Enjoy the Little Things: April 2013

Sunday, 28 April 2013

Sauce Buns

Uncles should be proud, Will has mastered eating sauce buns at 4.....

http://youtu.be/bZ79Yjm6TAM

Saturday, 27 April 2013

Finally Spring?!?!

I think Spring may have sprung this week. Are we safe to put away the winter coats and boats? I think they will hang in our closet for another week or two, just to play it safe.

Lightning the scooter always checks to see if the puddles are too deep for Madelyn to walk through.

Riding Lightning to the park

"icky sticky mud" as Madelyn calls it! Yes she loves it!

Firefighter Will!

Balancing at the park!

Trampoline

Look what we set up this morning. The safety net yet to be added.....

Madelyn's response "woohoo I love this!"

It always amazes me how receptive kids are to technology. They really cannot fathom a world without all the of the everyday conveniences we have. I am sure that when I was four I was talking about the Apple TV, you tube, ipad, ipods, dvds etc.

A few technology stories from our house.

A few weeks ago the kids were out visiting my parents, at the supper table Will looks at Grandpa and says:
Grandpa did you know when my Mom and Uncle Bob were little, like before my Mom was Kelly Bettschen, they did not have ipads or ipods? - Just imagine when he finds out that at one time tvs and flush toilets did not exist!

He also informed our daycare provider one day that he liked the flat tvs not those big bubble ones.

The other night he wanted to watch a specific show and said, sure you can find it just turn on the Apple TV, go to the picture that looks like a dvd and pick the kids shows. (side note: he knows not to turn the tv on without asking for permission)

Another case and point on technology, we were planning on going swimming on the weekend, Will wanted to know which pool we were going to. Then he informed me "Mom just check the ipad". Yes what did we do before the world of ipads and google. I cannot wait until we show him an encyclopedia or dictionary one day.... What you actually looked things up in books, you did not just type it into the computer, ipad or other electronic device and get your answer?

Monday, 22 April 2013

Science Centre

We attended the Home Show here in Regina about a month ago. One of the booths had t-shirts for kids to decorate and then take home. Will was excited to colour his shirt and wore it around the rest of the day, not bad advertising for the company, and of course anything Will does Madelyn needs to do. While the kids were colouring their shirt the lady said there is also a draw for a Science Centre Family Membership. Since we were waiting for the kids to finish up decorating their shirts we put our names in. Much to my surprise we received a phone call that I had won the year-membership. I guess I cannot say I never win anymore.

So Sunday we decided to take advantage of our new membership and took in the Science Centre for an hour or so. The nice thing about a membership is you can go for just an hour or two and not feel like you have 'wasted' your money. I was pleasantly surprised that it was not too busy, maybe that had to do with timing as we arrived about 4pm and left around 5:30. Both kids loved the bubbles (of course) and the combine and agriculture area. They also had fun in the hockey area, seeing how fast they could run and Will enjoyed trying to score goals. They were amazed by the people climbing the rock wall, I think Madelyn would have stood watching them climb all day. There are definitely things for the younger kids to do at the Science Centre and with the membership I can see us going several more times this year (especially while I am on mat leave and it is cold or rainy out). Even though Will and Maddy are a bit small to get a lot of the science at the Science Centre they had fun exploring the exhibit and trying things out.

Next time I will try to remember the camera and take some pictures...

Sunday, 21 April 2013

Still Winter

Winter just will not end! We have been keeping busy with work and trying not to go crazy being locked in doors. We have been out a few times to splash in puddles with winter coats and toques and mitts on it just is not the same.

Yesterday Will said "if there is going to be snow outside at least it could be snowman snow not all icy!" I have to agree!

May be this week it will warm up.....

Saturday, 13 April 2013

My 2 cents

As everyone is aware, we have lost the penny in terms of cash payment. This mean amounts are rounded to the nearest nickel and you pay cash based on that. Of course if you pay with credit or debit you pay the actual amount, right down to the penny. Which brings me to my latest beef:

I lost 2 cents. Yes that is right yesterday I paid cash for lunch and paid an extra 2 cents. I should have pulled out my Visa card and paid with plastic, you see then I would have paid the actual amount, and saved my cash for a purchase which will round down and then I would have made 2 cents. You see this could be a retirement plan, allowing me to what retire one day earlier? Perhaps I am over thinking this but the old saying says "a penny saved is a penny earned". What will our children say "a nickel saved is a nickel earned?" "A nickel for your thoughts?"

