Tidbits from our humble abode & beyond

Relaxing morning at the wading pool (surprise, surprise!)

2011-07-05T15:40:00.000-04:00

It's not easy keeping a toddler entertained and out of trouble when you've got another wee-one to feed on a 2 hour basis but we're coping. This morning was certainly a good one. We (finally) got out of the house at 10:30 and headed up to the wading pool. There were only a few kids there so we got a spot in the shade and Kieran headed for the water. Before I knew it, it was time to feed Patrick again but I was able to sit by the side of the pool and supervise Kieran in the water while nursing Patrick.
What a difference a year makes! Not to say a few months...last summer I couldn't leave Kieran's side without him bolting in the opposite direction at full speed. Today, he played for a good hour in the water without me even having to get my feet wet, yay! I think we'll be spending quite a few days at the wading pool when we don't have any other activities planned. What's great too is that you are allowed to eat by the side of the pool (or at least they tolerate it.) The only downside is having to walk up the hill with the double stroller but I can use the workout!

I often relate to this comic strip...

2011-06-05T22:04:00.001-04:00

How does it end?

2011-05-26T16:49:00.000-04:00

My husband loves to watch movies. Not that we go to the theater very often, we didn't either pre-kids. But come Tuesday morning, you can usually find him at whatever store has the best deal on the DVD release of the week.
Hence, we have lots of DVDs. I mean hundreds. Cabinets and shelves are overflowing with movies. One of many storage issues we have in this house.
At least they do get watched. Not so much by me (more about that later) but he can watch the same movie over and over and over and over again. And he sometimes watches movies at work. Ahh, the multi-taking skills of a computer geek!
Bravo and Showtime channels have ruined certain movies for me as they tend to play some titles more often than should be allowed.
I will run screaming from the room if I see The Fugitive, Conspiracy Theory (I could just shoot Julia Roberts as she utters his name Jerry, Jerry, Jerry...) or the Pelican Brief, to name a few. Meanwhile, Tim is happily content to watch these films and not necessarily as a background distraction while he's doing other things.
I prefer listening to music or even better, just plain quiet. (Being around kids all day, you tend to like the quiet!)
But we compromise. Which means I turn the tv off when I can't take it anymore!
When I do watch a movie, I usually have to be in the mindset to sit down and have the whole movie experience. Popcorn and soda are often involved.
My problem is that I've never been good at staying awake throughout an entire movie. Ever. Even before the tired that comes with having kids.
I've fallen asleep before the end of so many movies, it's ridiculous. I could do day-long movie marathons of just the endings of films!
I will even reluctantly admit to nodding off at the theater during the most action packed parts of some movies. In fact, this happened just yesterday when I went to see Thor. I'm sure it's a great film but I don't really know!

One day, maybe, after a good long nap (like that day will ever come!) I will have that movie ending marathon, that's also if I can remember which movies I've actually seen!
Until then, well, it's not so bad when Tim puts something on that we've watched before. There are sure to be scenes which wil be new to me!

Day 3

2011-05-13T15:44:00.003-04:00

Is it even worth mentioning?
Kieran made it to 6:30 on Wednesday morning.
I plopped him in front of Dora Choo Choo a couple of times while I showered and dressed then we had time for some breakfast before Patrick woke up.
We walked to daycare and then I had a quiet day with Patrick which included a visit to Dairy Queen with Uncle Olaf.

I was a little exhausted by the time I picked Kieran up and played outside with him for a while before supper then Uncle P-J showed up and took over.

Patrick had to wait and cry it out a little longer than usual when he woke up while we were putting Kieran to bed.
Patrick, get your timing right already! You're almost 2 months old, sheesh!
Fortunately, Kieran stayed in bed that evening.

Daddy came home just after 10, one day earlier than expected.
Me, I was falling asleep on the couch while nursing Patrick.
He tends to cluster feed (on & off without much time in between feedings) in the evenings so it gets a bit tiring and challenging as I try to get some chores done in there too.

I wrote this at 4 am and Patrick only nursed a bit and spat up big time. So I went back to bed. Zzzzzzzzzzz....

Evening #2

2011-05-13T15:33:00.003-04:00

This time I apologize to those whose children get up early and/or don't sleep through the night...

Monday night, I fell asleep while nursing Patrick so got to bed at about 12:30 then he let me sleep until 4 am. I got back to bed after that by 5 and then Kieran was up at 6! Mr Exhausted was perky and ready to go at that hour. Mommy, not so much. I tried to get him to lie down with me in bed which led to him squirming next to me for 20 minutes.
So we got up and started our day. Patrick was making noises intermittently but didn't really wake up until I was in the shower. By the time I was dry and dressed and could tend to him, he'd cried his first tears.
Sniff, sniff.

We made it to playgroup more or less on time and from there we went to have lunch at Grandpa and Grandmaman's. I left Kieran there to nap while I took Patrick to his 2 month doctor's appointment.
He was hungry by the time I took him out of his car seat so the vaccinations went pretty smoothly as I was nursing him at the same time.
Then it was back to my parents' place to get Kieran and home for supper, bath and bed.
Maya came over after work to help me out so Kieran got lots of attention and I could look after Patrick uninterrupted. After some coaxing, Kieran even gobbled down 2 bowls of the cream of broccoli soup I'd made.
She bathed him and then went to cuddle Patrick while I got K to bed. After she left, Kieran did get up once, most likely because he could hear some kids who were still playing outside. I got him back to bed and he stayed there, seemingly knowing I was busy with Patrick.

So evening 2, not so bad at all!

Postscript to Olaf (need you be reminded!): He thought he was Elmo.

Evening #1

2011-05-10T04:10:00.003-04:00

I apologize for this post to my friends whose partners are regularly out of town...you are rock stars!

Tim is away for the week. He took the 5 pm train to Toronto to attend a training course. That means I will be alone for 4 evenings to get Kieran fed his supper and ready for bed.

Last night went pretty smoothly. Kieran had spent the day at daycare and there were leftovers in the fridge so that helped out.
We walked home from daycare with a stop to play in the park and then he spent some time on his scooter with one of the neighbours when we got home.
Then it was time for supper as I knew Patrick would be waking up any second. Yep, as soon as we got inside, P started to wake up and fuss.
So I quickly got a plate ready for Kieran and he sat down more or less quietly in Daddy's chair and ate it all up, asking for seconds.
This let me tend to Patrick without too many interruptions.
When he was done, Kieran inevitably asked to watch Dora so I set him up in front of the living room tv and he watched the "Choo Choo" episode for the upteenth time.
Patrick was still stuck on the boob for a bit longer and then it was finally my turn for some nourishment.
Ah, yes, Mommy always comes last!
Dora was over but Patrick was still fussing and I did say he could watch only one episode but Kieran was asking for the Choo Choo again so technically, that's only one episode, right?!
I finished up my meal and Patrick seemed done but unsettled and with Dora over for the second time, we tried to call Daddy to say goodnight but he didn't answer his phone.
So we read Green Eggs and Ham a couple of times and Kieran was way past tired.
We headed up to bed with no muss and no fuss on his part but his brother was still awake and whining.
We left Patrick downstairs and I could hear him crying so it was a quick goodnight ritual for Kieran.
I got back to Patrick and nursed him a bit and then he was out cold. All that crying and all he needed was a little top up!

And the rest of the evening was rather quiet.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's play by play of the witching hour!

Friday follow-up

2011-05-07T04:10:00.001-04:00

We had a much better day today, yay for us!

Kieran still spent some time in front of the boob tube but we had a really nice play date with some kids we don't know very well. Kieran was happy to play with older children especially the girl. Cougar chaser!

Too bad we didn't get outside to play before the weather tuned grey in the afternoon.

And here I am at 4:10 am with Patrick who has been sleeping since 11. I was awake before him, anticipating his hunger cries.

And now it's the weekend , let's see how much our routine can be disrupted!

Sidenote: Patrick has the cutest little hands...and a death grip!

Just in time for Mother's Day

2011-05-06T03:45:00.002-04:00

I won't be winning any mothering awards after the day we had yesterday...

Tim left the house early, before Kieran was up as he was going to Ottawa for the day. The only real challenge to that is getting in a shower. I need my morning shower!
So Kieran was up a little before 7 just as I finished nursing Patrick.
I got K dressed and we went downstairs for some breakfast and I left him with his food and the tv while I dashed upstairs for a quick shower.
I got back to him and no damage was done!

He got some more tv while I nursed Patrick again then we headed out in the rain to the playgroup around the corner.
You know that kid that parents try to keep their children away from at these groups? Well, Kieran was that kid yesterday.
He was seeking out any other child he could get a reaction out of and going for the toy they were playing with and just being a big bully and pushing and shoving.
Luckily Patrick was fast asleep in the stroller and didn't need my attention.
I tried not to leave Kieran's side and foresee which child he would target next.
And I did contemplate leaving early but figured he'd just act out at home instead so we might as well stick it out to the end and expend some energy in the gym.

As we left, we decided to take the longer way home even if it meant getting a little wet in the rain. Kieran got a little ahead of me and wanted to go to the park and the next thing I knew he was in the middle of the street with me trying to run after him with the stroller while a car is coming up the hill at him. Luckily, for once, the driver was going slow and saw him and stopped and another mother was there and ran after Kieran with her little one in tow.
After some freaked out tears on my part and lots of hugging and mild scolding, we headed for home where Kieran kept hugging me and saying "It's okay Mommy. Cars are dangerous."
Nothing to make me fell any better or stop the tears!

So he got more tv before lunch while I nursed then off to bed for an almost 2 hour nap, surprisingly without a fight.
When Kieran woke up we played with Play-Doh which whenever he'd asked to do lately I'd been busy with Patrick so I always saying we'd do it later.
Of course that kept his interest for 10 minutes at the most then I had to nurse Patrick again.
And let the fun begin!

Kieran had watched enough tv and usually plays quite well so I let him entertain himself while I was tending to Patrick. Well, Kieran decided he'd get into anything and everything. No damage was done but compost bags were thrown about, straws were thrown about, shade strings were pulled after numerous warnings not to play with them, among other things.
He was just constantly getting into things he shouldn't. Luckily I know the sounds of my house so I preempted most of his shenanigans but I'd had quite enough of him completely ignoring my scoldings. Exasparating!

Supper time went okay and then I gave in to the tv again as Patrick was due for his supper.
Of course at this point Kieran wasn't interested in watching much. Then a phone call from a friend asking to come visit brought some reprieve just before bedtime. And luckily bedtime goes pretty smoothly around here.

I know things could have been much worse but I think it's more about the way I dealt with it all and my feelings of helplessness.

"Why won't you just listen to me when I ask you to do/not do something?!!?"

Oh, ya, because you're 2 1/2!

Another 3 am Nursing Ramble or Things You Constantly Hear But Sometimes Wish People Wouldn't Say When You Are Lacking Sleep With a Newborn

2011-05-05T03:43:00.000-04:00

I understand people are usually just making conversation when they ask the following questions or make these comments but seriously folks, sometimes lack of sleep just makes me want to scream when I have to reply to such things as:

When are you having another?

Seriously??? Okay, I may have a plan in my head (not really) but I just had a baby. Let me enjoy him and the fleeting time he is a newborn. At this moment, I can't even fathom doing this ever again!

He's still hungry/again?

Yes!!! And I'm going to nurse him because he is hungry. Newborns can nurse every 2 hours. The dark circles under my eyes prove it. And every 2 hours means he wakes up, nurses for an hour then I have about another hour until he feeds again. Eat, pee, poop, sleep. That's what newborns do!

Is he sleeping through the night yet?

Again, see the dark circles under my eyes. And he's 7 weeks old. That should answer your question.
Some people are lucky if their 3 year old sleeps through the night.

Who does he look like?

He looks like himself! He's a mix of our DNA so he's got a combo of both our features, right?
For all I know, that crease in his ear came from Great Grandpa. (And no, Patrick doesn't really have a crease in his ear, I'm just trying to make a point!)

He's got blue eyes!

Well, most babies are born with blue eyes. They could change colour well past a year old. Although in his case, not likely since I have blue eyes and Tim has grey/green eyes (with brown spot.)

That's a lot of spit up!

Baby has a tiny stomach. Mommy might have a quick flow. The overflow must go somewhere! Spit up happens. That's what receiving blankets and face cloths are for. And I try not to wear black too much at this stage.

Is he smiling?

Okay, at this point, 7 weeks, it is a real smile, sometimes. He can focus a little close up and smile back. But those newborn smiles? That's gas. Cute, but not a real smile!

Do you need anything?

Specifically, no. But I'll take any help I can get. So don't just ask, offer! In fact, insist! Because I don't really have enough brain function to figure out what I need right now.

You look tired.

How observant of you.

You look great.

Thank you, but really, it's an illusion. I feel like shit!

He's so big/tiny

He was born at 8lb 13 oz. Not overly huge but that head passed through me so he's ginormous by my standards!

That's about all that comes to mind at the moment and Patrick seems to be done so I'm going back to bed now.

Too bad I never posted about the annoying things people say when you are pregnant. I guess I'll have to have another one so I can do that. Hardee har har!

Nanny Susanna

2011-05-03T15:50:00.000-04:00

My friend Susanna was visiting from Vancouver for four days last week.
What a luxury it was to have someone to help take care of the boys for a few days.

She has two nephews aged 9 and 10 that she's lived with for most of their childhood so she was great at keeping Kieran entertained while I was busy with Patrick.

I'm surprised Kieran hasn't been constantly asking "Where's Susanna?"

Early morning ramblings

2011-05-03T15:43:00.000-04:00

4:10 am
Writing a post by hand while nursing Patrick in his room.

I'm typing this up now, I think a week later.

I've been up since 3:25 and he's barely nursed. He's had some gas and hasn't been interested in latching on very much. So we're both awake when we really should be sound asleep. It could be worse, he's not crying and I did sleep a good 3 1/2 hours until now.

I can't wait until these stretches asleep get longer though.

I'm going to try and put Patrick back to bed now and see what the results are.

Keeping my fingers crossed!

Where am I, where is everyone?

2011-05-03T15:37:00.000-04:00

Baby Patrick is now 7 weeks old and it's been so long since I've written a post I don't know where to begin...my mind is a jumble of thoughts I wish I could share here with some coherence yet I don't even take the time to quickly blog about day to day happenings.
Discipline, I need discipline! (and time!)

It's difficult when nursing seems to be my number one occupation these days. Dust bunnies accumulate, among other things, and they say you shouldn't worry about that kind of thing but I look around here and all I see is the numerous chores that don't get done.
Anyhow, as long as the kids are happy, I guess it doesn't matter too much. I'm trying to enjoy the little moments.
If only I had a magic wand to make some of this clutter disappear!

Breakfast casserole

2010-12-20T21:34:00.001-05:00

I'm sure this must be tasty, after all it has cheese and bacon as main ingredients, but really, they could have put up a more appetizing looking photo, no?

Weelicious ™ – Fast, Easy & Fresh Homemade Home Made Baby Food Babyfood Recipes, Toddler Food and recipes for the entire family! » Blog Archive » Breakfast Casserole

First child syndrome or not

2010-12-18T23:11:00.000-05:00

(I swear, I'm going to try and post more often...)

You know how people say they were so cautious with their first child and so careful and conscientious? Ya, well, us, not so much at times...
Kieran had an allergic reaction to peanuts when he was about 5 months old. I'd eaten some peanuts and then held him and he developed a skin irritation in the form of my hand prints on him that went away after a couple of days. So we have had him tested for peanut allergies twice now without any conclusive diagnosis. We carry an Epipen and Benadryl and he does not eat peanut butter or any other peanut products. We're not paranoid about it, definitely not, as we eat peanut butter regularly around him but we're careful.
Well, this evening we went to a Christmas party where there were lots of yummy goodies laid out within his reach, including peanut butter cookies. We were watching him, but of course he did eventually end up grabbing a peanut butter cookie and taking a bite before I noticed. He's still alive and breathing so I guess all is okay. But the consequences could have been life-threatening.
Thinking back on the situation now, should have I asked that the cookies be moved off the table? When I did see that he had the cookie in his mouth, should I have made him spit it out?

Anyhow, let's hope this means he actually isn't allergic to them. But I will absolutely err on the side of caution now as I'm now just a wee bit paranoid as to what his reaction might be to another exposure. Allergies tend to increase in severity with multiple exposures.

So, how good are your instincts in the heat of a bad situation? Do you panic? Are you calm and collected? Do you take charge and take proper control of things?
I don't ever feel like I have very good judgement when things go wrong. I tend to mull things over in my head no matter how mundane they may be so imagine how much time and thought are put into the big things!
Another day, another insecurity...

For Maya...

2010-11-15T10:40:00.000-05:00

who was wondering what to do with Kieran when she was babysitting him and she had to go to the bathroom.
Well, I left him alone downstairs this morning and this is what he got up to.

Wash hands!

He'd pulled the stool up to the sink and had turned the water on full blast. Luckily he didn't stick his hands in the steaming hot water. No damage done!

Let's see if he's an angel or a devil for her tomorrow.

