Little Miss is 9 Months!

Hola!  My Little princess is nine months old...and has changed a lot!

Our sweet girl was 7lbs 3oz at birth.  She struck me as being so very tiny - her big brother was 9lbs 2oz so she was almost 2lbs smaller.  Much nicer for mommy I must say!  In looking back at pics it occurs to me that she was a very skinny, long baby.  Almost scrawny!  Her head was teeny but perfectly round, her fingers and toes long and thin.  She was dependent on us for everything and slept a lot!

As of this week she turned 9 months old.  She's now 20lbs 10oz!  Holy smokes!  She can sit like a pro, eat everything we eat (except salad!) and shows a huge preference for mommy!  Mommy sometimes has to go and hide so she can get a little break! LOL  She isn't yet crawling but just this week started to lunge at things she wants, resulting in a couple of head bumps and she launches her body in a certain direction.     She has now decided that she does not like the water running in the tub...it's a pretty scary sound, as is the vacuum!  She loves the doggies especially when Cooper is playing with a squeaky toy.  She smiles from ear to ear when happy and giggles like a little freakshow when you tickle her.  She amazes us with her cuteness daily and runs us ragged but we love it!  She has her big brother wrapped so tightly around those long little fingers and he will do almost anything for her (except diaper duty!)

Happy 9 months Princess!  Now off to plan the first birthday party!

Excitement in Da Hood

Last week my Dear Hubbs and I decided to jump in the pool to cool off after a stiflingly hot day.  Never mind the fact that the pool was several degrees colder than I like and the sun had gone down - yikes!  Anyway, it was refreshing to say the least but once you got moving it was fine.

As I went to dive in, we heard a loud 'crack'.  My first thought was that a large branch had cracked nearby. We were trying to figure it out but all was quiet.  A few minutes later, while my kiddo bounced on his very creaky, squeaky trampoline, we heard it again, and then again, and several more times.  We were not quiet in our yard and we live in the 'burbs, where, if it weren't for the hedges and trees we could see into at least four neighbours' yards.

My Kiddo decided to go inside - he kept saying he thought it was a bb gun and it was fairly close.  I thought he was being overly cautious and it was probably something benign.  Yes I apparently live in the Land of Naivete.  While the Hubbs and I were in the shallow end of our pool which is closest to the house, we heard the sound again.  Suddenly we both felt/heard something whiz past our heads, hit our deck and hit an empty beer bottle we had in a small bucket.  We both looked at the deck dumbstruck.  He shouted something 9I cannot honestly remember what it was) and I shouted "Was that a bb gun?"  We heard a delayed response asking "Did we hit something?"  I shouted back "You almost hit me in the head, and then hit a bottle on our deck.  Is that a bb gun?"  (Keep in mind that we cannot see the yard or person who did this - we are lucky to have some great tree/shrub coverage)  He shouted back "sorry, it's an air rifle, we'll stop, sorry about that."

I found the pellet in the bucket - it was small, lead and pointed on one end.  It is powerful enough to rip through a pop can - I know this because we have shot at pop cans at my Auntie's house a few times.  The difference is that she lives in the country, with a farmer's field on the other side of the pop can with no houses in sight at all.  When we shoot all people must stand clear and no one walks into the range of the gun if it's in someone's hands...you know safety.

Dear hubby and I were incredulous as we stared at the corner of the yard where the shot had come from, the same exact spot where Kiddo had been trampolining only moments before.  A moment later as we got out of the pool still in shock, the voice shouted again, "Sorry about that."  We could only reply "Okay," as we dried off and went into the house, our fun ruined for the night.  We debated calling the police however they had apologized twice and had stopped using the rifle.

Once inside I seethed with anger - what if they'd hit us in the head, what if they'd hit Kiddo when he'd been on the trampoline, what if Little Miss had been outside with us...I was livid.  In retrospect we should have just called the cops, but at the time we just kept thinking 'it's never happened before, they apologized and they stopped'.  Yes we are naive and too damn nice.

The next day I called the police at the urging of my Facebook peeps just to ask about the legality of an air rifle in the city.  After consulting the Firearms dept (so official!) the cop assured me that it was illegal and if they did it again to contact them.

That afternoon, I was returning from a quick trip to the store and no sooner did I close the trunk of my car than I heard the same 'crack' sound.  Insert much profanity here.  I listened and heard it one more time.  I got Little Miss in the house and called the police.  They came to see me after they went to the house.  It was two boys 18 and 21 who were home alone...yes, adults, but their parents were at work and they acted like children.

They apologized and the cop told them he would not take the rifle, but if they did it again he'd charge them and confiscate the weapon.  20 min later they were at it again.  I heard it four times then called the cops again, shaking with anger and honestly, fear - people who are that stupid may try to get back at me. I locked all of the doors and kept the doggies close.  The cop came back and informed me that they were not actually using the gun - they had been BBQing and there is no lid on their BBQ - every time they closed it it made almost the same sound as the gun.  I was skeptical, but the cop told me there was BBQ food all around, the BBQ was hot and the gun was in the exact same spot he'd left it

Yes folks...I had been afraid of a barbeque.  In my defense, I was on edge from the last two incidents so cut me a break.

Mmmm Dog Hair

My doggies are pretty friendly and overall they are only interested in Little Miss if she smells like food.  Then they want to lick her little fingers or toes.  I will often sit with Little Miss to play on the floor and the dogs will come over and lay beside us, making me feel very popular for once in my life.  Four living, breathing beings in my house and we are all in a 3x3 square on the living room floor.

