Jul 28, 2010

PLEASE WATCH

Ladies, ladies, ladies... please watch this video and show it to your hubbies. I know we have all heard this before - don't throw water on a pan that's caught fire, but I know that would have still been my first instinct  and I DEFINITELY wouldn't expect it to make things so much worse... scary as heck!



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Shoes Please

I'm serious - I have been looking for white dress shoes for Jane for like a month and a half now! I can't find them anywhere. We have a wedding to be in in a week - no shoes. Although it is a summer wedding, me thinks that barefoot is not church-appropriate, non? :p

I can find tons of black, patent leather shoes for infants but NO WHITE!!! What the heck?!?! What little girl wears a black dress and, therefore, would require black dress shoes? Perhaps, this is why I can't find any white ones. Here's dilema (how the heck do you spell delema? delimna? dilema? dilemma? ahhh there it is - no red line under that one). Mommy brain still in full swing as you can see - although I'm not 100% sure I knew how to spell that pre-baby either! :p Stupid me. Oh, as I was saying (great previous sentence eh? - I almost left it at that without talking about dilemma number two) - delimma number (seriously - I just spelled that wrong again!!! DILEMMA number two is that I don't want to spend $50 on stupid shoes Jane is only going to wear once before she outgrows them! GRRRRRR. Is there a white shoe shortage?

Help. I need options. Quick. My sister needs shoes too or both Jane and "Luce" (Lucy) are going barefoot and beautiful - which, of course, we would think was cute while everyone else would be wondering what kind of mother would send their child out without shoes.

On that note. Only other mother's get that. Sometimes, I hit up the grocery store with Jane and no shoes. Non-moms look at you like your the mother from hell (That mom is so lazy she couldn't even put shoes on her child! HORRIBLE!). Other moms get it. Shoes are a pain in the A** sometimes. First of all, by the time I get to the store, both shoes are off and have likely been thrown at my head while driving. Secondly, if we make it into the store with the shoes we, never fail, end up backtracking through Sobeys looking for the $50 shoe that got dropped on the floor between the meat dept and the frozen food aisle (basically the entirety of the store of course). Thankfully, usually, I end up finding said shoe at customer service as someone was nice enough to see a tiny shoe and think I might need it... thank God for other Moms! Only another Mom would see a baby shoe on the floor and realize what would have happened.

Similar to that "note" is the fact that sometimes, and by sometimes I mean almost daily, I go out in public without realizing that my child's face is full of food. Non-moms look at you with disgust - That mom doesn't even care enough to clean their child! HORRIBLE! Moms get it - not only is my child's face full of food but it's likely that my own face, teeth and hair haven't been cleaned either. This morning, for example, I dropped Dan and Jane off to "work" (obviously Jane was going to daycare). I took her out of the car seat and handed her to Dan, then went to kiss her goodbye and realized breakfast was all over her face. Awesome. So, I did what any self-respecting mother would do and washed her face with my thumb and spit... ha ha ha, special. At least until Dan said "enough hun, she looks fine" and cut me off. I've literally gone to the playground before with an entire container of yogurt on Jane's face without even noticing... and it's only for the fact that it's other Moms there that I don't even bother explaining myself because I know they get it... it's only when I get down there and realize that she's got lunch on her face and no shoes on that I feel the need to explain myself. ha ha ha.

Alrighty, time for TMZ and tea. :)

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Jul 23, 2010

"Leash" Time

Ok, that title makes this sound crude... but it's not.

Lately, now that Jane is walking as her primary "method of transportation", I've been having these horrible "daydreams" about her getting hit by a car. I know. It's graphic. It's brutal and it ROTS my mind. Obviously, I don't sit around "daydreaming" about this but, it seems, no matter what these days, I'll be lying in bed getting ready to fall asleep and no matter where my mind wanders, somehow, my "day-nightmare" ends up with my precious baby running out onto the road, or running away from me in a parking lot, or.... you get it. My stomach turns.

So, I'm off today to get a kiddie "leash"... I know they aren't leashes and a lot of people don't like that term but I've got a sense of humour, I'm not ashamed of my desire to have my baby within my reach at all times and I don't care what anyone will think when I'm walking through Walmart or down my own street with my sweet baby Jane hooked by my side.

I remember my neighbour had one for her son with a little teddy bear backpack thingy-me-jigger on it and he LOVED it. He used to carry it around with him when he wasn't even hooked into it.

