Cheerio Nation

               Before having kids I bought the odd box of cheerios. I had them for breakfast once and a while. Since the baby, though, cheerios have become a staple in our house. They make the perfect snack, whether on the go or not, no mess, little clean up and healthy(ish). I was not prepared, however, for cheerios to take over my life. You can always find a box of cheerios in our pantry (usually 2 or 3). But what you can also find are cheerios everywhere else. If you were to inspect our vehicles you would probably find enough cheerios to feed a small army. Similarly, if you were to check under the couch, in corners or any nook or crevice you would probably find more cheerios. I don’t know how they manage to find their way everywhere (well I have an inkling it might be small and blond) but they do, regardless of my efforts to sweep them away.

On the plus side Finn has an amazing talent of scoping these cheerios out. If he needs a snack, he will find some cheerios. It kind of reminds me of a blood hound sniffing out its target. I will find him sitting, eating something in the middle of the floor, which is always dangerous, and when I ask him to spit out whatever it is, more often than not, it is, you guessed it, a cheerio! 
I love how cheerio’s continue to come up with more and more flavours. Finn’s favourite is banana nut, mine is chocolate and of course good old honey nut. I do like cheerios I just wish they weren’t all over my house and car. Hmm, I wonder if that’s why we have mice?

                PS. This was not a paid advertisement for cheerios or cheerio products.

The World According to Finnegan

           Hello. My name is Finnegan. I am 15 months old. My number one favourite thing in the whole world (after mommy and daddy of course) is my blankie. I’ve had it since before I was even born and sleep with it every night.  My number two favourite thing is my dog dog. I think her name might be Miley but to me she is dog dog. I love to play with her and chase her and eat her toys. Let me tell you a little bit more about me and my family.
        
               I live with my mommy and daddy in a tiny farming community in rural Quebec.  My daddy is Chris, he does security at a school for little boys and girls who get into trouble. He also has a workshop and when I’m big enough, he said I can help him build things.  My mommy is Jessi. She takes care of sick people so that definitely comes in handy when I don’t feel well. She also goes to school, I can’t wait to be big enough to go to school and play with the other boys and girls and learn to read and write and speak French. My mommy and daddy met in high school.  They got married and had me when they were very young, only twenty-three.

 When both my parents are working my aunt looks after me. She has two little boys and we have lots of fun playing together on the farm. I don’t have any little brothers or sisters to play with at home and mommy said it’s going to stay that way. I do get lonely sometimes but it does mean I get all mommy and daddy’s attention to myself! (And all the cookies!)

          We live in a very old house. Mommy and daddy bought it before I came along and are fixing it up themselves. They got my room ready just in time for me to be born. I got inpatient and snuck out a few weeks early so I almost didn’t have a room at all! They still have a lot of work to do before it’s finished but that just means I get to help out, and I love using tools.

           As you can see our life is very hectic but we make it through alright. If you want to hear more about me and our family you should read my mommy’s blog. As you can guess by the title, I am the star. She shares all my adventures, trials and tribulations with our friends and family. I do wish she would keep my little mishaps to herself though; some of them can be downright embarrassing.

Common mom, that picture is so embarrassing!

The 5 Things I Let Finn Do Even Though I Probably Shouldn't (but I think he is all the better for it)

Wow long tittle. There are a few things that I allow Finn to do that most parents probably don't. This being said,, I think he is better toddler and will be a better person because of them.

1. Let the dog eat food from inside his mouth.
     I know this one grosses me out to no end. And well I don't actually ''let'' him do this he does it anyway. What I do let him do is be around his dog. He plays with his dog and pets his dog and has been since he was big enough to chase after her on all fours. He loves his dog and all dogs for that matter.  In fact his first word besides mama and dada was dog dog. Miley has mixed feelings on the whole thing. I am glad my son will not be one of those children who are afraid of dogs or other animals. In my experience it is the children who are afraid of dogs and don't know how to act around them who get bitten, not those that love dogs. Not to mention, that odds are, since he has been around his dog dog since he was born he will probably not be allergic to them later on. So while most parents may keep their newborns and babies away from dogs I embrace man's best friends (even if I don't approve of the eating out of the mouth thing which Finn finds great fun).