Today while Little Miss played I happened to look at her hand and saw a giant fistful of dog fur.  I took it out of her hand and she continued to play.  I laughed when I noticed what she was doing.  While focusing her attention on her toys, she would reach to the side where Charly was laying and grab a fistful of fur and pull.  It didn't bother Charly at all - she didn't even look up, but each time Little Miss got more and more fur.  It was much more effective than the furminator brush we paid $30 for!  I had to put an end to all the fun however when Little Miss then decided that the fur might taste good...yuck!

I'm sure she'll get her fair share of dog fur in her mouth but it *might* make me a bad mommy to stand by and watch it happen!

Push My Buttons

How in the name of sweet talullah did my teenaged son learn to so effectively push my buttons that I found myself in the doorway of his room willing myself with every fibre of my being not to throw the bottle of contact lens solution in my hand at his head.  Seriously and truly, I saw myself hurl it at him, I saw the bottle make contact with his snarky mouth, and I saw that it felt so good.  So good that I had to walk away, calmly and slowly to my room before I did something that I may or may not regret but could surely get me arrested.

Add to this the fact that his aunt is taking him to NYC tomorrow and I have already threatened to take away the trip.  Of course I can't - the tickets are paid for are everything is set so unless I want to ruin everyone's weekend, I will not remove that.  I took his phone away and sent him to his room to study for his exam for the night.  I am not satisfied with that however I have decided to drop it for tonight, because my desire to throw something at him is so strong that I just might.  Sigh.

Recent Reads

Awhile ago when the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer came out I heard so much hype about it.  There were online fan sites, articles and of course tv show segments.  You *have* to read this book people were saying.  Not long after, the movies began to come out and the hysteria intensified.  The actors graced the cover of every tabloid magazine.  People waited for them for autographs or perhaps just to be able to say they saw them in person.  I knew nothing about it.  I turned the channel if the subject came up.  I walked away if the magazine that I intended to buy had Twilight on the cover.  I just didn't care.

I will let you in on a little secret...I hate 'going with the flow'.  I hate reading a book that 'everyone' else is raving about.  I hate going to the movie that is supposed to be the most amazing ever.  Sometimes I still go, but I hate being like everyone else!  I find that I usually get disappointed - if all of the critics are in love with a movie then I will likely not like it, or at least feel like I had higher expectations.

That said, I recently read a book that my sister loaned me which I would not ordinarily have picked up or given a second glance.  It was called The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed reading it.  It was bizarre and surreal, yet it gripped me and I found myself awake at 1:30am reading 'just one more page'.  They are now making it into a movie.  I told my sister how much the book surprised me and how much I enjoyed it.  She then told me that if I liked The Hunger Games, I would probably like Twilight.  Gasp.  No.  How could that be possible.  I was determined to dislike Twilight without ever having picked it up.  Unfortunately, that meant that I had to allow myself to dip my toe into the Twilight saga to see for myself.

I have currently finished the first book, Twilight and have just started the second, New Moon.  After finishing the first book I can honestly say "Meh".  I didn't hate it but it wasn't as good as I'd expected given all of the hype.  I have been told by Twihards that the books get better as you go and the last one is the best.  I find it odd that you need to keep reading to get to the best one but I guess I will in order to see what it's all about!

Enough Already!

Clearly the gods heard my complaint observation yesterday about the fact that I have the only child in the world who is not crawling yet.  That is the only explanation for the way my night unfolded.

My dear Hubby had to run off after work to do some work on our rental home, so I was on my own with Little Miss and Kiddo.  No biggie.  I can put on my big girl panties and get through the evening all by myself.

I had to make two meals because I am trying not to eat a lot of white flour or sugar and Kiddo wanted pasta.  I put on a pot of pasta for him with some sauce and some veggies and fish for myself.  I was entertaining Little Miss who decided she'd had enough and wanted to be carried everywhere.  Rather than put in the ear plugs listen to incessant whining, I picked her up and walked over to the counter.  I had been cutting a cucumber and thought I'd see if she liked it.  No sooner did I reach for it when her right hand shot out at the speed of light to grab the bottle of olive oil on the counter and catapult it to the floor.  It was like it was in slow motion, and before it even left the counter I knew that the meeting of a one litre glass bottle (full I might add) and my ceramic floor would not be pretty.  Unless you are into abstract art, it was not.

This was the quick shot I took before the tears started...Little Miss's not mine, but mine were close.  I began to laugh, because I had no clue how to clean up the mixture of oil and glass with a baby in my arms.  The pasta began to overflow and the oven was beeping, baby was crying and my dogs chose that moment to try to get close to the action.

My Kiddo let the dogs outside to dig holes unsupervised in our new grass.  I handed Little Miss to Kiddo and she began to scream like I was handing her over to Ted Bundy.  He offered to go and give her her bottle which was a huge help.  I stood watching the oil spill get larger and larger, and only when it began to seep between the wood in the cupboards and floor did I spring to action.  I grabbed paper towels and tried to sop up the mess.  I picked up the larger shards, but what you can't see are the hundred of tiny shards of glass that found their way to my neighbour's backyard.  Seriously there was glass everywhere.  There was oil dripping down my dishwasher, oven and fridge and every lower cabinet in the kitchen.  I ran out of paper towels and ran to get more.  In the process I stepped in the oil with my flip flop (which I had quickly put on to clean up) which meant that every single step I took was like skating on ice.  I had to hold both arms straight out to maintain balance and move very slowly.