He thought he was Elmo

Murphy's Law

2010-11-08T11:01:00.004-05:00

I was in the basement earlier today throwing in a load of laundry when I thought to myself I'm pretty lucky, 2 years old and Kieran hasn't done anything worthy of being posted to Shit my Kids Ruined. Then I came upstairs and opened the kitchen door...

It could have been a lot worse, I know. Only a bit of flour dumped on the floor.

(Sorry about the quality of the photo, he was saying "cheese". I didn't want to take another and make him prouder of his feat, hmph!)

The summer of chasing Kieran

2010-10-08T10:52:00.001-04:00

Well, it's fall now, Kieran is days away from turning 2 and he's going to be a big brother come March!!!

This summer was fun but tiring. Kieran has certainly changed quite a bit in the last few months. We took part in 2 summer programs and along with playdates and outings to the park, we kept pretty busy. Kieran's favourite word became "dehors" (outside!). We were lucky enough to have a very nice summer, I don't recall us having to stay indoors on many days because of rain, phewf! But bringing Kieran to the park had its challenges too. It was quite a workout for me, chasing after my little guy. Parks that weren't fenced in were especially challenging.
But in the last few weeks, he's gotten much better at not running off in every direction. We've even walked quite some distances without him being confined to the stroller and he's been pretty good at holding my hand. We've moved on from him having to wear the dreaded harness.
His communications skills, both speaking and understanding have progressed at a very rapid pace too. He's repeating everything, strings 2 to 3 words together and can count to 5 or 6 by himself. Okay, so he doesn't have it quite right yet...he usually starts at 2 then it's 3, 4, 6 and then 5! It's very cute to see him point at objects and try to count them.
The understanding part is the nicest progress he's made. He will, most of the time, listen when we stay stop or stay here or "donne la main" (give me your hand) and he's not constantly running up the block or into the street when we play in front of the house.
Diaper changes on the other hand have gotten more difficult. He's started to pee on the toilet or in the potty but once he's done his business he still wants to go back and sit there and struggles and screams when it's time to put his diaper back on. There's no reasoning with a 2 year old that you just peed so you don't have to be on the potty anymore! So I stand back from the changing table and try and avoid getting kicked in the belly. Eventually the trantrum passes but I wish it were a little easier, it only gets us both upset.
Aah, the terrible twos have begun!

I think we might be getting a lock for the fridge. He can open the door by himself now. So far he's only gone for his milk but I can see the day when I come back and he's chomping down on a whole block of cheese or something!
That's another thing he doesn't quite get yet, taking small bites. We have to cut everything pretty small or he'll stuff his mouth full to the point of not being able to chew he's got so much in there. So much for table manners.
He does say "pardon" (excuse me) after he burps but also can burp on purpose. Lovely.
He's not too bad about saying thank you and please, probably gets it 25 to 50% of the time. And we get bless you when we sneeze.

We`re trying our best to speak to him in both languages, but sometimes it`s so much easier to revert to English. Oh my brain power needs some help...
Some things he knows better in English, others in French. Same goes for me, I guess!

Well, that`s enough of an update for now.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!!!

Salad as a meal

2010-07-25T18:25:00.001-04:00

I can't wait for the day when Kieran will eat raw vegetables consistently, especially in salad form. In summer we hardly ever cook. It's just way too hot in our kitchen. I know, I hear so many of you say, "so get air-conditioning already!" No thanks, not for me. Even when it's stinking hot I much prefer having the windows open and relying on a cross-breeze and the ceiling fans. I really don't like being closed off from the outdoors, we have enough of that when the cold comes. I like being able to hear what's going on outside, who's playing on the street and hearing Tim come home before he can sneak up on me! But I digress.

So in summer we do a lot of barbecuing and lots of salad eating. I grew up always having a salad with our evening meal and love throwing together a plate full of veggies and then some as a meal. Whatever is on hand can sometimes make it in our salads, fruits, nuts, seeds. Protein will be cheese, cut up cold cuts, hard boiled eggs. And there's gotta be a crunch factor. Hence the nuts or seeds or croutons. I feel sorry for people who don't like veggies. Veggies are so yummy! And I love that Tim shares in my appreciation of them and my meal salads.
So I still have to come up with an alternative for Kieran's supper when we eat salads but luckily we usually have some kind of leftovers I can throw together for him to eat.

I know my food presentations leave a lot to be desired but here's an example of one of our salads - romaine lettuce, shredded carrots, apple, extra-old cheddar cheese and kohlrabi, walnuts, grapes, tomatoes, radishes, Lebanese cucumbers and roast beef.
It also helps with the yummy factor when you slather it all in salad dressing. Forget the calories!

Yet another cliché

2010-07-23T05:53:00.004-04:00

Yes, time does fly!
Though, you know, sometimes it stands still.
When you're having a tough day and the rugrat hasn't napped long enough and now you have to entertain him for another hour (oh god, please let it only be an hour!) before Daddy gets home. And you're trying to throw something together for supper.

There are also those days where you're at the park with friends and he's having a blast and then it's time to go, gotta get home for a nap. And you stretch it a little longer, a little longer. He'll fall asleep in the stroller, sure he will. He'll sleep until we get home and then I'll pick him up and carry him up to his room and he will sleep longer because he's so worn out. Sure he will.
Sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn't.

But that's one of the great things about this gig. So unpredictable. You give it all you've got and that smile and giggle make it sooooooooo worthwhile. And the hugs, he gives the best of hugs. Even some lucky strangers sometimes get hugs.

Ya, I'm digging this motherhood thing.

(This post really wasn't going in this direction at all when I started typing but here it is...sounds like an overdue Mother's Day post, the one I started and never got back to and deleted.)

One, two, three, four
Mary at the cottage door

My cute kid

2010-05-26T22:22:00.000-04:00

I love it when I'm on the bus or somewhere with Kieran and I see his face light up at someone. I always make a point to look and see who he's smiling at. It's surprising how diverse the people who react to him are, it could be a grandmother or a middle-aged mom which you would expect but I've also had teenage boys tell me how cute he is. (Creepy maybe?)

Anyhow, it's a good feeling to know my little guy made someone's day brighter :)

It never fails

2010-05-01T06:15:00.001-04:00

Nope, it never fails. I got to bed early last night, well, okay, maybe not early but slightlyearlier than usual and here I am awake (but certainly not bright eyed and bushy tailed) way too early for any given day let alone a Saturday. I even contemplated going to Fairmount Avenue to get some bagels for breakfast but I don't think I'm quite awake enough to actually get out of the house at this hour.
Why am I awake????
I'm blaming Tim at this point! He must have been having a restless night and that has messed up my precious slumber too. But I will only be able to confirm this later, once he's up and I can ask him how he slept.
It might have to do with the fact that I feel emotionally charged but I can't pinpoint anything specific in my own life that's bugging me right now. You know, it's just everything and nothing...
So what will the weekend have in store for this humble abode? The weather looks beautiful for today and crap for tomorrow so...carpe diem?

Come and get me!

2010-04-13T20:53:00.003-04:00

This is Kieran waking up from his nap.

Yes, it is only audio, I recorded on my cell phone from the baby monitor.

Weekend's over already

2010-04-11T22:03:00.001-04:00

Nothing particularly exciting to report today. Apparently I can't reminisce without people questioning why I was thinking about stuff that happened years ago. Okay so I went into quite some detail in the last post but I could have said a lot more. Don't we all tell stories about stuff that happened to us long ago? Or is it only old people that do that kind of thing? I guess I'm old then!
Really, I don't know how my post about Lavalife first came about, it was certainly a train of thought, stream of consciousness thing but I don't remember where it started.

Tomorrow if I write, I promise it will be about the day's events. Kieran has his 18 month check up with Dr.Non-Personality. After the last visit I seriously contemplated finding a new paediatrician but figured I would give him another chance. He's not that bad (but he's also not that good.) I think if Kieran had any serious health issues I'd find a new doctor but Dr.R is close by, has convenient hours and has Kieran's history on file.
I take comfort in the fact that we get the vaccines (yes, we vaccinate) at the CLSC and the nurse there is great and fills in for the lack of attention we get from the doctor.

Reminiscing

2010-04-10T21:46:00.001-04:00

I think most people know that Tim and I met through Lavalife, the online dating service. Yes, it actually worked for us!
I must say, I had a few "interesting" dates before we met up. But all in all, it was a fun experience (although 7 years passed might have blurred my memory...)

The first guy from Lavalife that I went out with I took to calling Allergy-Boy (not to his face mind you!) He carried his epipen on a holster on his belt. He was allergic to garlic among many other things. Garlic! And he was crossed-eyed. And in denial about it. He told me he got a little bit lazy-eyed when he was really tired. I guess he must have been reeeeeeeeally tired when I went out with him! He also told me the story of how his eyeball had popped out at birth and this is why he got cross-eyed. Great thing to share on a first date. We went to see The Italian Job and then he suggested we go for sushi. He never even offered to pay for me. Not that I would have accepted but it would have been nice of him to offer. Sushi does not come cheap and he knew I was on my own, making a crappy wage and paying a mortgage. He was not particularly physically active and was more of a nerd than a geek. And I actually went out on a second date with him! This time we went out for brunch and the resto did not take credit cards and I had no cash so he ended up paying for me and saying I could get the next one...ya, that never happened! Oh, and on the first date, he answered his cell phone while we were walking to the restaurant. And it was his mom.
He was also a few years younger than me and didn't drive.
Wow, now that I think back....anyhow, we both got "too busy" to see each other again and eventually, the emails stopped being exchanged. I guess I gave him that second chance because through the emails, he really was a nice and interesting guy.

Guy number 2 was also younger, a part-time student and did not drive. I think I scared this guy away by my physical prowess, if I can put it that way. (I was biking at least an hour a day then, weather-permitting.) We went for a bike ride and I must have pooped him out. He never responded to any of my emails after that date. His loss!

Number 3 was definitely gay but in the closet and had OCD. And I didn't notice in his profile that he was a smoker. Also younger, a student and didn't drive and lived in the West Island with his sister. We ended up on the same metro car on the way to the date although he didn't see me (I gathered it was him as he sorta looked like the guy in the profile picture.) I walked up St-Laurent Blvd on the opposite side of the street, watching him the whole time before meeting him at Café Santropol. But we ended up having to go somewhere else because there was no room there. After we went for a walk on the mountain and got caught in the rain. A few more emails but no other dates.

Number 4 was Country-boy (I believe self-proclaimed.) He was from Nova Scotia and was a student at Concordia. Younger, but he could drive! But he had a cat. (I'm allergic.) In person he turned out to be really quiet and reserved, not a good match for me! He came to play softball with me, the team I was playing with then always needed extra players so I figured it would be a fun thing to do. Well, he might have been quiet with me but he really did not take well to our team captain (a woman) telling him where to place himself on the field according to who was at bat. A few not-so-mild expletives were used on his part. I think I was the one who didn't reply to any emails after that meeting!

And then at the end of July, I browsed for the umpteenth time through all the profiles that seemed to match what I was looking for and sent a bunch of "smiles" (I was too cheap to buy credits so couldn't send them a message, a smile just let the person know you were interested in them) to a few guys whose profiles I'd seen before but hadn't been in contact with. I was away for the weekend (it was the annual friends camping trip at La Minerve) and when I got back, I'd gotten a message from guy number 5. Who turned out to be Tim. I'm not sure we gave him a nickname. We, being Katja and I. We would email each other several times a day back then and she was my sounding board, my go-to girl, my sistah! Possibly we called him Toolman. At least we didn't call him Tool-boy because yes, Tim is younger than me (but only by 2 years.)
So lots of emails and a few phone calls later, Tim and I met in person more than 3 weeks after first contact and the rest as they say, is history.

No need to go into the details about Gatineau-boy who was not from Lavalife. Let's just say, Tim had some short-lived competition which I don't think he aprreciated very much. But Olaf put me on the right path at the last Expos game we ever attended.
Hey Tim, I think you still owe him a beer for that one ;)

Alls well that ends well.
Everything happens for a reason. (You just might not know that reason at the time...)
What other cliché can I come up with?!

Okay, I'll end this now before someone hits me (even if it is only virtually.)

Bullied by a two year old

2010-04-09T15:08:00.001-04:00

Lately I've been having to be more watchful of Kieran when he gets close to other kids as he's not too good with the gentleness factor yet. He means no harm, but he tends to shove kids out of the way as he stumbles by them or he'll grab a toy that another child is playing with.

Well yesterday Kieran was the at the receiving end of the abuse! We were among the first to arrive at the playgroup and this little girl slapped, scratched and pulled his hair, repeatedly. And it was all unprovoked. We thinks she has anger management issues! Poor Kieran put up with it with only a little stunned look on his face. But then the grabbing of the hair and not letting go was just a little too much....he was in tears and needed consoling for that.
Luckily she made up for it later and shared some of her Rice Krispies. I'm surprised he even went near her at that point!

What could have been but never was or ever shall be

2010-04-07T22:46:00.001-04:00

Kieran and I have been going to a playgroup in NDG since the beginning of February. It's basically a big free for all, lots of toys and play structures laid out in a church basement. Lots of fun but somewhat chaotic for the uninitiated. Oh, and the snacks, wow, what a spread they put out!

Anyhow, a few weeks ago, I heard someone call out my name to look up and see my ex-brother-in-law there with his two kids. I recognized his daughter from the previous times we'd been there but since she'd been with her mom, (who I've never met) I had no idea who she was.
It's just weird to see these two children who could have been my niece and nephew. Yet with the way things turned out I have no connection to them whatsoever. It kind of leaves me with a bit of a sense of emptiness.
I saw them all again today and briefly chatted with Marc (the ex-bro-in-law) as he dropped his family off. He made no introductions to his girlfriend. I wonder if later on when she got home whether she asked him who I was. I felt somewhat uncomfortable being around her, knowing who she is and a bit about her family without her knowing who I am. But not enough to approach her and introduce myself or anything. That would have been even more uncomfortable!
Ah the ghosts never seem like they will ever stop haunting me.

2 months later...

2010-04-06T21:58:00.002-04:00

So much to write about, no focus to do so...
Neither Kieran nor I have really been completely healthy in the last two months. Congestion and runny noses and 2 weeks ago, the dreaded gastro befell our household. It could be worse, but I just can't wait for the day when I am not constantly reaching for the Kleenex box. At least we can't complain about the weather we've been having (until tomorrow when the rain showers are predicted to begin!)

Kieran is quickly growing into a little toddler, he is almost 18 months old now. He's a lot of fun (not that he hasn't been all along) but it's really neat to see his development at this stage and see him understand and respond to what we are saying to him. Yes, we still get blank stares or are completely ignored sometimes, but he will actually listen to some requests (pick this up, close the door.) Wow, they actually do eventually evolve into somewhat independent creatures at some point...there is hope yet!!!

So do we really want to go through all of this again?! Yes we do plan on having another, sooner rather than later but as cute as newborns are (see Hailey, Kieran's new cousin )DO WE REALLY WANT TO GO THROUGH ALL OF THIS AGAIN?!!! No, I don't need any convincing (much!) Maybe a little support. And lots of sleep!

The week in review

2010-01-29T21:05:00.002-05:00

Kieran is doing better although he is still not quite his usual self. He had a good weekend, spending the day on Sunday with his cousin Vanessa. He seems to be getting a bit possessive of his toys now. Depending on what she was playing with, he seemed to be giving her a "look" as if to say "hey, that's mine!" But he's not at the stage yet where he'll do anything about it.

He woke up crying sometime around one that night but Tim was able to quickly get him back to sleep. He was all tangled up in his covers and was congested too. He then slept until almost 9 that morning. We had a visit from Granddaddy and Grand-Maman for lunch but Kieran had no appetite, except for Granddaddy's cinnamon roll!
This was also a 2 nap day, yay!

On Tuesdays we go to Tumbling Tots just around the alleyway from our house at the Greene Avenue Community Centre.

Kieran's only symptom that day was a runny nose.
Later that evening though I heard him coughing while I was getting ready for bed and when I checked in on him, he'd thrown up. Poor little guy didn't even wake up and cry, he just lay in it. Ick!

On Monday and Wednesday evenings, I go to aquaform class and since Tim was planning to work late on Wednesday, we had asked his mom to come babysit Kieran. After lunch, Kieran got a little cranky so we went for a walk and he cried on & off the whole time we were out. And when we got home and he was out of the stroller, it was full blown wailing for a good 45 minutes. I didn't want my mother-in-law to have to deal with a cranky gassy kid so I called her and told her not to bother coming over as I would skip swimming to stay with Mr Cranky-pants. After his crying spell, he fell asleep in my arms for a little while until the phone rang and I got up to answer it. He managed
to eat a good supper but then when I was getting him ready for bed, he threw up all over the changing table. Good thing I don't mind doing laundry!
By then I could see the white of his bottom left incisor coming through.

Today and yesterday have been good days. We went to our first Mother Goose session of the year yesterday morning. Lots of new faces around. Kieran fell asleep on the way home then slept for over 2 more hours in his crib. No complaints here!
He's still a little cranky and cuddly and isn't playing as much as usual but Daddy was home early this evening to give him lots of attention.
Let's see what the (cold, frigid) weekend has in store for us...

