We're Back!

Well, the life of a full time English teacher full time mom full time commuter hasn't afforded me any time to maintain my blog, so first my apologies for my complete abandonment. But we're back in action... until I go back to work after this last leave, that is. But let's not think about that right now, I'm not even technically done this school year (although I see very little point in me having to come to work tomorrow besides the fact that I HAVE to). But the end is in sight...

So where to begin? There's ever so much to catch up on, so it's somewhat overwhelming to decide how to start off this blog. Well, maybe some of you noticed - those that weren't privy to this information before - that we're expecting our third son late August/early September due to the addition of my pregnancy countdown... though I suppose you'd have had to scroll down to the bottom to find that! Anyhow, we are indeed pregnant again, and we'll have 3 under 3 for a few months. All's well with this pregnancy - same old hat. I'm glad to be finishing work now thanks to timing, though - I can't imagine working until my due date as I did with the previous pregnancies. I don't know if it's because this one is so low or that this is the third and my body never returned to its natural 'state' between pregnancies so my muscles are stretched beyond recognition at this point, but this one is definitely feeling kind of uncomfortable. Anyhow, we're into the last trimester, so it's now a matter getting the boys into one room together and digging out the baby stuff from the basement again.

As for the other two boys - well four, if you count Greg and the dog - they're great. They've grown and changed so much since the last post, but as I'm typing at school I've no pictures to load at the moment to help you visualize the changes in them. So I'll save updating them in particular until I have a moment at home to do so.

Which may be awhile. We're headed to African Lion Safari on Saturday and then I'm off with the two little ones to Haliburton to relax at the cottage for a week or so. Some well deserved vacation for all of us. Other summer plans are finally doing our driveway - we bought the paving this week - and the boys are going to be taking swimming lessons in August as well. But otherwise, we're just going to likely have some 'us' time. Teaching really took that away from me with all the marking I had to do on the weekends.

So, I think I'm going to try to find a way to beat the heat (did I mention I teach in a school with no air conditioning?). I will catch you up on everything else at some point soon!

You'd Never Guess

That I was back to work. I've completely given up on blogging. These days I'm lucky to check Facebook weekly, that's how little time I have to myself. Yes, it's truly been back to life, back to reality. (So you'd never guess that I'm on March Break right now and, despite a pile of marking on my dining room table, I'm taking the opportunity to catch up on blogging!)

Anyhow, the worst part of being back to work is how little time I have with my boys. Where I spent all day every day with them before, I now see them for a mere handful of hours in the evening. Because I am still commuting to Woodstock, two hours of my day are wasted in my truck - we're still in debate about the move, which I'll save for later blog posts. And so we're not usually getting them until 4:30 or 5, at which point I've got dinner to make. Then it's usually clean-up, bath time, a little bit of play and story time, and off to bed for the entire family (as Greg, for those of you who don't know, is also working in Woodstock now). Such is our life. Not ideal, but it's our reality.

So I've definitely been counting down to March Break - a whole week at home with my boys. I admit jealousy when I heard my colleague's vacation plans, but in all honesty I was looking forward to my break because it meant being home, just relaxing. And fortunately thus far we've had nice weather to boot. It's been low-key so far, though we did take them into London Sunday because Isaiah's godparents, our friends Altin and Candice, wanted to take the boys to the Children's Museum. It was pretty cool to see how much more interactive and excited Isaiah was about the exhibits (despite their lack of change since I myself went as a child) from the last time he was there, which was maybe a year and a half ago.

And it's been different being home with them from seven weeks ago (yes, I've been at work nearly two months) because Braylon is now walking. And climbing. He is obsessed with motoring up the stairs, and hussles at lightening speed to return once he is removed. He absolutely hates to be told no, and he doesn't quite listen so well as Isaiah did at this age. Isaiah was interested in the stairs too (we have gates at the top of each set, but never had to install a gate at the bottom for Isaiah), but gave up far sooner than Braylon when we kept taking him off. Braylon, I think, is desperate for his own sense of independence, and so it'll take awhile... though I blocked the stairs off today with the coffee table because I was having to retrieve him every few minutes.

Isaiah, too is changing, though we don't notice daily. He is definitely improving in terms of speech; Greg and I are constantly looking at one another with a bewildered expression at half the things that come out of him. He is really quite anxious to be able to master some of the things that are out of his ability at the moment, but it is nice to see he doesn't get frustrated about it. And the two-year-old temper tantrums that were happening quite frequently before have started to subside (though one flared up last night when we were coming in from a bike ride because he wanted mommy to unbuckle him for the jogging stroller and, heaven forbid, daddy did). I'm looking forward to being home come summer, that's for sure.

