And another one goes down...

Maddie's sickness was passed along to... her Daddy. (Yessss - I was spared... so far... ahem, knock-on-wood).

Seth got felled just around the time that we were going through the bedtime routine on Monday night. He was laying there, of little help at all as I was manhandling her into her pj's, and just as I was about to get annoyed, he started complaining that his stomach was acting up.

Turns out, as I relayed my weekend update to our daycare provider, that one of the other kiddies at daycare was sick on and off all last week with the same thing, that also tore through his mom and dad as well. So now we know where she got it, and just how lucky we were that it didn't really affect her mood all that much (and that I was spared... so far... ahem, knock-on-wood).

Life it back to normal as of today, with Seth back at work and me, well, procrastinating from building a powerpoint presentation for a *big*important*meeting* on Friday...

Already I can't wait for the weekend...

xxoo.S

Sick

Maddie spent the weekend sick - from Saturday morning when she threw up her egg breakfast all over our bedroom carpet. I don't like eggs to begin with, and I can tell you cleaning up that mess was worse than any diaper...

She has been acting fine - but little to no appetite and completely off milk. So we've moved her onto the "BRAT" diet, and the bland food seems to be working at getting rid of the diarrhea and her upset stomach. Poor thing...

In other news, we stuck close to home this weekend. Doing a few things around the house, and visiting friends on Saturday afternoon. Maddie loved playing the drums with Daddy in the game, Rockband, and I'm sure she'd say it was the highlight of the weekend. I have some photos that I'll have to post for you soon.

Hope you all had a great Family Day long weekend...

xxoo.S

Happy Valentine's Day from Maddie

xxoo.S

"Toot"

Scene after tonight's bath:

Maddie toots.

Maddie says, "toot?".

I say, "Yep. That was a toot."

Seth says, "I love how our daughter says eight words. And one of them is, toot."

xxoo.S

I made it through

And so did she. From all accounts, Maddie had a wonderful weekend with her grandparents. And I... well I survived. I was lonely. But I was also sick. Which meant I spent a lot of time horizontal on the couch. So much so, I managed to watch the entire Matrix trilogy. Impressive if I do say so myself...

And while I didn't actually leave the house in any kind of social sense, I did manage to get my ass up off the couch long enough to organize the garage. Damn! That took energy (and over five hours). But look how awesome my new workbench looks now:

I made a pot roast for Sunday night dinner and am now about to get Miss Madeleine to bed and cozy up with the hubby for a Sunday night movie. Mmmmmmm ... I like these types of Sundays.

xxoo.S

My first day on my own

Yes, you read that time right.  It's 7:30am.  So much for sleeping in during my "weekend off".  I knew that was going to happen.

I also knew I was going to be sick (well, that didn't require psychic powers, I've been sick all week, and it's just lingering, not getting better or worse, just lingering...).  So instead of spending last night out at the movies with a friend, I spent it at home, watching tv and then taking a bath.

And instead of the accompanying glass of wine that I had fantasised savouring during my long, uninterrupted, guilt-free bath?  It was about nineteen glasses of water (my attempt to flush this snot out of my system).  Oh well, at least it was a 2+ hr bath.  And I didn't feel rushed or guilty the entire time...

So now, I'm up, it's early.  A pot of tea is steeping.  My local papers await (I've always been addicted to flyers, even before I was a retail marketing girl!).  I'm going to enjoy my morning before I work up the energy to tackle the garage.

It's supposed to be a gorgeous winter day - they say plus seven.  I hope you have something fun planned.

xxoo.S

Now THAT'S customer service

I got a shock yesterday.  I had sent some negative feedback to the makers of Maddie's highchair (it's the Chicco Polly - comes in fun colours that made us pick it in the first place).  

Essentially there tray is made in 2 pieces and therefore has a seam that bisects it horizontally (I've checked, most highchairs are not made like this - probably for the very reason I complained).  

What happens is, food gets stuck in the seam, and regardless of how vigilantly you try to keep it clean, eventually you have this brown, gross, grunge stuck in and under the seam that you cannot get out.

And so I complained.  Honestly, not expecting to get anything in return.  In fact, not expecting any type of response at all.  But I sincerely wanted to let them know that this was a design flaw, and hoped they would take it into account for future products.

Well I got a response about 4 days from sending the feedback.  They want to send me a new tray to replace the one I have. 

I have to say, I was really impressed.  (And not only because I'm getting a shiny, new, un-grungy tray)  But when's the last time you received amazing, RESPONSIVE, customer service from a company?  Much less a Spanish company (yes, the feedback form I filled out was Spanish).  So they forwarded the comment to their Canadian Distributor (Elfe) and that is who has responded back.

So there you go - there are some companies in this big, bad world that actually still care about their customers.

xxoo.S

A full week at a new daycare - and no complaints...

...yet.  Maddie's really settling in.  In fact, seems even more comfortable than she ever did when I dropped her at daycare.  It might have something to do with the number of kids that are there when I drop her off (hello distraction!).  Or maybe it's just a part of getting older, she is taking it a bit more in stride.  Or maybe it's just a better fit with this new provider, personality-wise, for Maddie.  Who knows.... And I hope I'm not jinxing anything, but it seems like it's working out well.

Except for the food.  That part I'm not loving.  Yesterday's lunch was grilled cheese (marginally better than the past lunch choices, this I actually do feed Maddie fairly regularly - although with "real" cheese, as I'm not a big cheese slice fan - and yum, have you ever had a grilled cheese made with extra old cheddar?).

But how do I bring it up?  And do I bring it up now?  Or do I wait a few more weeks?  Maybe this was just an "off" week?  Her website listed menus that focussed on healthy, nutritious meals that included veggies.  

I think I'll just hold off for now.  Maybe it was just an off week.  I'm hoping that's it.  

And yes, I realize how neurotically obsessed I sound....

xxoo.S

Dammit

By changing all the template info for my blog, I somehow lost all the info in my "Maddie's Milestones" list widget.

I thought I did everything properly. I saved my old template. I have backed up my blog for months. I can't believe it's gone. It will take me ages to try and remember everything I had listed. That was kind of the point... it was a list that had grown organically over our first year with Miss Maddie.

Dammit. Stupid blog and technology and stuff. And, well, stupid me...

xxoo.S

PS - it's also come to my attention that some of you are having difficulty leaving a comment.  Um - dammit again as I don't know why.  It's not giving me any trouble, so I'm not sure what the problem is there...

Fish sticks + fries

Just in case you were wondering what Maddie ate for lunch today at daycare. Oh well, at least the snacks are healthy. Although I had to google one of the afternoon snacks. Who's ever heard of Nilla Wafers before? Not me - that's a new one...

xxoo.S

Another "first"...

I'm approaching a milestone this weekend. My first weekend away from Maddie.

In fact, I'm not the one leaving - she's taking a roadtrip with Daddy to Kingston to visit her Grandma and Grandpa Vallier.

I think Seth was trying to do something nice for me - let me have a weekend off and do some things with my girlfriends. Enjoy a night out, be able to relax on my own the next day, hungover or not.

And I appreciate that. I really do.

But turns out that my girlfriends all have plans...

I do have a tonne of projects planned (like organizing my new workbench & tools!). So many projects in fact, that I doubt I will even get half of them done.