Sicky update

2010-01-22T12:10:00.000-05:00

Kieran is doing better today, thanks for your concern. He's still got a bit of a fever but has a little more energy and slept through the night.
But he's still recovering from whatever it was...

I'll just lie here and play

Happy boy

Not so happy

What's up today

2010-01-21T14:39:00.002-05:00

We started the day off a little earlier than planned this morning...
I woke up at 4 am to the sounds of Kieran whining but fell back asleep for about a half hour until he really started crying. Tim was a little quicker to get to him (I might have purposefully let him!) and found him in the corner of his crib burning up. His temp was not too high, 38.9 C but the little one was definitely suffering. So after a diaper change, I tried giving him some Tempra but he wouldn't let me anywhere near him with the eye dropper. After some coaxing, I finally got some into his mouth and, of course, he threw up. Wow, over 9 hours after eating and (gory details), he hadn't digested supper very much. And I wasn't witness to it, but apparently he let out a HUGE rumbling fart! Anyhow I let Daddy go back to bed and rocked Kieran and myself back to sleep, waking up enough to get us both back to bed.
Come 6:30, we weren't awakened by Tim's alarm clock, but by Kieran crying again. I rocked him back to sleep and he slept well past 9 o'clock, I think. I didn't hear make any noises when I got up but when I checked on him after my shower, he was just laying there in bed, eyes open, not making a sound, not moving. Poor little guy. His temp was now up to 39.3. He did manage some breakfast and milk and played for a little while between cuddles.
Then he just got restless, didn't want to be held, didn't want to be put down. He was circling the couches, putting his head down, getting up then settled down trying to get comfortable and just lost it and cried the biggest tears, eventually falling asleep in my arms. So upstairs we went for a diaper change and I rocked him back to sleep before putting him down in his crib. After a little tossing and turning, I thought he was out cold but as I looked back before closing the door, again he was lying there with his eyes open but not moving or making a sound. He did start babbling for a few minutes by the time I got downstairs and put the monitor on but it sounds like he's settled down for now.
Upset stomach? Teeth? Ear infection? Only time will tell.
Thankfully, he doesn't seem to be suffering too badly. Or maybe he takes after his mom and is not a complainer!

Cousin playdate

2009-11-18T16:16:00.003-05:00

With all the sickness that's been going around Kieran and his cousin Vanessa hadn't seen each other in 5 weeks but we're slowly making up for lost time. We had a visit to their house on Sunday to celebrate Catherine's birthday and then Vanessa came over here today while her mommy had her shoulder tended to.

Despite the 19 month age gap, they really seem to enjoy each other's company and play pretty well side by side if not together. Vanessa's a little more possessive of some of her toys but when she first got here this morning, I could perceive that Kieran wasn't too sure about her playing with his things. He seemed a little bewildered that she was taking over his turf!

It was a beautiful sunny morning so we then bundled ourselves up for a walk to the park. Vanessa helped push Kieran in his stroller and pushed the crosswalk button. I thought Kieran might settle down for a snooze but there was too much excitement with all the kids from the daycare running around. He sat in the stroller for a little bit while Vanessa roamed around and swung and slid then we got him out so he could take part in some of the fun. He's not walking yet so it's hard to let him loose in the park. We sat him in a swing and we also went "bouncy, bouncy" on the teeter-totter.

Then it was time to come home for lunch. Vanessa has been potty training and we had a successful trip all the way upstairs (with a pit stop first to play with the ball popper game) to the bathroom. I didn't have any chocolate to reward her with but she didn't even ask for any.

We had egg salad sandwiches and cucumber and Kieran had strained carrots along with his egg and bread. Vanessa took great pleasure in helping feed Kieran his lunch. She also took great pleasure in eating his raspberries. She first started giving him pieces then she took half for herself then the pieces started getting smaller and then the whole raspberry was for her alone! Luckily Kieran was pretty much done by then! And luckily he is a very patient boy!

Catherine had arrived by this time and unfortunately doesn't yet feel the benefits of her massage. Let's hope this "pain in the neck" doesn't linger for too much longer...

The kids played for a little while more and then it was time for Vanessa to go home for a nap. It took a little coaxing and a few tears were shed but they got out the door without too much of a fight.

Kieran looked pretty wiped out himself so I brought him upstairs and rocked him and held on tight while he squirmed and struggled and he eventually actually fell asleep! Even with being able to hear Holden crying away next door. (We live in a row house and Kieran's bedroom wall adjoins the 15 month old next door's bedroom.)

I heard a few peeps out of K a little while ago but he's been sleeping for an hour and 40 minutes, yesssssss!!!

Yesterday he napped for over three hours but that was after swimming, nursing and being bundled up in the stroller.
This afternoon nap is a breakthrough!

Happy Birthday Kieran!

2009-10-22T21:14:00.004-04:00

We celebrated Kieran's first birthday twice on Thanksgiving weekend with turkey dinners and cake and cupcakes.

AAAchooo!

2009-10-20T22:18:00.002-04:00

Kieran and I both have colds. His nose started to run (quick, go catch it!) on Sunday and I woke up every hour between Sunday night and Monday morning with my nose running or a sneezing fit. On the plus side, Kieran slept until 8:35 yesterday and 9:35 this morning and napped throughout the day. But he's had a fever too which has made the poor kid unlike his usual self. He's had no appetite and has been quiet and clingy especially this afternoon when he would start crying if I tried to put him down. So I enjoyed cuddling my baby and singing to him and taking it easy myself. Though I could have done without him throwing up both last night and tonight just before bedtime, especially since Daddy wasn't home to help clean up.

Being sick meant skipping swimming class this morning so hopefully we'll be better and be able to make it on Thursday. K & I have been going to aqua-poussette classes again but this time we're going to the pool down in Little Burgundy. It's about a 25 minute walk from home but the class is at 9 am so we're a little rushed in the mornings we go. I know, you people are scoffing at the fact that we have a hard time making it for 9 but Kieran usually wakes up around 7:45 and we have to leave the house by 8:15. Which wouldn't be a problem if he didn't need to nurse and eat breakfast! Even on mornings when he wakes up earlier or I have woken him up, he can take an hour to eat a meal so there is no getting out of the house quickly. And waiting until after class to give him breakfast worked a few times but not always.

This class is a good workout for me but this is no interaction with our babies like the other course we took. But I always take Kieran out of the floater and spend the last 10 or 15 minutes with him in my arms in the water and let him do his thing. He enjoys sitting on the edge of the pool and letting himself fall into the water. It's fun to see the difference in what he does since he was last in the water back in June.

Yup, 4 months make quite a difference. He wasn't even sitting up very well on his own back then. Now he's crawling a mile a minute, standing and walking with help, balancing for a few seconds on his own. He's not really saying any words but he babbles convincingly as if he's really speaking just in some foreign language. He sort of understands "no" and gets upset when you turn him away from where he shouldn't be.

I am still nursing him 3 to 4 times a day which was fine until this weekend when he started biting. His first 3 teeth have only come out in last month or so and now he's using them! I guess I was kind of tired when he decided to take a chunk out of me and I started crying pretty hard and said something along the lines of "OWWWW, THAT REALLY HURTS" and with lots more uncontrollable bawling. Well, poor Kieran. At first he was laughing but then when he realized I was crying, he started to cry too! We were literally a sad couple. I'm just glad Tim wasn't here to witness my patheticalness! Maybe if he had been here, I would have controlled my emotions a bit better!

Today

2009-09-25T23:32:00.001-04:00

Yes it's been a while since my last post and lots has happened but I'm not going to try and play catch up today. I'll just ramble on about how uneventful the day was...
I've been having what I thought were allergies the last couple of evenings. Sinus pain, sneezing, itchy eyes. But then last night I woke up a few times with sneezing fits. So I gave in and got up to take some Advil. Except I didn't want to blind myself in the middle of the night by turning a light on. So this morning I realized I had taken Benadryl instead of Advil. No wonder I didn't feel any relief. So I woke up feeling so-so, well enough to decide I would go for a run. Then I got out of bed and stood upright. Sinus pain, ow. Not to mention the tightness in my calves from my aquaform class yesterday. So, yeah, great start to the day. I spent the morning blowing my nose and wishing I could go back to bed all the while feeding and entertaining my napless baby. Honestly, all I wanted to do was lie down and all I can recall doing is feeding Kieran and reading the newspaper. Oh, and eating. I've been so hungry all day. Feed a cold?
The Advil kicked in pretty well and I was feeling better by late afternoon. Still tired but I got a little reprieve on the couch around 4 o'clock. Yeah, cos Kieran napped in his high chair half-way through lunch. So of course instead of napping myself at that time, I checked my emails and probably tried to satiate my appetite. Anyhow, I decided we had to get out of the house and enjoy some of what was left of this nice day so after nursing K for like the 5th time today, we headed over to the Greene Centre for a community corn roast. Kieran might not have any teeth but he sure enjoyed me plucking kernels off a cob and finger feeding him. Kinda messy but it did the trick. From there we went for a little walk over to the park behind the high school and Kieran went for a swing. Then it was back home for more food. We're so done with baby mush. This means more planning when it comes to meal time but I'll try and make stews and slow-cooker recipes that will be easy for Kieran to eat. He so needs to sprout some teeth. He's just got a top one that started protruding about 3 weeks ago. Anyhow, he stills manages to eat chunks of meat without choking on them so I guess it's ok.
Tim was out this evening, curling for the first time this season so I got Kieran ready for bed and he was out cold by 9 o'clock. I'm not looking forward to weaning this kid. It's just so easy to get him to fall asleep by nursing him. Unfortunately that's not always the case when it comes to daytime naps. He usually falls asleep in my arms then wakes up as soon as I try to move him to the playpen. That's probably why he falls asleep so easily at night, he's just plain exhausted! At least he hasn't started having complete breakdowns during the day when he's tired. He does get a little whiny sometimes but I'm not sure what my strategy should be for naps. Right now, if he naps, all the better and if he doesn't, well no big deal. I know if I really wanted him to go down, I could bring him upstairs to his crib and pull the shade and he'd fall asleep, eventually. But our daily routine isn't always the same so I figure why tie myself down with trying to do things a set way and have him completely melt down if we go beyond the predictable. That and I just don't like the idea of having him upstairs and having to have the baby monitor on to hear him. I'll just go with the flow. So far that's pretty much what's worked for us. We're just lucky to have such a good baby. Which I realize he's becoming less and less of ( a baby , that is) as the days go by. Sniff, sniff!

If you want it to be your first and only anniversary...

2009-07-21T22:38:00.001-04:00

I was looking for gift ideas for our first wedding anniversary and I think I'll stick to the traditional paper instead of the modern plastic gifts...here's some suggestions that will surely get you in deep doo-doo if you were to get them for your spouse!

Tupperwear (can't even spring for TupperWARE, hun?)

Household items (Rubbermaid garbage can anyone?)

Sunglasses (prescription, UVA or UVB protection?)

Sports gifts (lawn darts maybe?)

Yoga mat (is there any other way to say I love you?!)

Luggage accessories (what, like a name tag holder?)

Adult gifts (I'm not even going to touch that one...)

Although here's a few suggestions the same site gives for traditional paper gifts:

Cigars

Book of floor plans (if building a house soon)

Life insurance

Yeah, sure.

Blueberries are yummy...

2009-07-11T21:30:00.002-04:00

But they make a heck of a mess!

You know there's a nursing shortage when...

2009-07-08T15:39:00.000-04:00

The other night I dreamt I was in the hospital for some reason I can't remember but I also had an eye infection. One of my old co-workers was taking care of me and she stuck some kind of IV in my eye that looked like a battery tester. But all was good because she had learnt how to use that kind of machine back home in Romania.
I was then sent out to the waiting room while the antibiotics were to take effect.
When I came back 10 minutes later, Ryan Seacrest was there and removed the IV for me with much fanfare.

Bizarre.

Kennedy out.

Wedding weekend

2009-07-03T22:15:00.002-04:00

I started this post last night but it was getting late so I didn't finish it but now my mind is much preoccupied by other things but I will try and finish this now...

You had to be there!

Words (at least mine) cannot do justice to the great weekend we had!

Yes, believe it or not, my big brother, P-J, tied the knot with his true love Melora this past Sunday.

I can't imagine the week (or months) they must have had leading up to it but it certainly made me appreciate even more the simpleness of Tim's & my wedding!

For us, it started on Saturday evening with the cocktail at their apartment. I met lots of Melora's American relatives and a few friends from out of town. I did recognize a couple of faces from the past too.

There were lots of tasty finger foods and even make-your-own smoked meat sandwiches.

And it was the beginning of the Kieran-love-fest!
It's a good thing he's too young to understand all these compliments he gets or his head would be at least twice its size!

And Sunday was the big day.
I've never been one to go all crazy on my appearance and am even less attentive to what I look like now that I'm a mom (yes, I know, sad but true) so I wore the same dress and shoes I wore to Steph & Olaf's wedding 6 years ago and to Dianna and Daryl's 4 years ago. Who's to know?! Well, all of you now!

We tried to head to the ceremony early but had to turn back when we realized we'd forgotten the stroller. I'm sure my Auntie Ann (deaf aunt who forgot to put in her hearing aid) who was with us had no clue as to why we were turning back home. That's if she had a clue in the first place as to where we were headed!
Anyhow, I digress...we made it to Parc Jean Drapeau and had to drive the whole way around Ile Notre Dame to get to the Canadian pavillion where the reception was to be.
The ceremony took place a short walk away in the Jardins des Floralies.
The bride was late, which was fine by me, it gave me time to nurse Kieran before the ceremony and we won't mention that my parents were late too.
Aaah, but better late than never (especially in my father's case!)

Kieran babbled and raspberried throughout the whole ceremony!
But I managed to mostly tune him out while I did my reading (Corinthians 13 - the one about faith, hope & love.)

The rain held off so all was good.

And the food was just amazing! So many salads and stuff on the grill to choose from -which I didn't have to do as Tim got me food while I nursed K.

There's just too much to talk about without going into all the details but we had a really nice evening. Of course, Tim spent most of his time taking photos, over 500 in all, I think!

We could have stayed a lot later (or earlier, I suppose!) but we had to get Auntie Ann home. Which is just as well because we were exhausted enough as it was leaving when we did.
Kieran was an angel, he slept in the stroller most of the evening but was wide awake on the way home and when we tried to put him down in his crib. Nothing that another feeding didn't take care of, just to add to my exhaustion!

So we managed to sleep in on Monday morning and then headed downtown to hotel Le Crystal for brunch.
It was a nice chance to visit with my relatives from my mom's side who came up for the wedding. Oh, and coming up for them does not mean from the States - my mom comes from St-Eugène which is about an hour's drive past Quebec City on the South Shore.

So as usual, it was all about the food :)

Oops, I did it!

2009-06-29T16:51:00.001-04:00

We had a tiring but very fun-filled weekend with my brother's wedding happening but more on that later. We got to see some family, here's an exerpt:

Ma tante Jeanne-Mance to me (in French): "I'm sorry, I can't remember your husband's name."

Me: "It's Tim."

Her: "Dim?" (or Pim or something like that!)

Me: "No Tim, like Tim Horton, Tsim. Tsimothée."

Her: "Aaaah, why didn't you say Tsimothée in the first place.?!"

Sorry Tsim....

Footnote: Most French Canadians for some reason can never get Tim's name right unless it is pronounced with a "ts" sound.

Footnote for Maya: I guess we have to call Kieran "Tsimbit" now!

It's time to update!

2009-06-28T06:35:00.000-04:00

Unfortunately, more often than not, it's when I'm awake at some ungodly hour of the morning that I actually take the time to update my blog!
Unfortunately, I really wish I'd had more than 5 hours sleep last night.
Let's hope Kieran naps well again like he did yesterday so I can get a nap in later too.

So what have we been up to in the last 2 months?

Yes, I am again reduced to highlighting our exciting lives to try and catch up!

Well, our upstairs renovations are not quite complete (there's some painting touch ups to be done, doors to be hung and a few little other odds and ends) but we have moved on to bigger and better things!
Our front steps really needed to be redone, in fact we'd had the permit to do the work since last summer but never got around to finding someone who was available to do the work.
We have access to our basement from the front (we live in a row house) and the cement walls were in dire need of repair. We're very pleased with the end result and now we have extra storage under the stairs as they excavated further back than what we had previously.
The weather has not been too cooperative lately so the stairs only got a first coat of paint this past Wednesday (we splurged on Benjamin Moore Aura paint) but Tim is also up early so it looks like coat #2 will go on this morning!

I don't think we'll be dancing the night away this evening!

Kieran is doing well. He's much, much more alert and interactive as the days go by.
8 1/2 months old already!
He started sitting up without the side to side wobbles and toppling over at the beginning of this week.
He just can't get out of the sitting position without help once we plop him down on the floor.
He's not crawling yet but is certainly mobile nonetheless. He can roll and turn himself all over the living room floor. We really need to baby-proof this place soon!

