the Wheat City Stampede. The Wild dogs started the show and both Everett and Rawley loved this part. Everett clapped a lot.

Everett went through a few cranky times. I don't blame him though because we got there at 6pm and stayed till after 11. That is a long time for a little guy to try to sit still. We got up and went for walks. from 8-9 he was pretty cranky, but from there 0n he did awesome. He pigged out all night long and stayed up till the very end, 11:25. What a little party animal.

Rawley had a lot of fun. He always amazes me when we got out. He has the ability to make friends anywhere and he is never afraid just to walk up to other kids and hang out with them. Last night he was sad none of his friends were at the rodeo to sit with. He then spotted a boy and said, can i go sit down there with that boy?" I asked if he knew who it was and he replied, "no, but i will make friends", and he did. He made 2 different friends that he sat with. the only part that was a little sad was that he did not want to sit with us at all. guess he is getting to that age where his parents re just not cool enough anymore. I will say that near the end of the night, he did cuddle up with me and put his head on my arm. lol.

What an amazing Saturday!!!!

A Whole Month

I cannot believe it has almost been a whole month since I last blogged. I guess i really am a busy girl.

Our trip to BC was amazing. We got to see lots of friends, hang out with our niece and nephew and enjoy a great night out. The wedding was so much fun. The music, dancing and food were all incredible. Sunday my grandma had all the family over at her house. All my cousins and all their kids were there. There were 5 generations in total. It was well worth the trip.

Since we have been home Everett has been a challenge, but Rawley has been doing wonderful. Rawley saw a psychiatrist right after our trip and his meds have been changed just a little bit. He seems to be thriving. His concentration is good, his behaviour, for the most part, is good. He seems more focused and positive. I am so happy for him. We are even two months into the school year and I have had no phone calls or letters from his teachers. Go Rawley!

Everett has gotten worse instead of better. We have been really struggling with him at night. I am not sure what our next step is. We took him to the doctor and they listened to what I had to say and decided that it was not stomach problem but probably more with his internal wiring. He thinks Everett's sleep cycle is messed up and believe he never gets into the REM cycle, which is the deep sleep. Because of this almost anything can wake him up through the night, being cold, hearing noises, his stomach digesting... Then because he does not know how to self sooth he cries. I am not sure if I am completely convinced that this is what is happening. I mean it could be but if that is all it is, you would assume that as soon as Everett is picked up he should stop crying because he now has us to sooth him.

The doctor told us that we could give him sleep aids, like melatonin or gravol. This will help him fall into a proper sleep cycle and some people need to be on sleep aids their whole life. he also told us that we need to start letting him cry it out so he can learn to self sooth.

The crying it out does not seem too bad, but Everett seems to cry for a long time. We have tried a few times and given up after 45 minutes or so. When we expressed this to the doctor he said that strong willed babies, like Everett, can cry for up to 4 or 5 hours the first night or so, then only 3 hours. He did say that is would decrease over time and after a couple weeks he should be fine.

Now I understand the idea of crying it out, but honestly how many moms out there can listen to their baby cry for 4 or 5 hours? Seriously? I never could. 30 minutes to maybe even an hour would be my absolute tops. I don't think that we are built to listen to our babies cry like that. And when Everett cries, you would think someone is hurting him if you heard him, he also scratches at himself when he is that upset. And the worst part is in the back of my mind i think he may have some tummy troubles still and if he is uncomfortable or hurting, letting him cry it out is just not fair to the poor guy.

So now I wonder what do i do?

Do I get a referral for a gastro intestinal specialist and make them do proper testing to make sure there is nothing going on?

Do we just continue to stay up with him for hours on end listening to him crying and holding and rocking him, and hope one day it all stops?

Do we go see if we can find a sleep therapist and hope they have some better ideas?

Anyone who has been through this please tell me what you did, or if you have a better idea please share.

6 More Days

Ryan and I fly out to BC in 6 days and I cannot believe how ready I am for this holiday.

I am exhausted with life right now and so in need of holiday. Life is busy in an awesome way. I am picking up a few extra shifts at work here and there and working long hours which is awesome, because we could use the extra cash. I am working hard with my Mary Kay business and this is the best kind of busy to be. I have signed up my first recruit and am moving up the carrer ladder. My goals right now are to find a larger customer base and hold at least 2-3 skin care classes a week. This is a lot of work in the beginning because without referrals you have to just ask anyone to host a skin care class. I love this kind of busy though because I know it is making me more successful in this business.

