Flying bullets

• I did it.  I finally bit the bullet and cut bangs.  I figure I'm going to last about two nanoseconds with this crazy long hair once summer hits - so to fully embrace and enjoy my long hair, I've done the bang chop.  I know it's only teasing to post to you about it, and not include a pic, but I'm at work and think they may think I'm crazy if I whip out my bb and take a picture of myself right here and now.  Later, soon, I promise...
• It's March break - and our daycare is closed.  So my mom and Seth's mom are taking turns visiting and taking care of Miss Button this week.  Which brings me to...
• Maddie hates me.  And that's because Grandma (V) is in town.  And she's far cooler and far more interesting the boring old mommy.  And perhaps Grandma spoils her, just a bit... Seriously though?  The 'tude I get copped when Grandma's around?  Not the coolest aspect of the visit.  Notthatwedon'tappreciatethehelp!!!  Honest...
• Spring is officially here - at least in Ontario - and we've been outside constantly.  Or as Maddie calls it "Side".  We go 'side to the park.  To the swings.  Around the block to the recent open house (I'm nosy).  To get the mail.  And just up and down the street to walk.  This summer is going to be so much fun...
• I am on the lookout for a climbing-sliding-thingamagoo.  I should keep an eye out on Kijiji, but really it's just making me antsy as I can't wait for garage sale season!!  Yes, I'm okay with admitting it.  It's a sport, and I'm still a bit of a rookie.  But I've got one full season under my belt and can't wait for the frost to leave, April to start and my Saturday mornings to fill up...

xxoo.S

Inspired

Lately there seems to be a resurgence into the hand-made world of crafting. Is it simply where my path (both online and off) is taking me? Or is it the current state of the economy that is inspiring more and more to save money and make more themselves?

I know I've been all about clipping coupons, cutting corners, getting discounts, asking for more discounts, and just generally trying to be more fiscally responsible. Less materially gluttonous... does that make sense?

Seth recently told me he wants to try and make Maddie a table & chair set instead of us buying her one - so instead of some golf paraphernalia he's getting a handier bday present from me this year. (And no, I'm not worried about ruining the surprise, he never reads this blog anyways...)

Beyond Seth's delve into handiwork, I too have projects lined up to do this spring - starting with resurfacing and staining our bathroom cupboards. Moving onto finishing Maddie's (a.k.a. guest bathroom) in a fun kid-friendly theme, and of course FINALLY finishing off the guest room. But that's more reno work - not really what I mean by "hand-made".

Just this morning as I was day dreaming about spring shopping for Miss Maddie and thinking about all the gorgeous little summer dresses I would buy her, I stumbled across the thought - hey, I could make those dresses...

And dude - I totally could! Her dresses from last summer were adorably simple. And smock dresses or jumpers would be perfect for her this spring. (PS - how adorable, but also young does she look here. It's like I barely remember her like this and that makes me feel so old, and sad, and wistful, and maybe a bit misty, and shuddup...)

So yeah - that's me. Going to Fabricland (Fabricland!) this weekend to buy some fabric and some patterns and I'm gonna make my girl some purty dresses. Well, make with the help of Grandma - who, oh so conveniently will be spending some time up here next week. I will be her grasshopper - she will teach me. And Maddie will look adorable.

I'll be sure to keep you updated on just how crafty I turn out to be. Might not be all that impressive. But damn, I will get an A for effort...

xxoo.S

No means yes?

We had a blissful couple of months where Maddie said "yesh" to just about anything you'd ask her. Blissful.

I don't know if it's a developmental change, or influences at this new daycare, but we've joined the rest of the world (at least from what I'm told) and now have a toddler who's favourite word is "nawwww" (that's NO with a full-on drawl because apparently my daughter is also from Kentucky)...

And for a while it was exasperating, because seriously dude? A little too much negativity coming at you when every question, every statement, every loving little cuddle gets you a "nawww".

Now I've found my sense of humour, and am just finding it amusing.

"Maddie, do you want strawberries?" (her very favourite food in-the-whole-wide-world)

"Nawww."

"Maddie, do you want to watch your show?" (either Sesame or Big Comfy Couch - don't ask)

"Nawww."

But she clearly does. She wants the damn strawberries. She wants to watch her shows. She wants the juice she just asked for 2 minutes ago. And so and so forth.

My question is - what the hell are you supposed to do here? I feel like giving her what I know she actually wants, even thought she's saying no, makes zero sense and is just confusing the issue with her.