I could hear Little Miss beginning to cry again - she'd finished her bottle in record time and was screaming.  Kiddo came down and didn't know what to do so I took her.  He went to eat his pasta while my dinner continued to overcook.  Kiddo then outside to check on the dogs and I took Little Miss upstairs.  She was super fussy so I tried to put her down for the night.  She was quiet for a few minutes, allowing me to pick up more glass and oil, but then the "COMEGETMENOWI'MNOTSTAYINGHEREANYMORE" screams started.  I tried to ignore but it broke my heart and I truly had no energy to even try to think about how to get all of the oily glass off the floor.

I sat and played with Little Miss for a bit and tried to call my hubby to come and rescue me.  I'm a strong, independent woman but I seriously needed help.  Even for 20 minutes.  Just to be there to hold the baby in one hand and a shot of tequila in the other.

I was finally able to settle her down enough to sit in her highchair while I worked on the floor.  I tried a wet cloth - just got glass all tangled in it and had to throw it out because I was too afraid to try wringing it out.  I used paper towels to get the most of it and started on the mopping.  I mopped the floor twice with hot water and Mr. Clean.  There were still however shards of glass here and there.  I grabbed the broom to sweep what I could.  Eventually I washed the floor on my hands and knees with hot water and vinegar to try to cut the grease.  After this, around 8:30pm, I finally sat down to eat my crappy, overcooked dinner and realized I had no olive oil for my spinach...crap!

Dear hubby came home, we eventually got Little Miss Fussy Pants to bed and that's when my dear hubby thought it'd be funny to tell me that at some point in the evening, the dog had vomited on the carpet.  I looked at him and told him to have fun cleaning it up.  If I'd seen that earlier I'd have thrown my hands up and cracked open the good liquor for sure.

As of late last night, my hubby had stepped on a piece of glass.  I vacuumed the kitchen today and found several more pieces of glass.  This afternoon I found glass in my dining room and olive oil dripped down the door of my front hall closet.

I get it.  Message received loud and clear.  I am sooo happy my little girl is not yet mobile.

Am I The Only One...

Whose baby isn't crawling, walking or climbing stairs at 9 months?  I am part of an online group of mamas of babies born in Sept/Oct 2010.  Some came a bit early so I'd say the oldest baby is 10 months with the youngest being about 7 1/2 months.  I'm exaggerating a teeny bit but seriously - every baby is moving and shaking!

The most Little Miss moves around is to lean forward to reach a toy, or fall backwards and bang her head.  that's it.  Now don't get me wrong - I am really okay with waiting for that mobility, especially because it means that I will get more cardio in trying to chase her, track her and keep her safe!  Right now she is a bit like a Chia pet - I put her somewhere and she is still there a few minutes later.  Although she still has way less hair than a Chia pet!

When my Kiddo was a baby, I can remember telling my mom that it seemed like he was never going to crawl.  Ever.  Of course this was way back in the olden days before we had a computer and I had never even heard of the internet (weird eh?) but the one parenting book I had indicated that he ought to have been starting to crawl.  My mother would tell me, "Be careful what you wish for, once they start moving they don't stop!"

Sure enough, it took him until about 10 months to scoot around on his bum using his feet and one hand, and until over 11 months to fully crawl.  He then promptly walked a week or so later.  I know she'll likely crawl eventually, or just go straight to walking.

Crawling is no longer even used as a milestone for babies because it is considered unnecessary.  Tell that to Little Miss when she's 18 years old and needs to crawl home from a party. It comes in *pretty* handy.

For now I will just keep plopping her down and enjoying her immobility.  Soon enough it'll be a gated community in my house!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all of the wonderful daddies out there!  We stopped at the Farmer's Market today to see my daddy!  I was the first daughter to arrive so I get the 'best daughter' prize! :)

My dear Hubby got this from our little princess (I helped a bit)

It's not a fabulous picture (the glass in the frame is reflecting a lot)  but you get the point!  I love it so much I'm going to make one for myself with her name letters for my office when I (gasp) have to go back to work!

Last night we had my two step sons and their girlfriends over as well as my father and mother in law for a BBQ. All went well, the kids swam in the pool and jumped on the trampoline and the elders chatted.  A fabulous steak and chicken BBQ was enjoyed by all and the only casualty of the night was the stupid mini cake desserts which melted into small puddles of mousse mush...they still got eaten so it wasn't a total loss but I was not happy!!


Hope all of your dad's, baby daddies, brothers, uncles and other men in your life have a wonderful day today!  And tell them to take it easy - not lawn cutting or house maintenance...it can wait until tomorrow!
Cheers!

Serial Killer Invitation

Last weekend we spent time at my Auntie J's cottage with some of the ladies in our family which I wrote about here.  I neglected however, to let you know about the excitement upon driving home.

I was the chauffeur for both my sister and my Auntie B.  When we left I think I can speak for all of us when I say we were bleary eyed and drained from lack of sleep.  We needed to stop at the end of the cottage road to throw out a broken chair (poor Auntie B!) so my Auntie J told us where to go to find the garbage bin.  It was very easy to find and we pulled over so Auntie B could jump out to toss the chair.  We continued along the way and about 10 minutes later as we drove along the hilly, country roads my sister asks "I wonder where the garbage bin is."  Ummm okay.  We told her that we had stopped already.  She didn't believe us.  She had absolutely no recollection whatsoever...none...nada...zip.  There has never been a time when I was so happy I was driving! LOL

When we arrived back in our city I went straight to drop of my sister who lives downtown.  We helped her carry her stuff inside and went back to the car.  Just as I was getting ready to get in I saw something that chilled my blood.  Literally.  It scared the living daylights out of me.