2. I let Finn play on the stairs.
      Now before you call children's aid I do supervise (usually). Finn loves the stairs, if we leave the gate unlocked he would climb up and down those suckers all day. And there is the key. Finn could climb stairs before he could walk and has recently mastered the art of descending stairs. At a restaurant recently Finn was playing on the stairs leading to the washrooms where we met another mother who had a child about the same age as Finn. She was amazed that Finn could go up and down the stairs without help. Now let me tell you why this comes in handy. If we are at someone else's house or out somewhere that doesn't have gated stairs I don't have to constantly keep an eye on Finn thinking he will fall down said stairs. I know he knows how to handle himself on stairs and won't require more than the normal level of surveillance. Of course he has had a few minor mishaps, but I mean who doesn't fall down the stairs occasionally? (or is that just me?)

3. I let him wander the house without a diaper.
       We do have the benefit of not having carpet in the house, so that helps. But when dad is not home (cause dad doesn't approve), I let him do some strip tease and prance around naked. Can you imagine having a diaper on 24/7? Must feel great to get some breathing room now and again. And you know what? He very rarely has an accident when I take his diaper off. So while I know it is a little early for potty training, I do have my sites, perhaps optimistically, set on next summer and I think this can only help. No diapers at all at home next summer and hopefully be ready to be rid of them for good when fall comes!

4. I let him play on our un-railed deck and the kitchen table.
        This is kind of along the same lines as the stairs thing. I allow Finn to learn about heights. I am not gonna lie, he has taken a couple spills off the deck but for the most part knows where the edge is and how not to fall off. So like with the stairs, I can have confidence in knowing Finn (probably) won't go off the edge of something. (Luckily he has never fallen off the table, I don't really like him up there but I can't keep him off sometimes. He is kinda stubborn like his mama).

5. I let Finn play with his books.
      I know most parents would keep books away from uber destructive babies but Finn has full access to most of his. A few of them have been destroyed, a few of them have seen better days, but for the most part they aren't bad. And the upside, Finn loves to be read to. He will bring us book after book to read to him (over and over and over again). He settles in our lap and listens intently and even loves to flip the pages. I really hope that Finn grows up to be a reader like me. There really aren't enough readers in this internet/smart phone age. I do think that Finn is well on his way to becoming one by constantly being surrounded by his books, the fact that we don't have TV probably helps to. PS. If you are looking for a christmas present for Finn books, especially board books are a great choice, because honestly if I have to read Goodnight Moon or Mortimer one more time I may have to kill myself!!

What about you? What do you allow your kids to do that they probably shouldn't be doing??

Harsh does of reality

Dear friend and family,
      Last night my husband maliciously compared me to my mother-in-law. She is a very nice lady, but those of you who know her can guess that this probably wasn't a compliment. After recovering from this insult I saw where he was coming from and decided I should set the record straight. First a little background information. When Chris and I started dating I used to hate going to his families house for dinner because his mother would have to clean meticulously for days and prepare and twelve course meal every time I came over. This was very intimidating and made me feel like I was putting her out every time. Last night Chris accused me of doing the same thing whenever I have people over. So my friends, if I have made you feel this way, I apologize. The only thing is, is that I genuinely enjoy doing it. It isn't work for me, it's more like a hobby, and as you know I have very few. I take pleasure in parousing my food network magazines, picking out a menu, setting a table. My only regret is that I don't own fancy linen and dishes, maybe some day. Chris said I make you all feel bad that you may not reciprocate with something as elaborate, please don't! I want to be around you for the company, not a meal that took you 3 days to prepare and stressed you out. I love to cook for people. I think in my last life I may have been a wife of some rich business man where my sole job was putting on dinner parties for him. That or some fat Italian grandmother. If it's not your cup of tea then let us eat pizza!  As Kate-Lynn said '' Jessi is the housewife'' and it's true, even if not in the literal sense of the word (although now that I work from home maybe I could be?). So please my friends, come, eat, talk and laugh with me and let momma feed you (try the last line with an Italian accent)

