Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Kid's Don't Come Cheap

Posted by eljamieson at 9:27 PM 0 comments
Since our time in Edmonton is getting shorter and shorter, I've decided to get as many checkups and dr.'s appointments out of the way. I figure it has to be easier to do it when I know my way around and have relationships with the doctors.

This week was Greta's followup appointment at the foot dr. Since she started walking it has been very obvious that she toes in when she walks. It doesn't stop her from being my little monkey but she is pretty clumsy. I am choosing to blame the clumsiness on the feet and not on anything she may have inherited from me.

I had her looked at when she was about 14 months old and the dr. told me to wait and see if it would correct itself by the time she was 2. It has clearly not corrected itself (I would even say it's worse than ever) and we are now headed in the direction of getting orthotic inserts for her shoes.

I am very glad to be getting things fixed. She is also 'flat footed' which nothing can fix but the orthotics should correct the toeing in. My dr. here suggested that we wait until I am settled in Kitchener to find a dr that can see her care from beginning to end, which makes sense. Luckily after an email to Tracy and Arlene I have found a dr that should work. Now I just have to see if my dr. will give me a referral to see this dr. because he only takes patients with a dr.'s referral. Add one more thing to my list.

Between Vaughn's glasses and Greta's orthotics I'm realizing that these little munchkins don't come cheap. Not to mention I have to get Greta's eyes tested once we are in Ontario because there are good odds she'll need glasses too. It's a good thing I love them and I'd do pretty much anything for them!

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Soccer Trophy

Posted by eljamieson at 4:18 PM 0 comments

Vaughn's first soccer season wrapped up this rainy Saturday. It was all set to be a very exciting morning of 2 soccer games, jumpy castles, face painting and bbq.

What really happened is that I waited too long to see if everything was going to be canceled due to rain, making us late for his first game. It drizzled/rained for both of his games, luckily they are only 20 minutes each. I have to say that the kids really improved over these few short weeks and for entire minutes you could actually mistake what was happening on the field as a soccer game! Vaughn has been doing really great and even getting in there and trying to kick the ball. For a fairly non-aggressive kid, I'm proud of him and his attempts at soccer.

While watching the games I realized that Matt and I are so obviously not die hard soccer parents. There is a British family on Vaughn's team and the Dad kept encouraging his 4 year old son to tackle the opposing team whenever they had the ball. And I give credit, the kid had an amazing slide tackle, however the kids are four and I say if they are even running in the right direction near the ball they are winning so perhaps encouraging your child to take out the other team might be a bit early. I was relieved that I wasn't the coach having to deal with that!

At the end of the game, the kids ate a soggy snack and recieved their trophy's and pictures. The kids all sat on the bench while Coach Mike handed them out to each one. Vaughn learned that it's tough to have a name that starts with V as he watched all the other kids get their trophy's ahead of him. At one point he looked at me and said, "I played good too Mommy?" He was pretty thrilled with his trophy and can't wait to show it to his friends.

We skipped the bouncy castle and hoopla at the other field because I didn't feel like standing in the rain. We had celebratory hot chocolate at home instead. Vaughn wanted to show Daddy his trophy so bad but we had to wait until 8:00 when Daddy was home from work. One proud little boy showed Daddy his new trophy! Vaughn couldn't believe that it even had his name on it!

All in all soccer was a success this year! We are looking forward to trying it again next year.

Vaughn #6 on the Green hornets taking on the vicious Purple Plums on one of the few nice mornings we had

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Daddy-less Father's Day

Posted by eljamieson at 9:29 PM 0 comments
We didn't get to celebrate the amazing Daddy that Matt is today but that's ok because we are going to have a family day when we are all together again.

I do want to say how blessed I am to have Matt. He loves Vaughn and Greta more than words can say and those feelings are returned. I wouldn't ask for anyone different. He is an amazing man and a phenomenal father who is involved in his kids lives. He knows their personalities, their likes and dislikes and genuinely enjoys getting down on the floor and playing with them. He goes to skating practice and even sat in on a kindermusik class just so he can stay involved in their lives. He works hard and misses out on fun things, new toys and the latest gadgets in order to keep our expenses low so I can stay home as much as possible with our kids. I appreciate that so much!

I know he is missing them these past few weeks but he does it because he is willing to make sacrifices and do hard things to put our family first. Nobody in our family is perfect, not me, Matt or the kids but God has given us what I think is pretty close.

