One Kid Wonder

Happy 3rd Birthday kiddo, and finally, the final post.

2011-06-14T15:19:00.001-04:00

Not sure if anyone is here anymore, but it's time to post the last words. And seeing as it was the kiddo's 3rd birthday this past weekend (WOW), I thought it was appropriate for my last blog post to be words for her.

Thanks for reading - I have so appreciated the support, comments, and great advice. And if you want to stay in touch, I'm blogging over at The Lotto List, when I can find the time. You can also shoot me an email from here, or find me on Twitter @karmasdogma. Until next time...

I wish…

I wish my legs were longer, and looked perfect in skinny jeans.
But I can walk, jump rope, and chase you in the backyard.

I wish my arms were a little less muscular and that they weren’t, ever so slightly, starting to waddle.
But my strong arms allow me to carry you home when you’re too tired to walk, and rock you at night when it’s dark and quiet.

I wish my hair was either straight and long, or curly and fun, rather than somewhere in the middle. And that I didn’t wear a ponytail so often.
But I remember what it was like not to have hair, and to miss my ponytail.

I wish I were more even-tempered, like your Dad. But I’m not. And neither are you. However, I promise you that passion and fire will serve you well in the future.

I wish I didn’t have to pluck, wax, paint, cut, colour, or primp. But in fact, I don’t have to. I choose to. And I’m grateful I have the choice to look however I want.

I wish my bra size was slightly smaller, or that I was perky enough to not even need a bra. But even though I didn’t carry you, I nourished you. And that is amazing.

I wish cancer had never been part of my life. And that my insides worked so I could have felt you kick, and brought you into this world.
But if I had never had cancer, I may never have had you.

And you, Addison Mae, are perfect in every way.
I hope you always remember to be grateful for what you have, and who you are.

Happy Birthday, my sweet girl. You are the best part of me, hands down.

For the love of hand sanitizer...

2011-02-27T14:50:00.000-05:00

I *heart* hand sanitizer. Not the smell, or how it drains every last bit of moisture from my hands. No. What I love is how it makes me feel like I'm giving a big middle finger to all the icky germs circulating. Now I know it isn't perfect. In fact, there are some out there who claim it really does little to prevent illness. But to me it's like a little superhero in my purse. And, yes, the kidlet uses it as well (in tiny, toddler-sized doses).

There are many in my life who mock my use (obsession) of hand sanitizer. They make fun of me when I take a pump from the wall-mounted unit at the entrance of the mall - both when I arrive AND when I leave. I don't like touching handles or doors that hundreds of others have touched before me...who knows where their hands have been! And don't even get me started on grocery carts. So.Gross. You can practically see the rota and rhino viruses scurrying across the handles (I have a great grocery cart cover which I use - religiously).

You may think I'm a germaphobe. Maybe I am. But in my defense, my love of hand sanitizer started during cancer treatment, which also happened to be in the height of SARS (staff took your temperature and sprayed your hands at the front entrance of the hospital!) You didn't mess around at that time, and it stuck with me.

Now that the kidlet is in daycare, I have little control over the germs she both picks up and brings home to us. I do my best to get her to wash her hands (yes, I would always choose a good hand washing over sanitizer any day), and disinfect the house when a particularly nasty bug shows up. But I also think it's my job to protect her little growing immune system. So many people have told me, "It's good they catch stuff...it helps build their immune systems." Sure. Ok. But there is evidence the fewer illnesses they get the better - lots of germs don't do any immune system building - they just make everyone miserable for 5-7 days.

We had a very sick winter last year, and this year has been *marginally* better. But we've still done the pneumonia thing once, at least 3-4 colds, and a particularly aggressive stomach bug (which passed through our whole house and jumped to visiting grandparents - sorry about that). We are hanging on for spring. One month...one month...

The reason I'm so craAAAzy about germs is because of the domino effect. It isn't just about the kidlet getting a snotty nose and leaving boogers all over our house, the dog, and us. It's because when she gets sick, she stops sleeping. We're talking night and day - we're up. Which means we also get super sleep deprived, which isn't ideal when you're trying to build a business that is completely reliant on one person - you. Then there's the no daycare trickle effect. If she's sick enough, she can't do daycare. One of the reasons we reorganized our work lives was so I could stay home with her in cases like this. However, now that work is getting busier, if I lose one of my three days I work during the week, I am instantly behind. Which means even if I had two hours of sleep the night before from nursing a sick kid, I'm up until 2 a.m. trying to meet deadlines. Those are really tough weeks, when I long to have no responsibility outside of taking care of my snotty, or barfy, peanut.

So basically, next time you see me buying an extra large bottle of hand sanitizer, don't judge. Or if I opt out of a visit because you or your kid *might* be coming down with something, don't think I'm overreacting. Trying to nurture a kidlet and a business, both which feel like full time jobs a lot of the time, is hard. And all it takes is one little germ to derail the train.

See you in the spring : )

Crickets

2011-02-13T21:33:00.001-05:00

If anyone is still out there and checking in, I'm sorry for the *crickets* for the past month and a half. Truth be told, I needed a break from writing while I was, uh, writing for work. There's only so much copy in this head of mine!

But I don't feel completely ready to shut it down. After all, this blog has been the most amazing place to capture the kidlet's moments, and to get great advice. And I miss both.

So here's a Coles notes version of what's up with the kidlet and our lives these days:

* She's 2.5 now, still loves to sing, and one of her fave words right now is "No!" (you can watch the clip of us on The Marilyn Denis Show last month to see what I mean)
* What she can say, and how she thinks about the world around her, amazes us daily. Like the other day, when she saw an airplane flying in the sky and told us it was probably heading to the airport. I know that may not seem like a big thing. But we've never really talked about how airplanes land at airports. There's real logic involved in that thought. Every day it's something new. Amazing.
* Parenting feels harder these days. Maybe it's because it's winter, which means we've been down for the count with a bunch of viruses. But she's testing boundaries, and longing for independence, and there are daily battles. Now I know all of this will serve her well in the future, but man, it's exhausting!
* She had her first haircut. And like the little girl she is, she loved every second of the primping and said "yeah!" when they asked if she wanted the pink wash-out dye and sparkles. oh boy...
* We had our first family ski trip and she did awesome for her first time on skis...although the magic carpet ride to the top of the bunny hill *may* have been her favourite part of skiing this year.
* She's still growing like a weed, and everyone who meets her thinks she's at least 3. Guess we'll see how tall she ends up...
* We are really (really) looking forward to spring. It means the germs will die out for another year, and we have some fun stuff planned. Like another 1/2 marathon for the parents, a trip to Maine for a family wedding, and finally, a visit to Victoria to see Gran, Granpa and the Muir-Brown clan. Exciting stuff coming up - just need to get at least one more ski weekend in before the snow melts away...

Hope everyone is doing great. Happy 2011!

Christmas

2010-12-25T14:47:00.000-05:00

It's Christmas morning. The house is QUIET. I'm up before even the dog, enjoying a peaceful coffee beside the tree and the Christmas explosion underneath it. Life is good.

Gearing up for Christmas has been oh-so-fun this year. The kidlet is finally starting to get this whole Santa=presents=fun thing. She did draw the line at actually wanting to see him in person, but in a storybook or on TV she's all over it. Now the whole present thing has resulted in at least an extra dozen time outs in the last week, as she thinks anything wrapped is hers. Pretty tough prying a present out of your toddler's hands, especially when she wants to take it to bed : )

I can't actually believe another year's end is here. Wow. "They" aren't kidding when they say time moves fast when you have kids. Like, super fast. But at the same time she's still our little baby girl. Even though there are times when she seems much older and more mature, there are still plenty of reminders that she's only wee. Like when she sings 'Frosty', with this line: "...and two eyes made out of toadddd..."

I'll do a more worthy update of where she's at as we come to the end of 2010, but today all I'm really here to do is to say, "Merry Christmas!" to those who celebrate the holiday. Hope life is good!

Why I'm now a bad blogger

2010-12-08T20:05:00.000-05:00

I could blame many things. A pile of work that just arrived in my inbox. My high-maintenance toddler. And dog (who is generally in competition with the toddler). Potty-training (#$@@!$#%$#@$). The endless mess of toys and laundry to manage AFTER bedtime. Twitter, and it's fun time-sucking capabilities. I could go on, but this is getting boring.

The real reason is two-fold:
1) Time is moving fast. If I'm not with the kidlet, I'm working. If I'm not working, I'm with the kidlet. Each comes with its own challenges and life these days is just plain busy. I know so many of you are RIGHT there with me.
2) I'm running out of stuff to say.

When I started this blog I had a clear vision in mind. It was going to be a place to share our journey, with family & friends, and hopefully act as a resource for others going through something similar. It became a lot more. It was a free and open space to chat new mom woes, and to learn how not alone I was. So many of you have shared your own stories, advice, opinions, and that is really what breathed life into this blog.

Now the kidlet is old enough to understand the magic of Santa. She can put her own shoes on, and apparently today at daycare was helping other kids in her class do the same. We're about to take her skiing for the first time. She makes up silly songs (like her Daddy), can count to 18 (she does skip one or two numbers in there), and can diaper her Upsy Daisy doll with amazing precision. She's growing up right before our eyes. And I'm starting to feel the tug again for privacy. To let her be the one to share her story when she's ready, however she chooses to do that. It's starting to feel odd to blog about her, without asking her if that's okay. So soon I will stop. And make this blog private for those who want to check in on the kidlet and what she's up to.

So when I say I'm running out of stuff to say, it's more that it doesn't feel like my place to share it all anymore.

So soon I will stop.

"Pat-A-Cake", performed by the Kidlet

2010-11-26T13:35:00.000-05:00

Potty Training Bootcamp - Part 2

2010-11-22T12:43:00.001-05:00

The bootcamp command post is being investigated for giving out too many Smarties for not enough urine. Also, mini peppermint patties MAY have been added to the mix. The bottom line is that we're losing the battle. And I hate losing.

Seriously though, I'm not a potty training fan. Although I suppose that would not make me unique. It is testing every last shred of patience I have. I lie in bed at night and exclaim (to no one in particular), "Why would anyone prefer a diaper over a cute potty that sings?" There is usually no response, because any reasonable answer (she needs to figure out the cues / she's used to diapers / potty peeing is a whole new thing to learn) would inflame me even more. I'm not *mad* with the kidlet. I'm ticked at myself and my lack of patience.

This weekend brought with it many "oops" and paper towels. I've done a lot of laundry, and have cleaned up a number of accidents very, very close to the smiling, ready-and-waiting potty. I had a girls night out on Saturday, and received the best text from Adam: "Up to 5 sits on the potty. No pee yet - no accidents either. The suspense is killing me."

Then, finally, last night we had a breakthrough. After a weekend of literally no potty action - success. She was so proud of herself she ran all over the house shrieking about how she peed on the potty. Naked. Love that kid. Fingers crossed we're on our way.

Potty Training Bootcamp

2010-11-16T15:01:00.000-05:00

Our living room has been turned into the main command post of potty training bootcamp. Which sounds a lot more serious than it really is. Especially because the potty has a smiley face and sings songs when, um, in use.

One thing I've never been quiet about on here (or in real life) is my lack of patience. Unfortunately, that characteristic occasionally extends to the kidlet. Hence potty training bootcamp. But I promise it isn't all mean and hard core. There are pretty undies with flowers. There's a lot of Treehouse. There are smarties. SMARTIES.

When I took the kidlet to daycare a couple of weeks ago I asked how potty training was going there. They're so organized. They have systems for everything. I suppose that's the only way to survive a roomful of toddlers. So I asked what we could do at home to help the potty-using process move along. One of her teachers asked me what I wanted. I said I wanted a miracle. Instant potty training. So she said, "Cold turkey." Which meant this past weekend the kidlet started wearing her big girl undies exclusively (except during nap and nighttime) and we became nagging parents. "Do you need to use the potty?" "Remember where we go pee? On the potty." "Let's try sitting on the potty." Every 20 minutes we put her on the smiling potty. The first day she had a couple of accidents and a couple of potty breaks (hooray! here's a smartie for your troubles). The next day she had no accidents at all (hooray! here are a few more smarties). Monday she was at school (daycare) and had one accident. They get stickers at school, and a chart, and I know she was sufficiently proud of herself and her stickers.

Today I didn't have it in me to potty-train. But I asked for a miracle and now I'm responsible for doing my part. So we've stuck close to home, playing outside between potty breaks, and we're making our way to a diaper-less house. So far today we're two for two. Now I need to give one smartie for sitting on the potty, two for peeing, and three if number #2 ends up happening in the potty...which is hasn't so far. Something I can't say I'm upset about today. I hope she chooses a diapered time for that one.

We tried to use stickers. That worked for about an hour the first day, and then she was on to us. She knew smarties were available and we had to up the ante. I'm certain she knows I'll dole out any number of smarties for her to use that potty. She's not new here.

Anyway, that's the word on the street in our world at the moment. Potty training is officially a full-time job. Wish us luck. Send smarties.

Music

2010-11-10T07:47:00.001-05:00

I'm so behind on posts. Nearly every day I have something to say, but life and work always seem to get between me and blogging!

So I've posted about this before, but we seem to have a real music virtuoso on our hands. This kid never stops singing, and she particularly enjoys mash ups and creating her own customized songs...about Quincy, and shoes, and butterflies. The other afternoon she sat with our neighbour's daughter (who is a year older) in the driveway and gave a concert. Her little friend sat and listened intently as the kidlet sang her a series of songs over about 10 minutes. We were laughing because she would introduce each song before she sang it: "Now I'm going to sing Bwinkle Bwinkle Little Star..." and off she would go. I wish I'd had my camera outside to capture the moment. Awesome.

My mom has a piano (she's a beautiful pianist who can literally play anything by ear - amazing!) and the kidlet has really taken to it. It's where she spends at least half her time when she's at my mom's. Just playing along to her songs. I think piano and singing lessons may be in her future! Here's video my mom took during our last visit - in this one she isn't singing, but she's certainly intent on her piano playing.

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-01T10:34:00.000-04:00

Our sweet little butterfly, trick o' treating with her daddy, who got into the spirit in his own butterfly costume. The most hilarious part of the night was trying to explain that the massive bowl of candy in our house wasn't for us, but to hand out, and that she would get candy at other people's houses...yeah, she didn't totally get it and kept trying to fill her treat bag with our candy. Tough concept when you're 2 1/2!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-27T16:26:00.000-04:00

Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing. ~Phyllis Diller

(This is what happened as I was trying to unload the dishwasher & make dinner. Don't worry. It's non-toxic finger paint. Yeah. She ate it)

Plugged in

2010-10-22T08:39:00.000-04:00

I've been thinking about this for a while, the idea that *maybe* I'm too addicted to my personal electronic devices and the communities I enjoy with them (oh, how I heart Twitter).

In fairness, I do need to be plugged in for work: I wouldn't be able to make a living without the internet, email, and I could even make a case for Twitter being a "must-have." However, the other night after a particularly busy day of Twitter flurry, I asked the kidlet if she wanted to build a "hashtag" with her blocks. I meant to say "tower", because that's a fave game of ours right now (build it so she can immediately knock it down). If you don't know what a hashtag is, don't worry. It won't really change your life that much. But in case you want to know, check it out here.

