And they're off!

It's hard to believe that Darryl, Amanda and the girls have left already; it's not quite September! They have set out on their Ukraine adventure. We've already received news from Amsterdam and the first part of their trip. Hopefully the rest goes at least as well and they settle in quickly and without much incident.

Meanwhile, things are getting busy here. We're getting a driveway and walkway. (Well as long as mother nature and the company doing the work co-operate that it!) It is a huge pain at the moment having our front step missing and having ALL of our front yard as a huge mud pit. And it is not very convenient to park across the road, especially when I have two toddlers in tow. Hopefully it is finished sooner rather than later.

In Ryan news, it seems like he learns something new everyday. He has started doing this little dance thing when he hears music. It is so cute! He loves playing with things that have buttons to push although he pushes buttons mostly with his thumb. I guess we will need to play some finger-song games to increase his finger dexterity. He has developed a healthy fear for the cat. He will approach the cat and hold out his hand to be sniffed. He will try to touch the cat now, but not anywhere near the cat's face.

I'll update the Discovery Toys business in another post as I have much to say on that subject!

Setting Up Shop

Last spring I joined Discovery Toys. Things started out a little rocky with my grand opening party not going over so well (note- don't hold a grand opening party on a long weekend!) but I did get two other party bookings and they were more successful. Then I went away on vacation and I've been slack in getting back in the saddle. It is easy to let other things come ahead of making the most with this type of business. However, I want to get back on track and have just signed on with my group manager to start a 6 week group and one on one training to help make this fall really work for me and my Discovery Toys Business.

The first thing she asked those of us participating to do is to figure out why we are with Discovery Toys. Next, to make a goal for the 6 weeks. Then make an action plan to achieve this goal. And finally share this goal and plan with a significant other who will be helping to make this possible. She also is looking for us to share this goal and plan with her so she can help motivate, inspire and coach us to success.

I thought a lot last night about why I am with Discovery Toys. In the beginning I was just looking for something to do to help make some extra money while I stay home. But in my little time with the company, I've come to really see the value in their toys and their slogan "Play with your children, it's the best investment you'll ever make." As a teacher and now a parent I wholeheartedly agree with this philosophy. I also appreciate the fact that Discovery Toys makes educational toys, games and books. So now, I think my why is a little different. I really want to share Discovery Toys with other people and not just by selling toys but by introducing the possibilities with Discovery Toys to others as well.

My goal in the 6 weeks, is to become a group manager by Oct. This type of a promotion actually means skipping a step in the rank ladder. I know it is a god thing to keep your goals realistic but I do think I can make this. I may have to adjust my goal, become a Sterling Consultant by the beginning of October and a Group Manager by the end but either way, I do want to reach Group Manager status this fall.

The hard part now is setting up a plan. I know I have some great tools available to me not only in this training/coaching that Jen has set up but also with all the new products about to be introduced in the Fall 2007 catalogue. I can't wait, new things are always so exciting to me. But in the meantime, there are some great products that are about to be discontinued to make room for the new products. They are still great products and I want to make sure people I know have the opportunity to purchase them before they are gone. A few of them I have already and are favorites of Ryan.

My plan includes working 30 minutes per day for 5 days a week and hopefully scheduling one to two parties a week for the next 6 weeks. During the 30 minutes a day for 5 days I plan on making calls, sending out emails, putting together and sending out catalogue party packs and doing other Discovery Toys training that is available to me. In order to reach my goal, I also need to share the Discovery Toys opportunity with 5 others in Canada. To make that happen, I am going to aim to share the Discovery Toys Business opportunity with 4 people a week. If I can get one of those 4 each week to sign up and join Discovery Toys with me, then I should be able to meet my goal of Group Manager.

While meeting this goal and making some extra money is a reward of it's own, I would like to shoot for making money to spend on a possible trip to the Eastern US just before Christmas to visit with some friends and catch the Clay Aiken Holiday Tour 07 (Christmas in the Heartland?).

Each week I will post an update about how things are going with my 6 week intensive coaching and how my goal is coming along. If you would like more information about Discovery Toys, check out http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/esuite/home/bobbimelanchuk .

