A Million Pieces of Glass

I usually get along with Mondays. Usually.

Today, started off pleasant enough. I had Mom and Baby yoga, which Elsa and I enjoyed a lot. And I think I even had a baby whisperer moment! One of the other babies was crying and crying. I could hear in the cry that the baby was hungry. I approached the mama and said, "Have you ever heard of Dunstant Baby Language?" She shook her head. I then said {and I might add I was nervous because I didn't want to make her feel bad!}, "Little ___ is making the sound for hunger." She ran out to the car to get the baby's bottle and sure enough the baby was so happy and gulped it down. I was relieved I wasn't wrong! And I was even more happy that the mama was grateful.

Anyways, the feel good moment didn't last long. 

I got home and Isaac was tired and hungry. He wanted to help me prepare lunch, which was fine, but he wasn't listening to me and he dropped a heavy glass jar on the top (roof, shelf?) of the crisper...and BAM!

In one second there was a million glass pieces all over the floor and all inside the crisper, all over the food.

This is not the first glass incident at the hands of Isaac. Again, Isaac did not get any cuts.

I on the other hand did. A couple nicks on my feet.

I swept and vacuumed all the glass off the floor, fed him lunch and put him to bed. I also had a nap.

After everyone was rested I tackled the crisper drawer cleanup. It took forever there was so much glass. And I noticed that my fridge was not so very clean, so I cleaned it too. Perhaps this was the Universe's way of telling me to clean it up!

Oh and to bookend this crazy day, just as I was about to finish up with the clean-up, the entire bag of compost fell over onto the clean floor. Exasperated I said, "Ugggg why is all this happening!? I just can't get a break!" Maddie ran off and drew me a picture to make me happy. She is the sweetest.

All in all it's not so bad. Moments like this are the ones we'll remember when we look back at these {crazy, busy}days!

Duh!

Welcome to the January 2012 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Experiments in Natural Family Living
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have reported on weeklong trials to make their lives a little greener and gentler. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.
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Isaac 2 1/2 years

Recently, we have been having issues with Isaac acting out physically towards his sisters. It's typically a smack or a pinch, but there have been incidents of biting as well.

Uggg.

At first we thought it had to do with him being two years old. Then when it continued, we thought it had to do with Elsa's arrival and his emotional reaction to no longer being the baby of the house. So we hugged and kissed him more and really made an effort to spend one-on-one time with him.

But when it started getting worse with time, instead of better, we knew something was up and that something had to change.

Quite serendipitously, I came across the blog Super-Protective Factor, and the Hand in Hand Parenting Organization. I posted about it before here.

Reading the info there was like a breath of fresh air. It was new hope for an already frustrated and worried mama.

Isaac needed A LOT of emotional healing.

So we began to heal.

And boy, it was hard.

Mostly because society's mainstream parenting standards don't see "crying" and tantrums as a normal process. Plus, you got to admit that having a screaming child around you is stressful when you have that mindset.

So I had to reevaluate and modify my mindset.

When the topic came up for the January Carnival of Natural Parenting, I knew this would be the topic of my experiment.

Here's what happened.

{Almost} Lost

Tonight we went downtown to have supper and to the Annual Christmas Tree lighting. We went with our friends {the ones we went to Mexico with}. It was so much fun. Except that Isaac almost got lost in the huge crowd. I hate that feeling: when your stomach drops and your heart stops beating and your head is trying to solve the problem but all you can think is "OMG my kiddo is gone!" It happened in a split second. One moment he was here and the next he was not. I started calling his name, my friend did too and even the surrounding people started helping out. And then, he came running towards us with my friend's older son. Apparently he had been with Isaac the whole time, but none of us knew. Thank goodness for that 10 year old guardian angel! He had been paying attention when none of the adults had and made sure we didn't loose Isaac within the mass of people. And I have to do something about his snowsuit. One of the dads that was helping us out {which happened to be the Dad of one of the girls in Maddie's class}pointed out that he was camouflaged, which made it that much harder to see him in the crowd. So I need to sew on some reflective material or get him a bright hat...or something. I am so thankful tonight was a great night and that we came home happy and with all of our kiddos.

Boy Trouble

I've been having boy issues.