The truth is my Blackberry is never far from my fingers, my laptop is open frequently, I tweet a lot, visit facebook occasionally, and love chatting with the online communities I'm a part of, including on this blog. I wonder what I might do (accomplish) if I unplugged for a bit. Say after 6pm every night I went electronics "dark." I could read my book (and not on our i.Pad, maybe a real, page-turning book?) I could write the novel I hope to finish one day. I could chat with the hubby (who would also need to put down his new i.Phone4 and stop playing some game called "Angry Birds"). I could clean out junk drawers, or pull out my painting supplies (art, not walls). I could chat on the *gasp* phone with a friend or family member. These are all things I enjoy. So it makes sense to spend more time doing them. But I also get a lot of enjoyment from what I can do with my BB, my laptop, our i.Pad, and all the social media stuff I do.

So therein lies my dilemma. Should I feel guilty for all the time I spend "plugged in"? I don't like feeling guilty. But sometimes I do. Like right now - as I'm writing this blog post, my BB is beside me flashing its teasing red light announcing a new email/tweet/text, and the kidlet is eating her breakfast. So I'm going to stop here, and go spend some face to face time with her.

But I am curious - how plugged in are you? Too much? Not enough?

My love of pumpkie? It's in the genes.

2010-10-13T12:59:00.000-04:00

I know usually I do a "wordless wednesday" post, but I'm been mute all weekend, so thought I needed to say a thing or two.

First of all, hope all my Canadian friends had a great Thanksgiving weekend. What did you do? What's your fave part of the holiday and/or the meal? (Because we all know much of this weekend is about EATING!) Secondly, I know you're aware of my pumpkin obsession, but my absolute fave way to enjoy this versatile veggie is in pie. Pumpkin pie, with whipped cream. And clearly, it's in the genes as the kidlet downed not one, but two massive pieces of pie over dinner (for the record, I was not responsible for her getting the second piece...)

You can see how she's even eating dropped pie OFF the table - not a piece of that pie was missed! We had a great weekend at the cottage, enjoyed our turkey day with 20 friends and family, a tradition that's been happening since before I was born. My parents have two sets of university friends who all bought land on the same lake and built cottages, and all of us kids grew up together. So now we get together every Thanksgiving weekend to enjoy the beautiful fall leaves, a tasty meal, and great company!

However you celebrated, I hope it was happy and filling : ) Here are a few more pics from the weekend, courtesy of my sis, the awesome photographer.

HAPPY TRANSFERVERSARY!

2010-10-08T20:40:00.001-04:00

Today was the day, three years ago, that Jenna happily accepted the embryo that would become the kidlet.

Here's the actual petri where she thawed, waiting for her big moment:

And here she is, a little bigger than that 8-cell embryo!

Thanks, J & fam - The kidlet is pretty happy you were there that day : )

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-06T06:35:00.000-04:00

"But where are the lions?"

2010-10-05T14:29:00.000-04:00

Just a short and sweet post today. As I think I've mentioned, the kidlet loves to draw and we are endlessly encouraging her to draw on paper, or her easel, rather than the wall, couch, floor, dog...you get the idea.

So last week she was in a drawing mood and I was frantically looking for paper before she went all artistic on her little play table. I found some and said, "Look baby, I found you some special paper that has lines for you to draw on!" She looked at it when I put it down, turned it over with a confused look, then looked up at me all innocent and adorable, and asked, "But mommy, where are the lions?"

A dose of healthy competition

2010-09-27T14:11:00.001-04:00

*I'd like to thank everyone for all the great comments on this post, and am happy to have a couple of wrestling matches in my future! Something Tekeal said really resonated with me, and was something I wish I'd put in my original post. She wrote, "...what seems essential is that we teach our children that their self-worth is not equated with their winning or losing." Couldn't agree more.*

Yesterday Adam and I ran the Toronto 1/2 marathon - my first crack at it, his second. Overall, it was a great experience. I can almost say I had fun running longer than I ever have in my life. We've been training for months, and yesterday felt a lot like a training run, except with A LOT more people and fanfare. And today feels just like the day after a long run, except ten times worse (hello, legs...we've been working together for nearly 38 years, so what's the problem?)

Leading up to the race a number of people asked if I had a time goal, or if I "just wanted to finish." I suppose that's a fair question, as simply finishing 21.1 km in one piece is definitely an accomplishment. But I am competitive. Like, push-you-to-the-ground-without-a-second-thought-to-win-musical-chairs, or angry-that-I-have-to-fake-lose-to-a-kid kind of competitive. I blame my early years as a competitive gymnast for my fierce desire to win, but the truth is I'm probably hard-wired that way. So for me, simply "finishing" the 1/2 wouldn't have been good enough. In fact, not finishing, after 5 months of training, 3 black toenails, and hours of running in crazy heat, was not even an option. So I had a time goal, based on my training runs and what I thought I could do race day. And I *almost* made it, finishing 5 minutes past my goal. Not bad. Of course, now I have to run another one and this time I want to knock 15 minutes off my race time. That's just the way I roll...er, run.

Now Adam is exactly the same, although I think he'd happily let a kid "beat" him at a friendly game of musical chairs. So as far as what we'll pass on to the kidlet? I suppose time will tell if she's hard-wired like we are, but there's no doubt we'll instill a healthy respect for competition in her.

You see, Adam and I believe that kids shouldn't just get medals for showing up. We both grew up at a time when you were either on the winning team, or the losing one. Period. These days it seems that every kid is a winner...which on the surface seems like a good thing, right? After all, imagine the boost to self-esteem kids get when they always "win." But when do they learn that life isn't always that easy? That winning at something is awesome, but losing means you get to learn some valuable lessons to carry over for the next time. Life is hard, and challenging, and certainly as adults no one is handing out medals just for showing up. So how can our kids build the confidence they need to handle both winning AND losing, gracefully and graciously?

I'm not suggesting that toddler soccer matches start handing out ribbons to only half the kids, but rather that at some point in the process, kids need to know what it feels like to lose. That they aren't "entitled" to win because they laced their sneakers and ran on the field.

So where do you sit on the winning/losing, and competition for kids/young adults thing? Feel free to disagree with me, although if you do I'd like to challenge you to a thumb wrestling match where the winner gets to be "right" ; )

Dance a little dance...

2010-09-24T08:43:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was about singing, today is about dancing. While she sings constantly, she's a little more discerning when it comes to dancing. She has specific songs she likes to dance to, and loves it when Daddy plays the guitar to accompany her. The video is a bit long, but you do get a good cross section of her dance moves : )

Sing, sing a song...

2010-09-23T14:50:00.001-04:00

Our 2+ year old is a songstress. Bordering on a diva, which I'll explain in a few minutes. When I say she sings constantly, I'm really not kidding. I typically wake up to the sweet sounds of "Row Row Row Your Boat" or "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", and new friends are more likely to hear a rendition of one of the above instead of a greeting when they first meet her. I have to hold back laughter when I see her standing in front of her little girlfriend (our neighbour) and singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" to her, complete with hand actions. I also asked one of her teachers at daycare if she sings a lot and this was the response I got, "All.Day.Long", with pauses between words for emphasis. She loves to sing.

Now I say she has some diva in her because she is a solo artist. Try and sing with her (unless she specifically asks) and a hissy fit ensues. "No, No, No Mommy!" (one hand held out in front of her in the STOP position, mouth turned down in a pout) "You don't sing. NO" Well okay then, sweet pea. I typically tell her it's rude to be so abrupt with her "NO" and that singing together is fun. She will occasionally concede and tell me I can sing "Row Row Row Your Boat", which she likes to mash up with "Ba Ba Black Sheep" or "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." Sometimes I have to concentrate really hard to keep in tune as we do a round. She has a knack for letting me start and then coming in after the first verse, but with a totally different song. How is it that she doesn't get lost in the words, and I have a hard time keeping up? I blame the monotony of the material...

And she isn't just a diva about solo singing, she likes to make each song her own. I always have to cover my mouth to prevent the laughter from bursting out when she stylizes the songs. She sings some parts louder, some softer, sometimes she holds the notes for longer, sometimes she even warbles her voice, and she can flip between songs (halfway through) without missing a beat. It's crazy, and so freakin' cute.

So I guess we'll see if this early singing turns into something she loves throughout her life. Hard to say, but for now she's working the spotlight. I just hope the repertoire expands soon because if I have to sing one more rendition of "Row Row Row Your Boat" I may just row myself right over the waterfall...

Wordless Wednesday

2010-09-15T19:16:00.003-04:00

Vacation

2010-09-11T14:55:00.004-04:00

There have been some amazing vacations in my past. Thailand. Greece. France. Germany. Spain. Italy. Various places in the U.S., most notably Hawaii. Memorable trips coast to coast in Canada. I have great photos and memories, and often dream of the places I've been on cold/rainy days or as I'm trying to fall asleep at night.

But these are all in my past.

We had a kid, and suddenly found ourselves in a new type of vacation. Case in point: Florida this past November. We hadn't been on a trip since Hawaii the year before, which was our "It's been a tough, tough haul trying to make a baby, so let's go somewhere spectacular" vacation (which is was). We thought Florida was doable with a 16-month old. We had visions of collecting shells on the beach, enjoying the warm sun, and relaxing as a family.

We got rain for the first 5 days, realized how terrifying water is when you have a small child, and dealt with Addie being sick the whole trip. Not that there weren't moments of fun, and nice times as a family. We spent a lot of time walking the beach, collecting shells and running our feet into the surf. We had a wonderful place to stay which was definitely a home away from home. But there was something we just couldn't escape: It wasn't so much a vacation, as simply a change of location. We still had meals to prepare and clean up, there was no time for Adam and I to escape for some R&R, we were up long before the sun each morning, and the tantrums didn't go away because we took a plane out of Canada. It was in Florida where I learned the ever important lesson of ice cream sandwich sharing - if you don't want your kid to eat an ENTIRE ice cream, then don't give them a "bite" of yours. M.E.L.T.D.O.W.N. and no ice cream for me.

After Florida I rejigged my expectations. I understand that if we want a true "vacation" we'll need to wait until she's older, go with friends/family so we can get the odd night out as a couple, or *gasp* go without the kid. Now the last option is not something I'm interested in doing anytime soon. If we're going to take precious time away from Adam's business and my work, we're doing it as a family. Nobody left behind. So that leaves the other two options, one means we won't take vacation for a while, and the other means a lot of good planning and compromise.

We just took our first "vacation" since Florida. We did a staycation this time, and went up to my family cottage for a week of R&R. We had the place to ourselves and had big plans to do a lot of swimming, boating, and exploring. And then it rained. And rained. And RAINED. So we bailed and came home two days ahead of schedule. Once again, we had fun. We really did. But entertaining a toddler is tough, and we were all going a little stir crazy from lack of sunshine. We spent a ton of time outside, despite the rain, but it did limit what we could do. So that was vacation 2010. Huh.

I have dreams of taking Addie to France, or Italy, or Australia, or Tahiti...wait, maybe not Tahiti. But I'm not crazy, so I know those trips will have to wait for a while. That's ok. We'll stick closer to home for now. We seem to have a knack for planning our vacations in non-rainy times but still seem to get the only wet weather of the month. Don't know how we do it. Adam and I were perplexed about this at the cottage.

Basically if you want nice weather on your vacation, ask us when we're going and plan for a different week : )

Wordless Wednesday

2010-09-08T20:44:00.003-04:00

We came back from the cottage early (rain, rain, and more rain...did I mention it rained nonstop?) so we headed to the Zoo today. This was an attempt at the bunny ears photo, and as you can see we never quite got the "perfect" shot.

Attempt #1...

Attempt #2...

Attempt #3...

Attempt #4 - enough already!

A smattering of updates

2010-09-03T13:37:00.003-04:00

At almost 27 months, there is so much happening in the world of Addie! She talks - non-stop. And not the baby gibberish from a few months ago. She speaks in full sentences. She refers to herself in the first person now, and seriously has such an amazing grip on language we rarely (rarely) have to ask her to repeat herself. It's amazing how quickly they learn and how quickly her vocab grows. Every day she surprises me with new words. It's amazing (did I already say that?)

She's also STRONG. Being 97th percentile for height means she's got quite a reach, but she can pull herself up on tables, chairs, and tries to do chin ups on anything and everything. She loves to run, jump, and climb, and is very determined to do all three things all the time. Just try stopping her!

Daycare 3x week is going great, and we're having fun the two days we have at home together. There have been a lot of Zoo trips this summer, and visits to a fave, Springridge Farm (in Milton). She adores the animals, and wants to get in the cages with them. She usually tries to climb the fences so I have to keep a watchful eye. While exhausting at times (good thing I'm training for a 1/2 marathon so I'm in shape to run after her), it's been such a blast watching her discover the world around her.

Her auntie Devon from Vancouver was here a few weeks ago with her boyfriend, Nils, and Addie had a chance to really bond with them. She still talks about Auntie Devon almost daily (doesn't that make you happy, Dev? You made the cut) and we have to explain that Vancouver is far away from Toronto, but that we'll see her again soon.

Our house renos are pretty much complete, aside from a TON of painting that needs to happen, and we're really happy with the end result. It was a tough haul, but happy to be at the other end of the project. Whew! Work is chugging along, and I'm slowly learning how to balance between a part-time stay at home mom and a part-time work from home chick.

We've been running, and running (and running) in anticipation of our 1/2 marathon at the end of September. I'm quite frankly tired of the training (and so are my poor, beat-up feet!) and am looking forward to crossing that one off my bucket list. Would never have imagined that I'd be able to run 18km when I started this, but that's what I ran last Sunday. Crazy.

We're heading up north to the cottage for a week of R&R so I'll be offline for the better part of a week. Hope you're all doing well - chat soon.

Chillin' with my best bud, Isla.

"I just want to go in. Just for a minute!"

Lovin' Auntie Devon, who is the best playmate EVER.

Painting on a rainy afternoon.

Ready for the cottage! (Should mention she wore this around all afternoon - over her clothes)

A must-see video for moms (& those to-be!)

2010-08-31T13:55:00.002-04:00

Someone I follow on Twitter, who has a line of beautiful nursing bras called Nummies, came up with this video concept. It's essentially about what you would now tell yourself, after having kids, before you had kids. It's a short and lovely snapshot of the "advice" real moms would give to themselves. Hope you'll watch!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-08-25T09:57:00.002-04:00

Addie *directing* the kitten where to go to see the animals...The apple doesn't fall far from the (bossy) tree.

The most boring of topics: Zip.loc bags

2010-08-23T14:43:00.002-04:00

I try to avoid posts like this, ones where even clever writing can't mask how boring the topic is. But the truth is Zip.loc bags are such a huge part of my day, and I have a serious question to ask. Now on to the boring topic. Thanks for reading this far.

We all know Zip.loc bags are made of plastic. We all know plastic is "evil". We know we should try to pack snacks and leftovers in reusable containers (no, my friends, zip.loc bags are not "reusable" no matter what anyone tells you.) Now I suppose you could wash your zippies (my pet name - see, I really do heart them) out with hot soapy water, but the practicality of that means that most often it won't happen. The reason I use zippies in the first place is because I don't want to have to wash a million little bags out at night - I like the convenience. I like that little bits of snack, and grimy hand dirt, and potentially the dog's saliva go right in the garbage along with that evil baggie of plastic.

The reason I'm posting about zippies is this: I need to know what other people use to pack snacks for the wee ones. If you have banished zippies from your house, what are the alternatives that you think rock the snack packing world? (Serioulsy)

Wordless Wednesday

2010-08-18T07:33:00.002-04:00

More chit chat on numbers

2010-08-17T13:40:00.005-04:00

Thanks again for all your amazing comments (both on blog and via email/FB etc) about the article I posted on having a one and only. A lot of what was said reinforced how we're navigating the only child path. For example, we felt daycare was even more important to help with socialization and to give her exposure to such concepts as sharing and waiting her turn. Trying to explain waiting for someone else to have a turn is tough when there's only one kid, and the dog can't exactly play along.

