30!!

Wholly Toledo!

I have lost 30lbs in three months. Actually, I have lost 30.5lbs in three months.

30.5LBS IN THREE MONTHS!

And even better? It has been easy. Really easy. I know I will hit a point sooner or later where I am going to need to work at it a lot harder. These thirty pounds have come off because of proper portion sizes and keeping my calorie count to around 2000 calories a day.

I am awesome.

Bliss!

The boys and I went for our first quad ride of the year and it was fantastic! Hunter kept yelling for us to go faster and Cavan couldn't turn his head fast enough to take in all the sights. It is going to be a fantastic quadding season!

Mum? Mum? Mummy? Mama? Mom?

Good. Now that we have your attention...
Guess where Mr. Wiggles yakked?!
Can we have ice cream?
Where is dad?
Is it playgroup day?
I pooed in the potty and Mr. Wiggles touched it.
Can we have three yogurts?
I locked the cat in the bedroom.
Who made you mom?
Wanna read to me?
Wanna play trains with me?
I have to pee.
Can I phone grandma?
I want milk.
BA BA!! ~ Cavan stating he wants booby

While the day is rarely peaceful, it is always entertaining with such inquisitive boys.

Sleep is for the Weak

And I am weak. I WANT SLEEP!

We are not having a good weekend in terms of sleep. Actually, the last six months have been horrible. Here is a run down of how much fun we are having:

Cavan

• waking between 3 and 10 times a night
• will usually not fall asleep for the night unless I boob him
• prefers to sleep on us than in his own bed
• hates to nap more than half an hour at a time
• seems to be having gas/cramps probably related to all the new food he is trying
• is no longer getting booby in the middle of the night as I am attempting to wean him, so he screams at lot with Matt who gets up with him now
• if we let him stay in his crib to cry it out, it just wakes up Hunter and then we are dealing with two screaming kids.
  

Hunter

• waking about 3 times a night (or more if Cavan is up screaming)
  
• having nightmares where he wakes up screaming requiring a lot of cuddles to get back to sleep
  
• walks and talks in his sleep again requiring gentle reminders to go back to sleep
  
• we now have a double bed in his room so whichever parent is dealing with him can at least get into bed with him and get some sleep
• gets upset when I put Cavan down for naps and will run around screaming, "Mr. Wiggles wake up and play with me!!!"
• will sleep in until 7am if a parent is in bed with him or 5am if he is on his own

When you are sleep deprived as a parent you do things you swore would never happen, such as sleeping in your kids bed! At this point I don't care who sleeps where, just as long as we are sleeping!

Last night sleep deprivation was compounded by a sick baby and Matt getting called in to work. Cavan was coughing so hard he would yak. He was a super duper spewing machine. I had to change my pajama top three times, and bottoms twice. The floors need to be washed today since throwing a dishtowel at the spots in the middle of night does not count as cleaning up.

While Matt was at work (this was some time after midnight and we hadn't slept yet due to Sir Barfs-a-lot) I was trying to get Cavan to sleep. Just as I got him to sleep on me and was ready to transfer him to the crib, Hunter woke up screaming. By the time I got down the hallway (with a wide awake baby now), he was in my bed and upset that I wasn't there! So we all went to Hunter's bed in hopes of sleep. However, Cavan thought it was play time and jumped all over the two of us. Somehow after half an hour Hunter fell asleep and I returned to the living room to rock Cavan to sleep. Again, just as I get the baby to sleep Hunter starts screaming that he has to pee and that he is scared of the dark. Matt came home to the three of us sitting in Hunter's bed, me near tears, Hunter telling Mr. Wiggles to sleep with him, and Cavan having a hoot playing on the bed.

I took Hunter to bed with me and Matt got to deal with Cavan after that. Hunter fell asleep at 4am, but kept insisting in his sleep that he needed to "sleep with me" which meant that he put his head on top of my head!! I slept off and on until we got up for good at 6:30. I could hear Matt up with Cavan at least one more time and then I got him out of his crib at 7:30.

This week Matt has to go to Whitehorse for two nights while we stay here. I have no clue how I am going to survive even these two nights. With two parents you can each take a kid and a bit of sleep is usually had. I have zero hope for sleep while Matt is gone. I am sure this phase of nighttime fun will end one day. It will... right?

While suggestions are always appreciated, what I really want is for you to just come to my house and watch my kids while I take a nap. Or even better, how about you stay up all night with them while I get eight hours straight! Sound good? When can I expect you?

Downsizing!

My weight continues to drop, and I am ecstatic at my success so far. Since the new year I have now lost a whopping 28.5lbs and hope to hit the thirty pound mark for the end of this month.

I notice a difference in how my clothes are fitting already. I went through my closet last weekend and left with an entire garbage bag of clothes that WERE TOO BIG!! How fantastic is that!?