My little boy is:
- Smacking, hitting, pinching
- Refusing to eat at meal times even though he's super hungry
- Refusing to try going pee and poo on the potty (even though he has told us he wants to go)
- Still addicted to his soothers

I believe this is the age they call the "Terrible Two's"??? What I wasn't totally prepared for was how much more intense this age would be with a boy. Or maybe it's just my boy? I dunno, I have a feeling it's partially a boy thing. But also I know he's going through a lot. His older sister started school and is no longer around for most of the day to play with him. Plus, he now has a younger sister who demands my constant attention, and he feels a bit left out. I have been spending one-on-one time with him whenever I can, but I imagine he still feels a bit jealous. He can't control any of this stuff...so I think he's turning to things he can control...which are all of the things I listed above.

I know we will get through this phase of boy trouble. And I hope it's soon! In the meantime Isaac better be ready to be smothered with lots of hugs and kisses. And I better fill up my patience tank to max.

Is it Friday yet?

Weirdness is going on. I am feeling extremely emotional lately. And of course I'm taking it out on the one poor guy who has nowhere to run to. I did apologize to him today though...and I will again right now: Sorry lover...so sorry, it's totally not personal...you know, you so know.

It's just Monday and I already feel like it should be Friday and I should be gearing up for the weekend (although not any less busy, at least Ken is home during the day to help with the beautiful chaos children cause), plus weekends are the only days I get a good nap.

Alas, I will have to wait 4.5 more days.

Today, Isaac got into everything he has so far managed not to do (which is not a lot).

What am I supposed to do now that he's figured out how to open the childproofed cupboards? Those tiny little fingers...he's too smart for his own good!

He got a bag of salt out and ran away with it as I was in the middle of cooking and my hands were full of goop. Of course he made a split in the bag and the minuscule granules went everywhere. Needless to say, dinner was delayed, which made everyone even more cranky! Just can't win.

Oh also, he insists on asking for "canny", his word for candy, which he learned somehow (I'm sure from Maddie). I have managed so far to tell him their Vitamin C chewables are candy.

Maddie, the girl who usually naps forever and has to be woken up, had the crappiest nap today. Her cough woke her up and she couldn't go back to sleep. So I brought her into my bed and she wrote in the blank pages of my journal for an hour while I dozed. She is really showing an interest in writing and reading. It always amazes me how their marvelous brains work.

And to top the hectic, lunatic day that today was...Ken is on call and had to leave to do a surgery tonight. Thankfully, no, I should say THANKS BE TO THE KIND GODS, he was able to come home to eat, help with bath and bedtime before he had to leave.

And now the two beautiful high energy, question asking, candy demanding, salt spilling, little angels are fast asleep. And I will now fold their laundry and immediately go to bed...oh, right after the diapers finish in the wash.

Aaaah sleep how I want thee and will soon be with thee.

Little Jester

"Isaac, can you say Maddie? Come on, say Maddie"

Little face thinking, eyes shining with mischief he replies, "Elmo" and laughs.

This joke never gets old, and is applied to pretty much any question or request.

I wonder what things he'll come up with next.

Wordless Wednesday

{Sneak Peek of our Christmas Photo. All I have to say is: "Oh boys!"}

The dirt under my nails

I always seem to have some kind of unknown substance under my fingernails at any given point. I have become aware of this in the last few months and have made a point to make sure my nails are clean. They used to always be clean, I didn't have to do anything other than be the regular clean freak that I am normally to keep them clean. But now even that's not enough.

What has changed recently?

A little boy is now in my life.

An active, oh so active, little boy.

A little boy that loves to get dirty.

Anything messy or that has the potential to get messy calls to him and he answers. With delight.

And of course he hates anything that has been invented to try to keep little boys clean and somewhat orderly.

Of course. But he's so happy.

This gusto for life that I am seeing in my boy is energizing, but paradoxically, very draining.

I am thinking of mamas with more than one boy and wondering how they do it.

How do you do it...?

I Lost Isaac {for 30 seconds}

Those were just about the longest 30 seconds of my motherhood.