And so the weekend looms...

I am going to be getting together with one or two girlfriends for dinner / movie or something low-key. It will be fun. I will enjoy the time "off".

But dammit, I also know I'm going to feel so lonely this weekend...

Is that pathetic? I feel slightly pathetic. I think it's different if you're the one "going away". But when everyone is going away from you, I think it feels much worse. Dammit, now I'm all melancholy...

xxoo.S

Yesterday it was nachos

That's right. First day of daycare - hotdogs for lunch. Second day of daycare - nachos.

Seth is getting seriously jealous of Maddie's new diet.

Me - I'm coping. I re-read these posts, and I realize I'm coming off like a pious health nut.

And if you really knew me, you'd know that's really not me. In fact, I've been known to argue the validity of pie for breakfast.

But for some reason, I've been extra vigilant in trying to avoid all those "junk foods" that kids often get fed, because they're convenient. Hot dogs, kraft dinner, nachos... Preservative-laden, nitrate-ridden, processed foods.

I mean, every once in a while, it's fine. But not everyday... Anyone with me on this?

In all other aspects, this provider is fantabulous. Maddie is loving it there (she barely glances back when I drop her off - and this is only day 3!), there's lots of other kiddies around and they have a structure to their day, which I really like to see.

So I guess I have to give a little, right?

xxoo.S

What's going on here?

Yep - it's a new blog layout. Because clearly I'm not busy enough, I needed to add "completely redesign blog template" to my list of to-dos. Riiiiight. So it's rough. And in need of a colour massage. And a few other hacks that I'm not finding so easily right yet. But for now - here's our slightly more interesting bloggie-space.

Anywho - back to basics: My mom and stepdad came up to visit this weekend - that's why you haven't heard from us (me). It was a busy weekend starting as of Friday early afternoon. Besides general familial visiting, they were also up to make good on a Christmas gift. Which was to build a workbench in my garage.

I cannot tell you how exciting this is for me. I've been wanting to create some organization to our plethora of tools and random bits for over a year. Bags and baskets and bins and boxes of these things have been moved from corner to corner in our basement, and then finally up to the garage, where they lay on the floor, waiting for someone to come use them. Except we can't, because we don't know where anything is, or frankly, what we even have (which is why we have like, 5, levels - because we just keep buying more).

Sooooo - now I have my workbench. And my shelves. And my pegboard. Oh joy. Oh fun. Now I just need some actual time to spend out there, uninterrupted, to organize it all.

In other news - Maddie started at the new daycare today. From all accounts, she coped really well. Was a little shy, hung back a bit at first, but quickly came around and was right in there playing. Slept for 2 hours in the afternoon, and ate, ummm, hot.dogs. for lunch. Yep. Hot dogs. Not to sound all snobbery, but I've been avoiding feeding her hotdogs since she started eating solids. And now, she gets them for her very first lunch.

As Seth said - it's not like she's not going to eat hot dogs another thousand times. What's the big deal.

Indeed. I guess there isn't one. Except I died a little bit inside when I found that out. Hot dogs are just so. Gross. There. I said it.

On the upside, we get a written synopsis of Maddie's day now. At the end of each day. It includes how many diapers (wet vs full), her mood, what she drank (how many oz) and ate (mmmmm - hotdog!), how long she slept and general activities of the day. All in all - it's a fairly complete summary of her entire day. Pretty cool really.

In fact, as I read through her first daily synopsis, I realized, Yup. We totally made the right decision. And this daycare? Totally worth the $$$.

xxoo.S

Bang-tastic! Or bang-butchery...

I have followed in the age-old rite of passage for all moms. Butchering their child's hair in an effort to "trim her bangs".

Something I always promised myself I would never do.

*sigh*

I guess Maddie can just add that to the list of disappointments when she's 14 and telling me all the reasons I am a terrible, horrible, mother.

On the positive side of things - she now looks like an extra in the Lil Rascals with her toothless grin and scraggly hair. Undeniably cute!


xxoo.S

Driving me slightly crazy

Maddie's obsession with the cat dishes continues.  It's now all about the water dish.  She goes over to stir* the water with her spoons from her tea set.  She takes the cups from her tea set over and scoops out water and drinks** it.  She takes her wooden food over to the water dish and washes*** them.

I'm so tired of mopping up water, it's annoying.  Not to mention the grossness of thinking about her ingesting the kitty water... gross.  And again, annoying.  Full stop.

xxoo.S

*By "stir" I mean splash water everywhere with the spoon.

** And by "drink" I mean scoops the water out with the cup and pours it down herself, on the floor, everywhere it can possibly reach.

***And by "wash" I mean dunk them in the water, and then proceed to suck the water off them and throw the wet dripping pieces around.  Do it again.  And again.  Andagainandagainandagain.

Daycare drama

It's been a whirlwind week, both Seth and I being busy with insane work schedules (as always it seems - what happened to my supposed 20-30hr work week?).  Add to that the stress of ending daycare with our current provider, and gearing up to starting with a new provider (Alexise, our current provider, is going on maternity leave) next week.

Except, now we're not.  

So here's the story... 

We had been interviewing frantically starting in December, trying to line up a new daycare provider before Alexise went on mat leave.  We found a provider that seemed okay, and she was the same price as what we were currently paying for 4 days.  So, bonus, right?

Except I never really felt all that comfortable with this new provider.  Why was she so much cheaper than all the other daycares we had called?  And why didn't her children, that were home with her, integrate with the other kids in the daycare (they stayed upstairs all day apparently)?  And why didn't she have any paint or pictures on her walls?  (yes, I realize I'm a weirdo - but it made the "home" seem really sterile.  Like "just-moved-in" sterile).

But her hours worked, and like I said - there wasn't anything "technically" wrong with her.  So we sent her an email and said we were signing on, and that we'd like to start Jan 26th.

And then Christmas came and went.  And January started flying by.  And the closer we got to the 26th, the more I started to stress about this new daycare.  Until I finally just started combing through any new ads that had been posted, and calling those daycares.

Then, Thursday of this past week, I interviewed a lady.  Who. Was. Fantastic.  She teaches sign language (meaning, she'll continue our efforts - awesome!).  She has 4 other little ones in her care, a bunch of pre-school and after-school kids.  Her home is set up like a "daycare".  And she was just warm.  Nice and friendly.  Business-like, but clearly loved kids.  And asked to hold Maddie (do you know how often providers DON'T do this when you're interviewing?  Seems so odd to me)...

And of course, she's FAR more expensive than what we're currently (or were planning on) paying.  Of course she is.

And of course she needed an answer from us by Friday, because she had someone else lined up for the spot, but because we could start right away, she'd be willing to go with us.  

So on Friday, during the busiest of all days this work week, I also had to sort this out in my (our) mind.  Which did we go with?  Was I being unreasonable and weird with my "instinct" choice?  But did we really want to make our decision on daycare based on $$$?

In the end, we went with the fantastic provider.  Maddie starts on Feb 2nd.  I emailed the other provider and apologized profusely about cancelling at such short notice (don't feel that bad for her - she still had her ad posted, which was another weirdo thing to me). 

And now she's back with Alexise for one more week.  Haha.  I expect everyone thinks I am a neurotic crazy mom.

Good thing I know that I was neurotic and crazy before ever becoming a mom - so really, nothings changed for me...

xxoo.S

She did it again...

