Adventures in monkeyland

Life has been kinda busy and I'm finding myself blogging less and less.  And while I'm not blogging, my little man is growing so fast.

I wasn't have much luck with Mason sleeping in his own bed so I decided to give him a new bed thinking that may have been the problem.  He kept saying he wanted a 'bigger' bed (even though he sleeps in a Toddler bed at his Dad's).  So while he was on vacation with his Daddy, I got busy and started designing a new room for him.  Once I realized that there wouldn't be enough room, I decided to give up my larger room and switch.  My (old) room was perfect for a bedroom/playroom!  A few days later it was complete.  A loft bed with a play area underneath and all of his toys around it.

Sleeping - Well we haven't exactly tried out the new bed as finding a twin mattress that wasn't $500 and didn't suck was difficult.  I ordered a high end foamy (lol) but it was delayed by weeks so I've only had it two days now and Mason doesn't seem interested in sleeping in the bunk.  He keeps talking about sleeping in the lower bed (his Toddler bed placed in the area below) but when it comes to bed time, he ends up in my bed.  I'm going to keep working on this and maybe spend a night with him in the bunk to show him he cannot fall out and it's not scary.  I don't think he'll sleep below.  Sigh.  At least he sleeps through the night and deeply.   Still has his regular naps...

Learning - After an extremely stressful period where we didn't have a new daycare for Mason to go to when he turned 3, his Dad found a great Montessori that was full time! Usually unheard of and the great thing was the hours and the price.  I heard that a commercial daycare bumped their rates up to $1600 per month.  Absolutely INSANE and should be against the law in my opinion.  We have paid over $20,000 dollars in two years.  Seems crazy when it's all added up but split between two parents is not that hard.  I couldn't imagine covering that cost entirely alone.  It wouldn't be possible to live.

Talking - Oh do we ever have a chatty boy.  Mason's vocabulary has increased and I notice that he's used a lot of words that we read to him in books (Cherry Blossoms, elevator, astronaut).  It's funny to hear him use such big words.  He's still reversing his w's and r's but I'm sure he'll grow out of it.  He seems to be developing his language skills at a good pace and has lots of interest in reading books and learning new things.  Since going to Montessori, he talks a lot about numbers and is sure to tell me when they skip a lesson.

Health - Generally Mason is a very healthy kid and unlike his Mama, rarely has a cold.  He had a stint of the flu a few months back that landed us at Emergency for a non stop vomit session but it stopped by the time we got there and then went home.  Then most recently came one of his biggest accidents, it occurred when we were on our way to the Island.  We were just getting on an escalator and I unfortunately was not holding his hand, it all happened so fast and I'm not sure how but he ended up falling down 4-5 stairs.  I flew down after him scooped him up and ran back up to the top (we were only half way up when he tumbled).  I went into fix it mode, meanwhile keeping extremely calm.  My purse was around my shoulders and I had a brand new pack of kleenex which was pulled out when I realized that he was bleeding from the forehead.  People ran to our aid but there wasn't much for them to do.  I asked for a Medic and when she came she said he had a bump? I removed the kleenex to state, no...he had an open wound.  It  wasn't deep, it was wide as it was the only part of him that connected with the stairs on the way down and the grate made an imprint into his little head.  No other part of him was injured (thank God) but this cut was horrible looking and needed attention.  I was told then I couldn't board the ferry (which had just arrived) and my car was in the line up to head over.  Once Mason was cleaned up and had a band aid attached to him to keep the wound closed, we were told to head to Lions Gate Hospital in North Van for stitches.  The EMT at BC Ferries was quite nice and did a good job keeping Mason distracted (gave him stickers) but I was very surprised she did not wear gloves and I made a comment to her about it.   I had never been to Lions Gate hospital before and was super impressed.  We were in and out within 2 hours which is unheard of.  The staff were awesome with Mason and the rooms were equipped for kids.  TV, books and lots of attention.  Our Doctor told Mason he was a pirate and Mason could have a look into the treasure chest when he was done for a prize.  This was the first time Mason would have stitches and I thought since I didn't have a weak stomach that I wouldn't be affected but it was horrible.  I cried quietly while my kid sat on the bed with this giant owie on his head and I couldn't help but blame myself and continued to play the scene over and over in my head to figure out why I didn't grab his hand and how he fell.  He wasn't goofing around, he was just standing next to me.  Awful.  They stitched Mason up, which was an awful experience to watch.  He was swaddled, which he hated and they sewed his little head up.  I had to turn around a few times.  Once we were done he was happy to go home and was fine after that.  It's now a few weeks later and his head is healing nicely, he had no bruising and no brain injury which I am grateful for, it could have been a lot worse.  I will say that is the last time he goes anywhere without holding my hand and we will avoid escalators if we can.

