Operation Anti-Elmo

Have I neglected this blog? Absolutely! Am I sorry? ...Possibly. Do I intend to change this week? Yes I do! But how can I be so sure?! Well.. because I'm going to live life by indulging in the "Screen-Free Week" (*insert your quizzical glances here...*)

The Brampton Stake Presidency has come up with a plan for all of its members to be spiritually prepared for Sunday's Stake Conference. In doing so, they have implemented a "media fast" for an entire week! This is basically just modern-day torture (or so I first thought..). This means no television, movies, internet (*gulp*), popular music, unnecessary texting/calling, or basically anything fun.. (can you tell I started out this challenge as a Lamen or Lemuel?...)!

Anyways, the more I reflected on this opportunity to spend actual quality time with my family, I started to change my mind and am sort of looking forward to this "Screen-Free Week" (...or "Operation Anti-Elmo" as I lovingly refer to it as...). You see.. my family is addicted to technology. The majority of our spare time revolves around us using some form of media or another. This includes (as I openly admit to being a lazy, pregnant mother) my 20 month old son who honestly doesn't go a day without watching Elmo (....for more time than I'd care to admit). It has become the first thing he asks to do after breakfast, and the last thing he wants to do while he brushes his teeth. Its sort of ridiculous.. so much so that I find myself loathing that little red monster! So a week without Elmo (or at least as MUCH Elmo) and a chance to strengthen our family relationships? Sign me up! And there you have it... Operation Anti-Elmo is now underway.

So what does this have to do with me blogging more if I'm not going to use the internet? Well... I'm chalking this up to being family journalling. I mean, its important to record our experiences/activities after all! And thus.. loop-hole blogging is now in session!

So tonight I sat down and did what I love to do most: make a list! I wanted ideas on how to survive a week without media and a toddler (...how freaking sad is that?!). After only a few minutes, I had a great list and I am excited to try some of them out. Looking for any ideas to test out on your little ones? So far I have:

- Splash Park (these finally opened for the season here in Toronto - yay!)  
- Finger Painting in a Ziplock Bag (...buh-bye mess)
- Paper Plate Ping Pong (you get paper plates, a balloon, and some popsicle sticks.. fun!)
- Colour Sorting
- Bath Tub Watercolour Painting
- Homemade Playdough
- Homemade Giant Bubbles (Noah is a BIG fan of bubbles!)
- Pillow Floor Pile with Stories
- Play "Doing Dishes" (fill the sink and give him a sponge and some ladles)
- Dance Party (turn on silly children songs *yes, this is technically media* and dance it up!)
- Glow Stick Bath
- Rainbow Volcanoes (its the old vinegar/baking soda trick)
- Shaving Cream Painting
- Shave with Daddy (think shaving cream and popsicle sticks)
- Ice Cubes in the Tub (I let Noah play with a few ice cubes during his bath the other day and it was a huge hit. I currently have coloured ice cubes in the freezer for next time...)
- Go To The Park

Obviously within a week we won't get to everything.. but I like having choices! My due date is this coming week though, so hopefully we are able to fit in more activities than not with the arrival of a baby brother!  Oh, and on that note.. I won't be posting about the baby's arrival on Facebook until the week is up: so if you want to be in "the know" you'll have to check back to the blog often! :)

Mommy's Favourite Present

Christmas has come and gone and we have been SO busy! And although Christmas was a few days ago, MY present came today...in the form of an ultrasound! I am 18.5 weeks pregnant, and that means that the ultrasound can now detect the gender! Curious?!

ITS A...

Thats right.. I am seriously becoming outnumbered! Oh well, at least I can still refer to my clan as "my boys" and I love every single one of them! And maybe my little ballerina will make her appearance as baby number 3. I mean, third times the charm - right?!

The Parental Secret

So its no secret to anyone that kids grow up. It is, however, a secret held amongst parents as to how fast this happens. You can't understand the speed of a child's growth until you experience it first hand in raising the little weed.

Now that Noah has passed the year mark, it seems that every day holds a new something (something as in a new talent, adventure, discovery...you get the picture). He amazes me all the time! He has likes and dislikes (which change constantly) and he is really becoming his own person.

Case and point: The Elmo Song!

By now, Wes and I know all the words (not that there are many) as we have heard it a hundred times. Noah has gone as far as starting to sing along with the "la, la, la, la" parts. And thanks to modern technology (a.k.a. youtube), our little guy can listen to it all day long (...uhm, yay?!). Our squirmy little toddler who would never sit through anything longer than 2 seconds (I wish I was exaggerating) has found his weakness with this song. Whenever it plays he can't help but get a huge smile on his face and wiggle his little body along with the music (...so really, my lost IQ points are completely worth it).