...last night. Slept-through. I woke up refreshed, and happy, and well... Not. Tired.

But I wonder why? Why are some nights now sleep-through nights, and some are still wake up nights?

As it gets later in the evening and my early-morning-serious-work-stuff-meeting looms, I find myself dreading the night (if there's a wake up) and fantasizing about it being another sleep-through night...

Inconsistency. Thy name is Madeleine...

xxoo.S

TV obsessed zombie?

When Maddie was a baby I was obsessed with her NOT watching any tv at all. I had read reports, studies, all sorts of things about how TV causes autism, TV causes aggressive behaviour, and how TV makes lazy kids (because they're being passively entertained, instead of going out there and "playing")...

I caught a lot of flak (or just "discreet" eyerolls) from my friends and family, especially whenever I actually tried to explain why I was against her watching TV at such a young age. I mean, seriously? She was a B.A.B.Y. It always struck me as strange that I even had to justify why I didn't want to put my 6 month old in front of the tv...

In the end, I ate my words and have started to introduce some TV into Maddie's day. Again (no judgement!) I REALLY don't believe in using TV as a babysitter. I don't believe that TV is the same as actually "playing". And I don't let her watch more than an hour of TV a day - meaning the TV isn't on as "background noise". My "background noise" is music (again, no judgement - I swear!).

But that hour? Her "shows"? Ohmygod she's obsessed. Like, completely and utterly obsessed with Loonette the clown on the Big Comfy Couch. And slightly less obsessed with anything Elmo on Play With Me Sesame. And turns into a scary-quiet-zombie for In the Night Garden.

What do you think Moms? How do you deal with the zombie-like-attraction that toddlers seem to have to the TV?

It's almost disturbing how zombie-like she gets for certain shows. And while I'm all for the educational value of some shows (or just getting 25 mins of peace so that I can make dinner) ... but I don't want her to turn into a couch potato and miss out on actual "live play" learning experiences. So for now, we will continue to limit her exposure. But that's just me - what do you guys think?

xxoo.S

PS - here's a pic of my little zombie watching tv from a "safe" distance in her chair!

5 day streak ... ended.

Well, it was a good run. It was enjoyable. I, personally, LOVED it.

But the "sleep through the night" streak has ended. And she went out with a bang - woke up last night (this morning?) at 5am quite upset. I tried to shush her through it, but in the end, it was a bottle that we needed.

Oh Maddie.....

xxoo.S

Happy birthday to meeeeeee

Birthday pluses:

• I got to sleep in until 9:30 - ah deliciousness! Oh - and that's on top of a 4-th consecutive sleep-thru-the-night night for Maddie. Woo-double-hoo
• Got my annual Swarvoski ornament and a pair of slippers. Oh and some scratch cards - that I even won a couple of bucks on!
• About to go have a luxurious bubble bath and then head out for a mani/pedi (my bday treat to myself).

Birthday minuses:

• Maddie is in devil-child-state today. Currently napping (FAR earlier than she usually goes down - like 2 hrs earlier than she should be sleeping) because the calamity of being awake was JUST. TOO. MUCH. And we have a kids bday party scheduled for later today - goodlordhelpusall...

• xxoo.S

The end of a long week

It's been a long week here at the Vallier household. Work-wise both Seth and I have been run off our feet - arriving home late, or completely missing the bedtime routine (I didn't get home from work until 10:30pm last night). Needless to say, we're both glad it's Friday...

And while I hate to jinx it (because we all know me even mentioning it will make this behaviour cease - but I can't resist bragging a bit)... Maddie has been sleeping through the night this week. 3 days in a row in fact. It's an incredible feeling, going to sleep and not expecting to be woken up. I didn't even realize how stressful it is going to sleep, expecting that you were going to be woken up in just a few hours. I didn't realize how stressful it was until I realized how much more relaxed I was going to bed the last couple of nights.

And yes - that means that I've gotten used to the privilege of sleeping through the night ridiculously quickly - I'm sure it means that tonight she will awaken at least 5 times and I will quietly lose my mind again...

Have a wonderful weekend peeps. I've got a date night planned with the hubby for Saturday which will involve a pampered dinner (completely with copious amounts of wine I can only hope), and maybe a movie, maybe stopping in to visit at a friend's birthday party...

In the meantime I will leave you with a cute-bum-pic... gotta love Levi's - they always make a girl's bum look good...

xxoo.S

A ladies weekend

This past weekend I had my very good, very old (old in friendship, not in age!) friend, Stefanie, up for a visit.

With Seth away for the weekend doing his infernal football fantasy draft weekend thingamabob, I decided what any self-respecting wifey would do. I organized a little weekend of my own. Including good girlfriends, good food (CAKE!) and good wine.

And it's always nice to have extra hands on deck to help out with the little monster. She's busybusybusy these days. I'm sure most 15 mos-olds are like this, but it literally feels like she spins circles around me and it's all I can do to keep up.

It was also L's birthday (which accounts for the CAKE! mention above) ... I hope she had a good time. I guess anything is okay when you've gotten kicked out of your house on your birthday weekend (her hubby was the host of the football weekend).

So that's that. We gossipped. And chatted. And laughed. And ate and ate and ate. You know, the things girls over the age of 30 do very very well...

This weekend is my bday - going out for dinner w/ the hubs while the little monster gets babysat by her Auntie L. I'm already picking out my dinner (and the accompanying drinks) in my head. Work has been nightmare-crazy for both Seth and I think week, so there will be a fair number of drinkies imbibed I expect.

I'll update you on our shinanigans on Sunday. In the meantime - watch Maddie eat cucumber and sign "please"...



xxoo.S

Holiday pics

Our little Christmas Elf - on Christmas Eve night

Feeding her new dolly

Playing with her new kitchen that Santa brought her

All dressed up on on our way for a Christmas visit to Grandpa & Grandma Burke's

Maddie getting a New Year's Eve hug

Guess who the DD was. And who wasn't...

Spending a morning playing at Little Feet indoor playground during Daddy's holidays

Maddie's new playroom!

Lots more pics uploaded to our Flickr account - but I realized after I uploaded, that we didn't really take any pics of our trip in Kingston. Good thing the Grandma's have cameras...

xxoo.S

"Moo"

Our miss muffet has started to say more words. If only we could actually figure out what those words meant.

• She definitely says "juice" (juuush) - and if she wants it really badly she actually says it more clearly.
• She says "orange" (ainch) while we're peeling the orange segments for her after dinner.
• "HI!!!" is a new favourite, accompanied by drastic hand waving. Oh, and "HI!!!" also means bye. Whatever...
• We've been getting a lot of "yes" (YESHHH) to everything. Hey, better than no, right?
• "Daddy" used to be "dada", but is now just DA! As in, DA! What're you doing? DA! Give me some juuuush!
• "Mommy" is getting better - a bit more "mama" than just "mem" nowadays.
• And her new favourite word as of yesterday is "MOO". What is "MOO"? We're not really sure. Thought it could be "more", and that it could mean the character Lunette, on her new favourite show, Big Comfy Couch. But honestly, I think she said "MOO" to me tonight. I may still be carrying extra weight kid, but I'm not a cow. Jeesh...

xxoo.S

Christmas bonanza and a sick new years

Wow - time for an update post. Hold on to your hats, I think it's gonna be a long one...