Kieran also started on solid foods, oh, way back when at this point! I've been making my own baby mush and freezing it in ice cube trays for appropriate size portions. It's been going well with only a few throw up mishaps, especially when he had a cold and fever. Although in the last couple of weeks, he's picked up his old habit of doing raspberries. Very cute at first. Not so cute when he has a mouth full of food and you get a turkey or broccoli shower.

We've had a couple more appointments at the Children's Hospital. Kieran's kidneys are pretty much ok but they'll keep checking on them. We have another ultrasound in September.
He might be allergic to peanuts, we had him tested after he had some kind of skin reaction while we were in Barbados. But at this point it was inconclusive. The doctor prescribed us an Epipen (which I try to remember to bring with us whenever we go out) but we'll have him re-tested in a year. In the meanwhile we just make sure we wash our hands well after eating peanut butter.

And Monsieur's personality is certainly developing. He gets this little devious look on his face when he does something and you can really see he's wondering what kind of reaction he'll get from us from his behaviour.

I will officially be a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom) once my parental leaves runs out in August but I guess I shouldn't really write about the details until next month. So more to come on that later!

That's about all the highlights I can think of at the moment. I really will try to blog more often! I know, I keep saying that! But the longer you go without writing, the harder it is to get back into it. You just don't know where to begin.

I find it a lot like talking to someone you haven't seen in a long time. You just don't feel like it's appropriate to get into the details of your daily life when they have no idea what's been going on in the big scheme of things.

Do you do that? Some people I haven't talked to in months I find I have nothing to say to while I can chat with others every day for half an hour (or more!)
Kind of like in Cegep when I'd spend most of the day with some friends and then we'd spend half of the evening on the phone with each other!

So tomorrow, I will be back.
Perhaps!
I should have a lot to say...my big brother's getting married today. YIKES!

1990 revisited

2009-05-04T22:51:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, my mom & I were reminiscing about our trip to Europe way back in 1990, particularly our encounter with this creepy guy in Grenoble. So I thought I'd share my journal entry from back then...

"We drove straight to Grenoble and had lunch in front of the tourist office (which was closed) and some man (Serge Meunier) was watching us from his apartment and came down to talk to us 'cos he saw from our license plate we had a car from Paris. So, mommy invited herself for tea at his place. This guy was a real weirdo. He totally freaked me out the whole time we were there. I thought he would come out of the kitchen with a carving knife! He's been divorced for 14 years and he had pictures of his ex-wife all over the place. He kept looking me up and down. I tell you, all I wanted to do was to get out of there and quick!"

I'd forgotten the part about his ex-wife...and my mom remembered it as him watching us through a pair of binoculars. Ah, good times!

Cousins

2009-04-28T16:50:00.000-04:00

Better spirits

2009-04-10T09:30:00.000-04:00

Well sunshine and getting out of the house seem to have helped my mood, at least for now!
And who has time to be depressed when Easter is almost here and there will be so much chocolate that will need to be eaten!

On Tuesday we sent Tim off to work on the bus and took the truck to the South Shore for a trip to Ikea with Catherine and Vanessa so she could get a shelving unit for their living room. Seeing her getting things organized somewhat inspired me to do the same. Unfortunately, I have a lot more stuff (i.e. crap (!)) in my house so things will always look cluttered no matter what. This household was just not meant to be minimalistic I guess.

And on Wednesday we started a new session of swimming classes. There were a lot of new faces and lots of younger (around 3 month old) babies. It was fun to compare Kieran to them and see how much he has developed in 3 months.

My baby will already be 6 months old tomorrow, yikes!

But I don't think we ever stop thinking how fast time flies...when I turned 35, my mom exclaimed "My baby is going to be 35!" in this tone of disbelief.

Such is life!

The lost art of blogging

2009-04-06T22:29:00.002-04:00

Rather than not blog at all, I've instead been opting more often than not to post pictures lately. They're a little more interesting than the posts I've been writing. I feel like I'm just writing mundane descriptions of my daily routine that must bore my few readers to tears...I can write the best of posts at anytime in my head but they just don't seem to come out when I'm sitting here at the keyboard.

I wish I could write as well as some of the bloggers I follow. Some are so witty. Some are deep. Some have the guts to share personal thoughts and show their weaknesses.

I used to write to clear my head and few people were privy to those writings. I started a blog to try and share some of my more intimate thoughts but those kind of postings were few and far between. I tend to censor myself knowing who reads my blog.
But maybe it's time I stop doing that. Maybe it's time I reach out and admit my insecurities. Because we all have them. But we never really discuss them.

I have a great life and couldn't be happier with the way things are. Yet this morning I held my giggling baby in my arms while I sobbed uncontrollably. I have this underlying feeling of being overwhelmed by it all. I try to take it one step at a time but sometimes it just gets the best of me. Luckily it doesn't last too long. But it also doesn't go away completely.

I don't need to be this deep all the time. But sometimes it helps to let it out. Sometimes I have to admit that all is not right. Sometimes I have to come out of my shell and see what happens. Sometimes I have to take that chance and see and see how it works for me.

And then I can re-read this post and laugh at how cheesy and clicheed I sound!

Kewl kid

2009-04-03T17:02:00.000-04:00

I love my reflecion in his lens...Kieran and I went for a long walk yesterday, to the CCA then all the way back to Dairy Queen and then we unexpectedly got to visit with Uncle Olaf before heading back home. It was so nice to get out in the warmth and sunshine!

There's a slight resemblance to me...

2009-04-02T10:47:00.003-04:00

We're home!

2009-03-29T16:04:00.008-04:00

Well wifi was a little unreliable while we were in Barbados so I didn't get online as much as I thought I would so I could update...

I said that Kieran wasn't able to roll from his back to his tummy yet but he's done it twice although no one actually saw him do it. There's certainly no leaving him unsupervised on an elevated surface anymore. Yesterday in the airplane lavatory I even caught him rolling off the changing table while I looked away for a split second.

Our time in Barbados was mostly spent preapring meals, getting ready to go to the beach and relaxing on the beach! On Thursday we went into Bridgetown and did a little shopping. We had some showers that evening and Friday was kind of overcast also. We were going to go to Oistins fish market for a fish fry supper but the dark skies made us change our minds. We even lost power for over an hour that evening.

Kieran woke up early to be fed (like 4 or 5 am) while we were in Barbados but last night he slept right through til about 8 o'clock this morning. Either that or we didn't hear him if he did wake up!

The flight back went well even if I had the window seat again. Daddy met us at the airport and we were so happy to see him!

Barbados day 4

2009-03-24T21:29:00.001-04:00

Barbados day 2 & 3

2009-03-23T20:44:00.004-04:00

Sunday is actually still a day of rest in this country, imagine that!
We went into Bridgetown, the capital and walked around the deserted streets as all the shops and restaurants were closed.
Sometimes they open when cruise ships come into port and there were 2 ships in but everything was closed anyhow.

Kieran had a first yesterday - he rolled over from his tummy to his back. So he has to be watched a little more closely now, depending on where he is lying. He can't roll from his back to his tummy yet, he still gets stuck on his side as he hasn't figured out how to get his arm out of the way yet.

All this fresh air has Kieran napping more during the day and yesterday I managed to go for a walk along the beach by myself and was gone for a good hour. Okay, I admit I was a little concerned he would wake up before I got back, but it turns out I had nothing to worry about, he slept for a whole 10 minutes after my return! He does tend to fuss a lot before settling down to sleep but I thinks that's because he is overtired.

This morning I snuck out for an early morning swim and got back before Kieran woke up.
Later in the morning we all went to the beach and now I'm feeling the sun on my shoulders as I went swimming pretty soon after we got there and did not reapply any sunscreen. I took Kieran into the ocean but he wasn't too thrilled about it, especially when a rather large wave came from behind and took me by surprise!

Our apartment is not directly on the water, it's about a 2 minute walk to the public access to the beach so we don't have any chairs to sit on when we go which is a little inconvenient. I lay Kieran down on the sand on my towel but with all his squirming he ended up with sand pretty much everywhere, his mouth included as his hands pretty much end up directly in his mouth most of the time!

The internet connection here was not working until this morning and I can't believe what a relief it was when I was finally able to connect. Very weird. But then again, it was probably more because I could be in touch with Tim rather than feeling out of touch with the cyber world. I had no such feeling whatsover when we were in Cuba.

So I will try for some daily updates and hopefully will have some more interesting tidbits to share as he week goes on!

Barbados, our arrival.

2009-03-23T20:39:00.000-04:00

Well, here we are on day 2 1/2 of our second winter holiday in the sun...Kieran and I decided to come and join Grandmaman and Granddaddy during their 3 week stay here in Barbados. Unfortunately, we had to leave Daddy behind at home. But he's keeping busy painting and organizing our upstairs office. I can't wait to see the finished product when we get back.

So we got up bright and early on Saturday morning (I had woken up at 3:30 and didn't get back to sleep, ugh) and headed out to the airport around 6 o'clock. Kieran was awake but luckily didn't get hungry til later. Tim accompanied us all the way to the security gates. So I'd checked us in online which is supposed to save time as all you have to do when you get to the airport is drop off your baggage. Ha!
I still had to go to the self-check in to get our baggage labels and print our boarding passes with the gate info which was missing from the one I had printed at home. Then we had to wait in line at the baggage drop-off and I had to show the agent our passports and boarding passes. So, time saved? None whatsover. Work saved by agent? Printing and affixing the labels on our bags. What a croc. Air Canada sucks!

We got through security with no trouble and the agents there were actually quite friendly and helpful, folding and reopening the stroller for me and telling me to take my time with Kieran. He was quite good during the whole flight, I nursed him in the waiting area and then in the plane before take-off and then after another feed and some breakfast for me, we both managed a nap. The flight was a little over 5 hours long and went by pretty quickly. I had the window seat which was nice for the view, but a little inconvenient for lavatory visits.

Funny coincidence, we were on the same flight as a family we know from the curling club and they are staying not too far from where we are. I'd never really talked to them before, but funnily enough, I had gone to the club this past Tuesday and did have a conversation (mostly about Kieran) with John. I have their phone number so we can get together at some point this week.

And as a nice surprise, my mom came and met us at the airport. We had a fun bus ride back to the apartment making everyone step over my luggage and contend with me wacking them in the heads with my backpack. Thank goodness I had Kieran in the Maman Kangouroo carrier. But $1.50 instead of $40 for a taxi made it worthwhile! (I guess!)

After devouring a sandwich and feeding Kieran too, we left the men to fend for themselves, and went to the beach for a swim before sunset. The water was heavenly although the area where we swam was a little rocky.

We then had a delicious roast chicken supper followed by a quiet evening and an early bedtime.

And another month has almost come and gone

2009-03-23T20:28:00.002-04:00

Well what did March have in store for us?
I finally got my things organized and now most of my clothes are actually in my own bedroom. It seems silly that the dresser and the closet in the guest room are empty but eventually we will need the space and it certainly is more convenient to have my things in my own room. It also gave me the opportunity to get ride of some stuff.

The day after my last post, we went to see France who was performing in a production of Gilbert & Sullivan's "The Gondoliers". Grandma Jo-Anne babysit Kieran and we ended up having to come home at intermission because he would not drink from the bottle. To think that at the beginning I had so much trouble getting him to breast feed and now he won't take a bottle!

Kieran and I have been going to swim class and using Communauto, the care-sharing co-op, and I'm quite enjoying it.

The first weekend in March, Kieran and I joined Robbie, Olaf, Stephanie and Ysabel for some weekend fun in the Laurentians. We went up to Lac Tremblant where Robbie's family have their cottage. The cottage is closed up for the winter as it is not winterized and the only access in the summer is by boat but once or twice a winter they go up to check on things and do some glorified winter camping. Because we took Kieran, we were lucky enough that Robbie's cousin let us use her cottage which has full amenities. Except something went wrong with her pump so we had no water. Which was fine, it did give us a bit of a sense of roughing it! The walk up on the ice was pretty wet and slippery but it was a nice mild day. Sunday was sunnier but pretty windy. Ysabel had brought her kite and she and Olaf had great fun for a good 2 hours flying it.
Tim had stayed home to do some work around the house and he also realized that he was on call that weekend so had to stay near a computer.
We had a good laugh at Robbie's expense when he made a second batch of pancakes and added hot water to the mix. Mmmm, pre-cooked batter! Olaf and I ate them anyways, we'll eat anything!!!

Tim was (ahem) lucky enough to get up early on Sunday morning to drive my parents to the airport as they were leaving for Barbados. (Thanks again Boo, you're the best!)

I have quite a story to tell about this but it will have to wait...some of you Facebook people might know what little critter I'm talking about...

Where did February go?!

2009-02-27T15:02:00.001-05:00

My does time ever fly...We had a great time in Cuba although it all seems in the distant past at this point, sigh.
Kieran was a great traveller, he had no problems with the take-offs and landings, sleeping or nursing through them all. The first couple of days were rather cool (12 degrees C the evening we arrived) but it made for a gradual transition to the warmer climate. It was a bit chilly for swimming but by the end of our trip it was humid and up to about 28 degrees. We didn't do much other than eat, swim, sit around, relax and enjoy each other's company. We did take the bus into Varadero City one morning and walked around a couple of the free markets where they sell all kinds of touristy souvenirs. I can't say that we really got a taste of Cuba as such, we could have been at a resort anywhere else in the world for all we knew! Which is too bad but I think we were all so tired and in need of a vacation that that was not the goal of our trip. We got back home on Friday the 13th without any incidents (!) and Tim had the weekend to recover before going back to work on Monday.

The painters came back that Monday and finished up all the work on Tuesday. We haven't quite gotten everything back in place yet but that should be accomplished this weekend. One of the workmen just came by to clean the floor of paint spatters so all should be good now. We haven't yet picked out a new sink though and Tim is planning on building the vanity himself so let's say, end of March for completion?!

Kieran is now grabbing and holding onto things.

He also sticks his tongue out and does raspberries (or zerberts). Ma tante France will have to get lessons from him!

He's been napping less during the day but sleeps very well at night, sometimes for more than 10 hours, woo hoo!

We missed a couple of swim classes due to the painting and being in Cuba but the last couple of times in the pool, Kieran has actually kicked in the water which he had not done before other than at bath time.

Last week was a busy week of appointments. K got his vaccinations at the CLSC, we had another test at the Children's hospital for his kidneys and we also had a check-up at the paediatrician. We go back for the test results at the hospital on March 23rd but his doctor reassured me there is nothing to worry about. It's really all about monitoring the size of the kidneys and since reflux was ruled out, long-term damage is not a concern.

I'm itching to get outside and be more active physically (I say this as I'm looking out the window and it's pouring rain!) and get rid of a bit of my jiggly belly. Can't wait for spring and warmer weather. As short as February was, I'm thinking March is going to be a loooooooooong month!

Time for a change of scenery

2009-02-02T21:59:00.000-05:00

3 more sleeps and we're off to Cuba. And none too soon. It will be nice to get away even if we don't get a chance to put the house back in order before we go.
The work is progressing well. The plasterers managed to do all the necessary repairs in a couple of hours on Thursday and did such a good job there was very little sanding to be done.
That left me free to get out of the house in the afternoon and go and apply for Kieran's social insurance number.

Friday morning, I got the call...Vanessa was home from the hospital! YAY! And she is recovering very well. Now if only her mommy can get better. But it looks promising that we will all be going to Cuba together. It just would not have been the same if it were only our family of three going.

That afternoon I had an appointment at Communauto, a car-sharing service in our city (also available in Sherbrooke, Québec and Gatineau.) I decided to join so now I will be able to get around town a little easier than with public transportation. Taking the bus and métro is fine for some areas but getting to the South Shore to see Cathy and Vanessa or going out to the West Island is not as easy. So now I'm signed up for the requisite year and we will see how it goes.

Saturday morning made Tim a happy man. He finally got his Yamaha piano.
He was all ready to pick a fight with someone at the store as it had been 4 weeks since it had been on order (after first saying they had one in stock, they then discovered it was damaged so they said it would be 10 to 14 days for an order.) Anyhow, when he called, the guy said he was just about to call us to say it was ready for pick up. So Kieran is now set to become a concert pianist! That is, if he choses to be! I certainly hope he will have his father's talent for music. I took about 5 years of guitar lessons when I was young but had absolutely no talent for it. Maybe Uncle P-J will have also passed his musical talent on to Kieran.

We made it out snowshoeing yesterday with our friend Heidi. There's a really nice cross-country ski and snowshoeing trail near her place in St-Eustache, just North of the city and we went out for what we think was about a 5 km trek. The map didn't show the snowshoe trails so we're guessing from the ski trails and the time we were out that that's how far we went! Kieran was hungry when we started off so he was wailing away in my ears but he eventually settled down and I only fed him when we got back to Heidi's. A little bad planning on our part but I figured if he was in the Maman Kangourou carrier he would last more than 2 hours. Apparently not!

At least he is back to his normal length feeding times. He must have been going through a growth spurt last week as he was nursing for up to an hour at times. That was very tiring. Today he's just feeding for a bit and then getting distracted and stopping and playing for a bit then fussing and wanting to feed again. He did that after supper and when I finished feeding him for the second time, he fell fast asleep and has been dead to the world since!

