Judah the Bully

Greetings.

This is Daniel, and I'm making my debut posting on Karen't blog. She generously has allowed me the opportunity to do so, so I figured I'd take her up on it. I had an experience with Judah this past week, and I had to put it up here.

As you are all aware it was Mother's Day this past week. Our church put on a Mother's Day Tea and many of us were asked to volunteer to help out. Somehow I drew the shortest straw, and ended up in the Nursery. Yes, I was the nursery attendant. Thankfully a a few of the young ladies in our youth group were kind enough to join me. For those of you who may not understand, nursery is not my bag.

Anyways, it was looking like it was going to be a slow night. It was my kids, and the Pastor's kids. I know them pretty well, so the evening was on it's way to a grand old boring bliss, just the way I like it when I'm working the nursery.

Enter Popped Collar.

Five minutes before the Tea was supposed to start two more boys entered the nursery. One I knew (by 'knew' I mean I recognized as a child that ran the halls after church on Sunday, much like my own son) and one I did not. The one I didn't know will be referred to as Popped Collar, as the collar of his polo was popped, and it just seems to be a defining feature. Both of these boys were about 4 or 5 years old. Before these two entered the scene I had been thinking of making a quick getaway, since Anthony (the pastor) had informed me he would be leaving early with his children. Since it would have been just mine left I thought I would probably take the opportunity to cut short my Nursery responsibilities as well. The two new additions informed me I was in it for the long haul. yay.

The night was going well. By well I mean it was uneventful. By uneventful I mean awesome. And then Judah started playing with some trucks.

Now there is a little ramp in the nursery. I believe it is so that wheelchairs and the like can make it in. Judah started rolling some trucks down the ramp to see how far they would go. Now these weren't exactly small trucks, and Judah doesn't have exactly big arms. There were three trucks total, and he could only heft two at a time. When he tried to pick up the third one would inevitably fall out. So he contented himself with rolling two at a time, and rotated which ones he used.

Somewhere along the game Popped Collar decided he wanted to play with the one car the Judah couldn't fit in his arms. The night suddenly became less uneventful.

It didn't take long for Judah to notice that Popped was not playing with 'his' truck. Judah doesn't have to share very much with Asher at this point, so I wouldn't say that sharing is a strong suit of his, but I wanted to know how he would deal with the situation, so I could help him realize that sharing was the right thing to do. I wasn't quite ready for his reaction.

Judah walked up to Popped. Judah was carrying two of 'his' trucks, while Popped was holding the third. Judah's head reached just above Popped's gut, but well below his shoulders. Undaunted my son looked right up into Popped's eyes and let out an indignant scream.

I don't know if you've had the 'pleasure' of witnessing a Judah scream, but this kid is a master. We used to call him 'the little raptor' because there really wasn't any other way to describe it. He has crazy volume, and it's uncommonly high pitched. Pavarotti would be jealous of this kid. When he was only 7 months old he would scream from our third floor apartment, all doors and windows closed, and you could hear him in the parking lot clear as a bell. Judah also has ridiculous breath control, and he can hold that scream of his for a good 15 seconds. Those 15 seconds feel like 15 minutes, but for Popped Collar they must have felt like an eternity.

I wasn't sure what was going to happen next. Popped was bigger than my son, and I was expecting a push, maybe a shove. Maybe some returned screaming. I didn't know. What I didn't expect was tears. But that is what I got.

As soon as I noticed tears I intervened, picking up Judah and informing him that he was not communicating properly. By which I mean I told him to stop screaming. His face was red by this time, and his eyes were spewing venom. The little kid was mad, and he was not finished giving Popped a piece of his mind. I had to carry him away a little ways. And he started crying.  I gently explained to my son why he wasn't allowed to scream like that, which of course just led to more tears. Have I mentioned I love working in the nursery?

We gave Judah a different car and he seemed satisfied. Popped however, had not learned his lesson. The lesson being 'don't mess with Judah'.

