Mom and Dad's Visit

It was nice to have Mom and Dad here visiting for a week!  We didn't have great weather, but it was still nice to stick around home most of the time.  Cassia and Easton enjoyed spending lots of time with Mimi and Pawpaw.  They went for walks with Pawpaw and Mimi read them books and showed them how to make "Mimi's Candy". 

Mom and Dad got here on Easton's birthday, but they kept getting delayed so the kids were asleep by the time they got to our house.  Not very common delays at that: one forest fire and hitting one deer.  Luckily all was okay and they got here in one piece.  Sunday was the Winnipeg Jets first home game.  Since no one had tickets, they watched the game at home.  I spent the day getting ready for Monday (Canadian Thanksgiving and Easton's birthday party) and Mom helped.  We also went to Mom and Dad Warkentin's for lunch and had yummy borscht and pie.

Monday we were having Easton's birthday party and since it was also Thanksgiving, I made my first turkey.  Mom helped make Thanksgiving dinner and I also had to finish Easton's cake, so it was a full day.  (More on Easton's birthday in a separate post.)  Well, I think the turkey turned out pretty well as did the other trimmings we had.  Mom and Dad Warkentin, Brent, Mom and Dad Myers and Andrea were all there.  No one got food poisoning (that I know of) so I think it was a success!

The rest of the week we just did things around home and had a couple of outings.  I was so mad at myself for not taking many pictures.  Luckily Mom thought to upload the pictures from her camera to our computer so I have hers.  I worked on Tuesday and Thursday so Mom and Dad had the kids on their own those days.  Cassia liked having Pawpaw pick her up after Kindergarten!  They went to McDonalds one day and the Children's Garden and Playground another day where they also fed the ducks and geese.  We had thought of going to the Corn Maze, but it was just too chilly and wet to have been any fun. 

Picture Day at School

Dad made shelves in Easton's closet which was really great and saved me tons of money on a closet system.  He also fixed a few other things around the house as well as Easton's barn and finished the shingles on Cassia's doll house.  Mom made our Christmas batch of turtles - and I got to lick the pan! :)  She also made truffles, so we will already be set for holiday gatherings! 

We also went to Tony Roma's for my early birthday supper, which was really good!  And then on their way out we had to go get a baked apple pancake - yummmm!

It was a great time, thanks for coming Mom and Dad!

Settling Into Routine

It seems like we are settling back into routine.  Today was a good drop-off at daycare.  Cassia has actually been having a lot of trouble when I drop her off.  I think it is mainly because she wants to line up outside with her teacher for school rather than be walked over by daycare staff.  But today she saw her friends and went right in to do a craft.  Didn't even look back.  Easton usually cries, but today he just had a pouty lip.  There were only about 3 birds that could fit on it today.  He whimpered for 1/2 second when I left, but then was okay.  I'm glad they are both feeling more comfortable there. 

Cassia loves everything about Kindergarten.  She has gym every other day and loves it, which probably makes her Daddy proud.  She also loves going to the library and music class.  She often recites the rules of Kindergarten and likes to sing the songs they learn to remember things like days of the week, etc.  Yesterday she exclaimed, "Mrs. Whitely is the best teacher in the world!!!"  So I think things are going well on that end!

Easton is doing so well with potty training.  He goes on his own and doesn't have #1 accidents anymore, although he's having more trouble with the other!  He is not trained at night, but he will sometimes get up in the middle of the night to go, so I think that is pretty good!  He is still excited about it and thankfully Cassia likes to look and see what he has done so I don't have to all the time!!!

Ryan is settling into his new job as well.  It is quite a different atmosphere from his last school, so that will continue to take some adjustment.  But so far, he has a much more predictable schedule, which is nice for all of us.  I'm just trying to keep up with everything and so far, it's going better than I thought it would! 

(I wrote this a few weeks ago and forgot to post it!  So I guess I'll post it now...)