Top pic - two days after the tumble, Bottom pic - today.  10 days later.  The bruising and scrapes on his nose are gone.  He has a small mark on the right which should heal completely and the big owie is still pretty red.  The 4 stitches dissolved and there is one left that will eventually fall out.  I pray that his almost new skin heals great and there won't be much of a mark.

Potty Training - Mason did well with potty training but it's not quite over yet.  He is 99% trained with peeing.  He wears big boy underwear throughout the day and even takes the initiative to go the potty alone.  The only downside is during naps/night, we still need to depend on the pull ups or he wets the bed.  I was proactive with his new mattress and bought an Oops sheet to keep it dry.  When I buy a new mattress I will definitely buy one for my bed when I go through potty training for my future kidlets.  The other part of training is #2 which Mason has an aversion to.  He won't go poo unless he has a pull up and sometimes not even then.  It's extremely frustrating and causes constipation if he waits too long.  I know it's a common thing for kids so we are just waiting until he's through this phase which I hope is sooner than later.

Playtime - Mason is still into the same toys - fire trucks, garbage trucks, monster trucks and goes through phases of movies...Pirates of the Caribbean (Pirates of the be-an), Spiderman and re-enacts scenes with their character names, fighting moves and all of that boy stuff.  I don't mind it except for the shooting which he's got a habit of doing.  He knows we don't like it and the smart kid tells me he's not shooting guns but webs from his Spider arms.  Ahhhh.  Well don't shoot spider webs at people, please.  I won't allow Mason to have toy guns in the house and hopefully he'll grow out of that phase.

Manners - I'm proud to say that Mason has kept up his manners and says please and thank you sometimes without prompting.  He's been giving me random kisses and thanking for me for things 10 mins after the fact which I think is so sweet. 

Growing - Often mistaken for a kid who is older is mostly due to his height.  He's 3 ft 2 which is more than half his adult size! It's an amazing thing considering he is only 3.  His weight is still healthy but on the low side, he's been at 30lbs for quite some time but he is eating well and looks good. 

That really IS the question.

It’s a no brainer.  Really.  At first thought, who would choose no sleep over sleep!? A crazy person? Or perhaps a Mommy that really misses her boy when he’s with his Dad for a week.  Seven long days.

I actually had 2 weeks of uninterrupted sleep, could do what I wanted, when I wanted.  No changing of pull ups, no excess laundry, no toys to trip over.  All this bliss and I was miserable.

I didn’t even really sleep in when I wanted, my body just naturally woke me up at stupid times on the weekend.  I begged, pleaded with my brain.  Please stop thinking about work, about the tasks you need to do at home, and how much you miss your boy.

So fast forward to the first week I have Mason back and I’ve barely gotten any sleep.  Working full time as a single Mom is exhausting.  I have a small window of maybe ½ hr to come online, check email and plan the weekends before the focus is back on the wee child for part of the evening routine.

I start off saying the *same* thing every night.   “WE are going to bed early tonight!”.  I go into a long rant on how it took him forever to stop bouncing, yapping, pleading, negotiating and declaring ‘Me not sleepy!”.  The time difference makes it look worse than it is but 10pm is not a 3 year old's bed time.  It’s not really even my bed time!  In the morning I have to deal with a somewhat cranky little man who struggles to wake up and sometimes says "No wake up!". 