Does she "get" that no means no? Or is no just the word du jour and means absolutely nothing? Because just a few weeks ago she understood the concept of yes and no. So why not now? What's her issue dammit!?!?!?

and breathe

So perhaps I haven't totally found my sense of humour about it. But it's frustrating. And I don't really know how to act. Because if I do the opposite of the above (by listening to her "no" and not giving her what I know she wants), I then get to experience her newly-honed toddler meltdown skillz to the nth degree.

So yeah. I have no idea. For now I'm just ignoring her "naw" and doing what I want anyway.

Does that mean I'm a real grown up now?

xxoo.S

A Maddie Moment

Getting dressed this morning:

Me: "And here's your socks", as I start pulling them over her feet.

Maddie: "Shawks!"

After getting the "shawks" on, I start undoing the buttons on her cardigan so I can slip that on.

Maddie: "Nawwww!!! Thooos! Thooos! THOOOOOOS!!!!" As she starts frantically doing sit ups while simultaneously sticking her feet as near my face as humanly possible, just in case I don't get the point.

Seth: "Wow, she really knows what she wants. I guess you don't change the order up much?"

Me: "Guess not."

Maddie: "Thooos! Pwetty-pwetty-pwetty!"

Seth: "She's really starting to take after you, huh?"

I'm not sure if that was a comment on her obsession with shoes, or obsession with routine. But yeah, I'd say she is starting to take after me...

xxoo.S

I want to shop there

I admit it, I have a shedload of blogs that I keep track of in my Reader - the list has just grown organically over the years, and probably really exploded while I was on mat leave. Some of the blogs are interior design (yeah yeah, who do I think I am? No one - I promise. I just like to be inspired and be able to rip off ideas on the cheapcheapcheap), and of course there are about a trillion mommy blogs in the list, and a few other shopping ones.

Add that to my addiction to e-newsletters from all the major retailers (partly for professional reasons, partly for, well, it's like window shopping, okay?)... anyways it gets a little frustrating. Frustrating because I see these really super-cool things that I should be able to buy. I want to be able to buy.

But I can't. Because I'm a Canadian Resident...

And while I totally love the idea of shopping Canadian, sometimes I just want to shop at Tar-gé (that's a whiny voice in case the italics weren't clear enough).

If you are a U.S. resident, you have the world (of shopping) at your fingertips. The selection! The free shipping! The deals/steals/way-cheaper-than-most-of-our-stuff! Have I mentioned the deals?

It's hard when I get a Piperlime emailer and they're promoting these really awesome peep-toe Calvin's at a ridiculous price. And. I. Can't. Find. Them. Anywhere. In. This. Country.

Or I hear about a deal Home Depot is doing on flooring installation - $139 for any room. And I get our local flyer and it's the same deal - only it's $199.

Exchange rates. I get it. Ridiculous shipping rates because our country has lovely wide open spaces and it's hard to get things to people etc etc etc. I get that too.

But just give me the option!!! Make it inhibitively expensive to ship here - I still think those companies would be shocked/surprised/delighted at the number of orders they'd get by the selection-starved Cdn market.

Okay, that was my whiny post of the month. Roll your eyes and get back to work now, thanks.

xxoo.S

How to...host a damn good baby shower

Kidding... sort of.

Yes, this weekend was the much-anticipated baby shower for my BFF, Liz. I had been preparing for weeks - even though I had sub-contracted much of it (desserts, favours, games - all outsourced!).

My proudest accomplishment was the diaper cake I made - it was really fun to make and I think it was a great centerpiece for the table. Other cool ideas I found online? Instead of using streamers, put up clotheslines and hang baby items (socks, onesies, booties etc) and using soothers as napkin holders (yeah, I didn't actually do this, because paper napkins are just not that pretty rolled up).

It was fun party. There were over 25 women in my family room/kitchen and it was crowded (and HOT). The food was well-received. The gifts were more than plentiful. And we made my friend wear a hat made out of bows. Oh yeah - the humiliation of it all...

In family news - Maddie is officially recovered from the HFMD, she still has a bit of a rash, but it's dried up, not contagious anymore. She's back at daycare today, and things are pretty much back to normal.

Yay for normal.

xxoo.S

Quarantined

HFMD.

That stands for Hand Foot Mouth Disease. And that is officially what Maddie has. (Well not really officially, as the doctor at the Urgent Care Centre couldn't confirm 100% as she doesn't have the rash symptoms in the textbook places - argh, don't even get me started...)

Anyways - HFMD is characterized by a blistery rash on...you guessed it! The afflicted's hands, feet and inside their mouth. Other symptoms include sore throat, fever, malaise, and vomiting.

