3rd Birthday Party

This has been an incredibly tiring weekend! We spent the whole time preparing for Aaron's birthday party on Sunday afternoon. The party itself was tiring with 14 kids running around. And of course, there was the clean up.....

We tried to get all the kids standing still and smiling for a decent photo but this is the best there was. The photo is also missing 3 little kids that arrived 2 seconds after they all dispersed from this. I'm a little disappointed I didn't think to take another photo of all of them later on. (Not that I would have been able to round them all up again....they were running all over the place)



Richard planned for 8 games but it was extremely hard to get all the kids, all different ages co-operating. We ended up playing just 3 or 4 and handing all the prizes out the easy way.



I think the kids managed to have a good time but I really couldn't tell about the grown ups. There were about 14 of them too and our house really got very hot with the extra 30 people in it. Hopefully they had an OK time too because we're more than thrilled that they all joined us.

Photostory Friday - My Little Man Is 3

There are so many aspects in my life that seem to have zoomed past. All of a sudden, today is Aaron's 3rd Birthday. The funny thing is that the past 3 years with Aaron has moved at just the right pace. Yes, my days are often excruciatingly long but maybe that is a good thing. I have LOTS of (extra) time with him to cherish.

Being a mother, and the stay-at-home variety is definitely the job for me. I wouldn't want to miss any part of his life. He is such an amazing little guy and I am grateful for the bond that we have developed. I'm so proud of the little person that he has grown into - loving, caring, funny, cheeky and sensitive.

Here are some of my favourite photos of him:

This was his favourite sleeping position. Even if we put him on his back, he'd roll over and do this. He still sleeps this way now...


He was really easy to feed...


First contact with grass...


I think this is my absolute favourite. Just look at those innocent eyes...


He loves his pencil and paper...


And also his guitar...



Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Happy Birthday Aaron!

Thursday Thirteen - World Breastfeeding Week

Did you know that August 1-7 was World Breastfeeding Week? Well, I knew there was such a week but I didn't realize it was this week. I am proud that Aaron and I continued for 2 years and 7 months and I sincerely hope that new mothers out there will seek out support for starting and maintaining a breastfeeding relationship. Its not always easy. I can go on and on about nursing to anyone who will listen, but, I won't.

Instead, here are 13 Simple Reasons To Nurse For As Long As Possible

1. Breastmilk naturally changes composition as the baby grows and nutritional needs change. You don't need to do anything, except feed, to ensure the best for your baby.

2. It saves money. No need to be running to the store for formula.

3. It saves time. No need for sterilizing bottles, preparing the formula and then cleaning up afterwards.

4. It saves more money. No need for gym or personal trainer fees because the nursing will help shed the pregnancy weight. For some women at least.

5. It saves more time. No need to make sure that you make up a bottle for baby before going out. No need to wake up in the middle of the night to prepare a feed. Mom is a walking milk bar.

6. It cuts down on one possible factor for constipation in young babies. In fact, it might save you time again since a breastfed baby can go days without taking a poop. Think of the time NOT spent cleaning up that mess.

7. Breastmilk can be used to clear stuffy noses and sticky eyes in babies.

8. Nursing fixes all hurts and soothes instantly. It really was a big help for the tantrums too.

9. Nursing may give a new mother a better night's rest if they co-sleep and feed in bed. Just doze and feed at the same time.

10. Breastmilk boosts a baby's immunity.

11. Some studies have shown that breastmilk contributes to higher IQ scores in the child.

12. Nursing minimizes the risk of childhood obesity.

13. OK. Here is my favourite. For those that lose weight with the nursing, you can now eat whatever you want. Guilt free! Imagine eating anything and everything without worrying about when you'll need to work off those calories.

Don't Argue In Front Of The Kids

This is something that I have heard over and over again from my mother. I heard it before I was married, before I had Aaron, while I was pregnant with Aaron, and of course, after Aaron was born. This isn't to say that my parents never argued in front of us. I guess there was nothing major since I can't remember any specific incident but I know they did.

Just like lots of things our moms tell us, we don't always listen. So here, I confess. I'm always the one that starts an argument with Aaron around. He's always around! I'm not proud of it but I'm being honest here. No, we didn't have an argument today. Its just a point I'm wondering about.

What am I supposed to do anyway? If its morning, I have to wait a full 12 hours before Aaron will be out of the way. And even if its something that happens at lunch time, thats still 6 hours for the fury to die down. Maybe thats the whole idea but whats the point then. It just ends up being another point to be harbored and dug up at some future explosion.

Occasionally, I'll have a grip on things and won't say anything. Instead, I send out evil text messages. LOL! Once again, not the same as just letting it all out and being done with it.

I Googled it - Don't Argue In Front Of The Kids. The first link is to a CNN parenting article and here is what it say:

Myth: Don't fight in front of the kids

When moms and dads fight, it's scary. Babies can tell when you're angry (and will probably get upset) and bigger kids will worry that the two of you are on the verge of a divorce.