There was a large pile of garbage at the road which looked like the remnants of someone either moving in or moving out.  This is what I saw.

See, your eyes go first to the pile of crap don't they.  But keep looking.  And remember (well you can't remember cause I didn't tell you but anyways) that my sister lives in a very nice house in an 'up and coming' area.  Her home has been totally renovated and is beautiful but there are still many that haven't been and the area still isn't the best.   I stood there taking in the scene above, not sure what to do.  I didn't want to get closer - it was too scary.  My Auntie B was sitting in the car and I opened the door, not taking my eyes off the giant knife and told her to 'look over there'.  She did and her eyeballs got as big as saucers.  We were nervously giggling, not wanting to just drive away but not sure what to do.

It was like an invitation to any bad people to come and get the giant knife and start hacking people up.  I went to the house and got my sister and told her to come and see something...she followed me and I could tell the instant that she saw the knife.  Her footsteps stopped.

We stood there staring at it as though it would grow little legs and push itself from the post and walk away.  We decided there was safety in numbers so together we slowly approached.

Holy bajeepers that is one big knife!  There was something odd about it though.  It seemed a bit too shiny.  We crept closer, looking like complete and total idiots.  Suddenly I started to laugh, the realization of what it was dawning over me.  Yep - it was a Halloween knife.  In June.  In a post.

It was completely plastic and once we both saw this we couldn't stop laughing.  I looked around to see a neighbour watching us and figured out that we were probably her morning entertainment.  Oh boy.  Time to dial the crazy down just a notch and get on with the day.

Rice Is Nice

I am having an issue with rice.  No it's not a stomach issue.  It's not an allergy issue.  It's not even a dislike issue - I like rice.  Unfortunately, rice likes my floor.

The last five times I have cooked rice I have spilled some on the floor.  Yes - every single time.  I have gotten super careful, on rice patrol you might say to be sure I don't spill and yet, it's like it jumps out of the pot or the dish screaming "Save yourselves, save yourselves!!!" as it plummets to the great big doggie dish that is my floor.

The first time it happened was a couple of months ago.  I had a bit of leftover Spanish rice that hadn't gotten eaten and I was throwing it out.  I mistakenly thought it'd stay in a clump in the bowl as I poured into the garbage, but it all came tumbling out like crazy.  Some of it, maybe 5 pieces hit the garbage, while the rest jumped clear of the white plastic bin.  Cooper instantly ran over to help me with clean-up patrol.  I cleaned the rest (or so I thought).

For the next several days I would find Cooper at odd times almost laying on the floor with his head sideways jammed up near the garbage can.  I thought he was just licking it (which is gross anyways) but soon realized that there were small bits of rice that had gotten caught in the open/close mechanism, so every time we stepped on the lever to open it, a few rice pieces fell to the floor like a free gumball machine for doggies.  I took it all apart and laughed at how much rice was trapped there.  Cooper would have snacked for weeks if I hadn't cleaned it!

The second time, it was when I was stirring up the cooked rice in the pot.  Apparently my bicep is much stronger than I realized because as the spoon circled the pot, the rice went flying out.  Of course Charly and Cooper jumped in to help...such helpful doggies!

This has been repeated several times.  Yesterday, I was pouring some cold rice into a bowl and clearly forgot the first episode because once again the rice went every which way but in the bowl.  Sigh.  At least rice is not bad for dogs!  Cooper was like a little hound as he circled the kitchen with his nose to the ground, his tongue popping out every few steps to get a piece of rice.  Someday I will learn to be more careful...until then my doggies get an unexpected treat now and then!

Rainy Day Fun

Today was a rainy overcast day but I didn't care because I was off to meet my good friend Mimi for lunch. It was a bit of a trek for us (about an hour) to get to the restaurant so I tried very hard to keep little Miss up so she could nap in the car.  She became crazy sleep-starved mutant baby for awhile and I ran from one room to the next trying to get ready.  At one point I ran through the house in my underwear so I could get dressed where she was playing in her room because she has hit that point where you must be in sight at all times.  I debated packing her into the car and driving circles around my neighbourhood just to get her to sleep sooner to stop the persistent 'whiiiiiine' but we made it and ended up leaving late as usual.

She slept the whole way and upon arriving (apparently I drove fast because we were early) I got a text from my friend that there'd been an accident so she'd be late (she wasn't in it, but had to give a statement).  I took the opportunity to wander through the nearby park...luckily the rain was holding off  so we stayed dry (at least at that point).

I will apologize for the quality of the shots - I forgot to bring my camera but couldn't miss taking a few pics.  If it'd been drier outside I would have had Little Miss on the grass, but it was far too wet.

This is beside the river/stream - the water was quite loud here and Little Miss loved it.  

I had a hard time getting her to turn away from the mesmerizing water.  "Come on mom, leave me alone!"

Sitting on some giant boulders near the perimeter of the park.

Right before the long, loud whiiine to indicate that she'd had just about enough of this!

We decided to go for a walk around the town while waiting for Mimi.  It was very quaint and beautiful and made me wonder why I don't go there more often.  About 10 minutes into our walk, I realized we'd lost Princess Sophia.  OMG  She's no longer the favourite toy in our house but she still holds a pretty high significance, and Little Miss loves her so much.  We had to find her.  The nice thing with being in a small town it that I knew we might have a chance of finding her.  In a big city, if you drop a dolly people either take it, throw it out, kick it into the street or set it on fire.  I was so hoping we would not come upon a flaming Sophia, melting into a pool of ash and baby drool.  We walked almost all the way back when I spotted a lump across an intersection about a block away.  I walked faster hoping that the wind didn't push Princess Sophia two inches into the street to be flattened by the next set of Goodyears.  As we reached the intersection we had to wait to cross.  I kept my eye on Princess Sophia who had a man standing near her waiting to cross towards me.  Suddenly, he looked down and noticed Princess Sophia. 'Leave it there, leave it there' I kept thinking.  He bent down.  Noooooo!  He picked up Princess Sophia and held her by her clip, allowing her to swing in the wind while he stared at her as if perplexed as to what to do with her.