After a delish dinner on Christmas Eve (Seth bbq'd up some steaks that had been marinating over 24 hrs in the fridge), and a few glasses of wine, we put the munchkin to bed and played Santa. So much fun setting up the stockings, setting up her kitchen, getting everything to look just "so". Seth had surmised that we should hold off on setting up the kitchen, as it would be too distracting for her when opening the rest of the presents, I disagreed. Guess who was right, the next morning?

We had decided a while ago to spend Christmas morning at home, something we'll be doing every year, as I want Maddie to experience Santa and all that's involved in her own house each year. After opening presents, eating breakfast, opening more presents, playing with her toys, etc etc etc, we finally got on the road to Kingston. I think it was around noon when we left, and she fell right asleep.

Traffic was not so bad, and we arrived at my Aunt Reta's in Harrowsmith within 2.5 hrs, with a delayed stop at Timmies on the way. Maddie had woken up at that point, and was g.r.u.m.p.y., but seeing the doggies (da!) at Aunt Reta's, she perked right up. We ate an early dinner there, and opened presents with Grandma and Grandpa Thompson. Then we drove into Amherstview to spend the night. Maddie slept extremely well for the first time in a playpen - it was refreshing that we now know she'll sleep in one - yayyy!

Boxing Day morning we opened more presents with Grandma & Grandpa Thompson, then got dressed and did the whole thing over again (including the turkey dinner) at Grandma and Grandpa Vallier's. Grandma Vallier had a cold and I think Maddie and I caught it, because the next day was a lazy one, and included a (much-needed) long nap for Maddie.

Sunday we visited Grandma and Grandpa Burke, where Maddie (being sick and perhaps a bit overtired from all the excitement of the past few days) was a little grumpy at first. She warmed up eventually and ate yummy salad and tortiere for lunch, and then tortured their poor cat for a while. That night we put Maddie down to sleep and Seth and I snuck out to catch a movie. Unfortunately for Grandma & Grandpa Vallier, the munchkin didn't go to sleep easily. Fortunately for us, the movie was a long one (Curious Case of Benjamin Button - great! loved it! go see it!)... so that meant by the time we got home she was (finally) asleep.

Monday morning we packed up early and headed home. It was a long drive, and by the time we got home everyone was exhausted. We tried to unpack what we could. And keep Maddie happy for as long as we could, but she ended up going down for a late afternoon nap, which meant she was up a little later than usual. But that was okay because we had Greg & Liz visiting as they had just gotten home from their trip to Florida.

We had dinner and some drinks and chatted until late in the evening. The next day, Seth and Maddie spent lots of time together while I worked. More of the same on Wednesday - Seth even took her grocery shopping!! I guess there's a first for everything.

Wed night was New Years Eve and we headed to a friend's house for a potluck (Top-Chef-Style) competition and some new years cheer. I was still sick, so after trying to choke down a few drinks, I gave up and put on my DD hat.

Yesterday was another lazy day, with Seth hungover for most of it. I managed to take the Christmas decorations down though, and set up the front room as an "official" playroom now. I must take some pics and post them for you - I'm so glad to finally have a use for this useless room. At least until we finish the rec room and her toys get relegated to the basement... hmmm - don't see that happening in the near(ish) future.

So that's it - there's your update on what the Vallier's have been up to. It's 1:30 and Maddie is down for her nap after a busy morning at Little Feet (indoor play gym) with Mommy & Daddy. Daddy is napping too, and I'm supposed to be working....

xxoo.S

Merry Christmas from Maddie

xxoo.S

Happy holidays

Looking at my last post, I realized I didn't want to leave you all without a Merry Christmas wish...

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday. That Santa is very good to you and yours. That you eat well, you drink (very!) well, and you have lots and lots of merry moments.

Love,
The Valliers

Sleep much?

Our little non-sleeping-loveable-little-miss (oh-god-why-can't-you-just-figure-out-how-to-sleep-thru??!?!?) has taken to waking up at 6am these days.

Consistently.

Luckily she wakes up in a good mood and is happy enough to play with her stuffies and music box in her crib for a bit (read: 30 minutes), while I continue to doze.

But I'm not "sleeping". I'm dozing. Big difference. Especially in energy levels as the day (week) goes on.

I'm thinking she's getting older, maybe we need to move her bedtime a bit later? Instead of the 7-7:30-ish time that she is currently going to bed, maybe we need to move it to 8pm?

I don't know. I'm sure I could research the "appropriate time for a 14 month old to go to bed" - but I thought I'd just ask the experienced moms out there. What do you think? Is this an anomoly because she's a) teething, b) soaking thru her dipe, or c) an non-sleeping demon that has been put on this earth to slowly torture me through sleep-deprivation techniques?

And really - should I just move her bedtime and hope for the best?

xxoo.S

Her first "official" haircut

This morning, after doing some Christmas errands, we took Maddie to get her first haircut. I say first, because while I have trimmed her bangs a few times, there was no way I was going to attempt cutting the back of her hair.

An adorable children's haircutting place opened up near us - Melonhead - and after sticking my head in the other day to check it out, I couldn't resist booking an appointment for Miss Maddie.

It is honestly the coolest hair salon ever! Instead of barber chairs, they have little planes, trains and cars for the little ones to sit in. They bring a bunch of toys for your child to play with while they're doing their thing, and there are a bunch of tv's tuned to Treehouse throughout the shop.

We were greeted by name, Maddie got to pick her "chair" and after being given some My Little Ponies to play with, the shawl was whisked on and the hairstylist started cutting. And she was fast! I'm guessing it's a trick of the trade, try to get it over as quickly as possible before the kid starts squirming.

After shopping for the past hour and a half, and because it was 11:30 (so just before lunchtime), I expected Maddie to give a bit of a hard time. Nope - of course she didn't. She was totally awesome, to the point that a few of the other stylists came over to comment on just how amazing she was acting.

And because it was her first haircut, she got a certificate, a picture and they collected some hair for us. And of course our little "ham" smiled very nicely for the picture! (Who's the rockstar in the glasses? heh.)


xxoo.S

Personal Santa Message!

I know Maddie won't "get" it this year - but how cute is this??? Check out Maddie's personalized message straight from the big man himself, courtesy of our friends at Sympatico MSN...

How cool is that!?

xxoo.S

A day in the life (Or: eating from the floor like a dog…)

I wake up hearing Maddie sing-song-ing to herself in her crib. It’s not even 7am yet. I need a shower, I need to brush my teeth, I need to get dressed. All before she decides she’s not happy in her crib anymore and wants out NOWNOWNOWNOW.

I do all these things in under 10 mins, while Daddy helps keep Maddie happy and gets her dressed (and yes, she looks like her Daddy got her dressed – whatever, it’s just daycare, its not a fashion show).

He does the hand-off, while I’m putting on makeup and trying to make my hair not look like it hasn’t just been wet down in the shower and left to die.

Maddie plays in the bathroom cupboards, obsessed with my pick, hairbands, and lipgloss.

I grab extra diapers, my fancy work boots and a sweater for her. We head downstairs for breakfast.

I start to get some breakfast together, while she gets milk in a sippy cup that she proceeds to throw a) at the tv, b) over the baby gate into the dining room, and c) into the green bin under the sink (she’s OBSESSED with the green bin!!!).