We put a movie on to distract Judah, and Popped took the opportunity to round up all three cars Judah had been playing with. It didn't take Judah long to recognize the ploy and and he was right back over in Popped's face giving another large, and rather high pitched, piece of his mind. It was harder for me to feel sorry for Popped this time, as it seemed like he was asking for it.

Popped turned this big teary doe eyes on me again and blubbered 'He's yelling at me'. I once again had to pick up Judah and try to explain to him that he had left the trucks, and that now Popped gets to play with them. He wasn't very happy with me, but I didn't know what else to do.

Eventually Popped forgot about the trucks. He started playing with the other 5 yr old in a different part of the nursery, and Judah, taking an earlier que from Popped spotted 'his' trucks right away. He came over to me, tugged on my shirt and then pointed to the trucks and made his 'look dad' sound. I smiled and told him that he could play with them now if he wanted to, as Popped had abandoned them.

Kids must have a 6th sense of when another child is touching 'their toy' because Judah had barely begun to play with the trucks when Popped was over claiming they were 'his' toys. Well, he bent down to grab one and you can guess what happened.

Judah's lungs informed Popped that he was not to touch any of the trucks for the remainder of the night. I quickly tried to quite my son, but this time I wasn't about to tell him that he couldn't play with the toys, and Popped did not appreciate being on the other end of the message this time. He decided to go cry in the corner. One of the girls went over and consoled him, while I tried to quiet down my son.

Eventually the trucks were forgotten, and the night was over. In hindsight I should have just hidden the trucks as soon as there was an issue, but then I couldn't exactly hide all the toys in the nursery should arguments break out over them as well. I don't know. Nursery isn't my thing.

I was rather surprised however, and how my son had no problem taking a stand for what he thought was right. It didn't matter that the other person in this situation was almost double his size. He didn't do anything violent to anything but our ears. Maybe he's not a bully. Maybe he just stands up for what he thinks is right no matter who is opposing him. Maybe he gets that from his mother....or father? Or maybe he's just a 1 1/2 year old who wanted to play with 'his' toys.

Either way, it was an entertaining, if not uneventful night in the nursery. Hopefully my last.

Aww food...

Now that we have been here for a few months we have had a chance to go out to some different restaurants. Fast food and sit down, and I have been pleasantly surprised. 

Daniel and I were becoming disenchanted with quite a few restaurants in the states that we frequented often. Sometimes it was good sometimes not so good. So in coming up here we weren't sure what to expect. Going out to eat is more expensive and the portion sizes are smaller(smaller as in they are a good size portion for one person, not a meal for two). So going out is more of a luxury, we each have to get a meal and Judah can usually eat what we eat but sometimes we get him something too. Daniel and I used to just split meals in the states. So the meals are more in general and with us each having to order our own that jumps the price up by a bit.
But on the other hand, the food has been amazing! I have not been to one place and been disappointed. I'm not sure what they do here. But the food is so good. Even the fast food is different for some things. I remember ordering a McChicken up here for the first time. And being really surprised when I found out it was 4.50 instead of close to a dollar (like I'm used to paying). I went off to Daniel about how I was never going to order one again up here(there I go being extreme..). But then I got the chicken burger and it was the best McChicken I have ever had. lol So I still get them sometimes...
Daniel took me to this place called Cora's recently, they serve breakfast and lunch. I had this amazing crepe with strawberries and custard. I think it was more of a french style. I hadn't seen them served like that before. And we also love A&W, I love when we get their coupons in the mail!! Anyway their is much more. But it would be quite boring to hear about every restaurant and what I like to get there.

I am missing cutters coffee though. Starbucks is just not the same... Thank you ladies for bringing me more sweets to flavor my coffee, its getting me through!

So when you all come to visit you can look forward to having some good food when we go out. And hopefully when we stay in as well. :)

Finally warm enough to go to the park!!

Here are a few pics of Asher too! 

And also Judah in his new Shark towel looking at himself in the mirror

Sacrifice

My day has not been the best of days. But sometimes on those hard days you learn something, and they can also cause you to grow. 