Geez, I wonder why you are so tired..?

I am not sure when it changed.  Some time ago Mason would be put to bed…in his own bed at 9pm every night.  He would babble for a while and then go to sleep.  Sometimes he'd wake up from a bad dream and cry for me.  he'd end up in my bed because ignoring him while he whined and fake cried would just annoy me and jolt me awake.  Then neither of us would get sleep!

Perhaps he senses my maternal instinct to cuddle, run my fingers through his hair, sing songs softly and listen to his little sighs, yawns and that moment he finally succumbs to the Sand Man.  While I don't encourage it, part of me is glad when he runs to my room for bedtime story.  I still have typical Mom fears of something bad happening if he's not near me when I sleep.  He's going to stop breathing, a blanket will be wrapped around his neck, someone will break into the room and steal him while I am off in a slumber.  Ridiculous things but they are very real to me. 

The first night I would get him back, he would be in my bed.  This was for my own selfish reasons.  I needed to be near him.  Then somehow on Thursday I would realize that he was in my bed every night.  I would coax him to sleep in his own bed and would end up listening to him explain why he just couldn’t sleep there.  It wasn’t comfy, he didn’t like it, the bed was yucky, there are monsters, dragons, bats...in the closet, under the bed.  I even tried camping out in his room, on my futon mattress beside his bed but after him protesting for over an hour, I finally gave in and he snuggled up next to me and instantly fell asleep.

Now I am definitely not against co-sleeping.  I think it’s a natural part of parenthood and I would never judge any parent for wanting to sleep with their child.  I personally believe it strengthens the relationship between parent and child and breaks that barrier when they are teens and are embarrassed to be seen with their parents.  But there comes a time when I just want to stretch out, rest my head on my WHOLE pillow and be comfortable.  A stark difference from having an elbow or knee to the back, legs draped over mine or a little face inches from mine.

My sleeping in his room failed.  I had to come up with something different.  So I blamed the toddler bed and put it up for sale.  I scoured Craigslist for the perfect twin bed and finally found a Pine loft bed.  PERFECT!  Something ‘cool’.  A bed up top and a playhouse at the bottom.  Oh but it didn’t stop there.  Nooooo.  He needed a whole new bedroom.  Literally.  So I purchased a vertical bookcase and laid it on the floor to make ‘garages’ for his trucks.  Then armed with a measuring tape, I surveyed his room only to determine that it was a bit on the small size for these new pieces of furniture.

I walked into my bedroom which is a very large size and while I have three pieces of furniture (Queen bed + nightstand + bureau) the room was quite empty.  I then knew my plan of action.

Switch rooms.

Easy right? Maybe for two people..or a team of movers.  But no, this SuperMommy had to do it all by herself.  I packed the entire pine bed all in pieces with hardware from the woman’s house to my car to my home down 4  staircases and into my house.  I still have the bruises on my arms from carrying the ‘lumber’.  It took almost 8 hours to clear my room, dismantle my bed, move all the furniture (heavy furniture) to the living room and then move all of Mason’s furniture + toys into my old room.  The second day I moved the closets.  The third day I tidied and got it ready for Mason’s arrival home from vacation.  I couldn’t WAIT to show him!

The last two pieces I needed were a mattress and I quickly learned that second hand crib mattresses are a LOT cheaper than twin mattresses.  I bought a 2nd hand crib mattress almost 2 years ago.  It was clean, no rips and was barely slept on.  Okay, it was a bit springy…maybe that’s why he hated his bed.  I abandoned buying another used mattress since Vancouver is all up in arms about bedbugs.  Plus Mason is growing and I don’t want to wreck his little back by cheaping out.  So I scoured the internet and found a great deal on a new mattress (no box spring needed) at Sears.  I just had to wait 9 fricken days for it to arrive at the warehouse.  Why? NO clue.  I complained on the Sears FB page.  I could understand if I lived in a remote area and it had to be shipped but surely Vancouver has a warehouse or two these mattresses already live in. 