Big Shoes to Fill

I had a terrifying thought recently. It is my job to teach Finnegan everything. This seems like an impossible feat. How can I possibly teach him everything? There is so much to know. This thought struck me the other day during a new game we play with Finn, ''show me your belly button'' where, as the name suggests, Finnegan shows us his belly button. This took weeks to learn. We have started ''show me your nose'' to which Finn shows us his belly button. There are a lot of body parts. Times 2-3 weeks to learn each one and well you do the math. Now imagine all the things that he needs to learn, numbers, letters, animals (all in 2 languages may I add), how to react in any given situation, the list seems endless. I know that others will pitch in, friends, family, teachers, but ultimately the responsibility is mine. Sit back for a minute and think about everything you know. Everything you have ever heard, the thousands (well maybe hundreds) of words you know, all the people you know, all the feelings you have. All of this knowledge needs to be passed on to my son in what seems like an impossibly short period of time. On a shorter scale I need only to look at my nephew who is not quite three. He speaks quite eloquently, knows how to conduct himself, how to use a spoon, how to use the potty. Finnegan will be in his spot in about 18 months and even this seems like an incredibly daunting task. How can such a little boy, one who now opens his mouth to let the dog eat out of it (I know ew, don't get me started), learn so much in such a short time? I just wish I had the capabilities to learn that quickly, would make getting this pesky bachelors degree a lot easier...

We did it

Well, my friends, Finnegan and I have done it. He has not breast fed in over a week. My tiny baby boy is no longer breastfeeding. I have to admit though, even if I am a tad nostalgic about it I am actually pretty happy. My boobs are mine again! No more blood, no more stretching out my bras, no longer solely my responsibility to put him to bed at night, although I still do 99.9% of the time. I have been putting this off for weeks, then I contracted a minor undisclosed ailment that required medication, that wasn't recommended during breast feeding, so that sealed the deal. Finnegan fussed a little more than usual the first two days I put him to bed without it  but I was quickly forgotten and swept under the matt and now he doesn't seem to notice. This does of course upset me. Happy that it's over, and sad that it's over, thus is the never ending plight of motherhood.

Ode to Steve Jobs

''Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.'' -Steve Jobs 2005

The world lost another great man this week. And whether you love Apple or hate it (and are therefore crazy) there is no denying the impact this man has had on todays technology. I have heard him described as the Edison or Einstein of our generation and I think that is spot on. He has changed the world as we know it and he did it all with grace, dignity and pizzaz. If you haven't heard his Stanford University speech, check it on on youtube. It is truly inspirational. The way our children view technology and animation will have been largely shaped by this man.  He made computer geeks cool.

I love everything about Apple. I was a groupie before it was cool. The first computer I bought was an old Apple clam shell laptop and I loved it. Unfortunately it was about a hundred years old when I bought it so it wasn't around for long but I now use a mac mini. I had an original iPod in bright pink, I have since upgraded a few times and now sport the iPhone 4 and quite frankly would probably cry if forced to give it up. Those of you who aren't on the Apple band wagon I would really like to know why. It is user friendly, I am pretty lost when it comes to computers but am able to work my way around my mac (usually). They last forever (well I do warn you they aren't baby proof, but really what is?) and lets face it they also look cool. I fell in love with Apple in a high school media class and haven't looked back. 

Steve's death will no doubt be a huge blow to the company. I hope that new minds are able to step up and take over where he is left off and continue to produce ground breaking new advances in the world of technology.

Love what you do, live every day to the fullest, and make yourself proud. These are the words he has tried to instil on people. These are words we should all live by and teach our children to live by. 

"Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me…Going to bed at night saying we've done something wonderful…that's what matters to me." (Steve Jobs, 1993)

Read more: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20111006/steve-jobs-quotes-111006/#ixzz1a9EVVT3r