My first cute project

I recently acquired a new fantabulous sewing machine (because you know, I'm getting so crafty I just had to have something beyond the beginner setup I was dealing with before) ... it's so smooth and powerful and just plain loverly that I keep comparing it to how a new sports car must feel...

And wow - it must be fantastic as it inspired me to make this:

How did I make this adorable little frock you ask?

• Take a plain white onesie (purchased for 25 cents or something ridiculous at a garage sale earlier in the year)
• For fabric, scrounge up some jersey material from a fuchsia top that I've worn perhaps once in the past 3 years of owning it...
• Cut out a bunch of various sized circles of fabric for the front flower and some strips for the back ruffles
• Layer the circles and sew directly onto onesie using about a trillion stitches - making sure you stitch in some random beads (saved from a necklace Maddie broke recently) for the middle
• Add a few more stitches to the bottom layer of the flower to try and reinforce it a bit better - learn that this doesn't actually do much...

Beginner Crafter's Note: I probably should have used some kind of fabric or backing on the inside of the onesie to sew the flower to for reinforcement, instead of just to the garment itself, because all those petal layers makes the flower pretty heavy. Am I going to rip out the stiching and take my advice to fix this error? Hell to the no!

• For the ruffles just line up the first fabric strip, pin it in a few spots to gather it up and give you a guide for sewing... and then just sew the fabric sloooooowly - gathering it up bit by bit as you go.
• Voila! You have an easy-peasy (trust me this was easy as I'm no Martha) cuted-up onesie for your munchkin...

Katie loves it...

And now I just have to figure out how to make a similar shirt for Maddie, as she was mighty jealous watching me make this for her lil sister...

xxoo.S

Five years

Only five years married - but a lifetime of knowledge.
Growing together. Becoming friends, then becoming a bit more than friends, and then friends again.

Sharing the same taste in music.
Enjoying a beer on the back deck, listening to Zeppelin and basking in the warm sun.

Sharing the same goals.
A cottage, a dock, a boat. Listening to Otis sing about this very thing while we watch our kids jump, run and play.

Sharing an upbringing.
Content with a suburban life, happy to leave the hustle/bustle behind and raise our children in a similar environment that we enjoyed as kids.

Sharing the fundamentals.
Both only children - understanding the difficulty of sharing, understanding the comfort and selfishness and spoiling and loneliness of being one all at the same time.

Sharing hobbies.
Golf (well, someday we'll be able to do this together again - maybe when the girls are 18). Concert-going (again, someday...). Movie-watching, BBQ'ing, outside-backyard-enjoying, gardening, reality-tv-loving, weekend-lounging.

Sharing temperaments - but not too much.
I bring you up, I add the loudness. You ground me, you bring the sanity.

Sharing a future.
A long one.

xxoo.S

Kijiji blind date

We interviewed our first teenage babysitter today. I have (for the past year or so) been trying to find someone through a "neighbour referral" - to no avail. I supposed it doesn't help that we don't actually know that many people in the neighbourhood, and those that we have met, only seem to have 12 year olds (a little young to be babysitting until 11pm).

So to Kijiji I went... (and can I just for probably the eleventy-millionth time tell you how much I HEART Kijiji? Especially since I've been selling all my old maternity clothes through it lately and making a nice little cache of spending $$ on items that would have otherwise just found their way into the Goodwill bin)... but finding a babysitter through Kijiji? I felt a little sketchy. Especially as I studiously ignored all the "I'm 30-something and just love kids and want to make some extra money on the side" ads ... not that I don't think that it's all possible, but there's just something more legit about a teenage kid wanting to do some occasional babysitting, you know?

And so the first "normal" looking ad I responded to, asking if she'd be willing to come for an interview first so we could meet each other, Maddie could meet her etc etc etc.

She showed up with her mom in tow (which I found to be somewhat reassuring - they were just as nervous about our "kijiji meet up" as I was) (and also? I'll totally be that over-protective mother). Things to note about future babysitting interviews:

• Perhaps I should at least attempt to prepare some questions beforehand. I'm anal and love my lists, but didn't think to actually write down any of the questions or things I wanted to go over ahead of time - which meant I missed about 5 things I wanted to cover. Dumbass.
• Setting a time of 5pm for anything (especially an interview with a complete stranger) borders on the demented as Maddie is a) whiny and annoying at that time of day, b) hungry and demanding a snack before dinner, and c) only interested in parking her bottom in front of the tv to watch DORA on repeat until dinner is served.
• 5pm also happens to be Katie's clusterfeeding / fussy time. Again - not all that conducive to trying to get to know a complete stranger.

Needless to say - it was a LONG 30 minutes. Filled (luckily) with the babysitter's mom's anecdotes about having babies + toddlers and the chaos that goes with this stage. But in the end? I think we may have found our teenage occasional sitter - she is a sweet, unassuming girl who is going for her lifeguard certification this fall, who enjoys playing intramural soccer, who attends a private French school and therefore is completely bilingual, and who volunteers on the weekends to teach art to children.

Holy shiznay, right? She really does seem like a perfect child - don't expect she'll be inviting boys over for a snog after Maddie goes to bed.

So we are covered and free to attend a friend's housewarming party this weekend + numerous "date nights" in the near future. Woot to Kijiji!

xxoo.S

PS - No, I'm not leaving baby Kate with her as well - she will be tagging along with us. Babies that don't speak and don't run around and (hopefully) don't cry are welcomed at this non-kid affair. We'll just tuck her in the corner somewhere so she can sleep through it... (who are we kidding, she'll be in the sling worn by me all night)

PPS - Funny embarrassing story of the day? In the middle of the interview, Maddie randomly began demanding to be nursed. DEMANDING it. Like "Mommy! Mommy! MOMMY! I want boobie milk!" all while feeling me up with the obnoxiousness of a 15 year old boy. I told my audience that I wasn't sure why she was doing this, as she is no longer being nursed and never asks for it. The mother's response? "Oh they just know the right buttons to press to get the attention they want in these situations." Touché Wise Woman, touché.

I think the Hubs can take this one...

Singing along to an episode of Dora:

Maddie: Back-cack! Back-cack!

Me [realizing she cannot turn three still calling it a "back-cack"]: Bugaloo, it's pronounced back-PACK. With a P.

Maddie: Oh... Back-cack.

Me: No - with a P. Like Peter. Can you say Peter?

Maddie: Peter.

Me: Or like Peas. Can you say Peas?

Maddie: Peas.

Me: So try it with a P...  back-Puh-Puh-Puh-PACK.

Maddie: Back-Cuh-Cuh-Cuh-CACK!

Me [laughing too hard to correct her again]: Um, sure.

xxoo.S

Bedtime routines

We started our bedtime routine with Maddie at a very young age. I think she was only a few weeks old when we started bathing her every night, doing baby massage/lotion etc afterwards in a desperate attempt to make her understand that this meant "bedtime" and bedtime meant "sleep".

As she got older the routine expanded - books + bedtime bottle + rocking chair cuddles were added. When we changed her room over to "big girl" status, we got rid of the bottle + rocking chair - but somehow more books were added to the routine and a sippy cup of milk became a requirement.

It got to the point that it was taking almost an hour from start to finish to "do" bedtime. Which meant we needed to get started by 7:15 at the very latest to get her down for 8pm.

That was - until last week. You see - Maddie spent the past two weeks at Gramma V's. And god bless her heart (because thank you to any grandparent that will take an almost-3-year-old for an extended visit!)... but now we have a toddler with a 10pm bedtime, who wants her overhead light to be on all night and who is demanding about a thousand books to be read to her before night-night.

And that? Makes for an almost two hour bedtime routine. And we were thinking one hour was excessive.

So the past five days since being home, we have been working on ridding Maddie of these habits.