This happened last Tuesday. We were at the library. Maddie was in Storytime and Isaac and I were wandering around reading stories, but mostly I was chasing him around. Oh and yes I was on my cell phone for a few minutes consulting with my Naturopath about something. When Storytime ended the usual bustle of kids and parents and noise began. And stupid me was still on the phone. And little Isaac was walking around. And I lost him. In a nanosecond he took off and by the time my brain registered "You are not watching Isaac" I looked around and he was gone. My heart stopped beating, I stopped breathing and panic just about paralyzed me. But I managed to exclaim, "Where is Isaac!?" My friend helped me look around but mostly she watched Maddie while I began searching around. The only thought going through my head was "the library is so big and he's so little! He could be anywhere!" By the grace of a million guardian angels he hadn't gone far. He had actually walked into the Storytime room and the teacher was still there so she was keeping an eye on him. I scooped him up in my arms and I'm sure I sounded incoherent, blurting out my thanks to the teacher.

My heart started beating again.

On our way home I kept checking to make sure there were two kids sitting in the back.

Lesson learned: Do not get distracted while keeping an eye on my kiddos. Especially in public. Especially Isaac.

Today we are going back and I promise this will not be repeated {unlike the replay that keeps going on in my head every now and then}.

An olive oil story

When Maddie was two she had an incident with olive oil. It was fairly innocent. No one got hurt. In fact it was kind of cute. I will always remember her little voice telling me it was just "a problem accident."

Well, today, at 4:30pm as I was cooking supper Isaac, silly little Isaac, opened up the cupboard, reached in and dropped the olive oil jar right on the floor. All in a matter of seconds, no time for me to save the day. The jar crashed to the floor and shattered into hundreds of pieces all over and around our feet. I immediately felt the sting of glass cutting into my skin and I was instantly washed over with immense fear about what damage had been done to Isaac's little feet. I scooped him up, carefully avoiding the slippery puddles of olive oil and shards of glass all around and rushed to the bathroom sink. I left a little trail of blood from my foot. I rinsed his feet off and was shocked to see that he sustained the tiniest of cuts. Literally it was about a millimeter big and it didn't even really bleed. I am one very grateful mama right now. It could have been so much worse. All that glass...? One tiny little cut? Just one! Tiny.One. Wow. One very lucky blessed boy.

Needless to say this most recent incident has finally caused me to reach my limit. So far we had been doing OK without totally baby proofing the cabinets. But also, so far, we had been more careful to not have things like killer glass at hands reach. The major things (like cleaners, plastic bags, choking hazards, etc) were safely gadget-ed away. But today just one second of distraction (I could have swore that I put the jar all the way back in the cupboard!) could have led to a very serious injury. Ken was not-so-very-gently urged to install all the guards on the cabinets and I am looking forward to cooking tomorrow. I will still have to be on the lookout with this boy, but at least I know the last of the potentially very dangerous things are truly out of reach now.

I think it's safe to say that Isaac, on the other hand, will not be very pleased when he goes to open up the doors. Sorry my little boy, it's for your own good.

P.S. Oh and in case you are wondering...it took me almost an hour to clean the mess up. So much oil. So much glass. I triple checked to make sure all the glass was gone. I think I've slightly scarred Maddie about stepping on glass. Well at least she will be careful.

Boyhood

I am seriously going bonkers. I am drained.

When for the umpteenth time I go and dig Isaac out of a garbage can or to take his little hands out of the toilet bowl water or catch him from slipping on the wet floor after he's tipped the dog bowl over...what can I do? I want to put him in a playpen or his exersaucer, but he'd just climb out and injure himself, probably seriously. I could have a barebones house, but really who would that help. It would only drive me more bananas. And he would just find something to get himself into or onto. So I just have to keep him safe from the imminent dangers (like stairs, bookcases, sharp objects, things he shouldn't eat...) and let him roam around; hopefully he'll learn from trial and error: hey, trying to crawl on a wet floor = fat lip.

Sigh.

This having a boy (well, a high energy, non-fearing, daring, curious, mischievous boy. Are all boys like this?) is more tricky than I could have imagined. I dare not think about how much more crazy he's going to get. Or do they calm down as they get older. Ha. Wishful thinking I'm sure.

If you're out there and reading this and have survived boyhood please share how you did it. Please.