Workaday Ramblings

Sleeping In

2011-08-21T11:31:00.000-04:00

I actually got to sleep in today. In my own bed. With Mikey at home. All the way until 8 am, when Mikey came up to snuggle with me while having a drink and a mini-nap.

This is the first time this has happened in months. It was really nice.

I feel amazingly well rested today. It is incredible what a difference an extra 2 hours can make. I guess those few mornings when I left for work before Mikey got up turned out to have extra benefits to them.

Half way through another month

2011-08-14T11:02:00.000-04:00

It's almost half way through August without a single post? Man, I have really lost the hang of balancing work with everything else. I am definitely feeling like I have a complete lack of free time. I don't remember ever feeling it this bad before. Might have something to do with having an active kid.

What is a typical day like for me?
6-7 am - get up whenever Mikey wakes up. On a great day I wake up myself at 6 feeling refreshed and Mikey sleeps until 7. I never thought an hour by myself in the morning would be so amazing.
7:30-8:30 am - get ready for work
8:30 - 5:30 pm - at work
5:30-6:30 pm - supper time. Most days Mike has supper started when I get home. It's the only part of being a stay-at-home parent he does, other than keeping Mikey alive. Cleaning is the main part he doesn't do. My house looks like a disaster zone all the time, and while I hate it, I haven't the energy or time to fix it. It's supposed to be his job. Right?
6:30-9 pm - play with Mikey. All outings and stuff are also done during this time.
9 pm - bedtime for Mikey. We are finally getting a regular routine with 2 stories, and snuggling. If I got him a twin bed and removed the rocking chair, I think bedtime would be even easier.
9:30-10 pm - come back downstairs because Mikey is out. Some nights take longer, and sometimes I fall asleep in the rocking chair. Very bad for your neck.
10-11 pm - read, blog, whatever I feel like in my hour of free time a day.
11 pm - bedtime for me.
11-6 pm - hopefully sleep. Usually have one wake from Mikey that lasts 15-60 min. I love when he just climbs in beside me, drinks and falls asleep without me needing to get up. Then when he is sideways and kicking me, I move him back to bed. Easiest wake ups ever.

That is my usual weekday. Weekends are usually lazy days spent lounging and playing.

End of July

2011-07-31T11:46:00.000-04:00

Is it really the end of July already? Wow, time is flying this year.

I have now been at work for 3 weeks already. I am loving going to work. I still am not trained for "my" job yet, but that starts in August. In the meantime, I am making everyone else happy by assisting with anything I can. There are a few ladies that I am really getting to know, and I'm having lots of fun with.

Mikey seems to be adjusting well. There have been a few days where he gave me a kiss and told me good-bye while waving before I was ready to leave. Nothing like being shooed out the door by a two year old.

Soccer is over now. Yesterday was the last day. Mikey did not have fun. He screamed and cried through the whole 2 min award ceremony for his team. But we did get his pictures. Our picture together is cute. He was definitely freaking out in the team photo, which makes it pretty cute.

Our pool has been getting some use. It got a lot of use during the melting hot days. I am glad those are over for now. Now it's just regular hot days. Like summer should be. We did get some rain this week, for the first time all month. It was very nice. Except for the overnight thunderstorms that kept waking Mikey up. Not cool.

Mikey still isn't eating. He is sucking on baby cookies and Cheesies on a regular basis. He also loves sucking on syrup covered waffles. He is starting to talk more. There is a lot more that we understand, even if he is still missing quite a few syllables and sounds. He is super active, and is beginning to sleep better. Some days. We have moved his bedtime to 9pm, and that seems to help him sleep until 7am, with only one wake-up most nights around 4am. Yea for sleep! He is still very resistant to the idea of potty training.

Friday Night Leftovers - July 22

2011-07-22T22:20:00.000-04:00

This has been a very quick, very long week full of hot temperatures. I'm not sure my brain works enough to even dump out a leftover post. Let's see.