What we say: It can be valuable for children to see their parents work through a disagreement with good will. Kids also need to learn that even people who love each other don't get along perfectly. "It's unrealistic to expect no conflict," says Smith. "If you never have a difference of opinion with your spouse, then you've obviously found someone who agrees with everything you think. How boring!"

In other words, it's fine -- even healthy -- for kids to witness your arguments. But there are caveats. (Aren't there always?) "When you argue in front of your kids, it's important to fight fair," says Reivich. "Instead of shouting 'You're a lazy slob!' say 'It really bothers me when you don't take out the trash.' Take issue with the action, not the person, and don't hurl insults." So if the fight is too intense, or there's no resolution in sight, table it until the kids aren't around.

You can read all about the other marital myths here.

Thats food for thought. I don't mind giving that a go. But first, I think I'll need some sort of dictionary to translate the everyday angry language that people normally use to the more issue oriented one.

No Green Thumbs Here

My okra plants have been doing extremely well for the past couple of months. They provide enough for me to have one or sometimes two meals with okra each week. I started to feel good about it. Recently, they've gotten so tall, I need to get on a stool to harvest them. I've been proud of them and it has felt great eating my own vegetables.

Here they are from their good side:



Unfortunately, things have recently started going wrong. Last week, the leaves on one of the plants all wilted. Overnight! And, it only happened to the main branch. So, I cut it off and am hoping that the remaining branches will stay healthy. So far so good....

After that first plant, I had three other plants start wilting the same way. This is really getting scary. Supposedly, okra is susceptible to verticilium and fusarium wilt but what if only part of the plant is wilting? I think my tomato plants had this problem too previously, they never lived long enough for me to get any tomatoes.

You can see the naked looking stalks here. The wilted leaves don't show up well in the photo.



And look at this one. No leaves at all!



I've bought some fertilizer so we'll see if that helps. Otherwise, I'll have to start from scratch again soon.

I'm Still At The Calm Phase

I came across an article today titled "Nothing can prepare you for having children". I definitely agree with this. You really don't know until you're in the middle of the poop, kisses, vomit and "I wuv yous".

So, I didn't know what it was going to be about the first time round but what excuse do I possibly have now? I suppose I now know about all the good stuff. Even before we had Aaron, I always asked myself (and whoever would humor me) "Why do people want children?". Back then, I thought to myself that I would probably eventually reach the stage of wanting children, for whatever reason, so, I might as well do it now instead of waiting for my eggs and body to age. I know its not the most intelligent answer but it was the only one I had. Thankfully, I haven't regretted it.

So now, I find that question coming around again. Perhaps slightly modified to "Why do I need a second child?" It really is hard work. BUT, some people have told me that two are easier than one because you now have help with the entertainment. Yet other people have told me to watch out because the jealousy is a major issue. Whatever! It will be what it will be.

Once again, I don't have answers for myself or anybody else. Not even going to try to answer it.

All I know is that in comparison to those newborn days, Aaron is now super easy to have around. We can go out for meals and enjoy them. We don't need to be rushing home for naps. He can take himself to the toilet. He feeds himself. He goes to sleep by himself. He communicates, tells you what he likes and dislikes. He gets me drinks. Fetches this and that for me. Cleans up after he spills his drink.....EEK! Why tip the balance now?

At least I can prepare myself for those hard early days. This time, I know for sure that life will eventually stop revolving around feed times and nap times. Eventually. And, I'll have Aaron as a little helper. Its not exactly 'worry' that I feel about being a mom of two but more like "can I be as good a mom to two as I was to one?"

No Power Means Eating Out

Each afternoon, I let Aaron play some computer games while I do my exercises (to a DVD). Later on, with the A/C on or sometimes just the fan, we go through all his activity books, read or perhaps play with his lego. Sometime after 5pm, I'll start on my blog post for the day and dinner and Aaron will watch his Thomas DVD.

Well, at around 2pm yesterday, everything stopped working. Another dreaded power outage! I kept hoping that it was just a short one but it dragged on the whole afternoon. The surprising thing is that the heat didn't seem to bother Aaron much at all. I sat by the door hoping to catch any breeze that might come through but he moved about as normal. We still had a decent afternoon doing most of the things we normally did.

By 4.30pm, I said we would go out for a walk. The sun was still pretty strong outside but by this time, it was cooler outside than in. And when we got back, the power still hadn't returned!

No power means no water and that means no cooking either :)

Richard took us to this place that he's been to a few times but I've never been. Its called Bang Kumis and specializes in cooking all the parts of a leg and behind.


The food is laid out and you have to go pick which parts you want, then tell them if you want the clear or coconut cream based broth.



It was alright. I didn't find it all that special but there are people that really love it. Cow tendons, marrow, tail, knee caps and these eggs. Of course, they're not really eggs....



Anyway, the place was pretty shabby, the food only average but the prices STEEP! I just didn't think it was worth it. At least I know now otherwise Richard will continue raving about it....

Power came back while we were out but we got home just in time for another short outage. I just went to sleep.