I was just mentioning to a friend how I'd like to get a t-shirt made, which says:

Yes, she's an only child.
My uterus is broken.
Any more questions?

Perhaps it's a little confrontational, but we've reached the age where people are starting to ask. The question. When, oh when, will you give that precious child a brother or sister? Often I simply smile and say, "Don't know..." They usually drone on at that point, going on and on about the benefits of having a sibling. Um, yeah. I have siblings. I know. If only you knew. Then you'd shut up...hence, the t-shirt.

The truth is I used to be that person, no matter how it pains me now to admit it. I was the annoying (kid-free) person telling parents of one they had to keep going. You can't leave a child to fend for themselves in the world without a brother or sister. They'll never be an aunt! Or uncle! On and on. So to anyone I gave that speech to, whether or not you kept going on the kid track, I'm sorry. I was naive. I had no idea. Not just that some people, as much as they may want to have more, cannot, but that it's ok to make that choice too. A friend on twitter who is mom to one by choice said she'd also like a t-shirt. One that reads:

Yes, he's an only child.
That's all I can handle!

Fair enough. Who are we to judge? But judge we do.

It's become increasingly clear to me that society does in fact have the "magic" number when it comes to kids. It's 2, in case you were wondering. Doesn't "Table for 4?" have a nice ring to it? And what about cars? Comfortable seating for 4, add another kid and things get pretty squishy. That middle seat belt and hump sucks. Hot dogs come in packages of 8, as do hot dog buns - that's 2 for everyone. Add a sibling and you have a built-in playmate for your child, and less time you have to spend playing tea party, or pirate ship (Know those commercials? The ones where the mom is sitting, sipping a cup of tea while brother and brother play with Tonka trucks?) Two kids means one for each parent to watch, otherwise known as the "man-on-man" approach, versus having to run zone defense.

What I've also realized is that it's not just the parents of one who get the judgment - how about parents to many? Julie Cole, one of the founders of Mabel's Labels, has 6 kids. Yes, that is not a typo. Six. I suggested we make this t-shirt for her:

Seems if you break the traditional mold of two parents and two kids (and we won't even get started here on all the options that also get "comments", like mom-mom, dad-dad combos, for example), you have just put a big flashing light on your head.

I have learned a few things through my contemplation (obsession) about being a mom to one:

You are a parent no matter how few, or how many, kids you have. You don't earn that title because you expand your family past one.
Having more kids does NOT make you a better parent. There are some who might argue just the opposite (but I won't argue that here...at least not today)
A sibling does not guarantee happiness, a sense of completeness, or a perfect relationship.
Only children are well-adapted, lovely people, both as kids AND adults.
Never judge another person's decision when it comes to kids. Even if that decision is to have none at all.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

2010-08-11T14:36:00.002-04:00

A quick note to say "thanks" for all the great comments and the one and only stuff. I'm going to talk more about it all in my next blog post, but today is dedicated to a simple photo (taken by Elizabeth&Jane photography - they are all kinds of awesome)

Do you have an only?

2010-08-09T14:59:00.002-04:00

Adam brought home this TIME magazine article about only children, which basically debunks all the myths we hear time and time again about sibling-less kids: spoiled, self-absorbed, lack of social skills, blah, blah, blah.

Thought I'd share it for those who are parents to an only, whether by choice or not, and maybe for those who have more than one but are interested in this issue for friends/family etc. Personally, I took a lot away from it, although they did focus a lot on the financial aspect (people choosing to have an only because of economic situations). Would love to know what you think...

Recipe share

2010-08-01T12:47:00.002-04:00

Ok, so many of you will remember my pumpkin obsession - well, I've found yet another place to add it in! I know - breaking news, right?

Anyway, I've been making my own popsicles for Addie this summer. They are her favourite treat, and with all the crazy heat we've been having, it's one of our afternoon traditions. We grab a pop and sit on the back steps and chat. But I want her to have a treat that also packs a healthy punch (have you read the back of store-bought popsicle packages? There's a whole lot of crap in there!) so I started making my own - just mixing up fresh, organic fruit (or local), yogurt, a little apple butter for a bit more sweetness, and some water. I toss it all in the magic bullet (yes, I broke down and bought one, and yes, it was worth it!), pour into the molds, and voila!

This past week I had a can of pumpkin and after making my usual muffins and oatmeal with it, I thought "Why not throw a few tbsps in the popsicle mix?" So I mixed it with the peaches and seriously, you would never know!

Ok, so now that I've managed to drag a fairly mundane topic on for FAR too long, there's a second part of this post. I'm now the Toronto writer-in-residence for a mommy site, yoyomama.ca, and my most recent article was about making healthy (low-sugar) summer treats. Here's the link to the article if you're interested - there's a great recipe at the end for homemade (easy) frozen fruity yogurt, courtesy of the book Sprout Right: Nutrition from Tummy to Toddler. Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday.

2010-07-28T18:42:00.003-04:00

You know you're a Mom (or Dad) when...

2010-07-26T19:53:00.003-04:00

You sleep better with the hum of the monitor.
You think goldfish crackers chased by a teeny-tiny juice box constitutes breakfast...or lunch.
You know Toopy, Dora, Caillou, Pablo, Little Bear, MingMing, and Iggle Piggle, intimately, and you know every word to each theme song.
You catch yourself singing Ba Ba Black Sheep or [insert kid song] in the car EVEN WHEN THERE IS NO KID PRESENT.
You get dressed by the front door, as you're about to leave, to try and keep your clothes clean.
You typically don't notice until you're at your meeting, or out for a rare night with friends, that you have dried food bits on said clothes.
You've become used to being bossed around by your toddler.
You get (super) excited when diapers go on sale, and email every other mom (dad) you know.
Your coffee table/nightstand is covered in parenting magazines and books.
You use your kid's full-fat milk in your morning coffee.
Along with your wallet, phone, sunglasses, and keys, you also have soothers, wipes, extra diapers, bandaids, hand sanitizer, crayons, books, cereal bars or other snacks, sunscreen, and a mini Tide stick in your purse.
You refer to yourself, and everyone else, in the 3rd person.
You no longer worry about your hair when it rains - now rain means boredom, which means danger.
You don't see grapes, or blueberries, or apples as fruit - you see potential choking hazards.
You have spent hours, literally, cutting food into tiny, bite-sized pieces.
You enunciate E.ve.ry.Sin.gle.Syl.la.ble.Of.E.ve.ry.Sin.gle.Word.
You raise a glass of wine in celebration of successful potty training.
Every backyard pool now looks like a deathtrap instead of an oasis.
You can spend hours talking about nothing but poop, food, and sleep.
You worry about things you can't control.

AND

You've never laughed this hard, or cried this much, EVER in your life.
You love this little person so much your heart might literally burst with every beat.
You choose to give a little more, and do a little more, because now it matters a whole lot more.

A flurry of photos

2010-07-23T13:00:00.006-04:00

Just realized how long it's been since I've posted any photos! Addie is growing up. She's wearing 3T stuff right now and seems to be thinning out quite a bit as she grows taller. She talks nonstop, sings nonstop, and is just so much fun to be with these days (when she isn't throwing stuff across the room and having a meltdown!) Hope you're all doing great and enjoying what has turned out to be a VERY hot summer so far.

New method for milk drinking (socks).

Playing in my new sandbox - thanks Grammy & Opa!

Hanging with Grammy & Opa in new sandbox!

Addie helping build her birthday present.

Nana and Addie playing at the cottage.

Staying warm with Papa after a long swim.

Mommy snuggle time.

Lots of cottage cuddling!

Beautiful morning at the cottage. Ahhh...

I LOVE SWIMMING!

Fun hats at Papa's 70th birthday party, themed Mad Hatter Tea Party.

City version of swimming, with neighbour and friend Izzy.

Loving the brand new (HUGE) bathtub.

Happy Father's Day! (yeah, this one is very overdue)

Three things I stress about daily

2010-07-13T09:06:00.002-04:00

These are not life-changing things by any means. So while the title was a bit dramatic, these are things I feel some stress over daily. If you have any advice/tips, I'm interested in hearing what you have to say. If you want to tell me that life must be pretty good if these are the things I worry about, go ahead. You're right.

1. Tooth brushing: Addie has notoriously been a lousy tooth brusher. We've tried everything. Brushes with all the bells and whistles, brushes that do nothing fancy, toothpaste that tastes like berries, making it into a game, giving praise, etc. etc. She likes to eat the toothpaste (flouride-free) right out of the tube. She sucks it off her brush, without the bristles even touching her teeth, and says, "YUM!" (For the record, it is not YUM. It is super disgusting!) I stress about it because I know how important it is. The experts suggest 2x day, for 2 min each time. Um, excuse me? Do you know any toddler who will sit still for 2 full minutes to have their teeth brushed. Show me one. I don't think they exist.

2. Nighttime bottle: Addie's "Ba Ba" is perhaps one her favourite things EVER. She now drinks milk during the day out of cups, but that nighttime ba ba is a toughie. It makes the transition to bed so much easier - she doesn't fall asleep with it or anything, but it's a lovely way to end the day right before bed. I know we are way overdue to give it up. Which is why I stress.

3. Eating dinner as a family: Ok, so this one is important to me. But right now schedules just don't allow for it to work. With Adam home late two nights a week, and Addie needing supper around 5:30-6:00 pm, the logistics are tricky. It's also incredibly difficult to get her to sit still for any amount of time. Even when she eats her own dinner she tends to get on and off her chair a dozen times before the meal is out. I realize she's only 2, and we have lots of time, but when did you guys start the family dinner thing?

Who I am, and who I want to be.

2010-07-07T16:22:00.004-04:00

Renos continue here. Addie just had her second bout of hand, foot & mouth disease (last one was during our vacay to Florida in November). It's so hot I truly think an egg would cook on the driveway in less than 30 seconds, which was what I thought of doing for dinner the other night when we had a massive blackout in Toronto. Every day I shuffle piles of stuff from one location to another: This is my current version of "reno tidying." Basically, life is cruising along but I feel a little like I'm getting nowhere.

So I started thinking of what life looks like (REALITY) and what I *wish* it looked like (FANTASY). Before I post my list, I will preface this by saying that this isn't some kind of cry for help (or a plea for nice comments to bolster me). It's simply a reflection of where things are at, and probably the most honest post I've done for a while. So here we go...

Renos: FANTASY
I see painted walls, and perfectly hung pictures, and matching linens, with everything in its proper place. The dust is gone. The floors sparkle. Shoes are lined up INSIDE the closet. The laundry practically puts itself away...

Renos: REALITY
Addie, being ever so helpful, picked up a drywall nail for me today. I tripped over one of my shoes, lying in the hall, and almost took a header into the stairs. Pulled out the box of salt from the cupboard and found it had a thick layer of reno dust/debris on it (and I didn't bother to clean it off). I couldn't find toothpaste the other day (we're using our basement bathroom right now) so I used Addie's baby toothpaste instead. There is not one room that is finished. But man, will it be awesomely perfect when it's all done : )

Work: FANTASY
Everything I get to do is engaging and challenging. I'm turning work away that I only WISH I had time for. My office is peaceful and a place I can focus. I work one day a week at a cute little coffee shop near my house, and sip lattes while I perform word wizardry. I close my laptop at 4pm, and don't open it again until 9am the next day.

Work: REALITY
Being away from home for 6 weeks and being on kid duty 100% of the time meant I had to cut back on work, and the building phase of my little business came to a halt. I did some work, but most of my time was spent being mommy (which did have its own perks). Now that I'm back I need to remind people I'm here. Work is starting to flow again, but of course not fast enough for my Type A personality. I work at the kitchen table right now, which is also home to our massive (new) bathroom mirror, a phone modem, and mail from the last 2 months. I seem to be on my computer WAY too much at night.

Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner: FANTASY
I sit down on the weekend, with a cold glass of lemonade and create a delicious meal plan for the week from my LCBO Food & Drink magazines, and my favourite cookbooks. Addie plays happily in her new sandbox in the backyard and Adam enjoys a run. We all sit down to eat together, at our dining room table and at 6pm, and I've actually set the places with cutlery AND napkins. Breakfast means coffee has been set to brew the night before, and muffins come straight out of the oven. Lunch is always salad - but delicious salads, like the Cobb variety. Our food is organic (most of the time) and tasty (all of the time).

Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner: REALITY
I manage to buy most produce organic, but tonight we're having (frozen) perogies out of the bag and salad. Addie is having leftovers from last night, and there's about a 2% chance we'll all eat together at the table. There's a 60% chance that Treehouse will come on at some point during her meal (this kid will not sit still and sometimes Treehouse helps get us through), and I can almost guarantee (99%) that Adam and I won't eat until 8pm. Oh, and Addie had vanilla pudding for breakfast today - I'll blame the hand, foot and mouth for making her more sensitive and needing bland, soft (sweet tooth) foods.

Life outside of renos, being a mom, and work: FANTASY
I have one.

Life outside of renos, being a mom, and work: REALITY
The odd night out is what we can muster. And for now, that's good enough.

I know this probably sounds all "woe is me", but that honestly (honest) wasn't the point of this post. I also realize my FANTASY points are in the realm of being ridiculous (who bakes muffins every day for breakfast?!?), but in my opinion, it's all about vision. I can see all that stuff (watered down slightly to take into account real life), most of it in the not so distant future, but I'm just so damn impatient.

And so I wait.

Comments, oh comments, where are you?

2010-06-25T09:54:00.002-04:00

No, this isn't a plea for comments, promise. It's a frustrated note to the fact that somehow (probably my fault) the comment feature has been disabled. Now it feels very quiet on the blog...or maybe no one has anything to say these days : )

Anyway, hope you're all still out there reading...I will keep writing regardless, and I will try to fix the comment thing.

In other news, it's been a long time since I've posted an update on the kidlet. Well, she's now 2. Amazing. And yet, can't believe there was a time when she wasn't here...the further we get on this journey the more I start to forget life before her. Oh, the free time we must have had! : )

She's talking a blue streak - and we can understand most everything she's saying. It's amazing to watch her learn, and she literally can remember and repeat anything. Which I found out the hard way the other day when I was driving her to daycare. Here's what I heard in the backseat: "C'mon people (sounds like purple). Drive your car people." Now she said it in the cutest, 2-year old voice, but I guess I've said something to that effect once or twice...and probably not as sweetly!

She's really into singing (see video below), playing with her puzzles, reading her books, walking all by herself EVERYWHERE, running every chance she gets, and playing with water. Water is such a fave right now - we have a big tupperware in the backyard that's sort of acting like a pool and she loves to get in and lounge. She also loves the bath and now asks for a bath every day.

The other thing about Addie is her lack of fear - this kid just goes for it, 100%. She will only use the railing on the stairs when reminded, otherwise she wants to just run down the stairs and hope for the best. I anticipate we have an athlete on our hands, but we'll see...

Anyway, hope you're all doing well. I promise to try and get back here a little more often. Still thinking of morphing the blog and when I get a free moment, I'll update more on that.

"Happy Birthday to YOOOOUUUUUUU..."

2010-06-23T19:08:00.002-04:00

Just in case you were wondering, "Cee Cee" is Quincy, our labradoodle. And no, it isn't his birthday : )

Strawberry Success

2010-06-17T21:53:00.005-04:00

We're trying to get back in the swing of things here, but there is still a fine layer of dust on everything and CRAP everywhere. I'm trying to focus on the small stuff, in a good way, like getting one surface cleaned off and keeping it tidy for 24 hours. But with some renos still be done, we're a few weeks away from a totally happy home. Having said all that, it is SO nice to be home again.

