Playing Catch Up

Another bullety update for you!

- Bee is on his busy week at work, and I’m working the 2 days that he’s off in between. This means that we don’t get to see each other very much and when we do, we are both exhausted. This is the part about working too much that I find the hardest. I cannot wait for my hours to go down a bit. It doesn’t help that the last week or so has been packed with activities. Fun activities, but it makes for a busy family!

- My house is a mess. Laundry needs to be done, floors need to be washed, surfaces need to be dusted. Sigh.

- I am frustrated with Amazon. I ordered the book club selection for May (Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O’Neill) at the beginning of April, and was told that it would be here by the 24^th. Usually Amazon is right about their shipping dates and it’s usually delivered at the beginning of the time frame given. In this case, I have yet to receive my book. It was purchased used so I think that may be adding to the delay. I contacted the seller and he told me that he had shipped the following day, after receiving my payment. I figured that maybe it was caught in the mail somewhere and let it go. Then a few days ago I got an email from Amazon asking me to “rate the seller”. I felt that I could not do so without at least having received the book and it did not feel right to rate him poorly on something that may or may not be his fault. I have gotten tired of waiting for the book and am anxious to read it since the Book Club meeting is fast approaching. I decided that I was going to contact Amazon and file a complaint and see if there was anything they can do (on a side note, I was recently screwed over by Ebay, a seller taking payments but not shipping products, I DID get my money back) but decided to give the seller one more chance and emailed him again this morning and informed him of my intent to contact Amazon directly. His response was “we will send you another copy priority mail today”. I wonder how long that will take to get here. Most of you know that I am a horrible pushover but I find that as I am getting older, I am becoming a bit firmer and do not like being taken advantage of.

- Bee and I got to go out Saturday night! It was our friends 30^th Birthday and we were invited to a private room at a pool hall for a night of drinks and pool. I got all dressed up and felt like a million bucks! It was nice to get out together and just have some fun.

The Birtday boy and his Bro. Just wanted to show all my Texan friends that he is a Dallas Stars fan!

- I got my first pedicure last week. I am not much of a foot person but when my friend Amy suggested it, I would have given anything to get out of the house for an hour so off we went to get our tootsies rubbed. We went for the “spa pedicure” which included a leg massage and paraffin wax. It was heavenly. I can’t believe I waited so long to get one. I just love the way my toes look all painted and my feet are so so soft!

I am in a cooking rut. Ever since I started working again I just find that I do not have time to shop for food or cook. We have been relying heavily on easy to bbq foods, processed and canned food or take out. I hate that we are eating this way, especially as the nice weather approaches and the fruits and vegetables will begin to be fresh again. I really need to get organized and make a meal plan so that Bee knows what to make when I’m at work. Where do I find the time?

I also miss reading. That’s something else that I have had to put aside in all my busy-ness. By the end of the day, I am just too tired to read and end up vegging out in front of the tv for an hour before heading to bed way too early (like 9:30pm).

The nice weather means more time sitting on the patio, which also means patio cushions littering my living room. The girls made themselves a little fort and actually sat there for close to 45 mins reading books and doing puzzles and NOT FIGHTING. That's really the biggest part.

They really make all the hard days easier.

The Quest for Balance

I have been meaning to blog about going to work for quite some time, but just have not had the chance. A friend of mine mentioned that a new consignment shop run by Moms was opening in my area and that they were looking for sales associates. I decided that it might be something I would enjoy and submitted my resume. I got called back for an interview and was offered a position. At the time of the interview I gave them my availability based on Bees schedule so that we would not need additional child care. I had decided that if I was not available enough than it was their loss and not a big deal to me. They did find my hours to be reasonable and hired me.

I started working about a month ago. There was a learning curve involved and that was a little frustrating but now that I am getting a handle on how to do things, it’s become much easier. I have never worked retail before so that is very new to me, and I must say not very exciting! I do enjoy working with parents and seeing their kids when they come into the store. I already have some repeat customers that know me and like to chat. I have been working 25 hours a week or so and to be honest, have decided that it’s too much.

