Wednesday, September 30, 2020

What's Up Wednesday


What we're eating this week...
Sunday - Meat and cheese tray, raw vegetables
Monday - Sausages and corn on the cob
Tuesday - Tacos
Wednesday - Pancetta and Pea Risotto
Thursday - Sausage Potato Breakfast Casserole
Friday - Pizza
Saturday - Something on the BBQ

What I'm reminiscing about...
As I put Q to bed last night, on his 4th birthday, I was thinking of when he was born and how easy he was as a newborn.  He took to eating pretty much right away, and although he was still up throughout the night, and it was hard for me to move after my c-section, it just seemed like a breeze.  We had a private room too which was nice, and the nurses didn't come down too often to see us.  The next day in the hospital it felt like we were on holiday, napping, watching TV, Dave ordered food to the front door of the hospital, and we had grandparents looking after E at home.  We spent two nights in the hospital and were discharged early on Sunday morning (after being brought coffee and pastries by our doctor friend, thanks Cassie!). 

What I'm loving...
I probably say this every year, but I love the fall colours.  I went for a bike ride at lunchtime on Monday along the river and I kept exclaiming out loud to myself, "I mean!" at all the beautiful trees changing colour.

What we've been up to...
We celebrated Q's birthday yesterday.  We had waffles for breakfast and tacos for supper.  And of course some chocolate cake, his favourite.  He got a few nice presents from family and then our neighbours came over quickly to give him a gift and also play a bit of Nintendo Switch.  Q said it was a great day!

What I'm dreading...
Well we already lived through the first cold for the kids, meaning staying home from school, getting tested for Covid, and self-isolating while waiting for the results.  I'm sure we will need to do it again at some point so I'm dreading that, although I feel better prepared for the next time.  We were lucky that our isolation came after we had grocery shopped for the week so I do plan on doing a bit of stocking up so we are prepared, perhaps I will do a Costco run on Sunday. 

What I'm working on...
Something I used to be pretty good at was being in the moment and present for whatever it was I was doing - church, a workout, being at the office, spending outdoor time with the kids, etc. but since March, when my home became the place where we did everything (and where we still do everything, minus school, at least for this week) and where I was doing a lot more jumping from task to task, I felt like I was never really concentrating on any one thing at a time.  So I have been working on improving that. If I'm workgin out, then I'm not checking email. If I'm doing work at my desk, then I'm not also getting up to do chores around the house. If I'm watching our church service, then I'm just sitting on the couch paying attention. When I'd take the kids for a walk during the day, I would still be checking my emails and sometimes taking calls.  It can be hard to calm my mind and focus on the task at hand but that is what I'm trying to get better at doing.


What I'm excited about...
I've always loved school but this year I am more excited about it, of course prompted by being the at-home teacher from March to June, and having them be in the building and absorbing all of that knowledge is especially exciting to me.  Q has a great teacher who has sent lots of resources and updates for us so far.  E will be getting his Individual Education Plan (in response to his gifted status) within the first month so I'm eager to see how that helps him this year. 

What I'm watching/reading...
First off - Blue Jays Post-Season Baseball!!  Also I'm fully invested in this season of Dancing with the Stars (go Kaitlyn, AJ and Nelly!) and then Dave and I are watching Broadchurch, The Watchmen, and Mr. Robot.  And we have a few new series on deck like Ratched and Tehran. 

My reading has fallen off, but I will be making it a priority again soon I hope.

What I'm listening to...
I looked for a Fall playlist on Spotify and found one.  It's a lot of Lumineers, Ed Sheeran, and Mumford and Sons and I'm here for it. 

What I'm doing this weekend...
We are having a toned down version of Q's birthday party.  We had postponed it from last weekend when we were all sick, and then we thought it probably wasn't appropriate to have a bunch of people over, even thought it was just neighbours and we would be outside, so we toned down the guest list but can still have a bit of a celebration for Q, with cupcakes :)

What I'm looking forward to next month...
Thanksgiving, E's birthday and Halloween. We're not sure what the city is thinking for Halloween but I'm hoping the kids can still do some trick or treating.

What else is new...
It's Orange Shirt Day today, meaning the kids wear an orange shirt to school to remember those Indigenous kids that were taken from their families and sent to residential schools.  If being separated from your family wasn't enough, when it wasn't yours or your family's choice, those children also suffered unspeakable abuse and oppression of culture and language. Orange Shirt Day reminds us that every child matters. 


