Better late than never...

Last year I did a survey for Ronan's 4th birthday and it was so cute. I thought 4 was a good age to start doing this every year since he could fully comprehend the questions and give appropriate answers

Of course this year when I started to ask him the questions, Keegan was right there answering with him. So without further ado, here are their answers 

1. Favourite Colour

Ronan - green

Keegan - blue

2. Favourite Toy

R - train table

K - school bus

3. Favourite Fruit

R - Watermelon

K - Apple

4. Favourite t.v show

R - Super Why and Blues Clues

K - Magic School Bus

5. Favourite Thing to Have for Lunch

R - sandwiches

K - apples

6. Favourite Outfit

R - snow pants 

K - jammies

7. Favourite Game

R - snakes and ladders

K - candy land

8. Favourite Snack

R - muffins

K - apples (starting to see a trend here?)

9. Favourite Animal

R - elephant

K - turtle 

10. Favourite Song

R - twinkle twinkle little star 

K - alphabet 

11. Favourite Book

R - Jack and the Beanstalk

K - Santa book

12. Best friend

R - Avery 

K - Hunter  

13. Favourite Sport

R - soccer

K - soccer

(They are my boys!)

14. Favourite Thing to do Outside

R - ride my bike

K - ride my bike

15. Favourite Drink

R - apple juice

K - milk

16. Favourite Holiday

R - my birthday

K - Christmas

17. Favourite thing to take to bed

R - my guys 

K - turtle 

18. Favourite thing for breakfast 

R - Rice Krispies 

K - apples

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday?

R - cupcakes

K - cereal

20. What do you want to be when you grow up?

R - A soccer player

K - "I'm going to wear underwear"

Face, meet coffee table

Since the day Keegan started walking, I have maintained that if either of the joys was to ever break a bone or require stitches, it would be him. Him and Ronan are Ronan are such opposites and he is definitly the wild one! (Side note: when I typed definitly, my phone tried to autocorrect to defiantly. Also an accurate description!)

Don't get me wrong, he isn't a bad kid. He's just very busy and moves very fast. We had a close call almost a year ago, when he fell backwards off a stool and split open his head on a doorframe. That time, they were able to close it with glue. This time, not so much 

Yesterday, we went to my nephews birthday party out of town and afterwards, the kids were running around as they tend to do. Keegan took a sharp turn and fell face first into the edge of the coffee table. We managed to stop the bleeding and bandage it up so we could make the drive home. We made the choice to take him to the hospital in our city so we could get Ronan home to bed since it's always such a long wait. 

We arrived at the hospital around 8 and didnt get a bed until 11. Of course, that means you now have to wait longer for the doctor to come see you. Keegan happened to hear someone else get offered a Popsicle so he needed to have one too. Good thing they had his favourite colour!

We waited another 45 minutes or so and as soon as the dr saw him, she new he needed stitches. They attempted to freeze the area with a numbing cream under a bandage but he refused to keep it on. I don't blame him. The thing was huge and interfered with his Popsicle eating!

The decided they would have to give him a needle to freeze it and that's when things got ugly. They had to wrap him up like a burrito to keep him still and he was screaming like I'd never heard him scream before. 

He ended up with 3 stitches and we finally got home around 1am. We go back Friday to get them removed

He's not even 3 and he's already giving me scares like this!

Glasses

Ronan got his new glasses on Monday. My original plan was to have him only wear them in the evenings for the first week and then start wearing them full time next week. I wanted him to get used to them slowly and to avoid him getting headaches from his eyes adjusting to them. 

He did so well with them that he wore them to school today! And he came home without breaking or losing them! I spoke with his teacher before school and she agreed that it might be best for the first few days to take them off for recess and gym class. Probably a good idea ;)

Easy easel upgrade

Last April, my kids got the Ikea easel for the birthday. They love it, but I found one major problem with it. It's a 2 sided easel (chalkboard on one side, white board on the other) but there's only a tray on the chalkboard side. We also have the giant roll of paper on the whiteboard side but I found it just wasn't being used. I figured that was because I had put that side against the wall, since there was no tray sticking out. 

