i've come full circle from 2011, and re-joined Steve Nash Fitness
Clubs. my 2 year membership at 30 Minute Hit isn't quite over yet (due
to my 3 month suspension from last year's car accident), but i haven't
been going consistently. part of it is the monotony of the same
circuit, and the other part is the restrictive hours. i know i can take
the kids with me and they'll sit and play on their gadgets, but J has
been unpredictable lately and more attached to me.
i think my big motivation is turning the big 4-0 this year (yahoo!).
but i also want to feel better about myself, and really focus on being healthy.
so, let's get it out there. my mid-april weigh-in with
my trainer was 182 lbs. surprisingly, this is lower than i had thought i
weighed :) so i have a goal in mind...to lose 30 lbs before i turn 40
(#30before40). since my birthday isn't until december, it's a
real possibility.
so what am i doing about it?
step 1: i joined the gym.
joining a gym is easy for me...i've done it 4 different times in 10
years. the challenge i face is once i join, i need to GO to the gym and
KEEP GOING. see step 2.
step 2: i booked 15 sessions with a personal trainer
i've committed to see my trainer 2x a week, plus 2x a week on my own.
that's the minimum. since i joined 10 days ago, i've managed to hit the
gym 8x. after only 2 sessions with my trainer, we're already starting to
see some results. i'm going to have him video me doing some exercises
to see the end results after 15 sessions.
step 3: i'm tracking my food & exercise with myfitnesspal
it's true, tracking all of the food i eat is definitely making me more
aware of how much i'm eating, and how much good vs. bad i'm eating. the
tracking app isn't perfect...i'm picking food descriptions that match
as closely as possible to my intake. but, just knowing that i'm
accountable to my trainer has me more aware of choices i make. i ate out
twice this week, and both times opted for a salad instead of burgers
& fries which is more up my alley. i realize that restaurant salads
aren't perfect...they still have plenty of fat and calories depending on
the toppings and dressing. but i'm making baby step progress. i've
also resisted ordering my usual coca-cola, and opted for club soda with
lemons & limes. i really like my fizzy drinks :)
step 4: i connect w/my trainer between sessions about my "diet"
i have to be accountable to someone. yes, the app helps open my eyes to
the calories, fat, etc. but having someone i can message for advice
and motivation is helpful. it also helps that he loves food as much as i
do, so he can relate to my food tendencies. but, he also is serious
about me reaching my goals. it also helps that i have mom-friends who
inspire me and motivate me to be a better healthier me.
so, what's next? i'm determined to keep up with this blog just so i can
track progress and be accountable to myself. this is it...i want this.
#30before40 #BRINGITON
i'll be keeping up with my healthy adventures on this new site:
http://30-before-40.blogspot.ca/
Sunday, April 23, 2017
Sunday, July 10, 2016
Jamberry!
For the past year, my newest addiction has been Jamberry nail wraps & lacquers. I've been fairly consistent with buying a few nail wraps per month, and if there wasn't something that piqued my interest, i switched to the lacquers. A few people kept commenting that I should make it my side business because i was my own best customer. So, almost a year to the date that i was introduced to Jamberry products, I signed up as an Independent Consultant!
I'm not entirely sure what my "WHY" story is yet. I figured at the very least I would benefit from hosting my own parties, earn rewards and a bit a cash on the side. But once I signed up, my sponsor added me to a bunch of Jamberry Facebook groups and I got sucked into ordering my own business cards. I'm also waiting for my Marketing order to come through so i have some giveaways for my VIP's and/or anyone who places an order through me. Because I've now invested time and money into this "business", I should probably figure out what to do next. I'm not a "put-myself-out-there" type of person and I tend to shy away from rejection...so to be part of a direct selling network is totally out of my comfort zone.
In the meantime while I figure out my comfortable spot, I'm going to attend my first Area Meeting with other consultants and work on promoting my business via social media. Rejection is much easier to handle when it's not done in-person :P
So, if you've landed on my blog page and are interested in what I'm doing, please check me out!
tmlokjams.jamberry.ca
facebook.com/tmlokjams
instagram.com/tmlokjams
tmlokjams@gmail.com
I'd love to hear from you!
I'm not entirely sure what my "WHY" story is yet. I figured at the very least I would benefit from hosting my own parties, earn rewards and a bit a cash on the side. But once I signed up, my sponsor added me to a bunch of Jamberry Facebook groups and I got sucked into ordering my own business cards. I'm also waiting for my Marketing order to come through so i have some giveaways for my VIP's and/or anyone who places an order through me. Because I've now invested time and money into this "business", I should probably figure out what to do next. I'm not a "put-myself-out-there" type of person and I tend to shy away from rejection...so to be part of a direct selling network is totally out of my comfort zone.
In the meantime while I figure out my comfortable spot, I'm going to attend my first Area Meeting with other consultants and work on promoting my business via social media. Rejection is much easier to handle when it's not done in-person :P
So, if you've landed on my blog page and are interested in what I'm doing, please check me out!
tmlokjams.jamberry.ca
facebook.com/tmlokjams
instagram.com/tmlokjams
tmlokjams@gmail.com
I'd love to hear from you!