From our family to yours, we give you...The Elmo Song. You're welcome!

Splish Splash

So tonight marked a very interesting experience for us as parents. One that I'm sure all parents get the joy of experiencing at one time or another. Noah popped a squat in our bathtub!!! There, I said it! But here is how it all came to a stinky situation:

Wes decided to show Noah a "fun trick" with a bottle of pop he had bought me (I'm loving gingerale these days...ahhh cravings) which essentially consisted of him shaking it and then OPENING THE TOP! I swear, for someone who is so science-based he can be really foolish! Needless to say that my pop got all over Noah and his highchair... lovely! So because this was all Wes' fault [see how I used this angle] I talked him into giving Noah a bath. I suppose I should say at this point that I can't actually remember the last time Wes gave Noah a bath. Its sort of a Mommy thing in our household. So Daddy doing it was a huge deal!

So anyways, everything was going smoothly. Noah had been all cleaned up, and was just playing around. Everything seemed normal except for one thing... for THIS bath there was one fart-y (is that a word?!) little boy. I made a joke that he was going to poop in the tub and sure enough within minutes he squatted down and started making the infamous "pushing noise". Before Wes could grab him, there is was... a floaty friend. (I hope you're not eating as you read this...)

What happened next was all a blur... (basically because I was blinded by tears because I was laughing so hard!).

Wes started yelling in disgust, Noah was running around naked and dripping water everywhere, and I was crossing my legs as I literally laughed until it hurt.

Needless to say, Wes hates poop (he always has). I think poop is just one of those Mommy things - because I didn't find anything gross about the situation. I mean, its just poop! I see Noah's poop everyday. The fact that Noah actually went (of all times) while in the bath and with Daddy was hilarious!!! To Wes? Not so much.. I told him that he needs to lighten up if he is ever going to make it in this line of work. His reply was to remind me that I didn't clean it up: he did. Good point! No bath, a comedy show, and no clean up?! Looks like I'm the winner tonight!

Thank you Noah for a wonderful evening of pure happiness... even if it has cost me a lifetime of bath-giving!

Happy Halloween!!!

So Halloween has come and past (and so has all of Noah's candy...oops!) and I felt like it needed a blog post. We had a great Halloween weekend. Everything was kept simple, and we only went Trick Or Treating to a few houses (and since Noah is so young he was none the wiser!)

This year we decided to dress up like a family of skeletons! It was pretty easy considering I completely cheated and bought us all outfits online. What did I say? We kept everything simple!

So here we are.. the skeleton family of 4! Yes, I said it. Family of 4. I am due May 26th, and since we were able to tell everyone so close to Halloween, we thought we'd make it a fun announcement!

Halloween brought more than just family-expanding announcements, though. This year, Noah went Trick Or Treating! It was his first time and he did fantastically. He seemed really confused every time someone put something in his little pumpkin basket, but was friendly and was always smiling at everyone we spoke to. After the handful of doors (which were all really just neighbour friends of my parents) we went back to Nana and Papa's house and dumped out his pumpkin basket on the floor [insert wide eyed little boy here]. He was so excited! This excitement ended up in Noah being able to eat wayyyy too much chocolate KitKat bars, and thus went to bed after a drawn out sugar high. But man, he was the cutest sugar-hopped up skeleton I've ever seen!

For Halloween this year, I also made homemade caramel apples (yum!) for my Sunday School class (which is actually just filled with the Deacons). Here is a picture of those beauties. It was a new recipe which I made the night before (which is always asking for trouble) so I'm SO glad they turned out! Who knows... maybe I'll have to make them every Halloween.

We had a wonderful Halloween and we hope that your family did too!

Gobble, Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving!! I hope that Thanksgiving has brought you plenty of family togetherness, relaxation, and bloated bellies! Thanksgiving has always been my absolutely favourite holiday because the food is absolutely amazing (and it is completely socially acceptable to gorge!), the weather is amazingly crisp and so very fall (which, I love!!), and there is TONS of family time. But this Thanksgiving was a touch different for us.

We always have Thanksgiving with my parents...regardless of it held in Mississauga or Temagami, I don't have to cook for it because my awesome Mom does it all (and does it well!). But this year, they ditched us to visit my Aunt in NY. I mean... are Canadians even allowed to leave Canada over Canadian Thanksgiving? That seems like blasphemy...

