mommy, mommy, mommy

Absolute music to my ears - Mommy.  But, oh my....it is ALL about Mommy these days with Shane.  Daddy goes to wipe Shanes face and hands - No, Mommy.  Change his diaper - No, Mommy do it!  Get a drink, bathe him....you get the idea - Mommy!  Now, with reasoning, he usually gives in.  Usually.  There are times though when he will just turn on the tap and big croc tears start forming and that is followed by a bit of a tantrum.  Not just with Daddy trying to help him but any time the boy does not get his own way!  Thankfully though, Shaney will listen to reason and we can quite quickly bring him out of it.

I'm not complaining though, I get it....he is two.  Not like we haven't been here before.  I like writing these things down though so that I can always come back and see what was going on.  I just love this 'journal' type forum.

Our next big challenge is the potty!  And before you go all well, my kid was potty trained at 15 months (yes, I actually heard that one!..lol)....I am fully aware that we have been a little slack.  The potty is out...Shane has been introduced to it and quite frankly, wants absolutely NOTHING to do with it!  We did manage to get him to sit on it for a while..hoping something would happen. But nope.  In fact, he finds it quite funny when he runs away from it.  So, we have decided once we return from Florida, we will be consistent and follow through and get him there. 

Nicholas has just finished his March Break.  Unfortunately, he didn't get to do a whole lot and that is only because we are taking time off for Sydney's Spring Break and taking the family to Tampa.  But he did have one day with his cousin and I also took a family day from work and Nicholas and I had one of our date days.  We went out for lunch, did a little shopping and then to the movies.  We saw The Tooth Fairy which was actually quite good and funny too.  I just love going to the movies with Nicholas....looking over at him so small in the movie chairs with those big smiles of enjoyment...lots of fun!  

The weather is totally worth writing about this week as well (sunny 17 and 18 degrees all week....FABULOUS!).  And with Nicholas being all hermit like this winter, it was good for him to get outside and play all week.  With much resistance though.  Both Auntie Cheryl and Lindsay, our daycare provider, told me how much Nicholas protested going out.  And I just find that alarming(!)....so now that Spring is upon us, it's out the door as much as possible! 

Big news this week with Sydney.  It seems our 15 year old wrote the test for her learners permit (I can't remember what they call it in the south...sorry) this week and PASSED!!  I said something similar to her Mom earlier this week in the way that it seems just like yesterday that I was blessed to have this SIX year old girl in my life and now here she is, almost ten years later, a beautiful in every way teenager and driving!!  Way to go honey - Be Safe!

Well, my coffee is done...and my boy wants to play buses....and my house is crying to be cleaned.  One more week until Florida!  Yay!!!

a shortened sunday morning

At 730 this morning, I heard it...Johnathon's pager going off (grr).  I looked at the clock and reached over Nicholas (another story) to nudge J to let him know as there was no movement.  Up he went...and then it dawned on me that he was already supposed to be at work because really, it was 830!  Oops...

And so Sunday morning began.  Johnathon was off to 'beautify' himself, Nicholas was now awake...and shortly after, we heard Shaney saying something or another, waiting for us to go in to his room.  He won't leave his bed, that one, until we go in and say our good mornings and give big hugs and smooches.  And every single morning, he does not disappoint.  He always puts that big juicy smile on and just beams as we gather him up and start the day off....with some more snuggles.  Snuggles with my boys on Sunday mornings - does not get any better than that!

Oh, and yes, why was Nicholas in our bed again this morning.  Well, this time, it was completely Mommy's fault.  Before running some errands yesterday and then a visit to the Hickey's, I put Nicholas' comforter and 'comfy pillow' in the washer.  By time we came home later that evening, Shane was not feeling great and was desperate to get into his bed.  The rest of us got settled in and comfortable...and I totally forgot about the load waiting to be dried.  Nicholas later on, lying in bed, waiting for his comfy pillow and Mommy letting him know that I forgot.  OMGosh....his beautiful browns welled up with tears and I felt so bad....so of course, the one thing I know that will work - let him sleep with Mommy.  He was out in moments.

I don't know if I have written previously about his comfy pillow but like alot of children, this is Nicholas' comfort item.  Sydney has Mr. Bear, Nicholas has his comfy pillow.  They are always at the top of the packing list when we go away, it needs to be the 'right' side up at all times and it is always waiting for Nicholas every night at bedtime.....unless Mommy messes up such as last night.

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So, last post, I wrote about our vacation in Cancun.  Good times.  I still need to get our pics in order and get them posted.  I also wanted to just quickly write about our night away in Toronto with Mom and Dad.  For Christmas, we bought tickets for Mom, Dad and ourselves to see RAIN (A Beatles Tribute).  The show was a couple weekends ago after we returned from our trip.  After a slow start to the day, we found our hotel, parked and well, after about 20 minutes and me about to send out a search party, Mom and Dad finally made it to the lobby from the underground where they had been wondering around looking for the exit, even ending up at some condo building nearby.  This with about 5 minutes to get to the show!  But we made it right on time and WOW, what an incredible show!  A bit of a slow start and I had many thoughts of what did I get ourselves into here.  But that quickly faded and by time we left, 3 of us were in tears!  Literally.  It was that good.  If it is coming to your area, please go see this great show.  And those of you in my area, it is coming back to TO in July.  Here is some info -

