Mommy By Day

I'm too enormous for this nonsense.

2012-05-28T18:10:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday was a wee bit busy: 7:30-11:15am: Walk to city hall for pancake breakfast, look desperately for a decent coffee within walking distance, corner coffee-shop staff prior to opening to beg for coffee, get coffee, find spot for parade-watching, play while waiting for parade, watch parade: Making a "bird's nest" behind our parade...

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Sick Kid

2012-05-24T21:11:00.000-07:00

Conversation with Frances earlier this week: Mom: Frances, you're a wreck! Frances, laughing: Mom, I'm not a wreck; I'm Frances! It's been a tough week. We managed to survive The Big Move, The New Job, and the general chaos of Life... And now it's all catching up to us. (I'm starting to get very... tired, impatient, emotional. Toss in...

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Who wants to be my emergency labour partner at 37wks?

2012-05-04T14:10:00.000-07:00

Yeah. That. Steve's travel schedule isn't as bad as what it could have been. His staff are able to take on the California and Washington weeks that are scheduled for when I'll be either 40-42 weeks, or at home with a brand new baby. But that leaves us with the Toronto trip at 34 weeks (I thought it was at 36 weeks at first. 34 is much...

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Pregnancy Hormones: Dislike

2012-04-30T18:04:00.000-07:00

Is it reasonable to have a meltdown after finding out that my husband is scheduled to be in Toronto/Ottawa/Seattle/California for four of the six weeks that I'll be 36-42 weeks pregnant? (Frances was quite concerned. She brought me water and offered me half of a ginger cookie. I hope she's not scarred for life.) Sigh. Today was Steve's...

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Wall of Third-Trimester Doom

2012-04-26T18:31:00.001-07:00

Natalie, upon seeing the second pink line: Squee! Excitement! Amazement! Happy-happy! Natalie, solidly into first trimester: Blech. Nausea. Insomnia. Exhaustion. Gah. Natalie, second trimester: Huh. Only moderately uncomfortable. Somewhat energized. Occasionally well-rested. Pleasant compared to memories of baby #1. Thinking that this...

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Springtime

2012-04-22T11:45:00.000-07:00

Just when did she become an actual kid??? (It drives me more than a little bit crazy that the ipad degrades the photo quality so badly when I upload to blogger, facebook, etc. Grr.)

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Fat Suit Coming Along Nicely

2012-04-20T21:03:00.000-07:00

I'm in the home stretch... Ouch. Walking hurts. (I waddle brilliantly now. I didn't waddle at all last time. Sigh.) Running is a Bad. Idea. (I tried to jog to catch a crosswalk light the other day. I won't attempt that again.) The three flights of stairs to my floor at work are starting to get... interesting. (Despite only having...

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Nesting?

2012-04-13T14:53:00.000-07:00

Does this mean I've started to nest? Dinner & dessert: 1. Cornmeal stuff: 3c milk 1/2c butter 1c cornmeal Mix. Cook like porridge on stovetop until bubbly. In another bowl: 3 eggs 1tsp salt 1/2 tsp sugar 1 tsp baking powder Beat until fluffy-ish. Mix cooked stuff & other stuff together. Butter/flour baking pan of...

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The Order of Things

2012-03-27T19:53:00.000-07:00

We're being a wee bit ambitious this spring... On top of having a BABY, Steve is changing employers in late April (longer commute), and we bough a new house last week with an early-May possession (Frances will have to commute to her dayhome for the first time ever.) Oh, and we're listing our current home this week. (I'm fairly certain that...

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First Experience with Continental (United) Airlines

2012-03-20T06:46:00.000-07:00

FAIL. I know that no North American airline is ever going to be as good as my experience with Singapore Airlines (Best. Service. Ever.), but gawwwwd... They could really step up their game. Flight 1 (Edmonton to Houston), obscenely early in the morning: 1. When we check in at the airport, they realize that they'd seated all three of us...

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Belize: Inland! (Cahal Pech Resort)

2012-03-18T10:08:00.000-07:00

After a wonderful week on Ambergris Caye, we survived the ordeal of Belizean public transit, and headed inland to the Cahal Pech Village Resort in St Ignacio... It rocked. We stayed in the bottom room of a two-story cabin with amazing views of the valley. (The kids on a school trip above us were annoying, but we managed...) We...

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Conversation with a two year old: Part 3

2012-03-17T20:44:00.000-07:00

Conversation in the car today: Frances: Where is the lady? Mommy (slightly confused): Which lady? Frances: The lady in the GPS. Steve: *snort* Mommy (laughing): She's inside the GPS. Frances: Oh. (I cannot fathom how a two-year-old rationalizes a concept like a disembodied GPS voice. It's also crazy to see the technologies...

