Family – Page 7 – Making A Life

Finally NO MORE DIAPERS

June 22, 2015September 10, 2015spaleksicLeave a comment

Dear readers this is only intended for those of you that might consider yourselves poop stain fighters. If you have never had kids, never changed a diaper or have no intention of doing either of these things then stop reading because you might be grossed out by this post and will definitely never come over for dinner. To all of my fellow readers that might have at one time or another found yourself cleaning someone else’s bodily fluids this one’s for you.

Today is a very happy day in this house.

Today I cleaned the carpets.

Today I ran the potty’s through the dishwasher (all by themselves of course). I thought it was really gross too but my mom does it so it must be OK. For those that have never had kids and even for those that have I warned you that you might not want to come for dinner.

Today is the day that I washed all of the cloth diapers for the last time, the very very last time.

Today is the end of diapers because today everyone in this house goes to the bathroom in the toilet. Today is day that I thought was only a fantasy. But here it is and I am elated.

I hope to never again hear…so and so pooped on the floor. Like on the floor floor, inside the house? Please tell me it’s not on the carpet. Nobody stepped in it and tracked it onto the carpet, right? Stop right there DON’T TOUCH IT. As the parent it’s then up to you to clean up the kid, clean up the floor, clean the clothes and clean whatever else was in a unfortunate place at the scene of the accident.

Inevitably right after the carpets were clean in walks the “finally toilet trained” two year old with a smoothie. As we all know the smoothie ended up on the carpet because it had been a whole 10 minutes since I finished cleaning them. Its sort of like when you wash the car and minutes later a bird fly’s over and drops a huge load smack in the middle of the windshield. So on that note I totally expect that just writing this is going to jinx me. Tomorrow the carpets will no longer be clean, but here’s to hoping that it’s not poop or pee because my days as a poop stain fighter are over.

You might think that this is a sad day, but its not. My toddler poops in the toilet. I guess that he’s not a baby anymore and I am OK with that.

P.S. there are no secrets to toilet training contrary to what you might have read, you can bribe them, reward them, clap, sing, read books, use cloth diapers, stand on your head, act like a dancing monkey it really doesn’t matter because they will go when they are good and ready. Have you ever tried to go to the bathroom when someone else told you too? It’s not so easy.

Sunbathing Beauties

June 18, 2015September 10, 2015spaleksic5 Comments

My oldest graduated from Kindergarten this week and I couldn’t pass up the chance to bake some cupcakes for the celebration party. In the process I learned that you can make and ice about 60 mini cupcakes from a standard boxed cake mix and tub of frosting. These bathing beauties were vanilla cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, dipped in light and dark brown (sand) sugar. Topped with a strip of fruit roll-up for the towel and a gummy bear. Garnished with a paper parasol these were a hit with the kiddies.

Ingredients

Boxed cake mix
eggs
oil
Tub of frosting
gummy bears
light/dark brown sugar
fruit roll ups
paper umbrella

Instructions

Bake the cupcakes as per the box instructions
Ice once cooled
Roll iced cupcakes in the sugar
Cut the fruit roll up into towel sized pieces (I did 1″ pieces for mini cupcakes)
put a dab of icing on the top of the cupcake to attach the towel (fruit roll up)
Put a dab of icing in the middle of the towel and attach the gummy bear
decorate with a paper umbrella

Family Photos

June 9, 2015September 10, 2015spaleksic5 Comments

What do brain tumours and photography have in common? Probably not much. But having been recently diagnosed with a brain tumour has prompted me to yet again have family photos taken. When I told my husband that I wanted to have photos taken his response was “really AGAIN”. It has only been a year since the last batch and I understand his point but I played the brain tumour card anyway. You never know what the future may bring, so while I can get some family shots taken I went for it. Scroll to the bottom to see the lovely pictures that Nicola at Lily and Lane took for us.

We don’t have a lot of family pictures of all of us, there are a pile of the kids, and lots of my husband with the kids. I am almost always behind the camera so just in case something goes wrong and Timmy the tumour wins (which is highly unlikely in my opinion) my family will have some new shiny pictures of me. Until that dark day (holy morbid) inevitably happens sometime in my late 90’s I plan on enjoying the photos. Which means that they need to make their way out of the computer.