First to go was the overhead light being on. (Sidebar on this: not sure how or why, but Maddie developed a fear of the dark during her stay in Kingston. Which meant she asked for the overhead light to be put on before going to bed. Which then meant she either woke up to bright shining light at 4am and wanted to play, or woke up to it being turned off sometime before the adults went to bed and screamed bloody murder for it to be turned back on. It was..... in a word.... NOT fun). I wasn't about to let her get into this same habit at home - I figured if we had any chance of getting rid of this habit, it would be in her own room, where she felt most comfortable and where I felt most comfortable letting her cry if she didn't like it. It took one night to break this habit.

The additional books in the routine were a little harder - but we've just been consistently firm - she gets a total of 3 books ONLY and she chooses which books these will be before getting into bed. There have been tears and tantrums about more books, but again, with us holding firm she seems to be getting the picture that we're not giving her an endless supply of stories at bedtime.

And the last little wrinkle is moving the bedtime back up to where it needs to be. This has been trickier - and she can fight (oh she can fight) going to bed like no one's business. Requests for more milk, a glass of water, one more story, just one more kiss, a hug from daddy, please mommy - don't leave me here... we've heard it all. And being told that "Please don't leave Mommy, I miss you" is a bit heart-breaking when you need to walk away.

But the temper tantrums have been epic. There have been time-outs. There have been cry-it-outs. There was even one small (diapered bum) spanking administered by Daddy. (Yes, I can't believe I'm even admitting it out here in blogspace - let the vultures now rip me to shreds) But we're making progress. She went to sleep last night by 9pm with barely a complaint. If we can shave another 1/2 hour off in the next week, we'll be back to normal (since 8:30 is acceptable in the lighter days of summer)...

Here's my question to the moms out there though ... how long is your bedtime routine? What does it involve? Are we insane to be happy enough with a 45 minute routine that includes 3 books? Or is that normal? (Is anything really normal?) ... tell me peeps... I want to hear your opinion on this.

xxoo.S

Picnic

Sorry for the silence - we've been away, visiting family for a week. I usually bring my laptop along, but living in the land of no wireless networks, renders it a bit useless. 'Twas a busy week, with lots of fun, lots of visits and lots of challenges (a whole 'nother blog post).

So for the weekend, we laid low a bit. Painted our nails. Made juice pops. Went for walks. Played in the pool. Had picnics.  Enjoyed the BBQ with good friends. Caught up on Big Brother.

And now I'm home with the girls on my own for the first time today. A little nervous - but Katie is rounding out on the 2nd hour of a nap in her crib and Maddie is begging me to come outside and PLAY MOMMY!

So that's what I'm gonna do...

xxoo.S

The turning point

I remember talking with a friend about breastfeeding my first time-around. She said, "It can be really hard for the first six weeks - but if you make it past six weeks, then it gets easy."

Another friend, offering advice when I was moaning about no sleep (again, with Maddie), told me, "The first six weeks are difficult - but then they start getting into a routine. Hell, even some babies start sleeping through the night by six weeks." I have actually met some women to who this has happened - and no, I didn't stab their eyes out in a jealous rage. But I may have wanted to... {kidding} {sort of}


For us, breastfeeding routines get into place within the first couple of weeks - with both girls they did. I will never say breastfeed is "easy", but I've been lucky in this regard that it hasn't been as difficult as it can be for some.

The sleep - well, clearly I make good eaters, but not good sleepers. I'm sure I could be better at putting them down more often (Maddie spent a lot of naps sleeping in my arms as well). But I've come to terms with the fact that I don't like to put my babies down. And for that, I pay a bit of a price. And that's okay (some days) with me. Just remind me of this post the next time I decide to whinge on about no sleep, m'kay?


The biggest thing I personally notice at six weeks is the interaction. Get to six weeks and they cease to be so baby-blob-like and much more like a little person. They smile. They coo. They interact. You can put them down in a bouncy chair, awake, and walk out of the room and they don't (necessarily) freak out - because there's things to look at and see and watch and wonder about.

I've spent more time this past week, just hanging out with Katie, watching her, watch the world. She is taking so much in - learning, absorbing - I find it fascinating to watch. And I love the added freedom of being able to just set her down and let her be. While I do the dishes. Or make dinner. Or write this blog post.

Not to say there aren't downfalls. Like at 2am last night, when all I wanted to do was sleep and Katie was all, "Hey hey! Wanna Play? Looky at that over there! It's a curtain! Let's stare and smile and coo at it for a while. Oh no? You don't want to? Well watch me smile and be adorable for a little bit then. Because I'm not closing my eyes ... nope - not gonna do it. Let's chat at 3:30 and see if I'm tired then okay?"


So yes. That will be my advice to new moms. Survive to six weeks and watch your little one become a little person who is in love with the world around them. And interested. And learning. And interacting.

It's a fabulous time.

xxoo.S

6 weeks = smiles

We got so used to this face every day. Grumpy. Unsure. Thoughtful.

And then, after weeks of getting all up in her face, sing-songing, "Kaaaaa-tieeeee"

...we started to get some reactions. An amused grimace here. A hint of grin there...

...and she started answering back, with her own little "ooooowwwwww" noise...

...until one day she gave up and just started smiling at all of us acting like jackasses in our attempts to make her happy...

We love you Grump.

xxoo.S

Thoughts on a holiday Monday

• Babies are really fun to dress up and take pictures of. I'm talking, big flowery headbands/hats, tutus etc. Can't wait to see the pics that my good friend Tracy of Artistically Drawn got from our photoshoot yesterday. 
• At a neighbour's BBQ yesterday afternoon, I: a) chatted with a newly-met neighbour about the latest goings-on of Corrie Street, b) met neighbours originally from the UK (but not the Corrie St fans interestingly enough) and so drooled my Anglophilia all over them, c) watched as Maddie took off and played with the other kids in the house, without any adult supervision and was totally fine with it -- holy shit she is growing up fast. All in all - a blissful Sunday afternoon. We are finally making neighbourhood friends. Yay to that, it only took 3+ years...
• Why do I insist on checking on a crib-sleeping Katie a thousand times? Just because she's not sleeping next to me or in my lap, I think something bad is going to happen? Really wish this crazy instinct/paranoia would relax a bit. Also? Because I'm sure I wake her up by doing this, and that just makes me a dumbass...
• I started a list this morning of all the projects I want to accomplish this coming year. At the top of the list is "Create list of projects to complete on mat leave in order of priority". This is the only thing written on the list. I am nothing, if I am not redundant...
• The fall community activity guide came in the mail this week. As I was perusing for classes/groups to sign us up for (figure this will be the best way to spend my winter-mat-leave without losing my mind) I realized that there are A LOT of classes going to be held right here in our little village. All due to the new library/community centre that will finally be finished this fall! I was SO incredibly excited about this that I actually went and found a yellow highlighter so I could highlight all the classes/groups that I wanted to consider joining. N.E.R.D. People don't believe me when I tell them I am one. This? Should verify it completely. Gold star!

I am now going to spend the next unknown amount of minutes of freedom I still have (while Katie naps) trying to sew a few more pillows. Martha Stewart I am not. But I may be learning a lil bit... 

Enjoy your holiday Monday!

xxoo.S

Katie's Announcement

Don't you just love the birth announcement we just finalized courtesy of Momento Design? These will double as our thank you cards to all our thoughtful family and friends, but just had to share here first. A good friend suggested Daniela when I was looking for announcement options - she was fantastic to work with, she incorporated all my ideas and suggestions fluidly into a wonderful, one-of-a-kind design - and I love, love, love the result.

Stay tuned for actual pics of the finished nursery once I finally get this last bit of artwork on the walls!

xxoo.S

Why I'm a bit crusty today...