Faro has free clothing/houseware swap associated with a church that I pop into usually once a week. Last week I found a really nice summer dress that I now have hanging in my closet. I am a loooong way from fitting it since it is a size large, but I hope it will inspire me every time I see it in there. Maybe in a couple of years my arse will have shrunk enough to make it possible!

Finger Food Ideas Please!

Cavan has decided he is a big boy now and wants to feed himself. He refuses to eat anything off a spoon served by me unless it is yogurt (I dip the spoon in oatmeal first, then cover it in yogurt; I am so sneaky).

Hunter was so much easier. I made heaps of awesome meals that he let me spoon feed to him. So please share with me what finger foods you give your baby. I really need some ideas! Right now his favorite finger foods are bread, peas, and cheerios.

Wrong end, right orifice!

How would you like...

At lunch today my husband came through the door and yelled, "How would you like a week long all expenses paid vacation to.... (and here I think somewhere hot like Mexico)... Mayo!" Hmmm, not exactly what I was thinking!

Matt's position at the health centre is as a float. He is full time, permanent staff however if another community is short of staff and Faro is fully staff, he gets shipped out. We have been so lucky this winter that Matt has been working nearly the entire time here. I would be pulling my hair out if he was gone a lot. These boys require a lot of work!

So off to Mayo we will all go in a couple of weeks. The only downfall is my internet addiction. The nursing units have no internet. Booooo. And I am a hardcore junkie. Perhaps someone will be silly enough to leave their connection unlocked and I can get on! Yes, I am that pathetic, but I am one with my patheticness (I know, that isn't a word. But I am okay with that too). At least they have satellite! Treehouse, Lost, Survivor and Amazing Race here I come!!

Any suggestions as to fun stuff to see and do while in Mayo?

Watch out Mayoites! We will be bringing our chaos your way soon!

Typical Day in Pictures

A typical day in the Went household goes something along these lines:

We read lots of books:

Hunter spends a lot of time in his time-out spot. Here he gets creative with his clothing:

The cats seek out new hiding spots to hide from the kids:

Naps are taken (although not usually with a fruit leather stuck to ones face):

We go for walks:

We eat lots of yummy food:

And of course we cook delicious meals in the oven:

Flour Junkie

While making banana bread on the weekend, Mr. Wiggles got his grubby little hands into the flour bin. He became an instant addict.

It begins innocently enough:

A little experimentation:

Followed by all out indulgence:

"What do you mean I have a problem? I could quit any time I wanted!"

"Nooooooo!! Don't take it! I can't live without it!"

Supporting Kids Music

Our friends father, Duncan Wells, is one talented artist. One of his passions is making music for kids that is unique and fun to listen to, even if you are an adult.

Right now he has two animated children's videos in the running to air on Sesame Street. Please go and watch as well as vote for them. It just take a minute to log in and click the five stars that they are worth.

Click to watch and vote for "Bugs" and "Whoa Nellie". "Whoa Nellie" is in first place right now, so please help keep it there! Hunter watched it six times in a row today before we finally had enough.

And while you are at it, head over to his website to listen to some great kids music!

Blood

Our boys are definitely the rough and tumble type, but seeing blood turns me into such a worry-wort. It is so wonderful that I married a nurse who stays calm and collected when the blood makes an appearance.

Tonight Cavan had a rough time. First while playing in the kitchen, he bonked his face off of the open dishwasher door. It ended up cutting his eyelid and there was just a little blood.

About ten minutes later I decided to do a quick mop of the floor since all of the toys were put away. Hunter and Cavan were having fun sliding on the wet floor. Cavan kept trying to crawl and would then wipe out. Two seconds after I suggested to Matt that he pick Cavan up before he hurt himself, he did a face-plant on the floor. It was one of those hits where it takes them a while to get the scream out. You know when that happens that it is going to be a bad one!

Matt picked him up and the blood was pouring out his nose and mouth. Matt went into nurse mode and was getting the blood flow to stop while I went into suck-hole mommy mode. I just wanted to cuddle him instead of holding him down while screaming so Matt could clean him up.

Matt got the bleeding to stop and then I got to cuddle him. Of course all he wanted then was booby and promptly fell asleep (Cavan, not Matt! Although, I am sure Matt wanted that too!)

I am so very thankful for my husband and how calm he is when our kids bleed.

My Kids Will Hate Me For This...

But of course I am going to put it up anyways!

Dancing Boys from Kara Went on Vimeo.

Important Questions

So how do you answer when your two and a half year old asks, "Who built me?"

My wonderful husband puts is so sweetly saying that mommy and daddy built you.

I, the not-so-wonderful parent, tell him he was bought at Walmart.

Oh the fun I will have warping the minds of my children. I am betting that educational fund we have set up for them gets used for therapy instead.