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
i joined a gym (again)
after a couple years of non-use, i finally cancelled my membership at steve nash. i couldn't justify the $19/month fees for something i wasn't using. and then i figured i might as well use the gym in our building for free...see if that worked out...and if not, no money lost. since january, i have had lots of thoughts of working out, but never actually did anything about it.
well, i went back to work and a colleague was telling me she goes to 30 minute hit. it sounded interesting, but again, no dice. about a month ago, we were picking up pizza in the 'hood and had parked right outside 30 minute hit. i tried to peak in from the car, but still wasn't that interested. then a couple weeks later, a few moms were at the park and we were talking about exercise, and one of them mentioned she used to be a member at 30 minute hit. well...suddenly i was motivated. i went for a free trial (they only offer 1 time), and coincidentally when i left i ran into the mom from the park. she was totally supportive and even offered me her old Hit gloves. so, after a couple days, i took my used gloves, got 50% off the membership enrollment fee, and signed up for a 2 year commitment!
it's been 2 weeks since i signed up, and my goal is to Hit 3-4x week. my mantra has become "it's-only-30-minutes", and "it's-not-as-painful (or expensive)-as-a-personal-trainer". the hours are a lot more restrictive than a regular gym membership, but i only need 30 minutes to do the circuit, and for that duration i can drag G with me and he can have some gadget time.
as soon as i started working out, i've already noticed a change. i'm sore all the time. but asides from that, i'm drinking more water, i'm trying to eat less, i'm reducing the amount of coffee i drink (ok, it's one less per week), and i'm making a concerted effort to have healthier snack options around.
2 weeks down, 2 more years to go!
well, i went back to work and a colleague was telling me she goes to 30 minute hit. it sounded interesting, but again, no dice. about a month ago, we were picking up pizza in the 'hood and had parked right outside 30 minute hit. i tried to peak in from the car, but still wasn't that interested. then a couple weeks later, a few moms were at the park and we were talking about exercise, and one of them mentioned she used to be a member at 30 minute hit. well...suddenly i was motivated. i went for a free trial (they only offer 1 time), and coincidentally when i left i ran into the mom from the park. she was totally supportive and even offered me her old Hit gloves. so, after a couple days, i took my used gloves, got 50% off the membership enrollment fee, and signed up for a 2 year commitment!
it's been 2 weeks since i signed up, and my goal is to Hit 3-4x week. my mantra has become "it's-only-30-minutes", and "it's-not-as-painful (or expensive)-as-a-personal-trainer". the hours are a lot more restrictive than a regular gym membership, but i only need 30 minutes to do the circuit, and for that duration i can drag G with me and he can have some gadget time.
as soon as i started working out, i've already noticed a change. i'm sore all the time. but asides from that, i'm drinking more water, i'm trying to eat less, i'm reducing the amount of coffee i drink (ok, it's one less per week), and i'm making a concerted effort to have healthier snack options around.
2 weeks down, 2 more years to go!
Sunday, June 14, 2015
spring update
where does the time go? no update since J's first birthday? the poor second child syndrome. i have no idea when he hit his milestones (and there's been a lot of them!), and all of gabriel's development. yeesh! bad mommy!
christmas holidays can be summed up in a few words...the lok's all got sick. we rotated amongst us, and it was a nasty cold going around. on christmas eve, gabe noticed his first wiggly tooth. it took a few weeks before it fell out and the tooth fairy rewarded him with $5 under his pillow. shortly after, he had 2 more wiggly teeth (all bottom ones), and the tooth fairy seems to have an abundance of twonies for him :)
in the fall/winter of last year, my trigger finger started to act up. my first steroid injection was done when i was almost 9 months pregnant with baby J, so it appeared that one injection wasn't going to cure me. i went back to the medical store to get a finger splint, but they are designed to keep your finger extended so it doesn't lock in a curled position. my problem was the opposite where i couldn't close my hand to grip. so after 2 referral attempts, i finally got an appointment for a 2nd steriod injection right before i returned to work. just like the first one, it hurt like a son-of-a-bitch. i was still in pain for another 48 hours and i was convinced that the medical student had screwed it up...in my panicked state of mind prior to the injection, i think i had misguided him where the exact problem was and he missed the mark by a few mms. eventually the pain subsided and i was ok (or so i thought). it's now several months later, and i occasionally am feeling the symptoms of my trigger finger. its starting slow, just like last time, and i'm afraid that if i get a 3rd injection, i'll ultimately need surgery (which the doctor said was a possibility if the 1st and 2nd injections didn't work).
return to work was fine. it was strange going to a new office and new faces. when we moved downtown over the summer, we merged 4 different locations into one, so there are a lot people i don't know, and will probably never know. i also started a new executive assistant role! i'm fortunate that norah and i have a long history together and we slipped into our comfort zone really quickly. i've got a great work arrangement that allows me a lot of flexibility - early start/end, work from home, and over the summer i'll have wednesdays off. my parents will get a break from the kids, and i'll get to have fun playdates with them!
lots of changes at home...chris' family sold their business, so he's going through a career change and shift in employment expectations. unfortunately the business didn't close until after spring break. since we had already committed to our big white trip with the lowe's, gabe and i boarded the greyhound express and made our way to kelowna. the snow conditions at big white were better than the locals, but they still suffered lower than usual snowfall. we did luck out and had a couple of POW-days :) since chris was busy with selling the business, jeremy got to spend extra time with my parents including a sleepover.
as for jeremy's development...my goodness! after "mama", his second (and favourite) word is "ball". other words include "da" (daddy), "ga!" (gabriel), "jjjjuuuu" (shoes). he is definitely our active one...he climbs anything he can, opens drawers, moves furniture...such a boy! he's also got an attitude...if he doesn't like you or something you are or are not doing for him, he'll bitch-slap you. it seems funny, and he thinks its funny, but we're nipping it in the bud and he's starting to realize when he's crossed the line. fortunately he's on his best behaviour at daycare :) we also travel a lot lighter with jeremy...he hardly ever goes in the stroller anymore...he loves his walking freedom. and i have been known to forget the diaper bag on a few occasions :P
while chris was between jobs, we booked a family getaway to las vegas with his parents. to change it up a bit, we stayed at the mgm signature - the non-gambling, non smoking hotel. it was great because the 3 towers each had their own pool, so we enjoyed the quietness of a smaller pool, but also had access to the mgm grand pools and lazy river. my new favourite place to eat is hot & juicy crawfish. the seafood is at market price, steamed in your choice of offered seasonings, presented in plastic bags and eaten with your hands. now...the wastage is ridiculous (everything in las vegas is ridiculous)...plastic tablecloths, styrofoam cups, food in plastic bags...everything is just wrapped up and thrown out. definitely a tree huggers worst nightmare! but gosh darn it, the crab was delicious! on this trip we also found serendipity 3. when chris and i went to new york years ago, that was one place that i forgot to visit. so i was definitely pleased to try their frozen hot chocolate for 2!