We love you Matt and we miss you!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

A Rough Week

Posted by eljamieson at 9:44 PM 0 comments
This past week has been a rough one for me emotionally. The longer this goes on the more emotional I become and this week too many things happened at once. I found myself pushed WAY over my emotional limit and I am struggling to get it all back under control.

I cried out to God for help and He answered me. No my house hasn't sold but He did remind me I am not alone. Zinnie agreed to watch the kids for me while I get some blood work done (thank you thank you thank you, an hour in the lab with the kids would have been too much.) Lori blessed me by taking my kids and giving them a fabulous day on Monday even though little Emi is still recovering from surgery and she fed me supper. Cheryl offered to watch my kids on Thursday so I can get a hair cut. Rachel is watching the kids Thursday night so I can have a much needed night out. And then I get a phone call from Heather asking if she can take my kids for a few hours some time to give me a break. There are many more that have encouraged and blessed me this week, too many to name really. I even got an email commending my positive attitude which that person may have taken back if they had seen me in my darker moments this week :) but the email was perfectly time to remind me that how I handle the things that come across my path is a choice.

Things aren't easy but my problems are minuscule in comparison to those around me. My prayers are with friends and family that are struggling with bigger things. My heart is sad for them. I know that lots of my posts are about how hard things are for me but this one is really just a recognition of the amazing people I have in my life here in Edmonton and how sad I will be to say goodbye to them all.

Thank you Lord for seeing, hearing and answering me!

Friday, June 10, 2011

Town and Country Daze

Posted by eljamieson at 8:23 PM 0 comments
Beaumont has Town and Country Daze every year. Last year we took in the parade on Saturday but since we live here I thought we should take i
n a few more of the festivities this year. There was a bbq and petting zoo being held in the Sobey's parking lot on Friday night so I decided to take the kids. I told Vaughn we were going and he was surprisingly excited in-spite of his fear of animals.



It was such a blast, lots of waiting in line but worth it. The kids were amazing, waiting mostly patiently in line for their turns. We started with the jumpy castle and then hit up the petting zoo. It has only been in the last year that Vaughn has decided that he is not scared of dogs but I wasn't sure if that lack of fear would cross over to goats, sheep and chickens. Greta was ready and willing to go and chase every animal in the pen. They had a sitting area where the kids could sit and hold bunnies. Greta was ready and willing to hold the bunny, pet it, squish it, kiss it and generally love the life out of it. Vaughn was not so sure, so I plopped him in a chair where he was content to sit and watch the bunnies. Greta and I headed off to check out the other animals where she proceeded to pet everything that came in her path, even the turkey!


We headed back to the bunny area and to my surprise Vaughn asked to hold a bunny. It turns out he loves them. He couldn't get enough of holding them, I was so proud of him! We held bunnies for the rest of our turn and then headed out to see what else we could do.


Another bouncy castle and the fishing pond brought us to supper. We waited in a VERY long line for our hot dogs and had a picnic on the grass. After that we hit up another bouncy castle and then headed over to the pony ride. Vaughn was sure he didn't want to ride but Greta had been asking me since we saw them if she could ride. We waited in another very long line but eventually got to our turn. One of the workers offered to walk with Greta so I could keep Vaughn on the other side. I think Greta had so much fun, though I don't know if it was any different for her then riding the rides at the mall but maybe. She stayed on the whole time, not one fuss or cry!


Vaughn asked to go back to the petting zoo after that. I was ready to go home but I was so surprised he asked I agreed. He was amazing he petted every animal in the pen. I couldn't get over it, my scared little boy suddenly got brave!


It was an amazing night, I am so glad we went! I love my kids and I love doing fun things with them.

Spoke to Soon

Posted by eljamieson at 7:37 AM 3 comments
Last night after writing my blog about Greta in her big girl and how great she is doing I headed off to bed. As always I checked on the kids. Vaughn was sound asleep in his bed, no problem.

I open Greta's door and this is what I found


Pausing for a minute I figured she had to be somewhere and there she was.


I'm not sure if she fell of out bed and just ended up sleeping here or if she just decided the floor was a better place to sleep but it was pretty cute. I ran to get the camera and snapped a few pictures and I hear this little voice from under her bed saying 'cheese' everytime I snapped the camera. It was so cute and so funny because she was mostly asleep but still willing to pose for her close up.

