Canada Day Celebrations

The church we go to has never had a building of it's own. We have always rented spaces. We have recently built a building that is nearly finished. It has been an exciting thing. I think it is so cool that we will be able to tell our kids that our financial contribution actually helped to build our church building. Anyway, it is located at the top of a hill which is a perfect location to watch the fireworks from.



So last night they had a big celebration with lots to do and it was open to anyone who wanted to come. There was quite a good turn out despite the fact that the mosquitoes far out numbered the people.

Here are some of the photos.

Balloon Animals



Face Painting

(It's serious business.)




Bouncy Castle

(Patriotically)



Peek a Boo

Happiness Is...

Eating watermelon on the couch.



Corn on the cob.



Sleeping in.



Swimming with your cousin in the backyard.



Being done work.



Watching a movie and eating popcorn.

Not to Worry

I just wanted to make sure that none of you were worrying about me or wondering where I am. Just busy. This is my final work week and I am going in every. single. day. because of graduation. I made two lovely young ladies even more beautiful yesterday and then I was pampered. I had a facial and a pedicure. Hurray. It was so nice.

I am still trying to get things ready. Wow. It's so much harder to do with a 2 1/2 year old running around. If it's at all possible she is getting even MORE entertaining. The other day when her dad was attempting to put some shoes on she didn't want to because "Her toes didn't remember these shoes." Uh huh. Okay. Next it will be "My body doesn't remember this bed." To which I'd say "Let's get them reacquainted."

I have been feeling strange. Feeling some things I don't remember feeling with A. Little pains and stuff. And I'm feeling more nauseous again and sometimes I get sick. (Still! When will it end?) It's freaking me out a bit to be honest and it's making me get my butt in gear and really get everything ready. This baby? It is STRONG! When it moves sometimes, I wince. Like, ow! That's different too.

So I'm sure I'll write again once I'm finished work and get everything else ready. Until then... I'm pretty sure I won't be around. Until then...

It's Here!

No! Not the baby! Then I would have written 'She's Here!' or 'He's Here!'. No, the chair. The chair is here. See.




*I'd just like to say right now that my husband is the best because in that shot of me in the chair, he took it from above while he was on a chair because he thought it would be 'a more flattering angle'. And upon viewing the other shots taken from the floor... ugh. I totally agree. Thank you sweet husband!

And doesn't it look so comfortable? It is. I am so happy that it has arrived. One more thing ready. Next would be actually getting some baby clothes washed and put away. Yeah, that would be a good one.

Yesterday I had house cleaners come in. This is the first time I have ever experienced this. My coworkers had pitched in when I broke my ankle and bought me a gift certificate for five hours of cleaning. Since my mom was doing such a fabulous job of keeping the house in line I didn't bother using it until now.

Let me just say that it is very weird having people coming into your house to clean it. And weird to watch them clean things. The one girl polished my tea pot cover...

In preparation for their arrival I ran around like a nutcase getting things ready. What's the point, you ask? Well, I was mostly organizing and de-cluttering. And I HIGHLY recommend doing this for optimum satisfaction when having cleaners come in. I only used up 2 1/2 hours of the certificate and they'll be coming back soon for the remainder of the time. They did a great job but they didn't get to some of the things that I thought they would. Perhaps too much time spent polishing tea pot lids...

Also. I could NOT do this job. I am FAR to obsessive and would take WAY longer than I should to do my tasks. What I would do, I would do most excellently but I would still be fired for not knowing how to say on schedule.

So my house is mighty clean right now. And organized. And I'm trying not to be a total drill sergeant to Miss A and her dad. "Hey, pick that watermelon up off the carpet!" "Does this paper go in the recycling now?" It's just... I know how quickly things can get out of hand. Again. And I just want to try really hard to keep it this way at least until the baby arrives. Because after that... I know that nothing will stay this way.

Happy Father's Day and YouTubesday

I meant to write this amazing Father's Day post. I did. But as you can see it didn't really happen. A lot of my energy is going into 'nesting' these days. Or thinking about all the things I want to get done before this baby comes. But I think he still feels appreciated. Miss A and I made him a homemade card, I made Bacon and Eggs for brunch and he received a new guitar case and a 'Weed Eater' as gifts. I also took Miss A out on a shopping excursion so that he was free to nap, play, work, or whatever. What did he do? Mowed the lawn and played with the new 'Weed Eater'. I was pleased that he had fun and enjoyed his gift so much. He is such a great dad and he deserved a great day!