The painters started priming today and will be back in the morning to give a first coat of paint.

Catching up again

2009-01-29T09:52:00.001-05:00

I got to go out last Friday night! Tim stayed home with Kieran and I went to see a really good show at the Green Room on St-Laurent. My friend Robbie made me discover this really great trio from Toronto called The Good Lovelies. The best way I can describe them is a folksy version of The Dixie Chicks with lots more harmonies thrown in. The opening act was pretty good too, Peter Katz, just a guy with his guitar and his angst!

Saturday was a complete write-off...Tim spent the day on a conference call for work so Kieran and I just hung out until evening when we took Grandma Jo-Anne out for supper. She just recently got a Wii console so we had fun playing with it back at her house afterwards.

On Sunday we hauled our butts off to Ikea for the final day of their wardrobe sale. We want to re-organize our office with lots more storage (the closets in this house are tiny) so we bought some Pax wardrobes to do the trick. Not everything was in stock so we'll wait for their phone call before we pick everything up.

Our niece Vanessa was admitted to the hospital that same day. And poor thing, she's still there but on the mend from pneumonia and RSV (Human respiratory syncytial virus). It does not look promising that she and her parents will be coming to Cuba with us. That really sucks. But a trip South would certainly be a in order after their ordeal. We will wait and see what happens...

I did some cooking that afternoon, lentil stew and carrot muffins, to bring to Catherine (Vanessa's mom) as she had been at the hospital since Sunday and was coming down with the cold too. She was completely worn out but luckily after a night's sleep in her own bed, she was doing better. Unfortunately with the highly contagious nature of RSV, we were best staying away from all the sickos (!) but lots of phone calls have been exchanged. Hopefully the little support I have been able to give has done some good.

On Tuesday, my Auntie Ann came to get Kieran & I so we could go and visit Uncle Fred. He's my dad's oldest surviving sibling and turned 87 that day. It was the first time he met Kieran in person and I think it made his day. Kieran was awake the whole time we were there so Uncle Fred got lots of smiles and some cooing and curious stares.

A toilet leak was quickly averted that evening when Tim got home and discovered it was only a hose that had come loose in the tank. Phewf! But we did have some minor flooding in the living room through the trap in the ceiling. No biggee, no damage done.

And on Wednesday morning, the fun began! Our house is pretty much in disarray as we are having the livingroom ceiling plastered and painted, same with the upstairs hallway and the bathroom is having some minor work done & painting too. I can't wait til it's all finished! The painters are starting on Monday so I will keep my fingers crossed that the work will be completed before we leave on Thursday. I'll probably run myslef ragged before leaving trying to get everything back in place. Oh well, the vacation will be even more appreciated in that case!

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, it's the weekend!

2009-01-23T17:27:00.000-05:00

Wednesday was swim day but I figured with his ongoing cold, it was best if Kieran stayed out of the pool this week. I dropped him off at my parents' place (no complaints there!) and then went to the pool by myself.
I got a good workout and discovered how out of shape I am when I tried to swim laps. I also realized how much faster it is to get in & out of there when you don't have a baby in tow! I went back to my parents and had some lunch and then Kieran & I came home. It's nice that our swim classes are in Lachine (at my old high school, but there was no pool when I went there) so we get a weekly visit with Grand-maman and Grand-daddy.

I managed to take a nap before supper that evening. Naps are good. I like naps. I should nap more. Zzzzzzz...!

Tim came home from Toronto late that evening. Even if he was only gone for a couple of nights, it was nice to have him back home.
Just as we were both falling asleep, the little activity gym we leave in the hallway started playing its music and freaked us both out. The next morning, I was trying to figure out if I had dreamed it or not & then recalled Tim saying: "There's a ghost in the machine!" I don't know why the thing went off as you have to touch it for the music to sound. Ghosts indeed!

Thursday was our first visit to the Mother Goose Rhyme Time again at the Atwater Library. They sing songs in French, English and Spanish and they sang quite a few tunes I don't know so it was refreshing.

In the afternoon I took Kieran to my periodontist's appointment and got my stitches taken out. The area is not as tender with the stitches out and by next week I can start brushing and flossing where the surgery was done.
I still have one more area to be worked on but I have not yet booked the appointment. I'm in no rush!

And today was a much needed day of rest. Nap time now I think!

My ever-changing world

2009-01-21T22:19:00.001-05:00

As Kieran becomes more aware of his surroundings and interacts with us more, I don't always accomplish much more in a day other than feeding him, changing his diaper and most importantly, playing, singing and talking to him. Which is absolutely fine. I'd much rather coo and smile at him than clean house or cross things off my to-do list. Bonding with my son and being part of his development take precedence over everything at this point. I'm learning to slow down and not stress out if things don't get done or if we're not out the door by such a time.

I also manage to balance things out with some "me" time or at least some "us" time. On Tuesday morning we went to the Atwater Library (I can't believe after living in this neighbourhood for over 14 years, that was the first time I had set foot there!) for story time and I met a bunch of mothers who belong to Wee Wiggles a mom's group I have joined.

After coming home for lunch, we then went for a little shopping trek and picked up a few things for our trip to Cuba. I'm feeling a little guilty...I went to L'Aubainerie, a discount store in Lasalle and picked up some socks, a tank top, a UVB protection bathing suit for Kieran and a Roots bathing suit for me. As the cashier picked up the bottom part of my bathing suit, she asked me if I had tried it on (as there are no returns or exchanges for swimwear) and then she picked up the top which had the price tag on it and proceeded to put it in the bag without scanning it! I did not say anything. I was sure she would notice. She did not notice. I still did not say anything. I signed the credit card slip. I still made no mention of it. Guilt, guilt, guilt. Okay, it was only $20 (plus tax!). Would you have said anything? Am I completely unscrupulous?! Judge not lest you be judged!!!

No wonder I'm so tired, walking around with all this guilt at the back of my mind!

Weekend fun part 2

2009-01-21T21:07:00.001-05:00

So after turning the lights out by 11:30 last night, I managed to sleep until 7 this morning. Kieran made it all the way through to 7:30. No wake ups during the night. I love my son! I guess we're both pretty wiped out from our colds.

So, the rest of the weekend...I did have to get up around 4 on Sunday to nurse Kieran and then went back to bed until 8. Caroline and Tim also got up around that time and Caroline offered to make pancakes for breakfast. They were tasty!

We managed to leave the house around 11 and headed for High Falls, a waterfall on the Salmon River. The trailhead is a few minutes by car from the cottage. We got to blaze our own trail through the fresh snow and took in the scenery and the fresh air. It was much warmer on Sunday, it probably hit 25 degrees F for a high. It was quite a hike, it took us almost 2 hours and we were all quite happy to get back to the car. We should have brought a snack to munch on. Or eaten more protein for breakfast! We gobbled down some leftover pizza when we got back to the house before making oursleves some sandwiches. After all that snowshoeing, we needed to relax a bit so we sat down and watched "The Upside of Anger" then cleaned up, packed up & then headed back to Montreal. We made a pit stop at the Walmart in Malone and got back to the city around 8:30. Home sweet home!
Kieran and Tim had their quality time that evening as it was bath night. (for Kieran!)

And a fine time was had by all!

Weekend fun

2009-01-20T22:51:00.002-05:00

So the three of us having colds did not stop us from going away for the weekend. We had planned to go to my parents' cottage in upstate New York with Tim's cousin Caroline so we did! We left Friday night and Kieran got to use his passport for the first time to cross the border.
He slept very well that night and only woke up once around 4 o'clock when I got up to clean his nose with saline spray. We then all slept til about 8 o'clock when it was time for breakfast. Kieran was again running a fever so we gave him some more Tempra which took care of it.
We then headed out to go snow-shoeing at Paul Smiths Visitor Interpretive Center which is about a half hour from the cottage. They were having their Chilly Ski and Snowshoe festival with various activities going on, notably a chili cookoff which provided us with a tasty lunch. We went for a short trek in the morning followed by a longer walk in the afternoon. It was a crisp, beautiful day, perfect weather really, not as cold as you'd expect 0 degrees F to feel!

Upon our return to the house, I took a much needed nap while Tim and Caroline watched a movie and made pizza dough. We love making homemade pizza and as always, it turned out super tasty. We had an evening of movie watching and then hit the hay.

Sunday's activities will have to wait as I should get to bed. Kieran woke up at 3:30 this morning so I'm a little tired despite the nap I had before supper. I've put him to bed but it's a little earlier than usual so I'll have to see what time he wakes up at.
Daddy's away in Toronto on business so it's only my beauty sleep that will be disrupted tonight!

Weekly update

2009-01-19T15:21:00.000-05:00

Give the government long enough and I guess they can eventually get efficient at certain things...I went to the passport office on Monday the 5th to apply for Kieran's passport and I received it in the mail on the following Monday. I must say, I was impressed. So now we are all ready for international travel and we have booked an all-inclusive trip to Cuba. We're going to stay at a "family-friendly" resort in Varadero and we'll be travelling with Tim's brother Eric, his wife Catherine and their 22 month-old daughter Vanessa. We all can't wait to go!

Kieran and I had an uneventful visit to the paediatrician on Friday the 9th for a regular check-up. Dr Monotone, as we have taken to calling him (he speaks very calmy and well, in a monotone voice!) says we have a very beautiful baby. Kieran got an oral vaccine against rotavirus which causes a type of gastroenteritis. I'm not sure what to think about the schools of thought that are blaming vaccines for the higher rate of autism in children these days but we've decided the benefits of giving Kieran his shots outweigh the risks.

Last Saturday Tim got up and wasn't feeling too well, but we did some running around town anyhow. We bought Kieran a Pea pod travel tent which we will bring to Cuba as his sleeping quarters.

On Sunday Tim's cold really kicked in with fever, chills and coughing. Kieran was also a bit out of sorts that day, not wanting to be put down.
We started using cloth diapers that evening which I loooooove! They are a far cry from the cotton squares and diaper pins my mom used on me. I bought some cotton diapers from a woman in my swimming class and then bought some more absorbent bamboo ones from Mère Hélène, a baby-boutique in Lasalle. No more accidents if you put the diaper-cover on properly and 2 or 3 extra loads of laundry a week makes no difference to me.

Tim didn't go to work on Monday morning but went to the clinic instead. He only went back to work on Thursday as per the doctor's orders. It was only a virus but he needed his rest.

I spent a few hours at the Children's hospital with Kieran for his follow-up ultra-sound on his kidneys. It seems like the hydronephrosis has not improved and has possibly gotten slightly worse so now we have to have a MAG3 scan done. They will inject him with a radioactive material to get a better view of how the kidneys are functioning. I was only there for a few hours, but most of it was spent waiting in a hot, dry environment surrounded by sick children. Not your most pleasant atmosphere. And that evening I also started coming down with a cold.
As for his kidneys, the doctor doesn't seem overly concerned but I will be relieved once Kieran gets a clean bill of health.

On Tuesday, we rested by going to the movies. We went to the Movies for Mommies showing of Bedtime Stories. Tim & I enjoyed it. You have to like Adam Sandler though. Who I have grown to like over the years. I think he gained my respect after I saw him in Punch-Drunk Love.

Wednesday we braved the cold and my sniffles and went to swim class. We had a good time and Kieran took to the water no worse than last week. I can't really say he "enjoys" the water, as he doesn't really have any reaction to it but he doesn't seem to mind it either.

On Thursday morning Grand-maman came over to watch her favourite grandson while I had some more gum surgery. Not the most pleasant thing to have done and certainly less than enjoyable when you also have a cold to deal with. Anyhow, I got through it with a few codeine pain killers!

Catherine and Vanessa dropped by that afternoon and Kieran and I entertained V for about an hour while Catherine went to run an errand. V was very happy to see Baby K, as she call him.

On Friday, it was Kieran's turn to get sick. He woke up with a fever. The poor boy looked miserable with watery eyes and a runny nose but he wasn't complaining too much. We gave him some Tempra and cleaned his nose with saline spray and even if he didn't like having salt water sprayed up his nose, it certainly helped relieve his congestion. We figured there was no point going to the doctor even if they recommend you do so if a child his age is running a fever. After the Tempra, his temp was back down again and we knew he had caught our cold so there's not much more the doctor could have told us to do...I'll write later about the great weekend we had.

Repas gastronomique chasse et pêche

2009-01-11T13:15:00.000-05:00

Here are photos of 5 of the 7 courses we had last Saturday evening.

Missing are the soupe à la courge et aux champignons sauvages garnie d'une valse de six champignons which was served with a choice of South Pirie Pinot Noir Tasmania 2007 or Swan Bay Victoria Chardonnay Scotchmans Hill 2006 and the cheese platter with Bouq'emissaire, girondines, migneron and le secret de Maurice served with a capiteux cassis vinifié fortifié Monna at filles.

Ceviche de doré sur nid de betterave jaune, served with Domaine A et P de Villaine Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise Les Clous 2006

Galettes de brochet aux pistaches rôties, salsa de grenades et dattes, served with Château Bellevue La Forêt 2007

Raviolis de cerf, réduction de porto et ail rôti, served with Château Tayac Côtes de Bourg 2003

Saucisse d'orignal aux petits fruits accompagné de croustilles de panais au bleu, served with Marion Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

Flaming the crème brûlée

Crème brûlée au riz parfumée à l'érable, served with Château de Beaulon Pineau des Charentes

Highlights from the last month!

2009-01-08T17:37:00.000-05:00

Kieran got his vaccinations for diphteria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio and Hib. He cried a little with the first shot and then a lot (!) with the second but he was not upset for long. Mommy knows how to calm him down!

He now weighs around 12 lbs and has outgrown most of his 0 to 3 month clothes. He is wearing size 1-2 diapers.

He sleeps for 6 to 7 hours at night now, most of the time.

We took our first trip to the States with him the weekend of Dec 12th. Grandmaman and Granddaddy spent the weekend with us at the cottage and they had a great time bonding with their grandson.

Kieran is much more aware of his surroundings now and babbles a lot and I can get a few giggles out of him too.

Tim and I helped paint my parents livingroom. I finished the trim this Tuesday but there are still the door frames, door and windows to be done so they can finally get things re-organized.

I managed to do a little bit of baking for Christmas - ginger cookies, 2 fruitcakes and mince meat tarts.

Kieran has now been washed away of the Original Sin as we had him baptized on December 27th. Uncle P-J and cousine Caroline are his godparents.
We had quite a lot of family attend the ceremony despite the freezing rain that day and Great-Grandpa John even made it. (He's the one who originally ordered that we have a boy!)

Catherine, Vanessa, Kieran and I took a day trip to Ottawa to go visit Great-Grandpa again. He was staying at Great-Uncle John's for the Holidays.
I get a great kick out of the fact that Kieran has great uncles who are only a few years older than me. (okay, technically they are half-great-uncles but it's still funny!)

We had a quiet New Year's eve at our friends Paul & Murielle's with Catherine, Vanessa and Murielle's sister Danielle. Eric was working security at a party dowtown so he did not take part in our celebrations.

We went snowshoeing for the first time this season up on Mount-Royal with Catherine, Eric & Vanessa. It was a nice outing and convinced C & E to buy snowshoes of their own. (They rented some that day.) So hopefully we will all make it out together a few more times this winter.

Tim has bought a Yamaha keyboard but we haven't gotten it yet. It should be delivered in a week or so. He's always wanted to learn to play the piano and now he will! I don't know if Kieran will have inherited his father's musical talent (I hope so!) but I figure exposing him early on to as much as possible can't hurt.

We had a fabulous gourmet 7 course meal at our friends Gillian & François' last Saturday evening. 6 hours at the dinner table! It was delectable! Everyone was amazed at how quiet a baby Kieran is. He was just sitting there most of the evening, not making a sound. I love my son!

I was to begin a mama-baby dance class this past Tuesday but it was cancelled because not enough people had signed up for it. I did start a swimming class yesterday with Kieran and enjoyed it quite a bit. It was a good workout and Kieran took to the water. Well, at least he didn't seem to mind it! I even dunked his head under a few times and he didn't cry. He just came back up with this half-stunned look on his face!

Today I thought I'd move some furniture around upstairs to make room for a wardrobe for our bedroom and get all my clothes out of the guestroom. Unfortunately the dresser I moved into our room near the door is too wide for the door to be able to close. So it's back to the drawing-board but I left it as is for now. Tim is going to get a surprise when he gets home!

That's it for now, pictures to follow later, at some point!

The inevitable Holiday family portrait

2008-12-26T08:51:00.000-05:00

Happy Boxing Day!

2008-12-26T08:43:00.002-05:00

There's lots to catch up on since my last post but where do I begin?!
For now, I'll just blog about the latest...