I wrestle her into her highchair. I give her the cut up banana and her milk while I get the toast ready. As I’m buttering the toast, with my back to her, I hear a) the sippy cup get tossed to the ground, and b) slap, slap, slap as a bunch of banana falls to the ground.

I give her some toast, and try to swallow some down myself while I make her lunch. I’m mashing avocado, scooping cottage cheese and cutting up pear while she yells screams yells at me.

She’s now eaten maybe 2 pieces of banana, and 1/8 of a piece of toast. I try some yogurt. She grabs at the container, jamming her fist into the yogurt and spreads it across her face. I force feed the rest into her while she screams at me. Then I wipe her face, her hands, her forehead, part of her hair and the tray down.

I let her down from the chair, she immediately picks up a piece of toast and throws it at me. Then mashes a fallen banana piece into the floor with her foot.

I gather up the banana pieces and throw them into the green bin. I pick up the toast and (without realizing what I’m doing), eat it.

Yes. I eat toast that has been thrown on the floor. Twice.

And not only that – even as I realize I’ve just eaten off my floor like a dog, I pick up another (non-mashed piece of banana) from the seat of her chair and eat that too.

She plays with the phone, calling god-knows-where, while I finish packing her lunch. I run this, my computer bag, her diaper bag and my purse out to the car. I get my jacket and boots on. I chase her around the living room, trying to get her jacket on.

I manage to wrestle her jacket on, find a spare binkie and get her into the car seat. I return to the house to find my keys and blackberry. And we’re off. I drop her at daycare and head to work.

I realize I left my tea and my lunch on the counter in the kitchen.

Oh well – at least I ate half a slice of floor-toast.

Yum.

xxoo.S

PS - don't feel too badly for me. There were fancy croissants in the kitchen at work when I got into the office. So I'm good...

Maddie bits

We've taken to asking Maddie "are you a crazy girl?" ... because she indeed acts a little crazy every day. Here's a selection of her most recent adventures...

• She's obsessed with clementines (we call them Christmas oranges), we peel each section for her and she eats an entire orange with breakfast, after lunch, and after dinner. And if she happens to find one she can reach, she just starts eating it... PEEL AND ALL. Eww - gross.
• She knows her diaper genie stinks ... so when she's in her room she often goes over to it and waves her hand in front of her face (like we do, when we're telling her she's "stinky". I've caught her doing it a few times while playing too - and then I smell her bum - and yup, it's stinky. Does this mean she knows she's pooping? And if so, can we potty train her? ;)
• She knows the sign for drink, and knows how to say juice. But instead of using either of those, she just points and SCREAMS at the fridge until we give her a cup of juice as a snack.
• Because we have an evergreen tree in the front yard that she was obsessed with in the fall, and often wanted to "touch" (and I would tell her not to, as it was "ouch"), she now touches the fake Christmas tree we have, and says "ouch". Even though the needles are fabric (or plastic), and nothing in any kind of way is prickly about our tree, it's still "ouch".
• Also on the "ouch" bandwagon? The stove (well, this doesn't bother me, as it could be), her head when banging it on her crib bars, her fingers when she slams them in a cupboard door, and (for some reason) - snow!
• She likes tea. I know that's not crazy - but she's very very obsessed with my tea mug every chance she sees it.
• My purse is a new obsession. As is my new blackberry bold. Like seriously kid? Do you not have enough stuff? Can't I have a few things that aren't your playthings?
• Paper. Magazines. Letters. Christmas cards. Flyers. Newspapers. Random envelopes or old bills. They. All. Get. Torn. Up. She loves to tear paper. Thinking of returning all her presents and saving the money and just giving her a skid of photocopy paper (and boxes - yay!) to play with. She'd be just as happy I bet...

So that's it. Our house is in constant disarray. I don't know how anyone keeps their house tidy with a crazy toddler toddling about and wreaking havoc everywhere they turn...

Hope that gave you a giggle or two (at our expense) ... and if not - I'm sure THIS will...


xxoo.S

Clingy

We've entered a stage that I'm really not enjoying so far.  The "cling".  When we go to new places, when I drop her off at daycare, even certain times of the day when I just want to get stuff done around the house.  

She clings.  And whines.  And is generally miserable unless she sitting in my lap, or being held on my hip.  And if she gets to do that, well then she's just as happy as a clam.

Anyone else go through this?  I spent the first 2 months of daycare drop offs with a kid that barely looked back to say bye to me, and now I leave feeling guilty and horrible.  

xxoo.S

The cheesiest

That would be me, apparently.  

I've realized in the past couple of years that I'm one of maybe, a dozen people, that actually really enjoys Christmas music.  I love listening to it from about November 15th onward.  It makes me feel all warm and gushy inside.  I like listening to it when I'm wrapping presents.  I like listening to it when I'm baking cookies.  I like listening to it in a boat, on a moat, with a goat.

I used to apologize and roll my eyes in chagrin at myself, yes, I'm cheesy.  Yes, I know it's too early to be listening to the Love Actually soundtrack.  Yes, the Beach Boys are terrible...

Not anymore!  I stand by my stance that it's a lovely holiday, with lovely music of from all sorts of genres, and I like all (most) of it!

:)

xxoo.S

Weekend update

It felt like the weekend was never going to get here last week.  Both Seth and I kept thinking we were a day ahead (i.e. Wed felt like Thurs - you get the picture) - maybe had to do w/ the crazy weekend prior, or the Monday/Tuesday sick baby.

Anyways - we relaxed with a movie on Friday night (Wanted - not bad, def better than I thought it would be).  Saturday we cleaned the house, I bake cookies and Seth fixed the roof (well, assisted on fixing the roof - thanks again Dave!!!).  G&L came over to visit, and we all ate dinner before the "boys" headed back to Greg's to play some rockband.  Liz and I watched a terrible movie and random tv.

Wow - just rereading the above - my life is not that noteworthy anymore.  Unless I become a movie reviewer...

Anyways, Sunday was spent doing some more Christmas baking, and taking Maddie to get her pic with Santa.  Yeah, it didn't go well.  So now we have 8 wallet sized photos of my little girl SCREAMING her head off on Santa's lap.  Money well spent, I say.  I will scan one and post for you all to chuckle at.

That's all I've got folks.  Heading to bed now - up late these past two nights working, and then Maddie decides she wants to wake up several times throughout the night ... I am a walking zombie and it's only Monday?!?  

Yikes.  This working stuff is hard...

xxoo.S

We elfed ourselves

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

3am!!!!!

Remember when I used to complain about getting no sleep? Oh wait - I've never stopped complaining about that.

Well last night really put its money where its mouth was ... she did her regular 11:30 wake up (or as we call it around here - the-within-15-mins-of-mommy-hitting-rem-stage-wakeup), and then the regular 3am wakeup.  Then I'm usually good to sleep until 7am.  Except not last night.  Looked like she was going back to sleep, but then a half hour later, she's crying again.  And rinse and repeat.  And rinse and repeat.  And...well, you get the picture.  

Fast-forward to 6am and it's quite obvious that she's not going to sleep.  So up we get.  And I feed her breakfast.  And I shuffle around like a zombie.  Until 8:30 when she starts throwing random toys and magnets (why magnets?  who knows) at me, at her stuffed animal friends, over the baby gate.  Just throwing.  Aggressive little beast.

