Trial Run

We are planning our annual or what we try to make annual trip to Kettle Falls later this summer.  We spend 4 days out on the boat on Rainy Lake fishing for walleye.  E went on his first trip when he was 10 months old.  He did very well, but he also wasn't very mobile and he was napping at least 2 times per day.  E and I didn't go last year, but we are planning a trip this year.

The question is, will E be happy for 4 days on a boat?  Will the adults be happy?  Of course, we don't spend the entire time on the boat, but we do spend the majority of each day out on the lake fishing.

We have always included E in everything that we enjoy.  He went to his first agility trial when he was 4 weeks old, went on a cruise at 6 months, fishing trip at 10 months, etc.  We are of the feeling that E grows through every experience and we want him to be well rounded and to experience as much of life as possible.

4 weeks old at his first agility trial

So we took a trial run this weekend to see how E will do on the boat this year.  We didn't spend the whole day on the boat, but we did spend a few hours.  E did very well.  He was a great listener, he didn't fall into the water, he didn't mind wearing his life jacket, he was really interested in fishing, he liked driving the boat and he was getting pretty good at casting.

Casting his line

Learning to drive the boat

We are still undecided but leaning towards bringing him with.  I think if we bring enough snacks, toys and things for him to do, everyone will have a good time.  The only unknown factor being the weather-hopefully it won't rain a lot or be too hot-that doesn't make anyone happy on a boat.

Happy Boy on the boat!

Bees, Bugs & Squitos

E got a bug vaccum for Easter from his grandparents, along with the bug sucker, he also got a bug net, magnifiying glass and telescope.  He LOVES these toys.  I love how he says "Buugs."  We frequently hear, "I'm gonna go get some buugs."  The funny thing though, is that he was afraid of these buugs.  We were trying to tell him that he was bigger than the bugs, blah, blah, blah and it was starting to work.  We forgot to tell him one important thing about the buugs though, he could kill them.

This small little fact would have been helpful for him to know, when a mosquito landed on his arm.  Instead of brushing it off, or smashing it, he let it sit on his arm for quiet a while, while he yelled.  The mosquito did what mosquitos do and sucked his blood before dad came and killed it.  E has not been bit by many mosquitos, so he has not built up an immunity to the mosquito bite.  His arm swelled up pretty big, got hot and red and I thought that he had cellulitis.  He didn't and all is well with his arm now, but this incident increased his fear of these buugs.  We then had to have the talk that he could kill the buugs and that he was bigger than the buugs and he could squish them.

So now, all he wants to do is kill bugs! The poor ants around our house don't stand a chance.  He looks for bugs outside everynight when we get home and wants to squish them.

There is one buug that he is fascinated with though.  That is the very large bumblebee.  I don't think that he thinks that bumblebees are buugs.  Every morning for the past two weeks, E has rushed outside to the front yard to look for the bumblebees collecting pollen from my flowering plants.  He is so excited when he sees them and he is so sad when it is raining and there aren't any bees on the flowers.  The same exploration happens when we get home at night.  He is so excited to see the bees that we hang out in the front yard for at least 10 minutes, watching these bees at work.  We talk about what the bees are doing, we listen to the beating of their wings when they move to another flower, we count how many bees we can see and he can now count them up to four!

Parents always talk about seeing the world through their child's eyes and how it opens up the eyes of an adult.  This is so true.  How often have you stopped to watch and listen to the bumblebees collecting their pollen or counted how many were on your plants?  Bees are pretty amazing, they have very heavy bodies and they physically shouldn't be able to carry their large bodies with their wings-but they do.  What have you done that someone said you couldn't do?  I work with children everyday who prove "those people" wrong!  Parents ask me a lot, will my child every be able to write their name, catch a ball, be toilet trained, etc?  I tell them that my crystal ball is broken so I won't be able to answer that question for them, but I don't see why we can't try to make those things happen.  No one told the bumblebee that he couldn't fly, and if they did, he obviously didn't listen.

Bee a bumblebee and do something that someone said can't be possible!



One of those days...