Personally, between the bad drivers, the drivers on cell phones, the (WORSE, and I have no problem saying right now that I don't like you people AT ALL) people who TEXT WHILE DRIVING, and the people who are never paying attention no matter what they are doing, I want to make sure there is never a risk that Jane will dash away from me and into danger. I mean, we were just walking to the mailbox the other day (a five second trip that now takes 45 minutes but is so worth it to see how happy Jane is to be out and independent), and it was like she waited for the exact time the bus was driving by to make a dash for the road... she wasn't even any where near the edge of the sidewalk when I grabbed her but, regardless, my heart stopped!

Obviously, you can't protect them from everything. I mean, Jane's knees are totally skinned from our little jaunts to the mailbox but scratches, cuts, broken bones, colds, flus, etc. I can deal with. Other things, that shall remain nameless, I would obviously like to avoid - DUH - and will do everything I can to do so.

FYI... just looked up the PC term and it's a "child safety harness" not a "leash".

So, I'm off to Walmart this AM to pick up the cutest, tricked-out, backpack, teddy bear leash I can find.

I just realized to add to the list of bad drivers and such, the world is also filled with creepers. How many times have you heard "I turned my back for one second and she was gone"... heart. stopping. Looking forward to my "child safety harness", whatever, my leash, even more now. Actually kind of excited about the peace of mind it will bring me! :)

Here's pictures from last night's supper... apparently Jane's a big fan of lasagna and peekaboo. :p


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Jul 21, 2010

Celebrity Rant

Dear Tom Cruise,
I'm pretty certain I'm like the only person left in the world who doesn't think you're some crazy alien-loving weirdo... therefore, you should definitely send me some money. Thank you. PS - Wish you were taller or that someone hadn't pointed out to me just how short you are.

Dear Mel Gibson,
Seriously? You used to be so hot. Look up "money can't buy you happiness" in the dictionary and there you are... hmmm, then again, maybe you're happy, you're just psychotic.

Dear Lindsay Lohan,
Holy S***. If you were my daughter, I would have handcuffed you to a rehab bed and left you there... like 10 years ago.

Dear Taylor Lautner and Zac Efron,
How come 17 yr old boys didn't look like you when I was 17?

Dear Angelina Jolie,
I like you but you need to eat a sandwich. Workout plan? Oh, yeah, "chasing around 45 kids" or whatever you have... yeah, sure. Probably nothing to do with the fact that you are likely a vampire or some creepy crap and are still living off Billy Bob Thorton's blood. Eat something, you're not a good role model for you daughters when you weigh less than them!

Dear Justin Beiber,
I wish there were more reasons to dislike you but you're just so darn cute and I can't help but get your songs in my head.... baby, baby, baby ohhhhhhh.

Dear Taylor Swift,
I love that you are such a good role model for the little ladies (and, whateves, I admit that I love your crazy teenage songs). But do something questionable, at least once or you're going to end up like Britney in 5 years - shaving your head, stealing clothes from the homeless and pretending they are acceptable outside-the-house wear. The whole dating John Mayer thing was on the right track... Keep tryin.

Dear TV people,
What gives you the right to take the summers off? Every one else (teachers excluded, they deserve it and don't make a bazillion a year) has to work all year round... suck it up. I'm sick of watching So You Think You Can Dance and HGTV cause nothing else is on.

Dear Justin Timberlake,
When did we forget that you had a curly blond "fro" and sang songs like "Dirty Pop" and "Bye, Bye, Bye" (which I'm not saying I didn't like... 15 years ago!). And people say Tommie Boy is a brain washer... you've even convinced 50 cent you're not a fanny boy. You drive me crazy.

Dear Kim Kardashian,
Give me your body and your hair and, as long as I can keep my daughter and my husband, can I have your rich NFL boyfriends too? Thanks girlfriend!

Dear Jennifer Anniston,
Time to give up on the rom-coms honey. You either need to try to pitch a "Rachel on my own" TV series or just give up. Oh, and don't dare do another movie with douchebag Gerard Butler anymore... yucko.

Dear Bachelor/Bachelorette Casting People,
Enough with the douchebags already... perhaps a new screening process like ASKING people if they have girlfriends first?!?! OR, maybe (this is revolutionary I know) NOT casting chicks that are "aspiring actors/models". Point two - maybe, instead of sending people off to Hawaii, all expenses paid with helicopter ride after yacht ride, you could send people to Moncton, NB and see how long the romance lasts then... just an idea.