So I'm like, hey - wanna go for a nap dude?  She's like, duh. 

I throw on some Bob, she goes down like a dream.  And it's what?  Noon?  Still sleeping.

Me?  Oh, I've done a bunch of work, a bunch of housework and am fighting sleep.  Because I know the minute I close my eyes and blissfully drift off?  That's when she'll wake up.  And that my friends, is just not worth it.

Or is it that I just don't want to give her the satisfaction?

xxoo.S

PS - happy Friday!  Hope you all have a good weekend - we're getting our roof fixed, having friends over for dinner, getting Maddie's pic w/ Santa, putting up the xmas lights and grocery shopping - but probably not all in that order...

Heartbreaking

Usually, during the daycare drop off dance, Maddie gives me a cursory glance as she scrambles out of her carseat (yes, we're still using the bucket - she's tiny!), and then runs off to the playroom to hang out with the other kids.

Grumpy, tired, happy, energized.  It's never really mattered.  She's never been that clingy.

Until today.

Don't get me wrong.  She didn't cling and cry and make me feel like a bad mom.  She just hovered. Hovered around my legs while I stood chatting with Alexise. Rebuffed the advances of the friendly 3 year old that is usually the one leading Maddie away from me, by the hand.

I didn't give in to the urge to make a big deal about it.  I just did what I always do, gave her a big hug and kiss, and told her to be a good girl and have a good day.  

Then I opened the door to leave.  As I'm shutting it, Maddie comes barreling towards the door. There's a long vertical window beside the door, which is what she pressed her face up to as she slowly (sadly?) clenched and unclenched her fist "bye bye". 

And that wasn't even what got me!  It was her big, brown, soulful eyes staring at me.  Not crying.  Not making a fuss.  Just looking at me like, "I'd rather be with you today Mommy."

Me too, bubs.  Me too...

xxoo.S

Oh Roseola!

It's been a whirlwind week and a bit.  I started the new gig officially last Monday and when you're working from home, it's a bit strange to start a new job, as you kind of live in la-la land for the first few days.  Add to the confusion a daycare provider unavailable for periods of a few days due to appointments and a teething baby, it's lots of fun.

Grandma Vallier came up as of Wed afternoon to help watch Maddie through the crazy week - while I had meetings and work schedules that I was trying to figure out.  Grandpa and Grandma Burke showed up for a visit on Thursday afternoon, dropping off Christmas presents and taking us all out to dinner.

That night (Thurs) Maddie didn't sleep well and felt warm to me.  The next day I headed into work for the full day and she hung out with Grandma Vallier.  She apparently seemed fine all day, but felt warm at one point again.  Figuring it was just teething, I didn't worry too much about it.  That night, at Maddie's bedtime we headed down to Kingston as we had the Xmas dinner with Seth's extended family on Saturday afternoon.  

Saturday morning saw Maddie definitely not feeling well, very tired, cranky, not hungry and still running a bit of a fever.  We kept up our hectic pace though, as I still just thought it was teething... 

After a crazy Saturday night where she wouldn't sleep at all unless tucked up beside me, and running a fever of 39.2, we headed down to the hospital to get her checked out.  They did the regular checks, and also did a catheter (DON'T recommend this on a 13 month old, at least I don't recommend having to be in the room while it happens) to check whether it was a UTI.  They didn't find anything, so we were told to monitor her fever and take her to the doctor at home if it didn't drop in the next day or so.

So we headed back home, on a long long drive where we had to stop a few times to change a diarrhea diaper, try to feed a cranky baby and bathroom breaks for the adults.  4 (!!!) hours later we were home.  The rest of the day was a nightmare as we dealt with a cranky-ass toddler and two sleep-deprived, cranky-ass parents.

Monday we kept Maddie out of daycare and took shifts on watching her - me in the morning, Seth coming home early from work to watch her in the afternoon.  The fever had broken and she was doing a little better.  Still very sucky.  Still not eating/drinking much.  Still very weak and wobbly on her legs.  But better than the past few days.

So we sent her to daycare today (Tuesday).  I knew she wasn't 100% but we both had work commitments we had to keep.  And then I get the call.  From daycare.  Around noon.  I looked at the phone, say the daycare provider's number and thought, shiiiiiiiiiiit, what's happened?

Apparently Maddie had developed a rash all over her belly, back, face and neck.  Weird right?  I couldn't think of any allergic reaction she could be having, so I googled "baby fever rash".  And low and behold, a million pages come up about "Roseola".  Apparently very common, it's a viral thing that babies under the age of 3 can get - sudden high fever, accompanied by low appetite, lethargy and irritability (check, check, and double check!).  Then once the fever breaks, a rash shows up for a few hours to a few days.

So there we have it.  A reason for the fever.   A reason for the cranky, non-eating baby.  Where she got it?  Have no idea.  How long she'll have it for?  No clue - the rash is still there.  Will she be back to her old self soon?  God, I hope so...

xxoo.S

Looking for a gift idea?

I was introduced to this site from one of the (many) blogs I read regularily.  It resonated with me - what a fabulously wonderful idea.  And the costs vary to the very affordable to the wow, who has that kind of money?

Quick rundown: 

The Heifer Fund provides families (who apply for the program), a starter animal that is native to their area and training on how to best care for that animal.  They must promise to give back the first offspring of that animal to another family in the community. Any subsequent offspring are theirs, to use to feed their family or sell to make extra income. It helps families improve their lives, without taking them out of their local cultures, and by giving them a sustainable resource that they are responsible for.

I hate preachy posts, so that's not what this is about.  Just take a look, and maybe, tell someone else about it...

xxoo.S

Bump!

Maddie has her first owie.  

She was playing around yesterday and while laying on her belly, with her face about 2 inches above the ground, her hand slipped and she landed on her cheekbone. After the 'toddler-delay', she started screaming. She wasn't too hard to calm down, and I didn't think much of it. 

After getting her up from her nap, there it was. A big (in my mommy eyes - small in reality), nasty, red bump.

She doesn't seem too bothered by it at this point. I, on the other hand, am devasted that this happened under my 'watch'.

And Seth, he just keeps asking her, "How's the shiner, monkey?"

xxoo.S

It's official

I met up with the women from my babyville group last night for dinner + drinks.  It was really nice getting the chance to meet up without little ones running (crawling) around distracting us.  And since I don't get to meet up with them very much anymore because of work, it was nice for me to see a bunch of familiar faces. 

Of course conversation centered around the kids, but when doesn't it, when a group of moms get together?  That, with a dash of friendly "husband bashing", is pretty par for the course, no?

Anyways, sleep habits came up, as they often do.  And it turns out, every single child is sleeping through the night regularily now.  Oh, EXCEPT for Maddie!!!

And here's the real kicker.  She's the OLDEST member of that group of kids.

Awesome.

Needless to say, I was jealous and well, that's it.  Just jealous...

xxoo.S

Winter wonderland - DAT!

We woke up to a few inches of snow dusting everything, enough so that you can't see the grass, and all the trees have a pretty little layer of snow on them.  You know, general winter wonderland stuff.