A Night with Grandma

Yesterday was Brad's birthday. We were very fortunate that his mom was able to come out after work and stay the night, including babysitting Ryan while we went to the movies. We went to see The Bourne Ultimatum which was very, very good! The last time we went to a movie was Valentine's Day when we went to see Music and Lyrics (a cute movie and very fitting for a Valentines Day evening out) Brad's mom also came out to visit and spend the night babysitting Ryan.

The first time grandma M came to babysit Ryan slept the whole time. When we left last night, Ryan was asleep and we hoped we would have a repeat of last time. When we came home last night, Ryan was awake , cuddling in our bed with grandma. She said he basically woke up as soon as we had left and was awake the whole time. She did say he was very good however. He played with his toys a little. Grandma said he especially loved playing with his Winnie the pooh book that grandma B sent for Christmas last year. Kathryn loved that book while we were in Seattle as well.

Ryan was very excited to see us when we got home but he was very tired. He was so tired we were able to lay him down in the pack n' play beside our bed and he fell asleep more or less on his own. I tried that again today at nap time but it didn't work as well. I haven't tired the magic song for sleeping yet but I will soon.

Sleepless nights

Ryan has been really consistant and good about is naps since we've been back from our trip. He has one 1 1/2 hour nap in the morning around 10:30 and then he goes down for another 1 1/2-2 hour nap any time between 3-4. That being said, we've been having trouble getting him down at night. It's been 9-10 at night and a huge fight. After thinking about it, I figured maybe he was just staying up too late, (he is usually only up 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours before going for a nap and at night it was getting to be about 4+ hours between nap and sleep) so I have been trying to put him to bed earlier and follow our bedtime routine very closely.

I was so happy when after a trip to Dairy Queen for ice cream after dinner, that Ryan started to look tired. Imagine my happy surprise to have a sleeping baby by 8:20. YAY! By 10 I decided to go to bed early and I had just fallen asleep when Ryan woke up screaming at 10:40. I brought him into bed with me and he nursed for all of about 10 minutes before falling back to sleep. Even though it was much earlier than it usually is when I bring him back into bed with me, I left him there. I think that was my first mistake.

No joke, from 11 last night until 4 this morning Ryan was up at least once each hour. From 4 to 7 Ryan did not sleep at all. From 4 to 5 he nursed and flopped around on the bed. I had a really bad back ache so at 5 I went to soak in the tub for a bit thinking maybe Ryan would settle down with just Brad in bed. Nope. After I got out of the bath and took two Tylenol I was feeling a little better so I took Ryan out to the living room. I had moved all the toys into his room yesterday while tidying so there was not much there for him to play with. First he ripped apart the newspaper from earlier in the week. Then he found a half empty chip bag and proceeded to empty it and crush the chips into the carpet. Thankfully by then he was starting to show tired signs. No longer interested in nursing (and not that I imagine there was much left after his nursing at least once an hour since 11), I gave him a container of yogurt and some water.

Thankfully I was able to take him back to bed and get him to settle and go to sleep around 7:20. And he slept until about 10:30 when we woke up. Needless to say, that threw off his schedule for the rest of the day. 8:45 and Ryan is down for the count tonight. I sure hope tonight is better than last night. With my other little guy I babysit arriving at 7:30 in the morning, I am not sure I can take another night like last night.

Sleep well, I sure hope we all do!

Road Trip ~~Ride on Time~~

Earlier this summer we took a little (ok a big) road trip with Ryan. We drove from our home first to Kelowna, BC then to Seattle, WA and back. Ryan traveled quite well but there were a couple of small meltdowns on the road and no where to stop. It was heartbreaking to have to listen to him cry and not be able to do anything about it (especially when trapped in bumper to bumper rush hour traffic or stuck in construction in the mountains). On the way home we discovered a magic button of sorts, a song that would help soothe Ryan.