So we were left alone, and for once, I had to cook the entire meal. I don't mind cooking.. it is just a huge undertaking! We had turkey, stuffing, gravy (which was a huge success even though this scared me the most!), cranberry sauce (okay.. that just involved opening a can...), jelly salad, garden salad, rolls, mashed potatoes, veggies, pumpkin pie, and apple cider... phew. I'm getting tired just thinking of all the work. I swear that Moms are AMAZING. Not tooting my own horn, per se, but the more I do, the more I realize how awesome Moms (and mostly my Mom) really are. I have a whole new appreciation for Moms as a whole now that I have my own family.

....What was I saying?!... Oh right... making food....

So anyways, while I cooked my butt off (side note: I wish cooking was a work out...) Wes took time out of studying to watch Noah...which is much harder than it sounds because Noah has this nasty habit of loving to be in the kitchen while Mommy is doing all sorts of really interesting things (all of which, he'd love to see up close... while I balance him on my hip). So to prevent Noah from grabbing onto my legs and pleading with me to pick him up, Wes made a makeshift baby gate at the doorway to the kitchen. Interested in your own homemade baby gate? Its simple, really. He used only the finest materials: a cooler, rifle case, and two rubbermaid containers. This contraption was, of course, made by trial and error. Trial as in Wes thought he was successful in keeping Noah blocked, and error by Noah squeezing his way to Mommy. The end result allowed Noah to watch me from the doorway, and Wes to continue studying as I kept an eye on Noah at the door. So efficient!

Wes did take a study break when Ry came over (my parents ditched him over Thanksgiving too...) in time for dinner. And there we sat...attempting to eat our weight in turkey: HUGE FAIL! I didn't even make that much...but it seemed like 3 adults, and 1 baby (who eats as much as I do) didn't even make a dent. Guess I know what we're eating all week.... at least my grocery bill will be small!

The day ended with one passed out baby, 2 mugs of apple cider, and a rented movie (which I'll shamefully admit was that new Fast & Furious movie...Fast 5 or something like that...). Maybe one of these days Wes will actually watch a whole chick flick with me...sigh....

About Face!

So here is it: the mass question-answerer-thingy about the military and why the heck we are choosing to live our lives "in danger." A lot of people are intrigued by our choice.. and I suppose rightfully so, as the military is not a usual route for.. oh, lets say... a Pharmacy student to take.

Here are the basics we get asked most often:

Year Joined : 2008

Current Rank : Office Cadet

Will you serve in Afghanistan?: Most likely not, and if yes, Wes will be FAR from danger (he cost them too much money to lose).

Which area are you? : Air Force (although Wes is considered a "purple" (medical), and can be used in the Army, Air Force, or Navy.

How long will you be in the military? : Wes has a commitment for a total of 8 years (4 during University, and 4 as a working Pharmacist), but we are planning to remain in the military until retirement.

Aren't you worried he will die? : No more than any other wife would...

Now onto the juicy stuff...

We basically learn as we go along with the military, but this is what we have found out thus far about how our lives will be effected once Wes graduates:
First and foremost, once Wes graduates, he is not a licensed Pharmacist until he takes his licensing exam (which he has to wait at least 3 months after graduation in order to try his hand at). But, the day he graduates his rank changes from an Officer Cadet to a Second Lieutenant (pronounced LEFtenant - silly British) and with that his pay increases quite substantially (yay!!!). He will also at this time start a 6 month rotation for the military (which is usually completed in a Hospital - and most likely in the Toronto area).

Once he completes his licensing exam and is a full-blown Pharmacist, he is then promoted to Captain (and once again, pay increase - yay again!!!). And sometime between being a graduating student, and being a Captain we will find out where we are being posted (which will be to a base, and no, it will not be in Toronto). We do get to give them our 3 top picks at some point, but they ultimately decide. Our top 2 picks so far (and by "Our" I mean "Mine" because Wes leaves things like this up to me...): Ottawa, and Borden (ie Barrie). We have always talked about moving far away with the military, such as to Vancouver Island.. but the truth is, all our friends and family live in Ontario, and we cannot afford a house in Victoria anytime soon (...thank you crazy housing market out west!...) which is something we plan to do once we are posted (purchase a house that is... not go to Victoria). And so yes, that is our future for the next 4 years in a tiny, messy bow.

People are always so curious as to why we'd choose the military, but for us it was very simple: it gave us the option for Wes to be what he wanted to be (without $60, 000-ish in debt), financial security for the future (which includes a guaranteed career, and full pension by the time he is 49), and allows him to make a living where we are able to have me stay at home, even while he is still a student (which has been a family ideal for us in terms of having children). There are obviously other factors that are private, but for the masses who wonder: No, we are not crazy - we know what we are doing and know that for us, this is a great option!