i think that covers most of our spring update. this chaotic, drama-filled school year is almost over...thank god. hopefully gabe can re-set over the summer, enjoy summer session with his friends, and just have fun!
christmas holidays can be summed up in a few words...the lok's all got sick. we rotated amongst us, and it was a nasty cold going around. on christmas eve, gabe noticed his first wiggly tooth. it took a few weeks before it fell out and the tooth fairy rewarded him with $5 under his pillow. shortly after, he had 2 more wiggly teeth (all bottom ones), and the tooth fairy seems to have an abundance of twonies for him :)
in the fall/winter of last year, my trigger finger started to act up. my first steroid injection was done when i was almost 9 months pregnant with baby J, so it appeared that one injection wasn't going to cure me. i went back to the medical store to get a finger splint, but they are designed to keep your finger extended so it doesn't lock in a curled position. my problem was the opposite where i couldn't close my hand to grip. so after 2 referral attempts, i finally got an appointment for a 2nd steriod injection right before i returned to work. just like the first one, it hurt like a son-of-a-bitch. i was still in pain for another 48 hours and i was convinced that the medical student had screwed it up...in my panicked state of mind prior to the injection, i think i had misguided him where the exact problem was and he missed the mark by a few mms. eventually the pain subsided and i was ok (or so i thought). it's now several months later, and i occasionally am feeling the symptoms of my trigger finger. its starting slow, just like last time, and i'm afraid that if i get a 3rd injection, i'll ultimately need surgery (which the doctor said was a possibility if the 1st and 2nd injections didn't work).
return to work was fine. it was strange going to a new office and new faces. when we moved downtown over the summer, we merged 4 different locations into one, so there are a lot people i don't know, and will probably never know. i also started a new executive assistant role! i'm fortunate that norah and i have a long history together and we slipped into our comfort zone really quickly. i've got a great work arrangement that allows me a lot of flexibility - early start/end, work from home, and over the summer i'll have wednesdays off. my parents will get a break from the kids, and i'll get to have fun playdates with them!
lots of changes at home...chris' family sold their business, so he's going through a career change and shift in employment expectations. unfortunately the business didn't close until after spring break. since we had already committed to our big white trip with the lowe's, gabe and i boarded the greyhound express and made our way to kelowna. the snow conditions at big white were better than the locals, but they still suffered lower than usual snowfall. we did luck out and had a couple of POW-days :) since chris was busy with selling the business, jeremy got to spend extra time with my parents including a sleepover.
as for jeremy's development...my goodness! after "mama", his second (and favourite) word is "ball". other words include "da" (daddy), "ga!" (gabriel), "jjjjuuuu" (shoes). he is definitely our active one...he climbs anything he can, opens drawers, moves furniture...such a boy! he's also got an attitude...if he doesn't like you or something you are or are not doing for him, he'll bitch-slap you. it seems funny, and he thinks its funny, but we're nipping it in the bud and he's starting to realize when he's crossed the line. fortunately he's on his best behaviour at daycare :) we also travel a lot lighter with jeremy...he hardly ever goes in the stroller anymore...he loves his walking freedom. and i have been known to forget the diaper bag on a few occasions :P
while chris was between jobs, we booked a family getaway to las vegas with his parents. to change it up a bit, we stayed at the mgm signature - the non-gambling, non smoking hotel. it was great because the 3 towers each had their own pool, so we enjoyed the quietness of a smaller pool, but also had access to the mgm grand pools and lazy river. my new favourite place to eat is hot & juicy crawfish. the seafood is at market price, steamed in your choice of offered seasonings, presented in plastic bags and eaten with your hands. now...the wastage is ridiculous (everything in las vegas is ridiculous)...plastic tablecloths, styrofoam cups, food in plastic bags...everything is just wrapped up and thrown out. definitely a tree huggers worst nightmare! but gosh darn it, the crab was delicious! on this trip we also found serendipity 3. when chris and i went to new york years ago, that was one place that i forgot to visit. so i was definitely pleased to try their frozen hot chocolate for 2!
i think that covers most of our spring update. this chaotic, drama-filled school year is almost over...thank god. hopefully gabe can re-set over the summer, enjoy summer session with his friends, and just have fun!
Monday, December 29, 2014
1 year old!
we all survived the first year!
in mid-october i was making my daycare follow-up calls to see where we were on the waitlist, and was pleased to get a part-time spot at BACI. J started his gradual entry at daycare on december 1, and he did really well. also, being the second kid i had less sympathy for the clinging and crying (which actually wasn't too bad). my biggest worry about daycare was the napping - i didn't know how he would adjust to a different crib in a strange room with another baby. but to my relief he did ok. his first nap there was only 45 minutes, but he has since worked up to 2 hours and 2 different naptimes. success! the daycare staff have been great and accommodated J's schedule really well, so he usually has 1:1 time with the staff when the older babies are napping.
as for the other kids, J is the youngest and the next youngest is only a month older than him. all the other kids are over 18 months. thankfully J is a great walker so he can keep up with the older kids and doesn't get trampled over. much to my mom's dislike, J has figured out how to climb stairs. he is much more advanced than G at the same age! J is also more determined than G ever was...whenever something is in his way, he'll use brute force to get through his obstacles - whether it's furniture to move around or toys to destroy, he'll do whatever it takes to get the end result.