Dear Will Smith,
Time for another movie. Oh, and, whenever you're ready to propose, I'm ready. Cept that little Karate Kid of yours needs a lesson in being humble... 11 year olds shouldn't be acting like "playas" on the Today Show.

Dear Helen Fielding,
Time for a new Bridget Jones - either a new character or a new story - Bridget Jones has a baby or something. Not only because it's funny but because Renee Scally-wagger is probably dying to have something to eat by now.

Dear Sookie Stackhouse (From True Blood for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about),
Time to give Eric some loving. Bill's WAY over. Alcide will do for next season. Your welcome for the story idea.

The end. For now. :)

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Jul 19, 2010

Car Seat Conflict

I read a few months ago that the longer a babe stays rear-facing in the car seat, the better. Regardless, I've been so excited about putting Jane forward facing. She's always been a great traveler but I thought she'd enjoy it more if she was facing "the world" and able to see Mommy and Daddy and so on.

So, my mom was in town this weekend and we all wanted to go shopping. We thought - let's take one car (SUV). Despite my hesitation to take out my car seat (because it's in my car so sturdily and perfectly). Anyways, I do the gymnastics act that is "the removal of the car seat" and my sis and I started putting the seats in the SUV. HAH. Suckers. It didn't work. Don't know why (it was my mom's rental) but it was missing a latch... awesome. So, 20 mins later and about 500 calories, we put our car seats back in our own cars. Since mine was out, I thought now would be the perfect time to flip it around. So, I did. Sturdy as ever, I was quite proud.

Put Jane in and immediately noticed she's lying back a little more than she probably should. Gymnastics act number two. Car seat fixed (needed to move the base closer to the back of the seat) and she looks comfy. Driving along I noticed a few things - Jane loved forward facing (but really no different than rear-facing because she used to watch me in the mirror), and I hated it. As opposed to when she was rear-facing and I could see her in the mirror, now I had to turn around to see her - not the safest thing to do while driving. No fun at all.

After she hit the sack last night, I started thinking about the article I had read a few months back - about being safer to have them rear-facing as long as the weight limit allows (ours it 35 lbs). I know most of my gf's with babes over 12 months moved them to forward facing (I think the recommendations is over 12 months and over 20 lbs or something). Regardless, the worrier in me had to google it. And I found tons. This was the article I read though... click here. There were also a lot more articles from credible sources stating that it's five times safer to have baby facing the rear as, in the event of a crash, the force is spread all along baby's entire back, shoulders, neck and head vs., when forward facing, mostly on the neck and head.

Gymnastics act number three. This morning I was out switching around my car seat again to rear-facing. Obviously, I totally understand other moms following the usual 1+ yr, 20lbs guideline. But, seeing as Jane is content either way, I'm going to stick with this way for us. Being a mom turns you into a complete nut when it comes to worrying... since Jane was born my thought has always been "what if something DID happen and I hadn't done what was 'recommended'" - I would never forgive myself. Most of the time when things happen, everything is out of your control and no one is to blame, nothing to blame. But, I know myself, and knowing that something is safer (whether it be sleeping on their backs or rear-facing car seats), if something happened and I had ignored recommendations, I would end up in the mental hospital.

I'm happier about the third switch too because now I can see my little bug easily by just glancing in the rear-view mirror. :)

Okee dokes. Off to work.

PS - Pics from our trip to the lake this weekend - SO beautiful. We've been having the most amazing summer (which of course means everyone's complaining of the heat)! Jane hated the lake on the first go because the water was too cool for her but, maybe it was warmer on Saturday, because she was in love!!! Cracking up all over the place!

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Jul 18, 2010

If I Had a Million Dollars...

Not that I wouldn't be over the moon about a million bucks but it doesn't pack the same punch as it used to back in the 80's/90's does it? These days, a million bucks would be FAB but, unless you've got some sort of guaranteed get-rich investment opp, you're probably still going to have to work.

So, by "if I had a million dollars" I really mean, if I was loaded rich and didn't have to worry about money... :)

First on my list - no more work. Not because I don't like working or don't like my job but because I'd want to use some of my (oops, I mean "our" :p) money to start my own thing... no idea what it would be but those details are not important right now! :) Obviously getting Dan to give his "two weeks" is included with this.