Recently, we rearranged the playroom so the easel is now in a place that they can use both sides, but they still weren't. Now it's because there aren't crayons right there so if they want to draw on it, they have to go across the room and then come back. Not gonna happen!

So this morning, I had a stroke of brilliance. I'd seen on Pinterest, a bath toy storage idea using a rod and baskets, so off Keegan and I went to the dollar store. We needed to get out of the house anyway with 2 snow days in a row! I picked up a curtain rod, some shower curtain hooks, and some baskets. 

Originally, I tried using the brackets the rod came with for mounting on the wall but I found it set the bar back too far so I grabbed some zip ties and that was exactly what I needed. 

Before: 

(Stock photo from ikea)

After:

I have to say, I'm really pleased with how easy it was! And for under $5!

Big School

Apparently, kids grow up! Ronan started JK this month and just like that, he seems so much bigger! He is helpful and polite and the sweetest boy ever. I couldn't be more proud. 

He absolutely loves school and can't wait to go every day. Nothing makes me happier than him jumping out of bed every morning so eager to start his day. 

He is making friends (not that he can remember anyone's name!) and tells me all about what he's done every day on the walk home. 

I feel so blessed to be able to walk him to and from school each day and to spend that quality time with him. I also cherish the time I get alone with Keegan every day. Even though he is 2 and has the temperament that comes with that age, I am finding him to be such a joy to be with when it's just the 2 of us. That's not to say he's not a joy any other time but I find when he's not with Ronan, he's just that much sweeter. Keegan also started preschool this month and, like his brother, is absolutely thriving there. 

Being the little genius that he is, on his first day, he walked straight past the toddler puzzles and pulled out all the big kid puzzles and immediately put them together. The kid needs a challenge!

Lots of big things happening this week! We are going on Keegan's first field trip to the apple orchard and Ronan is getting glasses! He's picked out blue ones with cars on them and is pretty excited about it! 

Tooth Fairy Pillow!

A friend of mine asked me if I could make a tooth fairy pillow for her daughter, who is about to lose her first tooth. I love making new things so after a quick google search for inspiration, I came up with this!

Complete with a glittery tooth pocket! 

Mexican Casserole

When I was doing my meal plan last week, I came across a recipe I forgot I even had for a Mexican Casserole. My boys love tacos, so I love finding variations on it so it doesn't get boring. I think the last time I made this recipe was when Kevin and I first started living together (so wayyyyy before kids.)

I think this will end up making it's way into our rotaion quite frequently since not only was it delicious and the kids each ate 3 bowls of it, it was super easy to make with a lot less mess than conventional tacos.

Mexican casserole

Ingredients

1lb ground beef
2 cups salsa
2 tbsp taco seasoning
3 cups crushed tortilla chips
2 cups sour cream
3/4 cup chopped tomato
14 cup chopped green pepper


1. Preheat oven to 350

2. In large skillet, brown beef

3. Stir in salsa and taco seasoning and simmer 20 minutes

4. Spread tortilla chips in greased 9x13 pan and spoon beef mix over chips

5. Spread sour cream over beef and sprinkle tomato and green pepper over top

6. Top with cheese

7. Bake 30 minutes

Enjoy!

20 Questions

It's been a crazy week around here! Both Ronan and Keegan had their birthdays! Keegan turned 2 on April 9 and Ronan turned 4 on April 15. Where has the time gone!?

Keegan - Age 2

Ronan - Age 4

We also bought a new minivan as our old little car was on its way out. The kids love it and are enjoying having all the space in the backseat.

