Friday, August 31, 2007

Best little dancer in Canada does the butt-usy!

Kiernan has become a dancing machine. He loves! but LOVES! to dance.
We tried to get some video of him dancing and of course he wasn't as up to par as he usually is, but here is a taste of what it's like :)





Oh how I wish we lived in a city we could take part in the Baby Loves Disco best little dance in America contest - will you do a Canadian version? ;)Publish Post

Go to the PBN website for details on how to play along with this blog blast and get entered to win some Stride Rite shoes. You have until midnight PST tonight to enter.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

It sucks

I knew it would suck, but just like a lot of things in life you know are going to be hard ahead of time, doesn't mean it doesn't suck when you get there.

I've been back at work for four days, and... I'm not happy.

Yesterday was by far the worst day, mid afternoon after someone responded to something just a little too rudely for my liking (a lot of people at my work are very stressed out at the moment) I lost it and had to close my office door and sob for awhile. This overwhelming feeling that I wasn't where I was supposed to be overcame me. I miss my baby, I miss my freedom, and I just don't feel like I know how or want to do the job I'm being paid to do.

So that's the freaking out part of me. The part of me that thinks I would rather work retail part-time and be home most of the time than sticking it out in my job.

But the rational side of me knows that I just need to adjust. I had it pretty sweet before. I was home with my fabulous baby. If I needed a break his grandmother would take him and then I had a day to myself. I started Apples'n'Oranges with Vicky so all my needs to work were being fulfilled in that endeavour. I was lucky enough to know lots of other moms on mat leave at the same time, so I rarely got lonely. How could going back to work NOT feel crudy?

So I will keep on, and it will get better, and if I ever have a do-over, I won't go back to work on a monday because starting off with a full 5 days - that was stupid. And I only have one more day to go until the long weekend and the it will only be a four day week next week.

They say it gets easier - I'm looking forward to that.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Wordless Wednesday: I'm glad it wasn't winter



I'm back at work and didn't remember to post a WW. This work thing is getting in the way already ;) Fortunately I have some photos from a few weeks ago you haven't all seen. hehe

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Bad blogger

There is so much for me to blog about right now and I just haven't been doing it. I am depriving you of all my news and I am bad because how could you survive without knowing about all my little life details.

In short - and with the promise of more details to come -

I've been eating soy and dairy!!! As expected, what I enjoy more than eating actual soy or dairy, is NOT having to read the ingredients on every muffin, sandwich or chocolate bar I want to eat :) My stomach reacted to cheese, but nothing else.

Surprisingly I've had a harder time adjusting (mentally) to my diet change than not nursing.

I'm back at work. I survived day 1. I will survive day 2.

Friday, August 24, 2007

So it DOES work!

You have kids, and they help with the chores!


Next week he's mowing the lawn!

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Random stuff - wednesday edition

Kiernan is just a few weeks shy of his first birthday! I can't believe it!

Despite all the hard times, it really has flown by.

A year ago I was home on leave sitting on my living room floor scrapbooking and watching soap operas trying to kill time before having this baby. Before having discovered mommy blogs!!

Now I'm sitting in my living room with my laptop blogging and watching Kiernan motor all over the living room... chewing on sandals, trying to get my coffee, papers, laptop, telephone, and not particularly interested in the thousands of toys that are strewn across the living room not being nearly interesting enough to play with for more than 1 second ;)

Some of the things he's been doing:

- He's walking really well now and generally only holds on if he's really tired or something seems unstable
- He's crawling! ;) He can crawl from the middle of the room to the edge of a room to stand up because he still hasn't figured out standing from sitting
- he LOVES balls. It's one of his new words. He also seems to be saying dada, mae mae (mama) and maybe bye
- He will answer the question "what does a cow say?" about 1/2 the time :)
- He's eating really well!!
- He's shy with people he doesn't know really well now and freaks out if eric or I leave the room and he sees us going.
- He really likes duplo blocks
- Those baby gates sure are coming in handy now :)

Check out this slideshow of K growing.

in a funk

Despite the high I've been from the very successful first week of Apples'n'Oranges, I'm in a funk. And the only thing I can blame is the fact that as of Monday, my 13 months of not being in an office from 9-5 mon-fri are officially over.
I always knew I wouldn't want to stay home full time and not work at all... I need other things and figured that out pretty quickly from being home. But, I also really enjoy not being tied down to a steadfast schedule. I like being able to go to the park mid-day, mid-week with Kman. I'm going to miss hanging out with him.
I'm sure I will get used to it. I'm sure I'm making it out to be worse than it will be. But I'm grumpy!
I think Eric, Kiernan and I are going to try to do some fun stuff tomorrow and this weekend - take my mind off my grumpiness.
Or you can buy stuff from Apples'n'Oranges - that always makes me happy ;)

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Monday, August 20, 2007

Ball! Ball? Ball! Ball... ball? *updated with video*

"Hi" has been shoved aside and been replaced by a new favourite word... and toy! He gets so excited if you even mention the word ball and looks around all over the place for where this wonderful ball might be.
At my parents' tonight he had one that had a tag so he could carry it around in one hand - he was in heaven!
Can a ball be a lovey? ;)

Saturday, August 18, 2007

8 random things

This is an 8 random thing meme that i'm taggin myself for - just cuz. I found it on My life... just pretend you're interested.

