Well fall is here (or is it winter?). The only issue I’ve had this year is that it went from +30 to snowing inside a week and it’s been cold ever since.
Lately it has been warmer but the wind is taking the joy out of any warmer weather we’ve been getting. Where our house is seems to be windier than the rest of the City. The radio was talking about the ‘pleasant breeze’ last week and I swear they were talking about a totally different place. The wind at my house required touques even though it apparently was +17 outside. We even had winter jackets and coats on top of that to break the wind. The flags near our house weren’t even rippling in the wind. They were just like cardboard. No gentle breeze here!
I just want a windless day soon. Please!
It’s so windy!!! November 8, 2009
Up at the crack of dawn September 25, 2009
I’ve been dead tired lately and realized it’s because our little peanut starts waking up around 4:30-5 am. We [read I] put her back to sleep as much as needed until at least 6:30. Even so, it’s a tough go when the little one just doesn’t want to sleep!
Add to this a no nap situation and, folks, this is a recipe for disaster. There’s been some madness going around our place lately, with early days, no/limited naps, and later bedtimes. I hope it’s just teething and a cold because much more of this will drive me to the drink!
I have had some success in bringing her to our bed to try and get some sleep. The end result has been her going back to sleep and nursing and me NOT getting much more sleep. It’s tough, cause I’m not sure what’s keeping me up but I feel like I’m burning the candle at both ends.
Somebody did tell me last week that this could also be a developmental thing as she’s learning to talk a bit. I also remember from a parenting class I took that the 18 month mark is one of those tumultuous times. While she isn’t there yet (16 months), we are fast approaching that timeframe. I was hoping that by some minor miracle we’d skip right by that. Methinks that won’t happen.
I just keep repeating “this too shall pass” over and over and it makes things a bit easier. Either that or I’m slowly going crazy by repeating things to myself….
Storage…. September 16, 2009
I just finished this really interesting article on the New York Times website: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/magazine/06self-storage-t.html . It really was interesting to learn about the storage industry. I’ve heard a bit about it in the past 20 years as there has been a real proliferation of storage units in Calgary.
I’ve even used storage for my stuff when I moved in with my husband! We had two places, both full of our stuff. We moved into his townhouse, where the massive amount of duplicates just couldn’t compete. We knew we wouldn’t be living in the townhouse forever, but couldn’t bear to part with furniture and my things (which ended up in storage). It was the first time I had ever used storage, and quite possibly will be the last. It was totally useful when we used it, as we simply had no way to store everything in the townhouse and sorting through everything we wanted and didn’t want would have taken a while.
I find it intriguing how storage across North America keeps growing and growing, though. It sounds like most things in storage are not really worth the cost of storing! It would be fascinating to see how much stuff there actually is in storage. I’m sure there’s tons of gems of items, useful everyday items that less fortunate people could use and things that just deserve to see the light of day.
Now that I’m doing my own self-editing at home, getting rid of a lot of things I don’t use, need repair or just plain don’t want, things seem ‘lighter’ at home. And no, it’s not because things literally are getting lighter for the floors at my house. 🙂 It seems good to have less stuff to worry about.
I’m now just about to go scan a bunch of things to decrease the vast amount of papers we have! Then I can recycle them, and have less ‘stuff’ in my house to clean and worry about.
This is the weirdest marketing campaign ever
This, by far, is the oddest tourism campaign I’ve EVER seen. It borders on strange, even just for a normal person to tape and then post, but this was a well thought out bit of marketing? things that just make you go ‘huh’
My collection of things August 18, 2009
I love collecting different things. Books, information, more books, music, clothes, etc. I also have a small collection of children’s toys that the little one hasn’t grown into yet. The problem with all of this ‘collection’ is that it creeps up on you and all of a sudden you have a house full of things.
I just have to let go… it’s harder than it seems. A book here, a magazine there, woah!, where did that mystery come from?
It’s a cleansing process. Just takes time if you want to sort through things and make it orderly and all that. That’s the hard part for me.
Off to go clean!
Where did everyone go? (aka becoming the stay at home mom) August 17, 2009
Upon first blush, becoming a stay at home mom seems like the most ideal thing in the world! You get to spend all day with your child, nurturing them, guiding them, teaching them everything. You also see every moment (well, almost) of their life. What is missing from the equation is that while you are at home with your child, all your other mommy friends (and frankly, every friend and former co-worker) are working every day! So that leaves friends who are on maternity leave, but for me, that means friends with a child who is a year younger than mine.
This was a rather unexpected turn of events when I became unemployed at the end of my maternity leave! We decided to give it a go with me staying at home, but I really didn’t realize that pretty much every other person I knew would be busy during the day. And given that’s when I do most things now, my social life has become rather… dull.
So, what’s a person to do? There’s only so many days of playground fun before you feel the need to have some adult conversation beyond “hi” and “how old is he/she?”. I have some playgroups I go to, but currently naptime seriously interferes with the time of the one I’ve been going to. It’s really too bad, because the one I go to is free and gets my little one interaction with other kids. I’ve only managed to go for an hour to an hour and half before we have to escape for naptime.
I’ve been looking at pay playgroups and activities. They seem expensive though! Although, ANYTHING seems expensive after free! The programs offered around the City do seem good though. A structured playtime with set activities and with kids around the same age. And there’s always the library programs, although I’ve never yet been able to snag more than a 1 day event because they book up the day the programs become available. I’m hoping the library programs are slightly more available because most parents have gone back to work.
I guess I’m going to have to suck it up and actually go to a playgroup that you pay for. It will be more structured and actually have paid activities. I have the best intentions to do this at home, but never have quite gotten around to it. Given that “Mom” is currently my job title, I maybe should think about it just to make life more predictable for the little one.