I woke up this morning with an aching back and sore legs(must be from carrying baby's up and down stairs). I didn't feel like getting out of bed. But didn't really have a choice since Judah was yelling at me to get him from his crib. Daniel knew I wasn't feeling so great so he helped me with the getting the boys up and changed and breakfast. But Judah was pushing buttons all day and it seems there is always a new huge mess somewhere and cranky babies and dogs to go outside(in particular the puppy). By the time dinner was made and we had eaten and Judah was testing boundaries again I was cranky and about to take it out on someone, so Daniel told me to go take a bath or something and not worry about the boys for a bit(I think he was afraid he was about to get the brunt of my crankiness).

So I took a bit of time for myself and decided I needed to talk to God and work on my attitude. In my time in prayer I was reminded that I really need to carve out sometime for God in the day. God is where I need to by drawing my strength from and if I'm not taking time to do that I'm turning into a crazy person. (Ok maybe not to crazy but I feel like it sometimes. lol) Such a simple concept but so hard to get into the habit of doing. I don't feel like getting up in the morning before the boys, I'm tired and don't want to focus at night, and time always seems to just get eaten up in the day. I realized I really needed to sit down and figure out where I can sacrifice time to do it. And that got me thinking about all the things that seem such like simple concepts in our Christian faith that are really hard to do or to just get in the habit of doing. It seems to change the way you look at them when you reach each phase in life, and I have a whole new set of excuses. In particular I have been pondering what it really means to sacrifice and surrender to God on a daily basis. It is so hard to sacrifice that extra sleep I would like to get, so hard to surrender money even though its a blessing form the Lord, so hard to surrender my attitude so that I can bless those around me, so hard to surrender my boys to the Lord and what His plan is for them. (They are with me all the time now but someday they will grow up and I know that what the Lords plans for them might not be easy for me. I see that in Daniel and my life now, and how the Lord has led us here away from family. But I'm thankful that we aren't to far away for now.)

I'm sure the list could go on. But these are some of things that you don't just get to surrender once and your good, its constant, and not always easy. Even after you have established it as habit you still have to make it a conscious decision to keep on. Oh boy do I have so much to grow in. So maybe I will just have to start drinking coffee when I get up. And tomorrow I'm sure won't be perfect either but I'm going to try and start on the right foot, and give it to God at the beginning of the day and not the end. :)
 

I am so thankful to have a loving God that I can turn to when I'm having a bad day... or a great one.

Going Green

I realized something yesterday, as I was bagging my grocery's in reusable bags. I realized that I am slowly going green. I never thought that I would actually start doing this, or that I was actually starting to go green. But it got me thinking though, I'm taking reusable bags to the store as I mentioned above, I'm using cloth diapers and chemical free detergent, trying to stay more with green products for cleaning, I started making all my own bread, I'm trying to buy less prepackaged foods and using fruit and veggies more for snacks, and I'm contemplating making my own granola.

Now I must say I didn't start doing any of this with the planet in mind. I started this things for more selfish reasons. 

My reasons being, 

I like to shop at the Superstore because the grocery's are much cheaper there. They charge 5 cents a plastic bag, so I thought why not take reusable bags. 5 cents is going to add up after a while.

I started using cloth diapers because, I was going to be spending a fortune in diapers with 2 babies in diapers, and they both have sensitive skin so the cloth helps that as well especially here in dry Calgary. 

I started using chemical free detergent because I am using cloth diapers, and the boys have sensitive skin.

I started wanting to use more green products so I don't have to be as careful when I'm cleaning around the babies

I started making my own bread, 1. to save money and 2. we like the way it tastes. :)

Buying more fresh fruits and veggies in attempt to make my family healthier.... so far me and Judah are enjoying it.

Making my own granola, well I haven't been able to find our favorite kind in Canada so I thought why not try making it. Mind you I have not made any yet, I'm just contemplating it. There are only so many hours in  day.