It is so hot here. The heat wave is finally breaking, but I think my brain melted. I am so glad I got to go work in an air conditioned building all week. Especially Thursday. It was a record breaking day with the temperature hitting 35.7 C (that's 96.3 F) but when you added humidity, it felt like just under 50 C (122 F). The temperature was only 0.5 degrees off the hottest temprature ever.

Needless to say, our pool has been getting lots of use. Mikey is getting very comfortable in it. He nows leans on the side and lifts his feet up to float for a few seconds at a time. He would stay in there all day if you let him. He cries everytime we take him out.

Tomorrow is the second last day of soccer. We get our pictures tomorrow. That will be fun to see how they turned out.

I am glad it's the weekend. I could use some relaxing. Mikey didn't sleep well with the heat so high, so I didn't really get any relaxing time in the evening. It will be nice to just sit for a while. Maybe get caught up reading some of the 750+ blog posts I haven't had time to read this week.

Puddle

2011-07-17T22:43:00.000-04:00

I feel like a puddle. It is so hot, I am melting. But I can't bring myself to jump in our pool. That water is just too cold. I'm afraid I'll have a heart attack.

I am super glad we have window fans in the bedrooms. They really help cool things off over night. Provided it does cool off over night, which luckily has been happening.

I wanted to share my story of my horrible night last night. It was brutal. Mikey wasn't feeling good in the evening. He threw up about an hour before bed. Started getting very hot. So I tried to help cool him off. Put him to bed fairly easily. But he woke up at 9 pm, and was burning up. I tried to get him settled back down, but it was taking a long time. At 9:45 he was still up, so I ran downstairs and turned off all the lights figuring I'll just go to bed when he finally falls back asleep.

Fifteen minutes later, I start feeling not well. I was getting hot, with a bad headache. I convinced Mikey to come lay in my bed with me. The little heat pack curled up with me and I tried to doze my headache away. By 11 I was up puking. Mikey was so concerned, rubbing my back for me. It was so sweet it made me bawl. Afterwards I dragged myself back to bed, and Mikey curled up with me again. He still wasn't falling asleep, so I put on the mini DVD player for him, and passed out.

I woke up around 1:30 and moved him to his own bed. He felt cool and stayed asleep. I felt much better myself. We were both up at 6:30 this morning feeling fine, although I was quite tired.

Not sure if it was just the heat or what, but last night was no fun. Here's hoping tonight will be okay.

First Day

2011-07-11T17:51:00.000-04:00

My first day at work went pretty good. It was chaos when I first arrived because it was orientation day for a bunch of other employees. Once I got through that mess and my boss came and got me, things went pretty smoothly.

My computer was delivered and set up. This is apparently a big deal.

I learned how to get from the front door to my desk, from my desk to the bathroom, and from my desk to the cafeteria. Excellent progress. I also met a lot of people in my department whose names I instantly forgot.

I am in training for the first few weeks, and am looking forward to learning all the systems and work. It should be fun. It was a very successful first day.

Friday Night Leftovers - July 8

2011-07-08T12:22:00.000-04:00

I start work on Monday. It is ridiculous how excited I am. I feel like a little kid starting grade 1 for the first time. Only without the jumping up and down and running around in circles.
I have no idea how to get my sleep schedule back on track. Except to die the first week of work. Whatever works, I guess.
Our pool continues to go unused. Great waste of money there! Either it's not hot enough out, or the water just seems way too cold. It is getting a little gross, so we may have to break down and get some chemicals. Otherwise Mike will totally refuse to use it, instead of just coming up with excuses.

That's about it. There is not a whole lot floating through my head this week. I'm sure I will come up with a bunch more things once I hit post though.

Super strength?

2011-07-06T17:44:00.000-04:00

What was I greeted with yesterday afternoon?

Uh-oh. That would be our screen door handle in his hand. Apparently my son is Superman because he ripped the handle right off.

See where it goes?