• She cut my lawn again. Yesterday. For the record? This time our lawn was actually shorter than hers - as we had recently cut it... so no, this is not a "they are sad pathetic lawn-keeper-uppers" and more "I'm a crazy neighbour that needs this particular patch of grass to match my lawn perfectly". And while I've spent the past 2 times turning the other cheek as so many of my good and wise fb friends suggested, this time? It will be discussed. The very next time I stalk see her.
• Maddie has taken to waking up and PLAYING in the very wee hours of the night. Why? I have no 'effing idea. And while Hubs is officially in charge of the monitor for Maddie's room, he has this one small fault: he could sleep through a tornado funnel being balanced on his nose. So the wee-hour parenting seems to fall to me a bit more.
• Last night was the 2nd night I spent (attempting to) get back to sleeping in my own bed. For the past five weeks I've either shared my bed with Katie while Hubs sleeps on the couch, or I've bunked out on the daybed in her room. Guess what I forgot? How incredibly much (and loudly) the Hubs snores. It's like sleeping next to a clunky 1930's freight train. Front, back, side -- he's perfected the art of snoring in any position. Suggestions as to actual tried-and-true remedies would be MOST appreciated!

Reason why I'm not taking today's crustiness out on my 5 week old?

• She's only a baby and of course doesn't deserve it.
• She's cute and adorable and even her poop smells sweet.
• She's started to smile at me more and more and more these days, and fuck me, those gummy smiles melt my heart.
• She slept like an 'EFFING CHAMPION all on her own, in her own crib, last night: 9-1am, then 1:15am-4:30am. Note this is particularly during the periods that I was mostly awake due to the 2 other ingrates I live with...
• When I gave up and decided to bunk in with her during the 4:30am feeding, she snuggled into me, belly to belly, and gave the happiest, most adorable, little snuffle-sigh as she latched on. And that? THAT is why I enjoy co-sleeping. That, and she doesn't snore.

xxoo.S

Weekend wisdom

I think I can honestly say, this is the first weekend of "two" where I didn't feel stressed out the entire time. Clearly the key to toddlers is to get them the 'eff out of the house. So that's what we did - both mornings.

Saturday was a standard random Ikea visit. You see - I'm not sure if you've noticed or not - but I'm a touch crazy. Which sometimes manifests itself in random proclamations of things THAT WE MUST BUY. BECAUSE WE NEED THEM. DESPERATELY!!! OH HOW HAVE WE LIVED LIFE THIS FAR WITHOUT THIS MUCH NEEDED ITEM??!?!?!

Enter: my insistence that we visit Ikea. On a Saturday morning. To buy a step stool. A small, two-tiered step-stool that was ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY for Maddie to be able to wash her hands (because she's a shorty and all kids stools are about 1 inch too low for her to really get in there at the sink. You know what I mean?). Clearly this was a necessity.

I'm still not entirely certain how or why the Hubs agreed to this (looking back now) ridonkulous request. Saturday morning? Ikea? Yes, I'm an idiot.

But off we went - battling crowds. Looking through the children's section, then through the kitchen section, then through the dining section (every Ikea personnel we asked about said stool seemed to think it was in a different area of the store). Turns out there were NONE on display, but according to their handy-dandy inventory count - there were 2 in the warehouse. So down to self-serve we went. And looked. And yes - just as you may have suspected, 2 in inventory at Ikea means ZERO on the shelf. So two hours later, stomachs full of nasty Ikea food (seriously - my first time eating there - it's bad. Like, REALLY. BAD.), we left the store empty handed...

Hubs told me he was certain he had earned a lot of "points" that morning...


However - that managed to kill a full weekend morning. And guess who thinks Ikea rocks the large one? Because she can run around like a deranged monkey, play on random couches and underneath random tables and essentially be the bane of every other shoppers existence? Miss Madds of course. Ikea is like a playground to her - and she was d.o.w.n.

Since our Saturday road trip went so swimmingly, I made the suggestion that we try to do something Sunday morning as well. So to the Zoo we went. Getting there just past 9am we beat the crowds, beat the heat and managed to do all the "interesting" animals before lunch time. We hightailed it out of there just as the crowds closed in, threatening to send Hubs into ultra-moody-mode, and even managed to grab lunch at home instead of succumbing to a $12 hotdog.

I'd love to share pictures of our first full-family-attended trip to the zoo, but someone forgot the camera in the car and we didn't realize it until we were about a mile away from the entrance. That someone may have forfeited some of his "points" from Saturday on that move.

So that's that - we kept our sanity this weekend by simply not being at home. Doing stuff entertains your cranky toddler. Imagine that...

xxoo.S

One Month

Dear Katie,

I write this as you slumber on the nursing pillow on my lap. Fitting really, as this has been our position for the past month. You like to be snuggled, you like to be held, and you'll sleep all day long if someone will just do nothing but cuddle you.

One month old - and it has (of course) flown by. You are not so tiny and fragile and breakable looking. Weighing in at 9lbs 1oz, you're turning into quite the chunky monkey. And you love to eat - usually every 2 hours, except when you change it up and decide to sleep for almost 4 hours straight (I love those nights).

Oh, the sleep. We thought we had it rough with your sister. If it's possible -- you fight sleep even more. You won't sleep in the crib, the bassinet, the swing, the bouncy chair or the stroller. You want to be held. You want to feel the warmth of another person.

And once again, we find ourselves giving into the demands of a newborn. And so you sleep on me, or with me, or in my arms, for the better part of the day. We're trying to change this - but it's all just so hard. And I know just how short this time is -- when you are wee, when you are small enough to fit into the crook of my arm, when you will be 100% content to just lay on or near me -- I know how fleeting this time is and to be honest, I'm enjoying, relishing, savouring every minute of it.

Happy one month my little grumpy troll. I love your squeaks and your grunts and all your little frowns just as much as I love all the cuddles.

Love,
Mommy

PS - your eyes are still blue. Let's keep them that way. I've got a bet going with Daddy...

There's another 950 feet in our future...

We had rain this past weekend. The kind of hard torrential rain that transforms the streets into rivers and creates massive puddles on your lawn. The kind that homeowners with leaky basements dread...

So after the massive rain, I wander down to our basement to grab something from the pantry, and I step in a puddle. Uh oh. The leak. The elusive, can't-figure-out-the-cause-of-it, leak - is back. I call the Hubs and give him the good news, and restate my campaign for calling in an expert. Let's stop trying to fix this ourselves. Let's get someone in that actually knows something...

And for once? The Hubs agreed. He'd reached his breaking point. He was willing to call Uncle. Whatever it was - I was happy. So the specialists were called in. They were explained the issues that had been haunting us for 3 years. They had a few diagnoses from just that phone conversation, but insisted they must come and do a site visit to give a proper estimate. That site visit would cost $250, but if we had them do the work, it was all credited to the invoice.

Fair enough, right? So we did it. The specialist came. He looked. He examined. Inside and out. He sprayed a massive amount of water at the "spot" we thought was causing the leak. He looked again. He examined. He ripped down insulation and really looked.

And..... nothing. There's no crack. There's no hole. There's no leak.

It's all condensation.

Yes, seriously.

So turn up (down?) your humidifiers (40 is optimal apparently). Open your basement vents (for both air-con and heating). Turn the humidifier on your furnace off (even in the winter). And get that air flowing. Because apparently condensation can actually accumulate to the point of puddles.

Yes, seriously.

Good news? This only cost us $250 to learn. And $0 to pass on this lovely wisdom...

Finished basement... here we come.

xxoo.S

Who needs a son...

The Hubs and Maddie hit a milestone this past weekend - on Sunday morning he took her up to the lake for their first Maddie/Daddy shore-fishing experience.

He gave her his ice fishing rod - because (to quote): "Well, it's kind of the right size, and she doesn't have her own Princess rod just yet."

Clearly, I see a shopping trip for a fishing rod in our near future. Bass Pro, here we come...