I put her back into her bed and I think she stayed there the rest of the night.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Big Girl Bed

Posted by eljamieson at 10:51 PM 0 comments



I can't believe that my baby girl is growing up. It seems in many ways to be going faster than Vaughn, probably because she spends most of her days trying to do what her big brother does. With all of the changes coming our way I'm trying to ease the kids into some of them early. I'd been thinking about converting Greta's crib into the toddler bed for awhile but just wasn't sure I was ready. Ready in the sense of I anticipated hours of putting her back in her bed until she finally collapsed from exhaustion and slept in her bed and so did I.

On a whim on Wed. I decided just to do it, get the transition over with so when we move she is ready for her real big girl bed. I took the railing off and set it up and then called her into her room. She was so surprised and so proud. She loves Vaughn's bed and often when I would tell her it was nap or bed time she would head to Vaughn's bed to try and sleep. She could also be found reading books in there from time to time so I had a hunch she might be ready.


Her face says it all, so happy!

She was just so excited and proud to have her own big girl bed. I hadn't thought about a pillow when I converted her bed. And intitially she was a little disapointed I could see it in her little face. Vaughn asked where her pillow was and I said I didn't have one. Her little face just got sad, like she realized she wasn't getting the full big girl bed treatment. Luckily I remembered Vaughn's extra pillow and the quilt I bought had come with a decorative pillow case. Once I pulled that together it was as if I had given her the best present in the world. She was content.

Loving her pillow

I let her explore her bed for a few minutes and then told her it was nap-time and she had to stay in her bed. I gave her bunny, blanket and some books. I didn't really think she would stay in her bed or that she would sleep. I heard lots of talking but no footsteps so I knew she was staying in bed. The talking lasted awhile but she did eventually fall asleep and have her first nap in her big girl bed. After she woke up we had to call Daddy and tell him and then all she wanted was to read books in her bed. It was so ridiculously cute!

Ready for her nap


Just hanging out in her bed

I wasn't so sure how bedtime would go, maybe I should put more faith in my kids! I put her in and then closed the door but left it open a crack because I wanted to be able to peek in on her. She thought the open crack meant she was free to get up and do what she wanted. After she emerged in the hallway I took her back to bed and told her she had to stay. There were a few tears but she did it, she stayed. I anticipated and early morning wake up call but I actually woke her up at 7:30. I know I keep using the word proud but it is just such a good description of how she's acting, proud that she slept all night in her big girl bed.

Enjoying her first night's sleep in her bed

I have to say I am supremely impressed by how well she's done. I left all her books and toys in her room so she has the full temptation of getting up to play but so far she is staying in her bed. This was such a fun thing to do, I feel like I gave her the best gift in the world. She just keeps talking about her bed and her room. Just when I think she can't get any cuter she does. Man I love that little girl!


Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Eye Patches aren't just for Pirates Anymore

Posted by eljamieson at 6:29 PM 0 comments


I took Vaughn in for a followup appointment with the eye doctor today. I wanted to see how he was doing and make sure everything was in order before we move. After the initial exam using the pictures to assess how he was doing it looked like the glasses were working. Dr. Keddie asked me if he knew his letters and numbers well enough to try that test. I said he did and sure enough using his good eye he aced the first chart. Then came his bad eye and it was immediately evident that he is not seeing properly out of his left eye still. He was trying to move away from the shield on his good eye so he could see and he got almost all of the letters wrong. Little smartie pants had figured out the basic outline of the pictures and since they only use 5 different pictures it was easy for him to correctly guess which one it was.

I have to admit my heart sank a little. I know that a patch is not the end of the world but I really wanted him to avoid it. He has to wear it a min. of 4 hours a day to a max of 8. The Dr. and I both agreed that it is better to do this in the summer so that there is a reduced chance of him having to wear it at school in the fall. It's not really like a pirate patch it is a medical patch that is essentially a big bandaid he wears on his eye.