And do you think we can find a new handle anywhere? Not likely.

Newsprint nails

2011-07-02T06:43:00.000-04:00

I mentioned yesterday that I tried a newsprint effect on my fingernails. I like the result, and so does my sister.

Here is the best picture I could get of them. I used a dark grey base colour, but I think it would look neat with almost any colour underneath.

I did learn a few things to remember for next time:
- Press the newsprint very hard and evenly or the writing will be light.
- Make sure your nail is complete damp or the paper will stick and make your nail fuzzy.
- Let the newsprint dry before the top coat or it will smear.
- Find the smallest writing possible, otherwise there will only be a few characters. I used the terms and conditions section from a flyer. Tiny writing there!

I am not very clean at doing my nails. I get nail polish all over my fingers. But I have found if you just leave it for a few hours and then wash your hands well with soap and water a few times, it cleans up fairly easily. By the next day you'd never know I am such a messy applier.

Friday Night Leftovers - July 1

2011-07-01T07:54:00.000-04:00

It's already July 1. The year is half over. Where did it go?

I thought of all kinds of things to include last night as I laid in bed trying to fall asleep. But can I remember anything this morning?

Mikey did a strange behaviour Wednesday night. He went to bed like normal while I was out. When I went to go to bed after getting home, I went up stairs and went in our bedroom and flicked on the light to get changed. Then flicked it right off because I saw Mikey in our bed. I went downstairs to question Mike why he was in our room. Mike had no idea he was there. Apparently Mikey got up and went into our bed on his own. Without making any noise or crying for a drink or coming downstairs. First time he ever did that.

Mikey has developed a little comfort move. He doesn't really have a blanket or toy that he carries around all the time. I have noticed that the past month or so that when he drinks his milk, he pinches some of his shirt between his fingers and rubs it. He prefers to use my shirt, but will use his own when he is sitting by himself. I noticed him doing it while he was tired the other day too. Very cute.

I am a horrible daughter this year. I completely forgot my mom's birthday earlier in June. I talked to her a week before it, but only just called her again this week. I was 3 weeks late saying happy birthday. So bad. But I wasn't the worst. My brother, who lives 15 min away from her, also forgot. After I got off the phone I texted him to see if he really did forget. Apparently he is going to go grovel this weekend. Such bad kids we are.

I saw a really neat idea to create newsprint fingernails, and thought I'd give it a try. It was pretty easy, and turned out neat. I will have to take a picture and post to share.

Happy Canada's Day everyone! We are off to the fair and fireworks today. We will see how Mikey does at the fireworks. I am expecting it to not go well.

Toopy and Binoo

2011-06-30T23:22:00.000-04:00

Mikey is obsessed with Toopy and Binoo. He calls it "be-butt" and I have no idea why. But they are a great little cartoon. There are a billion episodes on YouTube, so Mikey can watch different episodes all the time on the iPad. Keeps him entertained to say the least.

Why am I mentioning this?

Toopy and Binoo are coming to town! As soon as I saw this, I rushed to the website and bought tickets for the show in town. $111.75 for three tickets, but I know Mikey will love it to the extreme. The show isn't until October, so it's a while yet. But I am super excited because I know he will have a great time. And I probably will too.

Getting back to normal

2011-06-30T17:45:00.000-04:00

Things should be getting back to normal soon. I got a full-time job! That starts July 11. I am so exciting. I filled out my new employee paperwork today. Woohoo!

I know there will be an adjustment period for all of us. It's been a full 3 months since I was working. I think the biggest change for me will be getting up and dress and functioning early. I have gotten so bad at napping off and on all morning while Mikey plays around me.

I know Mikey will have to transition back to not having me around 24/7.

But I am so excited!

Soccer picture today

2011-06-25T14:26:00.000-04:00

Today was the half-way point through soccer. This meant it was picture day.