As well as that I am still the primary house keeper, because although Ryan is able to do more with his hand, he still cannot do a lot of things.

Rawley is still a very challenging and time consuming child and he will always be, but to add to that Everett is his own little challenging and time consuming child. I love them both to pieces and know that the extra time spent will only have good results.

Having said all that....Holy Crap am I tired.

Thursday next week Ryan and I get to send Rawley off to school and Everett off to grandma`s day care, then hit the road. We will be heading to Winnipeg to check out some liquidation stores because i still have nothing the wear to the wedding. By 4pm we will be at the airport and 5pm up in the air.

I get goosebumps just thinking about this. Thursday we get to see my little niece (nephew will probably be asleep), we get to watch canucks game in my brothers totally awesome basement while visiting with my dad, brother, and sister-in-law.

Friday we get to see my grandparents, stop in at both our old work places and have a late dinner with our friend Lindsay. And our weekend only gets better from there. Saturday is the wedding, Sunday is dinner with all family. The Monday is our free day. Ryan & I will have an amazing date day of doing anything we want all day.

A Weekend Off

...gives me time to hang out with my boys.
Saturday was date night for Rawley and I, then Sunday the kids and I were on our own (something that is very rare since Ryan's accident).

Date night at Glow Bowl.

followed by Dinner at Boston Pizza

Sunday the boys and I headed to a near by park. they had a small car show in the park with some things for the kids to do as well. Super Thrifty Pharmacy donated toy cars for the kids. They got to pick a car and then race it down the ramp. Rawley loved this part . Everett had fun too, but got in the way of most of the other kids. Everett also had a hard time understanding that only ONE of the cars were his.

He often grabbed other kids cars half way down the ramp. oops.

There were some really awesome cars and trucks here.


Everett enjoyed his very first snow cone. This is one of the frozen treats that he can actually have. Rawley did not eat his because the sugar was attracting wasps and he was freaking out. We almost had to leave because of the wasp situation.

Fall Is Just Around The Corner

Thank Goodness. I am so over summer. Actually I was over summer by the end of June. It has been hot here this summer. So the cooler weather will be nice. We have had cooler nights but it was still above 30 during the day all this week. Ryan is out Golfing with his dad today. They are in the father-son tournament. This means the boys and I are on our own.

There is a car show and kids carnival in the park today so as soon as Everett is up from his nap we are going to check it out.

Check out this cute little gnome.

We were at ryan's parents trailer last weekend and there was a huge rain storm. After the rain let up Everett took off exploring the puddles. He splashed in puddles for nearly 30 minutes. Every time he went through he left out roar of laughter. He even did a few face plants but that didn't seem to bother his. He is definitely all boy.
Ryan and I decided we needed a new couch since ours was nasty and full of mouse poop. We gt a great deal form the furniture store where i work and i am in love with my new sectional. It is so comfy. Rawley was excited to play wii on the new sofa. Everett was extremely ticked off at first because it is higher than our old and and at first he was unable to get up on it himself. He has since figured out if he goes to a corner he can make his way on. He now loves to run all over it.

Everett and his box. He really does not need fancy toys at all. A $3 bag of tennis balls and a box is all he played with on Friday.

Peek-a-Boo

I have been working a lot lately and Rawley is feeling it. He misses hanging out with me. We used to spend lots of time alone together when Ryan was working but now Ryan is always around so I guess I can understand why he misses me. Yesterday Rawley and i went on a date. We started with a bowling. Rawley is singed up for kids bowl free.com so he bowls free all summer and now till Sept.30th. It ended up being glow bowl yesterday when we went so it was a lot of fun. We followed bowling with shoe shopping for Rawley. He didn't' get new shoes for the start of school, but then when his fell apart the other day I had no choice. To end the date we went for dinner at Boston Pizza. Rawley chose this place because we used to eat there quite frequently in BC but we never go anymore. He really enjoyed himself and it was nice to spend time together. I will try to post the few picture I got of our date tomorrow.

Off to write the grocery list before Everett wakes up.