So now I have a brand new mattress ordered, a cool bed ready and a potty training toddler.  New mattress + pee = = :(   Mason still wears pull-ups over night even though he’s 99% dry each morning but do I want to risk it?  I still have bad feelings about ex husbands cat attacking my brand new mattress and leaving holes in it.  Then being a brand new Mom that did not realize how much babies spit up + leaky diapers and my mattress had been christened.  I purchased a mattress cover and tested it out one night but it was the wrong material and Mason's temperature sky rocketed.  I panicked because he’s so heat sensitive.  He overheats and we have months of eczema to deal with!  Bye bye mattress cover.

So I went back to the Internets to find an alternate solution and stumbled upon the “Oops sheet!”.  A complete mattress saver.  I looked at the price and was a bit hesitant.  However it was a small cost to pay to save a brand new mattress and with it being washable was better than relying on pull ups.  They had a 30 day money back guarantee that I had to fall back onto in case we had the heat issues again.  I also bought at the right time because I got free shipping + no tax.  Woohoo!

I pick up the mattress tomorrow and then we'll see if Mason will sleep in his ultra cool bed or if I'll wimp out and want the cuddles.

To be continued..

Usually vacations are happy times but this time it's different.  Mostly because its Mason's vacation time and I'm not going with him.

I've had a while to prepare for the emotion that comes along with having Mason away from me for more than the usual week (which is hard enough) and nothing really makes me feel better.  It would be different if Mason was staying in the city, or even the Country (such as a trip to Alberta) but this time he will be taking a huge road trip to Arizona.  He will be gone 2 weeks.  14 long days.

Don't get me wrong, I'm excited for the bonding time he will have with his Dad, the sights he will see and for the family time he will have with his Grandparents and other relatives along the way.

And it's not like I do not get two weeks with him, when he comes back.

It's all about the fact that I am terrified he won't come back.  I have no control over what happens in our daily lives and I think all parents have a certain paranoia about losing their children.  Because it's such a long car ride, I fear there will be a car accident or he will go missing.  I fear the unknown.  I worry because he's not in my sight and there will be a lack of regular communication.

Mason is in my house right now yet I am filled with sadness.  I won't rest until he's back home.

Two weeks with children go so fast but 14 days without my only child is heartbreaking to think of.  Tears are streaming down my face as I type this.  It's one of the hard things to accept with being a solo parent.  Everything separate...time away from my baby.

March 13th cannot come fast enough and I just hope I can keep myself busy.

Masey’s 3^rd birthday and I want to do something special.  I began by researching venues and was quickly frustrated by the lack of options a month in advance so I wrote this blog about it.

The end result was to have a Pirates & Princess party in Clayton’s building which has a free party room.  We shared a Google doc so we could plan the day together; splitting tasks.

Clayton made cool invitations:

We had 3 boys & 2 girls RSVP + Masey.  All daycare kids!

So now that was done, we had to take care of the basic planning.

• Food & Beverages
• Costumes
• Decorations
• Games
• Loot bags
• Cake

Since this was a dual themed party, we needed to get double the items.  I made a list to hit up the corresponding stores to take care of my portion of the list.

I started with the costume first.

I visited two Value Villages after work on Friday.  I wanted to find a tacky pink prom dress from the 80’s which I figured would be about $8.00.  What I found was limited sizes (I guess real princesses aren’t a size 10).  I did find a wicked Barbie pink dress which would have been perfect but Barbie doesn’t have huge knockers.  So sadly, I left it behind.  It also wasn’t 8 bucks, it was $20 and the price went up for jilted bride to be’s dresses (or cheap brides).  The dresses were awesome but I am not spending $50-$100 for a dress I probably wouldn’t wear again.