Last night I figured for once we'd get to bed before midnight for some much needed rest. But, alas, it was not meant to be.
I fed Kieran when we got home from having Christmas dinner at Tim's mom's and then it was up to bed for all of us.
At some point while we were putting Kieran down in his room, I rubbed my eye and dislodged my contact lens without realizing it.
My nearsightedness is not that bad so I didn't notice that I was seeing things blurry through my left eye until I went to take my lenses out.
No lens to be found anywhere in my left eye. I tried for a good half hour and also with Tim's help to try and find the damn lens somewhere in my eyelid but we could not see it. I thought I could feel it. I certainly felt discomfort. I tried flushing my eye out with saline solution but that did not produce a lens either. So I gave up and figured it must have popped out when I rubbed my eye earlier. Or if it was still behind my eyelid somewhere, it would work its way out in my sleep. Well, when I woke up this morning, I still couldn't find the lens in my eye.
So when Kieran is up later, I will get down on my hands and knees and see if I can find the lens somewhere on his bedroom floor.
I know, like a needle in a haystack, but I am persistent with these things!

So I guess I'll be wearing my glasses for the next few days as I have no spare lenses and I really don't feel like going downtown to the optometrist for more this weekend. That and I'm not entirely convinced it's not still in my eye!

I think I'll be looking into laser eye surgery in the new year...

The circle of life

2008-12-17T09:41:00.000-05:00

Kieran's maternal Great-Grandma, as we all affectionately know as Mémère, passed away yesterday after 84 well-lived years.

She only got to see Kieran once in person, but was charmed by his cuteness!

We'll miss you Mémère, you are in our hearts and thoughts forever.

2 months old today

2008-12-11T07:44:00.000-05:00

Here are a few pics of Kieran, they were taken on Nov 22nd.

Movie review

2008-12-09T19:37:00.004-05:00

Kieran and I went to Movies for Mommies again today and saw Transporter 3.

Written by Luc Besson, starring Jason Statham and it has a car chase scene that involves a BMX bike...what more could you want?!!!
I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Getting out and about

2008-12-09T12:18:00.007-05:00

We've kept pretty busy the last few days, actually getting out, even yesterday despite the deep freeze!

On Thursday, we took a walk over to the shopping centre, Alexis Nihon Plaza, for some lunch at the Lebanese place and then we started a little of our Christmas shopping. I had Kieran in the Maman Kangourou carrier, which is great but I certainly can't keep my coat on for any length of time without sweating buckets!

Friday afternoon we took a metro ride to meet Tim at Côte Vertu after work and then we headed to the Baie D'Urfé curling club. Both teams that Tim sponsors were playing at 6 & 10 pm so we were there to cheer them on (and also to show off Kieran!)

The club was also using Tim's new service Webspiel to keep game scores. He's worked so hard on it and it's finally ready for use. He still has a lot to do before it's up to the standards he wants, but at least now it is useable. The great thing about this service is it has no real cost to it other than Tim's time and minimal hosting fees but can potentially bring in lots of revenue! Bring it on!

Saturday was the big test...my company was having their Christmas party at the Montreal Casino and Grandma Jo-Anne was coming over to baby-sit.

I was actually surprised that they remembered to invite me to the party!

Anyhow, we left they house a little after 5 and came back around 11. Six whole hours and apparently Kieran wasn't any trouble. Okay, except for the explosive diaper but I half-expected that as he hadn't had much of a poop all day! Grandma dealt with it just fine.

Tim and I had a very nice evening out. My friend Katja now works in my department (we worked together for one whole week before I left in August) so she and her husband Jouni were sitting at the same table as us and 2 other couples.
I did the rounds and showed off Kieran's picture and did the proud parent gushing thing!
The meal was very good, we had filet mignon cooked to perfection and we even got a $25 chip for the casino along with the gifts donated from suppliers. I received a wooden cd holder and a gift certificate for St-Hubert restaurant.
I played a whopping 50 cents on the slots and Tim lost $20. It was pretty busy at the casino, it being a Saturday night. So by 10:30, we'd had enough and headed home to give Grandma her reprieve.

Sunday morning,Kieran and I headed off to Church as I figured I should make a few appearances before he gets baptized at the end of the month!
Half-way through the service I spotted my Auntie Ann so we scooted up and joined her for the rest of the mass. She was happy to see us and made her usual comment of Kieran always having his eyes closed when she sees him.

Yesterday, as all you Montrealers know, the temperature plunged to minus 30 celsius with the wind chill but we bundled up and went over to the High School to vote in the provincial elections. I was expecting this but was a bit annoyed nonetheless that when I got there there was no way I could get in the front door with the stroller as they have a long set of stairs. A kind man went in to see if there was another entrance I could use but then an elections worker came out and helped me lift the stroller up the stairs. I certainly now have much greater sympathy for people with limited mobility. I also find it much easier to get around with Kieran in a baby carrier.
Which reminds me that it is time to get him in the Maman kangouroou to go to the movies!

More than just fussing.

2008-12-04T21:30:00.000-05:00

So Tim fessed up and told me last night that Kieran did a little more than just fuss while I was out yesterday...apparently there was no calming him down. He cried hard enough to draw tears, which almost had Daddy in tears!
I'm sure the fact that Tim was trying to get some work done on the computer didn't help the situation. Oh well, chalk one up to experience!
It's funny though how sometimes he can go from perfectly peaceful to wailing away in just seconds and then back to calm again. Once you give him what he wants, that is!

Today's outing

2008-12-03T21:00:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I went to the periodontist further to my dentist referring me to him because I had some bone loss on one of my lower front teeth. It was detected before my pregnancy but could have gotten worse in the meantime.
So they took a complete set of x-rays of my mouth while Kieran waited at reception with all the women in the office gushing over him!
After my consultation with the doctor, he determined there are 3 areas that need taking care of, to the tune of about $3000! Thank goodness for insurance!
When we got to the reception to book my next appointment, they had just gotten a cancellation. So my first procedure was booked for this morning.

Tim was able to work from home today while I went to my appointment up the street.
I fed Kieran just before leaving but apparently he did not stop fussing from the moment I went out the door.
Tim was just about to feed him a bottle when I got back. So we proceeded to bottle-feed him, which he didn't take to very well at first but he finally got the hang of it and gobbled up 160 ml. It was a good test to see if he would drink from the bottle as Tim and I are going to my company Christmas party on Saturday evening and Grandma Jo-Anne is babysitting. She will certainly need to feed Kieran at some point so it definitely was a good idea to see if Kieran would take a bottle before then.

The surgery went well, the needle was the worst part, I think.
They did lots of scraping around the tooth to clean everything out and then sewed it all up.
I didn't feel much pain but on the way home, I dutifully filled my prescription for Atasol, which is basically Tylenol with codeine.
We'll see how the codeine affects Kieran through my breast milk. The pharmacist said there are no adverse affects but he could get drowsy. The pills also have caffeine in them which could stimulate him, so who knows what the reaction might be!

My mouth is slowly thawing out and it's a little hard to swallow and open my mouth very wide but I've delt with much worse.
I have gone through childbirth after all!

Well worth the cost and then some!

2008-12-03T09:27:00.000-05:00

I love tabulating things. If I didn't suck so bad at math, I probably would have gone into accounting. Anyhow, yesterday I had fun calculating some of our baby-related costs....

Prescriptions $60
Medical $400
Room decorating $535
Car seat & stroller $655
Clothes $195
Breast-feeding & formula $450
Diapers $165
Misc $135

That's really not that bad. But I'm surprised to see that breast-feeding cost so much!
We've also been very blessed with very generous friends and family. The baby furniture, playpen, highchair, 2nd carseat, tons of clothing and so much more were passed along to us from others.
I love hand-me-downs, it gives me a sense of warmth when I know someone we care for used these things before us (and tested them out too!)
Yep, we're lucky...

Sleeping Baby

2008-12-02T22:22:00.000-05:00

Score! 3 for 3!

2008-12-02T15:23:00.000-05:00

I don't think that the men that read this will fully appreciate the significance of this post but anyhow here goes...

On Friday, I was out with Kieran to go to the movies. There is a program at some cinemas called Movies for Mommies where they turn down the lights and provide a changing table with (supposedly, but this week lacking) the supplies you need.
So I put him in the Maman Kangourou carrier and off we went to catch the bus for the 1:20 pm showing at Côte-des-Neiges.
We enjoyed the newest James Bond movie "Quantum of Solace."
Now this was not the significant part of my day...

After the movie, we wandered around the mall and I walked into Reitman's, a women's chain clothing store here where I had previously seen a top I thought might be nice for Christmas.
At the time, I didn't even bother trying it on as it was still full price.
I rarely will buy something before it goes on sale unless it's really inexpensive or I really want it then and there. Why pay full price when I know very well I can pay less if I only wait a couple of weeks?!
So here was the top again and on sale. So I looked it over grabbed an XL and figured I'd try it on at home and return it if it didn't fit (which I fully expected.)
Then I saw a sweater (not that I need another sweater but it looked nice) for $20 so I grabbed that in a large and hoped for the best.
Well, I couldn't believe it...they both fit...really nicely! I should try that more often, it certainly saved time!

Then on Saturday, we stopped at Old Navy where they were having a huge sale. I found a pair of jeans that looked like what I was looking for and headed to the fitting rooms but then balked when I saw the long line-up. Well, I didn't have Kieran on me but I definitely didn't want to wait in line just to find out the jeans didn't fit so we just headed to the cash and went with the try-on-at-home-and-return-if-need-be theory.
Can you believe that the jeans fit, really nicely?! Jeans, I tell you. Now you all must know how hard it is to find jeans that fit well. How amazing is it that they fit without even trying them on?!

It's the little things in life I tell ya!

No complaints here

2008-11-20T11:55:00.000-05:00

As much as Quebecers complain about high taxes, poor healthcare and other social issues, I must say our parental leave program is a god-send.

Tim was able to take 5 weeks off from work at 70% of his salary and I will be off for 25 weeks at 70% plus another 25 weeks at 55%.
If you're curious to see how the plan works, here's the link to the government page:
Quebec Parental Insurance Plan

I coul not imagine living somewhere where I'd already be heading back to work, having to leave my baby in someone else's care all day long. I would miss him so much.

I am truly cherishing watching him develop, as unobvious as it may be at this point. But I do notice the little subtleties as I observe him for so many hours a day.

His vision seems to be increasing. He doesn't focus or follow anything yet, but you can tell he can now see more of the world that surrounds him.

He also gets quite vocal at times, cooing and grunting and making all kinds of sounds.

No smiles, it's too early yet, but he grins to himself as if he's in on his own private joke. Those looks particularly crack me up and melt my heart!

So, needless to say, I am enjoying motherhood like I never could have imagined.
My little Kieran is an angel and I love him so!

Little Boy Blue

2008-11-20T09:53:00.000-05:00

I suppose it's about time I posted a picture of Kieran for those of you who aren't on Facebook or haven't met him yet...

Doesn't he look so peaceful?!

He's wearing the sweater Grandma Jo-Anne knit for him.

5 weeks already

2008-11-15T22:49:00.001-05:00

Wow! Kieran is doing excellent and Mommy is not doing too bad herself. Yes, I definitely now have the designation of mother first and foremost pretty much all the time now!

It's so surprising to see some people's reactions to Kieran when we go out with him. You half expect women with older children to take notice of a newborn but when young men, like our waiter at Pizza Hut, tell you "He's so cute!", it's kinda funny and heartwarming too!

So Kieran had his VCUG on Friday the 7th where they injected iodine into his bladder to see if urine was going back up into his kidneys. After doing the test twice to make sure, it was determined he has no reflux. Yay! So after Monday night, he was antibiotic free.
It was kinda funny when they did the test, there was the radiology technician, a resident specializing in radiology, a McGill me student, 2 Dawson College technician students plus Tim & I, all watching this little guy, waiting for him to pee. No pressure!
We weren't worried, but is was a relief to know that he had no reflux. So everything is fine for now and we have another ultrasound in January to see what size his kidneys are then.

And we had a breakthrough on Monday...I'd pretty much given up trying to breastfeed Kieran somewhere around Halloween as he'd taken to the bottle and I was producing more than enough milk to pump and feed him. It was working out, Tim was able to help with feeding and Kieran was getting breast milk nonetheless. It was just more work as I had to pump every 3 hours or so.
Well, on Monday morning, I tried getting him to latch on again and, lo-and-behold, he was able to do so pretty well. So we've been doing pretty well with the breastfeeding so far. Today was a little more trying as Kieran did not seem to be satisfied no matter how much I fed him. So he is getting a bottle as I have my suspicions he was just not getting enough milk from breastfeeding.

I must admit, it is rather easier to nurse him and somewhat more gratifying too.
I'm lucky enough that he usually gets a good latch on and I don't have to focus all my attention on him so I've been able to read or write while he's feeeding.

He has been spitting up a little more but I think that's because he's not quite used to the quicker flow of milk. Even with a good burp, he spits up a little, sometimes even half an hour after he's done nursing.

So all is pretty good on the Westmount front.

Tim has been busy all week doing some programming work but he's been on diaper and bath duty. He's going back to work on Monday, a week earlier than planned so he can have some time off later instead. I'm sure everyone at his office will be glad to see him.

3 weeks post-partum

2008-11-03T12:48:00.001-05:00

24 days already since Kieran arrived! Yes, now I believe all of you when you say to enjoy every minute as time definitely does fly, even with the extra hour yesterday!

I am finally feeling back to my non-pregnant self. (I dare not say "normal"!) No more swollen feet, no more heartburn, no more carpal tunnel, among others. I even fit into a few pairs of non maternity pants, yay!

We've been pretty busy some days and managed to have some quiet, more restful days too. Kieran has already had a couple of visits to the Children's hospital to check up on his kidneys. They don't seem to be getting any bigger which is a good sign. This Friday we go for another appointment to see if urine is going back up from the bladder to the kidneys. If all is good then he can stop taking antibiotics which he is on as a preventative measure to stop any urinary tract infection or kidney infection.

We've managed a few outings too. We've been to both my office & Tim's a couple of times, for vistis & to pick up paperwork.
Last week we even took him out for lunch all the way out in Boucherville, at this great resto called Bistro Lulu.
We decided to get out of the house for the day as a water main had busted up the street and after some high water levels (Tim dubbed our street Lake Columbia), they shut the water off. So our best option was to head to the South Shore for the day.

Saturday evening another pipe burst further up the street so as of this morning, they have started digging up our street, section by section and they will replace all the aging water network. Our water is to be shut off from 9am to 6pm every day. Thank goodness I had done all our laundry on Saturday.

Other than that, it's a routine of feeding, changing diapers, pumping and hanging out with out little cutie. Kieran has not taken to latching on to breast feed, even after a lactation consultant's visit. Which is no so bad. He's getting breast milk nonetheless and Daddy can help with the feedings when I'm too deep into sleep mode!

Kieran is not quite on a regular feeding schedule yet. During the day he usually feeds every 2 1/2 to 3 hours but sometimes in the morning he'll feed a bit every hour. The past few nights he's fed around midnight & lasted about 4-5 hours before getting hungry again. So I get about 3-4 hours of continuous sleep. Naps during the day are a must!

So if you haven't come for a visit yet, give us a call already! And if you're due for another visit, give us a call already! No time is good or bad, really. But your chances of seeing him alert are higher around 10:30 am. For now at least...

Self-portrait, 37 1/2 weeks

2008-10-10T13:42:00.000-04:00

1.5 cm dilated, 50% effaced. 2 weeks to go?!

We shall see...

It's supposed to be a beautiful weekend. We are missing out on the annual Thanksgiving camping season finale at Saranac Lake.
We'll enjoy the holiday in the city instead!

A Happy Gobble Gobble weekend to everyone!

Anytime now, we're ready!

2008-10-07T20:24:00.001-04:00

Last week I did some cooking to freeze for after baby's arrival. But there was only so much I could cook before both our fridges' freezers were full! We've bought a new freezer but it will only be in at the end of this week.
So we have lasagna, sheppard's pie, muffins, banana bread and a bit of chili. Not to mention the food people brought to my baby shower which is presently being stored at Cathy & Eric's.

Last Monday I took advantage of the gift certificate I received for my wedding shower and got a massage at the Westmount Spa. Wonderful! Unfortunately at this stage, the benefits of a massage don't last for very long.
I am very much looking forward to being able to toss and turn in my sleep.
And to wearing any pair of shoes I want (I think I'm down to 2 pairs that fit at this point.)
And to standing up for more than a few minutes before running out of breath!

I'm at the point where I'm going to see the doctor every week now. I've been lucky so far and haven't had to wait too long for my appointments most of the time. But last week, the doctor was pretty late as she had been attending a delivery so my 10:15 turned into a 12:30. Luckily I had nowhere else to be and had reading material so it wasn't so bad. All that waiting for her to check the baby's heartbeat and my blood pressure. Which were both fine.

Friday was a big day! Tim took the bus to work and so I went and picked up Cathy and Vanessa and we went for a walk on Mount St-Bruno. Surprisingly, most of the leaves have yet to change colour. It was a very pleasant day for a walk in the woods. Then we stopped for lunch. A very quick lunch. It was rather windy and quite cold in the clearing by the lake where we stopped. So we then went and warmed up at Cathy's parents' house before heading to the mall to look for a dress for Vanessa.
I then dropped the girls off at home and went to pick up Tim at work.
We had a made a date for dinner and a movie. After such an eventful day I was sure I would fall asleep at the movies but I didn't even come close to nodding off! I don't think that has ever happened even pre-pregnancy! We went to see "Burn Before Reading" and we both enjoyed it very much. Very true to the Coen brothers usual style of humour.