Oh - and what fishing trip is complete without a quick sidetrack to the nearby park?

All told - they had a great time. Maddie loves fishing and the Hubs thinks she's "a natural". I see a few more trips up to the lake this summer.

And no, they didn't catch anything. But I don't think that dampened any of the fun.

xxoo.S

American Idol she ain't

Maddie has added a new skill set to our everyday routine. Singing along with everything.

That includes Dora (but only the mermaid rescue episode thankyouverymuch).

That includes various singing toys/dolls/etc.

And that includes just random songs SHOUTED into the microphone that accompanies her little Sir Mix-a-Lot keyboard toy she loves to play with.

It wasn't until just this week that I noticed just how much I sing to her. Silly made up songs. Normal songs but with words replaced so as to make them all about whatever it is we're doing. Or just actual songs - nursery rhymes, lullabies, the McDonald's theme song.... clearly I have no standards.

And so I take full blame - I've created a singing demon. (And sidebar? It's freaking adorable to watch a toddler try to sing along with a show/doll/radio - she gets about every 5th word right but manages to mumble along with the rest - and really? It's probably not much worse than what I'm still doing in my mid-thirties.)

And while imitation is flattery incarnate, the unfortunate side-effect is (as Hubs loves to point out) she's also imitating my ability to carry a tune. Which is, to say mildly, no ability at all. Result being, he's got two tone-deaf women in house, singing along to anything that moves.

Before you feel sorry for him though...

At least she knows how to dress the part... even if she doesn't have the vocals to back it up...

xxoo.S

If it works, use it...

Scene: the Hubs is clearing up the dishes from dinner. I'm sitting on the couch, burping Katie. Maddie is running around creating chaos, like only a toddler can.

Maddie: Oh! Gotta go potty Mommy!

Me: Oh good! Mommy's feeding Katie, but Daddy will come with you - run and go like a big girl and Daddy will come help.

[Maddie from the bathroom - "I did a poop Daddy! I did a BIG one!"]

Hubs (after returning from potty duty): That's the 3rd night in a row. Is it just me or does she go every night when you're busy feeding Katie?

Me (shoving Katie's sleeping face closer to my boob so it totally looks like she's nursing): Yep - I agree. The timing is uncanny...

xxoo.S

Cheer up

I realize yesterday's post was a bit of a downer... and poor Katie - that's no way to be remembered at just 3 weeks old... so here's a few Katie-isms that I want to make sure we don't forget:

• You sneeze in fours. Four times in a row. Every.single.time. It's adorable and perplexing. What the hell are you sneezing about?
• I've started calling you the Grumpy Old Troll - partly because of the crazy frowny faces you give us constantly. And partly because of your groaning, grunting, grrrrrrrrowling that you do regularily (particularly while nursing). Must get this on video. Oh - and don't feel bad, we called your sister The Piglet for the first few months of her life because she snorted so much while nursing.
• You also have the most adorable cry - since the day you were born - when you want to eat you cry "La! La! Laaaaaaa!" It's like a little lamb cry (yes, I know lambs go "baa" - but really, same thing but with an "L" - even the warbly little lamb voice. Again, must get this one video..
• You will.not.sleep in a horizontal position. I've tried. Numerous times. So for now, it will be bouncy chair, swing etc. (Oh, I should clarify - you'll sleep totally happily on your back, as long as you're laying next to someone. Namely - me. So it's either swing, or we get used to snuggling in the daybed.)
• Oh and you love our new sling. You'll sleep like a drunken sailor there. I don't even have to be moving - you sat in the sling while I ate my dinner last night. A hot dinner! Can you even imagine the luxury?
• No official smiles as of yet - I'm sure you're saving those up for a Grandma or random stranger instead of bestowing unto me - but you smile like crazy in your sleep. 
• The blue eyes are currently winning the fight over eye colour. Your sister may have gotten her Daddy''s big brown eyes, but I'm cheering you on for (potentially) inheriting the blue from me instead! Goooo blue!

So - to summarize. Grumpy Old Troll when awake. Deliriously happy baby when asleep. As long as that asleep position is in very close (touching) proximity to me.

Yep - that's 3 weeks.

xxoo.S

Three weeks

Well, I knew it would happen. But perhaps I didn't think it would happen as quickly as IMMEDIATELY after I wrote the braggarty "sleep-sleep-sleep-all-the-time, don't stop sleepin', lovin' the sleep" post. Yes, sleep is for the weak.

I am weak.

I now live in the haze of that sleep-deprivation - lose your temper at the most minor of things, forget to do things like brush your teeth that day, or where you just want to break down and cry (or yell) because someone (you) forgot to buy more milk.

It's a low point. It's lonely. It's bleak and dark and (sometimes) scary because 2am-5am is a time in the day where the minutes feel like hours and the horizon of change seems very, very far away.

And unlike Maddie, you don't have any interest in pacifiers. Or swaddling. Or "shushing". You want to be held, and then you don't want to be held. You hate the Ovol drops that are supposed to help with those pull-up-the-legs-gas-cramps - so you spit out half the dropper back at me. You want to nurse so badly sometimes it's frantic, and then you pull and bite and clamp down and scream like it hurts. And then gobble-gobble you're back in there and fighting me when I try to de-latch for a burping-break.

Three weeks is hard, really hard, this time around. And you're not happy lately, and I haven't figured out the magic ingredient that will make things all better just yet. But I am trying, Katie. I promise I am trying...

xxoo.S

Edited to add: I realize this post sounds a bit down. But I want this blog to be honest, not just a "look how wonderful you are week-after-week" recap of my girls' lives. I'm F.I.N.E. And I know things will change again - probably soon - maybe tomorrow. But in the meantime, this is our now. This is where I am. And hell - you're just lucky I didn't write the post at 4:30am this morning after being awake for 2+ hours of crying. Because this? Is effing Pollyanna-esque in comparison.

Snippets

• Remember the neighbour girl that I told you about? Maddie's new BFF? She came over for a playdate last weekend. It was adorable to watch Maddie's eager anticipation for it to begin - and even though the little girl didn't want to do much more than craft the whole time (she even brought her own supplies!), and Maddie's interest in crafting went to zero within about 10 minutes in, she still had a fabulous time. Isn't it amazing how the most influential voice to our kids is other kids? I sat and watched as Maddie mimicked and repeated almost everything this other girl said. Possibly the most agreeable I have ever seen her...
• My magical sleeping baby has disappeared and been replaced with the magical gassy baby. I cannot pin down what the hell I am eating that is making her so gassy - but all sorts of memories of Maddie as a baby have come back and slapped me in the face. And how I had limited my diet down to essentially toast, crackers and a little bit of jam - and yeah. I'm not sure I can do that again. I wish there was a diet you could follow that would ensure your baby didn't have gas. But according to Google, that's impossible. Screw you Google...
• I love the shorthand-speak that old, really old, friends have. This past Saturday I hosted some old highschool (and one uni) friends for lunch and I'm not sure any of us ever finished a sentence. We don't get to see each other very often (even less so, now that I moved out of the city), but when we do the lazy, easy, comfortable rhythm just picks up where we left off. I feel blessed to still have such old (and good) friends still in my life.
• I'm finally doing something about trying to line up some longer-term daycare for Madds. We have daycare for August figured out (well, the last 2 weeks, and it`s only part-time - and yes, I could rant on and on about this) - and potentially something with the same provider for the fall. And yet, I still have a bit of a pit in my stomach about it. And so I'm (finally) getting off my ass and trying to actively line something else up for her. And have I mentioned how effing terrified I am to have her home with me and the bebe even just part-time? I love her to bits, but omg to the terrible twos and the toddler energy and the potty training and the demands for More!Dora!Mommy! and I just want to sleep so badly....z.z.z.z..z..zzz.....
• Remember when I told you about planting my berry bushes (it was a berry exciting post, I'm surprised if you don't recall it)... well, we (the Hubs) ate our very first raspberry this weekend. And after having my head buried in life after newborn, I actually pulled it out from underneath the covers enough to check out the rest of the garden, and holy shit there's a zucchini out there the size of my inner thigh (meaty!)... I guess I have to start harvesting and making shit. Zucchini recipes anyone?
• I'm so bored with TV already - I have no idea how I did this before. As much as I relish the freedom of having Maddie in full-time daycare right now, and am enjoying this newborn veg-out stage that I know needs to end very soon - the actual TV-watching-portion is effing boring. I know it's summer and all - but I've actually resorted to watching Jersey Shore on Rogers On Demand. I've sunk to a new low. Must get out and start renting some of those shows that I always wanted to get into but never did... Dexter and I definitely have a date before July is over.