I'm not by any means totally green or crunchy as some people call it. But I'm just slowly making changes and enjoying it so far. 

Although Daniel is not to sure that he likes what Canada is doing to me... :)

Simple tasks... not so simple anymore

There are a lot of things I'm learning with being a mom of 2 boys 1 and under and also recently getting a puppy. And just being a mom period!

First of all I knew that being a stay at home mom is work. I just didn't realize it would be so much more work than when I actually went to work. Before I had babies, most of the day got spent at work and then I felt like I had a big load of things to do when I got home. Cook dinner, clean up dinner, throw in laundry(or go to the laundromat, so glad I don't have to do that anymore), and whatever other things we had going on in the evening. Then you try to get to bed so you can do it all over again. Life then was much more predictable. When at work I would work hard and be busy. But usually had some time to sit and chat. I had a lunch break that was uninterrupted, and at least at my last job I did a lot of sitting with it being mostly a desk job. Now I feel like I'm running from when I get up till I go to bed. Also before babies, I knew that if I went to bed at this time I would have till this time to sleep. Now its very unpredictable how much sleep I will actually get at night. Most of the time its pretty good. But you just never know, when Judah will wake up with an ear infection, Asher will have gas. Or any other reason that might pop up. 

During the day we change quite a few pairs of clothes, between Judah's messy eating and Asher's blowouts and drool. Preparing meals and cleaning up meals. Finding random messes, now that Judah is everywhere and so is the dog. (Asher's not mobile yet, thank goodness! :) Give him a few months.) Laundry! Oh so much Laundry! I have never had such big piles to fold! Gone are the days when I would just do a couple loads a week. Also so many diapers to change and to wash! Not looking forward to when Asher starts eating solids. :) And meals interrupted, sometimes I do miss just being able to sit down and eat a meal. Without trying to nurse baby while eating or figure out what Judah is yelling about that is not right, or not on his plate.

Leaving the house oh boy. That is a big chore. You really can't just grab your purse and keys anymore. First I need to make sure the diaper bag is stocked for the right outing. Then its suiting up the boys. Shoes, coat, hat for Judah. Snow suit, blanket for Asher. And oh please don't have a poopy diaper we need to change during this ritual. Then I have to get myself ready. And everyone into car seats and belted in the car. This takes 20 min if everything goes smoothly. And we just pray we don't have major set backs. Like Judah deciding Asher needs to wake up from his nap in the car seat and then Asher decides that he is terribly hungry. Thankfully I have Daniel with me to a lot of the places that we go to. But if I'm by myself, lugging the heavy baby seat out of the car getting Judah and holding his hand while we walk to wherever we are going with baby seat on other arm is a big task. That's if Judah is behaving with where we are going. Sometimes I lug Judah on one arm, baby seat on the other. I hope I'm getting buff from this! 

I'm learning so much though, like the importance of my role as a mom in teaching them about Jesus, God, faith. Having patience like I have never known. Trying to be consistent. I know I hear this from every parent but now I'm really learning what it is to be consistent. 

It is so wonderful though, having children. I am so blessed that God has enabled us with the privlege for me to stay home with them. Its the hardest but most fulfilling job I have ever had. I love the smiles and the laughter and watching them learn, and grow. I love folding tiny baby clothes. I love when Judah looks and me with a huge smile having cookie smeared all over his face. I love reading to them and having Judah point at every animal he see's in his books. I love hearing Asher's laugh and when he looks up and smiles. I love watching Asher wiggle all around on the ground. He is so busy. I love watching Judah dance and hearing him trying to sing his one note song. I love bath time even though it can go forever!! There are so many other things that I love I really can't think of them all! And I know that someday I will look back and miss these days so much. I really am enjoying them, when I'm not feeling totally crazy. And even though I feel crazy right now with just two. I don't think we are quite done yet.

 Just wanted to put up some cute pics of the family!

Judah is totally obsessed with the giant corn pops box! Takes it everywhere around the house.