In other news, I've been looking for things to do with Addie to keep us both occupied on the days we have together. I'm finding this age is a bit tough: she's not quite old enough to really enjoy a lot of stuff, but definitely way beyond the "let's go for a leisurely stroller walk and get a Star.bucks." The stroller is tolerated for brief periods of time, and usually only if there's a popsicle as part of the deal.

So this past Tuesday we headed out to Springridge Farm in Milton to pick strawberries and enjoy a beautiful day outside. I wasn't sure how it was all going to go down, especially the picking strawberries part with a crazy busy toddler, but I hoped for the best. Long story short, we had the best morning. It was perfect for the kidlet - she fed goats and chickens (has been asking to see the goats hourly ever since), played in their massive sandbox, took a tractor ride, ate her grilled cheese lunch out of a sandpail with shovel, saw bunnies & peacocks, ran through the corn maze many times, laughed a lot, and helped me pick a few strawberries. The food there was great, it was small enough that I didn't feel like I was going to lose her at any moment, and there was ample seating and parking. Loved it and I think we're going back this weekend. It was the first place I've come across where I think she would have been perfectly content ALL DAY. Needless to say it's the top of my must visit list!

Playing in a sandbox the size of our house!

The fruits of our (my) labour : )

Addie getting a ride from her best buddy, Alex.

Milking the wooden cow. Water actually comes out!

Her new best friend, a sweet baby goat.

What a difference a year (or two) makes...

2010-06-11T23:05:00.003-04:00

Happy 2nd Birthday Kidlet!

So tiny at the beginning...

Enjoying her 1st birthday cupcake...

Blowing out her candle with Daddy's help today...

Happy 2nd birthday, Sweet Addie Mae.

*You'll notice she ignored her fork - cumbersome cutlery got in the way of the cake. That's our girl!

She's (almost) 2

2010-06-10T22:21:00.003-04:00

Wow.
The kidlet is about to be 2.
Tonight we're back home (finally).
The house is still in a state of disarray, but we're home (finally).
She's spending her first night in her new room, in her big girl bed - send prayers for a full night sleep for everyone.
She's about to turn 2.
Tomorrow I'll come up with something profound to say, but for tonight, this is all I have.
Can't believe 2 years ago she wasn't even here yet.
Not sure what we ever did without her.
Wow.

June 11, 2010

2010-05-27T22:51:00.002-04:00

Two weeks from tomorrow the kidlet turns 2. I actually can't totally wrap my head around it. Two is the age when you stop counting in months. She can now be aged by years and parts of years.

I remember when she was born thinking about this birthday. I imagined she would no longer feel like a "baby" once she turned 2 (but now realize she'll always be my baby), and that we would be smooth sailing through life as parents of a toddler. She'd be sleeping like a dream, be potty trained, know how to dress herself, brush her teeth, eat without spilling food everywhere, and would be happy to sit and read books for at lest 15 minutes at a time. Um, yeah. Guess I had been watching too much TV : )

What I'm learning is that this whole mom (& dad) thing is a work in progress. In so many ways, we're still trying to get to know each other, if that makes sense. Every day is different for her - she literally changes daily. It's crazy. I need to post some pics and a video or two to show you what I mean. One of the cutest things right now is how she says her name. "Addie Bum" is how she says it. Our last name is Brown, but she can't quite get the Brown down yet. It's so flippin' cute I could cry.

She's also counting to 10, although sometimes she starts at the number 6, and she is SO independent right now it's making me a little crazy (but don't think she'll do a puzzle alone. Of course not!) Everything we have to do in a day begins with this statement, "I do it. I do it!" Followed then by "I did it. I did it!" Once again, cute.

What I couldn't have imagined is how she literally feels like an extension of me. I'm so bonded to this kid, and that is one thing I love that I couldn't *see* when she first arrived. Oh, my heart.

But this age...this age. I'm equally loving and despising it. It's a tough age, no question. When she isn't sleeping, she's going 150% ALL.THE.TIME. And she says NO a lot, and certainly has figured out she doesn't have to do everything I ask. Shocker, I know.

Anyway, so much else to say but pretty tired out. These renos are taking their toll - on all of us. Hard to be apart, but hopefully we'll be back home in another week and a half.

This weekend Adam and I are heading to Montreal for a long weekend vacay - sans kidlet. Really looking forward to sleeping without interruption, and drinking my coffee hot : ) But I already miss her. The balance of being a mom.

Hope you're all doing well. I miss blogging, and I miss hearing from you guys. But you definitely get out what you put in!

Oh, right. I have a blog...

2010-05-16T20:47:00.003-04:00

Ok. So here's the deal. I haven't forgotten about my blog. I just have literally not had a moment. Why? Because we're in reno hell. And sleep hell. And sickness hell.

Adam and I decided to tackle a reno on our house that we've been talking about doing since we moved in. It all happened fast, and before I knew it I was in Guelph at my mom's with the kidlet and dog, and a massive amount of kid gear. Adam is still at our place, sleeping in our basement while the entire top floor of house gets ripped down to nothing and built back up. So add to that a nasty cold/cough for me and the kidlet, and the fact that she HAS NOT SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT IN ABOUT 5 WEEKS, and you can pretty much guess about where I'm at. HELL. Now I know it's all relative, and in the grand scheme of things colds, renos and lack of sleep don't really measure up to much of a big deal. But F#$K I'm tired!

Luckily my mom has been the shining light for us - she's helped me out with the kid and even taken a couple of the night shifts so I could sleep. We should be home in another week and a bit, to a house that will need to be put back together, but at least we'll be home. And the kid's big girl bed has arrived but the thought of transitioning her now strikes fear in my heart. She already isn't sleeping, so how much worse will it be when she can get out of her bed? F!@K.

Anyway, that's where we've been. Reno hell. Sleep hell. Sickness hell.
See you soon on the other side (I hope)
: )

Our little monkey.

2010-05-01T08:04:00.002-04:00

Coincidence or budding artist?

2010-04-30T09:29:00.003-04:00

I'll preface this post by saying I'm TERRIFIED of spiders. No real idea why. They just creep me out and I like to keep at least a 5 ft space between us. The kidlet, on the other hand, thinks spiders are AWESOME and I need to make sure I don't pass my crazy along to her.
So my sis and fam, knowing my arachnophobia well, gave me this:

It's essentially a bug catcher (for kids) that uses air to gently suck the bug into the clear, plastic tube where you can keep them to (safely) observe before releasing them to the wild again. So last night a big spider was crawling across our basement wall. EEEEKKKKKK! The kidlet spotted it and shouted "IDER!" and I jumped about a foot, wondering if it was heading for my neck. Grateful for my new bug catcher, we scooped the little guy into the tube and I watched as the kidlet oohed and aahed about the spider. We talked about his legs, his little (EEEEKKKK) fangs, and how he likes to eat bugs.

She had been in the middle of drawing, her fave pastime, when she spotted the spider and after a few moments with the bug catcher she was back at it. So I said, "Why don't you draw mommy a picture of the spider?" She put her pen down, grabbed the catcher, too a good long look, and then started to draw. This is what she came up with:

Am I crazy or do these little sketches look a lot like spiders?

Green thumb.

2010-04-29T08:18:00.003-04:00

My mom and my sis are amazing in the garden. My mom can resuscitate any dying plant - trust me, she has brought many of mine back from the dead. My sis has beautiful flowers, and tomatoes and herbs growing in her garden. Me? I have some tulips that seem to come up without any help, and a bunch of green stuff that I couldn't name for you if my life depended on it.

Luckily, my mom helps me out each spring, cutting things back and nurturing my little backyard garden. Usually by mid summer it actually looks pretty good, but I still don't know how to take care of it. I remember to water it on occasion, and sometimes think about pulling a weed or two...if only I knew which ones were weeds.

Anyway, my hope is that the kidlet has more of a green thumb than me. I'm hoping my mom rubs off on her, and that she loves to garden. It's already started this summer - here's a pic to prove it!

I feel certain she can do a better job, even at 22 months, in the garden than I ever could : )

ADVICE.

2010-04-26T10:05:00.002-04:00

Give it. Get it. Take it. Ignore it. Advice.

There's something so fundamental about seeking advice when you become a parent (or are about to become one). Ultimately you're looking for the magic bullet, the fix that will solve all your woes as a mom/dad, and make parenting feel that much more manageable. And once you become a parent and have a few months under your belt, you feel equally compelled to start dishing it out. After all, if you can save another mom some headache/heartache, why wouldn't you?

But the truth is, your kid is not their kid, and vice versa. What works for one will not necessarily work for another. Now having said that I have received some great advice in the past couple of years, and I'll share my top 3:

1. Never get too used to a stage because as soon as you do, everything will change (this is true of both the good and bad stuff)

2. Enjoy the quiet, peaceful moments because they don't last long.

3. Never leave the house without wipes, extra diapers, and a portable snack. No truer words have been spoken.

I've been known to let the advice free flow if someone asks for it, but I try and hold back if not asked. However, after a week of horrible, sleepless nights where I spent most of my awake time wondering what the hell will fix the problem, I've realized advice only goes so far. Who knows why my kid had chosen to enjoy playing between the hours of 1am-4am? I've tried all the advice I've been given: let her cry it out. Co-sleep (this is a joke for us. never again). Don't make eye contact and definitely don't speak. Talk to her in a calming voice. Don't pick her up. Pick her up and comfort her. Put a soothing toy/blanket in her crib. Put her to bed earlier. Put her to bed later. Don't give her a bottle before bed. Give her extra milk before bed.

What I think is happening is that this is one of those stages, and we just need to wait it out and go into survival mode in the meantime.

So I'll leave you with the advice I plan to give to all new parents:

Ignore all the advice you've been given. Your kid is a unique person. Trust your gut and cross your fingers.

SLEEP.

2010-04-23T07:28:00.002-04:00

A friend of mine suggested yesterday that sleep is the hardest thing about parenting. I couldn't agree more.

In the beginning, it's all catching small amounts of sleep in increments. Baby feeds every couple of hours, 24-hours a day, so the "breastaurant" is always open and it's usually pretty hard to get a table. You begin to feel like things are really working when you can sleep 3 hours in a row. Success!

Then you add in the SIDS anxiety, and if your baby sleeps longer than they have been, you're up worrying they've stopped breathing in their crib. But you're afraid to go and check because it might wake them up. Logic?

A few months later you might be getting up once or twice a night for a quick feed (if you're lucky) and you start thinking maybe, just maybe, you've got this all figured out.

And then maybe you have a few months of great sleep. Baby sleeps 12 hrs at night, and you feel the most rested you have in a long time. Yes. You can do this.

Daycare starts. OMG. It's a wading pool of germs, and they are relentless. Your kid is sick, you're sick, and no one is sleeping. Sometimes for weeks at a time. What? You didn't sign up for this. You thought once the newborn stage was over, it was smooth sailing for sleep.

Then you realize it's going to be like this for a LONG time. Because after the crib, comes a toddler bed, and that has a whole host of sleep issues you can't even contemplate because your sanity is hanging on by a thread.

I accept that not everyone goes through the above progression. I understand that I actually DO have a really good (night) sleeper on my hands, and these blips and bleeps in the schedule are just par for the course. I also know how lucky I am that sleep is not my favourite thing. I'm content with 6.5 hrs per night, but I do prefer it to be all in a row. For me, lack of sleep doesn't make me feel tired, which seems odd I know, but it eats away at what little patience I have. It makes me want to have temper tantrums hourly. Oh, if only it were appropriate to have temper tantrums as an adult. Adam reminded me the other night that I do throw tantrums - like when I was trying to take apart the stroller to wash the cover after *A* barfed all over it due to a particularly bad coughing spell. While I was in line at Starbucks, nonetheless, without a wipe in sight. But that's a story for another day...

I realized the other day that I haven't slept for more than 7 hours in a row in about 22 months - and that I have only slept past 6am maybe a handful of times. Usually when I've been up for a few hours with *A* during the night.

No question, when you have kids you need to say "See you, I'll miss you" to sleep for a while.

What's the deal?

2010-04-14T14:00:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I was hanging with some mommies and the talk of nursery school came up. Suddenly I was transported to a year ago, when I was desperately trying to find a daycare for Addie. Back to the land of daycare list hell, where centres have 2+ year waiting lists for infant spots (once again, how does this even make sense?)

Apparently there are nursery schools in our fine city where you have to put your kid on the list when they're born in order to secure a spot when they're 3+. Seriously? SERIOUSLY? This is ridiculous. I'm refusing to participate out of principle. So Addie probably won't go to one of those fancy nursery schools, or maybe I'll just call incessantly, or go to an open house, and "miraculously" be granted a spot when she needs one.

The way I feel about daycare and now nursery-school lists is how I'm feeling about retail. Like there's some magic, secret code you need to decipher to get the right stuff at the right time. I am currently on a hunt for rain, "splash" pants. Daycare says Addie needs them, and I want her to play outside without getting soaked. Good mom move, right? So today I went to 5 different stores, on my search for splash pants. No pants anywhere. A few coats remain in really small or really big sizes, and some rain boots, but no pants. Everywhere I went they kept saying, "Oh no. We've been out of those for a while." Um, sorry? It's only April 14th. We're right smack in the middle of April showers. It's as if the retail world thinks the rain hits between March 1st and April 1st, and then there's nothing but sunshine and butterflies. Screw you, retail.

I will probably end up ordering some online, but that will take longer than I was hoping for. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, and for the rest of the week. So it looks like a soaker for Addie on Friday at daycare unless by some miracle I can find pants tonight.

I wish I had the inside scoop. I wish I knew when new stock arrives at the top 10 children's stores so I could be "that" mom. The super organized one who is well prepared, well in advance. The one who has snow boots, mitts, rain boots and pants, and sun hats at precisely the right time in exactly the right size. I'm new to this. Clearly I have some work to do.

Honest Scrap Award.

2010-04-08T08:03:00.005-04:00

Lisa bestowed upon me, and this blog, an Honest Scrap Award - always exciting to "win" any kind of award! Thanks Lisa : ) You can visit her blog, which you really should do because she's all kinds of awesome.

The Honest Scrap Award Rules say that I must:

1. Brag about the award.(See above)
2. Include the name of the blogger who gave you the award and link back to that blogger. Thanks again, Lisa!
3. Choose a selection of blogs that you find brilliant in honest content.
4. Show their names and links and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with this award.

* McMommy, because she always makes me laugh! The McMommy Chronicles

* Sharon's blog on yummymummyclub.ca is always honest and refreshing. And she's funny. All great reasons to have a read!

* Want to read about the essentials for your spring wardrobe AND parenting advice? Check out Loukia's blog.

5. List at least ten honest things about yourself.

1. I'm super crazy competitive when playing games. Even with small children. It's a problem.
2. I'm terrified of spiders and am not sure I can avoid passing that along to the kidlet. I'll scream and run for sure if one lands on me - even if *A* is right there to witness.
3. I still text and drive sometimes - only at stoplights though. But I am going to stop. Today is the plan.
4. I *might* be missing that patient, mom gene. Right now I can't imagine having more than 1 kidlet.
5. I sometimes get jealous of my hubby going to work on the days I'm home with *A*, because he gets to drive in traffic for at least 20 minutes, alone.
6. I stole this one from Lisa, but if I find an eyelash I also have to make a wish while I blow it off my finger. I keep my eyes closed in case I don't get it off the first time.
7. On the note of bizarre little rituals, I also toss spilled salt over my shoulder, won't walk under a ladder, feel slightly nervous when a black cat crosses my path, and wear my underwear inside out on days I need a lot of luck.
8. I am immune to peer pressure. Can't make me do something I don't want to do.
9. I've been known to cry at ridiculous commercials. Like banking or health insurance or orange juice commercials. I try to hide it when it happens.
10. Sometimes I try to start a fight just for the fun of it. The hubby never gives in, which is probably one of the reasons we'll stay married forever.
11. I worry far too much about everything. If I could change one thing, this would be it.