I had to shout that it was our dolly across the intersection.  I felt like a complete idiot, but was worried that he'd simply walk away with it.  "We dropped it" I shouted.  He looked up and held out Princess Sophia with a smile.  Then he tucked her under his arm and pretended to run away.  Alrighty then.  He carried her across to Little Miss and handed her back.  Little Miss didn't even realize Princess Sophia was missing, but I was so happy to see her again, a bit dusty but good as new.

(Wow if you are still reading I am shocked...who would have thought someone could write so much about a dolly?)

Lunch was interesting.  The power went off in the restaurant, we sat over an hour waiting for the lights and they brought us each a salad to 'tide us over'.  We ate our salad and both of us were still starving, so we asked if they had any other food.  the server said they could not cook anything.  Mimi asked "Do you have any veggies or cheese?"  It's a weird request but we would have eaten chopsticks by that point.  They were able to bring us a nice fruit and cheese plate which we devoured.  By then Little Miss had eaten all of her food, some puffs, some pieces of cracker and bread, some pieces of grape, and was working on my credit card and lip balm.  She was very overdue for a nap and we packed up to leave.  of course the torrential rain that had started greeted me at the door and I was glad I hadn't worn the white t-shirt I had picked out, otherwise the good small town folks would be getting lunch and a show.  Good times people, good times.

80's Anyone?

We had my dear hubby's work group over tonight for a BBQ and swim.  Weather cooperated for the early part of the day but we took shelter in the house through dinner due to the rain.  Hubby's colleague brought her kids who made good use of our pool and trampoline -  also forcing the adults to each take a turn on the trampoline...yikes!

Through the afternoon I plugged in my iPod only realizing too late that my "party mix" had been deleted and all I was left with was an 80's mix.  Bring on Wild Wild West, Jesse's Girl, Dancing With Myself, She Bop, Freeze Frame and Kids In America to name a few.  I apologized for the song selection only to be told that 80's music rocks and it was the best music ever!  Wow!  I mean I know that but it's nice to feel validated! LOL

Off to bed I go, with at least 40 more beer than we purchased in our fridge and several extra bottles of wine...guess we need to have a party!

Going Somewhere?

The other day I was getting the stroller out of the back of the car to take Little Miss and my doggies for a walk.  I have a system...get the stroller set up, get Little Miss in it, let the doggies into the garage, put their leashes on them, tie the leashes together (easier to control with the stroller) and off we go.

When my Dear Hubby opened the door to see if I needed help, Cooper got a little excited.

Yep - he's somehow managed to find the one space left in the back of the car.  He could not turn around and had a hard time getting out...I had to pull the stroller out for him to get out.

Believe it or not, this same dog will not jump over a laundry basket to get past it - if it blocks a doorway he's stuck there until we rescue him, and yet he can leap with precision into a tiny little space like this.  I guess it's all a matter of motivation!

Laughing Gas

My kiddo had a very early dentist appointment today...very early.  He was nervous because he needed to get his second filling.  The first was at the age of 7 when he had a cavity behind his front teeth.  It was basically a hole and the dentist thought it might have been related to some fevers he'd had when his teeth would have been growing.  At the time, the dentist wanted to use laughing gas since that is a painful spot to get needles.  My kiddo didn't like the idea but agreed to it and they started.....but, seconds into it my kiddo started having chest pains - it looked very much like an anxiety attack to me, but to be safe the dentist would not proceed with the gas.  My brave boy got his needle and all was fine.  He told me later that he thought he might die if they gave him gas.  I felt so bad for him that he thought we were putting him to sleep.  Eeeps!  I'd have chest pains too!

He's had relatively good teeth, but now, years later he needed another filling.  The dentist again wanted to use the gas, and this time my kiddo agreed...for real.  That said, I told him he didn't need to do it but he said he'd try it.  We arrived early but he didn't want to go in...so we waited in the car.  Finally he made his way in, and I took Little Miss to go wait in the waiting room.

30 Minutes later he appeared in the doorway.  He sort of danced back and forth and would not come and sit down.  I went to pay and he took Little Miss.  I asked "Should you be holding her?" not actually knowing the aftereffects of laughing gas.  He chirped - "I'm fine"

We left the office and here is a recap of our drive home...

Me: "How'd it go?"
Kiddo: "Grrreat!"
Me: laughing
Kiddo: "What?  Why are you looking at me like that?"
Me: "No reason...so it went alright?"
Kiddo: "I looove the gas...It's so great."
Me: laughing again "Okaaay."
Kiddo: "I'm not drunk...or high or anything...really!"
Me: "Okay, did you feel anything?"
Kiddo: "I was floating, like my body, and my arms and legs got so tingly"

While he speaks it sounds like he's drunkenly laughing.

Kiddo: "I didn't know I could talk but I could, and I could move.  I moved my arm and then was like shocked that I could move and I thought 'Whoa'"

All the while I was trying so hard not to laugh.