A while ago, I saw something on Pinterest that I knew I wanted to do with Ronan this year for his birthday. It's a list of 20 questions that you ask them every year on their big day and see how the answers change from year to year. The website says to start at age three, but since I didn't know about it then, we are starting at 4 :)

Here are his answers

Favourite colour - Green
Favourite toy - Bus
Favourite fruit - Orange
Favourite T.V. show - Dora
Favourite lunch - Kraft Dinner
Favourite outfit - Snowman Jammies
Favourite game - Leappad
Favourite snack - Food
Favourite animal - Giraffe
Favourite song - Fruit song (I have no idea what song this is!)
Favourite book - Go Dog Go
Best Friend - Odin
Favourite sport - Baseball
Favourite thing to do outside - Play with a kite
Favourite drink - Orange Juice
Favourite holiday - Valentines Day
What do you like to take to bed - His Guys (His Giraffe named Bear, Spiderman, Batman, and a moose)
Favourite breakfast - Cereal
What do you want for dinner on your birthday - Meatballs
What do you want to be when you grow up - A Dinosaur

Are you Batman?

No I'm Ronan!

For the Love of the Game

Ronan got his first baseball glove today. He is all signed to play both soccer and blastball (a precursor to tball: http://www.playsoftball.ca/pages/on-the-diamond/parents-corner/blastball.php) this summer.

So between Kevin's baseball Tuesday and Thursday, my soccer Friday and Sunday, and Ronan's soccer on Saturday and baseball on Monday our only completely free day will be Wednesdays!

I guess this is life with an athletic family!

I will never tire of this

Binoculars!

What do you do when you have 2 kids who are a little under the weather cooped up on a cold winter afternoon? You make a craft!

We decided to make binoculars today after I realized that I had a bunch of toilet paper tubes sitting in the closet. So I got out the stickers and markers and off we went.

This was one of the easiest crafts to make that both kids could do without my help. All I did was tape two toilet paper tubes together and let them go at it.

Easy peasy!

They're so smart

This morning, like we do almost every Friday, we went skating. The arena near us has free skates for children under 5 every Friday so it's a good way to get the kids out on the ice since it's not too busy. Keegan just sits in the stroller watching since it would be too hard for me to try an help both of them, but my father-in-law had said he would come with us sometime so I can finally get Keegan on some skates.

Anyway, Ronan is getting better and better and today, he hardly fell down at all!

He'll be zipping around the ice in no time!

Meanwhile, Keegan has decided since he can't be an athlete, he'll be an academic. This is him a few weeks ago showing off how he knows all his letters:

At Christmas, I got Ronan a Melissa and Doug floor puzzle thinking he would love it. I was right! But not only does Ronan love it, Keegan has become obsessed with it! He is always asking me to get it out for him, and if it's upstairs, he wants to go up and get it. He plays with it so often that I hardly bother putting it away anymore.

I can't believe how good he is at it.

This weekend is family day weekend, so depending on weather, we might head into Stratford to see my dad, brother, and sister. They are calling for 10-15cm on Monday so hopefully they are wrong!

Organization Station

After my calendar falling off my fridge for the 10th time, and my pen jar overflowing to the point that I couldn't get anything in or out, I knew I needed a new solution. So I pinned the calendar to the wall and set out to make things a little more organised.

Back in September, I had bought the Motherword Fridge Calendar, since between preschool, sports, and life in general, we were all of a sudden really busy! Although I really like the calendar, I was finding that the magnets on the back kept falling off, even after hot glueing them back on.

So today, I did this:

  We have a tiny corner wall in our kitchen that was just wasted space, so I pinned the calendar to one side, and a cork board and pen holder to the other. The cork board is from the dollar store and the pen holder is from Staples and is actually meant for a locker, but it was exactly what I was looking for. At under $10 (not including the calendar) this was a cheap and easy fix!

On a personal note, things are pretty good around here. Ronan is all registered for JK and is also signed up for both soccer and tball this summer. (See why we need the calendar?) We are also thinking about putting both boys into art classes in the spring. It'll be messy but so much fun!

Today is Pancake Tuesday so, naturally, we had pancakes for dinner. Keegan had 2 and Ronan had 4!