Even though this song was a magic button for us during our road trip we somehow manged to forget about it until a couple of nights ago. On Tuesday we took a much shorter road trip into Edmonton. We had a couple of errands to run, visited with great-grandma P and did some shopping. About half way home Ryan woke up and was incredibly fussy. We tried everything. I gave him good fish crackers and water, I nursed him, I changed his diaper, I gave him a teething tab, I took him out of the car and we ran around in a deserted gas station parking lot, I gave him toys and I even got into the back of the car with him. But it was no use. Each thing would soothe him for a few minutes only before he started screaming again. Brad continued to drive on as best he can, stopping when I asked so I could try something new.

Ryan cried pretty much non stop for the better part of an hour (I don't think the CIO method for sleep will be effective with Ryan) and we finally arrived in Bonnyville which is only about a half hour from home. We stopped at the 7-11 and I took Ryan out of the car and carried him around the store for a good 10-15 minutes trying to soothe and calm him. Brad washed the windshield and lights and added more windshield wiper fluid to his car. I took Ryan back to the car and nursed him again. Then I had an idea and I asked Brad to put on the magic song from our Kelowna/Seattle road trip. Brad put the song on and between it and nursing (and the previous meltdown I am sure) Ryan finally fell asleep. I transfered him over to his car seat, he cried a little but I got back into the front of the car and we kept the magic song playing. By the time we were out of the 7-11 parking lot, Ryan was calmed and almost asleep. He slept the rest of the way home, let us take him out of the car and bring him into the house.

The magic song? Let's say this about it first, it shows how much Ryan is like his parents. Perhaps he heard the song so many times before being born that he finds it comforting. But it is a song that Daddy loves that happens to be in one of Mommy's favorite movies. It's a dance/techno song by Black Box called Ride on Time. My newest thought is to make a cd with multiple versions and copies of the song on it and play it on a cd player at bedtime/nap time. We know it works in the car, but maybe it is the combination of the movement and the song. I'll let you know how this new experiment with the song goes!

First Smiles

~~~~September 2006~~~~

Smiling is infectious,
You can catch it like the flu.
Someone smiled at me today,
And I started smiling too.
~Author Unknown

Sometime early in September of 2006 Ryan began smiling. On the 6th we were finally able to catch one of those bright rays of sunshine on film for the first time. To me, he looked like a totally different baby when he smiled. His smiles became contagious and it was (and still is) hard to look at his smiling face and not smile back or give him what he wants.

Since then, most people who have met Ryan have commented on what a happy baby he is. I think it is because he smiles so much. The next sagas in Ryan's smile...when it turns from a gummy toothless grin into a dazzling smile complete with chompers and when the grin is accompanied with an infectious giggle.

Little Model

~~~~August 2006~~~~

When Ryan was just 6 weeks old, the three of us went to Walmart to have our pictures taken at the portrait studio. They had a special where you could get oodles of pictures in a variety of sizes for $9.99 but it can only be of the first pose. That was all we really wanted anyway. Ryan was still very little and for the most part only onsies or sleepers really fit him, but I wanted him in a "big boy" outfit. I picked up this demin outfit at old navy when Ryan was just 3 weeks old and we took our first road trip into Edmonton. The blue puppy dog slippers were a baby shower gift and he wore them almost all the time for the first couple of months. Notice how Ryan looks so tiny compared to Brad's arm and especially his watch.





Unfortunately, our Walmart doesn't have any cute backgrounds for family pictures and so we got our pictures done with just the blue background. But we saw a couple of the cute baby backgrounds and we were hooked. We really liked this warf background. With my family being from Newfoundland, we thought this little fisherman set up was too cute for words.











We wanted more pictures, just with Ryan and the cute backgrounds. They took a lot of photos that day, especially of Ryan alone with the cute kiddie backgrounds but we
managed to cut it down to just 4 poses. What we anticipated as just a $9.99 deal turned into a $80 ordeal. *sigh* But Ryan was a great little model and for a 6 week old, he handled the posing and picture taking like a trooper. We didn't get a real smile that day, but at least in the family picture he has hs mouth open and sort of looks happy. *g*

And yes, I did try to dress us all in a similar manner with demin bottoms, Ryan's brown plaid shirt and tan and yellow tees for Brad and I.