Mike and I were taking bets on whether Mikey would make it through the session because he was falling asleep in the car on the way there. He did great while we were waiting. Running, kicking the ball, playing What Time Is It Mr Wolf. Unfortunately, we were the last team to get pictures taken. So Mikey was pretty much done by then.

We did get a decent picture of him. Of course, it's of the two of us because I had to hold him. But it should still be cute.

The team picture was not as easy. The three little girls on his team were all being so good. They sat in a line just as easy as can be. Mikey of course started screaming. So I got him in position standing behind the girls, and when the photographer gave the word, I back away quickly. We may have a decent shot. Or Mikey may have raised his arm and screamed. I guess we will see.

At least all the other parents were really nice about the situation. Not a single one of them made any remark about Mikey's behaviour. Which definitely makes them all very cool.

Zoo day earlier this week

2011-06-24T19:42:00.000-04:00

We had a very fun Tuesday when we went to the Toronto Zoo. I love the zoo. So much so that I even had a membership a few years ago. If we were a little closer, I'd definitely get it again.

Mikey had a blast! He especially loved the elephants, penguins and fish. Which totally makes sense since they are his favourite animals.

He only had one freak out. Shortly after we arrived, when we went to leave the big fish. He wanted to stay and watch it. But we moved on, and after a few more animals, he seemed to understand that he would get to see a lot, and that leaving the animal didn't mean we were done.

We were there for about 4 hours, and saw half the zoo. Definitely a very busy and fun visit. All of us were very tired and ready to leave. Hopefully we can go back later this year to see the other half.

Boo-boos, scared me and soccer

2011-06-18T12:49:00.000-04:00

So I have three stories to tell, as the title may implied. Either that or soccer didn't go good.

Boo-boo:
Mikey got his hand stuck in the front of a broken filing cabinet. I kept telling Mike to tape up the hole. Well now he did. After Mikey got his hand stuck. And scraped his knuckle and cut the side of his hand getting it out.

He got a cool bandaid covering the whole side of his hand, and spent all yesterday showing it off saying "boo-boo". He also spent the whole day cradling it in his other hand like it was broken.

I took the bandaid off before bed, and I can't believe how healed it already looks. No bandaid was needed today.

Scared me:
Last night when I was getting ready for bed, I walked out of the bathroom and headed to my bedroom, which is just past Mikey's bedroom. I already took my glasses off, so things were a bit fuzzy. I glanced at Mikey's door and jumped. Mikey was standing in the open crack and was basically just a white figure. Scared me pretty badly.

Soccer:
Not so good today. Mikey got sick as soon as I took him out of the car. Better than in the car, but it meant he didn't really want to play. He did kick the ball around for about 5 minutes, but that's about it. He was done, so we left. Next week is picture week, so hopefully it goes good.

Soccer Take 3

2011-06-15T07:00:00.000-04:00

I totally forgot to post our soccer take 3 on the weekend.
It was a success!

Mikey was awake and had fun. He joined in the warm-up circle at the beginning. He kicked a soccer ball back and forward across the field. He "scored" a goal or two in the (empty) net.

Overall he had a lot of fun.

And of course, there isn't much interaction between the kids. Mostly stealing each other's ball when parents' heads are turned.

Hopefully this success continues this coming weekend.

New Summer Activity

2011-06-14T23:14:00.000-04:00

Guess who has a pool?

That's right. Daddy!

Oh and Mikey seems to like it too. Maybe I'll try it once it warms up. Hose water is not warm. At all. Brr...

Weekly Money Check-up June 6

2011-06-06T22:43:00.000-04:00

1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on clothes for Mike. He got a bunch of new shorts and t-shirts which he desperately needed.
2. Today I am thankful for having such a handy brother-in-law who loves to help out. They were over for a visit today and he was busy. He hung a gate to finish fencing in our yard, built a step for our back deck and installed our programmable thermostat. Awesome stuff!
3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free thing I did last week that made me happy was read. I love reading, and it rarely costs money.
4. I will consider this week a success if I have a good interview on Friday. That's right, I have another interview lined up. Hopefully something good comes out of it!
5. One of my pet peeves is when Mike walks by the garbage can and puts his garbage on the counter. It was more work to put it there then throw it out! Grr...