we've been encouraging J to self-feed whenever possible. he was always reluctant to hold mum-mums and feed himself...everything ended up on the floor. but he's getting much better about gripping his food and eating it. he's also good with his bottle and will grab it and drink on his own. J adjusted well to whole milk, and now i'm weaning him down to nursing once a day. because he's been sick lately, i've nursed him randomly throughout the day...it just helps to calm him down. thankfully it hasn't increased my milk supply!
sleeping at night is still erratic. with the boys sharing a room, it's a struggle to have a good night's sleep. G is a light sleeper so anytime J cries out, G wakes up. we usually let J just cry it out until he falls asleep again and we have set up a sleeping bag in our room for G if the crying is out of control. the joys of small condo living :P
as for J's birthday celebration, we just did a small family dinner with our 2 families. having a christmas-time birthday is tough...between sick people, end of year activities at school, and shopping, it's hard to plan anything else. in lieu of a party, i did have 2 cakes for J...a cake for his birthday dinner as well as a smash cake for home (which we never did for G). turns out the smash cake wasn't required...J was sick on his birthday and didn't want anything to do with it. so, we invited our neighbour over and we got to enjoy another HL Sweets creation :-)
now that J's birthday has come and gone, my maternity leave is officially over and i'm back on the payroll :P jan. 12 i'm back to work!
in mid-october i was making my daycare follow-up calls to see where we were on the waitlist, and was pleased to get a part-time spot at BACI. J started his gradual entry at daycare on december 1, and he did really well. also, being the second kid i had less sympathy for the clinging and crying (which actually wasn't too bad). my biggest worry about daycare was the napping - i didn't know how he would adjust to a different crib in a strange room with another baby. but to my relief he did ok. his first nap there was only 45 minutes, but he has since worked up to 2 hours and 2 different naptimes. success! the daycare staff have been great and accommodated J's schedule really well, so he usually has 1:1 time with the staff when the older babies are napping.
as for the other kids, J is the youngest and the next youngest is only a month older than him. all the other kids are over 18 months. thankfully J is a great walker so he can keep up with the older kids and doesn't get trampled over. much to my mom's dislike, J has figured out how to climb stairs. he is much more advanced than G at the same age! J is also more determined than G ever was...whenever something is in his way, he'll use brute force to get through his obstacles - whether it's furniture to move around or toys to destroy, he'll do whatever it takes to get the end result.
we've been encouraging J to self-feed whenever possible. he was always reluctant to hold mum-mums and feed himself...everything ended up on the floor. but he's getting much better about gripping his food and eating it. he's also good with his bottle and will grab it and drink on his own. J adjusted well to whole milk, and now i'm weaning him down to nursing once a day. because he's been sick lately, i've nursed him randomly throughout the day...it just helps to calm him down. thankfully it hasn't increased my milk supply!
sleeping at night is still erratic. with the boys sharing a room, it's a struggle to have a good night's sleep. G is a light sleeper so anytime J cries out, G wakes up. we usually let J just cry it out until he falls asleep again and we have set up a sleeping bag in our room for G if the crying is out of control. the joys of small condo living :P
as for J's birthday celebration, we just did a small family dinner with our 2 families. having a christmas-time birthday is tough...between sick people, end of year activities at school, and shopping, it's hard to plan anything else. in lieu of a party, i did have 2 cakes for J...a cake for his birthday dinner as well as a smash cake for home (which we never did for G). turns out the smash cake wasn't required...J was sick on his birthday and didn't want anything to do with it. so, we invited our neighbour over and we got to enjoy another HL Sweets creation :-)
now that J's birthday has come and gone, my maternity leave is officially over and i'm back on the payroll :P jan. 12 i'm back to work!
Monday, December 08, 2014
10 & 11 months old!
seriously, where does the time go? there's been so much development in the past 2 months, i wish i'd kept better track of when the milestones were reached :P
baby J has a total of 8 teeth! with all his chompers, we started to feed him our food at mealtime...no more mandatory pureeing of food or mashing things up. J still hasn't figured out how to feed himself and would rather hold food and let it go, so nothing makes it in his mouth :P at least he's able to hold the handles on his sippy cup and it sort of gets in his mouth.
baby J has started to talk. and by talk, i mean he says MAMA! he might say mama, but he really is daddy's dude. as soon as chris comes home, baby J doesn't want me anymore. and since chris has been working at home in the mornings, he's gotten used to chris being around more which is really nice.
baby J is walking! he took a couple of steps at my parents during his 10th month and we really encouraged him to walk ever since. and then a few weeks ago he just stood up and started walking around. that same day he actually walked from the bedroom door to the front door to greet chris. WHAT?!?! at first he was pretty unsteady getting on his feet, he'd need to hold onto furniture or the wall, but now he just up-and-goes!
after 10 months of maternity leave, i felt a little guilty that i didn't do any organized activities with J...so i signed us up for music together classes at the community centre. i had all these great intentions of taking him to swimming lessons, but he got mobile so quickly that i couldn't imagine the hassle of showering/changing at the pool with such a squirmy baby. so, baby #2 gets totally shafted :P
recently we set up the pack & play at my parents house and they've been babysitting during naptimes so J can get used to sleeping at their house. we're also getting ready for p/t daycare, so i've been madly getting items purchased and labelled. life is definitely a bit different the second time around! only a few more weeks of mat leave!
baby J has a total of 8 teeth! with all his chompers, we started to feed him our food at mealtime...no more mandatory pureeing of food or mashing things up. J still hasn't figured out how to feed himself and would rather hold food and let it go, so nothing makes it in his mouth :P at least he's able to hold the handles on his sippy cup and it sort of gets in his mouth.