At which point the monthly Rebelo cousin picture will be different as well. Greg's sister Stacey is due at the end of next month. And our family is growing on my side as well, as my brother and his wife Leanne are expecting their first come June. So the boys will have lots of little cousins to play with...

Anyhow, I wasn't quite fortunate in synchronizing nap time today, and expect Braylon will be up any moment. So, signing off for now... perhaps I'll manage another post later this week!

What timing

P.S. I finish blogging and go to deal with Isaiah, and he's fallen asleep, just like that. What timing!

A little conversation

So I've noticed that lately Isaiah has begun having conversations with his stuffed animals. He's really become quite a talker, actually, as he refuses to let us have phone conversations on our own these days too. He MUST speak to the person on the other end of the line, it is imperative. Anyhow, he is right now in a stubborn avoidance of sleep, talking with his In the Night Garden characters as he lays in the playpen alongside them. He is asking them what their name is and then, in a voice slightly changed, responds "in character." How can I tell him enough, that it's "na-nacka" time and he shouldn't be talking, when he is just too darn cute?

I've actually sometimes a really hard time getting him to sleep, particularly at night, and with Greg he is even worse. Monday night he was up 'til well past 11 pm because I'd gone into London for skating and he does not listen to daddy in the least. We're mostly to blame; because we're not home every single night with the same routine, he has not got the structure he needs to have a regular bedtime. But I find it hard to be home at a certain hour every single night and to have to be the one to sit with him through all that "bedtime" entails. Which is going to be worse come next week, my first full week back to work.

(Yes mom, I hear you now... attend the lecture you mentioned.)

Braylon is not so much a sleeper either. I really feel a bit of a failure as a parent about it, actually, when other babies are sleeping through the night within a few months, or weeks, while mine are hit and miss. Most nights we've two little bodies between us in our queen size bed. It's getting to be ridiculous. But at a certain point my body needs sleep, I need to function in the morning, so we eventually give in, after trip after trip to each boy's room in an attempt to convince them of sleeping there.

And I really hate to get mad. Having to raise my voice irritates me - as a teacher and a mom. Life is so much easier when children listen! Were it that easy. Isaiah sometimes has these fits about going to the potty, when at other moments he is desperate to show me what a big boy he is. He's been wearing underwear successfully, periodically, but pees in his pull-up worse than in his diaper. And we're far off from getting him to do anything more than pee in the potty. He gets so embarrassed about it, and won't even let us change him.

Anyhow, this blog has gotten fairly jumbled in the end, it seems. I began in one place and ended somewhere completely different. Sorry about that. Okay, I've got to deal with this stubborn toddler as it is now after his usual wake-up-from-my-nap hour. If I don't manage a blog or two in the next while, it is because I'll be back to work and likely very busy. (I'm on strike from anymore work at home at this point because I wanted to enjoy my last few days at home with the boys.)

Inevitably

...I'll return to work, and no longer be home every day with my boys. The clock is ticking down, my time as a stay-at-home mom is coming to an end. Granted we're planning to have a third, so I'll once again be home on maternity leave for another year at some point. But this mat. leave is quickly coming to a close and I'm back to driving, working, marking... Ideally I'd love to be home until they're in school, like I've mentioned time and time again. Though I have to be fortunate for what we are afforded here in Ontario. We do have a year to spend raising our own children.

It's pretty sad when I got emotional that this morning was my last morning grocery trip with the boys (not that I do groceries every Monday morning, but I've definitely taken advantage of the crowd-free times). It's more that I'm going to miss the little moments throughout the day.

Or Braylon's first steps. I've been anxiously awaiting him to let go and walk, which he's apt to do any second were he to muster the confidence, but I'm thinking I may now miss that stage. I know, no biggie if I look at the big picture, but I thought I'd witness the first steps and the teeth erupting from the gums too, of all things.

So, it's a few days left with the boys... dancing and singing to Raffi, building Lego towers for a minute or two before moving on to something else, marching animals up the mommy-leg hill, racing cars from one end of the couch to another. I hate to say it, since I'm just beginning work again, but I am looking forward to summer holidays already! Hmm... maybe my first day back to work will be a snow day?! Afterall, it did snow in Strath ALL day today (and it still is!). Keep your fingers crossed!