Weekly Money Check-Up is a fill-in-the blank post once a week. The first four questions are always the same each week and the fifth is always different. Care to participate? Visit My Pretty Penny to link up.

Sunday full of fun

2011-06-05T21:40:00.000-04:00

I think I mentioned before that Mikey got a sandbox for his birthday. I have to admit that we don't play in it much. When we do, it usually takes quite a bit of convincing to get Mikey in it to start.

Tonight was one of those times. He pointed at it and seemed to want to play in it, so I took the cover off and put him in it. Not good. He freaked out at the dirt touching his feet. So I sat on the edge and held him in my lap to play for the first 5 minutes or so. Then I was able to move him to his own corner.

We played in it for a good half hour. Then we got out. He was done playing. I put the cover back on, and we went and changed into pjs because it was 8 pm. Then he threw a fit because I wouldn't let him back in it to play.

Not fun. This weekend has been full of fits. He hasn't thrown this many in a while. He also seems to be very tired, even though he has been sleeping through the night most nights lately (YEA!). Oh the joys of parenting a two year old.

But we did have a very fun walk around the block. It's not a big block, but it still takes 20 minutes at Mikey speed. He chased birds trying to catch them. Zoomed his choo-choo train car over the grass and tried to squish ants with it. That didn't work so he tried to stomp the ants. He stopped to talk to a lady getting out of her car. He played shy and waved at a guy waiting very patiently for us to cross in front of his driveway. He decided he was exhausted and couldn't walk the final half a block, so he got a piggyback ride. We do those a lot around the house. This time he laid his head on my back, and I thought he was going to fall asleep, but he seemed to perk up a bit when we got home.

All in all, a very good day. Minus the tantrums of course.

Soccer Take 2

2011-06-04T17:34:00.000-04:00

Today was soccer again. And it was a bust, again.

Mikey fell asleep less than 2 minutes from the soccer field. He was totally dead asleep, didn't even stir when I shut off the car and was talking to him before I turned around and saw him asleep. He had been awake at the last lights.

So I brought him home and carried him inside without him waking up. But of course he woke up when I tried to take his shoes off.

But at least there was no screaming fit. I guess...

Haircut

2011-06-01T09:29:00.000-04:00

I have been trying to convince Mike to cut Mikey's hair for a while. Now that it is getting warm, he always has a sweaty hot head. Mike agreed to cut it after the weekend, so Monday I started asking him about it. Well we cut it yesterday. Mike used the clippers while I held him.

I wanted to have it about an inch long. Short, but still cute, red, and probably curly. That is not quite what happened. Here are the before and after pictures:

Aah! He's bald!
I think he looks like a little monk. Very cute and much cooler. He keeps touching his head since it feels neat.

Soccer and Dance

2011-05-28T21:21:00.000-04:00

Today was Mikey's first soccer game. It did not go well. As in we didn't last even 5 minutes. Mikey started freaking out while we were in line to get his shirt. Once we got it and put it on him, total meltdown commenced. There was no distraction going to happen, so I ended up carrying him outside to see if I could calm him down.

Yes, we were that family. The one you look at and think "thank goodness that isn't me today". And then look at your child and praise them for being so good.

Mikey took about 10 minutes of walking around outside to calm down. But there is no way he was going back inside. Oh well, at least we got the soccer shirt. Hopefully next week we can at least last until our session starts. Otherwise, it will be a long 10 weeks.

After we were home and daddy was in charge of Mikey, I left to watch my niece's dance recital. The whole dance school worked together to put on Alice in Wonderland, with each class giving a performance. It was awesome to watch. The little girls are adorable, and some of the more advanced classes are amazing. I loved to see the girls that put everything they had into their dance, they were the best to watch. Laughed so hard at the faces some of the girls had while hip hopping. Attitude shone right through.