Linking up with Shay and Sheaffer.

 

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Happy 4th Birthday Q!!

It is Q's birthday today!  He is four years old.  I love doing birthday posts because I look back at the photos of him growing up over this past year. 

Our Q is such a sweet boy.  He loves to snuggle with you on the couch or before he goes to sleep. He likes hugs and kisses and holding hands.  This is also a typical conversation:

Q: I love you.

Me: I love you.

Q: I love you more!

Me: I love you more!

Q: We both do.

He can be very helpful in tidying up and getting ready to go out the door.  He also likes to "help" by taking the iPad from E to put away after I told E it's time to stop playing. I have told him it's not his job to discipline E, luckily E doesn't mind too much.

Q can also be very clear on what he wants to do (and not do), and he can get loud and may also strike out at you.  However I have found that he has had fewer outbursts over the past few months and talking him through the reasons why he can't do something helps.  He does tend to get his own way, as a typical second child does, and I probably give in more than I should but I'm trying to avoid the yelling :) 

This year Q learned to ski, ride his push bike, play video games (with some limited success), and he played soccer.  He loves to be outside for a picnic (preferably with a peanut butter and jam sandwich) and a hike in the woods. 



 


I attempted the birthday quiz for Q on several occasions, but true to his spirit, he was not always interested in answering the questions.  So I've included some of the answers he did provide, and some of my own comments (in brackets) just for the sake of proper record keeping ;)

Favourite Colour

Yellow


Favourite Stuffed Animal

Goat stuffy


Favourite Thing to Sleep With

Guy


Favourite Fruit

Strawberries


Favourite Thing to Eat for Breakfast

Cereal


Favourite Thing to Eat for Lunch

(Peanut Butter and Jam Sandwich)

Favourite Thing to Eat for Supper

(Tacos)

Favourite Dessert

(Not sure about this, he's happy to have any dessert)

Favourite Drink

(Water)

Favourite Animal

(Giraffe)

Favourite Book

(Bear Snores On and Bear Feels Scared)

Favourite Song

My Superhero Movie from Teen Titans

Favourite Game

(We don't play too many games, he mostly likes playing with his toys.)

Favourite Sport

Soccer

Favourite TV Show

Paw Patrol


Favourite Movie

(Onward)

Favourite Thing to do Outside

(Hike in the woods)

Best Friend

Everett


What do you want to be when you grow up?

Dad


Anything else to share

No

Monday, September 28, 2020

Weekend Recap

Pizza night was a welcome sight at the end of our long week with the kids at home all week.  


Q put some cups on his feet and hands and pretended he was a sheep.

We watched some Blue Jays!


We didn't stay up too late and pretty much went to bed when the game was over.

On Saturday Q was up super early, but Dave got up with him instead and I got to sleep in for a bit.  E was playing with his electric snap circuit kit.  I also cleaned the bathroom and did some laundry.

Then I checked for our Covid test results (for about the millionth time) and they were there this time!  Since they were negative we were then released from our self-isolation and we could go to the park!! (I should note that the reason for the tests were some symptoms that kept the kids home from school, runny nose, cough, sore throat, etc. and although they are not 100% better, the negative test results and the fact that we have all improved meant we felt we could still go out, but still keep our distance and mask up where appropriate of course, we aren't interested in spreading regular non-Covid germs either.)

We drove up to High Park for a picnic lunch (of our leftover pizza) and a hike.




I heart fall colours!


Happy to be outside and running around.








We rested a bit when we got home and then went outside to enjoy these summer-like temperatures and play some washer toss.



We had burgers and fries for supper and watched the Jays game.  Q was pretty tired so he went to bed at his normal time.  Then the rest of watched Enola Holmes on Netflix, it was really good and E enjoyed it too. 

On Sunday morning I went to pick up some groceries and Dave mowed the lawn.  Then the kids and I did some of the Sunday School activities that have been shared with us virtually.  The theme has been Creation so they built some of God's creatures out of Lego. 
(Clockwise from top left) Camel, cow, lion, donkey, rabbit, man, and sheep.

Then we drove up to a mini-putt course in Stouffville for the afternoon.  We got some lunch at McDonalds and then played our round of mini-putt, with an ice cream to follow.  It was another beautiful fall day.




Flowers I picked up on Sunday morning.

We were full from our late afternoon ice cream cones so instead of our planned supper we just had a cheese plate and vegetables.  Then we got ready for school (!) the next morning and watched a bit of TV before a decent bedtime.