Step 1 is getting the photos, Step 2 is getting them out of the computer and into some form that you can enjoy. Hint, hint nudge nudge. I stumbled across this fantastic INEXPENSIVE, EASY, AND QUICK way to display photos. In the image above there is a mix of pictures taken by three different photographers (myself included). In the top row the 3rd and 6th images from the left, and first and fifth images in the bottom row I mounted on wood artist panels. It’s really rare that I come across any DIY project that is all three, so I am pretty excited to share this one with you. This project cost $2.00 for the wood artist board at the dollar store, $3.00 for the 8×10 print, $1.00 craft paint to paint the edges from the dollar store. I already had a jar of modge podge and a paint brush, but neither of those items will break the bank.

What you need:

8×10 photo
modge podge
Canvas or wood artist board
A paint brush/foam brush
craft paint to paint the edges
Exacto knife

Instructions:

Step 1 – paint the edges of the canvas or wood board and wait for it to dry. Have a glass of wine while you wait.

Step 2 – Apply a second coat of paint if needed and wait for it to dry

Step 3 – Apply a coat of modge podge to the canvas/board and lineup the photo making sure to remove any air bubbles, wait for it to stick

Step 4 – Trim around the edges of the canvas/board

Step 5 – Apply a coat of modge podge as evenly as possible over the entire photo to seal it. A foam brush is better than a bristle brush.

Photo Gallery

King of the Castle

June 3, 2015September 10, 2015spaleksic4 Comments

Whenever I get out crafting supplies one of my kids asks what I am making. When I told my oldest that I was making crowns to give as birthday presents for a couple of upcoming parties, he requested one. I had a crown pattern drawn with stars on it and when I showed him he requested more points and to change the stars to diamonds. So this project was designed by my oldest and sewn by me. He is my biggest critic, greatest source of inspiration and the king of the castle. At least one of the kings of the castle, my youngest is challenging him at every step. No one around here wants to be the dirty rascal.

My youngest is yelling to the neighbourhood “I’m the king of the castle you are the dirty rascal”. He is also sporting his superhero cape and his love shirt.

If you are interested in making a crown here is a pattern. If you are interested in buying one here is a link to my Etsy store.

A Mustachioed Snake

May 27, 2015May 27, 2015spaleksic2 Comments

There are two people in my house that love to wear socks, and there are two of us that don’t. My husband and oldest son are the sock wearers. They seem to go through socks so quickly. I am not a fan of socks, and only put them on with sneakers, or in the winter. The rest of time I am barefoot, as is my youngest. I rarely wear out a pair of socks, usually the elastic goes before I wear holes in them. This is not the case for our resident sock wearers, they are constantly wearing through socks. I have been saving them because it seems such a waste to throw them out.

I am also an avid recycler. Pants, shirts, doors, milk jugs, new socks and now even the holey old socks in our house gotten a new lease on life. Meet our newest house guest, “Sunday” the sock snake. He is constructed of mainly of my husband, and eldest son’s holey socks. He is named Sunday because one of the pairs of socks said Sunday on the bottom, so I though that it was fitting. He is also the only snake that I know that has a mustache, or many mustaches.

If you are interested in giving your old socks a new lease on life, check out this tutorial from Grosgrain. I made a couple of alterations to the tutorial with the main one being using quilting batting instead of stuffing. I learned when making sock monkeys that it’s really hard to get the socks stuffed with out having big lumps, so for the snake I used batting. Here are some pictures of my battle with the batting. It was a full body workout to get Sunday stuffed. Now I will need to make a second one because I still have a pile of holey socks.

Support

May 23, 2015September 10, 2015spaleksic7 Comments

How are you? This little question has turned into more of a greeting than an actual question. When you answer it do you tell the truth? Or do you say fine, thanks. How are you?

I feel like I am lying if you ask how I am and I say fine, because in no way am I fine. So I have started saying I am great except for the brain tumor. I have gotten some interesting reactions to say the least. I do however have great hope that I will one day be able to say fine again and really mean it.