There are so many things to consider, especially since I am not working for the money (I know, how lucky am I right). However, Bee and I have found that we have no time together, since we’re often saying hi-bye as one of us comes home and the other leaves. It doesn’t leave much time for family either. The days that we do have off together, I find that I spend my time cleaning the house since that’s what suffers the most in my busy-ness. Bee and I talked about it the other night, and it was time for me to be honest and admit that I am stretched too thin and that there is not a very good balance. I miss seeing my friends, having time together with my husband and family and just being able to relax a little more.

I am a perfectionist and total control freak so it was really hard for me to admit that I couldn’t take it all, and that something had to give. But, when it comes to my kids and my family, there is no contest. So, I spoke to my boss and have asked to have my hours reduced, hopefully to two shifts a week (15-20 hrs). She was very agreeable and feels that family is very important and at the same time does not want to lose me (cause I rock! Just kidding! I have lots of customer service experience). So, I have sucked it up, and tried to rearrange my priorities. Hopefully it will help and if not, I will have to reevaluate the whole working thing.

I have the utmost respect for Moms that work full-time. I really don’t know how they do it and still stay sane. There are just not enough hours in the day. But, my situation in also unique and Bee has an erratic work schedule that leaves me a part time single Mom some of the time so my challenges revolve around that. I am hoping that the extra time will allow me to take some much needed (and deserved, I feel) ME time. I miss being able to read, or go out with friends in the evening. I know my friends miss having me around too.

“Women need real moments of solitude and self-reflection to balance out how much of ourselves we give away.” Barbara De Angelis

Adventures in Potty Training

For quite some time now we have been talking, reading and showing Lea how to use the potty. We have tried various methods to get her interested and nothing has seemed to work. She is just too smart for bribery and it will just have to be on her terms. So we’ve been a little more slack lately and letting her decide when she’s ready and the interesting part, is that it’s working! A couple of weeks ago, I came home from work to learn that she had gone on the potty, on her own. During the afternoon she did NOT want to wear a Pull-Up after being changed so, Bee reminded her what to do if she needed to go potty and she agreed and off she went bare bottomed. She shocked Bee by asking to go potty, and not on the little potty but the BIG potty. We have an insert so Bee used that and sure enough she went. For a few days that was her regular pattern. Of course there is much fanfare and Smarties (choc candies) when she actually goes. I was working quite a few days in a row and she was going everyday that I was at work. I was starting to be afraid that she would only go when I wasn’t home.

During her bath one night, she proclaimed that she needed to go potty so I sat her on the regular potty without the insert and she was able to hold herself up and even went pee to boot. She shocked us a few days later while resting on the couch (she had high fevers for a couple of days) by getting up off the couch, taking down her pants and Pull Ups and going potty. This was the first time that she had made the connection that she had the urge while actually dressed. I was under the impression that she was going when she had nothing on because she had no safety net so to speak. So when she decided to go while clothed, it signaled progress!

It has stayed that way for quite some time. Her deciding to go on the potty when she wants to. We try to remind or ask her if she needs to go and so far it’s been hit or miss. She has been going at least once a day sometimes a few times a day. She has also decided to go only on the big potty with no insert. This does not bother me one bit. Yesterday Bee was with her and she went into the bathroom, used her little potty as a stool and climbed up on the toilet all by herself and went. We were both shocked and awed that she could do that and very very pleased since hopefully soon she will be able to go on her own when she pleases.

This morning I am home alone with the girls since Bee is working an overtime day shift (lots of cashola!!! And he figures he has to say yes once in a while). I was peacefully sleeping until Lea came to stand beside the bed to announce that she went potty. In my haze I was confused because there is no stool and only a big potty upstairs. But, she had no bottoms on and seemed to have gone???? I asked her to show me how she had gotten on the potty and she would not repeat her acrobatics. I am really really interested to see how she managed that!