And now... I have been so obsessed with 'Twilight' lately that any youtubes I've put up always seem to be related to that. Not today. Yet another thing that I am so excited about and I don't have to wait as long for...



Chills anyone? (I mean Fans of course.)

And because I enjoyed THAT so much I enjoyed this also. Because it's silly. And wonderful. And hilarious.

A Lesson in Knowing When to Shut Your Mouth

So you are at the mall minding your own business when someone you know walks by. You turn excitedly to say "Hello" and realize that you don't actually know this girl. She smiles at you and asks you if you thought you knew her. You sheepishly tell her yes and instead of going on minding your own business you begin to walk alongside this girl and her young toddler who she's pushing in a shopping cart. You talk to the toddler in a goofy voice and she stares at you while sipping on her smoothie. You notice the girl is rather pregnant. You make some dumb remark about your observation. Then you start to ramble on about how your own daughter was married on the weekend and how you are so tired and happy that you took Monday off. The girl nods politely and you notice she looks tired too. Of course she does. She's pregnant and she has a small child as well. You decide to carry on your own way and continue going straight as they begin to turn the corner towards the grocery store.

THIS IS THE POINT WHERE YOU SHOULD WAVE GOODBYE AND NOT SAY ANOTHER WORD. THE WHOLE CONVERSATION HAS ALREADY BEEN REALLY STRANGE AND AWKWARD. THE GIRL HAS REALLY BEEN RATHER POLITE AND UNDERSTANDING CONSIDERING YOU DON'T ACTUALLY KNOW HER AT ALL. YOU DEFINITELY SHOULDN'T SAY WHAT YOU ARE THINKING FOR MANY REASONS BUT MAINLY BECAUSE YOU ARE A MAN AND HAVE NEVER CARRIED A CHILD. SO DON'T SAY IT, OKAY? DON'T. REALLY. DON'T.

"Are you having twins?"

YOU SAID IT.

"No."

And the girl's back is turned to you so you can't see her expression. You hope she isn't too offended. It was an honest mistake wasn't it? I mean, Wow! What a belly! Oh well.

*Peter took this picture on Sunday night. Does it look like I'm having twins to you? (If your answer is yes, I don't want to know.)

What a Weekend

What is more crazy than taking your toddler to a fair when you are nine months pregnant? Please tell me because I can't think of anything... Actually, we brought my wonderful niece along for help and without her I'm sure we would have had a miserable time. One extra person to reason with the crazy one. We had a lot of conversations with her while she was screaming at the top of her lungs "Why are you crying? Do you not want to go on this ride? You do? Okay, then relax. We just have to wait our turn." Here is a photo example. She was calmer by this point but can you see the crazed look in her eyes. An easy way to tell that this was later on is by noting the caramel blobs on her jacket.



I took a million pictures while we were there and I didn't catch one decent expression on her face. She was truly thrilled and smiling almost constantly but she was almost never looking at the camera and when I tried to get her to she was thoroughly uninterested. How frustrating. When we ask her what her favorite ride was she says "Horsies" which is surprising to me because it's the slowest, shortest and least interesting. She seemed to love the 'scarier' rides the most, smiling and laughing the whole time.






Once she got the hang of having to wait in line she really seemed to enjoy herself. On this ride I tried to put her in just any jeep and she requested 'the purple one'. Wow.



And in unrelated news. Yesterday, she was coloring her hand black with a marker. When I asked her to stop and explained that we don't color on ourselves she cried and explained that she wanted to be a kitty. What a lot of coloring she would have had to do! This was our solution which seemed to satisfy her.

YouTubesday

Yet another Twilight obsessed YouTube. It was shown at the MTV movie awards. 58 seconds is FAR too short. The video may be taken down within the day though.

Come on

I think of myself as a nice person. A person who doesn't have unrealistic expectations. I'm reasonable. I don't just go around freaking out on people when things don't go my way. But sometimes I think if I was more inclined to be that way, dumb things wouldn't keep happening to me.