The end of an Era

Tomorrow will be the end of an era. Tomorrow I will have a child in school for the first time. And tomorrow I believe I will also have one very proud daughter. Cassia is so excited. And at her "Meet the Teacher" time yesterday, she saw that her good friend from her previous daycare is in her class. The girls were thrilled!

So tonight will be some excitement deciding what to wear, preparing the backpack and packing a snack. Cassia is excited to show off her "indoor shoes" that are bright colors and sparkly.

I'll update and, of course, I'll have to post a first day of school picture!

Potty Training

Well, we choose the perfect time to potty train.  I mean both kids were starting a new daycare, Cassia starts Kindergarten in a week and Ryan is starting a new position at a new school.  Add onto that the knowledge that I received on Sunday (the 2nd day of potty training) that I was supposed to have been filing U.S. tax returns every year for the last 11 years.  And that even though I don't owe any taxes, I could be penalized and fined crazy amounts because I didn't file.  Oh, and the deadline for filing with reduced penalties was three days away.

Yes, the perfect time to potty train.  Not stressful at all.  No big transitions. 

Well, the boy is really catching on, so I just couldn't put a damper on his progress and start again another time.  He is so proud of himself and is very excited when he has any successes.  He even got up yesterday morning while I was in the shower and Ryan was still sleeping and went by himself!  It was in the little potty that happened to be in the living room at the time and he tried to carry the contents to dump it himself, but I guess it was a little hard to balance and the floor got the raw end of that deal.  I guess I did too for having to clean it up.  But oh well, that was a big step! 

So hopefully he keeps this up and he'll be rid of diapers soon!

New Daycare

Well, today was the first day for both kids at the daycare at Cassia's school.  Cassia had to be at this one because she will be starting Kindergarten in September and we aren't able to pick her up and take her to daycare half way through the day.  And since I could get Easton in as well, we switched both of them to the same one for just ONE drop off.  I am so thankful for that!  And the school is closer to home than our previous daycare, so that is great. 

We went to visit a couple days ago with the kids and Cassia cried.  Not at the prospect that she was going to stay there.  She cried because she couldn't stay all day and also that the kids her age were at an outing so she couldn't meet them.  Easton was thrilled with all the new toys, but he wanted to make sure we weren't staying. 

Unfortunately they will be in different rooms. Easton is the oldest one in the toddler room, but he is in there since he isn't potty trained yet. He is a stubborn one too! So we are going to work with the daycare to get him trained ASAP so that he can move over to be with the older kids. Although I am NOT convinced the time to try (again) to train him is when he is just starting at a new daycare, when Cassia is just starting Kindergarten and when Ryan is starting a new position at a new school. Well, I guess we'll see...

I was very nervous for today, expecting a clinging/crying show with Easton.  I figured Cassia would march right in and ask someone to be her friend.  So I said goodbye to Cassia and Ryan took her to her room.  He said she was sad and said she missed her friends at her other daycare, but she went in and started to play.  By the time I got back over to her room, she was playing in the play house with the girls and they were already long-time friends.

I stayed with Easton for a little bit, but he was very enthralled with the toys.  He wanted to keep his Snoedley, but he put it in a safe spot.  I figured I wouldn't make a big deal of anything, so after a bit I went over and told him that I had to go to work and he was going to stay here. 
Easton:  Is Cassia going to stay here?
Me:  Yes.
Easton:  Is Daddy going to stay here?
Me:  No, Daddy has to go to work, but he will come and pick you up in the afternoon.
Easton:  Are you coming back?
Me:  Yes, we are always coming back.  Dad will pick you up later, okay?
Easton:  Okay.

A kiss and a hug and that was it.  He didn't even watch me leave - he just went back to his toys.  First day of daycare and no tears.  Okay, so I cried when I left, but someone had to cry on the first day!

I assume next week will be a bit harder since, now that I think about it, the first day usually isn't as bad - it's the 2nd and 3rd days.  But they are only there 3 days a week now since they are at Grandma and Grandpa's one day and home with me another day.  So maybe that will be a good mix. 