baby J has started to talk. and by talk, i mean he says MAMA! he might say mama, but he really is daddy's dude. as soon as chris comes home, baby J doesn't want me anymore. and since chris has been working at home in the mornings, he's gotten used to chris being around more which is really nice.
baby J is walking! he took a couple of steps at my parents during his 10th month and we really encouraged him to walk ever since. and then a few weeks ago he just stood up and started walking around. that same day he actually walked from the bedroom door to the front door to greet chris. WHAT?!?! at first he was pretty unsteady getting on his feet, he'd need to hold onto furniture or the wall, but now he just up-and-goes!
after 10 months of maternity leave, i felt a little guilty that i didn't do any organized activities with J...so i signed us up for music together classes at the community centre. i had all these great intentions of taking him to swimming lessons, but he got mobile so quickly that i couldn't imagine the hassle of showering/changing at the pool with such a squirmy baby. so, baby #2 gets totally shafted :P
recently we set up the pack & play at my parents house and they've been babysitting during naptimes so J can get used to sleeping at their house. we're also getting ready for p/t daycare, so i've been madly getting items purchased and labelled. life is definitely a bit different the second time around! only a few more weeks of mat leave!
Sunday, November 09, 2014
6 years old!
well, this is a month late :P
since the spring, gabriel's been nagging me about his having his birthday party at club aviva. so over the (never-ending) summer, i paid the deposit for the party, got the paper invitations (and wrote them), and then all i heard was "how much longer till my party?". it didn't help that the teachers strike dragged through september, so he couldn't actually hand out the paper invites to his classmates and i had to resort to evite.
well, the day finally arrived for his gymnastics party and division 12 had a great time! it was the last time the kids would be together before their grade 1 class assignments so one of the mom's and i had a little "awww" moment. i was so happy to see gabriel doing all the activities in the gym - balance beam (only the really low one), rope-swinging, trampoline, ladder-climbing to the slide - he's come a long way since olivia's birthday party when he only swung on the rope (over and over and over).
what a change from last year's blog entry - the kindergarten transition was a bit stressing, i was pregnant and miserable, and gabriel was freaked out about turning 5! this year's struggle was trying to explain that his party and his actual birthday weren't the same day and that he would still be 5 for a few more days after his party :P like last year, i sent rice krispy squares to school - easy to make, and no mess for the teacher to clean up :-)
now that he's 6 years old we've taken away his comfort towel and he's stopped sucking his thumb (hmmm, it all seems so easy now that i wonder why we didn't do it earlier). at his summer eye exam, we discovered he has a lazy left eye, so he's been wearing an eye patch at home (i even found an app called captain lazy eye). the good news is that his eye has improved by 60% (not sure if the app actually helped)! we've also noticed a developing attitude - the whine-y "do i have to?", "just one more minute!", "really?!", and a couple of "whatevers" thrown in for good measure.
being 6 is different from a financial perspective - he no longer qualifies for a 20% discount for ski lessons at mount seymour, we should be paying transit fare for him (we should've last year, but we didn't even realize the fare starts at 5 years), eating out is costing more (depending on the food, he will eat the equivalent of an adult), and he requires a full new wardrobe - no more toddler size clothing...he's a big kid now!
since the spring, gabriel's been nagging me about his having his birthday party at club aviva. so over the (never-ending) summer, i paid the deposit for the party, got the paper invitations (and wrote them), and then all i heard was "how much longer till my party?". it didn't help that the teachers strike dragged through september, so he couldn't actually hand out the paper invites to his classmates and i had to resort to evite.
well, the day finally arrived for his gymnastics party and division 12 had a great time! it was the last time the kids would be together before their grade 1 class assignments so one of the mom's and i had a little "awww" moment. i was so happy to see gabriel doing all the activities in the gym - balance beam (only the really low one), rope-swinging, trampoline, ladder-climbing to the slide - he's come a long way since olivia's birthday party when he only swung on the rope (over and over and over).
what a change from last year's blog entry - the kindergarten transition was a bit stressing, i was pregnant and miserable, and gabriel was freaked out about turning 5! this year's struggle was trying to explain that his party and his actual birthday weren't the same day and that he would still be 5 for a few more days after his party :P like last year, i sent rice krispy squares to school - easy to make, and no mess for the teacher to clean up :-)
now that he's 6 years old we've taken away his comfort towel and he's stopped sucking his thumb (hmmm, it all seems so easy now that i wonder why we didn't do it earlier). at his summer eye exam, we discovered he has a lazy left eye, so he's been wearing an eye patch at home (i even found an app called captain lazy eye). the good news is that his eye has improved by 60% (not sure if the app actually helped)! we've also noticed a developing attitude - the whine-y "do i have to?", "just one more minute!", "really?!", and a couple of "whatevers" thrown in for good measure.
being 6 is different from a financial perspective - he no longer qualifies for a 20% discount for ski lessons at mount seymour, we should be paying transit fare for him (we should've last year, but we didn't even realize the fare starts at 5 years), eating out is costing more (depending on the food, he will eat the equivalent of an adult), and he requires a full new wardrobe - no more toddler size clothing...he's a big kid now!
