Quiet Time Trouble

Simon stopped daily naps when Claire was born. Slowly, he's weaned his naps down to 1-2 times a week. This week, he hasn't napped at all. That hasn't stopped us from giving him Quiet Time. Usually, he sings, reads his books, plays with his animals and does weird 2-year-old things.
Yesterday, he ripped 2 library books to shreds. Eeeek! Major Momma disappointment!
"Simon ripping books, Momma!" was how he gleefully explained it when I entered his room.

After a chat about how that was bad and my removal of all his paper books from his room and a talk about how I had to pay for those books, I had a sorrowful Simon.
Today, I gave him a sticker activity book and a MagnaDoodle to keep him entertained. I'm about to walk into his room to see how that went over. I heard lots of chattering and singing so - I'm hoping for the best.

What do/did your 2-year olds do during their Quiet Times? I'm looking for some ideas to help keep the destruction at bay.

Stranded

Claire and I come late to church to accommodate her napping needs. Trevor and Simon go early for Sunday school. This week I remembered Simon's library books (only a month late). I stuck my keys in the book bag (I also wore a dress - haven't done this is a long, long time).
When we went to leave church, I realized that my keys were still in the book bag that was on it's way home with Trevor. We called to let him know. Since he was playing in the yard with Simon (waiting for us), he didn't get my messages right away so, Claire and I were stranded at church for a little bit. We ate baby cookies, played in the shade and ripped petunias to shreds. We were rescued in time for lunch and naps.
This may be a reason for the both of us to finally cave and get cell phones... and yet - they are such a pain to charge, pay for and remember to bring.

the Momma bubble

I used to be quite knowledgeable about current events. I used to have great work stories (at least I thought they were great) and I used to have a pile of other adults to share information with.
Lately, I'm realizing my life is kind of a bubble... a Thomas the Train, FB, laundry all the time kind of bubble. Unless you want to hear all the details of my kids' lives, I've really got nothing to say. Sigh...
There's really nothing wrong with this because a) it's a season in my life and b) it's temporary. However, it's weird to feel boring.

10 (and all those stats I'm going to want to remember one day)

I see this little imp of a girl emerging. I see it in her mischievous grin, the way she coyly looks at others to lure them in and then lunges back to Momma and I can hear it in her newly found "talking" as she tells us what for on a regular basis. She's beautiful, she's determined and she's mine and I'm soooo proud of her.
Claire - age 10 months
weight - Momma guesstimates 20-22 lbs
clothing size - 12 to 18 months
vocabulary - Mommommommom, Dat, Cat, Nuuuah, Imo (Simon)
mobility - still bumming around, can stand for 3-8 seconds, learning to pull up on people and objects
sleep status - morning and afteroon naps (~1 1/2 hours each) - requires some cuddling for the last half of her afternoon nap (of course); nights are pretty good; morning typically comes between 6 am and 7:30 am
favorite foods - chocolate, ice cream, cheese (good thing she has Wiens metabolism), any kind of berries, yogurt and bananas (she out eats Simon at most meals)
cute things she does - LOVES kisses; snugs up way too close to Simon in the bath; LOVES Bob and walks; loves pictures of herself; enjoys flap books and pull-tab books; likes Baby Einstein; gets super excited when Trevor comes home; Fergus is her boyfriend

Oh my goodness... she's going to a one year old soon... really soon.... ahhhh!!!!!

Summer of 2011

Older people, especially ladies, tell me to savour these moments with my kids. This summer has been pretty perfect. This is how I want to remember it:
-Splash Park or other parks almost daily
-coffee for me and cookie for Simon and a nap for Claire
-reading stories to Simon on the Canada chair while drinking chocolate milk
-Simon's sneaky places and peek-a-boo tree
-teething on crab apples
-lots and lots of BBQ
-grocery shopping in the dark (the power went out but, everyone kept shopping - weird)
-picking endless amounts of dandelions for Simon to play with (and Claire to eat) on our "Bob" walks
-Fergus runs free
-loads of family time
-sushi lunches (my kids' favorite)
-maple leaf treats from 711
-Simon's "Big Boy Bed" success

I wish I could bottle up this summer and take it out in 10 years in February to savour all over again. I guess I'll just have to lap it up now!