Imagine one day we will explain to our kids or grand kids all about the penny and they will look like us like we are from another planet. We have saved some pennies or the kids just as my mom has one dollar and two dollar bills saved for us.

Back when they announced the death of the penny I had read this obituary to a penny and thought it was entertaining.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/01/31/f-penny-obit.html

In the mean time I will try to take care of my pennies and my dollars will take care of themselves.

Tuesday, 9 April 2013

3 More Months

Hard to believe that in approximately 3 months we will be welcoming baby #3 to our family. Here is my recap on the difference between baby preparations:

Baby #1

Everything is focused around the upcoming arrival.
All major purchases have been made (car seat, crib, room is set up, clothes either washed in drawers or at least ready to be washed).
Every conversation you have is about what baby monitor, bouncy chair, baby swing etc. etc. should be purchased or which one you have and why it is the best, safest etc.
You start preparing or thinking about what type of freezer meals you can make for post-baby.
You have help arranged for after baby comes.
If you have not already, you have thought or started a list of things to take to the hospital.
You have purchased a new camera.
You have floated your list of things you need to buy yet or have to friends and family to make sure you have not forgotten anything.

Baby #2

You have decided you better move baby #1 out of crib/current room to make room for the new sibling.
You don't have too many purchases to make so you begin looking at what you have and decide to slowly start pulling it out, wiping down and setting up.
You go through and sort clothes into gender neutral, boy, girl and by size. No sense in washing yet.
You discussions focus around how Baby #1 will adjust.
You think about freezer meals then decide that last time half of them went freezer burnt so no sense in starting yet, you have lots of time. Beside Baby #1 does not like casseroles or foods mixed together, make a mental note to stock up on hot dogs, kd and canned soup.
You are stressed to no end on who will take care of Baby #1 when you go to hospital. Can a friend come over in the middle of the night? Will they sleep okay for the babysitter? Will they be upset? Behave? After all you don't want to disrupt Baby #1's schedule.
You go buy one package of newborn diapers, one can never be too prepared.
All your maternity leave papers are in place.
You make sure you have childcare lined up for the first month or so after baby's arrival so Baby #1 does not have his/her nose out of joint and you can bond with the new baby.

Baby #3

You conclude that 3 months is lots of time to prepare. You will get around to this in a month or two.
You decide you have enough stuff to take care of an army of newborns. Make a mental note to check expiration date on baby bucket, if it is expired or close to it you will have to decide if it really matters. All notes are mental, no actual lists that would be way to overwhelming.
Clothes right you make a mental note to go through baby clothes see what you have. You conclude that as long as you can find a sleeper or two you will be fine. Daddy and siblings can go shopping once baby is home and buy what you need. After all you will be wanting some alone time in the house.
You decide the older siblings will be fine. Stressing about their reaction is not going to change anything. One night you go through baby pictures of siblings with them. This is two-fold, one they think it is neat to see themselves as a baby and two, well you can sit and do this instead of running around the house playing rescue bots, hide and seek, monster etc. etc.
You decide that sooner or later you need to move siblings into the same room so Baby #3 has a bedroom. You decide this can be done about a month before baby arrives, no sense in having sleepless nights now too.
Preparing meals, hahaha, you hardly have time or energy to make daily meals, you keep thinking that a nesting instinct will kick in and you will have lots of energy to do this. Or that is what you keep telling yourself, knowing deep down inside it won't and refer back to Baby #2 theory, make a mental note to stock up on hot dogs, kd and canned soup as it comes on sale.
You decide that if you have to wake kids up in the middle of the night and take them somewhere or a friend or family member comes over to babysit they will be fine. Might be a long night/day for that friend or family member but it is only one day, everyone will survive.
You start watching for diaper sales, this is one area where you will stock up on to save money.
You keep forgetting to get the Dr. note you need for you maternity leave paperwork. You make mental note that at your next appointment you cannot forget to do this.
You realize that keeping two kids in daycare for a month or two after the baby is born is way to much money. You go buy a trampoline and hope that this will occupy siblings for hours over the summer while you sit in the shade feeding/snuggling baby.

So there you have it, in a nut shell the preparations we have made to date for baby #3. Lots of time and with seeding in May and Chris starting his new position in June we should have lots of time to begin and complete preparations. Right!?