When I was expecting Miss A we ordered her bedroom furniture in what I thought was plenty of time. Apparently, I should have allowed more time. I was told to expect it would be a much longer wait than I'd originally thought. So, I was stressed until the furniture finally came. I mean, of course we would have been okay if it didn't but being the planner - anal retentive person that I am, I just wanted to have her room all set up.

As I mentioned in my last post, we really don't have anything much to do this time. Except... I ordered a chair. A glorious chair. The kind of chair that is going to make many sleepless nights much more bearable. I expect to be spending A LOT of time in this chair. I ordered it in the middle of April. That should have allowed an ample amount of time for it to arrive before July, don't you think? But no.



I received a phone call yesterday telling me that they are estimating it will be here at the END of July. Much later than I'd originally been told. I was so disappointed and frustrated that it came across rather clearly to this nice woman I'd been dealing with. It totally isn't her fault. It is a problem with the manufacturers of the chair. Still, that doesn't make it any less annoying. So it's likely not going to arrive before the baby comes. I know it will get here eventually but it just makes me sad. It's the ONE THING I wanted to have before the baby arrives.

Who knows, maybe a miracle with happen and it will still get here on time. We'll have to wait and see.

In the meantime, here is a new profile picture. The other one was terribly old...

Countdown

Well, it's a little more than a month until this baby is due. Wow. I really can't believe it. I keep trying to imagine what it will be like having two. Of course, that's all I can do. Imagine. That's what I did before we had A. And what I imagined? It wasn't even close. It was so much harder than I'd thought it would be. I think I have adjusted my thinking this time and I may be closer to knowing what it will be like... but still I'm sure it will be so much more challenging than I'm imagining this time as well.



Daily things are getting progressively more difficult. I keep looking at my flower beds wishing I could spend time in them to make them look pretty. I keep reminding myself that this is only for a short while longer (and the last time). Miss A is going through a really frustrating stage right now where she totally flakes out sometimes and refuses to walk, insisting that I carry her. For anyone who might say "Just make her walk!" I say to you "Ha! YOU make her walk." If I waited for her to decide to walk I would seriously be there ALL DAY. And the whole walk away saying "See you later." doesn't work either. She's very likely to bolt and with the combination of this belly and stiff ankle - I would NEVER catch her. She'd be gone. So what do I do? I carry her. I keep picturing my water breaking as I'm lifting her up. Wouldn't that be lovely.

There are a lot of things I still want to do before the baby arrives. Yet, it seems so much more low key than the last time. There was no getting a room ready. No buying furniture. (Well, we're getting a fancy rocking chair but no baby furniture.) Mostly what I need to do is find the baby stuff and get it washed as well. And empty out a dresser from downstairs so we can bring it up and fill it up with baby clothes. That's it.

Still, I'm procrastinating. I'm sure I'd be more motivated if I was finished work. But I'm not. I'll be working until the end of the month. And working hard. Because all of my lovely clients (and I do mean that) are desperate to get in for that final appointment before I go. And I want to see them too. I'll also be doing some graduation hair.

So. I'm tired. I'm stressed. I'm nervous. But you know, I'm here.

Weekend

Well, our weekend is over. I hate looking so forward to something because the disappointment when it's all over is nearly crushing...

We had a really, really nice time. We didn't take many pictures because we stayed in the same cabin as last year and I posted the photos here.

So I guess I captured some key moments, like this one when we first arrived. (We don't look a bit thrilled to be kid free for the weekend do we?)


And of course, we had to document the major difference in my appearance from last year...


And then I took a photo from our last day. This is the lovely bath I prepared for myself with tea and a book to enjoy.


Our first night we had beautiful weather. I was even able to get in the pool and swim some laps which felt great. Much different than swimming at the YMCA. There was blue sky and trees and nature to look at instead of concrete walls. We had a BBQ and then watched a couple of movies. I just have to say "I am Legend" So. Good. Wow. I was super tense through most of it though and had to take several breathers to calm down. I also cried an awful lot. Also, Will Smith is a highly underrated actor. There were moments in this film when he simply blew me away.

