Taking the mourning out of our mornings

by Carly With the possible and occasional exception of my husband, we're not morning people around here.  I think I've mentioned that a time or ten in the past.  And now that the Little Man is back to being on the school bus every morning at 7:40 am, not to mention being gone for a whole day and therefore needing more crap stuff, I knew I needed to get my bum in gear so that mornings wouldn't be a nightmare.

I've got two and half months before my maternity leave ends and I'm back to work full time.  That means two and half months where my only task in the morning (is it terrible that I shudder a wee bit inside every time I type the word "morning"?) is to get just the Little Man out the door and on the bus, clothed, fed and watered.  Come mid-November I'll have to add myself and the Baby Man into that mix.

Knowing this, I started planning ahead for that eventuality.  I may have a hate-hate relationship with mornings (shudder), but I love me some organizing.  Here's what we're doing . . .

1. Must-Do Posters Inspired by a similar poster designed by Kids in the Capital mom, Kim-Anh, I made these:

They're on the wall between the kitchen and the powder room and the Little Man loves checking them every morning and afternoon to ensure he's crossed his "must-do's" off his daily list.  My personal favourite on this list?  Choosing his clothes for the next day the night before!

2. "Make" Breakfast the Night Before We've all heard of making lunches the night before, which we do around here too, but Mr. Tree was quick to point out how much easier it would be for the Little Man if we set out everything he needs for breakfast before going to bed every night.

Since the Baby Man wakes up at the same time as the Little Man, and still needs a grown-up to feed him, I put out what Jake will need for his breakfast the night before.  Thankfully Jake loves a good, big breakfast but dragging stools or chairs to the necessary cupboard to get everything he needs out in the morning is time consuming and leaves us tripping all over each other.  So his bowl, spoon, cereal and honey are put on the table for him, and the milk is left easily accessible in the fridge.  Whenever possible, I get his fruit and yogurt ready to go as well.

3. Making use of the Powder Room Like most kids, Jake is an easily distracted dawdler.  Imaginary friends can suddenly and unexpectedly pop out of anywhere, urgently needing his attention.  Sending him upstairs to floss and brush his teeth every morning was taking anywhere from 3 to 30 minutes.  So we put a second toothbrush (for everyone in the family), toothpaste and flossers in the powder room on the main floor.  Amid the hustle and bustle of everyone in the family getting ready, Jake finds it easier to stay focused on the task at hand.

No running back upstairs (to get dressed or brush his teeth) also ensures he doesn't get sidetracked by the ALL! THE! AWESOME! LEGO! in his room.

4. No TV in the Morning This was a tough one for Jake, as there's nothing he loves more than chilling on the couch first thing in the morning watching a fifteen minute episode of pretty much anything on Treehouse or Disney Junior.  Like a lot of children (and adults), the Little Man has a hard time focusing on more than one thing at a time.  Even having the news on while he eats is distracting so we're working on limiting TV even for the grown-ups to the first 10-15 minutes after the hour or half hour . . . to catch the weather and traffic.

5. No Dishes in the Morning If it doesn't go in the dishwasher (we prefer to wash some of our kid-friendly dishes by hand), it gets left neatly in the sink to be washed later.  Right now I'm doing those dishes once Jake is on the bus, but I plan on teaching my recovering perfectionist self to just leave them there until I get home from work.  Sure it's not always fun to walk in the door to a sink full of dirty dishes, but since mornings and I already struggle to get along, this works for me.

And one of the very important reasons I'm choosing not to do dishes is because I want us to have . . .

6. Ten Minutes to Hang as a Family As I write this we're only on the second day of school and so we're still working on this one.  I'm trying to make sure we're setting aside ten minutes in the morning to just touch base as a family.  Ten minutes for Jake to sit on the floor and be goofy with Noah.  Ten minutes to read a short story.  Ten minutes to express our hopes for the day ahead or just talk about a crazy dream we had last night.

I'm a night owl at heart so I'm always interested in what works for other families.  What do you do to make mornings less mournful?