RAIN: A Tribute to the Beatles

From Ed Sullivan to Abbey Road! They look like them and they sound just like them! "The next best thing to seeing The Beatles," raves The Denver Post. All the music and vocals are performed totally live! RAIN covers the Fab Four from their earliest beginnings through the psychedelic late '60s and their long-haired hippie, hard-rocking rooftop days. RAIN is a multi-media, multi-dimensional experience... a fusion of historical footage and hilarious television commercials from the 1960s lights up video screens and live cameras zoom in for close-ups. "A thrilling bit of time-warping nostalgia - Boomer Heaven!" raves The Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "Uncanny! RAIN are a quartet of fine musicians in their own right; as the Beatles, they triumph!" cheers The Boston Herald. "An adoring Valentine to the Beatles," declares The Washington Post. Sing along with your family and friends to such Beatlemaniac favorites as Let It Be, Hey Jude, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Come Together and Can't Buy Me Love.
For more information visit. www.raintribute.com

The Canon Theatre - July 10th thru August 1st.

how do i write about a whole month?

I'm kicking myself for not sitting my butt down sooner to write....but I will attempt to recap the past month the best I can. 

Johnathon and I were so fortunate enough to find ourselves, with Mom and Dad,  booking a getaway to Cancun, while Aunt Debo and MaMa flew up and stayed with the boys...even Uncle Bill flew up towards the end of the trip and spent some time with them as well.  Fun had by all - much fun! 

We didn't land until late in the evening in Cancun and after all the hullabaloo trying to find where our shuttle was, we were on our way to our resort.  I don't know about you, but on the way to your destination, you have such hope that it is going to be spectacular when you arrive.  The best you have stayed at.  After dropping one family off at Sun Palace (which looked stunning...just as I was describing), we arrived at our hotel.  And no, my breath was not taken away.  But it looked nice.  We checked in and immediately went to the lounge/bar for a cold drink.  After waiting around for what seemed an eternity, we were served and the four of us decided to take it outside and walk around the grounds.  Being dark out, we didn't have the view that did take my breath away the following morning but we got a good layout. 

It was a long day and we decided to go up to our rooms, get settled and have a drink on our balcony.  I felt a wave of disappointment with our choice (which was really mine and not booking for just ourselves, there is a slight pressure to please)....until the morning and once Johnathon opened the curtains to a perfect sunny, blue sky and the perfect view we had of the beautiful turquoise Caribbean and the massive, white sand beach, that wave of disappointment the previous night turned to a pure wave of excitement and relief!  Breathtaking really.  Unfortunately, my pics just don't capture it but many times, you could find us sitting on our balcony captivated by the view and the peaceful calm that comes with hearing the waves and just enjoying these moments.

This vacation was quite a bit different from our others.  Usually, I'm eager to go on some day trips, busy ourselves with exploring or doing something adventurous that you don't have the opportunity to do at home.  But this time, we kept putting it off until the point we both decided that we were perfectly content to do 'nothing' and just relax and enjoy our days and whatever came with them.

Let me say, the sun was not always what came with them!  Again, unlike any other vacation I have been on, the weather just wasn't what we had hoped.  In fact, a couple of days were downright chilly and very windy.  But the great weather days outweighed the not so great and all in all, not really that bad at all.  I just enjoy the hot sun and I enjoy a good tan so more of that would have been ideal.

This being our first time staying in Cancun, we didn't really know what to expect.  I have always known it to be a party town and since we did not have the kiddos with us, I thought why not?  Let's check it out and see what we think.  Would I go back?  Yes.  I would even take the kids if we were at a larger, more family-friendly resort.  You just couldn't beat the beach and the sea.

Because our resort was small and really not a lot to do in the evenings especially, we found ourselves walking off the resort often to go walk around, shop here and there, and find the perfect margarita!  And well, we found it.  Perfection.  That was after walking around the market that we took the local city bus to.  After making our deals for jewelery and various souvenirs, we found ourselves at this little off to the side bar/restaurant.  The staff/owner were so welcoming and we were treated so well.  And then the rain started so we moved off of the patio to the inside (sort of) and after a few margaritas and good company, we headed back. 

So, the rest of the week was spent lazing, walking, swimming, reading, drinking and eating....even a midnight dip in the sea!  All very enjoyable and we met some great people, including our Australian friend, Darrin.

As the week went on, I sure did miss the boys more and more.  We got to chat alot though and I knew they were having a blast.  But still, I missed them so and the day we were to leave, I have never been so eager to get home.  And well, since that ended up being a day that I'm trying to forget (loooooong day that I started off with throwing up....missed our shuttle....couldn't get any $ out, little did I know, our debit card had been compromised and someone out there is running around with 1600 bucks of ours!, feeling sick ALL day and for four days afterwards, a snowstorm in TO that caused our plane to have to circle but because it was so small, had to land in Buffalo to re-fuel, only then to be told we had to wait a couple more hours!!!)...and all I wanted to do was hug my children and tuck them in.

But we made it home safe and sound....and only a short, ahem, 5 hours late!

And yay, finally I could catch up on the Olympics and actually watch them for real!  I missed that while away, however, we did of course find a bar to watch the first Canada/US game....and well, we all know the result of that one.  Lots of fun though at Carlos and Charlies which was packed with both Americans and Canadians showing their pride!  Funnily (is that a word?) enough, it was 12 years prior that I was on vacation in Manzanillo, Mexico and found myself at a Carlos and Charlies there watching US and Canada battle it out in the Olympic games. 

(okay, so I didn't get to the whole month....will be back!)