The following day it rained. And rained. And rained some more. When we were going to bed I'm pretty sure it was sleeting actually. It didn't matter though. We slept in... for the first time in... such a long time. And since we didn't have to get up with a child in the night it wasn't the kind of sleeping in that is the result of being overtired. It was pure, sweet, extra sleep. We read books. We watched crappy television. (Rock the Cradle) We went out for a nice meal. We watched more movies. We went to bed early.

And then today we had to come home.

It was amazing just to have a break from putting Miss A to bed. It was nice to have a holiday from the responsibility. To just be the two of us.

Yet, at the same time we missed her and kept quoting her the entire time we were away. We looked so forward to seeing her. When we arrived at my sister's to pick her up I couldn't stop staring at her. I was amazed by every word she said. I highly recommend spending some time away from your kids sometimes. It really does make you appreciate them in the most incredible way.

It was also nice to hear that she was an absolute ANGEL for my sister and her family. She slept, she ate, she even napped one day! She had everyone wrapped around her finger. Of course this means that from now on my sister will NEVER believe me when I complain about her being a crazy child and the fact that she makes me think I'm losing my mind sometimes... Then again, she does have kids too so maybe she'll believe me after all.

Anyway, it was a nice break. And now we buckle down for the hard stuff that is on it's way. Like... soon...

Random Tales

Miss A had her first wood tick yesterday. It was in her hair right by her temple. Ick! I discovered it while putting her in her car seat. I was very brave, removed it and inciner

I think this will be my only post for the week. I'm too busy getting ready for and being excited about the coming weekend. We are going here again. Normally, we wouldn't be going away this way two years in a row but with the new baby coming who knows when we'll have our next opportunity. Miss A is terribly excited about going to stay with her cousins so it's also a guilt free trip!

This is A's favorite new playground to visit. She refers to it as "the red park".



According to this sign she is too young to play there.



She doesn't seem to think so.





Also, I'm growing.



And this is my new favorite song.

The Many Faces of A

Miss A's new favorite game is to make faces. She tells us to "Be MAD!!!" "Be SAD!!" "Be HAPPY!!" And she does the same. Here are her faces...

SAD



HAPPY



MAD (My personal favorite, but only when she's playing around)

Different

Yesterday we went to have some pictures taken. Maternity photos. You know the ones I mean. They are sweet, artsy photos of the belly and it's family. We did them when I was pregnant with Miss A and they are quite lovely. The end result a three picture collage hangs in her bedroom.

This time it was decidedly more... difficult. I had visions of how wonderful it would be to have photos of the three of us and the belly. I was kicking myself afterwards for not preparing myself for what actually did happen. Because, after all, I know my child. It wasn't that long ago that we had this experience.

So yeah, Miss A was SO not interested in getting her picture taken despite every persuasion we could think of including putting stickers on the 'baby'. We managed to get two (TWO!) shots with her in them. And who knows if they'll be any good. We also took some with just Peter and I because, well, at least we were cooperating.

I'm sure they will be fine but I couldn't help being a bit disappointed. I hate it when situations arise and I find myself wishing that A could just be - different. (Like maybe, not climbing all over the photography props instead of posing with us for a few photos for pete's sake!!!) If only I could have just had Lynanne come over to take a few shots. I'm sure she would have been able to work miracles!

And then later when we were curled up on the couch together I felt guilty for ever wishing she was different. She wouldn't be her if she just posed nicely for the pictures. She'd be a totally different kid. And I love her, spunk and all.

Growing Girl and a Growing Mama

Hmmm. Not much to say really. Just some photos.

YouTubesday

EEEEK!!!


Twilight

Frequently Requested Beverages

A Smoofie or a Milkshape.

Neighborly

Remember our noisy neighbors? Well, I finally chatted with them. Well, the woman anyway. We simply got acquainted at first and then when I felt the time was right I explained that our bedroom windows were right by their driveway and the door that they use the most. The door that their inebriated guests stand outside to smoke and curse and be generally obnoxious. Okay, I didn't say THAT. I did say that when they sometimes had company we could hear them quite clearly speaking loudly late at night. She apologized and said she did try to remind their friends to keep it down.