Numba two - house hunting. Time for Jane to get a backyard.

Number three - car shopping, whoppeee! BMW X6 here I come!!

Number four - house keeper. DUH. I want to spend every free minute I have with my Jane. NOT cleaning and cooking! If we have any extra income even now I'm considering using it for Molly Maids every couple weeks. The tidying is no big deal - we keep on top of it. It's the freakin' cleaning - the bathrooms, the floorboards, etc. that takes so much stupid time! And, I used to love cooking, until I had to get home from work and do it... now, I would be content living off KD and Lean Cuisine (yuck) - that's a bit of a lie.

Number five - VACATION! Dan, Jane, Jen and close family and friends - HAWAII, two weeks (because I assume my family and friends will still have to work - unless I've won so much money that they can all retire as well).

Number six - Masseuse. Live-in. Daily for as long as I want/need. AHHHHHHHH.

Number seven - Hairstylist. I hate doing my hair. It's curly but I like it straight but I hate straightening it and, even worse, I hate straightening it when it's hot, rainy, humid, basically anything but freezing cold sunny day outside because it's a waste of time. If someone else did it it would be awesome because I love it when people play with my hair - almost as good as a massage for me.

Obviously I would donate a ton to charities.

Problem with the above plan... I don't buy lotto. The only time I buy lotto is when it's like $40M or more which just makes me laugh every time I do it. Apparently, anything under $30-$40M isn't enough for me?!?!? WTH! ha ha ha. A lot of people do this and it's obviously stupid but I keep doing it anyways. And, as soon as I buy the ticket, I start daydreaming about what I'm going to do with my money when I win.

People say "money can't buy happiness" and I agree. If you're a negative, grouchy, complaining, non-bright side type of person, money ain't gonna help that you suck. But, I do think money can buy you freedom... freedom to make your own decisions without regard for money (which is often one of the biggest limiting factors when making a lot of decisions).

With that said, do I consider myself to be the luckiest person in the world already - heck yeah! My life is great. Are there some things I would love to have or do? Heck yeah... but I don't sit around being grouchy about it. Life is awesome. There's always someone who has it MUCH worse. Remember that when you're whining about something stupid. I know it's hard and I whine all the time but I try to be appreciative for what I have vs. envious of what I don't have.

K, battery dying. Hoping to write more this week than I did last. Hmmm... maybe if I was rich I could get someone to write for me! ha ha ha :p Kind of defeats the purpose eh?

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Jul 14, 2010

Genius Idea

So, I'm making Jane's breakfast this morning and she just loves berries - of any kinds, actually fruit of any kind which is great. The strawberries that I bought are "wild" (not like party wild, like natural wild :p tee hee hee) so they are smaller than the unnaturally impossibly HUGE strawberries that are usually shipped in from the southern states. Now, my sweet baby, is a stuffer. She stuffs huge amounts of food into her mouth. So, when I saw the grape sized strawberries all I was thinking was, yeah, I can see what's going to happen here and with this stuffing issue, she's going to take the full strawberry, stuff it in her mouth and then deal with the consequences - I'm always worried she's going to choke on something.

Light. bulb. moment. GENIUS.

Oh my goodness, I could cut them up! Seriously. That was my genius moment. I looked at the strawberries for about a minute before I realize my obvious solution.

I may not have mommy brain moments as much anymore but the brain power is definitely not in full swing yet.

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Jul 10, 2010

Coordination Nightmare

This was my morning...