Editted to add:  It is now one week later and I forgot to post this, so I'll add an update.  Easton did, in fact, have a hard time after he realized that I really left.  This made Monday's drop off really really hard and I had to just leave before I started crying really hard.  I hate leaving him at a new place.  He has a really good time when he is there, but when I pick him up the first thing he says is, "Mommy, I cried when you left because I didn't want you to go."  I think he knows already how to get me.

Ballet in the Park

My annual mother-daughter outing with Cassia is to Ballet in the Park.  Andrea also usually comes with us and this year her sister and kids came as well.  The Royal Winnipeg Ballet puts this event on every summer for three days.  It is free and you trek out to Assiniboine Park where you sit on a blanket or lawn chairs in front of the outdoor theater and watch the program.  There are a lot of people, some younger, some older and everywhere in between; especially little girls in tutus, spinning and leaping.  We had a great time and then played in the Children’s Garden for a bit afterwards.  Some classic pics…

This last one is en pointe. :)

Trip to Indiana: Homeward Bound

We got a late start Friday morning as we left Goshen and got to Minneapolis later than we had hoped that night.  But we met up with friends, Andrea and Deb and Sean and their boys.  They had an extra ticket to the U2 concert on Saturday, so “since we were in the area” I went!  And Ryan watched all the kids (5) in the hotel.  It went really well for him because Deb’s boys are older than ours and are really good kids.  And the U2 concert was awesome!  I’ll try to post the link to the Fan Cam and you can see me in the stands!  It rained for about 2/3 of the concert and poured for about half of that.  So, we were soaked by the end.  There was a tornado evacuation plan which was somewhat pointless considering how long it took us to get out of the stadium at the end!  But everyone stayed through the concert and the fans were great.  The band did an awesome job and we were so glad they took everything in stride and continued on as if it wasn’t raining/pouring.  Although Bono did sing “Singin’ in the Rain” a few times!

It seems like the end of our trip, from Minneapolis to Winnipeg, would be quite mundane.  Nope.  Well, most of the way it was and we were making pretty good time.  We let the kids play in the pool in the morning, so we got off to a late start again.  But when we got started, we were moving along fairly well.  Until Thief River Falls.  We decided to take a bit of a different route this time, as it gets boring always going through Fargo and Grand Forks.  So, we stopped in Thief River Falls to pick up some “picnic-like” foods for supper.  We were in Wal-mart, taking our time when there was an announcement over the speakers that a Tornado Warning had been issued.  I didn’t really hear all of it, so we weren’t sure what we were supposed to do.  I thought they were saying we couldn’t stay in the store.  So we went outside and the sirens were going.  I was pretty sure it wasn’t a good idea to be in the van, so we went back inside to a “safe zone” where people could wait it out.  We ended up being there for another 30 – 40 minutes until we got the all clear.  Then we headed out again and realized we would be following the storm.  So we detoured a little, costing some time, but just caught the end of the storm which just turned into a little rain.  Finally, we are on our way – just 2 ½ more hours.  Except that when we got to the border crossing, it was closed.  Yep, all closed.  So it took us about 1.5 hours to get to the border crossing at Emerson that we usually go through.  Hmmm, maybe this time we should have gone the boring way.  Our friends went that way and had no problems, except a wait at the border.  Luckily no other issues came up for us, but we didn’t make it home until a little after 1 a.m.  So tired.

Ironically, these were the strange clouds we saw the day before the tornado warning.  I just had to take a picture of them.

So, in summary, it was a great trip.  A few more warning sirens than I would have liked, but at least we were warned and not hurt!