Hilariously, Maddie noticed it right away.  As I was making my tea, she sat in front of the sliding door in the kitchen, looking outside, pointing outside and saying "Dat!", then looking back to me for confirmation.  I was like, yes, that's snow.  Brrrr cold.  But pretty.

I can't wait to get her out there, playing in it!

xxoo.S

Irrelevant?

It is countless, the number of times I am having a conversation with someone, telling them about something that's going on with me, has happened, or I'm planning on doing, and they finish my sentence for me, saying, "Yeah, I read about it on your blog."  Or, "Yeah - I saw that on Facebook."

Obviously I embrace new technology.  Heck, I'm a geek, I love it.  But it's a little disconcerting to realize having a real-life-honest-to-god conversation with me is no longer really relevant to know what's up, what's new, and what I've been doing.

And then I start to think, well, maybe I'll hold back on the updates a bit.  Keep these news bits for in-person talk, and just post about those news bits.  Um - and then I realize the amount of brainspace that would be required to keep all of it straight and I reassess.

Facebook is fun.  Facebook is for the "now".  It's also a way of sharing bits and pieces of your life with other people that you (likely) don't talk to on a regular basis.  I'm far more involved, in touch and up-to-date with random highschool friends than I ever expected to be.  And they know far more about my life than I ever expected to share.  But whatever.  I've always been a loud, obnoxious, "share-y" individual.  So really, nothing's changed there!

And the blog.  Well, it started as an update page for close family and a way to journalize (is that a word?) about my life with Seth after being newly married.  Something that would be fun to look back on in 30 years and think, how young and foolish we were!  Harharhar.  

But after the arrival of Miss Madeleine, the entries got far more frequent.  And I think the blog became a way for me to work out my new-mother-angst (albeit, not quite as privately as a journal), ask for advice, and also try to keep track of some of the adorably cute things Maddie did on an everyday basis.

But the culmination seems to mean that I don't need to even open my mouth for anyone to hear about the latest in my life.  And I chose that - by sharing it in the blogoverse.  But for a yapper like me, it's like, well - what can I talk about now?  Without seeming like that strange old uncle that just keeps telling the same stories you've already heard, over and over again.

Maybe for now, that's just what I'll do.  And you can tune out as much as you like...

xxoo.S

Maddie bits

• She's starting to add more words to her vocabulary - she now is able to say dada, mama, nei-nei-nei (meaning no), YA (not yes, just YA), dis (meaning "this", as in give me "this"), dat?(meaning "what's that"?), it-thay (kitty), and as of this weekend, ouch and hot.  As I did a bunch of baking this weekend, I was trying to teach her to stay away from the oven - by telling her it was "HOT" and it would be "OUCH".  She turned it into a game and now plays around the oven even more than before.  Awesome.
• She finds toilet humour hilarious.  Meaning toots, stinky bum, or burps - all make her laugh so hard.  Yesterday she was playing with the lid of her diaper genie and I kept telling her that's where the stinky diapers go - P-U, stinky!  She was having a giggle fit over that.  And now knows how to wave her hand in front of her face for P-U and grab her nose for stinky.
• She's turning into a total mimic.  She loves to play with pots and wooden spoons - pretending to 'stir' something, and I've even caught her 'tasting' the spoon.  I must do that a lot!  
• I'm trying the sign language thing again with her - since she's mimicing a lot of our actions, I figured maybe we will have more luck this time.
• Still not sleeping through the night on a regular basis ... yeah, that's just a killer.  She WILL grow out of this, right?
• Lastly - I gave Maddie a taste of my baking the other day.  She doesn't like shortbread.  WHa??  

xxoo.S

The friendship dance

I've got a date with my Babyville mom group friends tonight - sans bebes.  I haven't really seen anyone since the end of September, as I've been busier than I expected to be with this whole "work from home" stuff.

It should be a good time, I'm looking forward to seeing everyone and having a proper chat with full attention, instead of being distracted watching the kiddies play around.  It's so funny how difficult it is to make friends outside of a forced situation (i.e. school or work).  There's the whole dance back and forth where you are testing the waters on getting together, what you'll do, how you'll meet up.

I really enjoy living in Brooklin now - have gotten used to having to get into my car to get absolutely anywhere now (oh, I do miss the walking and the subway though...).  But I'm not going to lie, it's far away.  My girl friends in the city I now see only on special occasions.  My other girl friends live east end, yes, but not THAT east end.  It's still a bit of trek to see them.  I have my BFF, L, living in the Brook, but we don't see each other near as much as either of us thought we would.  I guess with me in baby-la-la-land for the past year, we have just been living different lives.

Needless to say, without sounding like a total loser (maybe not?), I'm a little lonely for girlie interaction. I miss being able to call someone up and just say, let's go to the movies.  Let's go shopping.  Let's go get a coffee (or drink!).

I know life has changed a la child.  But I think you should still be able to do those things every one in a while!  

xxoo.S

PS - Sorry to place a Thursday morning whinge on you.  Sometimes I wonder if I am a whiner and shouldn't miss those aspects of my "old life" so much.  Do other moms?  Because I don't usually hear anyone saying so.  Maybe they do, they just don't admit it?

Count one down

I picked up Maddie's "major" present today.  It's a play kitchen.  I had thought about getting her one for her birthday, then thought to myself - she's a bit too young for that just yet.  

Then I found out just a couple of weeks ago that she plays with the play kitchen at daycare all.the.time.

So I was like, sweet.  Christmas present - done!  And proceeded to check out the various options we had.  There were A LOT of options...

...from the very basic cooktop...

...to the basic full size kitchen...

...to the deluxe, there's more stuff in this kitchen than in my own, play kitchen...

As you can see - lots and lots of choice.  

But we decided to go retro...

I can't wait to watch her play around with it (and get the heck out of my kitchen cabinets!!!).  Oh - and the last but not least charming little cherry on top?  Her first "kenmore" set... adorable...

xxoo.S

Congrats to me!

I just made the final payment on my OSAP loan. No more student loans! Yaaaaaaaaay!

xxoo.S

The terrible 13's?

So everyone goes on and on and on about the terrible two's. I get it. Kids turn into little devil-monsters when they hit the age of two. Has something about realizing they can control their own destiny (i.e. get what they want) by having a temper tantrum (or five).

But, um, no one warned me about the terrible 13's. Maddie is officially 13 months old and this past week has been a bloody nightmare! I mean, I love the fact that she's walking around, plays by herself, babbling away, playing with the most random things (what is WITH her obsession with ziploc bags???).

But what I don't love? The screaming. And crying. And fits of despair that she shows you, when you refuse to give/do/show her something she wants.  

Here's a perfect example:

As I've said before (glowingly, if I recall), the kid likes music. And she knows where the radio/cd player is in the kitchen. She used to point up to it and dance away if there was a song on that she liked.

Not anymore. Now she DEMANDS that I turn it on (if it's not on). Wants to be standing up in front of the player, pushing buttons, playing with the volume, opening and closing the cd part.

And she'll stand there for an hour if you let her. It just doesn't. Get. Old.  

So eventually you (being the parent and apparently with a shorter attention span than a 13-month-old) get tired of it. And take her down off the counter. Away from the stereo.

And that's when Satan joins us.

She arches her back. She screams. She cries. She cries so bloody hard that she barely breathes. And she points and points and points and points.