Kiddo: "And then the dentist asked me if I was okay, but I didn't answer him because I didn't know if I could talk and I didn't want to sound like an idiot.  Then he asked again and I said 'yes' and I was like 'whoa' cause I could actually talk."
Me: "That sounds pretty weird."
Kiddo: "Ya, and I didn't know I could open my eyes but I could, and I might have fallen asleep but I don't know, and I think the dentist left the room because he didn't talk for a long time but then he talked and I went 'whoa' that he was still there.  My spit is numby, uh I mean my spit is numbing my throat, I mean my tongue is numbing my throat."

By this time he's laughing at himself and still completely enamoured at the laughing gas.

Me: "Don't do drugs."
Kiddo: "Of course I'm not going to do drugs, but I will get that laughing gas every appointment from now on...man that was cool!"

Uh oh.

An Award For Me?!?

I consider myself a fairly new blogger so there is a lot to learn and I wasn't really sure it was something I was cut out for.  You see, my sister is the creative writer.  She is the one that won a school award for her speech about...me, her sister.  Yes, I was the butt of her jokes in front of the entire school, but I digress...we'll save that for another post.


Blogging was something that I used to think was for narcissistic crazy people but here I am, so that means one of two things and between you and me I'm hoping I was wrong!  As I've travelled my bloggy journey, I have realized that I very much enjoy it and I just might have something to say.  I have started to find some other blogger moms and women who write about what interests them whether it's child bearing, child rearing, how to get the pimento out of the olive in one piece, or how much crazy glue it takes to stick a car door shut...whatever their interest area or talent is!   One of these fellow mom bloggers over at The Real Housewife of Oxford County gave me an award!  Woo hoo!  I'm legit!

I am so excited...thank you!  So with this award, I am to tell you seven things about myself that you may not already know and then present this award to seven other bloggers who I feel deserve it and keep me entertained!




So, here are seven things about Moi!


1. I was given my name out of the classified section of the newspaper.  Yep, my parents had three possible names for my sister, but when my mom was being discharged from the hospital with me, I still had no name and the nurses *made* her name me.  She grabbed the newspaper and found a name in the Births section and that's my namesake.  Kinda makes you all warm and mushy inside eh?


2. I love to sing and would love to take singing lessons someday!


3. In high school I wore jeans so tight I had to lay on the floor with a coat hanger to pull up the zipper...sometimes the coat hanger just broke.


4. When my kiddo was born we had five generations on both my mom's and my dad's side of the family - we got pics of each side.


5. I can drive a tractor and can reverse with a trailer on the back without jackknifing.


6. I truly believe that someday I will win the lottery.


7. The first time I drank alcohol it was one warm beer shared by three of us using straws, because that was supposed to get you drunk faster.  It didn't work and it did not taste good.


Bet you needed to know all of that stuff...




Now to send out the love to seven more bloggers!  I choose these ladies because they are funny, genuine, entertaining and willing to share parts of their lives with their readers!


My Kids Eat Off The Floor
The Meanest Mom
The Faircloth's & A Page's Crazy Life
Little Looman Log
This Is What 30 Looks Like
Adventures In Mommyland
I've Got Everything Out Of Control

Ring That Bell Of Hope!

On Friday my dear hubby, Little Miss and I had the honour of heading to the hospital to watch while my father in law rang the bell signifying that he has completed a long, grueling course of chemotherapy.  He began his chemo in the fall of 2010 as part of his treatment for prostate cancer.  After 10 treatments he is finally finished and we wanted to show some support and let him know how proud we are of him.  We waited for his last treatment to finish while Little Miss charmed everyone she encountered with her big toothy grin and drooly chin, and then when he was finished, we watched while he walked over to the bell and rang it.  It signifies the end of a long course of treatment and we could hear clapping and "woo hoo"ing throughout the chemotherapy wing.

This is the poem that hangs behind the bell. 

I have copied it below if you would like to read it.

RING THAT BELL OF HOPE

She didn’t want to tell us, for two months she had known it was back.
She was two months alone & frightened, afraid of how we would react.
How would she tell her sisters, dear God … the one who had eight years earlier survived it with her?
The breast cancer had returned, the pathologist report confirmed it for sure.
She finally gave the doctor. permission to tell me what was going on.
I could not get to her fast enough, why had she waited so long?
I walked in the door, she started crying, we hugged and I held her so tight
She cried, “It’s highly suspicious of invasive”. I said, “Don’t worry, it will be alright.”
The surgeon we met that afternoon was wonderful; he made us feel so much better.
He explained everything he was going to do, each procedure to the letter.
He spent two hours with us, knowing my sister was frightened and scared.
With his words of comfort, his compassion, we left his office feeling well prepared.
Surgery to remove lymph nodes was scheduled and then he would take it from there.
But definitely chemo and radiation were necessary as part of her follow-up care.
She would have to have a bone scan, chest X-Ray and stomach ultra-sound.
Because this was a recurrence she would have every test this time round.
And thus began the appointments, tests, blood work, chemo and radiation.
This was the path her life would take; the next eight months would test her determination.
We learned all about “AC” and “T” drugs and the side effects to expect from each one.
November 24th, was the first chemo appointment; the treatments had begun.
By the end of the third week she was upset, all her beautiful hair was gone,
but she had already purchased a wig and looked fabulous when she put it on.
She had matched it to her natural hair style, the colour was exactly right …
but she hated the wig; it was itchy, she was glad to remove it at night!
One thing she discovered that we both had not been told.
She would wake up during the night because her bald head was so cold.
When all her eyelashes were gone she noticed something she had not thought about.
More dust particles got in her eyes because there was nothing to keep them out.
Adriamycin, the “Red Devil” was the chemo drug that scared her the most.
She was so happy and relieved when on January 26th she had her final dose.
Taxol was not as frightening, the side effects were not nearly as bad.
Bone pain and just plain exhaustion were welcome compared to what she had had.
We heard the bell, for the first time during chemo session number three.
We looked at each other puzzled, what was this, what could it be?
When everyone started to clap, we knew what this ritual was for.
This person had survived the treatments and did not need chemo anymore.
The bell reminded me of “It’s a Wonderful life”, when the angel gets his wings.
Each one of these patients had a “Clarence” to help them cope with everything.
A round of applause is fitting after the ringing of the “Victory” bell.
These people have survived chemotherapy; they have fought the fight from hell.
Dedicated to my sister Judy and everyone affected by cancer.
Please, never lose hope!!
With all my love and admiration,
Beth Staton
(Cancer Survivor)