Trip to Indiana: Destination

We had a great time with family and Cassia and Easton were so excited to see Mimi and Pawpaw and their cousins.  Cassia said she wanted to live in Indiana so that it wouldn’t take so long to get to a sleepover. J  Kent, Kathy, Anna and Isaac weren’t back from their vacation when we got there, but Greg, Laura, Luke and Aaron arrived the day after we got there.  It was the first time we met little Aaron so we were thankful that Greg and Laura were able to make it to Goshen at the same time we did!  Aaron is such a sweet little boy and since we all stayed at Mom and Dad’s we got to see both him and Luke a lot.  Here's Ryan and Aaron, and then me and Aaron.

Cassia attached to Anna as soon as they were back in town.  She said, “I do everything Anna says, and not what anyone else says.”  I’m sure this is Anna’s dream come true. J  At least until the novelty wears off!  We had a fun time getting together for suppers, going to the park and playing dress-up – well, the last was the kids.  It’s almost guaranteed that within 15 minutes of entering Mimi and Pawpaw’s house, the two girls and sometimes the boys will be in full dress-up gear.  Got a pic of Luke in a dress and a wig and Isaac in a dress!  Plus some of the kids with painted faces.

We also had a Myers get together and there were three baby 2^nd cousins, so of course we had to get pictures.  So cute!  And Clara’s hair takes the cake!

I think we have this same picture of Kent and me in the wheelbarrow, circa 1977. 

And some stinkers jumping on the couch!

The girls.

I also had a chance to get together with Lori, Dena and Kim.  We took the kids to the Wakarusa splash pad, at my suggestion I might add.  I say that because my kids DID NOT LIKE IT.  At one point Cassia was sobbing, saying, “I never want to come back to this place!”  Okay, I can see if I took them to a thorn patch to play in, that would be an appropriate response.  How insensitive of me to take my kids to a splash pad on a nice summer morning.  So I didn’t really get a chance to catch up with my friends. L  But it was still nice to see them and chat a bit.  Lori invited us over for lunch and I really thought it was a bad idea considering all the “fun” my kids were already having.  But I’m glad she convinced me because they were different beings as soon as they got there.  And we had a lovely lunch and chat/play time after. 

When it was time for Greg, Laura, Luke and Aaron to go back home, Mom and I drove them to Chicago to get the train.  Ryan came along because he was going to spend a day/night in Chicago with his brother, Brent, so the timing worked out well!  We took them as far as we could, but I felt bad they had to lug all their luggage with them since they couldn’t check it.  I’m sure it was an adventure though!  Meanwhile Kathy had all the kids to look after on a very hot and humid day.  The kids had fun and Kathy survived, so that’s a success.

I also got to see my friends, Anna and Sarah, who I haven't seen in a long time.  It was awesome to catch up with them!  The rest of the week included some shopping time for me and more time hanging out with my family.

Trip to Indiana: Second stop - Wisconsin Dells

The next day we were on the road again and heading to Wisconsin Dells.  The kids did a really good job travelling and each time gets a little easier.  They constantly wanted to hear “the God song”, which is Bryan Moyer Suderman’s CD, "God's Love Is For Everybody".  I’m thankful for this as I know soon enough it will be “put on Justin Bieber or Beyonce!”  Easton also had to always recite our travel plan: Mini-apple-places, Consin Dells, Indiana, then Mimi and Pawpaw’s! “right, mom?”  We stopped at a McDonald’s (actually a few unfortunately) and when we left Cassia’s comment was, “Mom, you know what I’m the best at?  Making friends – I make friends wherever I go!”  Yep, sweetie, that’s a good quality to have.