As I've posted in the past couple of days, poor Button has had all of these symptoms, plus a terrible rash in her diaper region and around the outside of her mouth.

It was the daycare provider that caught it. Because she seemed like she was getting better, Maddie attended daycare yesterday, and after her nap, while changing her diaper, Annette saw that she had blisters all over her tongue. And since Annette's daughter had a bout of HFMD several years ago, she had the "ah-ha!" moment. Apparently the onset of the sickness with her daughter also started with crazy vomiting/fever and then resulted in a rash 36 hours later.

So, while the doctor couldn't say for certain, I think we've verified ourselves that she definitely has it. And the fun part is only beginning. She was up EVERY. HOUR. last night, unable to sleep. That was fun. And she refuses anything that isn't milk or yoghurt (or vanilla ice cream that I treated her with this morning).

I feel awful for her, but honestly admire how much of a trooper she is. When she's awake, she's still playing and acting her normal self, just a little more tired than usual and perhaps a bit more irritable. (As for me? I'm A LOT more irritable. I need me some sleep.)

Isn't it amazing how kids can just play through a sickness? It's like because they can't verbalize the complaints, they shrug them off far more easily than we do as adults. Funny little runts.

Anyways - we have a busy weekend ahead of us - big baby shower hostess time, with several out-of-town guests staying with us. And with Maddie quarantined from daycare today, I'm really only able to work while she's sleeping. I guess I'll catch up on my sleep next weekend...

xxoo.S

Maddie Milestone

Tonight before her bath, Miss Button peed in the potty for the very first time!!!

Trust me, I don't think that this means we're in any way shape or form, starting "official" potty training territory. But the fact that she "gets it" is just so cool.

xxoo.S

Wayback flashback

As I posted earlier today, Miss Button has been sick these past 24 hours. Last night it was fast and furious vomiting, followed by falling asleep on my chest in an exhausted stupor. Follow that up with a full night of wakeups and crying and being unable to sleep and wanting one of us to hold her.

She woke up today much like her old self and has been fine in keeping everything down, but she's very sucky and wants to be held a lot. She'll even just lay on the bed next to you to have a little rest.

To be honest - today she was more like the baby she was a year ago - cuddly and snuggly and wanting to sleep only in someone's arms. It was kind of a nice flashback.

And I'm exhausted...

xxoo.S

Irony is...

Having to email your boss and tell him you'll be staying home with your sick daughter in the very first week of getting paid for "full time" designation in your job.

xxoo.S

PS - yes, seems like another bout of stomach flu has hit Miss Button. She vomited 5 times in a 45 minute period right after picking her up from daycare last night. It isn't the same bug as before, as she didn't seem bothered by the vomiting last time, whereas she was hysterically upset about it this time, and fell asleep for an hour in my arms like a newborn when she was done, from the pure exhaustion of the effort I think. Poor Button...

And we've hit yet another developmental stage. A stage that I thought we had ducked, with Maddie's (until recently) preference to the word, "yeshhhh".

Instead that was just a teaser, and we were just a little slower to get here. Maybe a result of daycare influence? Who knows. But ask Miss Button a question these days, and the answer invariably is, "Nooo".

It's almost amusing. Almost.

I get now, all those comments and things I read about how the negativity of having every question answered as a "no" gets grating after a while. If I'm in a good mood it's amusing. If I'm annoyed, well, it's annoying.

In other news, I think she's hit a growth spurt. Waking up once a night and drinking a full bottle, being ravenously hungry during the day, and the clincher of all clinchers? As I was getting her dressed today I'm sure I saw an ankle! (As in, ankle bone - not cankle fat)

Someone's growing up, up, up!

xxoo.S

It's only 9am...

...and I've already seen someone doing a good deed today. While standing in line at Tim Horton's, I watched a guy cut up from the back of the line to pay for the current customer's order. The customer was a soldier, clearly buying not just coffee, but his lunch for the day (unless he starts his day with a sandwich? Huh, maybe.).

Anyways, this large man walked up from the back of the line, and asked the soldier if he could pay for his order. The soldier agreed, and said thank you. The large man replied, "No man. Thank you."

It was a small thing. I mean it's only lunch. But I think it made everyone standing there feel a little better about the world.

xxoo.S

PS - yes, that was the ooshy-gushy-touchy-feely-happy post of the year.

It doesn't take much.

We had a great weekend. Nothing that exciting happened, and we didn't get all that much "accomplished".