Yeah, that's all I've got right now - taking the rest of my nap-fueled freedom to eat some more toast. And hopefully start painting shelves for Katie's room. (Because dammit, the child is going to have a finished room before she turns one month old). I love neverending projects...

xxoo.S

Dramatic? Me?

Driving in the car on the weekend:

Maddie: My's tummy's hurts...

Me: From drinking too much juice probably, you juice-monster.

Maddie: My's tummy hurts from too much juice! Owwwwww. It hurtssssssssss.

Me: Rub it. That will make it feel better.

Maddie: I needs a band-aid for my tummy. Owwwwww. My's. Tummy's. Hurtsssssss!!!!

Me (to Hubs): Seriously? Have you ever heard someone be so dramatic?

Him: Yes. YOU.

Me: [Silence] Har har...well, now there's three of us. What are you going to do about it?

Him: Golf. A lot.

xxoo.S

Two weeks

Only two weeks, and yet it feels like forever (if I may be so prosaic). Our little family is complete and we're (slowly) falling into a rhythm of routine.

Oh Katie - you sleep. You sleep so much more than your sister ever did. Please don't stop sleeping. We love the sleep. You love the sleep. You're a happy, non-grumpy, content little baby. Please don't change that. Pleasepleaseplease don't change that.

For the record? I totally know you're going to. That the only constant with a kid IS change. But still - I wanted to mark it down for the record that you did, at one point, sleep pretty alright. Now feel free to 'eff with it...

And you're chunky. Already 8 lbs 3 oz at the last appointment with the midwife (just this Monday). Like, growing out of the newborn diapers chunky. How are you so big kid? Not that I don't love those rolls and dimples - because nomnomnom - I totally love them.

You love the swing. You love the bouncy chair. You're content to just lay on the floor and kick-kick-kickety-kick. That's not to say you don't love a good cuddle - who doesn't? But sometimes you just gotta be put down in your own space. I get it - and thank you for it. Because that's when I get to eat...

You (of course) love to be nekkid. I think you get this from your sister. And you LOVE the bath. What newborn loves the bath? Especially when water is poured on your head. We figure it's a whole "reminiscing your old home" thing, but still - you quiet right down as soon as we get your head wet. You little adorable weirdo.

Daddy is still sleeping on the couch downstairs - giving up the bed for you and me at night. But our big master plan is to "fix" this, this weekend. So that room that I worked so hard on these past few months may actually start to get used. We'll see how that goes...

All in all - so far so good. You're fitting in just fine I'd say. I guess you can stay...

xxoo.S

Wordless Wednesday - the week before one became two...

xxoo.S

The only child transition

Remember how obsessed I was with how Maddie was going to take the upheaval of a new baby in the house? I think I obsessed over it a few (thousand) times.

Well, I'm not going to be one of those moms that says "Oh she was great, took to it like a champ, no real issues." Because really? That would be a lie...

In fairness, Maddie has been more than loving and accepting and mothering towards her new baby sister. To the point of coming over to her and petting her face whenever she cries, saying, "S'okay Katie, shh-shh-shh, s'okay."

How friggin' cute is that?

And towards Daddy there hasn't been a large change - in fact, I'd venture a "nothing has changed at all" in their relationship. She's still a Daddy's Girl, relishes his attention when he's home from work and wants to be near him most of the time.

But with me? Well, it varies. Luckily I'm not getting a tonne of aggression - in fact, she hasn't been nearly as pissed at me as I expected she would be. Instead there's a lot of, "Mama do it!" going on instead. "Mama read me another story." "Mama pick me up." "Mama take me to the potty." "Mama come outside to play with me."

Usually this only happens while I'm breastfeeding Katie or doing something equally as difficult to multi-task with.

Of course, right?

So there's been a few challenges behaviour-wise. Bedtime recently has been exceptionally difficult. But on the upside: there's been no major regressions in behaviour (unless you count the requests to be carried around and the one request for "boobie milk" she made one night - erm.... yeah, they might count, right?) and potty training has continued without a hitch. I don't want to jinx myself and say she's "trained" - but she does (often) go to the potty without being asked, hasn't had an accident in almost a week and can navigate the whole potty experience on her own (especially as she refuses to wear anything but dresses nowadays).

As long as the meltdowns go away (or at last subside slightly), I think I can handle this two-kid-gig. It`s a bit precarious at the moment, but at least leaning to the side of manageability...

And that's a good thing, since I'm pretty sure they didn't come with a "return policy".

xxoo.S

Happy Canada Day!

Maddie's all, "WTH do I do with this?"

It only took me until Katie was one week + a day old to dress them in coordinating outfits.

I think I showed restraint.

xxoo.S

PS - for those of you all wtf'ing me on the timeliness of these posts? Well, I'm trying to keep it updated, except I'd write half a post and then not finish to publish, so yeah, I'm fudging the "post" dating on here right now. Whatevs... It's called "documenting our lives" people... not "be date-sensitively-accurate on your posts". 

One week old

Only a week old, and already Katie is her own little person. She looks less scrunched, less red, less comatose. She looks more and more like me as a baby girl. She has my chin and my lips. Definitely has my eyebrows and my toes. And yet, with all these differences, she still looks remarkably like Miss Maddie did as a newborn too. My girls.

We call Katie our little squeaker. She is the loudest sleeper I have ever heard. Snorts and snuffs. Squeaks and squeals. It's amazing she doesn't wake herself up.

Tonight we leave for our first road trip to Kingston to visit family for the long weekend. I feel brave and I feel stupid. I remember my first trip down to visit the grandparents when Maddie was almost a month old and I hated it. It took over 4 hours (on what should be a 2 hour drive) because she needed to eat twice and cried so much I kept pulling over and trying to make her more comfortable. I remember thinking I would *never*ever* do another trip with such a young baby again.

Make me proud with your sleepiness Katie...

xxoo.S

Peeking out from the cocoon

As I'm sure you've guessed by now, we have our new little addition to the family. Katharine (Katie) Jeananne was born on her due date - June 23rd at 10:22pm. Weighing in at 7lbs 12oz and a shorty-short 19-inches long. She looks like me, she looks like Maddie, she looks like her Daddy. She's ours alright...

It all started the day before with what I kept calling "pre-labour" pains. Crampy, irregular and nothing to write home about - but I did decide to start putting the Maddie babysitters on call, in case something did start to get a bit more advanced. After being in labour with Maddie for over 3 days, I figured I had some time to work with.

Turns out I was right - and got to enjoy full-on contractions (that weren't progressing) all through the night. By the next morning everything was about 10-12 minutes apart, so I told the Hubs to plan on working from home, but I expected we had until late afternoon or so. By about 11am everything started to go a little pear shaped - contractions got stronger, less tolerable, and faster in timing. At this stage, the Hubs was frantically trying to put out a few work fires that had cropped up, and I was unsuccessfully trying to "distract" myself with bad daytime tv.

