Yet Another Milestone . . .

Okay, so let's talk about vomit, shall we? (If you're squeamish, or not a parent, go find another blog today.)

My sister once said to me that one of the biggest and best milestones she celebrated with her children, was the day the last one learned to puke in the toilet. I'm the father of two small boys. I get this.

When the stomach flu invades the house, I find myself grabbing sheets from the linen closet and covering the couches. In carpeted rooms, I'll even throw some on the floor. I can handle puke on hardwood, on linoleum and even on the walls. But on carpet, or furniture? Um, no thanks.

So, where am I going with this?

Well, Sonwun had his first friends-over birthday party Friday. And may I just say, WOW! What chaos! The violence, the insanity, the unbridled, unfiltered, unfettered energy of a group of five-year-olds needs to be explored, harnessed and used to power a small city. Again I say, WOW!

But I digress.

Sonwun stuffed himself with popcorn, candy and cake. He ignored any food of substance. Fair enough. It's one day, it's his party and he'll puke if he wants to.

And he did. With his belly full of garbage, he ran, he jumped, he wrestled, and he ran some more with his little friends. And then he ran to the bathroom and threw up. And may I just say, HOORAY! He made it to the bathroom and let fly where he was supposed to. That was a first and yeah, as big a milestone as birthday number 5.

Now, unbeknownst to me at the time, Sontoo observed this little ritual. At 2 years and 10 months, he was fascinated. But I was busy. I shooed him out of the bathroom, we cleaned up Sonwun and sent him back into action.

Fast-forward about 8 hours. It's 2:20 a.m. I'm awakened by the sound of retching. I fly out of bed and follow the sound. Been here before. I know I'm going to be changing sheets, pajamas, perhaps addresses.

I'm on my way to the boys' room when I look right. And there, kneeling in front of his little potty, is Sontoo. He's not even three yet, but he got out of bed, made his way to the bathroom and threw up in his potty.

Yeah, it still breaks my heart to see the poor little guy having to deal with this. But at the same time, I was so proud of him. After a clean-up, I took him back to his bedroom and checked the bed, the floor, the walls, the dog and the cat. All puke-free.

He had to get up two more times in the night, and I didn't get any sleep, but he made it to the potty each time. I'm thankful, grateful and proud.

Sonwun has taught Sontoo many things. Not all of them make me proud. Food-throwing, using the dog as a trampoline, flying off the coffee table . . . this one makes up for a couple of the negatives.

I know if you're a parent, you get this one.

Have a great Monday!

(And Happy 5th Birthday Sonwun. I love you!)

Weekend Update

Well Happy Monday!

It's a fresh -27C here this morning in the paradise that is Thompson, Manitoba. That, for my friends in the south (meaning almost everyone I know, but I'm referring to those in the U.S.) is -16.6F.

Oh, and when you factor in the wind, it feel like -35C (-31F).

Oh Timmy . . . it looks like we'll have a white Christmas after all! (Insert picture of smarmy, squeaky clean, pajama-clad children staring and smiling vacantly out the window, circa 1950-something.)

Anywhoo . . .

It's been a busy few days. And I'd like to blame that for the blog shortage . . . so I will. I will also blame it for the disjointed post this morning. Too many thoughts, too little time.

This weekend, we finally picked up some stuff for the rec room. Two couches, a chair and ottoman and a new TV. The TV we got on Thursday (LCD=WOW) and the furniture arrived Saturday. That meant a Friday night and Saturday morning of rushed cleaning, dusting and decorating to prepare for the new arrivals. It ain't exactly top of the line stuff, but it's soft and it's a place to sit.

And, it didn't fit down the stairs to the rec room.

So, with the help of The Brick delivery guys (thanks, really!), we moved all the living room stuff into the rec room and put the new rec room stuff in the living room. It all works out in the end and I will get to watch the Olympics next year in high definition - cool!

Yesterday, we celebrated Sonwun's fourth birthday. I can't believe it's been four years already.

Unfortunately, I think it was a little disappointing for him. We did our best, decorating the rec room Saturday night with about 25 balloons, streamers and stuff. But he was under the impression (not sure why) that all of his friends would be coming to celebrate with him. And by all his friends, he means people back in Gimli as well as family members who live some 2000+ kilometers away. He misses them and talks about all of them every now and again.

But we worked with what we had and he seemed to enjoy himself.

We had the added bonus of the RCMP kids' Christmas party yesterday. I wanted to tell him that it was his "real" birthday party and that even Santa came to celebrate it with him. But I didn't.

Following that, we headed out to Boston Pizza for his birthday dinner and then home to watch The Santa Clause and The Grinch before bed. Pretty good day all around.

Neomom has a few days off this week, but will be hitting the books downstairs in the office. With furniture in the rec room, we'll be closer and she'll feel a little less isolated as the boys can now play nearby.

Anyway, that's the weekend update. I once again pledge to try to keep this a daily thing, not only to keep my writing (or make my writing) sharp, but because it will keep my from getting nasty emails from my sister-in-law, who likes reading this first thing in the a.m.

Enjoy Cupcake!

Tried a flash-free shot and it almost worked. But got some nasty lens flare. Thought I'd post it anyway. Happy Birthday Sonwun!!

26 Days to Go . . .

Happy Monday!

Twenty-six days until Christmas and I'm officially allowing myself to get excited about it. There is little to be excited about here in Thompson, so I think I have to grab on to whatever's available and really run with it.

I think it started for me a week or two ago. Walking through the mall, and watching the drunks sway to Burl Ives' Holly Jolly Christmas, really put me in the Thompson Christmas mood. So much more festive than the drunks swaying to the regular musak.

So . . . must locate and pull out the Christmas decorations from the basement. Oohh, and that reminds me, the advent calendar my sister gave me a few years back. Must get to the store and find little things to put in there today. December 1 is tomorrow!

And, Sonwun's birthday is on December 6. Must get cake stuff to make birthday cake. Must also get presents for birthday and Christmas. So much fun stuff to do!

Neomom and I will not be getting presents for each other this year, again. It has become a bit of a tradition to get something for the house instead.

This year, maybe it will be a new cooktop, as the one we have now is crapping out. Or, it may be a new clothes dryer, as the the one we have now is crapping out . . . oh the fun we'll have Christmas morning drying clothes! Third option is couch and TV for the rec room. We'll just have to wait and see what becomes most urgent.

Anyway, in spite of the Christmas tasks, a regular new week begins today. Neomom's got the afternoon shift (1-9) so she'll be here in the mornings this week, which is nice. But she's got a crap load of studying to do, so she'll be downstairs in her little office the whole time, which is not nice. Oh well, only another 10 months of this and then things will, hopefully, settle down to a normally hectic pace.

Slept in a little this morning, so I must keep it short today and, sorry, I didn't do my photo of the day.

Hope y'all have a great week!