9/11

A decade ago, I drove to school wondering about the plane that crashed into the Twin Towers. I listened to the radio and couldn't make heads or tails of what had happened.
My co-op (I was interning) and I tried to disseminate the news as it came in and share it with our students.
For P3 - we took our kids to the library so that we could watch CNN coverage on the TV.
I remember a lot of shock and silence from those grade 11s as we sat there.
One of our modified History boys predicted that the US would use the terrorist attacks as an excuse to go after Saddam Hussein. I still marvel that what he predicted came true.
This was only the first week of my teaching career and yet, it was such a formative day.

Today, I remember.

Crafty

Claire's starting to sleep the night (cross fingers). She's also starting to let me put her in her crib for her afternoon naps. With Simon in Quiet Time, this leaves me with a little bit of free time in the afternoons. Do I clean the house? Bake? Sit with my feet up and drink chocolate milk? Plan for my teaching job? Prep supper? Do laundry?
Well... I do a little of that.
I also get my craft on. A little sewing and a little digital scrapbooking and I'm a happy lady.
It just feels good to set a little goal, do some menial labour and voila... something I've created.
I'm not all that great. I'm kind of a slap-dash kind of girl but, I'm having fun and making stuff.
Yah for me!
(Thanks Claire!)

Adventures in his Big Boy Bed

Saturday, we switched Claire over to Simon's crib and Simon into a Big Boy bed. Claire was in a hand-me-down crib that I was comfortable with her in until she started to move (which is now)... I wanted her to be in Simon's crib by then. Simon inherited Trevor's Super Single bed (from back in his super single days). We haven't put up the frame, just the mattress on the floor.
Since nap times have really become "quiet times", nothing much has changed. Oh... except Simon can wander his entire room wreaking destruction wherever he goes. Mostly, he just reads books and sings on his bed.
Last night, after being up way too long with Claire (we made her cry it out - we're mean like that), I heard a huge thud. I checked the monitor and didn't see Simon's sleeping body on his bed anymore. Somehow, he'd fallen off. However, since I also didn't hear any crying, I figured I'd better let sleeping toddlers lie. In the morning, I checked the monitor again and, he was back on the mattress. It looked like he had just crawled up from the floor and fallen back asleep. Good for him.
(I guess, Claire, that's why we're teaching you to cry it out now - so you can solve sleep problems on your own in the future.)

Confessions of a Sunday Heretic

I've always been a faithful Sunday church goer. Part of it is that church is a good way to re-connect to Christ weekly and in a communal way. Part of it is social. Either which way, I love going. I love my church and the people there.
However, this is the 3rd week in a row that I have "skipped" church. Today, I miss it.
Claire naps at 10 am. I like her happy and not cranky so, I like to ensure good naps for her. Church is on summer hours until next week and it starts at 10 am. That means, I have to choose between church and a nap. Normally, this would just mean choosing a cranky baby, sticking her in the nursery where she's happily distracted and letting her pass out in the car on the way home. Except, because it's summer, there are no nursery workers. That means that if I go to church, basically, I am going to the nursery to play with my cranky baby.
What's the point?
I did it for a few Sundays and I was just frustrated. All I was doing was hanging out in the nursery (usually looking after a few other people's kids as well as mine) and the price: a very cranky baby and then, a very cranky Momma. There was not the benefit of enjoying church to counter-balance.
I'm a little peeved that only 4 couples signed up for nursery duty from mid-June until mid-September. Sure, it's one thing if they're not around however, if their bringing their kids to the nursery week after week, why didn't they sign up and share the load a little?
So, today, I'm sitting at home with my napping baby. I did laundry. I cleaned up morning dishes. I did a little landscaping. I'm feeling a little heretical but, this too will pass.

Baby Blues

Levi and Claire - almost 7 months and 9 1/2 months.

Washing Desks in a Sunny Room on a Thursday Made me Smile

Today, I entered my 10th classroom (I've had admin who likes to play "Musical Classrooms"). I put up some bulletin boards (wow - elementary school teachers are a bit weird about these - I'm more of a poster girl), did some basic set up and cleaned my desks. I was excited to have some time alone in my class because that meant I was able to pray for each of the 22 students that will walk through the door on Tuesday.
My replacement teacher and I met for a bit and then, I went back home to my sweet kiddos who were getting to know and becoming re-acquainted with our amazing baby-sitter.
It feels weird to not be starting up the school year. It feels even weirder to only have 22 students for a full year (I'm used to around 100 a semester). It's also pretty strange to be in an elementary school with short people.
Ah - times they are a changin'...