1:30am - Jane wakes up, won't go back to sleep. Worked 12-8pm last night so missed her anyways and didn't mind bringing her into bed with me! :) Had fabulous dream about Chris Noth (Mr. Big, SATC) that made me very happy.
7:00am - Woke up. Jane still sleeping. Stuck in bed as wouldn't leave her there for a second in fear of her attempting to get off the bed on her own (i.e. falling off).
7:20am - Jane wakes up. BOING. That's how Jane wakes up. No tossing and turning, no whining, no slow somber wake up. She BOINGS up, opens her eyes and laughs.
7:21am - Crap. Realize it's 7:21am and I have to work at 9am. Crap. Time to put 'er into gear.
7:30am - Wake up Dan so he can keep Janers occupied while I attempt to make myself presentable. It's about this time that I remember that Dan's taking Jane to a wedding this afternoon by himself and that I have to do a lot of "prep work" before I leave for work. Awesome.
7:32am - Downstairs, getting breakfast for Jane and cleaning up as I go. Oh yeah, I should probably eat myself. Crap, I have to pick out some wedding-friendly toys (e.g. books as they are the only non-noise-making toys in my house) and throw some snacks in a bag that will hopefully keep Jane occupied for a wedding ceremony... should I mention to Dan that this is very, very, very unlikely? Should I mention that it's likely that she'll be occupied for about 45 seconds on his lap before she wants to get down and walk and tells everyone that by squealing at the top of her lungs. Nah. He'll figure it out. I did tell him to sit at the back!
7:45am - CRAP. Books, snacks done. Need to put on my "war paint" (a.k.a. makeup) and brush my hair. No time for shower, good thing I thought of that last night. Still in my pj's. Have to pick out Jane's dress for wedding. Crap. Does she have dress shoes that still fit her? Dan makes it downstairs and isn't feeling so hot. Decides he better skip out on the wedding as between the whole "not so hot" thing and the Jane factor, a successful single-Dad wedding adventure is virtually impossible. PHEW as I forgot that I decided to leave the gift wrapping, card signing and direction finding until this morning in my last night laziness.
8:00am - Still in pj's but ready otherwise (although an outfit hasn't been pick out - minimal issue). Dan comes upstairs and says that he is going to go to the wedding because he feels bad. Jane getting cranky. Tell him that she probably wants her "baa-baa" and he heads back downstairs to get it ready.
8:05am - Jane's dress shoes barely fit. Like, it's a good thing she won't be out walking around because it's probably child abuse. Add that to my to do list for tomorrow - size 5 dress shoes for Jane, check! These'll do for today. Dan arrives with bottle and I disappear to go downstairs and wrap the gift. I can hear Jane freaking out from downstairs but I leave it, Dan is a more-than-capable daddy.
8:10am - Dan gives up and comes downstairs. Jane too grouchy, not taking bottle. Mommy gives it a try (which I kind of wanted to anyways because I'd be away from her all day - it's as if she and I planned it that way) and it works for me. Jane down for nap. PHEW.
8:20am - Dan decided to go for nap because he feels like crap. Wrapped the gift and found the info on where the wedding is/what time it is for Dan.
8:30am - Crap. It's 8:30. I gotta get going. Still in my freakin' pj's!
8:40am - Dressed and ready to go. Out the door.
8:41am - Back inside. Upstairs to ask Dan how the heck he plans on getting to the wedding when I'm about to drive away with our one-and-only car?!?! AHHHHH! Jane's asleep, he's in his pj's and I'm already on the verge of being late. We decide that we'll figure it out later. Even though, I know, that Saturday's are supposed to be insane at work and, thus, I'm obviously not allowed to take a break to drive home and be driven back to work and dropped off so my hubby can have the car. We'll figure it out later. Awesome. Genius.
11:00am - Start calling Dan from work. No answer. Call 45 times. No answer. She's got to have woken up by now and things are dead here at work so I can probably sneak away for 10 mins to pop home and pop back so Dan can have the car.
12:00pm - Calling Dan. No answer. WTH!!! Now I worry and then I get angry - I wish he'd answer the freakin' phone.
12:30pm - Dan answers. Jane apparently woke up right after I left. Then he got sick. Then they had a three hour nap snuggled together on the bed. Wedding is out - he feels like crap. Probably has what Jane and I suffered through for the last two weeks.

No one's fault obviously but super glad I ran around headless-chicken style all day for nuthin'! What a mess. Is having a baby the best thing I've ever done, could ever imagine, in my entire life? ABSOLUTELY! Does it sometimes make things that were once simple, challenging? ABSOLUTELY!  Worth it? ABSOLUTELY! Exhausting? ABSOLUTELY!

Have a great weekend!


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Jul 7, 2010

I Give Up

Jane's got a rash. Started on Sunday on her feet and now it's all over her except her face. It's little red bumps every where - on her hands, bottoms of her feet, everything.

The doc said it is an allergic reaction to the antibiotics - so no more penicillins for Jane. I'm not 100% convinced. She finished the drugs on Saturday (he's aware of all of this) and then had a reaction start on Sunday afternoon? I'm no doc but that doesn't seem to make sense to me? Of course, being the googler that I am, I found some info on rashes following fever - so that's what we thought it was as Jane had that high fever for a few days when she was sick with Strep (which we now thing wasn't strep but was actually a virus - oh, dear lord, do doctors know anything?). But, I'm not 100% convinced on that either. I did some more googling today and saw some pictures of prickly heat rash... and it looks exactly like what Jane has. Now, I'm not saying that there aren't many rashes that look like this but when I looked up allergic rash - it looked more like inflamed blotches vs. tiny red bumps like Jane has.