My next destination was on the following day:

The Dollar store.  A great place for cheapo items!  I picked up:

• Tiara’s x 3 $1.25ea
• Princess balloons $3.00 (Clayton rented a helium tank)
• Plastic mini aquatic friends for the cake $2.00
• A “3” candle $1.50
• A package of white 24 candles $1.00
• Birthday card $2.00
• Ribbon & Tinsel $1.99 + $1.50 (To make our own magic wands – more on that later in the blog).

I stopped in Shoppers Drug Mart to pick up my candy cake accessories:

• 4 packages of Rolo’s (for the cannons)
• Life savers (for the port holes)
• 1 package of Hershey Whoppers (cannon balls)

Total cost $10.94

Then off to The Party Bazaar which used to be on West 2^nd but moved to Main & Terminal area.

I had visited their website to figure out what I wanted so I figured it was a quick stop.  I walked through all the aisles to see if I could find more decorations we might need.  What I ended up finding made me so happy!  Hallowe'en costumes on sale!! And while it wasn't a princess costume (they had them but they were um of the provocative kind).  The ones I had my eye on were um Pirate wenches!  Perfect.  They had two styles, one with a bustier and the other was more of a gypsy top and skirt.  I opted for the first one but am opting to wear leggings.  $20.00 score.  They only had one stand up photo display that I wanted (out of stock on the princess variety).  I left $30.18 poorer but now have a costume for this fall!

My good friend Lynda came over to celebrate Mason's bday, she suggested making our magic wands instead of paying $2.50 each for them (yep, I have frugal friends too!).  So we took the ribbon, tinsel, wooden skewers that I had in the cupboard and some scotch tape and got busy!.

I took 4 wooden skewers and had two with pointy sides up and two with pointy sides down.  I took the scotch tape and wrapped the four skewers together all the way to the top.  Then repeated the process with the ribbon.  I lined up a handful of tinsel (which was loose...and now all over my home).  and put tape around the middle a few times.  I folded the tinsel in half and using a mini stapler, stapled the taped pieces together.  This made a strong base that I then

Here is a snapshot of the goodies!

Last stop was Superstore to pick up the groceries.  Everything was for the party and came out to $60.00.  I bought:

• Juice boxes for the kiddies
• Tortilla chips
• Red, Yellow & Orange peppers, celery, carrots, cucumber & broccoli for veggie dip
• Strawberries
• Food coloring, 3 cans of frosting, 4 cake mixes
• Carton of eggs
• Baking pan (square springform!!)

One of Mason’s presents from me was a ‘Pirate’s Cove’ that I found at the Vancouver Maritime Museum. A  little project he can do with his Daddy.

The other present from Mummy was a Mega Blox Pirate ship which has real pirate sounds and some mega block peoples he can use with his other sets.  A great deal on Craigslist!

Now that all the supplies were purchased, it was time to get our baking on!  We were doing the cake in two steps.  Bake and decorate.  Baking the night before & shaping/decorating the morning before the party.

We used three different types of pans (all non stick):

1. 8" round
2. 8""x1" square
3. 10" x 2 3/4" square springform

I chose a Chocolate Fudge cake mix by good ol Betty. 

The best part of baking a cake is eating the batter...

Pretty simple directions, eggs + oil + water/milk (we opted for water) and the mix.  Lynda got to try out my new pink! hand mixer.

We did the two smaller cakes first, in for 30 mins.  The next two cakes went into the one Springform for 45 mins at 350.

The round & the square came out of the pans perfectly.  I commented we should open up our own bakery! Not sure how the cake is going to taste but need to consider it's going to be slathered in icing and fed to hyper little 3 year olds ;) This cake is more about presentation than taste!  Good thing it's not a competition.  No wonder people charge hundreds of dollars for themed cakes - they are a lot of work!

So now that the cakes are baked and wrapped tightly in Saran Wrap, they are chillin' in the fridge til morning.  Then Alice will be over at 9 to join us girls to help cut, shape and start the decorating.  That's a whole 'nother blog!

Night!