The funny thing is that now that she has been going more regularly, she is not as interested in the candy that we were offering as a reward. I wonder if that means that it is becoming a habit for her?

The next step, getting her to wear underwear…

Funny!

So this morning, as i 'm putting the milk back in the fridge, I notice something that just doesn't belong.

Ever since i've had kids, they have loved to sneak things into the fridge. I have found tons of toys, and other misc stuff that doesn't belong there. This morning it was this:

Because we all keep our sunglasses in the fridge right? Worst part is I have no idea which of my girls did this! But it certainly put a smile on my face, and hopefully your's too!

Spring activities!

With the warm weather here (Sorry Jolene!), and the sleep issues we've been having with Lea I have been trying really hard to get the kids out and doing stuff to tire them out. The winter has been long and with Anna just having learned to walk it was really hard to get out and do stuff outside. So now it's time to make up for it. Bee has been on the night shift and i've been keeping the girls busy in the morning to let him get some good sleep. They seem to love being outside and I am sure the fresh air does wonders for them!

A couple of days ago, we went to the Experimental Farm with some friends. We all had lots of fun and enjoyed seeing all the baby animals.

After the farm we went back to a friends house for lunch and more playing!

It has been so nice to get out enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. And may I call attention to the fact that my kids are NOT wearing hats, mitts, scarves and other misc winter paraphernalia!

Spring has sprung FINALLY!

After many, many months of not so cold weather but tons of Snow, record breaking snow; it seems that Spring has finally arrived. But *shhhh* don't say it too loudly. I'm worried winter might come back!

As proof of the difference in our seasons, may I present two photos, one from this past winter and one today.

This was the snow at it's worst. The lumps are my table, and the bbq.

Here you see the guys clearing the snow off the roof. The snowbanks were taller than me!

How quickly it all changes. Here is my front entrance with almost no snow!

And I have a yard again! And a deck!

I am so excited to see grass. Real actual (although brown!) grass. Some other signs that Spring is here: warmer temps 12-14 degrees celsius (that's 55-ish for my American friends), an abundance of wet puddles, lots of rain (not snow! yay!), the girls are in rubber boots or shoes, we can go out without hats or mitts (ok so Anna still has a hat but she's still young), it's light out much earlier and for much longer, the neighbours are all coming out of their houses, I can actually walk to work (when it doesn't rain).

It seems like everyone comes out of hiding in the Spring. I have seen some neighbours that i haven't seen in months out in front of their houses enjoying the nice weather. One lady even remarked "look how much they've grown over the winter" since we weren't outside much i guess it's a huge difference. Anna is now a toddler and Lea is really becoming a little girl.

I also went out with some girlfriends that i had not seen since February (and that was for a child's bday party). We met downtown (downtown! How exciting!) and went for a drink at a pub first, then moved on to a restaurant called "Oh So Good". (We were originally going to go there, but when we found out they didn't serve alcohol we changed our minds. It's not often that we get out without the kids and we wanted to have a drink!). The cool thing about this restaurant is that it only serves dessert. There is an extensive list of cakes, pies and crumbles. So hard to decide! I catered to my sweet and rich tastes and had a sour cherry cheesecake. It was delish! We had lots of laughs and the talking never ended. It was great fun and I look forward to doing it again soon.

Other than that, things are good. Lea is not feeling well and has a fever. We're not too sure what's wrong yet but we are keeping an eye on her. Poor girl.

Cuddling with Daddy this morning

Her new favorite thing to watch. Pooh Bear!

Lea, being as smart as she is, can load the dvd into the player and press play. So Bee decided to make it easier for her to tell the movies apart. How sweet is that????

Monster.com commercial Guy with Big Legs

Ok, I really don't know what it is about this commercial, but it seriously freaks me out... So creepy.