Staggered tears

My Biggest is off to Junior Kindergarten this year.

 3 hours away from home each morning,  to meet new friends and learn new skills.

Here in Ontario, JK has a staggered entry.  On Tuesday we went to meet his teacher and his resource teacher, both lovely ladies.

And if i were not concentrating so hard at keeping my composure I'm sure I would have enjoyed the process for my little man more.

We have been playing up school all summer long.  I have talked about it since I registered him for Kindergarten last February, where I cried amidst all the little ones saying their morning prayer and signing our National Anthem.

We have taken him to the playground at the school during the month of August to acclimate him to the environment, where I may or may not have had tears of joy and pride in my eyes when we peaked into the classroom and guessed at which class might be his.

I called the school last Monday to confess my Mommy fail for not attending the School bus safety training with him.  I may have choked back some tears when I was expressing some of my concerns to the resource teacher, who kindly suggested that I bring him in 5 days earlier than scheduled just so he can check things out.

And upon meeting the teacher and resource teacher, there were some moments when I knew I had to stop talking just because the words were going to come out in a blubbery mess.  Said teacher patted my arm and said I would be fine.

I will be fine and I know he will be fine.

It's just that he is my first to go off to school and as his mom,  I reserve the right to worry and shed tears of joy and sadness.

I have my reasons, we all do.

So next Tuesday is a big day for him.

His first day in the class for the entire three hours, with a few little friends.  I'm excited for him for that day.

And the following Tuesday will be his first week at school with the entire class.

The day after, he takes the bus for the first time.

Dear Lord, Please help me really enjoy those moments and help me get past the anxiety of the bus because I have worked so hard at getting him excited for this.  And please forgive my selfish tears.

I know he will be great.

And if there are some bumps along the way?  Par for the course..

He's going to make history that kid of mine.  I just know it.

Nighty night.

Better late than never

So July ripped through my life like a hurricane, as did the deadline in August to get my layout done for project 12.

If you can believe it for the first time in 18 months I didn't get it in on time.  

I still really love this project, mostly because it is about life.

Those special random moments that happen as you are living.

I also love that it is a double page layout that I can almost always fit in pictures that otherwise may have not been scrapped.

I got my act together this weekend and whipped out my layout.

Here is a reminder of the sketch:

 And my take on it:

I have to admit that July didn’t seem to be my best month on record for a few reasons.  I was missing some family members and I was working ALLOT!  I tried to do fun things with the boys but truthfully we just spent time in the backyard.  Mom was at Sam’s for a good chunk of the month and I found myself exhausted trying to do everything myself.  I hit a stop with my weight loss journey and I tried daily to find the good in everything but I found this month more difficult to do so.  I snapped out of it near the end and July seemed to brighten and lighten up.  Here is what Facebook had to say:

July 1 at 12:41pm In light of the holiday, I am taking a break from counting calories and making a yummy dinner and dessert. Not sure what yet but I certainly have enough to choose from! Have a happy and safe holiday! ♥ 

July 2 at 8:41pm watching Michael dance as Daddy jams. The boy has MOVES ♥

July 2 at 9:55pm Bruce is watching his favorite movie. Groundhog Day. He is denying that it is his favorite, but not convincingly. ♥

July 6 at 10:50pm At the risk of sounding dorky, I really miss the John Tesh radio show on my drive home. ♥

July 7 at 2:34pm The great thing about having boys is that they can "go" anywhere. :) ♥

July 11 at 3:11am 3:30am and sleep is eluding me. No huge surprises there. ♥

July 11 at 7:21pm My eyes are burning. This Momma is off to bed with the kiddos tonight! ♥

July 13 at 7:36 Nothing like a major corporate visit to help in ones weight loss journey! Small scale victory this morning! ♥

July 14 at 9:43pm All hell broke lose at bedtime tonight....odd. ♥

July 16 at 7:51am I gave my child a Popsicle for breakfast. In my defense it was homemade and only had berries yogurt and orange juice in it. ♥

July 17 at 7:46pm Two things that made me smile today...donating too big clothes and The Bigs playing in the pool in our living room sans water. LIG.  ♥ 

July 18 at 2:45am Too many things keep me awake at night. ♥

July 18 at 6:44pm my back is just not what it used to be...I'm creaking like an old lady over here! ♥

July 18 at 8:36pm Two things that made me smile today; Jack calling "Mickhoool" to come downstairs and play and the boys hugging each other at bedtime. ♥

July 19 at 6:18pm Thinking about you lots Kulapate. RIP. ♥

July 23 at 9:14pm Carey Hart...Hot. Corey, not so much. ♥

July 24 at 5:20am Happy Birthday to the best mom ever!! You are loved. ♥

July 26 at 7:57pmNew favorite thing that J says: "G'night Mummy." So sweet. ♥

July 26 at 8:00pm what if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday? ♥

July 29 at 6:58am The great thing about being a parent is that you get to be puked on in the middle of the night...repeatedly. ♥

July 29 at 7:16pm Just cleaned my desk. And by cleaned I really mean hid things in storage containers in no particular order. I will be kicking myself when I go to find things. ♥

July 30 at 7:55pm Raise your glass if you are wrong in all the right ways.  ♥

July 31 at 1:37pm Can we talk about my child that keeps throwing up in the night? ♥

 And that my friends was July.