Two Years And Counting!

Two years ago yesterday I finally married my best friend in the whole wide world.  We've been together forever but had only decided to make it legal after living together for 8 years!  We had the most AMAZING backyard wedding I could have asked for and the weather was incredible, especially considering there wasn't a dry Saturday before or after that day.  We shared it with some amazing family and friends and danced for hours on end! 

In honour of the most incredible day, and being able to marry my soul mate, I thought it would be fun to post a few pics of my super fun day!

My super cool homemade bouquet courtesy of my sister!  I had ordered a bouquet and when I picked it up it was a giant ball of flowers...like massive...like the big ball that they have for Dick Clarks Rocking New Year's Eve - there must have been 60 or more flowers in there. 

It was not anything like the pic I'd left with them which had maybe 15 flowers, however after some stress and multiple frantic trips to various flower stores my sister made me this, which coincidentally is almost exactly like the bouquet I wanted!

No he didn't wear this hat for the ceremony, but promptly put it on afterwards...meh, who cares!  It said Groom on the front!  It also left a huge red line across his forehead.  Nice.

The kick ass wedding cake my sister in law made.  She used to have her own business and she made exactly what I wanted.  It was one layer of spice cake with cream cheese frosting and 2 layers of white cake with a citrus frosting.   MMMMMMM

My Kiddo walked me down the aisle...so touching and it was so hard not to cry!

Bubbles

  

Me and my Grammy

Me and my guy

Happy Anniversary Honey!  Here's to at least 2 more years...hee hee

Girls Night Recap

I spent Saturday night with the ladies - my mom, 5 of my aunties, my sister, four cousins and one brave cousin in law!  I say brave because the 'reply all' emails that were flying around would have been enough to scare off a grown man...well, they did scare off grown men, but that's another story!  But she was brave and joined us to be officially initiated!

We all met up at my Auntie J's cottage, about an hour away from where most of us live.  It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and upon arriving we found all of the aunties up on the balcony, and all of the younguns on the lawn.  Apparently there was a hierarchy...or the younguns were just to smart to stand on the balcony for fear falling off of it!

Although I was strictly warned that "What happens at the lake, stays at the lake" I am going to offer a small recap of the festivities (with names removed of course...but you know who you are!!!):

- My cousin in law had an awful lot of funny penis stories from her work in the urology department (broken penises *are* possible) and she also brought a lawn game that involves swinging golf balls on strings -  ...coincidence...I think not!

- I almost killed my Auntie J when I placed a small bug on a string near her and began to move it...luckily she did not lunge towards the unstable railing or I might be feeling very badly right now!

- Did you know that you can fart silently if you pull your cheeks apart...yes that was courtesy of my cousin who apparently learned that trick from her dad and was kind enough to share.

- Margarita shaped cake pops with vodka in them may not get you drunk but they are awfully tasty!

- Air mattresses should be set up ahead of time to avoid tromping through the cottage like a herd of elephants at 2am.

- Mommies with small babies drink the most.

- My cousin steals the best air mattress when you are not paying attention...you know who you are missy!

- You need to get there early to hear the best penis stories.

- My auntie puts large pieces of furniture in the way in case intruders need to sit and rest.

- *Some people* launch logs into the campfire so it's best to stand back to avoid a wall of fire.

- Aunties and mommies who get up for the day at FOUR AM ought to be silent...or go for a walk!  Just sayin... :)

- My car is a great place to catch a tiny bit more sleep while the aforementioned aunties are chatting away inside.

- My sister somehow lost a big chunk of memory on the drive home...good thing I was driving!

- It is awfully heartwarming to catch up with so many of my female relatives...Grandma would be so pleased and proud!

All in all it was tons of fun with very little sleep.  Looking forward to next year!

Posting Frenzy

I have missed a couple of days, mainly due to being so completely busy that I fall into bed at the end of the night without the energy or desire to blog.  I am going to spend some time recapping and post in the next day or two so as not to assault you with one big, long verbal diarrhea post!  You will thank me...I'm gonna talk!

Slumber Party

Tonight I head off to my Auntie's cottage to spend the night with 12 or so of my aunties, cousins, my mom and sis.  We did it once before at my moms house and it's all a hazy blur.  They tell me that is a good thing, since if I could remember everything it would surely scar me for life.  Like hearing about my Auntie say the word 'pecker' over and over, and learning their drinking games from the 70's...on second thought it's probably going to be a very fun, laughter filled night!

The last time we watched a scary movie (and for the life of me I can't remember what it was!), and halfway through the movie someone (maybe me? sneaked out of the house and around to the living room window to scare the bajeezus out of the rest of us...it worked.  I was recently reminded that bras were also hanging from the living room chandelier...I do not remember this part!