A call was put in to the midwives around 2pm and based on what they could tell over the phone, they decided to forgo the at-home check-in visit and just meet us at the hospital for 3:30pm. I wish I could tell you that I got there and it just popped out like a greased watermelon - but yeah, I already gave away the time of birth. So fast-forward another 6 hours of labour - I did my best to go "au natural" but 7 centimeters and 4 hours later I broke down and begged for drugs. The epidural went in around 8pm, my water broke while the anesthesiologist was still in the room and I was ready to start pushing just before 10pm.

All in all? If I can compare labour with Maddie? It was same-same but different.

Long pre-labour contraction lead-up in both cases (granted it was much longer with Maddie, but I'm clearly not one of those girls that wakes up in the middle of the night, gently wakes the Hubs with a whispered "It's Time.").

With Maddie I got the epidural right away and spent almost 12 hours of labour laying on my side on a hospital bed, with a pitocin drip while everyone closely watched the fetal monitor which was slightly freaky. But painless. With Katie - well I tried everything humanely possible to get through labour without the epi - shower, jacuzzi, massage, walking, not walking, laying down, sitting on labour ball, nitrous oxide gas... only to breakdown and ask for it because I hadn't progressed a single centimeter in an hour and that my friends, is hella-deflating when you've battled through what you thought was "transition".

With Maddie, by the time the "pushing" stage got there, my epi drip had run out - so I did that part "au natural" and damn - it was painful. With Katie I was so numb that I had midwives on either side of me holding my legs up so I could actually attempt a push. I didn't feel her come out at all - which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I think that part could have gone faster if I could actually feel what I was doing at that stage. Not that I'm complaining...

Maddie came out not breathing, had to be suctioned and was whisked off to the warming tray before I could barely glimpse her. Katie came out wailing, was immediately put on my chest and started rooting for the breast almost immediately.

Hmm, now that I explain it like that, I'd say less same-same and more different-different is really how the two experiences stack up.

Big kudos go out to the midwives - if you are considering a pregnancy and haven't thought of a midwife - I would highly HIGHLY recommend it. They're not an added cost - completely covered by OHIP, and they're not all granola-touchy-feely. But it was really a more personal, private, considerate experience than I had before - which was a lot more "medicalized", I realize now.

And the bonus with midwives? You can check out of the hospital as early as 3 hours post-labour. We were home that night by 4am (because it took me 2 hours before I could pee on my own - and that is apparently a pre-requisite to get out of the hospital). It didn't feel strange to leave so early - in fact it was a relief. I got to sleep in my own bed, see Maddie before going to daycare that morning, eat my own food (and not have to eat hospital food!) and did I mention sleep? In my own, comfortable bed? Yep, that was sweet.

Katie has been a darling so far - she slept a tonne when we first got home. And then she wanted to eat. And Eat. And Eat. Andeatandeatandeatandeat. It got a little hairy and scary and teary and hormonal. And then I broke down and let the Hubs give her some formula... and that didn't make a difference. So she and I took to my bed and just ate and slept and ate and slept as much as she'd let me.

I realize we are making all the same mistakes we made before with Maddie - and we really do plan on getting her in her crib and sleeping on her own... in a week or so... Yes, I'm a total sucker...

I'll leave you with some pics. I'd love to show you the classic post-push baby shot with Mama, except the Hubs didn't notice my nipple-slip in every.single.shot. Classic.

Proud Daddy

Swaddled

Family shot (yes, she's totally on my boob in this picture)

Nekkid baby bum.

Me - looking like I've had zero sleep. Oh wait...

I will do my best to keep the pics and updates coming... we're still feeling very "new" over here and the days are still a bit of a blur. All the Grandparents have come for their visits and we are now on our own... luckily they left us with a rather massively-packed fridge. Which I am doing my best to currently eat my way through...

xxoo.S

Making friends

Our neighbours (no, not them) have three children - ages 1, 4 and 7 (ish - I think)... the middle child is the only girl and is probably one of the most adorable, patient little girls I have ever met.

Reason for me raving over her?

She is Maddie's new B.F.F. And any kid that is lovely and patient and kind to my Miss Madds is a fabulous little person in my books.

But what's been even more heart-warming has been watching this little friendship develop. Just a few months ago they barely noticed each other. Well, that's not quite true, this little girl has been quite interested in Maddie for a while, but Madds has been shy, still very toddler-esque, not really noticing that hey, kids live next door. Kids that she could play with. Kids that could be fun!

And then the other day she ran over and introduced herself and that.was.it. Now if said little girl is outside, I watch Maddie practically hum with excitement. Seriously, she is enamoured with this little girl.

Mind you, she's still 1.5 years younger - which maybe makes the adorableness of their friendship so cute to me. Because essentially Maddie just mimicks, follows and repeats whatever her friend is doing. Hence my gratitude to the patience and kindness of this little girl - because even just being 4 years old she gets it. She gets that Maddie is younger, but still wants to hang out with her. And she gets that perhaps Maddie isn't as sophisticated in her mental capacity or physical prowess, so the little girl just tailors their activities to suit Maddie.

Maybe it's me being pg-hormonal. Maybe it's that I was such a socially awkward little kid (and still am - good lord, but I hate making small talk). But watching another child act so benevolent with their friendship, to watch two children that really are at two very different developmental stages, strike up such a lovely, fun, playful friendship?

It's effing adorable.

And watching Maddie so full of confidence, so without reserve, so open and friendly and so essentially, unlike me, as a child?

Well, that makes me feel like we're doing a pretty good job at this parenting gig,

xxoo.S

Maddie bits

We all know the only child status Maddie currently enjoys, being the centre of our world, little princess ruler of the household - yeah, the end is nigh on that one for sure... And instead of another post lamenting just how she's going to handle it, what kind of change it's going to make to the family dynamic, yadda yadda yadda - well, instead of all that, I'm just going to list some of her latest quirks, so I can look back and feel all fond and loving and reminiscent about what I'm sure to start lamenting as "the easy times"...

• We've passed the stage of when she used to start all her sentences with "Maddie", but she still hasn't figured out how to use "I" properly. Instead it's "my". As in "My come too!". For a while I thought she was still saying "Maddie" just really fast, then I realized, nope - it's "My".
• Speaking of toddler-speak-grammar - I still love that she uses the word "TOO" to preface anything she wants to show enthusiasm for. As in "I love you tooooooo much Daddy" or "That's tooooooo funny Mama". 
• Luckily we haven't passed the stage of her totally catching on to our Jedi-mind-tricks just yet. Want her to get her ass upstairs for bathtime? Challenge her to a "race" up the stairs. Get her to stop whining and grumping and just losing her shit in general? Challenge her "not to laugh (or smile - that works too)". Want to get her to follow you somewhere (like out of the store)? Start walking away and say, "Oh, I guess I'll have to leave you here". Sidebar? She totally uses this last one on me all the time when she wants me to come with her. Threatens to leave me there - like, I'm afraid of being left alone while I laze about on the couch. Nice try, kid...
• I'm sure I've talked about how "binkie-obsessed" she is - but have I ever told you about "binkie rubs"? (Sounds like a downtown massage-parlor specialty, doesn't it?). It started a while ago, when just one binkie wasn't enough for our dear Madds. She had to have 3 in her hands at all times (or at least during a "binkie-designated-time"). And when she got tired or upset, she'd suck on one, rub one against her cheek with one hand and hold the other in the other hand. It's now progressed to when she gets tired or sucky or miserable and you're holding her, that she'll attempt to make you feel "better" too with a binkie-rub. Kind of adorable in a weirdo-omg-how-will-we-ever-break-this-soother-habit kind of way...
• Her imaginative play skills are kicking into high-gear. Which also means more and more independent play. And me chuckling to myself, while I make dinner and listen to her re-enact arguments or bedtime rituals with her dolls that we do on a nightly basis - but with her acting the part of "Mommy". And don't get me started on the adorableness of when she practically rolls her eyes and tells me "It's just for pretend, Mama" if I ask her about what she's doing.
• One of her favourite snacks is frozen peas (she comes by this naturally, I`m a big frozen food eaten in frozen state fan) - but now as she discovers different snack foods, that she loves, like raisins for example (and yes, she's 2.5 years old and only getting into raisins now because she hated them when we tried them like a year ago and I just never really tried again) (because I'm lazy) (and I don't much care for raisins)... but now she LURVES raisins - except she doesn't just call them raisins. They're called "frozen raisins". Because anything that good, must be frozen right? Yeah, maybe this is only funny to me...
• This last one she'll probably hate me for when she's 14 and reading all my documentation of her little "quirks" - but whatevs, it has to be shared... With all the potty-training going on, Maddie's been spending a lot of time pant-less, because either she recently had an accident, or whipped off her undies during the last potty-run and refused to put them back on (yes, this is a battle that rages because my daughter's a nudist, plain and simple). So the other night, while eating dinner, I actually had to use the words "Do not put peas in your vagina!". Frozen peas? Really Maddie? Really? Because, up the nose is bad enough...

xxoo.S

A day late and a present short...