Thursday, October 02, 2014
grade 1
it's official, gabriel is in grade 1! even though school started last week, it hasn't felt real until now. with his kindergarten teacher working on gradual entry for the new K kids, the now grade 1's were shuffled among the grade 7 teachers and the EA's at the school. so the past week has been a mash-up of a (tiny) bit of education, and a LOT of playtime (they even had access to the strongstart classroom in the afternoons, and the school watched the Lego movie on friday).
meanwhile, the K teachers were pulling double-duty with gradual entry, parent interviews, and classroom assignments for the new K's and the now 1's. our K teacher tried to be open with us during the past week about class assignments. she did warn us there could be a K/1 class and for parents to think if their child would be appropriate there - basically it could be an opportunity for quieter kids to take a leadership role for the new K's and development their confidence. a 1/2 split may not be appropriate for some kids, as being around older children may be overwhelming or intimidating to them. specifically she thought gabe would be a consideration for the K/1 class, but after discussing the situation with my mom (who was a 1/2 teacher) she opened my eyes to the potentially negative consequence...because gabe is a follower, he could regress and start behaving like a K kid. it's more beneficial for gabe to be around older kids who can be role models and show how "big boys" act. so tiger mom in me immediately wrote an email to the teacher indicating my strong preference for the 1/2 class.
lesson learned, parent input can be received in the opposite tone. gabriel is officially in the K/1 class. all the reasons i listed for him to be in a grade 1/2 class, she took the opposite approach and thinks he would thrive in the K/1 class. obviously the teacher and principal see something in him that i don't (yet). being in the K/1 class was also part of the solution that i requested he be separated from a couple of his former classmates (for negative situations that came to my attention over the summer). i've talked 1:1 w/the teacher and also had a meeting with the principal (and they've talked to each other without me), so they are fully aware of my concerns. after the first day of class, gabe reported that he only played with maxwell (a K kid). believe me, i was not impressed. so he and i talked about which kids are grade 1 friends, and that he should get to know them more. i am also pleased to see the principal taking an active step and he has checked in on gabriel this week and has informed me that gabriel is playing with the other grade 1 kids (both in class and on the playground).
we're only a few days into the school year, and from what i've heard from gabriel, there's been a lot of carpet and center time, gym time, but not a lot of pencil-to-paper learning. i'm probably not getting all of the information out of him, so i like to talk to the mom's in the other classes to see what their grade 1 kids are up to...so far, the kids are all tight-lipped (fine. nothing. i don't remember) and not divulging information. social-emotional conferences are next week (already!) so i'll get in the class with the teacher and see what's going on.
in the meantime, i've got gabriel working on a journal at home (just one sentence that he comes up with about his day) so he can practice his printing, as well as keeping his memory fresh cuz i'm tired of the i-don't-knows when i ask him what he did at school. and we also have kumon to keep us busy. swim lessons start up at the end of october, and we're in discussions about signing up for karate/jiu jitsu later this fall. we'll see what happens!
meanwhile, the K teachers were pulling double-duty with gradual entry, parent interviews, and classroom assignments for the new K's and the now 1's. our K teacher tried to be open with us during the past week about class assignments. she did warn us there could be a K/1 class and for parents to think if their child would be appropriate there - basically it could be an opportunity for quieter kids to take a leadership role for the new K's and development their confidence. a 1/2 split may not be appropriate for some kids, as being around older children may be overwhelming or intimidating to them. specifically she thought gabe would be a consideration for the K/1 class, but after discussing the situation with my mom (who was a 1/2 teacher) she opened my eyes to the potentially negative consequence...because gabe is a follower, he could regress and start behaving like a K kid. it's more beneficial for gabe to be around older kids who can be role models and show how "big boys" act. so tiger mom in me immediately wrote an email to the teacher indicating my strong preference for the 1/2 class.
lesson learned, parent input can be received in the opposite tone. gabriel is officially in the K/1 class. all the reasons i listed for him to be in a grade 1/2 class, she took the opposite approach and thinks he would thrive in the K/1 class. obviously the teacher and principal see something in him that i don't (yet). being in the K/1 class was also part of the solution that i requested he be separated from a couple of his former classmates (for negative situations that came to my attention over the summer). i've talked 1:1 w/the teacher and also had a meeting with the principal (and they've talked to each other without me), so they are fully aware of my concerns. after the first day of class, gabe reported that he only played with maxwell (a K kid). believe me, i was not impressed. so he and i talked about which kids are grade 1 friends, and that he should get to know them more. i am also pleased to see the principal taking an active step and he has checked in on gabriel this week and has informed me that gabriel is playing with the other grade 1 kids (both in class and on the playground).
we're only a few days into the school year, and from what i've heard from gabriel, there's been a lot of carpet and center time, gym time, but not a lot of pencil-to-paper learning. i'm probably not getting all of the information out of him, so i like to talk to the mom's in the other classes to see what their grade 1 kids are up to...so far, the kids are all tight-lipped (fine. nothing. i don't remember) and not divulging information. social-emotional conferences are next week (already!) so i'll get in the class with the teacher and see what's going on.
in the meantime, i've got gabriel working on a journal at home (just one sentence that he comes up with about his day) so he can practice his printing, as well as keeping his memory fresh cuz i'm tired of the i-don't-knows when i ask him what he did at school. and we also have kumon to keep us busy. swim lessons start up at the end of october, and we're in discussions about signing up for karate/jiu jitsu later this fall. we'll see what happens!
Saturday, September 20, 2014
8 & 9 months old!
it's taken me so long to post J's 8 month update, that i've combined it with 9 months :P
baby J is a crawling machine...he gets around the house really quickly - turn your head and he's gone! he's holding onto things to stand up, and more recently he'll do his "look ma, no hands!". at 8 months he started to cruise, and since we didn't bother to babyproof our home he's getting into everything! his new thing now is to grab furniture and push it around to get where he wants to go.
meal times are really good - he's been eating everything i give him, and we're into cut-up food. after trying out a few sippy cups, we've found one that works for us and J is enjoying his water with his mealtime. we're still working on his hand-mouth coordination as he hasn't quite figured out how to get his mum-mums into his mouth yet. he mostly likes to push them around the table until they fall on the floor :P on the nursing end of things, we're down to 3 feeds a day...a bit ahead of where i was with G as a baby thanks to my smaller milk supply.
i thought naptimes were becoming more predictable - usually 3-30 minute naps - but once in awhile he throws me a curveball and takes a 1.5 hour morning nap :P it is nice having the 5-5:30 p.m. nap so that i can cook dinner in peace :-) the best news of all is that J is sleeping through the night in his crib...yippee! if only he would sleep in past 6 a.m...