Pretending to nap

Pinterest

I, like pretty much every other woman on the planet, am addicted to Pinterest. This week alone, I have tried 3 or 4 recipes that I have pinned! I've also got lots of ideas for my one sisters baby shower that I'm throwing next month and I'm sure I'll find plenty of ideas for my other sisters wedding shower this summer. Up until now, I have only ever posted about the kids, but I thought I would change it up a bit and write little reviews of some of the things I've tried from there. I know this isn't an original idea at all and there are entire blogs dedicated to the successes and fails of pins, but since I had a very Pinteresty week, here goes. Of course I thought of doing this after I had made everything, so I didn't think to take pictures, but in future, if I continue to do this, I will try to include pictures.

Taco Pasta Bake
This one is a simple pasta bake but with taco seasoning and cream cheese. Pretty good, I would make it again. (Original Source)

Dorito Taco salad
Taco Salad made with Doritos. Yummy! So good and much less work and dishes than making tacos. I read some of the comments and made some adjustments to suit our tastes, such as cutting the amount of salad dressing in half and adding salsa. I mean, really, you can't have taco (salad) without salsa! (Original Source)

Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti Casserole
Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti. I wouldn't make it again. It tasted fine, but it was a lot of work for something that tastes just like spaghetti with meat sauce. Plus, I burned my arm taking it out of the oven! (Original Source)

Buffalo Chicken Lasagna
Buffalo Chicken Lasagna. I made this yesterday and it was really good! We even have enough leftover that we are having it again tonight. It was really easy as well. Aside from cooking the chicken (which I did ahead of time) it was about 10 minutes of prep and then it goes in the crockpot for 5 hours. It was a nice twist on plain lasagna. (Original Source)

As you can see, I have had a busy week in the kitchen, with no fails! This is in addition to recovering from, and putting away Christmas, as well as dealing with a bunch of bureaucratic stuff with Ronan's preschool.

So for those of you on Pinterest, Happy Pinning, and for those of you not, I suggest you get on there! (Or not. You may get addicted)

Proud Mama Moment

Ronan can write his name!

Thanksgiving

It's been a long time since I've posted. Since my last post, Ronan has had autism ruled out, finished his first round of speech therapy, and is growing into the sweetest little boy. He loves school and can't wait to go back every other day! Keegan is walking, talking, and has developed quite the personality! (For example, right now he is pretending to bite my foot and then looking at me and laughing)

This weekend is thanksgiving and on Monday, I am having the family over for dinner. Ronan made a turkey to put on the front door and he is so proud of it! Both boys also made turkeys out of their hand and footprints

Keegan goes for his 18 month checkup on Tuesday. I can't believe how big he's gotten!

I can't believe it's March!

That means in a month, I'll have a 3 year old and a 1 year old! This year has gone so fast and the boys are getting bigger every day!

Ronan is doing great at school. He has so many more words and he is almost fully potty trained. We have seem the pediatrician regarding testing for autism but at this point, I don't think that's a concern at all. We are on the wait list and that could take months. We are also still on the wait list for speech therapy and that is definitely still needed. He is talking a lot more, but still not where he should be.

He also had his first real illness recently. It started out with an ear infection and two weeks later, when we thought he was all better, his fever spiked and we took him to the hospital to find out he had pneumonia. Not fun, but he was a trooper and is back to him cheery self!

Keegan is also making huge strides! He is communicating through different noises and pointing. He was obsessed with a balloon I got for my birthday and would constantly point at it and look for it. He is also sleeping through the night in his own bed! Still not walking, but he is cruising everywhere.

I can't wait for some warmer weather so we can get outside. Ronan is playing soccer this summer and we need to practice!

Is it too late to say Happy New Year?

I'm pretty sure that in the last post I said I would be able to update more frequently because I could do it from my phone. Apparently not!

Anyways, we had a great Christmas and the boys got spoiled! Ronan got a digital camera and some new skates, and Keegan got a walking toy and a bunch of other little toys. I also got a new camera and have been busy taking lots of pictures.

In other news, the boys had doctors appointments this week. Ronan is 31lbs and Keegan is an even 20lbs. Keegan is now sleeping all the way through the night (9pm-8am) in his own bed and is cruising around the furniture like crazy. Ronan has come a long way in his speech but still nowhere near where he should be. He is on the wait list for speech therapy but that could be months. In the meantime, he is loving school and loving life!