Just did some grocery shopping early Saturday morning. Spent the afternoon at a birthday party for one of Maddie's Babyville friends. I snuck out on Saturday night after dinner to hit up a movie with my BFF Liz (He's Not That Into You - easy, light-hearted chick-flick). Sunday morning was spent visiting over at G&L's, playing a bit of Rock Band, and just generally getting out of the house. We were home for lunch, Maddie had a nap and I did our taxes. Sunday afternoon was spent sorting through Miss M's clothes and pulling out some bigger stuff that I want to get out and ready for when the weather starts to warm up. And now it's bathtime...

As I recount it all here, it sounds incredibly mundane and boring.

It's one of the best weekends I've had in a while.

xxoo.S

And so it begins...

A friend of mine blogged some time ago about Meltdown City. In fact, re-reading her post, I realize that Maddie is around the same age that Izzy was at the time the post was written.

Huh, perhaps it's a developmental thing? 16 months = disastrous temper tantrums over nothing?

Who knows. I just know it's getting old. Quick.

Last night's meltdown ensued after watching her nighttime show, "In the Night Garden". The drama of the show ending (and heading up for her bath - a routine we follow every.single.night.) was apparently more than she could handle.

She cried as soon as the tv clicked off. She cried all the way up the stairs. She cried while I undressed her. While Seth ran the bath. While she was getting her teeth brushed. While she was getting her bath...

You get the picture.

And there was no calming her. Nothing could be done to end her perception of the tragedy that life had become at that moment. I couldn't calm her down. Distract her. Soothe her. Comfort her.

Nothing. Nada. Nyet.

She finally chilled out about halfway through getting her pajamas on. We read one book, drank some milk and went to sleep.

I feel for her. I really do. I wish she could explain to me what is wrong (beyond her teeth hurting - but they can't just start randomly hurting to that extent out of the blue, no?).

I hate feeling powerless and unable to calm her down. And I hate seeing her get so worked up over.... what? I still have no idea.

Meltdown City sucks. And that's all I have to say about that...

xxoo.S

Maddie says...

We've gotten to the "explosion" language stage where it seems like she's adding a new word every day. Often it's more a case of just repeating what I'm saying (um, time to watch the language...) - but after a bit, it sticks and becomes part of her repitoire:

• Uppie (all.the.time - this kid likes to be carried...)
• Dow (when she finally wants to be put down)
• Kickie! (yeah - that's a kitty...)
• Gocky (and that would be dog)
• Cruck (this is truck - but actually refers to all motor vehicles, her toy airplane, and sometimes even her stroller?)
• Joosh (she loves her some juice)
• Mommmmmmieeeee (yessss! it only took 16 months, but finally I can represent!)
• Da-eee (that would be Daddy - or actually, any photograph of a man that in any way resembles Seth, or an illustration of a man in her books, and even DVD covers - in fact she's quite convinced that the man on the front of the RocknRolla dvd is daddy - um, sweetie - that's Gerald Butler - Daddy's cute, but...)
• Peese (so proud to say that this is "please" - you know, for when she really, really wants something)
• Shhhh (combined with a finger at the mouth - this is often spoken after she, herself, has screamed or yelled or made some type of loud noise. Yes, shhhhh, indeed.)
• nnn-Hot (yeah, this isn't funny anymore)
• Kaow (and this would be cold - or anything that's not "nnn-hot")
• 'Cuse me (I'm not lying - she does this after burping, with a hand over her mouth)
• Cuck (this is a duck - also what a duck says - except that one sounds a bit more 4-letter-word-ish)
• Baw (ball, of course! And also used to refer to blocks and random other toys that I don't really see the connection to.)
  

What am I missing? The regulars I guess, "hi!", "bye-eeee", "mmmmm-uh" (kiss), "yesh" and "nonononononono". Working now on getting her to call the cats by name - I don't think she gets it - she's just like, um, no - that's kickie, not "Simon", weirdo.

xxoo.S

A little less whiny

Re-reading my last post, I realize I sound like a bit of a whiner... so I thought I'd change the subject and instead, write about how horrible of a mother I am...

On Sunday in the mess of multiple adults getting ready to attend friend's child's bday party, Maddie managed to finagle her way into the bathroom, unsupervised. Which really? Happens all the time - but at this particular time...

A bathroom that had a straightening iron (a fancy, professional, super-hot CHI) sitting on the counter, plugged in and on.

You all know where this is going right?

Fast-forward 30 unsupervised seconds to a screaming, crying, inconsolable toddler. She'd pulled the cord, so the straightener fell to the floor and then at some point touched the hot ceramic plate.

