Window Wednesday

Since the snow has melted and Alberta spring has slowly begun to arise (a lot of emphasis on the 'slowly'), we have also slowly began to venture outside. I'm not sure why we don't spend more time outside during the winter, frolicking in the snow, chatting with neighbors... oh wait... -40°C not including windchill... which on the really bad days makes it closer to -60°C. So our time outside, if we go out at all, includes a mad dash from the car (praying it will start) to the house and vice versa. As our wonderful spring slowly arises, everyone on the block comes out of hibernation. Our friendships with our neighbors are definitely 'seasonal' relationships, and I mean that in the most literal of terms!Last week on one of our new, spring adventures... the child and I came to discover a New York sized city of ladybugs in my front flower patch. I have never seen so many ladybugs converging in one area! (I just found out today that ladybugs are a sign of fertility... so I'm sure the Grandparents will be happy to know that I am still fertile). We spent quite a bit of time 'hunting' for ladybugs and enjoying every minute of the beautiful, warm sunshine.

Then THIS happened.

Not just once. For 2 days (maybe 3) in a row it snowed, rained, hailed, snowed, rained, hailed... and the ladybugs went into hiding. The child had a hard time understanding why there were no more ladybugs and even though the weather was not permitting, he still searched for them every time we went outside. 

Finally, the steel-cold grip of winter finally released and the ladybugs returned to be hunted by a curious, but gentle, toddler.

The child going in for the 'pick'.

Uh oh, where'd the little ladybug go? Those quick, tricky ladybugs!

There it is!

Oh! There's another one! 

Such intensity, such concentration...

This is hard work, Mommy!

But worth EVERY minute of it!

Not Me Monday

The good mother that I am organized a wonderful walk to the park near our house, with another wonderful mother and her two girls. We did not convince our children that before they could play at the park, the Mommies needed a Starbucks. Of course, there is definitely not a brand new, drive-thru Starbucks blocks away from my house. Once at Starbucks, we did not divert our children from also needing (and whining for) expensive drinks by pulling out the "Super-Duper, Special, Surprise Snack!" that every Mommy has in her bag, somewhere. Perfect for occasions such as this. This diversion was of course made of the most wholesome, healthy, organic ingredients. It definitely did not come in the form of a store-bought, Rice Krispie square, with little M&M's sprinkled on top, full of corn syrup, fructose, glucose, and other refined sugars. While unwrapping said "Super-duper, Special, Surprise Snack!" for the child, I was not tempted to and definitely did not take a bite. This did not send the child into complete hysterics which of course did not include the following:

1. Screaming

2. Thrashing around

3. Hyperventilating

4. Reaching into (aka forcing his hand into) MY MOUTH and grabbing that fateful bite of Rice Krispie square.

5. Putting my half chewed, slimy bite of Rice Krispie square into his own mouth.

6. Did I mention screaming?

~

Ahhhh Church. That wonderful place we go for an hour and a half (sometimes two!) of free baby-sitting. OOps. I mean.. to learn about God and his love and to pray or something. 

Ahem. 

While sitting in church and not enjoying my child free time, I did not gently nudge the husband to have him put his arm around me. I definitely do not treat Church like a date. He turned and smiled, quickly lifting his arm to place it around my shoulders. He did not miscalculate the space between us, and while lifting his arm he most definitely did not drive his elbow SMACK into my forehead. He did not start apologizing profusely while we tried to stifle our laughter (and my shock from the pain). I was not completely embarrassed when I glanced at the row behind me to find them not laughing, too. Of course, the preacher was definitely not preaching about love and marriage this fateful Sunday. Nope, not at all.

~

My son generally does not get mistaken to be a girl. Apparently 'long-ish' hair on any kid means they are a girl. Right. Forgot about those rules. During a regular trip to the grocery store, we did not have some sweet (yet ignorant) little ol'lady pat my SON on the head while not saying "Oh, what a sweet little girl!".

As she turned to walk away, my son definitely did not say loud and proud: "No. I'm a BOY!"

Flashback Friday's RETURN!

It's not quite Friday anymore here, but it still is in so many other parts of the world that I am defying Mountain Time. Flashback Friday's have RETURNED!

Every so often when my soon to be 3yr old is driving me crazy... I find myself picking up my pregnancy/baby journal that I kept for him and reading past entries. They bring me back to that place.. deep inside the labyrinth of pregnancy, the place of unknowing, excitement and anticipation (and even a little fear!) to remind me that I still love my child. Ok. That sounds bad. But if you're child is anywhere near the age of 3, you know what I mean. Yes. I will always love my child. But there are moments when I don't feel like liking him. Really, even in those moments, if I really think about it, I'm still brimming over the top with love and adoration for him. Its my own issues that cloud those moments, my impatience, my expectations, my short temper, my inability to draw upon that deep well of love and be present in each moment as good or bad as they are. I find by reading entries that I wrote over 3 years ago, changes how I look at him and myself in these present, crazy moments. These entries ground me. 

April 21, 2006

My lil'beano, 

Well the 10 day countdown has begun. 9 more days until you are due. When do you think you will come out? Everyday I get more and more excited. Last night I was laying in bed and all I wanted was to hold you. I am looking so forward to cuddling and nuzzling you. To have you sleep next to me and I can watch your face change and grow. And I am definitely ready to be done with pregnancy. I want to be small again and to sleep on my tummy. Although, once my milk comes in that might not be very comfortable.

