Picking Food Up Off The Floor

Who can pass up Pirate shoes?3

So there are these shoes, called Robeez. I really like these shoes, however they cost $25CAD. Multiply that times 2 and one pair of shoes for the boys sets me back $50! Target sells the same kind of shoe (Circo brand) for $12.99USD. Well who can pass that up? So the boys have been wearing knockoffs for the past 6 months. And I love them. I decided it was crazy to pay twice as much for the same kind of shoe and that I would always buy those shoes from Target. Well…the boys are due for a new pair, so I went to the Target website to choose the new shoe. Unfortunately my options were very limited. I could get them the same puppy shoe, a striped one, or ones with a dragon with a red ball on his head. Not so exciting, but doable for the price. Then I made a mistake, I decided to check out the Robeez site. They have so many varieties! I was overwhelmed and filled with consumeristic excitment! But I stepped back and decided to get their shoes when I was feeling poorer, maybe that would help me make a better choice. After all wasn’t I rebelling from senseless spending when I could get the shoes cheaper elsewhere?

A few days later I walked into Once Upon a Child looking for some nice, used kahkis for the boys. Wouldn’t you know it, an entire display of Robeez. And then I saw them…Pirates! They actually had shoes with a little pirate face on them. I was gone, over the edge, no coming back…I had to get the pirate shoes. I could justify it a million ways…it’s not like I was spending a fortune, the boys needed shoes, I just bought them cheap pants…In the end Drew got Pirate shoes and Bran got dinasaur ones ( I couldn’t get one the expensive ones and the other the cheap ones…). I proably won’t do it again. It’s not like he always needs Pirate shoes. But it would be really nice if Target got a little more variety. Maybe then I won’t be tempted away by pirates! Perhaps I was a little hasty in my “I’ll never spend that kind of money on baby shoes!”, but I think I was also pleased with the idea that my kids would have fun shoes. Is that bad? I’ll have to check the budget.

Posted: Eating Your Words

The Boys2

Andrew

Mother’s Helper. Drew has become a “mother’s helper.” He has always enjoyed “sorting” the laundry. But lately he has been helping me water the apple tree (he sits on the ground and holds the hose over the mulch). The other day at Ariel’s house he was helping with the watering can and Monday while I was cleaning the cupboards I gave him a paper towel and he wiped them all down for me!

Mornings. Drew has started having some interesting morning routines. After getting out of his crib the first thing he wants me to do is open their blinds so he can see the sunshine outside. He’ll often look at the window and make the sign for light while he’s waiting for me to pick him up. His other routine is to climb onto his little table in the living room and look out that window. He really likes to check on things and see what’s happening. He’ll stand there for up to 5 minutes before going on with his play. The rest of the day he completely ignores the window unless he can hear the neighbor’s dogs barking, then he wants to see them.

Temper, Temper. Drew is defintely the more emotional of the two boys. He gets very upset when things don’t go his way, even falling to the floor in a tantrum. At this point I haven’t found any way to lessen these episodes. If we can’t redirect him before it happens, we usually just ignore him until he’s done and then give him a big hug and try to direct him to something else. He’s so dramatic that I fluctuate between being frustrated and just wanting to laugh.

Sliding Boards. Drew loves slides! It doesn’t matter how tall, he’s gone on them all, all by himself. On the taller ones we hold his arms until he is lying flat and then he goes down. On the smaller ones, he climbs up and goes down without hellp (by smaller I mean anywhere from a 3 step one to the one that’s about 5 feet high.) At our playground he’s now turning around on one of them halfway down so he ends up on his belly.

Brandon

Driving Around in My Automobile… The boys have a little riding car with a handle on the back that allows them to push each other around. Recently they both figured out how to make it go backwards when they were sitting on it. Today Bran was puttering around the house going both backwards and forwards. He was so excited! He rode back and forth between the living room and kitchen several times. Drew got a little upset because he wanted to push, but Bran didn’t need his help! : )

Changing Roles. Months ago Mike and I were watching the boys and made the statement that Drew would think up the things to get into trouble and Bran would do them. Such as climbing the bookcase, etc. It turns out we were wrong, at least for the moment. Bran doesn’t like to swing high, doesn’t like slides, has no real interest in climbing on the furniture. Instead he prefers swimming, playing quietly, running around the house and chasing the dog. He also really likes to play with the woodchips under the tree. Who would have guessed?