Oh, I get it. You want the stereo, kid. But I have to make dinner. And I think child services might have something to say if I let you just stand on the counter by yourself, next to the hot stove. Just saying...

And so I listen to the temper tantrum that ensues. For 5 minutes. For 10 minutes. For 15 minutes! Seriously? How does she even REMEMBER what she's crying about?? It's just ridiculous. And loud. And not just a little annoying.

So why doesn't anyone warn you about this stage? Because damn. It's tough.

The only thing to do? Get back at her by making her hair look ridiculous.  ;)

xxoo.S

Our Halloween monkey

Here she is - so happy and proud and just chuffed to be all dressed up and walking around like a big girl...

xxoo.S

I know I know

I owe you all some halloween pics.  I will post soon.  I promise.

Thanks to a generously lent costume from our daycare provider, Maddie was dressed up as a little monkey this year.  She absolutely loved halloween.  Seemed to "get" that she was dressed up, that others were dressed up, and all was good with the world (I was a little worried that she would hate her costume or get scared seeing the other kids in costumes - apparently I was worried for nothing, she's a helluva lot smarter than I give her credit for I guess)...

So we took Maddie trick-or-treating to our neighbours on the right and left of us.  She loved that too.  I think probably would have gone on to more houses if we had let her.  And then she helped give out candy to the kids that came to our house.  It was so warm out, that everyone was outside on their front steps, so was a lot of fun in that sense.  Except Miss Maddie kept wanting to follow the kids down the sidewalk and onto the street.  There can be a bit of downside to having a social butterfly for a daughter - especially when she's just a year old.

We've lots of other news - but I'm tired, so it's relagated to bullets for today...

• We sold the Accent.  I had to say bye-bye to AB (that was her name for the past almost-5 years).  It was a little bittersweet.  When we got her, I never expected that I would have her for a full 5 years, but I guess since I did, I got a little attached.  But I wasn't attached to the car payments and 2 insurance payments we've been making - so in the end, I was like buh-bye AB!  Thanks for the km's, thanks for not breaking down, thanks for being a solid little car.  Hope you treat your new owners the same...
• Maddie has started having nightmares at night.  I hate it.  I hate trying to calm her down and not being able to.  I hate not being able to tell her (or show her) that all is fine, she doesn't need to be afraid.  And I hate being woken up for 1-2 hour stretches in the middle of the night because she can't get back to sleep.  Any thoughts/advice/help?  Any feedback whatsoever is welcome!
• Lately I've been feeling more and more like my old self.  I've gone to a few concerts, met friends for dinner and organized a few more 'ladies nights' coming up in a few weeks.  I love being able to leave Maddie with Daddy and take off for the night.  It's the social life that I've sorely missed this past year and I'm really enjoying getting a bit of freedom back in my life.
• Grandma Thompson is coming to visit for a few days as of tomorrow.  The plan is shopping (of course), maybe some furniture restoration (could be tricky), and hopefully lots of Christmas baking (yum!).
• I have officially accepted a new position with a company - so I am happily gainfully employed as of the end of this month.  I am soooo happy and excited about this opporutnity that it doesn't warrant being explained in this bullet - I'll write a post soon.

Happy early November friends & family!  We're loving the unseasonably ridiculously warm weather lately and hope it bodes for a mild winter.  Hope you're getting outside and enjoying it while you can, wherever you are.

xxoo.S

Maddie pics

Her new favourite pasttime - destroying the tupperware cupboard.

She LOVED the pumpkin patch. It was cold, windy and raining - she's having a blast.

Yeah, we had to do it.

This is today - she came home from daycare having made her first craft.  I was so proud I thought I would burst.  Her little scribbles on that hat made me ridiculously happy.  She was clearly quite proud of herself as well!

First thing she does when we get home from daycare?  Goes and grabs the catfood and tries to fill up their dishes.

xxoo.S

The guilt

I'm still finding it difficult to get used to this working from home gig.  While I know that I was a solidly efficient worker at the various previous jobs I held, no one ever works ALL the time.   I spent time on personal emails, looking at various websites that were not work-related, and just chatting with coworkers.  In fact - if you look at that, and add on an hour for lunch - it probably adds up to at least 2 hours of non-productive time each day (if not lots lots more on those days where you just didn't feel like doing any work).

But now, as I drop Maddie off at daycare everyday, and come back home, I get SUCH feelings of guilt if I'm not working 100% the entire day.  Because the thought goes through my mind - just who do you think you are?  Having someone else take care of your child while you fritter away valuable time at home?  

And being the procrastinating, deadline-driven worker that I am, I often do my best, most efficient work as time is winding down (i.e. late afternoon, or hours before a project is due).  Why am I like that?  I don't know - always have been though and I don't see it changing anytime soon. But of course, that means that a lot of my mornings, while working from home, are spent wracked with guilt.  Guilt that I should be working.  Guilt that I'm paying someone to watch my child while I chat on the phone with a girlfriend.  Guilt that if I wasn't working, I should at least be doing SOMETHING (washing the floors? ironing clothes? I don't know - but I can say in the past, my house is always at it's cleanest when I'm working on a big work project - see, I can channel my procrastination so it's somewhat productive).

So here I am.  Writing a blog post about it.  And feeling guilty...

xxoo.S

She's a weirdo

Our newly mobile (walking around CONSTANTLY) child is now developing randomly odd habits.

The latest being, she likes to try to put her own bib on.  She goes into the drawer where the bibs are kept, pulls one out and then positions it under her chin and walks around with her head down (chin keeping the bib in place).

We got a video of it, but I'm not sure it really conveys just how (hilariously) weirdo this is.

I love that she totally looks like Seth, but when it comes to personality, she is clearly taking after her weirdo Mommy...

xxoo.S

1 yr stats

We had our 1 yr doctor's appointment today. After searching for parking for ages and ages, we arrived at the office just on time, and it was packed! Apparently they were running late, which meant Maddie got to play with the doctor's office grungy toys for almost a full 45 minutes before her name was called.

She also walked around, charming people with her smile and Flirty McFlirt. That's right, she's almost exclusively walking at this stage. A lot of reinforcement from both me and Alexise (daycare provider) - telling her to "stand up!" when she'd start to crawl. So now she usually tries to get around by walking (and falling). She also likes to use her walker lots still - but that's okay - as long as she's not crawling. That's for baaaaaabies!

Anyways, Maddie's name was finally called, and in we headed for the dreaded 1 yr check up. She was weighed and measured - 27-3/4 inches tall and 18lbs 4oz. Still smack dab in the 25th percentile. She's just a tiny one. Everything else is good and apparently she's progressing on as she should be. Then it was time for her shots - the nurse opted to give them to her in her arms, since she was walking - and her thought was that making her legs hurt might put her off walking. My thinking was her legs are bigger than her arms, so it would hurt less in her legs. But apparently I was wrong.*

I had to literally hold her down (to ensure, as the nurse so eloquently put it, that the needle didn't break off in her arm) while she got her shots. And holding down a 1 year old - regardless of being tiny or not - is not easy. Especially after the first shot. She was like a tazmanian devil. A MAD tazmanian devil.

So that's that. We're done with doctor's appointments and shots until 15 months. Boo.

xxoo.S

*As so many nurses in my life are apt to tell me. ;)