Last time was probably 10 years ago, so some of my cousins would not have had kids at the time so I am sure that everyone has matured since then.  On second thought, the most crazy of the bunch were the aunties so that probably hasn't changed much since then.

I have packed up for the night - I may need an air mattress since the beds are limited.  I have filled the back of my SUV so full that, when I pick up my Auntie B and my sista, they *may* have to hold all of their stuff on their laps...just sayin.  Or tie it to the roof might help us get elbow room.  I am not sure how one night has turned into this...I am only bringing a few snacks and a big salad...oh yeah, now I remember...my giant cooler for beer and other alcohol.  (**Sheepish grin**)  I am bringing way too many drinks, but to be honest I'm not certain what I will feel like drinking.  Variety is the spice of life they say!

Anyway...off I go to try to find the cottage by my Auntie's directions...I may or may not get there...if not I'm heading towards the sun!

Fat Doggies No More

Last year when my dog Charly went in for her yearly check up, she was shocked to find out she was overweight.  Not just overweight, but fat.  She hung her head in shame as the doctor talked about the importance of diet and exercise, especially for a dog in middle age like her.  We tried to help her with her weight loss goal but it was just so hard considering we were moving, having a baby, I got injured and we were prepping our house to rent out.

This winter Cooper was beyond shocked to find out he was fat...to be honest, so were we.  This dog is not quite two years old and like a monkey on speed most of the time.  He bounces off walls and runs circles around anyone, including inanimate objects.  But he was fat too.  He couldn't even look at the camera for the shame of it all.


We tried to be supportive and started by switching them both to low cal food.  We tried to get them more exercise, but admittedly it's tough with a long, cold winter and an infant in the house.  Since the weather has improved we have made efforts to really get them going and we hoped it was helping.  They certainly enjoy the extra walks and runs!

This week, I brought Cooper in for his weigh in...he wasn't so sure about it because the scale is right out in the open...any lady doggie could hear how overweight he is, but like a trooper, he agreed to go.  Imagine our surprise and delight when we saw that he'd lost 4 pounds!  Yes that's right - 4 pounds!  That's a huge loss for a dog!  The vet tech didn't believe me and came over to check the scale herself.

Today, I brought Charly for her annual exam, and found out that she has lost 3 lbs!  The vet was very happy as was Charly who decided to bust a move right then and there!

We still have a way to go for her - she needs to lose another 7 pounds according to the vet, but we're on our way and she is very proud of herself!

Trying Something New

I have added a new gadget/widget/thingy to the right hand side of my page to allow people to subscribe to my posts via email.  Although I used to consider myself a bit of a techy, 11 months off work will turn any brain to pea soup, so I apologize if it doesn't work...I am testing right now!

The World Almost Came To An End

At least that's what you would have thought had you been a fly on my wall last night.  My little sweetie has been battling a cold, and last night, the demon came out...literally.  It started around 3pm when she awoke from her nap.  My normally happy go lucky daughter was whiny...not just whiny but WHIIIIIINEEEEEEEEYYYY!  As long as I held her it wasn't too bad so there went our steak dinner.  I was NOT going to BBQ with a 20lb baby on my hip.

As the afternoon wore on, I started to resent the fact that my dear hubby was at a work function.  Not that he was not at home, but rather that I didn't have a work function so I could escape the madness.  She was having a hard time drinking her bottle because every time she'd take a sip her nose would plug up - I did really feel bad for her...honest!  I did my best to ply her full of juicy food that would make up for the fact that she couldn't drink - she got sweet potatoes, plums, butternut squash and a special "I'm sorry your sick" treat, butterscotch pudding (which she loved!)

The whininess (is that even a word?!?) peaked at around 4:30pm, at which point I attempted to put her down for another short nap...hey you can't blame a girl for trying!

She made it clear that nobody puts baby in a corner, or a crib, so I rescued her.  At around 5:30pm I was somewhat desperate and began my next trick...bathtime!  She liked her bath and it kept the whining to a dull roar, but I think once babies shrivel up to half their size, you probably should take them out of the water, so I reluctantly did.  At 6:45pm I could take no more - she had had some tylenol, another couple of ounces to drink and I whisked her off to bed.  She remained there for 12.5 minutes.  By this time my hubby was home and he tried to give me a break, but our sweet girl is going through the "OHMYGODIWANTMOMMYANDNOBODYELSEWILLDO" phase....so I got her back.  Again.

We tried another snack but she would melt down if I even tried to adjust her position to feed her.  We employed the next weapon in our small aresenal - a walk.  The slight breeze on a somewhat muggy evening proved to be very welcome and she was happy as a clam (by the way, who decided clams were happy anyway?) until we were on our way back home and she got bit by a mosquito.  Argh!  Poor little pumpkin - she was so miserable and that just set off the landslide.  Once home she cried, screamed, choked, and coughed until she vomited and then did it all again - she was sooo miserable.  There was nothing we could do.  We tried walking with her, rocking her, singing to her, shhhing her - I finally gave up and handed her off to Daddy who tried all of the above again.  Finally at 10pm she drank a couple of more ounces and passed out from exhaustion.

I was dazed, shellshocked.  Literally I could not move.  I thought about opening a case bottle of wine but couldn't muster the strength to use the corkscrew.  (*note to self: buy twist top wine*)  But the world did not end, and with the dawn of a new day today, my happy little turtle was back in fine form with smiles, giggles and shrieks of joy!  Thank goodness because I haven't made it to the liquor store yet!