First and Ten. Bran’s current favorite thing to do is play with balls. He and his dad play tackle with the football. Bran runs up to Mike with the football and Mike tackles him. He also really likes to kick his Pooh ball around the backyard. He does a good job of running up to the ball and kicking it. He can do it in stride and keep it up for several kicks.

Hugs. Brandon’s become a hugger. He’s always crawling up into my lap for a little snuggle. The grandmas should really enjoy this! Although don’t expect any long term holding or rocking, you get about 30 secs, but you get them often!

Posted: Drew & Bran

Is This Life With Two Boys?8

Around 1:30 this afternoon Drew closed a door in our living room. Unfortunately Bran’s left ring finger was caught in the hinge side. Because it hurt and because he’s an impatient 15-month old, rather than wait for me as I ran across the room, he decided to pull his finger out. The result was a torn off finger nail and the skin at the tip of his finger. I will never be able to get the picture of his little finger out of my mind. Four hours and five stitches later we came home. Bran seems to be doing fine. He’s getting back to his jolly self (this was somewhat inhibited by the Ketamine he had been giving during the surgery) and he’s learning how to play with a hand so bandaged it looks like he’s wearing a mitten. I guess he’s getting practice for playing in the snow this winter. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so awful, and other than the first 4 weeks they were born, so helpless. I was so blessed that my neighbor Kim was home and able to come with me and take care of Drew until Mike could get there. Thank you Kim, you’re an angel!

I was also very pleased at how well we were cared for at the Royal Alex, how quickly we were seen and the bedside manner of the nurses. I have only one complaint…is it really necessary to do construction outside of the main entrance to the emergency room? And why is it so hard to find the emergency parking? I had to stop right before the emergency doors while they let cars out because they only had room for one lane. Ummm…emergency? Could you at least figure out how to block traffic a little further down please? I know it was probably a necessity to improve the hospital and no it wasn’t life or death. But to a mother with a very small child with a very small finger it was a very big deal!

But thank the Lord, we actually got in just before a rush of people, we were well cared for after getting in, and my boy is home sleeping in his own bed. My only question now is, “Is this life with boys?”

Posted: Drew & Bran

Eating Your Words0

How many times have you said “I’d never do that!” or “that’s just not for me”? There are some things that Mike and I tend to think we’re taking a stand on in one season of life only to come to a completely different conclusion at another point in life. Sometimes those seasons are many years apart, other times… months. Over the past two weeks one or both of us has had to “eat our words” in regards to some purchases that have been made. This made me realize that I probably do this more often than I realize and I have decided to try and keep track of it. One of my questions is “do I make too many blanket statements about what I will or won’t do?” The other is “Am I being true to my beliefs or ideals? Or were they unrealistic to begin with?” If you’re interested, you’ll find those posts under this category.

Posted: Eating Your Words

Folk Fest2

I just have to say that Edmonton summers are so awesome! Long summer nights, low humidity, an amazing number of festivals… This summer we went with our friend Dan to the Folk Fest. We heard Feist, Bruce Cockburn, David Gray and others. The music was just wonderful! But the evening was made even better by a meteor shower. I think I was in high school the last time I spent an evening looking up at the stars. So I had the delight of seeing a meteor shower, learning a new constellation (new to me), and just being mesmerized by the night sky with Bruce Cockburn and David Gray playing live right in front of me. I think that will be one of my most favorite memories for a long time!

Posted: Edmonton

About Me2

Hi! My name is Shayna Bowling (a.k.a. mamma). I’m the mother of twin boys Drew and Bran, and the wife of Michael. I’m also just “me.” The point of this blog is to update folks on the life of our little guys and to write about things that are interesting to me. As a stay at home mom, perhaps I’m in need of other forms of communication! One of the things that I try really hard to do is to be interested in things outside of my kids. I’m not sure how successful I am, but I’m hoping this blog will be another way of keeping me looking at the world around me and not just the kitchen floor.

Posted: Miscellaneous