Adding to my theory is that today was crazy hot and we went for a swim in the lake with cousin Lucy and the rash appeared to get a little worse - with a few red bumps showing up on her face.

So, here's my POA... baking soda cool water baths, keeping her in little to no clothing when it's warm, sleeping her in nothing but pj's (i.e. no sleep sac or blanket) with the fan on and window open, and giving her benadryl before bed. Now, this last one troubles me. The last two nights I have given her the benadryl pre-bed and the last two nights, come 1:30ish she won't go back to bed unless she's sleeping with me. I know benadryl can cause either drowsiness or excitability in infants. So, I was worried it was the benadryl that was keeping her up or waking her up, I guess. But, now, as I'm writing this, I'm remembering that the benadryl wears off after 4-6 hours which wouldn't make sense. It would make more sense that, maybe, she's waking up because she's itchy because the benadryl has worn off. I don't know. Holy MAC, does it ever end? The worry, the theories, the changes, etc. Jane was just sleeping through the night and now this nonsense and she's all shagged up again!!! She was just starting to get back to normal - no runny nose, no cough, no sick - and BAM a freakin' rash!!! WTH!!!

And, of course, in typical Mom style, I've been bringing her in the bed with me because she immediately falls back to sleep vs. crying for an hour in her crib. So now I'm worried that she's only waking up because she wants to sleep with me! Again, the worry never ends! :p I must admit, I don't hate having her sleep with me. Being back to work I miss the hours and hours we used to get together so getting some snuggle time at night is kind of awesome and super special. But I definitely don't sleep as well as I'm constantly worried (again, worry) that she will wake up in the middle of the night and fall off the bed. AHHHHH! My mind is fried. This is why mommy brain exists.

Oh, and to add to my worry, a guy I work with just told me his son has croup and that it's super contagious. Awesome. SO now I'm going to be WORRIED that because I've been within 4 ft of this dude, she's going to get croup too.

I need my own personal, expertly trained, never wrong, physician (that's not to say I don't love my current doc, he's great) who lives in my basement so I can consult them on demand. l

Oh, one more worry. Jane's basically had some type of drug in her system for what feels like a month now. I hate giving her anything. I only give her drugs when absolutely necessary (fever, rash, 2 hours straight of crying, etc.) and only during the night as, during the day, the distractions seem to keep other things at bay. But that worries me too - all the drugs. AHHHHH!

Hope you're having a better week!

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Jul 4, 2010

Time Flies

Got caught up looking at what seem like "old" pictures tonight... Reminiscing about an amazing year.

June 2009... this must be where "slept like a baby" comes from because that's basically all she did at this point. Sleep, eat, sleep, eat, poop, eat, sleep.... 8lbs, 8oz, 21 inches long

 July 2009... first glimpses of that beautiful smile!

August 2009... am absolutely shocked at how much she's changed since these earlier days - look at the short, dark hair, and the light eyebrows! 12 lbs and 24 inches long.

September 2009... ahh, we discovered the Jolly Jumper and Jane was in love! A little personality started to emerge...

October 2009... love how you can see how "short" she is in that picture with me vs. how "tall" she is now - insane how quickly they grow! Halloween will be even more exciting this year! 15 lbs and 26 inches.

November 2009... Jane gets her first "taste" of the cold Canadian winter. Started sitting up mid-November which was a fun milestone to have under our belts... a little freedom for Mommy!

December 2009... Christmas is always special but even more so when it's your first! Check out how light her hair is getting! She's really starting to look less "baby-ish" in these pics.

January 2010 - Looking all grown up here - seems like a huge change between 6 and 7 months!

February 2010... There's my little monkey! She hasn't changed a whole lot since these pictures at 8 months... just about three times as much hair. She started crawling in February... life took on a whole 'nother dimension.


March 2010... Look her hair in the picture above in the green sweater and then a month later. It's a least an inch longer, right?

April 2010... another side of Jane came out - the curious, "troublemaker" side (obviously from Dan's side of the family :p). 19 lbs and 32 inches tall.