I have been telling people that I have a brain tumor, some out of necessity, some because I want to, and others because I don’t want to pretend that everything is OK. I have been openly sharing my story. It’s hard because it’s emotionally exhausting but it’s worth it. I don’t even know how many people have told me of friends, relatives, or acquaintances who have survived a brain tumor. I have lost count. Your stories inspire me and fill me with hope, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Tomorrow we will be walking in the Brain Tumour Spring Sprint. I have raised money and participated in many walks for all kinds of causes but never one that affected me personally. I wanted to thank everyone for your donations, it’s humbling to know that I have so many people’s support. I have raised just over $1,000.00. Yahoo. If you would like to donate to this cause very close to my heart (brain) please do. Here is the link. http://www.springsprint.ca/site/TR/SpringSprint/General?px=1028237&pg=personal&fr_id=1217#.VWEjiU_BwXA

I decided to turn the image of a brain formed by hands into a shirt because I thought that it would make a perfect shirt for the kids for the walk. Every occasion around our house get some sort of t-shirt, this is no exception. I anticipate that they will be covered in food and or dirt and I may need to make another set before the walk tomorrow.

Smile

May 17, 2015May 17, 2015spaleksic2 Comments

I am an amateur photographer so I am always behind the camera which means that there are only a few photos of me and the kids. Each year around Mother’s Day we have a family picture taken by a photographer so I actually make it into the photos. Yesterday we went to the beach for the annual picture, and each year it gets a little easier. The kids will look at the photographer at least occasionally, and sometimes even at the same time.

I graduated from a college photography program before digital photography became accessible to the masses. There are those that would say that digital photography has taken away from the art of photography, and I would tend to agree. But I would also say that it has afforded those of us that are inclined to take photos a million more chances to snap a good shot. I remember taking both slide and film photos and praying that there would be at least one good shot in the bunch (to hand in for an assignment) and waiting days for film/slides to be developed, only to have to repeat the shots. Granted a lot was learned though carefully setting up shots, but I can’t even image how many rolls of film it would take to get a shot with multiple children looking in the same direction with their eyes open. I am hoping that Nicola (our photographer) was able to get a couple of good shots of our crew. Here are a couple of quick shots I took while the kids were playing at the beach.

Logan our 2.5 year old has a habit of saying smile (instead of smiling) when someone points a camera at him. His older brother is trying to teach him how to smile in this photo. I took these when we were in Welland last month. Logan is clenching a gummy worm in his hand because when all else fails opt for candy, it’s sure to get a smile.

I needed to throw this one in there because I am keeping it real. Logan was yelling “get this thing off of me”, poor Bennett. Definitely no smiles in this photo.

Celebrating 40 years

May 16, 2015May 16, 2015spaleksic1 Comment

Celebrating 40 years of anything these days seems like a small miracle. Especially 40 years of marriage. I have been married for 4.5 years and that seems to be quite an accomplishment. But 40 years that’s in a whole other category. Today my parent’s are celebrating 40 years of marriage and for that they deserve a standing ovation, a parade, champagne, and I don’t even know what else because the truth is marriage is HARD. Really, really hard sometimes. Did I mention that they have FOUR children. Yet, somehow they have managed to endure all the challenges that life has thrown them TOGETHER.

It’s fairly typical these days to drop a small fortune on a wedding. Don’t get me wrong it is a very big deal to commit yourself to another person, but it doesn’t have to come with a giant price tag. My mom once told me a story about shopping for wedding rings at Kmart. Believe or not you don’t need a giant rock from Tiffany’s to have a great marriage, a simple band from Kmart is the symbol of their 40 year marriage. My mom now has so much bling on her wedding ring finger I am surprised that she can lift her hand, but if you start with something plain there is a lot of room for upgrades.

Growing up my parents were interchangeable. There weren’t designated mom or dad jobs. Dad cooked, did crafts, washed windows, vacuumed, shoveled snow, snuggled babies, worked outside the house, braided hair, helped with homework and did laundry. And so did my mom. My dad learned how to do ponytails and give face lifts all at the same time. I have never seen my mom iron but that’s because my dad is really good at it. I have also never seen my dad sew because my mom is a master seamstress. They each have their own domestic talents. Most years my dad worked and my mom stayed home with the kids but other years it was reversed. They were able to adapt to whatever the situation needed seamlessly.