Sail Away With Us

Two boys went sailing
in their boats.
Across the ocean
and across the sea.
But what will they do
if their boats don't float?
They will yell
mommy come rescue me!

Worms For Breakfast

For the last week we have had a house guest. Her name is Billy-Jean and her parents are on a vacation to Italy. She is very easy to look after and we only have to feed her every other day!

Billy-Jean is a Leopard Gecko and Hunter is in love with her. Tweak, our grey cat, is also in love with her and has been trying to break into the terrarium ever since it arrived so she could have a tasty gecko snack. Thankfully the lid is on tight! Freak, the white cat, approached Billy-Jean on the first night just as Hunter was walking up to the table as well. Freak was so focused on the gecko that when Hunter approached Billy-Jean it scared her so bad she backfliped off the table, hit a chair, and bunny-hopped about three feet in the air over top of Cavan. How I wish the video camera had been on for that.

She will be going home this week and we will miss our little friend. Unfortunately, Matt wasn't as enamoured with her and has ignored the pleas for a lizard of our own.

Beautiful Billy-Jean

Worms for Breakfast

Worms for Breakfast from Kara Went on Vimeo.

Rocking Moose

Rocking Moose from Kara Went on Vimeo.

Book Addict

Why with over 300 books to choose from, am I required to read "Go Dog Go" at least twice everyday?

Walking!

Check out our little man on the go!

Walking from Kara Went on Vimeo.

Weenie Time!

We needed to get out of the house today, so we had planned on a weenie roast at the lake with our friends. However the wind was going to make it miserable for the boys so we changed locations and we to the Mount Mye Sheep Viewing Station which is about 10km out of town.

The Station has a great little day cabin complete with a stove and picnic table. We got a fire going to take off what little chill there was (it was +2 today) and broke out the weenies! We cooked most of them on tin foil on the top of the stove and then topped that off with marshmallows. The boys enjoyed playing in the cabin out of the wind and were full of smiles, even for the camera!

Cavan enjoying the view.
(I love this picture of me- I can really see the weight loss in my face at this angle!)

Finally! A real smile from Hunter for the camera!

Cavan loving the attention from our friends Kendra and Erica:

Goofing around!

Hunter imitating Kendra as she cooks a weenie on the fire:

Marshmallow goodness!

Faro Beautification

When Faro was a booming mine town it was home to a few thousand people. As the mine downsized and eventually closed the population dwindled, to I am told, fewer than a hundred people. Now the community has around 450 living here.

Faro has a ghost-town look and feel to it. There are large sections of town that are full of boarded up townhouses, apartment complexes, single family homes and businesses. These buildings have been closed for so long that they have now become unfit for habitation. As Faro tries to change its image from the rough and tumble mine town, town beautification has become a priority. These run down buildings have stood in the way of that beautification process.

The town received a large amount of funding to tear down some of the most obvious eye-sores here. Prior to them coming down for good, some folks were able to bid for salvage rights on them. For a few weeks they were able to nab anything they wanted from the buildings. Now they sit just waiting for their final tear down. Town is going to look so much better even with just these few buildings gone.

I am not sure what is going to happen with the vacated spaces. I hope the town turns it into more green space that can be used by anyone. Faro has a lot of greenspace, but sadly it is mainly golf course so we cannot play on it. It looks gorgeous, but it is a little frustrating to see so much work put into maintaining the golf course when the playgrounds are so dilapidated that they are unsafe and therefore pretty much unusable. We sure are hoping that Faro puts more resources into making the community more family friendly to entice more young families to move here.

It will be exciting to see how many more eyesores will be taken down in the next few years. Faro will surely benefit from this beautification as the ghost town is left behind and replaced by a thriving small community taking pride in its appearance.

The old laundromat being prepped for moving:

Cranky Franks Restaurant missing a few pieces:

This apartment complex lost its roof and windows to salvage:

This apartment sits right next to the one in the above picture. All of its windows have been removed and I am sure more was taken from the inside:

Blue Eyes

It looks like these blue eyes are here to stay! Hunter's eyes changed colour from blue to brown at about seven months, so I thought Cavan would follow suit. Now I am wondering how red his hair will be or if it will go to to a nice brown like Hunter.

Ball tent fun!*

*This ball tent is the most used toy in our house right now. I used to have it in the basement and I am so glad I brought it upstairs. The boys play in it everyday! Completely worth the $50. We bought it at JYSK and you can find it here. The only bummer is Jysk has super crappy shipping, so harass a friend to buy it for you throw it in the mail.

Buddies

Dinky Car Parking

I find these things everywhere!
A few have even survived a round in the dishwasher.

Toilet Obsessed

We have hit the toilet obsession stage with Cavan. Look at the grin on his face! He looks so proud that he just filled the bowl with toilet paper. Not surprisingly, the toilet is having some flushing issues today.