May 2010... weather warming up. Almost a year old now and looking so "mature". Had our first swim in the outdoor pool. Her hair has lightened so much since the first few months.

June 2010... Birthday time! A year went by in a flash. Sometimes I just stare at her and can't believe the I have a one year old "baby"!! 21 lbs and 32 inches tall - gained 13 lbs and almost a foot in height in a year. Her hair went from dark brown to light blond. Her eyes are still as blue as the sky so I'm not sure when/if that may change. She's definitely a Momma's girl and apparently has the same shyness I used to have - tucking into my neck and smiling cautiously when she meets new people. She purposely does things she knows she's not supposed - looking at me and smiling before she does it and laughing when I say "no". She's walking a lot more now. Still relying mostly on crawling for getting to and from but slowly starting to walk here and there. She has 11-12 teeth, with three molars and possibly more as dare I stick my finger in and get a bite! :p She eats everything - the girls at daycare can't figure out "where she puts it all" cause she's so tiny. Her favourite song is "The Wheels on the Bus" and she throws her arms up in the air and then drops them when I sing "the babies on the bus go up and down". Her favourite book is "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" - she picks it up and runs at me smiling and says "Baaaaaaa" when she sees the black sheep. Peek-a-boo and tickles make her laugh hysterically. She's on 100% cow's milk now (and no, I don't mean me as in I'm a cow :p) no more bf-ing which was an easy peasy transition as we did it so slowly.




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Jul 3, 2010

Pretty Please

Dear Taste Buds,

Please come back to me. I miss the taste of food. I miss the taste of chocolate (which I continue to eat anyways, even though I can't taste it because I can remember how it tastes and that still gives me satisfaction).

Last night, I had yummy takeout for dinner and tasted none of it. Awesome waste of money. I had taste sensation when I ordered and BAM, bad karma or something, it vanished before the food arrived. BS.

I actually did a homemade nasal cleanse thing last night in hopes of getting my taste back so I could enjoy a bowl of frozen yougurt... found a "recipe" online and "rinsed" my nasal passages with a salt water solution as per those kettle looking things that Dr. Oz goes on about. Nodda (I know one of you corrected me on how to spell this but I can't remember how to so can you please let me know again :). I sprayed enough saline mist up my nose to dry out the Atlantic Ocean and nothin. I'm taking daytime and nighttime decongestant and nothin. Useless. On the plus, my throat no longer feels like someone is stabbing me every time I swallow! :) YIPEE for a positive side! :p

My nose is currently covered in vicks vaporub and, yet, I can't smell a thing.... which also kind of sucks because I'm pretty sure Jane's going to get diaper rash as I've twice now missed poops because my typical immediate reaction because I can smell it a mile away is disabled. I literally put my nose right to her bum yesterday, didn't smell a thing and had the common sense to take a peak anyways and the thing was loaded full. I guess that's kind of a positive and a negative! :p

Oh, I watched the cutest chick flick the other night... Letters to Juliet (letters from juliet?? something like that). It was typical rom-com, really no surprises, but super sweet and I really liked the male lead guy so that's really what makes a movie anyways! I know half of you think I'm crazy but I'm just about dying to see Eclipse... pretty sure it will be as all Twilight MOVIES go - lame-o acting, half-good CGI, but I really don't care. I turn into a 15 yr old girlie and I want to marry the vamp and have the werewolf as my boyfriend. Still haven't seen Sex in the City yet but I haven't heard great things... what's the deal?

Update - Just found two benefits to being sick (1) no sense in eating because I can't taste anything - feel it's wasteful to eat my precious chocolate without the full satisfaction - I mean, I might as well eat paper towel at this point. (2) The constant coughing is becoming more of an ab workout than I've had in 16 months - my upper abs are hurting baby! Oh yeah, feel the burn! :p 

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Jul 2, 2010

Where the Heck are all the Swings?

I literally had to drive two subdivisions over yesterday to find a freakin' playground that had a swing set! WTH?!?! There are at least four playgrounds in my subdivision alone and not one of them has a swing set... can somebody tell me why? Are swings considered dangerous? If the answer is yes than that is just ridiculous. What isn't dangerous at the playground if you're not paying attention - tons of places to climb and break arms, tons of places to give yourself a concussion by hitting your head on low hanging wooden beams, for goodness sake - the freakin' slide gets so hot when it's sunny out, it's literally a burn hazard (who the heck designs a playground with a dark green slide????).