Carly has red hair and occasionally the temper to match.  She loves potatoes, rainy nights, photography, her husband, her 6 year old son, Jacob and her 10 month old son, Noah.  Probably in reverse order.   She also blogs.

Question of the Month: Baby, it's HOT outside!

This year has got to be some kind of record for heat advisories in Ottawa! It makes it challenging to keep kids active and safe too. (Water, sunscreen, hats - they're all absolute essentials this summer.)

Since you can't possibly stay home day in and day out, what are some ways you're keeping busy this summer without getting overheated outside?

Are you going to indoor attractions? Cozying up to friends with pools? Installing your own pool? Haunting the local splash pad?

Tell us how you're coping in the comments!

Being prepared for a visit to the CHEO ER

by Vicky

I'm writing this post praying that you never, ever have to use the Emergency Room at CHEO. But if you find yourself in a time when you do need to make a trip, as I did twice in one week recently, I hope you'll find some of these tips useful.

My 5 year old son Joel suffers from asthma, and we've made a few trips to CHEO since he was born. When the temperature spiked to 43 degrees with the humidex recently, he was struggling so much to breathe. I watched him an hour in the morning, and seeing that his breathing was not improving with his inhaler, it was off to CHEO we went.

In our situation, I had time to gather a few things to take with me, and to drop off my daughter at the sitter's. If you do have time to grab a few things, here's what I recommend you stuff your purse with as you head out the door:

- cell phone and/or ipad (and chargers!)
- bottle of water/juice box -snacks (for you and your child)
-colouring book, crayons, note paper
-small cars, teddy bear or other toy to keep them distracted
-candy or suckers if you have any
-your child's health card
-toonies and loonies if you have any

Tip #1 - Take your parking ticket with you, and put it in your wallet. If you are in the waiting room for a long time, you will be pulling things out of your bag and it could get lost in the shuffle.

Tip #2 - When you first arrive, have your health card in your hand. You will be greeted by very friendly nurses in triage who will assess your child and send you to registration. We were moved into our own room very quickly because of the severity of Joel's asthma. Every nurse and health care professional we saw were exceptionally friendly and amazing with Joel.

Tip #3 - You can order food for your child from your room. Joel was kept in observation for 6 hours while we waited for the medication to take effect. We were in our room through lunch and dinner. You can ask for a menu for your child, and they can choose anything they want from it. Joel had spaghetti and jello for lunch, and a few snacks later on in the afternoon.

Tip #4 - The main cafeteria closes at 1:00pm. There is a smaller shop that sells pizza, subs and coffee that is open later. However, if you are alone with your child, as I was, unless they feel comfortable being left alone for a few minutes while you run down the hall, then you'll be hungry. There are vending machines in the main waiting room that take only toonies and loonies.

CHEO

Tip #5 - Keep your child calm and entertained with play I cannot say enough good things about the Child Life service at CHEO. Child life specialists are professionals trained in areas of child development, play and the psychosocial needs of children and families. Aside from preparing and support children and youth during medical tests and procedures, they also have toys, activities for children to play with as well as DVDs to keep them distracted during their stay. Joel played for a long time with a 20 questions toy, stickers and some colouring books.

cheo

Tip #6 - Play is a great distraction There are lots of learning and play opportunities in an emergency room. Joel kept himself busy with post it notes, stickers, toy cars, rubber gloves, medical masks and even those little black things the doctor uses to check our ears! He pretended to be Dr. Joel giving me a check up.

After 6 hours, Joel's asthma was under control and we were on our way back home. He's doing great now!

We are so fortunate to have access to such a great facility in Ottawa. I am so thankful for CHEO and the amazing care they provided to my son. Go show your support and give them a shoutout on Twitter and follow them on Facebook!

Vicky is mom to a 5 year old named Joel and 3 year old daughter named Mieka. She is also a Play Stylist with Peekaboo Beans and an occasional teacher. To find out more visit her site at www.pbstylist.com .