Splash pants.

2010-04-07T21:04:00.004-04:00

*A* had her first day at her new daycare today. For the past few days I've been prepping her, telling her about her new school and all the new friends she'll meet. She has no idea what I'm talking about (I know this because she would respond with "yes" and "no" depending on her mood, not the question) but it made me feel better. I was nervous about the switch because her last centre was amazing - they loved her and the feeling was mutual. I felt comfortable with all her teachers, loved the directors (who are also the owners) and after nearly a year, I had the routine down.

So this morning I dropped her off with her massive bag of stuff (all Mabel labeled of course!), unloaded everything into her cubby, handed her to Mr. Tyler (one of her new teachers), and left before there could be any tears. She was actually ok, and if anything just looked a little confused about why she was there.

I was happy drop off went so well, and there was no "She's having a meltdown!" phone call, which was great. I had a meeting and got some work done, and then went to pick her up. It was raining pretty hard when I got there and all the kids were outside - apparently at this new centre the kids play outside rain or shine (unless it's raining cat and dogs). The teacher met me at the front and said *A* had a great day, only one small meltdown before lunch and a good nap. Whew. Then she said, "But she needs splash pants. Do you have any?" Um, sorry, what are "splash pants?" So I asked, the two teachers laughed a little (definitely laughed at me) and explained splash pants are rain pants (why can't they just call them 'rain pants'?)

So when I walked to the back play area to get her the poor kidlet was soaked - I hadn't sent her raincoat today because I assumed she wouldn't be outside in the rain. So her spring jacket was sopping (luckily she was dry underneath) and her pants were soaked from going down the slide in the rain. She did have rainboots at least. I felt like such a bad mom, with my kid on her first day not dressed appropriately for the elements. Sigh.

Forget the splash pants, tomorrow we're going to buy a full rain suit so she can slide and slosh around in comfort.

Quick hello

2010-04-05T07:46:00.005-04:00

Painting with Mommy & Uncle D.

Love hangin' with my big cousins!

I have a longer post to write but *A* is home with me today, and I have some work to do, so it will have to wait until she's in bed.

Hope everyone had a great long weekend - we were busy, busy, busy. Adam and I had a date night, we spent time with family, had professional photos taken, and tried to limit our caloric intake. Didn't take a lot of pics this weekend but here are a couple from our Easter brunch at my mom's yesterday. Talk soon!

Bad habits.

2010-03-28T21:21:00.003-04:00

I have a few. I'm also in denial about them. For example, I love coffee. It's probably not great for me (although I'm sticking with the antioxidant story) but I don't care. Yup, you heard that right. I don't care. My love of coffee runs so deep that I will never, ever, ever give it up. I just said to Adam yesterday that one of my great dreams is to wake up in the morning, roll over and see a steaming cup of java on the nightstand. Ahhhhh. He rolled his eyes.

I wonder what impact those bad habits may have on *A*. She already likes to pretend drink her "Ahfee" from one of my travel mugs, and seems to be sympathetic to my need for that first early-morning coffee. Adam sternly told me today that she can't have coffee until she's an adult. Um, yeah. Obviously I know that. But the fact that he felt the need to remind me tells me he understands how deep the love (bad habit) runs.

Anyway, I wonder how you handle it when you're trying to prevent your kids from developing a bad habit, and it's one you do yourself? Do you carefully hide it, while working to keep them from falling down the same slippery slope? Do you stop the bad habit to be a pure and true role model? I'm hoping she hates the taste of coffee - then we won't have to worry about this particular (bad) habit.

Oh, how I wish kids came with a personalized manual. I wish for that nearly daily.

Jumping with Joy.

2010-03-26T10:46:00.002-04:00

Addie has yet to master the JUMP so this is her version. She has an explosive start but never quite gets her feet off the ground - but she's really happy while she tries. It's too cute for words. Happy Friday everyone!

Potty Training

2010-03-25T12:33:00.002-04:00

It's happened again. The dreaded comparison. This time it's all about potty training, something which Addie is not all that interested in at the moment.

At daycare they have a white board that lists what happened during the day. How much each kid ate, when they slept, and their bathroom habits. It's helpful to know where you're kidlet is at, and I love that board. Except for this week when I realized there are kids younger than Addie who are consistently peeing on the potty. Oh boy.

Have I even paid attention to how to potty train? No. Have I read a single book? No. I did read one article that landed in my inbox that said you can't force a kid to potty training - that they'll do it when ready. So it left me wondering - am I doing something wrong? Should I have been "training" her for her training?

We do have a little potty but she's afraid to sit on it unless fully clothed and riding it through the house (I posted a vid a couple of weeks back demonstrating this). Its real purpose is totally lost on her. So I bought one yesterday that has a happy face, a flusher that clicks, and sings songs when you go in it. The cheapest piece of plastic you can find for the price of $34.99. Crazy.

But she's taken a liking to it. She cried this morning to leave that potty. She likes to flush it, and says "happy face" while touching the painted on smile, and has figured out how to make the music go. She did sit on it without a diaper a few times today, and I cheered and clapped. I think we've made progress.

Foto Friday

2010-03-19T09:05:00.004-04:00

Good morning everyone!
I can now put "good" in front of "morning" because Addie has slept until at least 6:15 all week. Ahhhhhh. I am officially back in the game. I was even "sleep stupid" yesterday because I slept too much - such a nice problem to have.

Thought I'd put a few pics of Addie up for today. Have a few more blog posts brewing in the old brain but need more time than I have right now to get those down. Tomorrow. There's always tomorrow...

Possibly my fave pic of Addie, ever.

Late afternoon playtime in the sun.

Rockin' my new hat.

Hangin' with *I*, my awesome neighbour.

High five for mommy.

St. Paddy's day green!

Trying to get a smile...this was as close as we got.

Action shot! Puddle jumping with grammy.

Letter #2

2010-03-16T09:38:00.001-04:00

Dear DST,

Thank you so much for responding to my letter yesterday. It seems the memo had been sent to the wrong address, but Addie received the one you sent last night and slept until 7am this morning.

We appreciate your prompt response.
Karma

(aka "Hoping this isn't just a one-night kinda thing" Mom)

A letter

2010-03-15T13:05:00.002-04:00

Dear Daylight Saving Time,

I thought we had a deal. Did you not get the memo? When we met in November of last year I mentioned that I understood you needed to roll the clocks back. I accepted that Addie would then get up earlier for a while, and I was ready.

It's been a long few months. Addie's morning wake up time continues to be predictable only in the sense that it's always early. Before the sun has even considered waking up. So when I heard you were coming back to town this past weekend, I was hopeful. I cared little about the lost hour of sleep. It was going to be *perfect* because wake up time would be one hour later. I was giddy. I had visions of opening one eye a crack and seeing 7am on my alarm clock.

But somehow Addie didn't get the memo you sent. I'm pretty sure I gave you her correct address. She seems to think now bedtime is one hour later and wake up time is anytime BEFORE 5am. I can only drink so much coffee, Daylight Saving Time.

I look forward to hearing any solutions you have.
Sincerely,
Karma (aka Tired & Cranky Mommy)

Naps.

2010-03-13T13:50:00.002-05:00

Naps still elude us.

But thanks to IndyComp0T1 for reminding me of the stroller naps and getting me out of my gas guzzling SUV.

She's currently slumbering in her stroller, wrapped in her bunting bag and reclined as far back as she'll go.

I'm enjoying lunch, a cup of tea, and a few moments of peace and quiet.

But I'm A.F.R.A.I.D to try the crib nap again. Do I have to? This is working so well.

*Sigh* I know the crib is better. I'll try again tomorrow (maybe)

: )

When is it time?

2010-03-13T13:14:00.005-05:00

The other day Addie and I were out in our 'hood buying stickers (yes, with VERY short naps this is an outting) and as we were leaving a woman asked me if I had a blog. The crazy thing is, this isn't the first time!

This woman had recognized Addie. She was lovely and gracious, and it was great meeting her two daughters, but it left me wondering if maybe the time has come. To start a fresh blog, one where Addison can exist under a secret name and without her picture plastered everywhere. I worry more about it for when she starts school, and understands the whole story of how she came to be. It feels to me like she should get to decide who knows that story.

Now I know I'll need to keep the pictures coming for the grandparents etc, and there may be some others out there who would like to continue watching her grow, month by month. But this feels like an opportunity to take on a new direction...although at the moment I'm not sure exactly what that would look like. So I guess until I do, we'll stay put.

Working on her voice...

2010-03-08T19:59:00.002-05:00

What are you wearing?

2010-03-06T06:58:00.003-05:00

I've typically dressed Addie in clothes that I think will be comfortable for her stage of life. As a newborn, she lived in onesies and babylegs. A few months in I'd put her in some of the cute dresses/skirts we were given. When she started crawling it was leggings and matching tops usually - no dresses in that stage because they just weren't practical.

Once she started walking (running) her wardrobe certainly opened up, but I still find I don't put her in dresses or frilly/girly things all that often. Somewhere along the way I decided she's more tomboy-ish, so she rocks the jeans and SuperGirl long-sleeved Ts more often than the sweaters with bows and flowers matched with a bubble skirt. Of course she does wear A LOT of pink, but that has more to do with what's available out there. Girls wear pink. Boys wear blue. Or so says the G*AP and Children's*Place.

A lot of her "style" is my doing: I'm more of a jeans and black turtleneck kinda girl and I only own dresses for the occasional wedding or formal event. I have very low tolerance for all that stuff - the thought of tights, and skirts, and pretty little sweaters, and hair bows...ugh. So much effort when all she really wants to do is roll around on the grass outside. Addie does sport little pigtails but there have been no bow-covered hairclips or headbands at this stage. It just doesn't seem like her style personality.

Now I know that probably sounds crazy. How can a 20-month old have style personality? Well, have you looked around your playgroups/daycare classes recently? You can almost tell which kid belongs to which parent by what they're wearing. For example, in Addie's class there's a little girl who I don't think I've ever seen wear pink but is usually wearing skinny jeans tucked into brown leather boots, paired with a sweater and no hair accessories whatsoever. She also has some funky hats and a little leather jacket. Then there's another little girl who is always dressed head to toe in pink, girly frills. Hair bows, pretty little shoes, and dresses with tights. Then there's the one in leggings, a rock-star inspired shirt and converse runners.

I wonder how all these parental style choices will affect the kids' own choices as they grow up and get to the place where they get to decide what they want to wear. That would be a fun experiment to watch!

20-months and counting...

2010-03-04T14:23:00.007-05:00

Addie turns 21-months on March 11th. The more time that passes, the less easy I find it to remember what life was like before her. I'm fairly certain I thought I was busy *back then*. HA! I'm also certain I looked a little less haggard than I do now...and I'm certain I drink more wine these days.

I choose to blame my current state of disarray on the relentless sickness that has swept through our household for the past 8 weeks. The poor kid has had everything under the sun - including the stomach flu this past weekend, which resulted in our house resembling that scene from the exorcist. It was not good. I almost didn't want to take her back to daycare, because it seems that she picks up the virus du jour literally every day. And if I hear one more time, "This is all good...she's building her immunity...just wait, in (insert 2, 3, or 4) years she'll NEVER get sick!" I may have to resort to violence. Maybe she is building her immune system. But it doesn't help to hear how "normal" this is while you're trying to live through it.

So on to my update. Addie is a definite firecracker kid, which will come as no surprise to anyone who has been following along since the beginning. She knows what she wants, and will let you know in whatever manner works best for HER. It could be a happy "Please!" or it could be a red-faced SCREAM: she decides which mood she's in and then goes for it. If I'm being honest, I secretly love that she's full of guts and fire - she will definitely be a leader, and I know that once she learns to temper (verb) that temper (noun), she'll be a force to be reckoned with.

Her vocabulary has skyrocketed. I stopped counting her words once I hit about 50...and it seems like every day she's picking up something new. We really have to watch what we're saying now or we may end up hearing it played back at an inopportune time. She LOVES to read, and as soon as a book is finished she'll shout, "AGAIN!" and back to page 1 we go. I think we could probably recite Are You My Mother? or F Is For Farm or Goodnight Moon with our eyes closed. She's just started to pay attention to TV and Treehouse has provided some much needed distraction over the past month. She won't watch a whole show, but will intently watch for a few minutes at a time, which is sometimes all I need to run up or downstairs to grab something.

As for food, she's a little more picky than she used to be, but once again I'll blame some of that on all her sicknesses. Her faves right now include; apple & cinnamon pitas, yogurt, oatmeal, raisins, blueberries/raspberries, applesauce and apples, tzatziki dip, veggie burgers, broccoli, homemade muffins and hermit cookies (she ate 4 the other day!), cream cheese on toast, and sweet potato. And she's crazy for goldfish crackers but I only give those to her every now and again because of all the gunk that's in them.

Sleep has been more of a challenge and I think I'm more sleep-deprived than I was when she was a baby. She's going to bed by 7pm, waking up around 5-5:30am and taking about a 45min-1hr nap. Ugh. Luckily she does sleep through the night when she's well, but the early morning and no nap thing make for a VERY long day. Some weekends Adam and I look at each other at 9am and can't believe some people aren't even out of bed yet!

She currently loves lipbalm (yes, she takes after her mommy), shoes, having her hair in pretty barrettes or pigtails, alternating between kissing and yelling at Quincy, and turning the water faucet/light switch/TV remote/Adam's iPhone/home phone on and off repeatedly.

She's also going to be changing daycares as of April, which was a tough decision but makes the most sense for us as a family. We've decided to only put her in part-time so I can spend a couple of days a week with her, doing fun stuff. These days she's either home with me due to sickness (not fun) or we're running around doing errands etc. on the weekends (also, not fun) and since she's it for us, I want to spend some quality time with her. I also have a lot of friends either on mat leave or who have chosen to be stay-at-home moms so I'm looking forward to some play dates in our future! It's hard to imagine her leaving where she is right now, because they've been awesome - she loves them and they love her. But it's over by where I used to work, and now I have to drive through traffic on the way there and back to take her. The new daycare is in our 'hood and on nice days I can grab the running stroller and get some exercise in at the same time. Perfect!

Ok, that about wraps it up. Here are a few pics and a video of our 20-month-old little wonder. Hope you're all doing well.

Picture quality not great, but this is the look we get usually in warning before the SCREAM. Classic.

Best buds - most of the time : )

Olympic spirit with Papa.

Wearing Mommy's boots backwards - she walked all over the place like that!

Trying on Mommy's coat - a little big you think?

This is where we're at with potty training. Clearly we have some work to do...

The things that are different, the things that aren't

2010-03-01T07:30:00.009-05:00

Since becoming a mom I've thought a lot about the ways I've changed - and in some cases, more importantly (at least to me), the ways I haven't.