Yesterday, in our "we're sick but we don't want to sit around" boredom, Jane and I set out on a quest to find a swing... and A swing is what we found. One swing (well, technically there were two but only one was one of those swings that you put your legs through that Jane could use). In all honesty, Jane liked the swing but it definitely wasn't worth the 10 minutes of driving around, searching. However, if there was one within walking distance, definitely would be a fav spot for us. When we were growing up, we spent our lives at the playground on the swings.... we even hung out there when we became teenagers and started getting into "trouble".

On that note, where the heck did all the see-saws go? And merry-go-rounds (sp?)? Who is the person "on top" who decides that these things are too dangerous for playgrounds. We all had see-saws and merry-go-rounds when we were growing up and I never heard of a serious, life threatening injury caused by a see-saw... broken bones, I'm sure, but life or death, no. What kid doesn't break a bone at one point or the other. It's like a right of passage. To teach you that you don't want to do stupid bone-breaking things again in the future... plus, when you're a kid, breaking a bone sucks but the attention and few days off school seem totally worth it. Somebody tell me how see-saws are dangerous please. You hold on, you go up 3 ft in the air and down. Inevitably some toolbox gets on with you and when you're up, the hop off and you slam down but the worst I ever got from that was a bruised toosh - nothing bad enough to warrant expulsion of the see-saw from playgrounds worldwide. If see-saws are injuring kids, perhaps it's not that see-saws are dangerous but that we're raising stupid kids?!?! I mean, if your kids falls off the see-saw or hops off, or whatever would cause a see-saw related injury, then perhaps you should have explained the whole - handles are for holding onto concept... Hmm, thinking about it, maybe kids were going under the see-saws and getting bonked in the head? Again, maybe more of a less-than-genius kid move vs. a dangerous see-saw move.

Perhaps we need to stop removing everything from everywhere that could possibly ever cause anyone injury if used incorrectly and start teaching our kids the meaning of "no", how to use things properly and the consequences of bad decisions... just a thought.

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Jul 1, 2010

Super Sexy

Currently, I sound like a mix between an 85 yr old smoker and Miley Cyrus... super sexy. I never get sick but apparently I am also going to have the "year from hell" as far as transitioning to daycare and getting every sickness known to man. Everyone keeps telling me NOW that the first year of daycare is hell because the kids are basically sick nonstop. Awesome! So looking forward to this!

I was up from 2am onward last night because I couldn't breathe through my nose and breathing through my mouth hurt my throat. NOW I feel ever worse for how sweet Jane must have felt the last week and the guilt has disappeared from feeling like I was giving her too much "drugs". Now I feel guilty that I didn't have her on a tylenol I.V. as it fully explains why, despite my constant trying, she had no interest in drinking the "clear fluids" as recommended by Dr. Mom and the real doc... it hurts like heck to drink!

Regardless, my little sweetie woke up at 5am and wouldn't go back to sleep. I brought her in bed with me and it took an hour but eventually we both fell back to sleep and woke up, over-heated and more-rested, at 8am. Thank God.

Today's a holiday here in Canada - Canada Day - YAY CANADA! Canada is the BEST place to live. I know the US rocks and other places too but I'm Canadian and I love it here. So, we're hoping to hit up our favourite spot - the wildlife park - with cousin Lucy. Of course, cousin Lucy is all screwed up right now too and we can't figure out why... maybe she's stressed from all the change (moving and such) or maybe (and I feel bad about this) she's getting strep throat. I mean, they were living with us the last two weeks - what are you going to do? I'm sure there are some crazy people out there who would try to avoid letting them share sippy cups and what not but why would you even bother? It's fighting a losing battle. Infants don't know to cover their mouths when they cough and wash their hands... if your babe is around a sick babe, they are getting sick. That's it. That's life. That's how they build a strong immune system.

Alright, we've got to make a trip to one of the few open spots today - the drug store - for some homo milk. Jane's on 100% homo (full fat) milk now which is so great and so easy. I'm still warming it so the next stage is to gradually get her comfortable with drinking cold milk. Then I'm going to work on getting her to feed it to herself. I know she could likely give herself her "bot" now as it is but I enjoy that time with her. Especially now being back at work. I love that snuggle time before bed/naptime when I feed her the "bot"... not ready to give it up yet! :)

Happy Canada Day!
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