We started this afternoon because the sooner we do it the sooner we see results. He was initially very excited because I told him he got to be a pirate everyday. We went to the store and bought a box of eye patches and he proudly carried them home and asked to put it on. However once it was on everything changed. He wanted it off almost immediately, then when I put his glasses on overtop he started crying that it hurt. He has a mosquito bite very close to the patch and it was irritating the bite. My heart broke in two when big crocodile tears started rolling down his one uncovered eye. The crying didn't last long and by the end of the 5 hours he was fine. We found a place to order reuseable patches with cool designs, they are actually based out of Petrolia believe it or not. He has picked out a mickey mouse patch so I'll order that and that might make it a little more fun for him.

The Dr. also told me to get Greta tested as soon as we are settled in Ontario even though he had originally told me to wait until she was three. Apparently Vaughn's lack of response to the glasses and the fact that it is usually hereditary I guess made it wise to get her looked at sooner rather than later . . . this could get expensive if I end up with 3 kids with glasses and patches :)

I know that Vaughn will do fine with the patch and I suspect that tomorrow having to wear it won't even phase him because that's the kind of kid he is

Last's

Posted by eljamieson at 6:18 PM 0 comments
Matt and I have agreed that 3 is it for us, after this wonderful addition we will be done. I whole heartedly agree with this decision and because I know this is my last pregnancy I find myself feeling a little sad and nostalgic.

Being pregnant is such a wonderful thing, I love it. I have been blessed with (so far) 3 pretty easy pregnancies. Now that I can feel our baby moving around I remember how much I miss that afterwards. I love getting bigger and enjoying the big belly, I love feeling 'special' when I'm pregnant, like this magically thing is happening. I can't wait to meet this baby girl but I will be sad when it's all over. The anticipation of when she will come, what she will look like, what her personality will be like is such an amazing blessing to experience. I know that I shouldn't complain because not everyone gets to experience this once let alone 3 times but I can't help but feel a little sad that it will be over in a few short months.

Not having Matt here to experience our last pregnancy makes it hard too. I want this baby to turn her head and look when she hears Daddy's voice because she recognizes it from the 9 months she was inside and I'm afraid that won't happen. I know she will recognize Vaughn and Greta because they have decided that talking to baby is fun. Vaughn continually asks her what she's doing in there and if she's having a good day.

On the plus side when it's all over I get a precious little baby girl to hug and squish for a little while longer because it is becoming increasingly apparent that my baby girl is not a baby anymore (insert sad face here).

I can't wait to meet you baby but let's take our time enjoying these last few months!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Sometimes things feel hard

Posted by eljamieson at 9:52 PM 0 comments
I keep getting asked, how I'm doing. It's funny because I really have two completely different answers.

I find that have adjusted to being on my own with the kids. Yes there are days when an extra hand would be nice and I'm sure they would like a break from me when I get a little crazy. But all in all we are managing. I watched my Mom raise my sister and I and so I know that I have it in me. It's interesting how quickly this has become my new normal. I'm sure if I didn't have such supportive friends and family I might not be feeling this way but I do. I know that in terms of doing it alone we will survive this. I think that Matt has the worse end of this situation because he is missing the kids and all the amazing, funny, frustrating and cute things they do on a daily basis. I am actually a little more nervous of getting my control freak ways under control when we are all together again as a family and letting Matt back in. We'll figure it out, he might just need to be a bit patient with me, it's my way or no way around here and it might take me a few days to adjust :)

The other side is not so good. I am done. I am done with not knowing, with waiting, with stressing over all the financial aspects of this move. I'm done with trying to have faith that it is all in God's hands. I say that I'm done but I hope you understand this is just an emotional rant, I am not truly done. I pray with the kids every night that Daddy will find a job he loves, that our house will sell and that our family will be together again. I know that God sees us and knows every detail and how it will all fall into place. I am trusting Him, but I think I'm allowed to struggle while trusting. There are minutes and even hours and days where I want our old life back, where Matt worked at ATB and life seemed simpler. We have lived in uncertainty for awhile now and it's getting old. But we made this choice and this is what we want for our family and nothing happens without sacrifice. And so I will continue to cry out to God and ask for help and truly believe it is safely in His hands.

I find myself consumed with prayer lately but not just for me, for a former co-workers grandson that is in the hospital struggling with heart problems, for a friend whose is waiting to hear if she is still pregnant, for my family, for so many other things. And that is good, it reminds me that my problems are not so big and it's good not to focus on myself so much.

But just so you know don't be surprised when I give answer number one to people when they asked, I don't like admitting my weaknesses, fancy myself superwoman most days :)
 

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