J's top teeth have taken a month to break through, but a few days ago, they came out! i think his molars are causing some discomfort because he's been gnawing on his fingers a lot, and drooling like mad :P
we have a little chatterbox. his favourite person to talk to his gabriel - the two of them can grunt and laugh at each other till the cows come home. other fun facts: J likes to give high-5's, he loves to smile and engage with strangers, and he loves our gadgets - if the phone or ipad are in eyesight, he's a baby on a mission and will stop at nothing to grab them.
the bad news this month...i think my trigger finger has returned (i can't believe i didn't blog about it in the fall). a couple weeks ago, i noticed a mild pain in my right hand by my 4th finger which is where i had the steroid injection in november. it's progressed to difficulty making a fist and squeezing things. the pain is at the worst in the mornings and evenings, making brushing my teeth a real challenge :P my finger hasn't started to "lock" or "click" yet, but if it's a repeat of last year i feel like it's only a matter of days before that happens. once that happens i'll re-visit my doctor and get another referral to a specialist and see what the next course of action will be. the thought of surgery is not pleasant, but the thought of another steroid injection could be hazardous to the doctor...since i kicked the last one :S
the best news of all...SCHOOL IS STARTING ON MONDAY! i am so glad to have G back at school getting his education, seeing all his friends/teachers/principal, and most of all i am glad to have my 1:1 time with J so we can get regular naptimes and potty-training under control!
baby J is a crawling machine...he gets around the house really quickly - turn your head and he's gone! he's holding onto things to stand up, and more recently he'll do his "look ma, no hands!". at 8 months he started to cruise, and since we didn't bother to babyproof our home he's getting into everything! his new thing now is to grab furniture and push it around to get where he wants to go.
meal times are really good - he's been eating everything i give him, and we're into cut-up food. after trying out a few sippy cups, we've found one that works for us and J is enjoying his water with his mealtime. we're still working on his hand-mouth coordination as he hasn't quite figured out how to get his mum-mums into his mouth yet. he mostly likes to push them around the table until they fall on the floor :P on the nursing end of things, we're down to 3 feeds a day...a bit ahead of where i was with G as a baby thanks to my smaller milk supply.
i thought naptimes were becoming more predictable - usually 3-30 minute naps - but once in awhile he throws me a curveball and takes a 1.5 hour morning nap :P it is nice having the 5-5:30 p.m. nap so that i can cook dinner in peace :-) the best news of all is that J is sleeping through the night in his crib...yippee! if only he would sleep in past 6 a.m...
J's top teeth have taken a month to break through, but a few days ago, they came out! i think his molars are causing some discomfort because he's been gnawing on his fingers a lot, and drooling like mad :P
we have a little chatterbox. his favourite person to talk to his gabriel - the two of them can grunt and laugh at each other till the cows come home. other fun facts: J likes to give high-5's, he loves to smile and engage with strangers, and he loves our gadgets - if the phone or ipad are in eyesight, he's a baby on a mission and will stop at nothing to grab them.
the bad news this month...i think my trigger finger has returned (i can't believe i didn't blog about it in the fall). a couple weeks ago, i noticed a mild pain in my right hand by my 4th finger which is where i had the steroid injection in november. it's progressed to difficulty making a fist and squeezing things. the pain is at the worst in the mornings and evenings, making brushing my teeth a real challenge :P my finger hasn't started to "lock" or "click" yet, but if it's a repeat of last year i feel like it's only a matter of days before that happens. once that happens i'll re-visit my doctor and get another referral to a specialist and see what the next course of action will be. the thought of surgery is not pleasant, but the thought of another steroid injection could be hazardous to the doctor...since i kicked the last one :S
the best news of all...SCHOOL IS STARTING ON MONDAY! i am so glad to have G back at school getting his education, seeing all his friends/teachers/principal, and most of all i am glad to have my 1:1 time with J so we can get regular naptimes and potty-training under control!
Monday, September 08, 2014
a mini-vacation!
earlier this year, we started discussing our family vacation with my parents, and decided to re-visit disneyland to coincide with the CDN thanksgiving holiday (just like we did 2 years ago). but due to the ongoing teachers dispute and the uncertainty of when school will actually begin, we opted instead for a road trip down to the oregon coast.
so we loaded up our minivan, picked up my parents, and hit the highway to seaside, oregon. it took us 8 hours to get to seaside, including a 30 minute border wait, 2 rest breaks, and opting for the more "scenic" route along highway 101 from olympia. i had originally tried to find accommodations in cannon beach since we had all heard of it, but after researching hotels to meet our criteria (connecting rooms, air conditioning, swimming pool, complimentary breakfast, walking distance to everything), prices and availability in seaside just made more sense.
after reading reviews on tripadvisor, we booked the newly completed river inn at seaside. it was 3 blocks to the beach, 1 block to broadway street where all the restaurants and touristy shops are, and our connecting suite overlooked the Necanicum River; our room in particular also happened to overlook the children's play area and the fire pit. the room set-up was great - the 2 queen bed suite had a separate kitchen/living space, so we could put the kids to sleep and then hang out until our bedtime. and my parents connecting room had a king bed and sofabed, so gabe chose to sleep in their room! the continental breakfast was pretty good - waffle maker, bagels, variety of breads, yogurt, hard boiled eggs, coffee, juice, and tea. the cookies at check-in, the bowls of salt water taffy, and the water cooler to fill our bottles were added bonuses.
