Better late than never...

Last year I did a survey for Ronan's 4th birthday and it was so cute. I thought 4 was a good age to start doing this every year since he could fully comprehend the questions and give appropriate answers

Of course this year when I started to ask him the questions, Keegan was right there answering with him. So without further ado, here are their answers 

1. Favourite Colour

Ronan - green

Keegan - blue

2. Favourite Toy

R - train table

K - school bus

3. Favourite Fruit

R - Watermelon

K - Apple

4. Favourite t.v show

R - Super Why and Blues Clues

K - Magic School Bus

5. Favourite Thing to Have for Lunch

R - sandwiches

K - apples

6. Favourite Outfit

R - snow pants 

K - jammies

7. Favourite Game

R - snakes and ladders

K - candy land

8. Favourite Snack

R - muffins

K - apples (starting to see a trend here?)

9. Favourite Animal

R - elephant

K - turtle 

10. Favourite Song

R - twinkle twinkle little star 

K - alphabet 

11. Favourite Book

R - Jack and the Beanstalk

K - Santa book

12. Best friend

R - Avery 

K - Hunter  

13. Favourite Sport

R - soccer

K - soccer

(They are my boys!)

14. Favourite Thing to do Outside

R - ride my bike

K - ride my bike

15. Favourite Drink

R - apple juice

K - milk

16. Favourite Holiday

R - my birthday

K - Christmas

17. Favourite thing to take to bed

R - my guys 

K - turtle 

18. Favourite thing for breakfast 

R - Rice Krispies 

K - apples

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday?

R - cupcakes

K - cereal

20. What do you want to be when you grow up?

R - A soccer player

K - "I'm going to wear underwear"

Face, meet coffee table

Since the day Keegan started walking, I have maintained that if either of the joys was to ever break a bone or require stitches, it would be him. Him and Ronan are Ronan are such opposites and he is definitly the wild one! (Side note: when I typed definitly, my phone tried to autocorrect to defiantly. Also an accurate description!)

Don't get me wrong, he isn't a bad kid. He's just very busy and moves very fast. We had a close call almost a year ago, when he fell backwards off a stool and split open his head on a doorframe. That time, they were able to close it with glue. This time, not so much 

Yesterday, we went to my nephews birthday party out of town and afterwards, the kids were running around as they tend to do. Keegan took a sharp turn and fell face first into the edge of the coffee table. We managed to stop the bleeding and bandage it up so we could make the drive home. We made the choice to take him to the hospital in our city so we could get Ronan home to bed since it's always such a long wait. 

We arrived at the hospital around 8 and didnt get a bed until 11. Of course, that means you now have to wait longer for the doctor to come see you. Keegan happened to hear someone else get offered a Popsicle so he needed to have one too. Good thing they had his favourite colour!

We waited another 45 minutes or so and as soon as the dr saw him, she new he needed stitches. They attempted to freeze the area with a numbing cream under a bandage but he refused to keep it on. I don't blame him. The thing was huge and interfered with his Popsicle eating!

The decided they would have to give him a needle to freeze it and that's when things got ugly. They had to wrap him up like a burrito to keep him still and he was screaming like I'd never heard him scream before. 

He ended up with 3 stitches and we finally got home around 1am. We go back Friday to get them removed

He's not even 3 and he's already giving me scares like this!

Glasses

Ronan got his new glasses on Monday. My original plan was to have him only wear them in the evenings for the first week and then start wearing them full time next week. I wanted him to get used to them slowly and to avoid him getting headaches from his eyes adjusting to them. 

He did so well with them that he wore them to school today! And he came home without breaking or losing them! I spoke with his teacher before school and she agreed that it might be best for the first few days to take them off for recess and gym class. Probably a good idea ;)

Easy easel upgrade

Last April, my kids got the Ikea easel for the birthday. They love it, but I found one major problem with it. It's a 2 sided easel (chalkboard on one side, white board on the other) but there's only a tray on the chalkboard side. We also have the giant roll of paper on the whiteboard side but I found it just wasn't being used. I figured that was because I had put that side against the wall, since there was no tray sticking out. 

Recently, we rearranged the playroom so the easel is now in a place that they can use both sides, but they still weren't. Now it's because there aren't crayons right there so if they want to draw on it, they have to go across the room and then come back. Not gonna happen!

So this morning, I had a stroke of brilliance. I'd seen on Pinterest, a bath toy storage idea using a rod and baskets, so off Keegan and I went to the dollar store. We needed to get out of the house anyway with 2 snow days in a row! I picked up a curtain rod, some shower curtain hooks, and some baskets. 

Originally, I tried using the brackets the rod came with for mounting on the wall but I found it set the bar back too far so I grabbed some zip ties and that was exactly what I needed. 

Before: 

(Stock photo from ikea)

After:

I have to say, I'm really pleased with how easy it was! And for under $5!

Big School

Apparently, kids grow up! Ronan started JK this month and just like that, he seems so much bigger! He is helpful and polite and the sweetest boy ever. I couldn't be more proud. 

He absolutely loves school and can't wait to go every day. Nothing makes me happier than him jumping out of bed every morning so eager to start his day. 

He is making friends (not that he can remember anyone's name!) and tells me all about what he's done every day on the walk home. 

I feel so blessed to be able to walk him to and from school each day and to spend that quality time with him. I also cherish the time I get alone with Keegan every day. Even though he is 2 and has the temperament that comes with that age, I am finding him to be such a joy to be with when it's just the 2 of us. That's not to say he's not a joy any other time but I find when he's not with Ronan, he's just that much sweeter. Keegan also started preschool this month and, like his brother, is absolutely thriving there. 

Being the little genius that he is, on his first day, he walked straight past the toddler puzzles and pulled out all the big kid puzzles and immediately put them together. The kid needs a challenge!

Lots of big things happening this week! We are going on Keegan's first field trip to the apple orchard and Ronan is getting glasses! He's picked out blue ones with cars on them and is pretty excited about it! 

Tooth Fairy Pillow!

A friend of mine asked me if I could make a tooth fairy pillow for her daughter, who is about to lose her first tooth. I love making new things so after a quick google search for inspiration, I came up with this!

Complete with a glittery tooth pocket! 

Mexican Casserole

When I was doing my meal plan last week, I came across a recipe I forgot I even had for a Mexican Casserole. My boys love tacos, so I love finding variations on it so it doesn't get boring. I think the last time I made this recipe was when Kevin and I first started living together (so wayyyyy before kids.)

I think this will end up making it's way into our rotaion quite frequently since not only was it delicious and the kids each ate 3 bowls of it, it was super easy to make with a lot less mess than conventional tacos.

Mexican casserole

Ingredients

1lb ground beef
2 cups salsa
2 tbsp taco seasoning
3 cups crushed tortilla chips
2 cups sour cream
3/4 cup chopped tomato
14 cup chopped green pepper


1. Preheat oven to 350

2. In large skillet, brown beef

3. Stir in salsa and taco seasoning and simmer 20 minutes

4. Spread tortilla chips in greased 9x13 pan and spoon beef mix over chips

5. Spread sour cream over beef and sprinkle tomato and green pepper over top

6. Top with cheese

7. Bake 30 minutes

Enjoy!