I rush into the bathroom, realize immediately what happened and hold both of her hands under the cold water tap.

After about a minute, I turn the tap off and survey her hands - a little red (which will happen when your hands are being held under freezing cold water) but no blisters...

And then we made the biggest mistake - we fussed and cooed and gave multiple kisses to the "owie" (which we finally tracked down to being her thumb on her left hand). And oh how she milked it. She's a smart one, that button.

Lessons learned:
1) Don't be such a dumb mommy re: hot appliances and easy toddler access.
2) Make sure to thank the baby gods for smiling down and giving me a mulligan on what could have been a much, much worse accident.
3) Stop teaching my daughter how to emotionally blackmail with guilt (kidding - I like hearing her say, "Owie?" and kissing it all better)...

xxoo.S

Doesn't seem fair

After a rough week, all I could do was look forward to the weekend where I would get a little R&R time. Except I don't feel like I really did. Seth went to a friend's cottage to go ice fishing on Friday night and Maddie had some sleepless nights and early mornings.

Hence, me, in a grump all weekend long. Which is kind of sad - and I hope I hid it well enough from Miss Button.

That being said - I certainly didn't hide it from Mr. Fisherman. Whatever - he got to sleep in on Sunday morning and that's just so not fair...

xxoo.S

Ummm, that's my duvet...

I thought we made it past the hurdle.

But perhaps I should've known better when the daycare provider (I NEED a nickname for this lady - DP?) told me the other little tot in her care was still experiencing symptoms. That was this morning. He's been sick for a week and a half now - on and off. What the 'eff do these kids have?

So Maddie had a few great days and then this morning - wanted nothing to do with breakfast. Apparently was pretty tired and crappy all day - but was totally cheery when I picked her up. Ate dinner no probs. Not a normal appetite - but enough to make me not even consider something was up. No pun intended...

Fast-forward to post-bath cuddle time. She's sleepy. We've read her stories. Now we're honing in the homestretch - bottle time. She took the majority of a bottle the past couple of nights - had to be coaxed a bit, but ended up taking it fine.

Tonight? I bring the bottle to her sightline and she vomits. Oh, I mean PROJECTILE. All over me. All over the duvet. And cried and cried and cried, while I just held her and rocked her and wondered if that slimy feeling on my neck was vomit - oh-yes-it-was.

I felt so bad for the little button. And all she wanted to do was go to bed (so you know she'll be up at 3am hungry and annoyed because she's just puked everything she could have possibly eaten all day long, and now her stomach is as empty as... whatever - too tired for metaphors...).

So she went to bed - happily. Snuggled down immediately and if I know her breathing - she was asleep by the time we watched the opening credits of Survivor.

But seriously - what the heck is this superbug? I thought it was maybe Rotavirus - but doesn't a fever go with that? And does it last for 10 days?!?

And also - not important, and I feel bad asking. But actually kinda important to me, even if it makes me a bad mom ... how do you wash a goose down duvet? Can you even? Cuz - gross. It's. A. Mess.

xxoo.S

PS - for anyone wondering - Seth is still sick too. Not puking sick - but still not eating more than one meal a day. Damn - either I've had this before (don't think so - would've remembered this gong show) or I have the immune system of Wonder Woman...

John Bonham's got nuthin' on her...

As promised - here's a pic from last weekend - our little drummer-in-the-making...


xxoo.S

Procrastination

Things I have done today:

• Called Rogers and revamped our services, and finangled about a thousand different discounts that will total over $100 savings each month from current bill (hey - all you have to do is ask, ummmm, and bitch a little...)
• Confirmed my new BB is being shipped by UPS tomorrow
• Called Revenue Canada and confirmed we actually aren't due to start repaying our HBP until 2010!!! Woo-HOO
• Emailed previous daycare provider about tax receipt errors and getting 2009 tax receipt before she goes and has baby and forgets we ever existed
• Emptied dishwasher
• Cleaned fridge
• Trolled Facebook for friends' updates
  
• Made grocery list
• Read numerous other blogs
• Spoke to my mom - Congrats again on the early retirement package, Mom!
  
• Uploaded pics on camera to our Flickr account
• Updated finances and pre-paid numerous bills (I love to set up the bills to be paid on specific dates automatically through online banking - does this make me a total nerd or does everyone do this?)
• Updated baby shower RSVP list
  
• Other random work things - seriously, I've been productive
  

Things I have not done today:

• Started to create the MASSIVELY IMPORTANT work presentation I am making on Friday. As in THIS Friday. Friday the 19th. 2 days from now (well, a day and a half).

xxoo.S

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