1. Some random foods I LOVE are ham and potatoes.

2. I'm afraid of walking over bridges. I can manage for the most part, but the time I tried to cross the Capilano suspension bridge when I was on a family vacation when I was 16 I froze about 8 feet out and couldn't move until my father and sister came back and escorted me back to the edge. I don't try that kind of stuff anymore! :)

3. I'm going to start blogging about losing weight. I'm hoping it will make me take it seriously.

4. I only have one week left on my maternity leave. I dread going back so I don't think about it as much as I can manage.

5. I really really want to go on a family vacation to Italy this coming spring.

6. I've always wanted to work for myself - I am beyond thrilled and not a little bit shocked that in the short time since the idea was born last April Vicky and I managed to create and build Apples'n'Oranges and launch it last week!

7. Watching Kiernan's little wobbly walk is one of the cutest things ever.

8. I think I might go to bed at 8 tonight I'm so wiped. And I need to make sure I have some energy for a final burst of activity to get ready for our preview party for Apples'n'Oranges tomorrow. We posted a contest on the blog today - go and check it out!

I'm going to tag Jenny from Snips and Snails, Jen from Sheepy the Sheep and Beyond, Vicky from Some Kind of Wondermom, Jane from Pinks and Blues Girls, Meg from Simply Nutmeg, and whoever else might like to participate. Cuz I want to be tagged in memes (it makes me feel popular :), I tag you, don't feel obligated ;)

The reasons why

Watching tv (Diego) with Vicky's nieces (6 and 9 years old) earlier this week:

Me: Which show do you prefer? Diego or Dora?

Them: DIEGO!!!

Me: Why?

9 year old: Because Dora's head is too big!!

6 year old: And Dora makes you answer the questions she should be answering herself!!




I can't wait until my kids say crazy stuff like that :) Funniest thing is my husband was just questioning why Dora's head was so much huger than all the other characters' heads to me a couple of weeks ago.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

No snap snap

Starting a new business is all consuming. I have barely had time to read blogs let alone blog. Sad sad sad. Even if it IS an awesome new business ;)

But that's not what this post is about. What it's about is this.

For the last two days, I have worn a bra that does NOT snap open so I can publicly flaunt my breasts when my baby latches and unlatches to look around at what's going on. I have worn a bra that is made to stay closed the entire time I have it on. For the first time in a year.

Times are a changing.

Monday, August 13, 2007

gnom gnom gnom

Lately I've been thinking a lot about what I'm going to eat first when I stop nursing. Here are a bunch, in no particular order, that I'm really looking forward to eating again :)

1. Mekong crispy beef and general tsao chicken. I never checked that I couldn't eat it, but it seemed too complicated to try and probably not worth the effort. But I've been craving it lately!

2. A blizzard from Dairy Queen. I'm not sure what kind yet. I may need a whole blizzard cake :)

3. Butter chicken from Mukut. Yum!

4. Fajitas from Lone Star

5. A grilled cheese sandwich

6. My husband's grandmother's lasagna

7. Vietnamese at New Mee Fung

8. Fast food NOT from Wendy's

9. Regular chocolate bars

Uh oh, K better keep nursing - I'm gonna get fatter instead of thinner!

Friday, August 10, 2007

Contest time

I've been winning like mad lately - so I have to keep entering. If you do too, I swear, you should eventually win something too ;)
Stay tuned for some photos of some of the stuff I recently won. Until then - here are some more contest tips.

Drea is giving away a toddler backpack from Four peas The backpacks looks really great, but there's tons of fun stuff on their site, including messenger bags. so fun! :)

Mums the word
has a contest for a reversible, corduroy infant car seat cover from Rockin' Kid Shop which looks super funky. And so does their bedding. I love the bedding we got for K, but I have to admit to being drawn to funkier, less animal-y stuff now.

Both of these close tonight - so hurry over.

Breast is best! Breast is best! right?

Despite last month's news that Kiernan was ready to give up the boob, I'm actually still nursing some. I gave it up completely during waking hours but was still nursing K down to sleep and if he woke up in the night. He has also started drinking the formula more and more readily, with a little sugar mixed in.