Well, we made it to Wisconsin Dells and as the kids were bouncing back and forth between the beds, Ryan went down to get the rest of our bags.  Easton pushed a button on the air conditioning unit, but I checked it and it looked fine.  A couple minutes later the smoke alarm went off in our room.  In trying to get it to stop I was fanning it, then hitting it, then trying to get it off the wall to take the battery out – the last two probably not being good decisions.  Then I punched “off” on the thermostat.  And it stopped.  So, most kids would not like the sound of a smoke alarm, but my kids don’t like it when they are in another room and I am grinding coffee beans.  So, this wasn’t a good start.  I called the front desk to let them know and she asked if the alarm was just a beeping or a full alarm.  I said, “full alarm”.  She said, “Okay, well, do you think someone should come and look at it?”  Really?  You have to ask that?  “Yes, that would be a good idea.”  Then there was this awful smell which was obviously not going to air out anytime soon, and I really didn’t trust the smoke alarm to not go off again and wake us up in the middle of the night.  So we asked if we could switch rooms.  The new room was great (even an upgrade) and we were off to find the water slides.  The kids loved the water park.  There was an outdoor wave pool and then an indoor park that we went to.  They had an outdoor park as well, but it was a little too big for our kids.  Here are some pics…

  

They had a great brunch offer and we took advantage of that.  We also went into town one evening.  On the way there Cassia said, “I brought a dog leash along on our trip!”  We don’t have a dog.  She had brought something that she uses at home to pretend.

“Why would you bring a dog leash?” 

“In case a dog comes near us!!” 

“Uh, well, okay then.” 

(See previous post.)

Here are the kids with some "down time" in the hotel room playing with our iPod Touches.

The second night we were there, everyone was exhausted and sleeping when a shrill sound woke us up.  I couldn’t figure out what was happening.  Then I realized…it was that darn smoke alarm again!  So I started hitting the smoke detector – must have been PTSD.  Finally Ryan opened the door and we realized that the alarm was out in the hall and there were people heading for the stairs.  Now Easton is not really even awake at this point, so I grab him, Ryan grabs Cassia and we head out.  We only made it about 5 steps out the door when the alarm stopped.  Thank goodness because I was a little worried that we were on the 5^th floor.  We got the all clear and went back to bed.  I don’t think Easton really ever woke up because he was asleep again by the time I laid him down on the bed.  In the end, we never found out what happened.

Even considering the two alarm incidents, we had a really good two days and would definitely go back again!  Then we were off to Indiana.  It wasn’t hard to find, we just followed the humidity.

Trip to Indiana: First stop - Mini-apple-places

I haven’t added anything in a long time!  Probably because we were away for 2 weeks.  And we were getting ready the week before and catching up the week after.  But we had a great time visiting family and friends in Indiana.  We took a couple days to get there and back this time so we could do some other things along the way.  I’m really glad we did that – it was a lot of fun!  I’ll split this post into a few because otherwise it would be very long!!

We stayed with Ryan’s cousin and her family just outside of Minneapolis for two nights on the way down.  We had a great time there and it was so nice to spend some time with them as we hadn’t seen them in a long time.  While there, we decided to go to Como Park Zoo which is a small zoo and there are no entrance fees – however they have a suggested donation if you choose.  This zoo was the perfect size for our kids.  It was so hot and humid that day and it would have been a chore to walk a long distance with the kids, but we got to see everything before we all melted down.  The big hit was the seal habitat!  I think Cassia could have stayed there for a couple hours!  Soon after we got there Ryan asked if I had brought the camera.  Of course I brought the camera, are you kidding?!  Well, I brought the camera, but left the battery in the bag at the house.  So, needless to say, we have no pictures of the zoo.  But I’m sure we’ll go back sometime.

We then decided to go to the Mall of America where it would be nice and cool.  We thought the kids (or at least Cassia) would like some of the rides at the amusement park in the middle.  Well, that was a bust – or not, considering your opinion.  Cassia didn’t even want to ride the carousel!  I take that back, she only wanted to ride the one that had three seats and was one of those coin rides you see a grocery stores. J  Easton really wanted to ride in a similar ride that was a bus that moved back and forth a little.  So we decided to spring for the ride ($1) and we had two happy campers, make that four happy campers.  We went to a couple other places including the American Doll store and Legoland.  But those places are actually only to look at and not to buy – didn’t you know that?! ;)

Music Man

Easton has always loved music.  When he was a baby he would hum or sing ahhhhh at bedtime when I would sing him a song.  Although it was nearly impossible to carry the tune with the off note ahhhhhhhhhs, it was pretty adorable.  The first song he sang was Twinkle Twinkle - like many other kids I'm sure.  He also likes the Clean Up song that they sing at daycare.  Unfortunately this song takes up all of his concentration, so the cleaning up really doesn't happen.  Mostly because he has to play his guitar while singing!  I'll try to post a short video...