So, Father's Day was yesterday.

Let me tell you, I had big plans of writing a sappy post about how awesome of a father the Hubs is. And I had big plans of making a card with Maddie and being all crafty.  And I had big plans of surprising him with a new golf bag + box of balls and a blessing to take off for 9 holes. And I had big plans of actually getting some Father's Day cards out in the mail on time to the Grandpas in our life.

And I failed... Because even being off for the entire week wasn't apparently enough for me to get my ass in gear and prepare for any of the above "plans".

Instead the Hubs got some last-minute purchased cards, a promise of a golf bag in the near future, and a 2 lie-ins this weekend. Oh, and Grandpas? Your cards should arrive today... Promise.

But just for the record? He is a pretty awesome Daddy...

xxoo.S

Taking a day off

Who knew a toddler was so.... tiring???

Kudos to all those home daycare providers that actually choose to spend their time with more than one - holy crap, how do you do it and not fall asleep immediately at 6pm every night.

And how are all your houses so clean??

I've thrown up the white flag. Surrendering. Today Maddie is going to daycare. I am spending the day a) shopping for her "present from the bebe", b) taking a bath, c) sleeping, d) attempting to clean the debacle that is our kitchen after my mass cooking episode yesterday, e) sleeping, and f) you guessed it, sleeping.

I can't believe that I thought I would take Maddie to the zoo this week. I can't believe I thought I'd be able to have her home and finish a thousand million to-do's at the same time. I can't believe the guilt I feel at shipping her off to daycare after being home for only 3 days of mat leave.

But don't worry. I don't feel so much guilt that I'd actually change my mind and not send her today. T-minus 60 minutes...

xxoo.S

Early morning adventures

So aside from being super-awesome of late, in a great mood, sleeping like a demon and potty-training like a rockstar, Maddie has learned another cool trick.

Getting out of bed, opening her door, and wandering around the house in the early-morning hours.

I remember all my anxiety leading up to the transition to her "big girl" bed - would she fall out, would she hate it, would she jump out of bed every chance she got and never sleep. And then the transition turned out to be the easiest thing in the world... and I was all like, what's with the hoopla people?

Now I get it.

She's known how to open and close doors forever. And she learned how to climb in and out of her bed fairly quickly (why did I ever praise her when she was doing this??).

And then last weekend, she put two and two together. For a while (before she got comfortable with getting out of bed on her own) she would just sit up in bed and call out for me in the morning. Then she started getting out of bed and going to her door, knocking on it, calling for me.

Either of these two was entirely acceptable ways to wake up in my opinion.

Waking up to a stealth-like-ninja-child creeping into my room silently and staring at me from the side of the bed? Not the most relaxing way to wake up.

Even less relaxing? Waking up to an open-doored, empty bedroom and having to search the upstairs for my toddler, who has been up for who knows how long? Very much not relaxing.

Am realizing, as I type this, that I sound like the most irresponsible parent in the world... I'm actually a very light sleeper and have a pretty good mom-sensor as to her wakefulness, so I'm pretty sure she's only ever been up for 5 minutes on her own at the most...


Anyhoo - I should probably note, we ALWAYS have the child-gate secured at the top of the stairs. And all the bathroom cupboards are child-locked. So the worst she can really get up to is pulling out all the towels from the linen closet, going into the baby's room to snoop around the new toys/clothes/bags strewed across the floor, or climb up on the blanket box to look out the hallway window. Pretty benign adventures.

But still a little jarring and so looking online as to what other's suggest I come across two options. Either lock (or secure) the bedroom door (i.e. using those child-proof door-knob covers), or put up a child-gate on the outside of the kids door.

Now the first option, essentially locking the child in their room, while the safest of all options, is not an option (for me). Not that I have an actual phobia about being trapped, but holy shit, that would scare the hell out of me personally and so I really don't fathom doing this to my little miss.

The second option - the baby gate outside the door - well, more humane in at least they see why they are trapped - but still... I can't help but feel like we're moving backwards a bit? And also, the baby gates we currently have from the earlier baby days are too thick to work in the door jamb with the door closed, so yeah... it means we have to go out and buy a new safety gate, just for this.

Unless there's another suggestion that I'm totally missing?

xxoo.S

My conundrum

Another neighbour conundrum for you. Same neighbours in fact. Shocking, I know...

So here's the set up:

Our neighbourhood is in love with their lawns. About 80% tend, fertilize, weed and seed on a regular basis. Makes for a lovely looking street, unless you're part of the 20% that have weeds growing, well, like weeds, at the end of your lawn.

Hi! That's us!

And it's not really just the competitive bitch in me that hates the state of my lawn (although knowing that my lawn does not look like Mr. Fantastico's up the street does annoy me every time Maddie and I walk to the park)... I truly don't like weeds, and do truly care about the state of my lawn. Maybe because I haven't had a lawn in so long to call my own? So, before I get into it, let's not question the sanity of being obsessed with a dark green, lush, weedless lawn - it is what it is, and being questioned on why I even want it, is not going to help the story...

So ... last year we paid a service to do things to our lawn. Like fertilize, and aerate and seed. They were... expensive. And they were... not great. As in, didn't come unless I called to harass them. Spread seed so haphazardly that I'm still (this year) picking grass out of my gardens. Needless to say, we decided that we'd take care of it ourselves for a year and see if we could do better.

We bought weed & feed. We bought on-sale black earth, peat moss and sand - Hubs mixed up his own top soil and seeded the living hell out of the lawn. And we weeded. Oh, we weeded. Using the fancy stand up, take a thousand pounds of turf with your weeds $50 weeder. On my hands and knees using my old hand-shaped-like-a-screwdriver weeder.

We put a lot of hours into (attempting to) making our front lawn healthy again. And after doing all this work, it didn't rain for 2 weeks. Which meant we had to water, and water, and water, and-water-and-water-and-water-and-water. And let the grass grow. Give the seedlings time to take hold, get their grip on the new soil and grow a bit.

Which means we didn't cut our lawn for a few weeks.

Yes, seems like a long time - but really, until we got some rain just last week, it wasn't all that forest-y.

But yes, after the weekend, our grass was crazy. Long and wild. Needing a good haircut. Kind of like Maddie (until yesterday).

You know where this is going, right?

So, picture your typical 'burbs set up... We have a driveway. To the left of the driveway is our front lawn, house, walkway, front step etc. And to the right of our driveway we have a 2 foot-wide strip of lawn that goes up to our backyard gate. And on the other side of this narrow strip of lawn is our neighbour's driveway.

Yes, THAT neighbour.