we basically had 2 full days on the coast, so we did everything possible: the oregon coast scenic railroad, tillamook cheese factory, tillamook air museum, cannon beach, seaside beach, wheel fun bike ride and pedal boat, and swim at the hotel. and as one does on vacation, we ATE! i think all of my meals included a bowl of clam chowder followed by something deep fried :P we have great seafood in vancouver, but somehow i still couldn't get enough of it in oregon! the coast was great, and i've already made a few notes for future trips:
when we planned the trip to oregon, we were doing some meal planning and my parents said they had never been to the red lobster - they've seen the commercials all the time though. so after a disappointing shopping trip, we went to red's for dinner. after 3 nights, chris finally got to work for his dinner and ordered the pound of crab legs. our first night in seaside, he ordered crab legs cooked with cajun seasoning, but the crab meat had already been shelled for him (this was the restaurant's way of having quick turn-around on their dinner tables). aw shame :(
we stayed one night in portland at the inn at northrup station. definitely a colourful hotel - again, it met all our requirements...i probably wouldn't stay there again. but one added perk that we discovered in the morning was that we were only a 3 minute drive to trader joe's! my family and i are TJ virgins, so we were extremely excited for the experience, and even happier to not be hated canadians emptying their shelves :) we must've been in the store for at least an hour ooh-ing and aah-ing over everything. my dad was super excited to buy cheap wine and he got to use our quota as well. i am looking forward to shopping at TJ's again...i've already got my shopping list ready :)
after a quick stop for lunch along the I5, we had one more fun stop planned for gabe - imagine children's museum in everett. after getting stalled at the train play area, we had to keep prodding him to check out the other centres. the outdoor play area was another big hit! definitely another place to re-visit...perhaps if the strike continues, another road trip is in order!
and last but not least, we went to tulalip for dinner @ the olive garden and more shopping :-) i hadn't been since they opened the new promenade stores and my dad was in tommy bahama heaven! while we were at the outlets, we even ran into one of gabe's classmates doing some shopping as well.
and finally, our roadtrip came to an exhausting end with a 1 hour border line-up...who knew that 10 p.m. on a wednesday night would be so busy?!?! since the trip, jeremy passed his nexus interview (he was a tricky bugger trying to get his picture taken :P) and has received his card...no more border line-ups again :)
so we loaded up our minivan, picked up my parents, and hit the highway to seaside, oregon. it took us 8 hours to get to seaside, including a 30 minute border wait, 2 rest breaks, and opting for the more "scenic" route along highway 101 from olympia. i had originally tried to find accommodations in cannon beach since we had all heard of it, but after researching hotels to meet our criteria (connecting rooms, air conditioning, swimming pool, complimentary breakfast, walking distance to everything), prices and availability in seaside just made more sense.
after reading reviews on tripadvisor, we booked the newly completed river inn at seaside. it was 3 blocks to the beach, 1 block to broadway street where all the restaurants and touristy shops are, and our connecting suite overlooked the Necanicum River; our room in particular also happened to overlook the children's play area and the fire pit. the room set-up was great - the 2 queen bed suite had a separate kitchen/living space, so we could put the kids to sleep and then hang out until our bedtime. and my parents connecting room had a king bed and sofabed, so gabe chose to sleep in their room! the continental breakfast was pretty good - waffle maker, bagels, variety of breads, yogurt, hard boiled eggs, coffee, juice, and tea. the cookies at check-in, the bowls of salt water taffy, and the water cooler to fill our bottles were added bonuses.
we basically had 2 full days on the coast, so we did everything possible: the oregon coast scenic railroad, tillamook cheese factory, tillamook air museum, cannon beach, seaside beach, wheel fun bike ride and pedal boat, and swim at the hotel. and as one does on vacation, we ATE! i think all of my meals included a bowl of clam chowder followed by something deep fried :P we have great seafood in vancouver, but somehow i still couldn't get enough of it in oregon! the coast was great, and i've already made a few notes for future trips:
- stay more than 3 nights on the coast so there's more beach time!
- go in July to avoid the foggy August mornings (and early afternoons)
- build a bonfire and make smores!
when we planned the trip to oregon, we were doing some meal planning and my parents said they had never been to the red lobster - they've seen the commercials all the time though. so after a disappointing shopping trip, we went to red's for dinner. after 3 nights, chris finally got to work for his dinner and ordered the pound of crab legs. our first night in seaside, he ordered crab legs cooked with cajun seasoning, but the crab meat had already been shelled for him (this was the restaurant's way of having quick turn-around on their dinner tables). aw shame :(
we stayed one night in portland at the inn at northrup station. definitely a colourful hotel - again, it met all our requirements...i probably wouldn't stay there again. but one added perk that we discovered in the morning was that we were only a 3 minute drive to trader joe's! my family and i are TJ virgins, so we were extremely excited for the experience, and even happier to not be hated canadians emptying their shelves :) we must've been in the store for at least an hour ooh-ing and aah-ing over everything. my dad was super excited to buy cheap wine and he got to use our quota as well. i am looking forward to shopping at TJ's again...i've already got my shopping list ready :)
after a quick stop for lunch along the I5, we had one more fun stop planned for gabe - imagine children's museum in everett. after getting stalled at the train play area, we had to keep prodding him to check out the other centres. the outdoor play area was another big hit! definitely another place to re-visit...perhaps if the strike continues, another road trip is in order!
and last but not least, we went to tulalip for dinner @ the olive garden and more shopping :-) i hadn't been since they opened the new promenade stores and my dad was in tommy bahama heaven! while we were at the outlets, we even ran into one of gabe's classmates doing some shopping as well.
and finally, our roadtrip came to an exhausting end with a 1 hour border line-up...who knew that 10 p.m. on a wednesday night would be so busy?!?! since the trip, jeremy passed his nexus interview (he was a tricky bugger trying to get his picture taken :P) and has received his card...no more border line-ups again :)
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