How things have changed:

I have accepted that it's going to be a long time until I get to what I want, when I want. This has not been easy, and I may have been fighting it for about, oh, 20-months, but here I am.
I have found what I consider to be an incredible amount of patience for my child - now I am an impatient person, so there's always room for improvement, but this has been a good thing for me.
I care a lot less about what people think of me overall, but I care A LOT about how I am as a mom. I think about this one often.
I am a lot less organized and tidy. I am grateful for our cleaning lady, and advance warning for visits from friends.
I feel bonded to Addison in a way I can't explain. It goes beyond love. If you have a kid, you know what I mean. If you don't, imagine a tiny extension of your heart, brain, and soul running around outside of your body. Bonded.
I care about things I didn't before, like child development, non-choking foods, and car seats. I used to research exotic vacations and shoes online - now my bookmarks are for daycares, recipes, kid gear, and parenting advice sites.
I used to hold my husband's hand. Sometimes I think about it, and try to hold it, but it never lasts long because a stroller/kid/sippy cup gets in the way.
I used to have the capacity to hold extraordinary amounts of detail in my brain without writing anything down. That is long, long gone and I'm not sure it's ever coming back. Because once I'm done thinking (worrying) about Addie non-stop for the next 20+ years, I'll be in the early stages of age-induced dementia : )
I can't believe how often I wonder, "What the @#!$%# am I supposed to do now?"
I went out with friends. I chatted on the phone. I saw the Oscar nominated movies. I drank coffee and read a magazine cover-t0-cover, I exercised religiously, and I think I drank less wine.
I used to feel in control. Enough said!
I have actually thrown a temper tantrum or two since becoming a mom. Wonder where Addie gets it? ; )
I appreciate my parents in a whole new way. Always thought they were awesome - now I know just how awesome!
I have a lot more respect and empathy for parents, and moms in particular. It is hard, hard work being a parent.

How things have stayed the same:

Work is still very important to me. Why would that change?
I'm still selfish, but not in the "bad" way - in the way that I appreciate who I am and know what I need to do to stay sane (like the occasional mani/pedi, coffee with friends, or movie with my husband).
If I don't get regular "me" time, I lose it. Ask Adam, he can vouch for this one. I didn't suddenly become exclusively altruistic once Addie arrived.
While I may have a new understanding for the complexities of parenthood, I haven't shifted from my parenting style. Adam and I believe in parent-led parenting - so while we may not always feel in control, we are always in charge.
I'm still impatient, and since Addie gets about 97% of my patience, poor Quincy and Adam suffer the consequences of only getting what's left over.
I still complain. I know I had cancer, and lost my fertility, and needed my sister to carry Addie for us, and by some miracle, actually got a baby out of all of that. I think some people, when they hear that story, can't imagine a day ever sucking. With all that "good luck" having come our way, how could I ever complain? Because I'm human, despite my crazy/amazing/I'm forever grateful story.
I care about my hair, make up, nails, clothes, house, shoes, and physique. For me, the idea of letting all that stuff just "go" is sad. I spent 35 years taking care of myself so why should I stop now? Having said that, some days I can only care about a 6 out of 10, but that's better than giving up entirely.
I give advice freely, like always, but generally only when asked...unless I can't stop myself, and then you might get an earful.
I still believe everything begins and ends with Adam and me. If we're in harmony, so is our family. Addie will only benefit because we pay attention to each other, and never forget how important our marriage is.

What's changed for you? What's stayed the same?

An "Electrifying" Post

2010-02-23T07:51:00.006-05:00

This post is an entry for a Mabel's Labels contest. If you haven't heard me talk about these everything-to-everyone labels yet, welcome, because you must be new! It's a contest for a NYC trip to the BlogHer '10 conference and a year-long blogging job with Mabel's Labels. And since you all know how much I love to blog...well, I just had to enter!

Here's the premise:
Write a post on your blog in response to the following hypothetical situation: Electrical storms are going to wipe out the internet (perhaps forever). You have one day left to write about your passions: what do you want to say to the blogosphere in 300 words or less?

While I *tried* for humour, you should all know that I would shrivel up if the internet was totally wiped out. SHRIVEL.UP. I have loved getting to know all of you and reading your stories as well. Isn't it amazing how well you can connect with people through a computer screen?

T’was the night before the great storm and all through the net,

The blogosphere was a-twitter with hollers and fret.

The bloggers were closing their much beloved sites,

And praying tomorrow they’d have somewhere to write.

Keyboards lay silent, their owners asleep,

While blogless visions saddened the tweeps.

And I with Blogger still open on my lap,

Was nowhere near ready to settle down for a nap.

What would I do, without all of you?

My online friends, the old and the new,

Always ready with a “woot”, comment or two,

Retweeting my content for others to view.

I’ll miss the avatars, cute backgrounds, and feeds,

And I’m not sure what I’ll do to fill all my needs.

On Twitter! On Facebook! Let bloggers unite!

Together we’ll survive this terrible night.

My role as a mom has been easier no doubt,

Because of this forum to bounce ideas about.

It’s also a place to get out of my head,

Which sadly tomorrow, may fill up with dread.

How will I introduce myself, after this storm?

Is “I’m @karmak1…” considered good form?

Wherever will I go for advice on my tyke,

If the blog world dies with a lighting strike?

So if this is my last shot, I’ll shout loud and clear:

Thank you, my friends, for always being near.

For your posts, comments and fun-to-get tweets,

You really have been some of my favourite peeps.

But before I log off, this one final time,

I’ll say a few words, which hopefully rhyme.

I’m happy to have met you, wherever you exist,

Goodnight fellow bloggers – you all will be missed.

What are you eating?

2010-02-21T21:42:00.004-05:00

*For those asking about the drop hermit cookie recipe, you can find it here. I made a few changes: I added 1/4 cup pumpkin puree, 2 tbsp molasses, 1/4 of the brown sugar and 1/4 cup of maple syrup, didn't use chocolate chips but used raisins instead (chopped dates would be good too!)...and I would have probably pulled them out of the oven a minute before I did. But they're all gone and now I need to make more!

Adam and I watched Food Inc. this weekend. If you haven't seen it yet I will say two things:

1) Watch it. It's life altering.
2) Watch it only if you're willing to make some changes.

The whole premise behind this documentary is the path of our food. When you're eating that box of breakfast cereal, or that hamburger from a fast-food chain, do you have any idea where that food started? In some cases the food we eat every day isn't even "real" food. Scary stuff. There were a few shocking things for me. Like the fact that the hamburger you're scarfing along with those fries could contain meat from literally hundreds of cows. Or that the chicken you bought to go in your veggie-filled stir fry was (quick) grown in only 49 days, thanks to modifications to how the chickens are bred and fed. Or that those soybeans in my "healthy" tofu came from genetically modified seeds. I can't tell you how many times during that movie I turned to Adam and said, "What the hell? This is F&!**D up!"

The timing was perfect. Adam and I have been more and more concerned recently with how much processed food Addie gets - and we're careful about that kind of stuff! We truly rarely eat fast food (maybe 2x year when we're on a cottage road trip) and make a lot of healthy at-home meals. But some of her (easy/portable/she loves them) snacks labelled "organic" are still filled with things like "organic high fructose corn syrup." And this is where it gets frustrating. You REALLY have to read labels. High fructose corn syrup, organic or not, is not good for you.

So I've started looking into alternatives. I found a great hermit cookie recipe that has goodies like maple syrup, raisins, cinnamon, and butter, but is low-sugar and only contains ingredients I put in there. Those cookies are replacing the organic cereal bars. We're trying to use natural ingredients as much as possible, like maple syrup for sweetness and butter instead of margarine, and peanut butter with only (gasp) peanuts. And we're shifting to grass fed beef (watch the movie to understand why) and free run, naturally raised chicken. It's all going to cost more, and take more time to prepare, but I feel a lot better about what's going in our bodies. Especially for Addie. I swear a fast-food burger will never cross her lips on my watch!

The message was pretty clear: make your own food and buy the best ingredients you can. So that is our mission...I'm one step away from starting a chicken coop in our backyard and growing a veggie garden! But it's still a pretty big step away : )

Valentine's Day

2010-02-13T08:28:00.002-05:00

I think I've mentioned before, probably this time last year, that we don't celebrate VDay in our house. We feel it's a cheesy, commercial, cheesy holiday. Now I know others love it, but it just isn't our thing. I've pretty much banned even a card on VDay from Adam - our anniversary is Feb. 5th so that tends to be when we celebrate love, or something like that : ) I'm not sure what we'll do with Addie around VDay once she's old enough to understand. She did get a bunch of cards from daycare yesterday...speaking of which, what's the deal with giving every kid in her class a valentines? I did it because I think I *heard* that's just what people do, and I didn't want to be the one parent who didn't, but really? Seems excessively unecessary to me.

I wrote a piece this week for the blog I'm working on in honor of Feb. 14th and thought I'd share for fun. Anyone else in this boat? The whole romance after kids thing...yeah, all you parents know what I'm talking about!

So if you celebrate VDay - enjoy. If not, have fun doing whatever you choose to do this weekend. We're heading up north to see the grandparents. Adam and I are going to get a little skiing in and take advantage of the (free) babysitting!

Please vote for my sis!

2010-02-12T09:15:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone -

So I entered our story in a Mothers & Mentors contest, where number of votes determines winners. So please go and vote for Jenna so we can win! I figure she deserves it - after all, she did carry Addison for us : ) Click here to vote.

Thanks!

Photo Thursday

2010-02-11T06:55:00.003-05:00

Snow fun!

Bedtime reading with Papa.

Snack & book with Nana.

Love my Minnie shirt!

Trying on momma's hat.

Addie loves "Horse-ys!"...but it sounds like she's saying, "Ass-ys!"

Car Napping: The new trend.

2010-02-10T14:44:00.002-05:00

Once again, where have I been? Well, there's been more sickness in the form of a cold for Addie and Adam, and so "life" has been squeezed into the hours before 7am and after 7pm. Not a lot of time for all the little things that need to get done. The house is a disaster, we've ordered out more times in the past few weeks than I care to count, and I have heaps of laundry to do. C'est la vie.

In other news, it seems that Addie has decided her crib is inappropriate for napping. No matter how tired, or how comfy/cozy/bottle-fied I make nap time (yes, I am trying to cheat the system with the beloved bottle), she R.E.F.U.S.E.S to nap. Screams about it. Coughs until she throws up that lovely bottle. Joy. So what have we resorted to? Driving. The moment she gets in that car seat and the car moves, she's out. Snoring. Drooling. Out.

So Adam and I have had lovely weekend drives to Whitby, and Milton, and The Forks of the Credit River. We typically pick a destination where we can hit a drive-thru Timmy's and then we're good to go. It has given us a chance to catch up and chat. But it's a pretty costly way to spend nap time.

Anyway, what's the point of this post other than to lament our car napping existence these days? I'm looking for ideas, solutions, stories of "been there, done that", but mostly I'm looking for someone to tell me she will nap again in her crib. Anyone?

The week from hell.

2010-02-04T22:10:00.004-05:00

Ok. So I haven't blogged in WELL over a week. Where have we been, you ask? Mostly in a sea of winter sickness. And we have now come out the other side so I'm squeezing in a quick post before I head to bed.

It all started two weekends ago with a cough. The cough turned into a fever and cough, which turned into an ear infection, which led to antibiotics, which helped with the ear but not with the cough, which got worse, which then required a chest xray (at the hospital because that's where they do them for little ones), which showed pneumonia, which then led to a bunch of ventolin masks and steroids (ever tried to make a 19-month old put an oxygen mask over their face and KEEP it there?), which meant a miserable day spent in the hospital (with a whole bunch of other sick kids), which made for a very long, tiring, stressful week and weekend. Then I got food poisoning (or the flu from one of the dozens of barfing kids in the ER) just as Addie was starting to get better, so back to square zero we went.

Now everyone is well, Addie seems to have bounced right back, and we have her check up tomorrow to make sure all infections are gone.

Between all that sickness and oh, yeah, work, there was no time left over to do anything.

Hope you all had a better week than us. I'll be back soon for a more interesting post, I promise!

For the love of pumpkin.

2010-01-25T21:15:00.002-05:00

I bought a can of pumpkin a week ago. A BIG can. The plan was to add it to our morning oatmeal, because we recently discovered how much Addie loves her oatmeal with a little pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and some maple syrup. She ate her bowl, part of her Dad's and then half of mine that day.

So I was left with most of a can of pumpkin, wondering what to do with it. I know - major dilemma, right? So I started thinking of all the ways I could use it up; I made pumpkin muffins, pumpkin french toast, added it to spaghetti sauce (you have to try this - you don't taste the pumpkin at all but it adds extra veg), oatmeal again, and then put that last bit in mac & cheese. I have to say, it really added something special to my mac & cheese, and I felt better about eating it knowing it was packing some healthy pumpkin. So I thought I'd share my recipe, in case anyone is interested.

Karma's Mac & Cheese
Ingredients:

1 package of macaroni (or shells)
1 1/4 cup 1% milk
2 tbsp whole wheat flour
2 cups shredded cheese
1/4 cup light cream cheese
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped (optional)
1 tbsp mustard powder
1 tsp paprika
salt & pepper to taste
a few drops of hot sauce (optional)
1/3 cup pureed pumpkin
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs

Cook macaroni to al dente, drain and set aside. Whisk flour into milk in pot and heat on medium heat to just about boiling. Continue heating milk and flour until thickened (about 5 min). Stir in 1 1/2 cup shredded cheese (save 1/2 cup for top of casserole), cream cheese and let cheeses melt. Add in mustard powder, paprika, hot sauce, pumpkin, and salt and pepper. Whisk until smooth. Add onion and cook for another minute.

Pour sauce over macaroni in large pot and mix well. Pour sauce-covered macaroni into casserole dish (spray with cooking spray first) and top with panko bread crumbs and 1/2 cup of shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

The 'Dirty Dozen'...

2010-01-23T07:03:00.005-05:00

As part of my writing this past week for cheeky (it was a green theme) I did a little research for the organic vs. conventionally-grown debate. I had heard there were some fruits and veggies you SHOULD buy organic due to pesticide residue, and others where organic wasn't necessary. So I thought I'd share because personally, with a young daughter who I'm trying to fill with all good stuff, I found this list really helpful!

You can find it here.

Must Get Moving...Welcome to my soapbox...

2010-01-22T20:29:00.003-05:00

Last weekend we were out on a family walk through High Park and we started talking about exercise. Adam and I both run (he's a more regular runner than I am) and we try to be active as much as possible. That day we went for an hour and a half walk through the park, we each went for our respective runs later in the day, and then we took Addie to an indoor playground where she tore around for an hour. Exercise has always been a big part of both our lives and we will continue this trend with Addie. I know I've talked about all this before, but it struck me this weekend how few people are active on a regular basis.

I was talking about joining a running group because I have a SMALL goal of running a 10k this spring, and a LARGE goal of doing a 1/2 marathon in the late summer/fall. Adam was saying how too bad it was that I didn't have any girlfriends to run regularly with. I stopped and thought about my group of friends and realized very few of them do ANY kind of regular exercise. It actually made me pretty sad. How can we expect our kids to be active, and to *crave* fitness, if we don't model it for them? How are we healthy (really healthy) if we're not moving on a regular basis?

Canada, as a whole, is becoming less fit and more fat - a scary trend. Kids are not getting the same kind of physical activity we used to get at school (remember daily gym class?) or at home. They're on their butts more, in front of computer screens and playstations, and eating convenience food. Not good.

My hope for Addie is that she LOVES going out for a run, or playing a game of soccer, or trail hiking, or skiing (this one is non-negotiable in the Brown household!), or lifting weights at the gym...that without exercise something just feels 'off' for her. That's how I feel if I don't exercise at least 3x week - now granted, there are weeks when my fitness suffers because of work or other excuses, but I always get back at it the next week. I watch her at this age and all she does is MOVE. It's natural for her to be active, to run instead of walk, and to spend very little time sitting still. If anything, she's acting as my role model!

So please get out there, even if it's just for a brisk walk. Do SOMETHING active, something to get your heart going, and make sure to take your kids. And if you're in my neck of the woods, let me know if you want to train with me for a 1/2 marathon! We can suffer (read: get fitter) together : )

"Do you love Santa?"...