Apparently my niece has decided that we doesn't want to take ballet next year, she wants something a little faster. Hip hop is currently her top choice. Which will be adorable to watch. Can't wait.

Weekly Money Check-up May 23

2011-05-23T09:49:00.000-04:00

1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on regular bills.

2. Today I am thankful for the fun my son finds in small things. Like having me chase him from the kitchen to the living room and back for 3 min. It's one of his favourite games.

3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free thing I did last week that made me happy was go on many walks with my son. Our walks are just around the block, but he has such fun. One of our walks on Saturday involved walking with a woman and her two grandkids. Mikey was told thrilled with them. We then passed a yard sale, and we spent 15-20 min with their dogs, much to the delight of the elderly gentleman sitting with them.

4. I will consider this week a success if I have a good interview on Tuesday. I would love if I got the job, it's close and with a good company. But even if I just feel like it went well will be a success.

5. I am currently craving crepes. But there is no grocery shopping until Thursday. I will be getting all the stuff to make them then though. Yummy!

Weekly Money Check-Up is a fill-in-the blank post once a week. The first four questions are always the same each week and the fifth is always different. Care to participate? Visit My Pretty Penny to link up.

Friday Night Leftovers - May 20

2011-05-20T22:07:00.000-04:00

So it's the Friday at the start of the long weekend. At least here in Canada. Monday is Victoria Day. And this weekend is known as the May 2-4 weekend, the start of camping, summer, and beer on the patio. Hopefully it stops raining for at least part of the weekend.

Our plans for the weekend are nothing. Mike is off at a wrestling event tomorrow, so I am hoping the weather is nice so Mikey and I can play outside lots. This weekend is low key. Next weekend will be busy with Mike wrestling every day Thurs-Sun at a festival, Mikey's first soccer game, and my niece's ballet recital.

I am still waiting on the start date of the job I supposedly landed. So I have started job searching again because I'm not sure how long I'm supposed to wait. It's getting a little riduculous. I have an interview on Tuesday that I am really excited about. It's for a large company in town. A much shorter commute, and if I get in, there is good job security and lots of growth potential.

I realized today that I hate using nail polish remover. I broke down and took off the uber chipped, sad looking polish from my fingernails. They were looking pretty bad. For some reason I hate nail polish remover though. It stinks, and I hate how my nails are discoloured and rough after polish is taken off.

I think that's about it for this week.

Playing outside

2011-05-19T21:57:00.000-04:00

We have turned into outside people. Or Mikey has anyway. That boy loves being outside.

We let him play on the deck outside the patio in his bubble clouds without having to put shoes on, provided it is nice out. Since he wants to come in and out and open and close the door a million times. It's fun for him. And I can just relax on the couch beside the door with a book knowing he is safe.

He stills loves throwing rocks into puddles in the yard. Our yard has not yet been cleaned up by the property management, so I don't care if he throws the rocks everywhere. It's not like we have grass that isn't in ankle deep puddles anyway.

We discovered that you can walk all the way around the outside of the property from our backyard. All around the outside of three townhouse rows. In very wet grass that has fabulous splashing puddles. It's fun for Mikey in his boots. Not so fun in flip flops because I don't have boots. It is cold water.

Mikey has finally learned the joy of swinging. Before he would always scream bloody murder if you put him in a swing, and don't even think about pushing the swing. Now? We spent 20 min just swinging today. When I took him out of the little kid swing, he went up to the adult swings. So I held him in my lap and we did more swinging. I love that our complex has a little swing set. I see us spending a lot of time there this summer.

We have started going for walks around the block. It takes about 15-20 min for Mikey to walk it. He loves it. I'm surprised his head doesn't fall off from swiveling so far and so fast. It is much faster and less dangerous when he is in his wagon during walks.

I have never really been an ourdoor person, but I can see that I will be outdoors a lot more from now on.