Today was one of those days, one of those days that I wish that I had many more hours in my day, a busy day.  I finally had a few moments of quiet time while I was making dinner, but it wasn't that quiet because I had so many thoughts running through my head.  A few of those random thoughts ...

When is this rain going to end?  Child development is AMAZING!  Watermelon in a dehydrator is SO tasty-so I made some.  Why do some people have such a hard time when kids mix play-doh colors together?  Is it really that big of a deal when a kid hits the marker hard on a piece of paper to make polka-dots and dents the tip?  It's not like we are coloring with the markers.

Sometimes it is really hard being and LEO's wife, but I wouldn't trade this life for anything.  Watermelon, shredded cheese, apple sauce and fruit snacks isn't the healthiest dinner for a 2 year old but at least he is eating.  I am not loosing weight like I would like, but I am also not eating the greatest-so I have only myself to blame.  It doesn't matter where a child sleeps at night, just as long as the child and parent get some sleep.  I can't beat myself up if he ends up in my bed one night, I don't know many teenagers that are sleeping in their parents' bed. How lucky I am to have such a great kid.  There is always tomorrow-but some times their isn't tomorrow, so I should be happy with what I have accomplished today.  The only person you need to answer to at the end of the day is yourself and God.  I don't think that I am going to run tonight.  Really... Treadmills for shrimp?

E in his "little bed" next to our bed. 
Notice his two cups of water, Woody fan and police car that is just outside the picture

E is tucked into his little bed, I have shows to catch up on in my DVR and I am ready to relax on the couch.  My mind has finally quieted, so I think that I am going to take advantage of that and relax for the first time today.

5k Training Update

I have adapted The Plan to fit my liking, but I feel like I am making progress. Monday I ran a 20 minute mile-yeah, I know not fabulous, but at least I ran a whole mile! Today I ran 1.5 miles in 25 minutes. I see that as progress. By the middle of August I should be good to go, or at least survive the 5k to blog about it.

Happy Father's Day

We had a great Father's Day celebration this year!

J's parents and his brother's family came over for a lunch bar-b-que.  It was a great afternoon to be outside.  I was busy grilling that I didn't grab my camera, so I don't have any pictures from our lunch.  We had a great time just being together.

This is the gift that I made for J's dad.  The grandkids call him "Jodge" (spelled Dzia, Dzia in Polish).  I got the handprints from all of the grandkids-even the ones in Maine and Jodge's handprint-I told him that E needed it for a school project.  I am really happy with the way that it turned out.

The handprints I made for my dad

Our Family

 

We went over to my parent's in the evening to celebrate Father's Day.  It was my brother's first Father's Day and my dad's first Father's Day with both of his "boys."  I LOVE watching my dad with his grandsons'.  My dad has become very protective of E and little e.  I don't remember him being this protective when we were growing up.  Don't get me wrong, my dad didn't want us to be seriously injured or anything, but he gave us a long rope.  I think if he could, he would wrap the boys in bubble wrap if he could.  The one thing that I will always remember my dad telling us is, "It all evens out when you are 35."  He would say this when my brother and I were arguing over something not being fair or not getting to do something that the other one got to do.  I am approaching 35 and I am wondering what will happen when I turn that magical number-when will everything after I am 35 even out?

What a wonderful experience and opportunity that E and little e have growning up knowing their BaPa.  Some of my best memories growing up are with my grandparents.  I have memories of going to magical places such as Disney World, the Grand Canyon, Sea World, camping in Monticello, weeks in Arizona over Energy break, Thanksgiving in the desert, long Monopoly games, swimming, sun burns and many more wonderful memories to add to my list.

I wish that E and little e have the opportunity to develop many happy memories with all of their grandparents.

Happy Father's day to all the wonderful dad's and a big heartfelt thank you to my dad for being such a WONDERFUL dad and grandpa and my husband for being a FABULOUS father to E.

 



How Wonderful it is to be an Aunt

I have wanted to be aunt since I was about 8 years old.  Danny Prough down the street, became an uncle when he was 8 years old.  I remember trying to figure out how I could be an aunt while I was still in elementary school like him.  I did the math, and I was bummed when I figured out that it wasn't possible.  No matter how hard I wished it, it wasn't going to happen.