My son has special needs, but I'm not sure what they are...yet.

by Karen I've recently begun writing about our experiences going through the system to get our son assessed.  It all started last summer when we were having communication difficulties around potty training. Eventually, we decided to talk to our doctor about motor skills as well. We've since added emotional development and behavior to the list.

That's a heavy load on our minds as parents, but in the grand scheme of things we are very blessed. We simply have challenges that may be considered by some to be outside of the "norm". And yet, life is just like that.

"Normal" is Relative

I have three family members who are on the autism spectrum so I've always known it was possible that Brandon could be as well since there's a strong genetic link. One family member was diagnosed as an adult and it explained so much about this individual. Resources and knowledge are far different now than they were when I was a child.

It can feel like such a punch in the gut to hear someone you trust tell you that you should think about getting your child assessed, but it's worth it to be proactive.

My experience so far has been so positive - friends are quick to offer support, helpful advice. The specialists we're seeing are incredibly compassionate professionals who take Brandon as he is and work with him. The waiting feels like it will never end, but we're finally seeing results after nearly 11 months.

The Testing Begins

It can be intimidating to go for an assessment, but the specialists we've encountered have been outstanding. They play with Brandon and work hard to engage him in ways that he will enjoy and respond to. When it's clear he's had enough, they generally don't push him too much further.

We've had two assessments so far. There are more to come.

The Goal

This is all part of a grand plan I have to give my son the very best life he can have. These assessments will put us on the right track. I want to know what makes Brandon tick. I want to know how to help him understand me better and vice versa.

Unexpected Inspiration

When I attended a conference recently, I got to see Jason Goldsmith - of The Big Blue Hug - speak about his son Ellis, who is autistic. Check out this video excerpt of the session:

Hearing Jason talk reinforced beliefs I've had all along:

• Nothing is "wrong" with my son. He is exactly right just the way he is.
• Assessments are just a jargony way of saying you have to be creatively vigilant and diligent to learn how to reach a child in the way that works for them.
• I will do whatever it takes to help my son, because just as I get to share my stories in a way that works for me, I want him to find a way to share his.

I'm going to write about this from time to time as we go through this process. My hope is that I can help parents who may have fears about this process by sharing my story.

Do you have a child with special needs? What is the one piece of advice you'd give other parents?

*****

Karen Wilson is a wife to Matt and mom to Brandon (4), who blogs about her life at Karen’s Chronicles. She can be found at Wellman Wilson, helping businesses use social media more effectively. Lately, she’s also busy planning a little conference and doing her part to keep the coffee industry alive.

The Swedish touch

by Amy A little while ago I posted on my own blog about the dos and don'ts for servers in family restaurants and Lara asked me about doing reviews of how kid friendly restaurants around Ottawa are.

Now, I have my own criteria, but I've discovered that one of my favourite places to take the kid for a meal right now is Ikea. Yes, Ikea.

There are a number of complaints about shopping at the actual store, but the Ikea restaurants is great for kids. There are a lot of reasons we've eaten at Ikea twice in the past two weeks. One is cost - who can resist a dollar breakfast when you're buying a $600 piece of furniture? But the other things that I liked surprised me.

Variety: The restaurant has a pretty good number of choices for on the children's menu and it all seems fairly good. Some places your choice is between something fried or white pasta, but my daughter had meatballs with mashed potatoes and a milk to drink. She was a big fan of the lingonberry jam, which is a bit weird.

Serving size: The servings are absolutely reasonable for a child.

Utensils: Ikea uses their own stuff to stock the restaurant and for the children's meals that means plastic plates, kid sized utensils, plastic cups. This is the only place I remember eating that a fork she looked comfortable using.

And the best part? After spending more than two hours walking around the store, kid actually napped.

Amy is mom to two year old Maggie and a 6 year old schnauzer named Henry. You can read her blog at amyboughner.ca where she writes about motherhood and anything else that’s on her mind. She also shares a blog with her husband at boughner.ca where they talk together about parenting a daughter.