 In other breaking news, my baby starts JK tomorrow.  

 I verklempt when I was checking his bus schedule and nearly stopped breathing. 

 Okay that may be a slight exaggeration but still....

 Happy Labor Day Friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lookey what I did in 7 hours....

I spent Sunday with my Sister and her CTMH friends scrapping.  I had so much fun.  Seriously!  I never, ever on my days off go out by myself for more than an hour or so, so this was a big treat.  We ate good food, talked, laughed, ate some more.  Best.  Day.  Ever. 

Okay so maybe not THE best day ever but good for my soul and a good reward for completing Project Big Boy Phase Three.

It's official, he is potty trained.  So proud of him, and he is so proud of himself.  We are on day three accident free!  Yay for cutting my diaper bill in half!

Off to bed.  Someone is teething again.  Worst. Teether.  Ever.

I may need a scrap day again soon.  ;)

Nighty Night.

Project 12, Project Big Boy, and Project Bad Mommy

Lets start with Project Bad Mommy.

A certain three year old who was overtired from yesterday, indecisive, and stubborn wanted to go for a walk this morning.

It ended very badly, with my face being clawed, a spank on the bottom in the middle of our street, ALOT of screaming (some from me, some from him), some kicking, almost making a connection with my face and neighbours putting their heads down and walking quickly into their homes.  (okay there was only one neighbour and I think he was in the house before all the action started)

I will say that my voice didn't raise until I was in the privacy of my own home, but it still was not one of my finer moments.

I do not enjoy losing my temper. 

I do not enjoy not feeling in control.

But reality is that it isn't always sunshine and lollipops right?

He promptly took a three hour long nap and woke up a different child, dancing singing, kissing, hugging.

Those are the moments I am going to remember I hope, not the tantrums.

On to Project Big Boy Phase Three.

He is doing great.

We had five warbrobe changes yesterday and only two today.

He even woke dry from his three hour nap.

YIPPEE for him!!!

And now Project 12.

I really enjoyed this months sketch:

I loved the photo collage, but I knew that I wasn't going to be able to reproduce it exactly because I get my photos printed at Blacks or Costco and they don't have alot of size options.

So I did the next best thing.  I created a collage in Picassa and played with the number of pictures that I wanted to include and sized it to an 8x10 picture.  I was really happy with how it actually turned out when I went to pick it up.  The picture of  it on the layout doesn't do it justice.

I also palyed with the colors of the prints, some sepia, some black and white and left the majority in color.   I think it looks pretty cool.

And here it is...

Simple but I love it.

Love the big picture of my Mom with the boys.

Love that it includes B.

Love that I am making sure I am including myself and ignoring the fact that I wore the same tshirt in two of the pictures, that my hair is always in a pony on my days off and that there isn't a stich of make-up on my face.  No one that I make these pages for really cares about that so I shouldn't either right?

Love that we got to do alot of fun things this month and that this project helps me remember it all, because honestly I am not sure I would have documented all these little moments if not for it.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my ramble.

x/o

J

Tales from the potty and other randomness

So I think...*think* the time has come.



He has been peeing in the tub for some time.



We bought the potty seat with the cars all over it, along with big boy undergarments in August.



Yep....August.



We talk about it all the time.



Project Big Boy Phase Three has been creeping forward for months.



MONTHS.



With no pressure, no time lines.



When he is ready it will happen.



Four days ago he said he wanted to pee on the toilet.



His words were "I'd like to pee on the twoiyolet".



Okay Bud off we go.



And he did.



Pee that is.



And he did the day after.



Today I think it might be a little bit of way to get Mommy's attention.



Because I bought a stool to sit on while he does his business.



And we read stories.



And we banter back and forth about how he would like to pee in the twoiyolet and I tell him that I would like him to pee in the toilet.



He gets off.



He gets back on.



We read more stories.



We giggle.



Yup... This is me starting to Potty Train.



I have presents bought for the big day and everything.



No frickin clue what I'm doing but I'm sure it will happen.



Eventually.



My Baby is growing up. Makes me a little sad.



Not much is happening around the D/H household.



It has been cold.



I have felt a little housebound.



I am watching the Superbowl with hubs....mostly just to catch some of the commercials.



The Bud commercial made me teary..."Nothing comes between friends, not even fences."



Beautiful commercial but I'm not so sure how much weight I would put into that statement, but that is a whole other topic.



What are you doing tonight?