16 years later, I finally became an aunt!  I became an "aunt" to my high school best friend's daughter.  She has MANY biological aunts, but I was so happy to be her aunt and also be her godmother.  What an awesome responsibility that was bestowed upon me.  I have been forever honored.

A. is a VERY special girl and she holds a very special place in my heart.  I try and get a picture with her whenever we are together.

A few years later, I became an aunt again-this time, I married into the position.  I now have 2 nieces and 2 nephews.  They are all so special to me.  I don't get to spend a lot of time with 2 of them because they live in Maine, but I love it when they come to visit.  We pack a lot into the 2 weeks when they come and visit every year.

These two kids have the BIGGEST smiles!  

These two are SO much fun to hang out with.  It has been so much fun to watch L and N grow up.

Recently my brother fulfilled his duty, the one thing I wanted when I was 8 years old, and he made me an AUNT.  Little e was born into this world and I became an aunt again. 

I am so blessed to have all of these wonderful nieces and nephews in my life.  I take my job as an aunt seriously and with great pleasure.  I want to have a relationship with each of my nieces and nephews and watch them grow and become the awesome adults that I know they will be. 

Along with being an aunt, E gets to have great cousins to grow up with.  It takes some pressure off of us to have another baby soon too.

How special it is to be called, "Aunt"

* These pictures are NOT recent-but some of my favorite.

My New Goal

As an Occupational Therapist, I set goals for the clients that I work with everyday.  I set long term and short term goals.  I know that goals need to be measurable, functioncal and achieveable.  I have been thinking about setting a goal for myself for awhile now. The thing about a goal, is that you need to set it and then work towards it, but you also need to be MOTIVATED to accomplish the goal.

Long Term Goal: 

I will run a 5k by the end of August 2011.

Short Term Goals:

1.  I will find a running plan that I want to try, by June.-Goal Met
2.  I will by new shoes before I start running.-Goal Met
3.  I will start the running plan by June.-Goal Met
etc, etc,

I found the running plan, Couch to 5k.  I did that for three days this spring on the treadmill and then life got in the way.  This past week, I found a running plan that gets you prepared for a 5k in three weeks.  I thought that I should start this plan sometime this week. 

I started running tonight. I was prepared to following the first week of The Plan and within the first 10 minutes of The Plan, I decided that The Plan SUCKED!  I guess the plan didn't suck, I am out of shape.  So I adapted The Plan, this is something that we as OT's do a LOT of-adaptation.  I adapted The Plan to walking quickly for 5 minutes then running/jogging for 5 minutes for 45 minutes.  There were many things "running" through my mind while I was running.  For every negative thought, I tried to come up with a more positive one......

-  It's really not easy pushing a stroller while you are running.
+ I get to spend some quality time with my son.
-  My "saddlebags" are sore.
+ One day I will have smaller thighs.
-  This really sucks!
+  If I can run to the end of the street, I can walk.
-  It's really hard for me to breathe right now.
+ I am getting an arm workout in, while pushing this darn stroller.
-  I haven't actually ran in about 14 years, darn I am old.
+ If I keep this up, one day I will be in a size 8 again!

It pretty much went like this for 45 minutes!  It was a very LONG 45 minutes.  We finally got back home and released E out of his stroller.  I had to walk for a few more minutes to cool down, so I walked while E ran on the grass.  It really is amazing, how much that boy picks up and remembers.  While he was running, he made sure that he was breathing VERY heavy with his mouth open (just like mom), he had to "spit" a few times-because he had "eaten" some bugs (just like mom).  It brought a smile to my face through the dripping sweat.

Once we got back into the house, I told E that we need to stretch.  He decided that I needed some music while I stretched.  I think that this is something that they do at daycare.

He pulled out all of his musical instruments including his whistles, drums and turkey calls.  Yep, turkey calls!  It was a good way to end my first run following "The Plan."  I am already thinking when I can run again.  You know, it takes doing something for 6 weeks to make it a habit (or someting like that) and I am planning to run The Shawn Silvera Memorial 5k in August, so I guess I need to get going!