Friday!!!

Feeding the ducks with Grandma

Ashley and Auntie Jill (here for dinner)
Going "under the floor" with Grandpa
to put the Christmas boxes away


A secret for Mommy

Yahoo!! We've made it through the week. I can't believe how hard it is to go from being sooo busy that I hardly have time to think, to having no schedule at all. There are still a lot of things I need to do, it's just that my days aren't planned as the deadlines aren't "in my face" like they were in Mackenzie. Also, Matt doesn't have any pre registered activities here in Vernon, so I'm not in the situation where I run around and get as much as I can done during the two hours he's at pre-school. Instead, I try to break up our days. I aim for at least one outing each day.

On Tuesday, Matt was able to attend the ABC Gym program at the rec centre, then on Wednesday he went to the Library story hour. Thursday was a bit of a let down, as we were hoping to go public skating in Lumby (nearby town) and when we arrived, there wasn't a soul to be found. The rink was open, and the ice was all nicely zambonied and looked ready to go, but we were the only living things for miles around...okay, that might be a bit of a stretch. We were the only people anywhere near the ice, so we decided we shouldn't help ourselves and we came home to take Dixie out for a walk.

Today, we went to my mom's office for a "picnic" lunch, after which we walked down to the creek and fed the ducks that gather near a little foot bridge. I was hoping to get Matt a drop in spot at "Little Kickers" - a beginner's soccer program, but sure enough, the two drop in spots got taken by someone willing to register for the whole session (until the end of March). So, in order to stop the tears of disappointment, we went to my dad's office and kidnapped him for a "date". We went to a video store and picked out some Friday night entertainment, and then he treated us to a wonderful surprise at Starbucks. I was able to score one of the very last eggnog lattes of the season, and Matt discovered that Starbucks has chocolate milk for people his size!! Who knew?? I sure didn't - but I have a feeling that Matt won't just quietly assume that Starbucks is a store for Mommy and Daddy anymore.

My little monkey is starting to cough quite badly, and I'm hoping that his tonsils are not acting up again. he's been waking up in the night quite consistently lately, and I'm getting pretty tuckered. Our nighttime rendezvous goes something like this:

"Mom, can I snuggle in your bed?"

"Sure."

"Okay, Matt, if you're not going to settle down, we might as well get up."

"Can I watch a cartoon?"

"Sure. You can go turn it on."

A few minutes later...

"Mom, I can't hear it."

I look at my watch...

"Matthew!!! It's the middle of the night! You can't be watching cartoons now! You need to be sleeping. Go to the bathroom and then you have to go straight back to sleep in your own bed!"

"Ooooh Mom! But sleeping is just hard."

So, there you have it in a nutshell. At four years old, Matt is finding that getting back to sleep when he wakes up in the night is "just hard". I have no idea what to do about this latest development, other than to check my watch immediately when we wakes and send him promptly back to bed without the song and dance (or the cartoon). I'm praying that this is temporary and that once we are all settled in our new home (still a few weeks away) that he will go back to normal.

Happy Friday everyone,

Laura