How this blog brightened my night

About 8 months ago I took the time to photograph the pages of one of my favorite books that I had read to James because years down the road I didn't want to forget it. You might remember the post, here it is if you want to see it.

Fast forward to last night and James hadn't gotten to talk to Jim for a few nights so was missing him and unfortunately the FaceTime wasn't working very good so I took the opportunity to email the link to the blog to Jimmy.

The picture below is my big boy listening along as Daddy read him this book over speaker phone.

 It was so adorable and as soon as it was done James jumped and said "Daddy, I'll go find another one for you to read now". I had to explain that that was the only book that Daddy could see to read to him, so today I'm going to photograph and post 4 more books (2 for each boy) that they can look through while listening to their Daddy's voice. I'm also going to have Jimmy take some videos of himself signing Pat a Cake and the Itsy Bitsy Spider so I can show them to Jordan as he's almost always in bed now when we do get to talk to Daddy. When Jim goes back the next time he will take some of the duplicate books that we have so there will always be something that he can do to make that short talk time special for James.

It is tough being without Daddy, but just about 1 week in and we are SURVIVING! A few hiccups along the way, but we did it. Next weekend we are off to Chilliwack to see my brothers and nieces and nephews so it will be a nice 4 day break from home and after that we'll just have 1 more week till Daddy is home!

I stressed myself right to the ER

Jim said it best when I answered my FaceTime from the hospital bed and he realized where I was..."well that didn't take long, just 3 days I've been gone and you are sick!"

In the past my body and my immune system has not reacted well to stress. Last year when I was all worried about a position at work I ended up there, and this time I think it was just a culmination of the past few weeks of not a lot of sleep, and a WHOLE LOT more responsibility in my new life.

I really honestly wasn't feeling super stressed out and had in fact had some pretty good days on Monday and Tuesday getting lots of accomplished and feeling more organized and ready to tackle my new roles as single Mama and as the sole resident manager of our strata.

I guess my body thought differently! I woke up on Wednesday morning at 5:30 after just a few hours of sleep and could tell within about a half hour how the day was gonna go. The nausea started and the stomach cramps. I got up at 8:30 and called my mom. She came to get the boys, I took a T3 and some Gravol, went back to bed and hoped for the best. Got up 3 hours later, got sick, ate some soup, had another nap, woke up again and got sick and realized that the day was just going downhill and from past experience knew very well that it would get much worse before it got better. I've never had an incident like this where I haven't had to go to the ER for fluids and at least some Gravol and/or morphine for the pain, and Wednesday night was no exception. Within a few hours of being there I was feeling much better with some saline in me and some Gravol to calm my tummy.

They can't and won't say for sure that it's my Crohn's disease back again, but I'm beginning to suspect that because I am feeling totally fine now 2 days later that it is in fact just the way my body deals with extreme stress, whether I am feeling it or not. Time to take a step back, prioritize and keep myself healthy so I can take care of my little munchkins while Daddy is away.

I truly could never have gotten through the past 2 days without my Mom and Dad. I knew James had spent too much time there when today in the grocery store he called me Nana! They have been absolutely wonderful in watching the boys when I was sick on Wednesday and on Thursday when I had strata work and my bookkeeping class I had to do. Without them I truly don't know what I would have done. Thanks again Nana & Papa, you two truly are the best and we couldn't have done it without you! 

My "friend" that came home with me on Wednesday night and stayed until 6 pm on Thursday, just in case the internist decided I should have IV steroids or a CT scan. I never heard from him so I had mom take it out last night before my class...holy shit did it ever hurt coming out! 

James and Freedo meet again!

I can't believe he's 3 and a half already! How did that happen so soon?!?! He seems so grown up these days, especially since Jordan was born, he started preschool and potty trained all within a few short months. He is such a funny little guy and his speech has really improved in the months since I've been home with him. Some of my favorite sayings and mispronounced words of his are: "I just have to tell you somefing", "Mom, it's Mr. Tobato Head" and "We are having scabetti for supper". His sleeping habits are still hit and miss, some nights are great, and some nights are terrible with multiple wake-ups for us with him screaming out in his sleep, or sleepwalking. The other night I woke up to see him coming back up the stairs towards our room, maybe it's time for the gate at the top of the stairs after all! He is a wonderful, loving, stubborn when he wants to be, mouthy but funny little character and all who meet him think he is pretty terrific too.

Daddy and I love you big guy and can't believe how little you started out and how big you are now!

Here's his journey with Freedo!

1 Month

6 Months

10 Months

1 Year

18 Months

2 Years

2.5 Years

3.5 Years! 

How we're getting by without Daddy...

Wow, I give it up to all those single Mamas out there...it's a lot of work! I've been very fortunate since having kids that I've always had an awesome husband who did a ton to help out with the kid(s), as well as the cooking and cleaning. Well fast forward to yesterday and today and holy shit I'm tired already! I know I'll get into the swing of things but trying to do and be everything for my boys is a lot of work...and I have great kids so I can only imagine what it would be like if they weren't. Jordan was fussy today and even then he still had his usual 3 naps which I was able to get stuff done in. James was a trooper and played really great alone today, as well as reading books together and playing Dominoes with me. He loves to play with me, but can easily entertain himself too. I even got to have a shower tonight, with Jordan in the bouncy chair while James watched an episode of My Big Big Friend. I know some days are gonna be easier and harder than others, but I will say I'm quite damn proud of myself for making it through these first 2 days. I've only cried twice and then just got up and did something to distract myself from the feelings of missing my honey. It was great to talk to him and to know that he is taking a huge step to changing our lives and how nerve wracking it must be for him. His days are gonna be long, but so worth it in the end! Just 20 more days till he's home...and until then the boys and I have a Calendar of FUN to put stickers on each day! For each week of stickers that James puts up there he gets to do one fun activity with Daddy when he's home! Needed a way to use up some of the hundreds of stickers we have in this house and I think this will help.

So much to be thankful for

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends and family!

We had a great family weekend, with Jim's brother Tom and dad Colin joining us for their first holiday ever! It was wonderful to be with some of our favorite people all together.

Today marks the start of a new life for the Barrows family. Jim is off to the Terrace/Kitimat area to start his new job tomorrow as a labourer with Ledcor, building a natural gas plant. We have no idea how long this new adventure will last but hoping to save some money for the future and be able to spend some great time together as a family when Jim is home. I fully intend to return to work in the spring but most likely will only be working part-time, as well as continuing with the administrative work of the strata. It's a life I look forward to down the road, but also plan to spend the next 6ish months enjoying my boys as much as I can.

Speaking of those boys...James is 3.5 years old today! He is such a big and funny little guy. Will post his latest picture with Freedo in a blog post tomorrow! Jordan is just about 5 months old and is a whopping almost 21 lbs. We did a comparison and apparently James didn't hit that weight till he was over 8 months old. Outfits that fit James at 6 months or more are almost too small already on Jordan. Hoping he slows down a little or he'll make it to all of the summer 12 month outfits when it's still winter!

Anyways, here's some fun photos from our weekend spent with the Barrows boys. I feel a little out of the mix when I'm surrounded by all these boys but I absolutely love it. It's such a special time when Tom and Colin come to visit and James is absolutely in love with them both. My father in law did hint when he was here that although it is fun having grandsons, he also wouldn't mind a little grand daughter either. hehehehehe...we'll see what Jim thinks about that idea a few years down the road :o)