Saturday morning we purposefully got up at 5:30 (!) to go to a baby article sale in St-Bruno. We scored quite a few good buys by getting there at 7, one hour before the doors opened.

And that evening we had David, Julie & Arianne over for supper and they brought us more baby stuff. And on Sunday, Katja dropped some more clothes off so we are definitely set for a few months.

I think all I'm missing now is a baby album!

Before we know it

2008-09-26T22:00:00.001-04:00

Only 2 more prenatal classes to go...This week we had a tour of the hospital. It was reassuring to see the birthing rooms and get an idea how things happen at the Vic.
So I think reality is starting to sink in and before we know it, the baby will be here and our lives will never be the same!

Catherine threw me a tea party baby shower last Sunday. It was great fun. We had finger sandwiches, homemade scones with cream and strawberry jam and cookies and brownies and lots of gifts to open!

So I think we're pretty much set for baby's arrival. The room is all ready. The stroller was delivered on Wednesday. We have some diapers, a few outfits and some bonnets and lots of blankets and washcloths. I'm not going to get anything else until baby arrives and we know the sex and size.

According to this week's ultrasound, the baby now weighs 7 lbs and the birth weight should be between 8 & 9 lbs. But that could be off by some 2 lbs. Ulp, hopefully not on the high side! And I thought I wasn't that big for 36 weeks. Ulp!

The baby's kidneys are still enlarged but nothing can be done at this point. We'll see after the birth if it's still the case. Apparently hydronephrosis, as its called, is the #1 problem detected on an ultrasound but after the birth, the kidneys are usually observed to be just fine. So no worries for now. A pedriatric urologist (talk about a specialty!) will do an assessment after the baby is born.

And as per our instructor's suggestion, our bags are somewhat packed for the hospital. I did that today. So as Tim said, the baby is sure to arrive late cos we're pretty much all ready for it!

Now I just have to occupy myself to stop from being bored to tears and cooping myself in the house all day long. There's only so much time one can spend looking at nursing bras online in a day!

Stroller & car seat update

2008-09-23T14:12:00.000-04:00

We have a car seat! And the stroller has been ordered...
The Friday night of my last post, we went shopping on the South Shore. Our first stop was the baby store Clement but they didn't have what we want in store. Then we went over to Sears which had the car seat but not the stroller. Still no help as we wanted to test drive the stroller with the car seat in it. So then it was over to Toys R'Us. Lo and behold, they had both the car seat AND the stroller on display! So we wheeled it around and confirmed that this is the one we wanted. Unfortunaely, the stroller was not available and they did not know when they would be getting more in. So the next morning we headed out to the Toys R'Us in Lasalle but they didn't even have either of them on display. The clerk checked the computer for us, and the same story apllied to all the stores in the area, no stock and no date when they would be coming in. So we decided to head to Sears and see what they had available. No stroller, but the car seat was on sale beginning that morning. Score! So we bought the car seat. Don't you know, they didn't have it in stock, but we picked it up this last Saturday. And so the stroller we ordered on line from Junior Baby. No news yet as to when it will arrive. So that is the stroller saga, almost come to an end!
Thank goodness we didn't have to shop for furniture!

I tried taking a picture of the baby's room but even with the wide angle lens, I couldn't get a good shot, so you will all have to wait until you come to visit to see it, ha! I am very pleased with how it turned out. Sometimes I go in there and rock in the glider for a few minutes and let my mind wander. Very relaxing.

So a little more than 4 weeks to go. If I'm lucky that is. I do have a feeling I will be pretty much on time but what do I know. It's probably just wishful thinking!

All stuffed up

2008-09-12T05:35:00.001-04:00

It seems to be all about the sinuses. This morning, at least.
And I know one Sinutab would not be the end of the world but I'd rather take no chances...
According to my pregnancy book, here are the possible problems with Sinutab's active ingredients: acetominophen has a possible association with fetal renal failure, chlorpheniramine maleate has no apparent link to birth defects, pseudoephedrine may be responsible for heart rate disturbances, minor birth defects, hernias and clubfoot, but research is inconclusive(!) It also says the use of antihistamines in the last 2 weeks of pregnancy increases the risk of a neonatal eye problem known as retrolental fibroplasia.
Yeah, so I'd rather not take any chances. I'm not suffering that badly, I can handle it!

And we still don't have a stroller! I was really hoping to come home with one last night but after trekking all the way to Rivière-des-Prairies, Junior Baby did not have the car seat that goes with the stroller we like in stock. We would like to see it before purchasing it so they should have it in a couple of weeks.
We'll see if Clément have it. Their online catalogue lists the stroller but not the car seat, which is funny because the regular seat detaches from the frame so you can use the car seat in the stroller.

Maxi-Cosi Foray

6 more weeks and counting?

2008-09-11T05:14:00.001-04:00

It seems like my body has (for now) adopted a new schedule and I wake up somewhere between 3 and 4 a.m. so I'm not fighting it. Luckily I can go back to bed later and get a few more hours sleep with the whole bed to myself!

My allergies have been acting up too so that does not help the situation.

But I seem to have a little more energy and, knock on wood, my back has been ok for the last while.

Yesterday I walked all the way to NDG and back, a 2 1/2 hour trek and was none worse for the wear.
Okay, save for the humongous blister I now have on the back of my left ankle.
As much as I love shoes, my feet just weren't meant to wear them!

I also managed a solo trip to Costco and we had our 3rd prenatal class last night so it was quite a busy day.
In class we discussed Caesarean sections and various medical interventions such as episiotomies.
If you don't know what that is, I will not enlighten you, you're better off not knowing!
Ouch to the nth degree!!!

The baby's room is pretty much finished. We just have to put up some pictures on the walls to make it look less bare.
And the basement is close to being organized. Eric actually volunteered to help Tim on Saturday and they made some good progress. A couple of trips to the Ecocentre also helped to get rid of a lot of unnecessary items we'd been keeping for no apparent reason!

Still no stroller yet but hopefully that will be taken care of today with a trip to Junior Baby.
Other than that, we haven't made any baby purchases except for wipes at Costco! I'm waiting to see what we receive at my shower in a couple of weeks and also what some generous souls might pass on in hand-me-downs!!!

It was only a dream

2008-09-05T16:51:00.000-04:00

Apparently yesterday morning when Tim woke me up, he was dreaming that he was playing football and he was tackling someone!

We had a good time last weekend (or so Tim says he did!) attending a family reunion on my mother's side, down in St-Eugène, which is about 90 km past Québec City on the South shore. It was the first time Tim met any of my maternal relatives.
I got to catch up with a few cousins and we spent some time on my uncle's farm where my mom grew up.
We also brought back some maple syrup and freshly picked corn on the cob. Yummy!

On Wednesday I beat the heat with Vanessa and Catherine in St-Bruno. We went to a splash park that has all kinds of sprinklers and sprayers to play in. Vanessa had a ball. I was wiped out just watching her!

So it's too early for the nesting instinct to kick in, right?
I got tired of our upstairs being a mess so I started organizing the baby's room today. As in I moved the furniture in and put the crib together.
Not that the upstairs is any less of a mess now really. The extra dresser is back in the guest room and all our winter clothes and some linens that were in the closet in the baby's room are still piled high on the guest bed.
We have some major re-organizing to do. Or purging. I hate not having closet space.
The next project (after cleaning up the basement!) is to re-paint the office and get bookcases and storage to hide all our crap in. So I guess all that stuff won't get put away unitl that is complete. Ugh.
It's so annoying to have all this time on my hands but to be limited in what I can do.

That's what friends are for

2008-09-04T05:40:00.001-04:00

Yes, yes, I'm awake in the middle of the night again...I was sleeping fine until Tim smacked me!!!

So my gardens, front AND back, look amazing!

Front after

Back before

Back after

All thanks to Robbie, he rocks!!!
He came over Monday afternoon and cleaned up the jungle that had taken over our property. I even managed to help out a little without paying for it the next day. No back pain, I couldn't believe it!

So I get this silly grin on my face every time I go out the front door or look out to the backyard, no more weeds, yay!

Week 2 (and now week 3) at home flew by. Tim was supposed to have last week off but ended up working Monday and half days on Tuesday and Wednesday.
But the baby's room got painted. The furniture is not in place yet though. We realized that we have at least one dresser too many so it will have to get stored in the basement, which is still a mess. So until the basement gets cleaned up, I guess we will have to put up with our upstairs being in disarray.

On Thursday we managed to have some of that "fun time" we were hoping for. We went to see The Mummy. And we both really like it. What's not to like about Brendan Fraser! Don't expect great cinematography from this movie but just plain fun.

I've been feeling okay these past few days. No back pain which makes such a difference. But I get pretty tired. Luckily I can take a nap pretty much anytime I want!

And we've started shopping for strollers, what a task!
I'm completely undecided as to what we should get. There's a Peg-Pérego model which we really like but it's quite expensive. It seems ridiculous to spend so much when you can get one for hundreds less. Reading reviews has not been helpful at all as some people can love a model for a certain feature while others hate it for that same feature.
As my cousin said, it doesn't matter which one you get, you'll always find something wrong with it anyway!

We had our second prenatal class last night. We learnt how to breathe. In-2-3, out-2-3-4!
I can't say I am looking forward to labour. Just looking forward to it being over!

That's about it for the pregnancy update. I think it's time to go back to bed now. I'll update other aspects of our oh so exciting lives later!

Positive thinking

2008-08-25T12:00:00.001-04:00

Unlike the tone of that last post, things really aren't that bad...and no, I don't think I am trying to downplay my feelings!

The results from my one hour glucose test were just a wee-bit high so my doctor sent me for the three hour tolerance test and that one came out okay so I do not have to worry about gestational diabetes.

The baby's kidneys are still a bit big (and I really can't give much more details about this because I kind of zoned out when my doctor was explaining it) but it should be alright by the time the baby is born.

We start our prenatal classes this week, that might help reality kick in a bit more.

Yeah, believe it or not, even at this point, I stll don't quite feel an overwhelming connection to my baby. I thought maybe doing a 3-D ultra-sound would help but Tim didn't seem too keen on the idea so we'll just save that 200 dollars or so.
It is true that most of the images end up looking pretty much the same from one child to another and they're kinda creepy looking too.

So 5 more weeks and I see my doctor again and have another ultra-sound.
I wonder how much more weight I will have put on by then. So far I have only gained about 22 pounds but in the last little while, my appetite has increased. I can't eat very much in a sitting before getting full but then a half hour to an hour after I have eaten, my stomach is gurgling and I am hungry again.

So hopefully Tim will manage to take some time off from work this week and be able to work on the baby's room and still have some time to relax and have a little fun.
Very wishful thinking on my part...

Pregnancy update

2008-08-25T06:18:00.000-04:00

I haven't been blogging much about my pregnancy, I guess for a few reasons.
Timewise when I do have free time, I've been trying to be productive around the house (can't say that's happened much though these days.)
And when I feel compelled to write, it's not about the good stuff so I'd rather avoid recording and sharing the negative.

But this morning is one of those times when my brain is in full gear trying to cope with all of this so I might as well be sitting here at the computer dealing with my thoughts rather than tossing and turning in bed.

Okay, I should correct that...not tossing and turning but more like slowly shifting my weight from one side to the other!

I have been really lucky with my pregnancy and how I haven't had any complications yet at times, I can't help but feel overwhelmed and I wish for the end of October to be here already.
So I try to live for the moment and enjoy the "miracle" that is growing inside me without thinking that it's an alien that's invaded my body and is sucking the life out of me in every way possible!

The mild nausea I had to deal with was over long ago and now I only have to deal with indigestion once in a while at night and that is usually taken care of by taking some antacid.

My carpal tunnel has not subsided since I stopped working. My fingertips are pretty much always numb and my right hand especially hurts at night even with the splints I wear when sleeping.

My ankles and feet are swollen most of the time, no matter how much I elevate my feet, avoid salt and whatever other advice I am given and try to follow.
So my skin is tight and I get itchy and I must scratch yet I get no relief!

Hmmm, what other complaints do I have?!

Oh yeah, how could I forget my sciatic nerve?! I was fine for a few weeks but in the last week as soon as I have some energy and decide to try and be productive and do something physical, the pain kicks in and it's all I can do but to shuffle around.
It's very frustrating not to say irritating, annoying and whatever other synonym you can come up with, to have all this free time on my hands since I have stopped working yet not have the capacity to do anything.
My backyard and what little front yard I have are complete overgrown weed-infested disasters.
The house has a good thick layer of dust coating everything from having the windows open all summer.
Clutter is everywhere and does not help to make my environment a calming and soothing place. No meditaing around here!
We've started on the baby's room and I won't be able to paint because of the fumes but things I could help with, I can't physically handle!

Like I said, it's all very frustrating when I have so much will to do things but am not capable of doing it physically.
Luckily I have been sleeping pretty well. I only wake up to shift positions and then manage to fall asleep pretty much right away.
Yet I still have the urge to take naps more than once during the day.

So all of that takes its toll on me mentally too. Emotions run wilder during pregnancy and I have had a few uncontrollable crying fits where no matter how hard I try to convince myself that it's not so bad, it doesn't help one bit!

Luckily for Tim, most of these fits happen when he's not around. I probably also tend to control myself when he is around. Good or bad, I don't know, but it's my way of dealing with things...

So I must channel some positive energy so not to transfer all this turmoil to my baby!

Wedding night fireworks!!!

2008-08-17T21:20:00.000-04:00

A few photos as promised...

2008-08-17T20:50:00.001-04:00

Excellent weekend

2008-08-06T20:26:00.001-04:00

We pulled it off, Tim and I are now husband and wife!
So Tim had taken the day off work on Friday and did all the necessary last minute running around before picking me up at work at 2:30.
We then headed up North to La Minerve where the big event was going down.
We caught up to Katja & Jouni & family at the turnoff from the 117 and Cathy, Eric & Vanessa showed up at the property not long after we had arrived.
So the guys got things set up and Maya, France and Robbie also showed up that evening.
I think that's everyone who was there Friday night.
We didn't get any rain but saw lots of lightning in the distance and also heard some rumbling as we sat around the campfire.
We hit the hay pretty early, hoping to get a decent night's rest before the big day.

On Saturday morning, we woke up to foggy weather which eventually cleared to sunny skies. Too bad that didn't continue later in the day.
Our guests started arriving mid-morning and by 1 o'clock I started getting a little overwhelmed by it all but luckily, Cathy & I were going back with Tim's mom to the B&B where she was staying. This allowed me to get away from all the excitement and calm down a little.
Once we got changed and took some pictures at the B&B, we headed back for the ceremony.
The sky was getting dark in the distance and the closer we got, the heavier the raindrops fell.
We decided to wait out the rain in the car which also allowed the last lollylaggers to arrive.
So I eventually made my way across the field with Cathy, my unofficial lady-in-waiting and joined my husband-to-be under the shelter that was set up for us.

Olaf proved to be the distinguished celebrant that we knew he would be.
And I was easily and unexpectedly able to keep my composure and even managed to look Tim in the eyes while saying my vows.
Ysabel read "How Do I Love Thee" with a thoughtful twist, handing out the lines of the poem to various guests as she read them.
I also got the pleasant surprise of Clara and Leo acting as ring-bearers. They did a stellar job of bringing us our bands!

Before I knew it, the deed was done and Tim and I were kissing each other as husband and wife.

I wouldn't have thought it just a few months ago, but being married really does make a difference. And I've certainly been enjoying calling Tim my husband, tee hee!

As I said before, the rain had somewhat subsided and we managed to gather everyone together for a group photo before organizing the food.
Luckily for me, everyone pitched in and got it all set up. As much as I used to often be the organizer for many a get-together, it was just too much for me to take care of this time. But we kept it simple and we have such great family and friends so everything turned out great.
And then the rain started up again. And then the rain, it poured.
And poured. And poured!
We were prepared with tents but then we also set up tarps between the army tent and
the kitchen shelters we had up.
The rain did eventually let up and we had a great campfire with guitar playing, marshmallows and let's not forget the mosquitoes!
The highlight of the evening was the fireworks display put on by The Rev, Olaf.
We actually lasted a little past midnight before calling it a night.

Sunday was pretty much spent packing everything up.
Luckliy it didn't rain so we were able to put things away dry. There's nothing worse than ending a camping trip with packing up wet gear.

So that in no way even comes close to describing the atmosphere of the weekend!
But I must say, other than the rain, which wasn't all that bad really, the wedding was pretty much everything I could have hoped for.
It was in no way a restful weekend, but most importantly, it was not stressful.

I will have some pics for you tomorrow!

Here comes the bride, fair, fat and wide...

2008-07-26T05:53:00.000-04:00

So far, most people have been amazed at how "not pregnant" I look. That's mostly because I have not been wearing maternity tops. Don't worry folks, my belly is bulging...These were taken a couple of weeks ago and I am definitely bigger now.