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Conversations With My Two Year Old: Continued

2012-03-13T19:36:00.000-07:00

Today, Frances joined me at a medical lab where I had some bloodwork done. This is the conversation that I had with her in the car after I explained that we were "going to the doctor to check that the baby is ok". (The thought processes of this child are fantastic!) Frances: We're going to the doctor to see if the baby is ok? Mom:...

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Public Transit, Belize

2012-03-08T18:11:00.001-08:00

Did I ever write about the time when I was almost five months pregnant, and ended up on a retired American school bus in 40C heat for three hours after having barely survived a jet boat ride with my stomach intact? Yeah. That. (Extreme First-World Problem Alert!) It started like this: Nat: Hey Steve, how are we getting from our island in...

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Ninja Baby Poses for In-Utero Photos

2012-03-06T19:03:00.001-08:00

During the 18-week ultrasound, Ninja Baby proved that uncooperativeness is genetic. (This second child is as interested in sitting still as Big Sister.) During the follow-up 20-week ultrasound, Ninja Baby proved that personalities are also genetic... This kid may turn out to be just as cheeky as Big Sister. Figure 1: Ninja Baby flashes a...

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The Island Cottage, Ambergris Caye, Belize: BEACH!

2012-03-03T06:36:00.001-08:00

The cottage was lovely, but the beach was omg wow. We spent every morning and every evening on the beach - why wouldn't we?! In the morning, I drank my coffee on the comfy chairs at the end of the private pier in the company of my Kindle and the birds and the (glorious) wind. In the evening, I drank my iced drink from the beach...

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Belize Zoo

2012-02-25T07:09:00.000-08:00

Fun fact: The Belize Zoo has a camera policy to prevent professional photographers from taking proper photos unless they pay way too much to bring their cameras/zoom lenses in. And the considered my Rebel with a really crappy entry-level zoom as "professional" (heh), so they made me replace my crappy zoom lens with my (reasonably nice) 50mm while...

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The Island Cottage, Ambergris Caye, Belize

2012-02-23T14:38:00.000-08:00

Best. Relaxation. Holiday. Ever. Ahem. We prefer staying in privately-owned properties when we travel, so this little gem took a bit of searching/researching to find... But it was absolutely worth the effort. A few comments: The Cottage: The description on the website is accurate, except for the bit about there only being one bedroom...

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Potty-Training Success... Ish.

2012-02-22T08:03:00.000-08:00

It turns out that my daughter is more interested in using an actual toilet when she is not being held back by... pants. Because apparently the presence of clothing was weighing her down. *sigh* Since arriving in Belize, Frances has largely been without bottoms (so have I for that matter - who can wear more than a light dress in this heat!)...

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18-week ultrasound, and...

2012-02-11T06:43:00.000-08:00

It's still a baby! Heh. It was another good medical appointment, all is well, and big-sister was a superstar even though she stayed up almost three hours after her bedtime. And now Steve is willing to start playing the name game! (It's funny - I'd forgotten how long the fetal anatomy appointments are. I was in with the tech for about...

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My 2yo Rocks

2012-02-06T16:54:00.000-08:00

So that I don't forget... Top 3 Reasons Why My Kid is Awesome (this week): 1. Fearlessness. We went to the (Extremely Large, Extremely Busy, Extremely Loud and Crazy) West Edmonton Mall Waterpark yesterday morning. Where we were told that we could not go with Frances down 3 of the 4 waterslides appropriate for the beginner crowd. So we...

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I Love My Old Doctors (Prenatal Care Continues)

2012-01-30T07:52:00.000-08:00

My 15 week appointment was in mid-January. I love seeing medical professionals that don't seem like complete idiots. And don't go out of their way to make me feel stupid and anxious. *Wheee* Concerns that the last clinic had about my pregnancy, and the thoughts of my new doctors/nurses: ... Old clinic: Your weight is a concern. You've...

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Hormonal Pregnant Woman (Woes)

2012-01-27T09:14:00.000-08:00

Immediately after the disaster of a prenatal visit at 11 weeks, I called the clinic that I used with Frances to switch back to them. Even though they're less convenient. And even though I have to pay for parking. Because I didn't want stupid people monitoring my pregnancy. And because I value my mental health. Gah. And, even though I felt...

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Second Prenal Visit: I Hate My Prenal Care Team

2012-01-25T09:28:00.000-08:00

Some of the conversations from my second prenal visit, at 11 weeks, with a nurse, a student doctor and a resident, and finally with a dr-dr. (Hellish, all of it.) The Nurse Nurse: You should really watch your weight during this pregnancy because of how much you gained with the first. (I gained 60lbs. It was terrible, but I lost it by...

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First prenatal appointment #annoyed

2012-01-23T08:17:00.000-08:00

I think my prenatal nurse, Ing, thinks I'm exceptionally stupid. (I'm reasonably confident that Nurse Ingrid is exceptionally stupid.) (One thing on this planet that pisses me off is... Someone wasting my time. This applies to work (I'm notorious for leaving in the middle of meetings when my presence is no longer required), home life (poor...

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