And going to playgroups should give me a new circle of friends that are available during the daytime. After all, a girl does need a friend! I guess I shouldn’t have been so naive that I would have some friends available. Thank goodness for e-mail and Facebook! It totally keeps me in touch with people no matter what their schedule. Next: book some playgroups so I can get to know other moms and the little one can play with kids her age…
Oh the horrors of teething August 8, 2009
Just when I thought we had the old teething thing figured out, whamo!
A few sleepless nights for the little one, me and my husband led us to believe that we were entering a brave new world of sleep torture. We had just come back from a week-long trip, things were starting to settle in. Then WAAAAHHHH!!! no more naps (I really mean none), crying and crying at night until we wondered what was going on. Should we darken the room more? Did we need to move her from her crib? Are our potty training attempts getting in the way of sleep? What was going on?
Then, a friend over for a playdate asked if she was getting molars. Oh. I hadn’t even thought of that. Duh! Well, getting in the little peanut’s mouth to fish around is like opening a bank vault, but I managed to finagle my way in. I just asked her to show me her tongue and I jammed my finger in. I knew she had a front tooth coming in on the bottom, so started there. No change. Then I quickly moved to the upper left quadrant. Geez, there’s something large under her gums back there! Oh, the vault is shutting and my hand was quickly pulled from her mouth by her little hands. Crap. I had to repeat this exercise a few times more throughout the day so I could figure out there’s definately molars moving in.
Hmmm…. My friend said something about first year molars, so I Googled. Ohhh. I must be an idiot. All the signs are there. Drooling – check; Pulling or digging in mouth – check; Biting and chewing – check, check; Pulling or rubbing at the jaw or ear – check; Night waking – check; Slight fever (less than 100 degrees Fahrenheit) – ooh, we are missing a symptom!; Diarrhea – two symptoms; Reluctance eating solids – check! Reluctance sucking at cups or bottles – that’s a negative too – in fact she’s been drinking like a cow in the heat.
Well, I just felt like an idiot missing something so obvious! We went and got some different homeopathic medicine for her new clingy symptoms. That totally helped a lot. Poor thing, no wonder she didn’t want to sleep the other night without somebody holding her. It’s gotta hurt and be confusing. Teething is like a long distance race. Rhere’s a long road with some serious hills. Good thing they don’t tell you about the worst part when you start the teething race.
Now, where’s that website again? I need to find out how long this new torture test will last….
Potty Training has Begun July 21, 2009
Our little peanut is only 14 months old, but we have started working towards potty training. At this age, most think it’s too early, but our little one totally wiggles around and dislikes being wet or dirty (and frankly, who can blame her?).
So, on Sunday, we started in earnest. Every time she caused a wet or dirty diaper, we made the noises we were supposed to and told her what happened. Apparently we do this for a little while and then try to also have her go on the potty after her naps or when we see if she’s about to go. Sunday went fairly well, and since I’m posting this for publication later in the week, hopefully the rest of the days did too!
The upside is that we have the cover for her cloth diaper off, so we can immediately tell when she’s dirty or wet. We have to, otherwise she will make a mess all over the floor! We aren’t brave enough to try her with no diaper at all, so this apparently is the next best thing. Now, if this is successful, we will now have to find itty bitty panties!
Meals – now not from a box July 19, 2009
We’ve been slowly eliminating pretty much most processed/prepackaged foods from our diet. Mostly because we are buying yummy organic fruit and vegetables and I’m home all the time so (mostly) have the time and inclination to cook up meals from scratch. It’s not like we don’t eat Kraft occasionally, but after you have homemade macaroni and cheese, there’s really no comparison!
The trick is to get brave and start small. Figure out how to make things that go into a lot of different dishes. I’ve figured out how to make a good roux. That translates to a lot of different things! Creamy chicken and vegetables; pasta tuna with tomatoes and cheese sauce; cheese sauce for vegetables. I haven’t gotten the gravy thing down yet. I’m pretty sure you start with a roux but every time I make it, it ends up a gloopy mess. It tastes well and good, but the thickness isn’t there and the next day it’s a solid blob. Ich!
We have learned that it takes about the same amount of time to cook a pizza from a box as it does to whip up a meal from scratch too! Who knew?
It’s now time to figure out how to cook meals and transform them into other meals. I’m tragically bad at that. I’m trying to figure it out, but can’t seem to get the hang of it. We cook a turkey dinner, for example and it’s reincarnated into…. turkey dinner again and again until slowly the meal components are eaten. No meatloaf, no sandwiches, nothing. Just the same old meal over and over again. Boring! I’ve tried, but until now, there’s been no success on this front. What do others do?
Go French Elle! July 12, 2009
Elle France has put out a “no makeup” issue. Yay!
This really speaks to the changes afoot and lashback about severe amounts of airbrushing that have been happening in magazines. I look forward to seeing what’s next.
When I was growing up, there was airbrushing, but I don’t think to the extent that there is today. I sometimes think about the images my daughter will be influenced by, and how different they are from the ones that I was. I remember being totally obsessed with Cosmo magazine and my mom hating me even buying it, even at age 16. I think I even snuck it into the house to read it. I think in the past 20+ years, things have changed slightly for Cosmo. It’s still risque (which is probably why my Mom didn’t really want me reading it!), but probably even more so because everybody is trying to outdo the next guy. You need skinnier people, prettier people, etc. People want to look up to models/celebs, but let’s face it. They are people too. You just don’t get to see that because of the editing made to their bodies. There are some famous people that they don’t even look that way. I’m sure that messes with their self-esteem even. They are airbrushed to an ideal that they can’t even achieve.
French Elle is moving in the right direction and even if it’s a publicity stunt, we get to see people sans makeup, airbrushing and the like. This is refreshing.
Imstilllearning's Blog 