2010-01-16T22:20:00.005-05:00

This all started because someone (Mommy) made Addie sit on someone's (Santa's) knee. Way to go, Mommy!

Picture night.

2010-01-16T22:01:00.005-05:00

Thanks everyone for the great food suggestions! Definitely will be adding them in to the repertoire.

In other news, finally found the camera cord so here are a few pics of our sweet Addie Mae, now 19 months young. Time is whipping and whirling by...

I'll be able to wear this in, oh, 15 years!

Can't you see I'm busy here? Stop interrupting for a photo!

Bed Head. This is why I always have pigtails!

Everyone having fun on a lazy afternoon.

Hangin' with GrandNana.

Looking for some food ideas...

2010-01-13T21:39:00.003-05:00

I had big plans to post a few pics and a video tonight as well, but our camera cord seems to be MIA. I'll put a better effort into finding it tomorrow...this week has flown by. Work has been crazy - I feel like my laptop has become permanently fixed to my lap. So little time for blogging, but I'm going to try harder : )

Ok, so on to the topic for tonight: food. Addie has become a little more picky (some nights A LOT more picky) and I'm getting stumped. Add in the fact that tomatoes, and tomato products, give her hives (avoid for now), and that pizza is her fave...what can I put on as sauce instead? What other meals are you guys serving your kids for dinner?

Based on a recipe in one of my cookbooks, I tried adding pumpkin puree to oatmeal the other morning and she LOVED it. Asked for "More!", more than once. And after she ate her breakfast, she dug into Adam's bowl. It was a hit for sure - I need a few *hits* for dinner time as well!

So please, if you're in the mood to share, send me your faves so I can stop boring myself (and Addie) with dinner.

On another note...

2010-01-08T09:24:00.002-05:00

Just posted some new content on the cheeky blog I'm writing for. Check out the mommy musings for this week and tell me, can you relate?

www.cheekystride.com

Thanks!

The things I'll miss, and the things I won't.

2010-01-08T08:50:00.002-05:00

It's really hit me how fast Addison has changed over the past year. I can't even imagine who she'll be by next Christmas, or what she'll be doing. That is one great thing about having a child - you are so forced to live in the present. There are not many things in our life that make sure we're living in the here and now.

So having said that, there are definitely things I miss about her younger self, and other things I'm happy to say, "See ya later!" to. Here's my somewhat comprehensive list:

What I'll miss:

Her gummy grin - nothing like that.
The little buddha she used to be - she was so rolly polly this time last year.
Her warm and cuddly-ness when she would fall asleep as a newborn.
The way she would belly laugh at the most innate things...like a spoon, or Quincy's tail.
The first time she crawled, and took a step. Big milestones we never get back, but are grateful to have caught on video!
How she used to just like there, cooing away, while I changed her diaper (it used to be SO easy).
The stage she's in now: She's so fun right now. This is an amazing age.
The first time she tasted "real" food. It was so cute to watch her slurp it off the spoon.
How she'll give us hugs when we ask, or kiss us with a big "MMMMMMM" sound.
The ability to put her in a bouncy chair, playpen, jolly jumper or bumbo without having to worry how she might be getting into trouble.
All her adorable words and the way she says them. My faves right now are when she says "pretty" and then brushes down her hair, or when she announces, "all done!" and raises her arms or hands you her plate/cup/food item. Her language is amazing right now.
How she sings with me while we drive. She chimes in with "la la la la la" through nearly every song, although her faves right now are anything by Raffi, "You are my sunshine" and the Do-Re-Mi song. I sing those A LOT in the car.
How easy it is for her to love her mommy and daddy. I know in the future, when she's a tween/teen, it isn't going to be quite as sweet as it is right now.
How she'll hold my hand - those warm little fingers clutching mine makes my heart melt.

What I'll be happy to leave behind:

The everyday fight to get the diaper changed, the clothes put on, the jacket/mitts/hat done up, and to get her in anything where she's strapped in (car seat/stroller).
How hard it is to get her to brush her teeth - I know this seems like such a small thing but it makes me CRAZY that she won't let me brush her teeth.
The diapers - I look forward to the end of diapers.
The food ups and downs. Right now she's on a tzatziki kick. She literally ate a cup of it last night, with a spoon, and wouldn't eat anything else. She kept asking for "MORE" while signing it at the same time.
I have to say I'm happy I'm no longer breastfeeding, although that one has been done for a long time now. It was never easy, or bonding for us, and while I'm glad I did it, I'm also glad it's over.
The newborn fear. I spent those first few months monitoring nearly every breath at night. Now we don't always use the monitor. Nice!
The need for a highchair, bib, little itty-bitty cutlery, sippy cups, bottles, homo milk, play pen, crib, stroller, car seat, diaper bag, diapers, wipes, and any other gear I'm not thinking about.

So because we know Addie will be it for us, I'm enjoying all of it as it happens. We take lots of photos and video (although we could probably do even more) and have great memories of her ages and stages. I try not to spend a lot of time feeling sad by how quickly she's growing up - what's the point? That means I'm going to be 'sad' about that for the next 18+ years! I'm just going to watch in amazement, and love every second of it.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T13:26:00.002-05:00

Amazing - January 1, 2010 is here. Where did 2009 go? Last year truly feels like a blur...this time last year Addie was *just* starting to crawl, and expanding her tastebuds beyond watered-down rice cereal. This year she's a running, talking, busy-busy-busy little girl...complete with pigtails, a mouthful of teeth, and a propensity to say "NO". Amazing.

I glanced back at last year's Jan 1 post, to see what goals we set for 2009. As I've mentioned, I don't do resolutions. Pointless. But goals I'm all over. Now some of the goals we set for last year didn't make it in 2009 - like a sibling project. And my book being finished. But so much great stuff happened, that I don't even care. That's what the goals of 2010 are all about! So I will put the book back on my list, but the sibling project has been put to rest for good. Now our goals revolve around focusing on Addison, and helping her to become the best person she can be. We'll also continue to look after our careers, our house projects, our attempts at more regular date nights, and a few other fun and exciting things.

So here's my Top 10 list for 2010:

Exercise more, and eat less junk.
Spend more time doing fun family activities. Now that Addie is older and more capable, our options have expanded.
Get back to people more quickly - whether email, phone or mail.
Spend more time with family and friends.
Finally, finally, finally, put up all the pictures in our house.
Take off my toenail polish, and repaint, rather than let it just grow out (I know, this seems like an odd one, but what this means is that I need to spend more time taking care of myself!)
Keep my computer closed when Addie is up and wanting to play.
Clean out all the junk drawers...and don't refill them!
Take a novel writing course and finish my book.
Document, in hard copy form, Addison's milestone moments. I had a dream a few weeks ago that the world wide web exploded and this blog was lost...

Happy New Year to all my blogger friends - hope 2010 brings amazing things your way!

A favourite Christmas tradition...

2009-12-30T10:46:00.003-05:00

I know this is a little late, but was thinking some out there might appreciate an idea for how to get around the "but if we have no fireplace, how does Santa get in here?" It also gives a little insight into the kind of creativity my parents have, and what shoes I now have to fill!

Check it out here

Our little Christmas Cutie

2009-12-29T22:17:00.004-05:00

Christmas Dinner cuteness.

Loving my gold shoes and xmas outfit - this girl loves her shoes!

Her new dolly, named "Isla"

She tried to rewrap the paper right after this picture...doesn't quite get the 'opening gifts' thing yet...

Forced xmas morning snuggle with Mommy, and stocking.

My sleep sack cape and a new wooden kitchen cooktop. Fun!

Our tree. You'll notice the decorations are only really on the top 1/3 of the tree. Yeah, she was NUTSO for the decorations.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday - relaxed, with good friends, family and food! We've had a great week, with both Adam and Addie home. Lots of family bonding time here in the Brown household! Hoping to get a New Year's post in tomorrow, or the next day...we'll see if miss Addie gives me a few minutes of uninterrupted time with my computer : )

Addie is giving back this Christmas to...

2009-12-24T10:01:00.002-05:00

The Salvation Army iKettle (Breakfast Televison's kettle) and Right to Play.

I usually try to make both donations local, but the charity we have donated to in the past didn't make enough this year to run (Santa in the City - they answer Santa letters from disadvantaged kids in T.O. and provide those gifts), so Right to Play got the second half of her gift.

I hope you and yours have a very Happy Holiday! And I hope, if you celebrate Christmas, that Santa is very good to everyone this year. On a side note, every time I tell Addie that Santa is coming to drop presents off for us tonight, she looks very concerned and says, "No...No...No Santa...No!" Obviously daycare Santa screwed up the whole thing for her this year. Oh well, it will be a distant memory by next Christmas ; )

Santa.

2009-12-22T19:07:00.005-05:00

Addie's daycare had their Christmas open house today, and Santa made a surprise appearance. So nice, with how busy I'm sure he is this week.

Anyway, I thought I'd put up two photos, to compare and contrast.

Here's last year...

And now, this year...

One.

2009-12-20T13:16:00.002-05:00

For some reason I've been thinking a lot lately about Addie being an only child. There were a few months there when it barely crossed my mind, but lately I find myself thinking about it again. It seems that a lot of the ads out there show a one kid family, and everyone looks so relaxed and happy! Or maybe it's because a few of my friends just had seconds, or are expecting again, and that just reinforces the fact that Addie is sibling-less.

Now I'm not really thinking about all this in any negative way, mind you. Just more contemplating life with one, and the responsibility I'm starting to feel to make sure she doesn't miss anything by being the only "one". What really started me thinking about the challenges of raising an only child (not challenges like there's too many of them and not enough of us, but more, how do we keep her from becoming self-centered?) was a little girl at a friend's party this past summer. She was an only child, and she acted the stereotypical part: she couldn't handle the attention being focused away from her. It was embarrassing, and a little mortifying - especially because it was someone else's birthday party. What keeps me up at night (not really, but figuratively speaking) is the idea of Addison becoming that little girl with no siblings around to keep her in check.

Now obviously we are very aware of this and so are in theory, well prepared to make sure it doesn't happen. BUT it's hard to not lavish the attention...after all, she IS it. Adam and I have been known to pull chairs up to her high chair at dinner and *watch* her eat her meal...then we realize what we're doing and try to look 'busy' doing something else. But I fear she's on to us.

We do have lots of friends with kids around Addison's age, and of course her cousins are around to give her a little kick if she gets too full of herself, but I hope (really hope) we don't screw her up. I know people say you can never give a child too much attention, and maybe that's true.

I don't think I really have a point here, or a question, this is more just a statement (again) about the state of affairs for us. We have Addie, and she's amazing. And while we many never know the joys of another little bundle, or of watching her play with a brother or sister, we have her.

Speaking of our pride and joy, here she is smiling for her Auntie Jenna at my Nana's 90th birthday party yesterday.

My new project...

2009-12-18T09:12:00.002-05:00

So as I've mentioned (once or twice!) I have ventured out on my own into the world of freelance writing. So far, so good. It's actually been great having the flexibility to do what I want, when I want...for the most part. I have found that working for myself, and working at home, means I'm often working OFTEN. Read: evenings and weekends. But I will strike a good balance, and in the meantime, I'm having lots of fun!

I wanted to share the project I've been working on - it's a blog that is part of a larger marketing campaign for a new product coming to market in early 2010. The blog is aimed at women, and revolves around the theme of confidence in all areas of life: fitness, fashion, health, wellness etc.

So if you have a spare moment, please stop by for a visit to the blog, which is called cheeky. And if you like it, feel free to pass it along to anyone else who you think may enjoy it!

I know this falls a little outside the realm of "The Adventures of Addison", but I will say that this project, and my freelancing, is making me a happier and more fulfilled mommy for Addie.

Thanks!

18 months. Wow.

2009-12-14T07:41:00.004-05:00

Addie is now officially 1.5 years old. I feel like I'm going to *blink* and she'll be heading off for her first day of school, then getting her driver's license, then moving out...wow. It really does go just like that, doesn't it? As I always have said, I'm looking forward to all the stages we have ahead, but I am a little sad about how many we've already enjoyed. I was looking back at pictures and videos from last xmas and I can't believe she's the same little girl - she was very much a "baby" last year. Big chubby cheeks and wobbling around in her bum.bo seat. This year she's running, talking, feeding herself, going to "school"...the changes only seem so extreme when I compare her to a year ago.

She's doing so many cool things these days - she has a whole vocab now. Some of her faves are: dadda, mama, dog, fish, "lahhh" (lights), Santa (a new addition!), horse, tree, Si-si (quincy), wawa (water), bubba (bottle), nana (banana), cookie, bear bear, cheese, NO, sun, shoes, baby, owl, pee-pee...and full conversations of words we just don't understand. She also gets a kick out of "Rudolph" and hums along with me when I sing it, adding in the word "Glee!" at the appropriate time. It's the only word she says through the whole song, but she always says it at exactly the right point. She's also starting to add words together, especially "Hi Dadda", "Hi Si-Si", "All done!", "More cookie"...very cute. I love the "Hi Dadda!" when Adam comes in the door - and I know Adam absolutely melts every time she says it. This kid is not going to have to work too hard to get *whatever* she wants out of her Daddy!

She's feeding herself pretty much everything, but has become a little more picky about what she wants to eat. Cheese and anything carb-like still tops the list, but she's hit or miss with meat. I think this is a fairly picky time in terms of food, so hopefully she'll grow out of that. On the other hand, she LOVES things you think a toddler may not - like tzatziki (she ate half a container yesterday), and olives.

Shoes are big in our house right now - we may have a problem in the future! She adores her shoes, and often *demands* to wear her little pink boots around the house with her footed PJs. Nice look. She also loves her homemade sleep sack, which she insists on wearing as a sort of cape, long after she's up in the morning.

She's also still quite "spirited", and definitely knows what she wants. We try and channel that energy into good, which works sometimes, and other times, well...Quincy usually gets the brunt of her excess energy. She's been known to pull his ears or tail and YELL or SCREAM in frustration - and Quincy, our sweet and adorable labradoodle, just takes it. What a good boy. But at the same time Addie adores Quincy and her favourite thing to do is feed him his breakfast or dinner, one kibble at a time. And he ever so gently eats it right out of her hand. Too cute. See for yourself!

Didn't get around to Christmas cards this year...

2009-12-10T18:40:00.002-05:00

Hopefully the grandparents forgive us! Maybe once they get this gem of an e-card...

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Is it just me, or is this a bad idea?

2009-12-08T19:37:00.001-05:00

As I was surfing the other day (part of my job, I swear!) I came across this:

It's call the "Time Out Pad" and essentially it's for exactly that, time outs. Your mischievous kid sits on it, you set the timer for how many minutes, and the moment their little tushie leaves the seat pad an alarm goes off and a red light comes on. Hmmm. Something seems *wrong* here. An alarm? What's wrong with a simple, "Excuse me (insert child's name), I don't think your time is up yet. Please sit back down." An alarm to train my kid? Doesn't this seem a little too Pavlovian to anyone else? You can watch it in action here, albeit with some way too loud background music going on (maybe to hide the alarm sound?)

I get it. Time outs are a valuable part of discipline strategy (they are, right?), and not having entered that sphere yet (when do time outs start anyway? OMG I have a lot of questions about this...gulp) I guess I shouldn't really comment. After all, there have been M.A.N.Y times so far through Addie's 17+ months when I have done exactly the thing I said I never (ever) would. We're all learning here after all. But there's just something about this little pad that doesn't sit right with me. It seems that by the time you set the pad on the stair, and set the timer, the point of "immediate action" is lost. And then the whole alarm thing...hmmm.

