Monday, April 25, 2016

Spring!

Picnic at Fort Anne
Warm weather, sunshine, picnics, beach walks, hikes, soccer games and ice cream! I'm so excited to say that we can finally put the cold, short days of winter behind us and start going outside more and exploring the world once again. We go outside for a family walk after supper - in the daylight! Ahhh, it feels so good.

I loved Caleb's second Spring. We were still living in Duncan's Cove and I clearly remember taking him outdoors just to let him touch the budding tree branches, throw rocks in puddles and hopefully see some birds, butterflies and caterpillars. It is so wonderful to watch this whole new world open up to Odin.
Matching hats at the beach! We had the place to ourselves for most of the afternoon. It was a wonderful chance for some low-tide beachcombing. 
Odie with his collection of shells and round rocks (aka 'Ballls!). He only face-planted  in the wet mud once, but he was determined not to let it get him down. I brushed him off and asked if he wanted to go back to the car and go home. He looked at me, shocked, and gave me his best long and drawn out 'Nooooooooo!!'
Rubber boots and rolling waves
Some of our best finds of the day. Some great textured glass (including a large piece of a bottle that had the word 'Evangeline' on it), some nice beach pottery pieces and our prize winner of the day - my first ever beach marble. Caleb was soooo impressed with the marble find, and we spent hours talking and wondering about where these items may have come from and how long they had been rolling around on the bottom of the sea. Odin was just happy that we finally found a real ball!
We have also discovered a few new local hangouts, like Valleyview Provincial Park which is only 20 minutes away. The views were amazing, and we hope to take Sunny there this summer (if the old gal will make it up the hill!). 

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

April ups and downs


I pulled a fast one on Caleb this year for April Fools' Day. I put his cereal in the freezer for a frozen breakfast surprise. He LOVED it. He then completely tricked me by pretending to call my parents to tell them about the joke. I came running out of the kitchen to see him with the phone to his ear saying 'Oh Greg, you won't believe what mom did...'. I thought he had woken them up at 7 am, so I wasn't really impressed, but his immediate smile told me I had been fooled! 
April got off to a great start. Alan was home, we had some nice weather, the crocuses were blooming, I've been working on some really interesting projects at work....Things were going great. And then the dreaded flu virus hit - and Odin was the one on the receiving end of it. He had every flu and cold symptom you can name, so we kept him home for a few days and I thought he was recovering until Saturday night came around. It was very likely the worst night of parenting I've had to date. From 7 pm until 5 am Odie alternated from crying to nursing to half sleeping in 20 minute intervals. I didn't sleep for more than 5 minutes all night long. Finally at 5 am, he fell soundly asleep and didn't wake until 8. When he finally did come around he seemed totally normal - he awoke with a smile and a happy 'hi!'. I was a bit dumbfounded - did he actually have no memory of what we had just gone through? He wanted to eat breakfast - his first good meal in several days. Once I sat down beside him, I saw the dried ooze down the side of his face and I finally understood what had gone on. His eardrum had ruptured in the night. He was in very obvious pain until the rupture, which must have happened right around 5 am when he finally felt some relief and was able to sleep. Poor, poor little fella. He is now on antibiotics and is truly back to his usual happy squealing little self. It was quite an ordeal, and I'm very thankful to have it behind us.

Caleb has been amazing through Odie's illness. Alan was away through the worst of it, so unfortunately Caleb was left to occupy himself a lot over the past few days. I was feeling high levels of parental guilt at times, but my wonderful and amazingly mature 6 year old handled it like a champ. He didn't complain or ask for anything at all. He was genuinely concerned about his brother and offered to help out anyway he could. He even told me that he would put himself to sleep and I didn't even need to read him books on the night when Odie was in especially bad shape. When we finally went to the doctor after the eardrum had ruptured, Caleb (on his own accord) packed a book bag full of toys to keep Odin busy. I was very appreciative and very impressed. I later told him how proud I was of him for being able to put other people's feelings ahead of his own, and I gifted him with a 20$ bill to take to the school book fair and spend however he chose (he bought a Spy Kit, which is pretty awesome if I do say so myself!). I feel so lucky to be the mother of such wonderful little boys. They fill my heart with love, joy and gratefulness everyday, even on the hardest and most exhausting days.

They also can make me laugh like no other. Caleb had an amazing quote this week after I had praised him for being so darned great. He said "Mom, I just love being your side dish." He meant sidekick. I burst out laughing and hugged him tight. My trusty side dish. So grown up but still such a little boy. It's a wonderful stage in our lives and I wouldn't change a thing.

Caleb set up this family portrait
The greatest side dish of all time
My little loves. My big love gets home on Monday.