Again, may I reiterate... we were in perfect knowledge that our lawn needed cutting. Well, to be fair. IIIIII was in perfect knowledge of it. I think the Hubs was using the "we need to let the grass take root" excuse out of mowing the lawn a little far... and when I nagged him on Sunday about doing it he made some kind of mumbled promise that he would take care of it this week.

And you know what? I'm 9 months pregnant. I'm NOT mowing the lawn. This "chore" falls clearly into the Hub's camp of responsibility. Always has. Always will (with a few exceptions of when I thought I'd try my hand at mowing. Guess what? Mowing the lawn is not as fun as it looks. 'Effing shocker.)

So boop-boop-sha-loop, Maddie and I take off on a morning full of errands yesterday morning, and what do we come home to?

A freshly mowed small strip of grass between our driveway and our neighbour's driveway. It was mowed within an inch of it's life (because they have healthy grass/turf/whatever, you see - so they can mow it down to the lowest level and it lives just fine - crappy grass? Ain't like that.). The lawn below the sidewalk and all the way up to just where our driveway starts.

Essentially, the part of the lawn that you'd notice while walking or driving by.

Just to be clear. It's not like she did us the "favour" of mowing the entire strip of lawn on that side of the house. She didn't mow all the way back to our back gate (which you can't really see from the road). NO. Just the VIEWABLE portion. That is also attached to her driveway. BUT IS NOT HER LAWN.

Get where I'm going here?

Enter pregnancy-hormone-induced-RAGE. Coupled with MORTIFICATION that my lawn was so clearly such an embarrasment to her, that she felt that it was in her best interest...nay...The Neighbourhood's best interest that it get cut.

Mortification - coupled with rage? Not a great emotion to wear for the rest of the day.

And I know it's really not a big deal. Something I should just laugh off, because, really? Dude? Who cares that much about their neighbour's lawn? And who has the balls to do this? To actually cut someone else's lawn?

And I want to laugh it off. Truly I do. I want to be the "bigger person" and "find the humour" in the situation and "scoff at the ridiculousness" of it all.

Except I can't. I envision myself going over and picking out some of her stupid pink petunias and seeing just what her reaction would be. And I would respond, "Oh, I just thought I was helping. Making it look better. At least, in my humble opinion of how a garden should look."

And (luckily for her) I haven't seen her as of yet. And yes, I know that it was her, and not him - because I've never seen her douchebag of a husband shovel the driveway OR mow the lawn. I'm not sure he does much of anything outside, except sit in his car and smoke and throw his butts on our lawn.

But when I DO see her? Ohhhh, I'm saying something. At least I'm pretty sure I will. Because it's 24 hours later and I'm still pissy about it. Like raging-Hulk-slashed-with-humiliation-style-of-pissy. And I also don't think that it's something I SHOULDN'T address. Because shouldn't she be aware that indeed, that's not fucking okay to do?

Or am I crazy here? Do I need to reign it in? It's entirely possible that these are pg-hormones and not rationality reacting. But I'm pretty sure I'm right. And before you ask, is it worth it, causing neighbour-strife to be RIGHT?

Yes, yes it is. Because these neighbour's are clearly not coming over for tea anytime soon. I don't think if I burned this bridge, I'd be regretting it at all...

xxoo.S

Oh, hi there!

I've been silent for a while. Well, what can I say? Last week was a bitch. I got sick (again! I know, play another record, right?). I was working like mad, trying desperately to wrap up loose ends and feeling guilty all at the same for all those loose ends that I really was going to have no choice, but leave loose. All in all, it was hectic and crazy and not awesome.

So instead, let's focus on what is awesome. It is Tuesday. I'm 2nd day into mat leave. I have my massive to-do nesting list created (yes this is a good thing, I'm anal and love my lists). And I've got my little Miss M home with me from daycare for her own little "mommy-vacation" for the week.

You know how I always write about how much of a Daddy's girl she is? Well, this past week and half, she's changed her tune quite dramatically. She's all about "momma momma momma" lately. Momma has to play with her. Momma needs to do bath time. Momma has to read the bedtime stories.

In return I get the softest pats on the cheek and a little girl that looks right in my eyes and tells me, "I lub you TOOOOOO much Momma."

Heart. Melting.

Also in the realm of awesome?

• Sproggy's room is almost done, just some shelf installation and basket buying and artwork-making (this is the rainy-day activity Madd's and I are going to tackle this week). 
• We have the carpet-cleaning guy booked for this Friday (because you can't truly NEST without some steam-cleaning of some kind, right?)
• I cooked and baked like a demon yesterday, and have a few more things to get done today - which means the freezer will be sufficiently stocked for.... oh, the first couple of weeks of newborn-hell, anyways.
• Maddie decided to sleep in all weekend until 7:30am (or later) and take 3.5 hour afternoon naps and that? Was so incredibly fantastic. Especially as Hubs was at a golf thing until late on Friday, cottage all day Saturday until the wee hours of Sunday and therefore slept in on Sunday - so essentially I was on single-parent duty for the majority of the weekend, which, with all that sleep, didn't seem so hard after all.
• Maybe it was all the sleep, but the little glimpse we've had recently of the "terrible-twos" monster seems to have disappeared. She's been a darling of late, very agreeable, very happy - just generally a pretty awesome little kid.

And last but not least? In the past couple of weeks, we decided to try our hand at potty training one more time before the baby arrived. Maddie showed interest in it, our daycare provider suggested it be a good time to try again, and so we did. And the first 2 weeks. Went okay... She seemed to do far better at daycare and save up all the "accidents" for the hours between 6-8pm.

But with little pep-talks from our daycare provider to keep our spirits up (and her promising that soon, very soon, everything would just "click" and Maddie would just all of a sudden put 2 and 2 together and be able to tell us when she had to go - vs us having to ask every 20 mins and try to cajole her into "trying" again)... we kept with it and blammo! Everything seemed to click into place as of yesterday. 

She told me she had to go before we left the house on our errands yesterday morning, she told me she had to go while driving in the car (and DID go in a Tim Horton's bathroom with no issues - I was so proud I bought her 2 Timbits as a reward), and she told me she had to go poop before naptime. So, while she wore a pull-up the whole day (yes, it's much better to "train" in underwear, it's a helluva lot easier when out and about to be using a pull-up), she didn't have ONE accident. And I also learned, she can hold it for about an hour and half - sometimes two. So yeah, that's probably why she resisted when I was asking her every friggin' 20 minutes. I'd get annoyed too.

Anyways - so we've passed that hurdle. She can now tell us she has to go (which is so much better than me having to check with her a thousand times a day), and seems to be totally down with being a "big girl who doesn't wear diapers". 

I realize by simply writing this and bragging about my potty-genius, she will now totally revert and pee all over my shoes while we're out today ... but whatever... I had to share.

Off to run more errands and see the midwife... enjoy your day at work... suckas!!!

xxoo.S

37 weeks

Um, nothing has really changed since last week....

• Still have lots of energy back (altho fell asleep at 9pm on couch last night watching Sherlock Holmes - which is a surprise since RDJ is a big celeb crush for me)
• Feeling as big as a house - like, belly skin couldn't get tighter
• In fact, I suspect I've got some stretch marks on the underside that you can't really see all that well, but there definitely are some little red, angry looking squiggles... oh to ever wear a bikini again?
• My ankles swell - but only sometimes. In fact, now that we have AC back, 'tis not so bad - so we'll see how that goes.
• I've been crampy lately. But don't get excited - I remember being so crampy in the final month last time that I was CONVINCED I was going to give birth at least 2 weeks ahead of schedule. Instead I went 6 days late...
• I have discovered the refreshing joy of lemonade (especially PINK lemonade - which Maddie also lurves) - yay summer.

Yup. That's all I've got. Oh and this is my 2nd last week of work. Countdown is officially on. Which means I'm crunching about three months of work into 6 days... because I'm dumb and conscientious and think people really care and shit...

xxoo.S