But now if you ask him to sing a song it is the new version of Twinkle Twinkle:  Twinkle Twinkle Traffic Light.  Until recently he really didn't know all the words, but no one is allowed to sing with him unless invited and definitely no one can correct the words.  He will stop singing, complain loudly until you stop and then start over again.  This is very hard for Cassia who knows the right words - as she really likes to correct people (I mean, teach Easton things).  These are the words:

Twinkle Twinkle Traffic Light
Standing On The Corner Bright
Red Means Stop
Green Light Go
Yellow Means Slow Down
Don't You Know
Twinkle Twinkle Traffic Light
Standing On the Corner Bright

This is how Easton sings it:

Twinkle Traffic Light
Standing On The Corner Bright
Red Means Stop
Green Light Go
Yellow Means Slow
Blue Means....I don't know what blue means...
(Repeat)

Then he gets mad at the song and it turns into a heavy metal kind of Twinkle Twinkle.  You don't have to imagine - I have a video.  He now sings the right words, mostly, and the guitar just adds flavor. 

Transformed by a Dog

My family went on the JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) Walk yesterday in support of my friend's daughter who has juvenile diabetes.  It was a wonderful day in Winnipeg - warm, sunny and breezy to keep the bugs away.  I was emailing and calling around before the walk to see if I could borrow someone's Chariot (a stroller that fits two kids and can be attached to a bike).  Luckily I was able to borrow one.  I knew Easton would need a stroller and I KNEW that 10 minutes into the walk Cassia would all the sudden declare that she was too tired to walk and absolutely could not take another step (and drop to the ground with a lot of sighs and drama).  So, a double stroller seemed like a good solution. 

Now, backtracking a bit, Cassia has always loved animals - especially dogs.  Before she could speak, she would squeal with delight whenever there was a dog that caught her eye.  Some people thought that she was crying in fear, but then saw the look on her face and realized that it was just an overly excited laugh/squeal.  It has been her mission in the last year to hold a dog's leash.  Anytime she can touch one, she does.  A stranger's dog?  Doesn't matter - the sole objective is to touch the leash. 

So imagine her delight when another friend of mine shows up to the walk with their family's dog.  Cassia did not leave that dog's side until they had to go home.  I mean, she got to co-hold the leash - a whole year's worth of excitment in 1.5 hours.  She walked 5K without a single peep.  Never a complaint, never a whine, never a break.  She kept the pace and chatted with my friend the entire way.  I had to coax her to drink a juice box and walk along side her with some raspberries so that she would eat something and not fall over from the exhaustion she usually claims.  I. Could. Not. Believe it. 

This dog transformed my spirited daughter.  People were saying she was so responsible, that she was such a trooper and that they couldn't believe she was keeping up.  I was so shocked, impressed and proud of her. 

It has actually had me thinking that we should get a dog!  I love dogs, but I also have two young kids and we travel to Indiana a few times a year.  Not a great time to get one - as I have said every other day to Cassia in the last year.  But she now has me seriously considering it.  That is the positive outcome for her.

The negative outcome for her is that I now know that she can walk 5K without whining, complaining or falling down in exhaustion.  So the three blocks to the grocery store or to the park should be cake.  I'm on to you, kid.

I'm a Blogger?

I've been feeling so badly lately since I haven't been keeping up with family and friends. And I think of all the cute things my kids do that I don't record anywhere. So, here I am blogging. This way, I can do both at once and maximize my time! I'm still not sure how this all works, but here it goes...

Dawn