I've been struggling with what to do with the last bit of nursing. It's gotten to the point now that if he's in the least bit upset, he won't nurse. So some nights (especially lately because the ever-teething boy has struck again) he barely nurses at all. Do I push hard to maintain that small amount of nursing? Is it really a health benefit for him to get 1-3 partial feedings a day? Especially given all my food restrictions? Given the fact that he is taking formula now? And the fact that he will be 11 months on Monday?

I struggle because I really do believe breastfeeding is important. And I always thought I would nurse for a really long time. My mother nursed me until I was about 2 and my sister until she was about 15 months old - I think I just assumed I would do the same. It never occurred to me that Kiernan would take away the choice from me. And I was very lucky that I didn't have to deal with any more hardships with nursing other than a bit of engorgement and a few bouts with thrush.

A lot of the time I feel like I should just pull the plug - it's been a good ride, I've done what I can, and there's no point in continuing for what we've got left. But there's guilt there that I just can't shake. He had a mysterious fever recently and I immediately thought "oh no, he's nursing less, he's going to start getting sick all the time!"

So I turn to you few folks who read my blog and ask you to tell me what you think. Is it beneficial to nurse him even just a tiny bit for as long as I can, or is it not worth the struggle anymore?

And isn't this breastfeeding awareness week or month - what a lame time to quit ;)

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Wordless Wednesday: cottage air makes me sleepy



What does THAT mean??

I've never been a particularly patient person - I like to be in control of things, and I tend to like things to go my way or I can sulk a bit. It's not one of my best features, but at least I know it about myself, right?

So trying to get pregnant was rough on me. I hated the waiting - it made me insane. I didn't think it would work on the first try but nonetheless, every month was a horrible waiting game for two weeks. And I would create symptoms - I felt nauseated or really tired - I couldn't possibly feel like this if I wasn't pregnant! And I couldn't even wait until I was late to test - I was obsessed with the early indicating pregnancy tests. But I wasn't pregnant those first few months and those tests were starting to get awfully expensive.

I finally ordered some cheaper pregnancy tests from an online site in the states and tried to convince myself that waiting until I was late was the best policy. But I couldn't do it - obsession overcame and I tested again before I was due, and even before my pregnancy tests from the states arrived. It was negative, and I was sad, but less than the previous months and I tried to look on the bright side - it was Xmas and I could have some drinks and join in the merrymaking :)

Then the package arrived in the mail the day before I was due to get my period. And I couldn't resist - so the next morning I woke up early and peed on the strip and waited. And the first line showed up bright and clear and a second line, so faint you practically had to use your imagination to see it, showed up. What the heck does that mean? Is that just what everyone who isn't pregnant sees or is that a line? I woke up my husband who declared he couldn't see a second line at all. And I'm franctically reading the website for the tests, which says that you can't read the results more than 10 minutes (or something like that) after you take the test or else it isn't accurate - so I can't take the fact that the line is getting a little bit darker (and my husband concedes there is actually something there) seriously.

This is the worst hell for me. This is bigger limbo than I'd been in before. So I start calling people. My mom, my friends, etc. The camp is split "don't get your hopes up, take another test tomorrow" "any line at all is a positive, I think you're pregnant". So I take another test right away (Lara, you need to work on your patience) and get the same thing. And again the next morning. And again the next morning. And on Xmas morning when I was still getting the same thing, but ever so slightly darker, I decided I was pregnant.

But my husband wasn't ready to believe it yet. He knew how crushed I would be if it wasn't true and these incredibly faint lines weren't convincing him. Retrospectively I think I should have gone to the store and bought a different brand of test, I suspect the cheap tests were part of the problem.

A few days later, as the line started getting darker and I could also say I was now 4 days late, my husband started believing too. And of course I was :)

Finding out we were going to have a baby was nothing like I ever would have imagined the experience would be. There never ended up being this "we're pregnant! yay!" moment. Instead we slowly made it through this great confusion of "am I? aren't I" BLAHHH! We also lost out on a bunch of "we're going to have a baby!!!" moments as I rushed to people with my confusion.

What did we learn from this experience? Any line is a line, and obsessing is bad. But I already knew the second part ;)

This is part of Memory Lane Monday over at Momsblogging.com and we're going to pretend that it's not Tuesday because I'm on holidays at the cottage, and it was a long weekend, and I just still wanted to take part :)

Thursday, August 02, 2007

I'm melting...

This lover of a/c spent the hottest day ever (ok maybe it wasn't but it kinda felt like that ;) at the cottage sans a/c. And it was fabulous.
Kman and I spent a ton of time in the water and he LOVED it. He jumped and splashed and had a hoot. And was in a great mood considering he only napped 30 minutes all day!!
It was so much fun, I didn't have time to get any pictures! Crazy! ;)

We're leaving to go back to the cottage for almost a week on Saturday morning so there will be plenty of time for jumping and splashing with others, and mommy will get some photos then. Unless I get caught in my hammock and can't get out. :)

Summer is fun - especially at the lake.