Your Auntie Kim has been here for almost a week now. She has been such a tremendous help. Every morning I wake up and the dishes are done and the living room clean, lots of little things like that, that I completely need and appreciate. She has also been wonderful company for me. Your Dad doesn't understand how we can just sit and talk for hours upon hours and then do it again the next day. I guess it is kinda funny when you think about it. But we don't seem to run out of things to say. Yesterday, it was really warm outside, so we decided to take a walk to 7-eleven to get Slurpee's. I don't think we or I anticipated just how long and tiring that it would be. We walked a few blocks, and I was ready to lie down. But I kept pressing on. The Slurpee was sure good and worth the walk. Although, once we got home I started feeling pretty sick and nauseous. I didn't really eat or drink much before we left and so I think the combination of that, hot hot sun, and pure liquid sugar (Slurpee) did me in. I hate feeling nauseous, too. Yuck. Plus that night we were having our whole small group over for a BBQ. Your Dad bought a BBQ the other week and has been inviting people over left, right, and centre. Guess the combination of the fire, steel and meat makes him feel more manly. heehee :)

So it definitely was not a lot of fun for me to have company and feel so awful. But I just laid in bed and Kim rubbed my belly, and once I had some dinner, I did start to feel better. But there was a part of me that was a little concerned that I was going to start labor. But everything seems fine now. 

Your Auntie Kim has helped me get motivated to pack my bag for the hospital, so yesterday I made a nice list of all the things we will all need. The people that lived in our house before we moved in left some luggage, so I have to clean it out soon and start packing. I bought a couple of tank-tops and comfy pj's for after the birth to wear in the hospital.

I also started my (well "your") diaper service yesterday. Your Dad and I have decided to try cloth diapers with you. So we will see how it goes. The company is called "Happy Nappy" and they deliver clean diapers and liners to you, and pick up your dirty ones, so you don't have to wash them. The little diapers are so cute, and soft. If I were a little baby, I think I would enjoy them. So hopefully you do.

Everything is coming together so nicely, and I am so excited for the day you decide to join us out here. I really have no intuition if you are a boy or girl, so its going to be quite the surprise. Either way you will have so much love, attention, and affection... it doesn't really matter:) 

I love you so much already:) 

Come soon lil'bean!

xoxo

Mommy

It's Britney, B*tch!

Compromise

Approximately 9 years ago, my hubby and I were in pre-marital counseling. Of course at the ripe age of 19 & 21, we really didn't think we 'needed' it, but to make everyone else happy we faithfully attended our sessions. After a few compatibility tests, our councillor/pastor informed us that throughout our marriage we would have two major issues that would constantly be a source of tension for us. Only two? Wow, I can deal with that, I thought. I figured that we were doing pretty good at this counseling thing and looking for my gold star. So bracing ourselves, we asked what those two issues would be. 

1. Our Families

2. Food

What?!! Food?!!! Ok, I get Family. Who doesn't have an issue integrating into another persons family and then adapting to how they were raised. Family is an obvious. But FOOD?!?!?!! How in the world would that be a problem? We both love to eat... end of story. At that point we both put that one behind us, chuckling as we walked out of the office. 

Now, after being married for almost 8 years, I am constantly haunted by that day in our councilors office. Surprisingly enough, 'food' has been quite the issue for us. In one of my earlier blogs, I talked about how my genes blessed me with the ability to store fat... and quite well in fact. If anyone has ever met my husband, they know it is impossible for him to gain weight. My hubby is a male version of the girls we love to hate. You know the ones... they eat whatever they want: chocolate, fast food, ice cream, creamy pasta and HEAPS of it... and complain that they can never gain weight. Oh boo hoo. 

Our first year of marriage was a total example of our "Food" issue. I was so happy to not need to fit into a wedding dress anymore that I ate right along with my hubby, as much and whatever I wanted. I also gained like 15lbs.... which soon turned into 30lbs and eventually into over 40lbs. And the hubby? He lost weight. YUP! LOST WEIGHT!!! And guess who was to blame for NOT feeding him enough? (That would be a good example of our "Family" issues... ).

Since that time I have learned how to eat to maintain a healthy, BMI friendly figure... but its tough and I have to really work at it. Of course I have my binge days as I am a true believer in balance and enjoyment. In the process of learning what to and what not to eat... I have changed what and how I cook. I am the main cook in the family, so by default that gives me the authority to pick and choose what we will or will not be eating. This has not sat well with the hubby. He loves his red meat, white bread, cheez whiz, cream sauces, deep fried & battered food along with ice cream and various sweets. Don't get me wrong, he eats veggies and loves salads too. But after so long of eating chicken, turkey, fish, veggies and more veggies... he finally had enough. We had a nice, long, loud 'discussion' about our "Food" issues and finally came to a compromise.

I would give him a small portion of the budget and he could pick whatever he wanted to cook, on the weekends.

At first, it was really hard for me to relinquish control of the kitchen. If you know me, you know I control the kitchen (among other things). But the payoff of not having to cook 3 days a week... well, it was kind of worth it. And so far, it hasn't been that tough to lay on the couch or play with the child while he slaves away... it has given me a perspective of what it must be like for him...the other 5 days of the week :)

He has done really well so far, making some fairly tasty (not all calorie conscious) meals. It has given him some sense of control while creating an opportunity to cook what he's really been craving. So for my "Not So Wordless Wednesday" post, I present you with a few snapshots of the last meal he created.... with a little help from Costco ;) It tasted wonderful as I was starving after teaching a class all day... Creamy pasta & garlic toast is the ultimate comfort food!

(And of course, a large salad to make me feel good about eating creamy pasta and bread.)

If you are lucky, maybe you can come have a weekend meal with us sometime!

We love visitors!!