So I am convinced I will positively hate myself in every one of my wedding photos. I've been told I will be able to look back and tell my child, look see, you were at our wedding and gush and glow. Yeah right! I'd rather hide under a baggy t-shirt!

Anyhow, the wedding is now only 7 days away...maybe that's why I'm wide awake at 5 o'clock in the morning and blogging!
How did this silly notion of a wedding this summer come about anyhow?
Well, after Tim proposed during our trip to Ireland in early May, we then discussed when and how we should get married.
I much preferred getting married before having the baby. And, no, it wasn't because I don't want to have a bastard child - it was more like we'll never have time to plan anything once we have a baby to deal with!
We talked about a civil marriage with just the two of us but then you also need 2 witnesses present so how would we chose? And I didn't feel right about not having our family there so then we thought about just having our closest ones present. But even if we didn't want to make a big deal about this, it didn't feel right not sharing this day with our friends. What to do, what to do...

Then I remembered about the new rules for celebrants in the province and having read about a couple who had a friend marry them. Much more special and memorable than some stranger mumbling the required text at a courthouse.
So, we could have a friend marry us...hmmmm, I knew just the guy for the job! But hmmm, where would we do it?
We wanted a memorable location as well...Hmmmm, the annual camping trip at La Minerve was being planned for August.
So we asked Katja if it would be okay to do it there. And lo and behold, she said yes.
And so then we asked Olaf if he would perform the ceremony. And lo and behold, he said yes too!
So then started the process of getting permission from the ministère de la justice which thankfully came through quickly enough and we were set for August 2nd!

As much as we are trying to keep this a low-key and simple thing, there is still quite a bit of planning and organizing to do.

So yes, it is going to be pretty non-traditional but hopefully memorable in a good way.
And unfortunately not everyone we wish to have with us to share in this special occasion will be there, but they will be in our thoughts and in our hearts.

So 7 more days of butterflies (or is that the baby moving?!) and hopefully restful nights of sleep until the big day!

Complain, complain, complain...

2008-07-06T18:19:00.001-04:00

I am now 24 weeks pregnant and I don't feel radiant, I am not glowing and I have not found any renewed energy.
Regular pants don't fit and maternity pants are too loose and slowly creep down giving me that awful teenage-boy look!
My ankles are swollen, the bottom of my feet hurt and I get up in the morning walking like a 90 yeard old.
I eat but have no appetite.
My hands fall asleep during the night.
My back aches.
I am tired, I am tired, I am tired.

But...it's beautiful & sunny outside!
And warm.
And this morning Tim put in the small air-conditioner my parents gave us at the end of last summer and it seems to be cooling off the upstairs rather nicely.
I've been very greatful for the cooler nights we have been having, so far our ceiling fan has done the trick.

The last bit of painting that was left to do in the kitchen finally got done at the beginning of June so I guess we can say the kitchen renovations are finally done! We've submitted our plans to the city to re-do our front steps and back balcony and after some revisions they have been approved in the first stage and this week we are to find out if they get final approval by some other commitee. Gotta love Westmount...Then comes the fun part of finding someone to do the work.

At the beginning of June I finally announced to everyone at work that I am pregnant. I took them all quite by surprise. Especially when telling them I was already 5 months along.
Then a week later my co-worker Suzanne quit, giving only 4 days notice. We've been coping fine without her especially since we have our student Robin helping us out for the summer. They have not hired anyone yet to replace Suzanne or me when I leave so they better do so quickly. I only have 6 weeks to go!

Tim turned 34 on the 18th. We quietly celebrated together by having our 2nd ultrasound and then went out for supper at Le Baton Rouge.

The weekend before St-Jean Baptiste was Olaf's annual FTR golf tournament and I managed to play 14 holes, not bad for a pregnant lady who hadn't played in at least 6years. I think Olaf, Jouni & Nigel only made it through 11 or 12 holes so, I rule! Just don't ask us what our scores were!

Last weekend we went camping up at La Minerve with Katja & Jouni & the kids & her family. We got to test out our new tent that we bought last Christmas and it was a bust! Someone had obviously used it & returned it with a busted zipper. Luckily we had brought our old tent so we used it instead. There were way too many bugs to use a tent with a door that wouldn't close. Black flies, mosquitoes, no-see-ums, deer flies, you name 'em, I got eaten alive! And we had a wicked thunderstorm in the night. Luckily our trusty old tent kept us pretty much dry. And more luckily, on Sunday we packed up and got home before the rain hit again.

So that's about it for the month of June. I'll make a seperate post later on our wedding plans...

Ireland and beyond

2008-06-03T20:16:00.003-04:00

It's already been 2 weeks since we came back from Ireland. Sigh.
We had an amazing trip. We had beautiful weather for almost the whole trip (apparently, it doesn't always rain in Ireland!), we met lots of fun people (I even hooked up with an old friend from Cegep in Dublin) and have memories that will last us a lifetime (and a ring to boot!)

My Claddagh ENGAGEMENT ring

On your knees boy!

This is hysterical...the History of the Marriage Proposal on Bended Knee and this...I wonder if Tim read this beforehand!!!
>Proposal Dos and Don'ts

Together Tim & I took over a thousand pictures which if you have a lifetime to kill(!) you can view on his website at Ireland vacation 2008
or if you haven't already, take a look at a few of them here
Ireland part 1
Celtic crosses
Ireland part 2
Ireland book 1
Ireland book 2
Ireland book 3

Monthly update

2008-04-29T21:35:00.001-04:00

Well, spring has finally sprung.
I've had a couple more doctor's appointments, including an ultrasound.

Alien child

It was rather cool and definitely made it more real.
As has my bulging belly.
I have already had to resort to buying maternity jeans. I do have some pairs of pants that still fit but not my jeans. Not MY jeans. Tim's jeans fit. But I couldn't put up with baggy butt jeans along with my bulging belly.

We spent the weekend of the 19th in Tremblant to celebrate Eric's birthday. It was awesome. Catherine's uncle has a cottage that he rents out and we got the family rate. Murielle and Paul were also along so we pretty much spent the weekend discussing pregnancies! (Murielle is due in June.)
The guys spent the weekend drinking beer. :)

This past weekend was beautiful.
We went out to supper on Friday evening to celebrate Olaf's birthday. We had a very nice meal at Comme Chez Soi, a Belgian restaurant in Pointe-Claire village.
Tim spent the rest of the weekend at work as his office moved and I did some shopping in preparation for our trip to Ireland and cleaned up the garden a bit.

Work has been quite busy with both my co-workers having taken a week's vacation in April. But come Friday...IT'S MY TURN, HEE HEE HEE!!!

How it all came about (minus the look in Tim's eyes)

2008-04-03T20:44:00.000-04:00

Tuesday, October 16th, 2007

So, I figure I should record this for the future as I have the need to write about it but I cannot yet make it public on my blog. What am I talking about, you ask??? Well, 2 ½ weeks ago, Tim and I came to a life-altering decision. But it seems, as I gathered from some comments he made afterwards, it was more my decision than his. So, still you ask, what am I talking about??? Well, we’ve decided to start a family! Surprised? Hey, I’ve always said never say never. Anyhow, for quite a while now (maybe since our niece Vanessa was born?), I have been thinking a lot about whether I really wanted to remain childless. Then I would see teenagers on the bus or read stay-at-home-mom’s blogs or hear my friends-with-kids’ stories and then I would again be of the opinion of definitely not wanting children!
Anyhow, a couple of Thursdays ago, as we were settling in for the night, Tim & I got on the topic of having kids and I said I almost wish I would accidently get pregnant so I wouldn’t have to commit to my choice of staying childless, the decision would be made for me (real mature, I know). Which led my man to actually share a few deeper emotional thoughts with me (for once!) and I realized that he was more on the side of wanting kids than us staying DINKS forever. So, as the conversation progressed, we decided that as much as we enjoy the life we have now, we were ready to give up our freedom and take a stab at having a baby!
Strange as it may seem, it was like an epiphany for me. It’s like all of a sudden I was ready to take on all the challenges that this will entail and could see all the pleasure that this will bring to our lives and the lives of others. Before, I really couldn’t accept all the life-altering effects having a child would bring but now I welcome them and am so looking forward to it all. It’s so bizarre, it’s like a switch was suddenly flipped, the blinders were lifted, what other cliché can I use?! I am super happy about it. It all feels so right.
Of course, me being me, I have my somewhat doomsday approach to it and the expect- the-worst-and-be-pleasantly-surprised-if-things-work-out-ok attitude so I have all these nagging thoughts in the back of my mind that all will not go so well but, time will tell! (like the next 20 years or so, at least!)
I now understand and can accept the fact that although there are many things we will no longer be able to do and other things that we will have to postpone doing for, oh, a couple of decades, having children really does enrich your life and bring about different opportunities.

I guess I did a lot of growing up that evening.

It was about time.

Not so new news

2008-04-01T21:47:00.001-04:00

Well, now that most people know and I've been to the doctor, I guess I will start blogging about it...I'm preggers!
Who woulda thunk?!
I guess this blog will take on a whole new perspective now. My life certainly has (and will even more so, I'm sure).
I wrote up a post a few months ago to publish once I got pregnant but it's on the laptop which Tim has with him at the curling club so that post will have to wait.

So I'll have to be creative after all this evening...

It's strange, even after the doctor's appointment, I still have this weird dubious feeling that it's not real. I've felt a bit queasy and am tired (but not really any more than usual) but other than that, nothing other than some tightness in my stomach makes me feel like I'm pregnant. Anyhow, only 15 more days til the ultrasound so that will surely make me believe it!
I haven't told work yet and I will postpone doing so as long as I can so I'm trying to be creative in explaining all these appointments (I also went for blood tests at the hospital on Friday morning.)
Last Saturday, my company had a lunch at a cabane à sucre in St-Joseph-du-Lac and spouses were invited so I had to make sure that Tim remembered that no one is to know! He tends to spill the beans at times.
And I had to block a couple of co-workers on Facebook.

We've had fun coming up with creative ways on how to tell people.
There's been the "new job in the fall" approach, the "is your arthritis keeping you from knitting these days?" question, the direct announcement "I'M PREGNANT!", to name a few. We've been having fun with it.
I would have liked to have waited a bit longer before telling people, but we couldn't resist sharing the news any longer. That and our St-Patrick's day get-together was the perfect opportunity to tell everyone in person at the same time.

So, I will now be sharing my progress with you here (you are warned!) but will also try to focus on other things too.
That said, after the cabane on Saturday, Tim & I headed up to Gillian & François' in St-Sauveur. We got to try out our new snowshoes, yay! They're great. I really enjoyed it and found it much easier than hiking in the summertime. There is no way I would have been able to hike at the speed we were moving on our snowshoes. So watch out baby, you're going to be bundled up for some snowshoeing next winter!
After the snowsheoing, Gill made us a simple but wonderful meal. I love that our friends are such good cooks! Chick pea salad, pasta with pork and apple strawberry rhubarb pie for dessert.
We have to make a point of seeing them more often.

Work has been completely crazy yesterday and today. This morning I started at 6:30 (and Tim was kind enough to drive me to work since he needed the truck) and finished at 4:00 and I still didn't get everything done. But tomorrow is another day. And is sure to be another busy day!

Gas guzzling and (guiltily) loving it!

2008-03-25T20:22:00.000-04:00

Tim has a course downtown all this week which means I get to drive the truck to work, woohoo!
I can't decide which is better, being able to sleep in til 6:15 or getting home at 4:30. I might not get home quite that early tomorrow though when traffic is sure to pick up.
And Thursday morning I have a doctor's appointment so I have no choice but to drive to work afterwards to cut down on my time off.
No, no, I'm not trying to justify myself for not using public transporation, honest!

Weekend part 2

2008-03-25T20:11:00.000-04:00

I got up bright and early Saturday morning (well, technically getting up at 7 is sleeping in for me...) and went to see Tim curl. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) they lost their game so they were out of the bonspiel. That meant we had the rest of the weekend to do as we pleased!
In the afternoon, Tim & I took a walk over to the Westmount greenhouse and he took some photos of their spring flower show.
Maya came over for fondue that evening, she was due for a visit as she was one of the few of our close friends who couldn't make it to our St-Patrick's party.

Easter Sunday was for family. We went Melora's (my brother's fiancée) place for lunch, ham & scalloped potatoes, yum, yum. Then it was home for a nap and for supper we headed to Tim's mom's for roast beef and mashed. One can never have too much potatoes in one's diet. We are headed to Ireland after all!

Long weekend

2008-03-23T12:03:00.000-04:00

Some of us were lucky enough to have a day off on Friday, others, not so lucky. Tim had to get up to go to work and had the alarm set for 6:30. As I'm used to getting up at 5:30, by the time he got out of the shower, I was pretty much wide awake so I got up and had breakfast with him. I spent a leisurely morning reading the paper and spent some time online and then I took the metro to go and meet Tim at his office in St-Laurent so we could go to lunch together. He and his co-worker Andrew often go to this Asian restaurant called Wing Phat on Jarry near Pie-IX and I always hear about it and last time they went I even got some leftovers but this was finally my opportunity to experience it myself. The place used to be a grocery store and they served meals to a few crowded tables at the back but now they've turned it into an actual restaurant, complete with tasteful decor. I can say it was well worth the trip. The have about 200 plates to chose from. I had beef with udon noodles. I love udon noodles, they are deliciously slimy!

Then I came home and had a two hour nap!

Since Tim went to the curling club for the evening, I watched "No Country For Old Men". It was pretty good. Not the best Coen brothers film I've seen, but entertaining in its own bizarre way. I don't think Tim would have enjoyed it.
And since I had that 2 hour power nap, I managed to stay awake throughout the entire film! If you didn't know, I am notorious for falling asleep during movies. It can be the most exciting, action-packed, loud movie possible, yet I am sure to nod off at some point while watching. Don't even think of making me watch a Jim Jarmusch movie. (They are extreeeeeemely slow-paced, although "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai" with Forest Whitaker was pretty good.)

The next movie I'm keen on seeing is "The Wind That Shakes the Barley".
Only 40 days til we leave for Ireland, woohoo!
I guess that means I should be doing some more planning...

It's been a while...

2008-03-20T23:02:00.001-04:00

I'm still here...I think it's time for one of those point form updates. I haven't taken the time to blog and the longer I go, the harder it gets to get back on track but I'll try...

Well, everybody knows how much snow we've had to contend with so I can skip that.
What have I been doing instead of blogging?
Watching waaaay too much American Idol! So I like Ryan Seacrest, sue me.
I'm actually glad there was a tv writer's strike. We record most shows we watch on the computer and I haven't even watched most of what's there. Now Tim has gone and deleted the season finale of Prison Break, one show that was on despite the strike. Oh well, luckily I'm not a tv addict, I can take it or leave it. I still have all of season 1 of Prison Break that we borrowed from Katja to watch too.

We got a new truck! But to most of you,that is old news. It has already been 6 weeks since we got it even if it does still have that new car smell! And we're loving it. The truck, that is, not the smell.

We spent a weekend in Mountain View to celebrate Stéphanie's birthday in mid-Feb. Did some cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. We had rented some snowshoes from MEC and we liked them so much we bought the company! Ha ha (anybody remember Victor Kiam? Anyone? Anyone?)
Actually, a couple of weeks ago, we bought snowshoes but even with all this snow, we have yet to try them out.

We booked our plane tickets for Ireland! Yay! We leave Friday May 2nd and are back on Sunday May 18th. Anybody who's been there is free to make suggestions as to what to see when we're there. So far the only plan we have is to spend a few days in Dublin then rent a car and drive around, staying in B&Bs.

Last weekend we celebrated St-Patrick's day with an evening of stew and Salty Dog at the curling club and I took in the parade on Sunday with Steph, Olaf & Heidi and then we had a large crowd over for stew and soda bread and live music. Daryl played his pipes for us.

On Saturday, we had celebrated our niece Vanessa's first birthday. One year old, how time flies! We've been enjoying seeing her grow, even if it's been way too fast! Luckily we get to see her often, we usually do something with Cathy & Eric at some point on most weekends.

That's about it for now. More to come.

2 nights out in the same week

2008-02-05T20:43:00.000-05:00

We went to the movies last Tuesday and saw Charlie Wilson's war. It was good, mainly because of Tom Hanks & Philip Seymour Hoffman's acting. The story seemed a little simplified though. I'm sure there is much more to it than the movie could tell. I certainly hope so. I find it hard to believe that one congressman could almost single-handedly be responsible for such a huge covert operation which is said to have eventually led to the downfall of the Soviet Union.
On the other hand, nothing surprises me when it comes to the involvement of the American government.

And what will happen on this Super Tuesday?

I almost forgot outing #2. On Thursday we went to see Blue Rodeo at Théâtre St-Denis with France & Ysabel. It was excellent from start to finish. Start was the opening act, Luke Doucet, a very good discovery on my part.
Then Blue Rodeo came on and started the show with a more mellow and unplugged mood. After a few songs, the curtain came down, the full drum kit was revealed and they rocked!
Believe it or not, I felt young compared to the rest of the crowd. Or do Blue Rodeo fans just not age well?!