I am about to divulge a pretty big family secret, wait for it…. I HAVE NEVER HEARD MY PARENTS FIGHT. Not once in the 18 years that I lived with them did I hear them fight. No slamming doors, no swearing, not even any yelling (at each other). How is that even possible? I am flabbergasted that they either never fought, or really never fought in front of the children. Maybe they were just too exhausted from raising four kids that there wasn’t time or energy to expend on arguments. I have no idea how they did it. I do however remember them kissing in the kitchen, and the four of us pushing our way between them, yelling gross. Or the bemantic (child slang for romantic) candlelight dinners that they would have.

When I was out the other day buying them an anniversary card I opted for a CONGRATULATIONS card that I though was blank on the inside, only to learn later that it said “Congratulations, all your hard work has paid off. Enjoy it”. While the card was probably designed for a new job, retirement, or promotion it is equally fitting for 40 years of marriage. Marriage is hard work and they did it together for 40 years so congratulations; enjoy it because that is no small feat. They are both pretty excellent marriage role models, and maybe just a little too good because it’s pretty hard to replicate what they have. But I have at least another 35.5 years to get it right. Have an amazing anniversary, Love you.

Goodbye Mommy Guilt

May 11, 2015September 10, 2015spaleksic4 Comments

When I first found out that I had a brain tumour you could say that I was depressed, for the first two days after I didn`t get dressed and I didn`t spend much time out of bed. That might have been the brain tumour but it also might have been the burst ovarian cyst, and stomach flu which were also attacking my body at the same time. Regardless my kids saw me as a bit of a mess, because honestly I was.

On day three I got up, got dressed and headed to a birthday party (at least physically) and felt some semblance or normalcy for the first time in days. I was also pretty proud of myself that I didn`t break down and cry mid party at the thought that I might not be around for my kids subsequent birthday parties because those were the thoughts swirling in my mind at the time.

Later that same day I had a massage booked. The appointment was made weeks before and I thought that it might make me feel better to get a massage. I had sent my CT results to my massage therapist the day before mainly so that I wouldn`t actually have to discuss my recently discovered tumour, and also so that I wouldn`t waste precious massage time crying. When I arrived we chatted a little about how I was feeling, and then he treated me as he had every other time I had been for a massage in the last 5 years. He also told me about his mother in law who had a meningioma removed (same kind of tumour as mine) and she has a loss of hearing in one ear, and can`t swim underwater without special ear plugs. To him this situation was no big deal, but not in a way that I felt like he was diminishing my situation. Simply that it is an unfortunate event which requires surgery,healing and time. My massage therapist relieved more stress than I ever thought possible with only his attitude and his words. I left his office feeling better than I had in a while because I had hope, piles and piles of hope.

For the first time in days I ate dinner at the table with the rest of the family. Sasha who had just turned 6, turned to me and really looked at me and said “you seem to be feeling better mommy”. And he was right, I was feeling much better. But that point was also a pivotal moment because I became acutely aware of just how much he was picking up on. I vowed at that moment to pull myself together, and have hope that this situation would be resolved in time.

Sasha’s keen observation, and my acknowledgement of the brain tumour have also given me perspective. My mommy guilt has disappeared. I have a hard time caring these days about sugar cereal intake, TV watching, and what kind of diapers are the best. Instead I am taking care of myself, giving the kids extra snuggles, and making sure that the big things like their emotional needs are being met. My new perspective courtesy of my brain tumour is to live, and raise happy healthy kids.

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Great Wolf Lodge, Niagara Falls

May 9, 2015May 9, 2015spaleksic2 Comments

We went to a Great Wolf Lodge in Washington state last Fall. Sasha has been asking to go back constantly. It seems that it might just be his favourite place on earth. So on a recent trip to Ontario we stayed a couple of nights at the Niagara Falls Great Wolf Lodge. We also took the kids to see Niagara Falls, and for dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. There are not elephants at Great Wolf Lodge, only wolves.

It`s fair to say that fun was had by all. It`s also fair to say that if you have a brain tumour located in the part of your brain that affects balance that it might be wise to stay off the big fast scary water slides. Or as my husband alluded to maybe I am just a big wimp, only time will tell on that one. Once I get Timmy the tumour removed I will try out the big fast scary water slides again and see if I fair better post tumour.