I think I'm going to stick to a stair, or maybe a cushion for the floor. That way if we're ever without the "prop", we won't be in trouble.

Thoughts? Let me know your time out strategies, and if you think this pad is a good idea or not.

Pics for a Monday

2009-12-07T20:48:00.001-05:00

Morning bottle with Bear-Bear

Smiling big for the camera.

Basking in the Sunday sunshine.

What? I didn't see a chocolate croissant...did you?

Hanging with my boyfriend, Alex.

Another fun gift...

2009-12-03T12:17:00.000-05:00

This one, called the Lunch Punch, was created by a mompreneur in Australia and looks like a great way to make kids' sandwiches WAY more fun to make and eat. It also cuts off the crusts automatically, which I know for some is a critical in getting the sandwich eaten.

I expect a few people in my life will be getting these in their stockings!

Love this gift for kids.

2009-12-03T12:01:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post today. I'm tackling my gift buying one day at a time, and I'm happy to say I knocked my niece and nephew off the list with these awesome personalized books.

Got this one for our niece, Emily, where she is the heroine of the story...

And this one for our nephew, Gavin. He'll have fun being a hero in space!

If I do get around to decorating...

2009-12-01T10:40:00.002-05:00

Thanks so much everyone for all the comments about the "chip" - I love the candidness with which everyone comments to such a post. And I'm very happy to hear so many of us are 'chip-less'!

Last week was crazy, hence the long pause between posts, but I am now officially out on my own working away in my 'office' (my dining room) and loving the flexibility. Yesterday was day 1, and all went so well. I focused and got a lot done, but also managed to have a meeting with the client I'm working with, get Addie to and from daycare, load and unload the dishwasher, do some laundry, grocery shop, hang out with Quincy...awesome. Adam said I looked better last night - less stressed and without what I call the 'crazy' eyes. Now the one downfall of being self-employed is that you can work at.any.time.of.the.day. So for the last week or so, because stuff was ramping up as I was ramping down at my job, I've been on the computer far too late into the evening. I even took it to bed the other night. Me, Adam, Quincy and Lucy, my new shiny white Mac.Book.

Back to decorating, I do want to add, for the sake of AC (the miniature village aunt), that mostly I'm jealous of her ability to create a holiday wonderland on her mantel. I wish she could come here with her miniatures and decorate my mantel (well, maybe the top of our cabinet seeing as we don't have a fireplace). But that leads me to the next question...

What's the decoration strategy when you have a toddler underfoot? I picture our xmas tree, covered in sparkling white lights and glass ball ornaments...on only the top third of the tree. I also imagine us having to install some kind of latch system, anchoring the tree to the wall so Addie doesn't pull it down. Which she will. The instant it goes up. That is our child. I suggested to Adam that we put the tree on the enclosed front porch. Yes, this was the best strategy I could come up with. How festive! We can enjoy the warm glow of the tree through our front window...that just isn't going to work.

So then I wonder if we should even put a tree up this year. But that makes me sad. Christ.mas without a tree? No, don't think I can do it.

Anyway, this is today's dilemma. Please let me know if you have any great ideas that don't involve building an ugly baby-gate barrier around the tree...although that might just be the way to go.

Comparisons.

2009-11-24T08:56:00.004-05:00

I think it's nearly impossible not to compare yourself to others. Professionally, personally...we all do it.

But now that I'm a mom I also compare in that realm. As a disclaimer I'm a confident person. It isn't like I make these comparisons and then feel like less of an employee/friend/wife/sister/daughter/mom as a result (well, usually anyway). More often than not, I'm simply left in awe by what others are doing and wonder...could I do that?

I have a few friends who are moms (granted, stay at home moms) and they are so organized. Homemade meals for kids and adults every night, great craft ideas, every wall has a picture in exactly the right spot, house is always tidy, eyebrows are always tweezed...there are days where I'm living the exact opposite scenario. Like yesterday. Addie ate half her breakfast in the car, I had teddy grahams and coffee for my breakfast (while I drove to daycare), I filed my nails at stoplights, dinner came out of the freezer, laundry sat unfolded, and the morning dishes were still there by the time we went to bed. In fairness to me, I know I'm working as well. So that makes a difference. But I think it's about more than that. And I can't help but to compare.

This is happening more often now that Christmas is right around the corner. Really it's more like a month away but the Christmas crazies have taken over the retail world and it's spilling into our everyday lives. I can't tell you how many people I know who have their trees, lights, wreaths, garland and knick knacks already on display. Me, I haven't even transferred my summer clothes into the bin and washed my winter stuff.

One of Addie's "aunts" (AC) was telling me yesterday how she put up her Dickens village on the weekend on their mantel. A whole freakin' village of miniatures, complete with townhouses and lightposts. I haven't even finished unpacking from Florida. Aside from the fact that I have a toddler, and she doesn't, what am I missing here? I like the idea of being that organized around a holiday - I do love Christmas and once December 1st hits I play nothing but caroles on my iPod and in the car (lucky Adam and Addie). But there will be no holiday village of miniatures displayed anywhere in my house, nor have I started Christmas shopping, or pulled out a single decoration, or started even thinking about cards (this one I do have to get moving on). And while I will send out Christmas cards, it's mostly because guilt is a strong motivator.

So this got me wondering...am I simply missing that chip? The one that decorates for the holidays over a month in advance? Or the one who makes a pot roast, yorkshire pudding, and pumpkin pie for Sunday dinner? I like the idea of being that person, being that domesticated. But I'm not. Or at least I can't keep it up long term. And I know that Addie's happiness is not dependent on me decorating a mantel - I do at least have that in perspective.

So make me feel better. Who else still has a decoration-free house and regularly pulls dinner out of the freezer?

The vacation experience.

2009-11-21T07:02:00.003-05:00

The other day I was chatting with my neighbour and she said something that completely summed up our vacation experience. She said, "A vacation with a little person isn't really 'VAcation', it's just a different 'LOcation'" Wise, wise words, from a mom of two who has been there, done that.

I've also learned that nearly everyone with a little person in their lives has made the tragic mistake of believing vacations post-baby can be *just* like vacations pre-baby. So on to our 'VA(LO)cation'...

As you know, it started with hand, foot and mouth. She looked terrible the day we left (you saw the photo) but was in better spirits, so that at least was a positive. We also paid a small fee to upgrade our flight (thanks to air.canada's new upgrade system, it's actually relatively inexpensive in the grand scheme of things to do this as a last minute upgrade), so we were thankful we would have two seats to ourselves, with a little more room for Addie (we didn't buy her a seat). All was going fine - we got through the check in process, enjoyed the lounge where Addie ran in circles for about an hour, and boarded the plane. It was her nap time so we thought she'd just crash once we were in air...yeah, right. After about 10 minutes in the air, the screaming began. It got tot he point where she was on the floor, between us, throwing a tantrum in business class. Nice. It only lasted about 10-15 minutes but oh, my. That was a long bunch of minutes. Adam and I at one point just looked at each other...'what should we do?' What could we do? Nothing. Lesson 1. When your child is throwing a temper tantrum, even if it's in business class, you mostly just need to let it run its course. So we did, and she eventually fell asleep on said floor and then stayed asleep on my lap for the rest of the flight. Whew.

We arrived in Florida to tropical storm Ida. So it was cloudy, but at least warm. The first few days this seemed ok. After all, beaming sun is not ideal for a 17-month old with skin that has barely seen the elements. We enjoyed the beach, shell hunting, and even swims in the pool, which was warm enough to be comfortable. We got into a routine: morning walk on the beach, golf cart ride through the complex, a swim, lunch and naps, then repeat. I think all would have been fine if Addie hadn't come down with a throat infection and cough, just as her HFMD spots were clearing up. The breaking point came when we tried to visit the Mote Aquarium - manatees, dolphins, sharks etc, and a fever for Addie. We also got lost on the way there, ending up on the wrong key and having to be car imprisoned for an extra hour or so. We ended up leaving the Aquarium ($34 lighter) before even getting to the good stuff because we were all pretty miserable.

Now luckily this part of the vacation didn't last too long - Addie was up every night, I was dosing her with tyle.nol regularly, and she sounded like a foghorn when she coughed. But then the sun (finally) came out, on Thursday afternoon, and all started looking better. Now our daily morning shell hunts were done with the sun warming our backs, and everything was so much brighter. Adam and I took turns going for daily runs on the beach (which was awesome, awesome) and we took a lot of pics with the sun glistening on the ocean, on the sand, and on us. There did continue to be tantrums, daily, and we continued to wish for a manual that would explain what to do about them. Lesson 2: come up with a tantrum-handling strategy BEFORE you leave for vacation so you aren't standing in a crowded parking lot arguing about the best way to deal with your child erupting like an emotional volcano.

So all in all we had a good week, with a few hiccups along the way. The place we stayed was great, and perfect for us because it meant we could keep a good routine going. Routine is key for toddlers - the more you keep them on a schedule they're comfortable with, the better (at least for Addison). Now I still feel like I need a VAcation, but what I've come to realize is that we aren't getting one of those for a little while. So I need to be patient.

The trip home was good, I upgraded with Addie again while Adam enjoyed a quiet (but cramped) trip in coach, and we had a great guy behind us who kept Addie entertained with endless games of peek-a-boo.

I think next time we go away we'll do things a bit differently. Lesson 3: When you have small kids, travel in groups with other couples with kids, or with family, or go to a LOcation where they have programs for kids. That way you can get a break, TOGETHER, and maybe have a few blissful moments of true VAcation.

I'll leave you with a video of a funny thing Addie started doing while we were away - no idea why she did this, but it started the moment we saw a tiny little ant on the balcony and has obviously continued once home. Enjoy!

We're back...

2009-11-16T20:36:00.009-05:00

Ok, too tired to really post but I'll leave you with this (and a few pics of course!):

There is nothing vacation-like about taking a vacation with a toddler. My romantic visions of long beach walks, shell hunting and enjoying the sun, and lazy afternoon naps and such, did not happen *exactly* as I imagined. It was a "vacation" filled with lots of great moments but also some challenging ones : ) What can I say? Toddlers rule the roost.

Addie's first visit to the ocean. Not too sure at first...

Ready for the beach!

Are there sharks in here?

Happy to be in my swimsuit in November!

Neighbourhood turtle.

Friendly porch gecko.

Imitating (chasing) the birds.

Mommy gets an arm workout.

Show me your tongue, Daddy!

Shells, shells, everywhere shells.

Where we like to visit the sharks - behind glass.

The ramp to the beach which Addie ran up and down at least 1,000 times...

The first sunset...when the sun finally came out.

Beautiful beach.

Daycare strikes again and we're off!

2009-11-08T07:19:00.003-05:00

This is going to be super short - it's been a very long and crazy week, and we're leaving for Florida today. It almost seems impossible that we've made it to today...

It all started with a low-grade fever for Addie on Tuesday. No big deal - 38.5 and gone with a dose of tyle.nol. Then there were a few red spots on her face and definite grumpiness by the next day. I ended up having to be home with her because she was so miserable. By Thursday she had totally broken out into red bumps all over her face, her diaper area, her legs, her hands and her feet. We went to the kid's walk in clinic at our local hospital (it's awesome - pediatricians staff it) and got the diagnosis: Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. I know. It sounds like I made it up. Basically it's a virus, much like the cold virus, but it presents in blisters and red lesions in the mouth and on the hands and feet (and pretty much everywhere else in her case.) The biggest problem has been inside her mouth - filled with canker like sores. So painful for her, and very painful for us to watch. It's been round the clock tyle.nol and advil for this little peanut, and even that hasn't always worked.

So Mommy has been on high alert duty - she pretty much has only wanted me, and that has been quite obviously time consuming : )

Now she seems a bit better today, which is good because we're headed to Florida for our week vacation. Here's hoping we've turned the corner and this will be a week filled with sun, sand and great memories as our first family vacation. Now if only the weather forecast would improve...
See you in a week!

Our little spotted girl...on day 1. You should have seen her on day 3...

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T21:26:00.007-04:00

Getting every last pumpkin seed for roasting...

Really? This is what I'm wearing?

Posing with Waldo, aka Daddy.

Pre-trick 'o treating.

On my first halloween adventure...

Working the neighbourhood.

Victorious! Smarties!

Happy Halloween!

With all this talk about work...

2009-10-27T20:54:00.002-04:00

I quit my job : )

Really, I did. It's time for a change, and I'm making a BIG one. I have been with my same employer for over 13 years - it's been a great place to work. I've been there through some pretty major life events, like cancer, and marriage, and a baby. Some of my best friends I've made at work. I've learned a lot over the years, and had a lot of opportunity...but it was time to go.

Lately I've been having what can only be described as a "craving" for a new challenge. I've been thinking about what it means to have a *job* versus a *calling*...and what I realized is that it's time to go after the *calling* and do something that really scares me. So I've decided to go out on my own and do freelance writing. I have my first contract and so I'm plunging in, head first. Very exciting, with a little terror sprinkled in : )

This all goes back to my post about being a working mommy. Addie will still be in daycare full time - although freelance means my schedule has some wiggle room which will be great. It's the best place for her to be right now - she's learning a lot, and having fun, and that makes me happy. And I can spend time focusing on myself as well, and getting this career off the ground. With Adam's clinic and my new venture, we hope to set a good example for Addie that, to use an old cliche, the world really is her oyster.

So I'm at my job until the end of November, and then I'll say bye-bye to security and hello to the unknown. Can't wait!

A few fall pictures.

2009-10-25T20:02:00.003-04:00

Looking cute in a tutu.

I like this one!

Patiently posing for her mommy.

Ok, Daddy, smile for mommy or she'll never stop.

Sisters and Addie at the cottage.

Loving the fall leaves.

One Kid Wonder

Happy 3rd Birthday kiddo, and finally, the final post.

For the love of hand sanitizer...

*Crickets*

Christmas

Why I'm now a bad blogger

"Pat-A-Cake", performed by the Kidlet

Potty Training Bootcamp - Part 2

Potty Training Bootcamp

Music

Happy Halloween!

Wordless Wednesday

Plugged in

My love of pumpkie? It's in the genes.

HAPPY TRANSFERVERSARY!

Wordless Wednesday

"But where are the lions?"

A dose of healthy competition

Dance a little dance...

Sing, sing a song...

Wordless Wednesday

Vacation

Wordless Wednesday

A smattering of updates

A must-see video for moms (& those to-be!)

Wordless Wednesday

The most boring of topics: Zip.loc bags

Wordless Wednesday

More chit chat on numbers

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Do you have an only?

Recipe share

Wordless Wednesday.

You know you're a Mom (or Dad) when...

A flurry of photos

Three things I stress about daily

Who I am, and who I want to be.

Comments, oh comments, where are you?

"Happy Birthday to YOOOOUUUUUUU..."

Strawberry Success

What a difference a year (or two) makes...

She's (almost) 2

June 11, 2010

Oh, right. I have a blog...

Our little monkey.

Coincidence or budding artist?

Green thumb.

ADVICE.

SLEEP.

What's the deal?

Honest Scrap Award.

Splash pants.

Quick hello

Bad habits.

Jumping with Joy.

Potty Training

Foto Friday

Letter #2

A letter

Naps.

When is it time?

Working on her voice...

What are you wearing?

20-months and counting...

The things that are different, the things that aren't

An "Electrifying" Post

What are you eating?

Valentine's Day

Please vote for my sis!

Photo Thursday

Car Napping: The new trend.

The week from hell.

For the love of pumpkin.

The 'Dirty Dozen'...

Must Get Moving...Welcome to my soapbox...

"Do you love Santa?"...

Picture night.

Looking for some food ideas...

On another note...

The things I'll miss, and the things I won't.

Crickets