All in all it was a pleasant and productive conversation. Since then there has only been one incident and it was totally tame and tolerable.

Today they have landscapers ripping apart their driveway and yard. I am excited that the space between our two homes will likely be much more attractive and even have my hopes up that they may also put up a nice fence. The existing one is small and rickety and also has nails poking out of it along our side of the yard.

I am thinking that we may be able to peacefully coexist after all. How nice.

YouTubesday

I should just start calling this 'Twilight Day' instead. Sigh. Enjoy!

Precious

Tonight I am attending the memorial of one of my clients. Cancer stole her life from her too early. Her daughter, also a client of mine, is my age. Her daughter is not yet married and has no children. I can't help but think that her mother will never see her get married and never see the children she may one day have. And she will never be able to call her mother to ask her those questions we all have for our mothers about our kids.

I can only begin to fathom how difficult this must be. Thinking about not having my mother in my life makes me feel like I'm suffocating. And yet, I know that one day she will be gone. It makes me appreciate every single thing she does for me and my family and every precious moment we spend together.

The Best and the Worst

The best things Miss A is doing right now.

-Saying "Bless you!" when people sneeze. (I personally am doing a lot of this right now due to allergy season.) This evening she called "Bless you!" all the way from the living room while I was doing dishes in the kitchen and sneezed. My heart went all warm and fuzzy.

-Pretending. Especially pretend picnics and tea parties.

-Saying "Thank you" without being reminded.

The worst things. (This list might be longer than the first...)

-Not sleeping well.

-Sometimes refusing to do even the simplest things. Example: Putting on her jacket and shoes even when she WANTS to go where we are going.

-Screaming "Don't say DAT!"

-In general, being difficult about almost everything.

I'll stop there because I don't want to dwell on the negative. There's always good and bad in everything right?

Did I Mention...

How much I miss naps? Not naps of my own (I'm not much of a napper) but I really wish Miss A still took them. Especially since she's been getting up a lot at night these days, which I hope is due to the cutting of two year molars and not just a habit she's getting into. Last night at around 4:00 am she called from bed "I need Dada to take me to the Doctor!"

The previous night was actually worse and then we were out of town the following day and I managed four hours of driving, miraculously without even the urge to fall asleep at the wheel. I did however have what I call a 'fatigue headache'. So actually, I could go for a nap these days. Unfortunately, I seem to be the only tired one. We settle for quiet time on the couch together. I take what I can get.

YouTubesday

It took great restraint not to post this as soon as I found it. I have personally watched it... let us just say 'several' times. It is the closest thing to a trailer that exists up until now. Enjoy.

What a Bad Idea

Yesterday Peter and I took Miss A to something called 'The Preschool Wellness Fair'. The purpose is to screen vision, hearing, development and speech/language. And the kids also get a free nutritious snack! Sounds great, right? That's what I thought until we walked in the door. It was pretty much chaos from the very beginning. While I sat down to register her she and Peter were running up and down a nearby ramp. I had dragged Peter to this thing pretty much upon his arrival home from work so he hadn't even had a chance to unwind.

The first (and only) screening we did was speech/language. They had a special room for this and outside the room was a few chairs and a very few toys. Trying to convince Miss A that we should stay in this area was an impossibility. She found the stairs at the end of the corridor which she wanted to 'explore'. I told the people at the desk where we'd be when it was our turn. I felt guilty because my poor husband was pretty much souly responsible for chasing after A since I am still pretty gimpy and this big (massive, huge, enormous) belly doesn't help either.

When it was finally our turn we pretty much had to drag her, crying, away from the stairs and tell her "Come on, we're going to do something fun." We were all supposed to sit at this little table and A was to look at pictures and tell us what they were. Yeah. Right. A table full of toys just behind us was WAY more interesting. I apologized to the girl and told her I was going to get the free snack and see if that would help. It did, a bit. It's always helpful to screen speech and language when you have a mouthful of crackers. When she finally settled down to answer she did great. Except for a part with a small basket and boat. She was asked to put the boat 'in' the basket. No problem. Under, beside, behind? All went 'in' the basket too. Whatever.

The vision screening (which we've basically already done) was in a huge room with tons of play areas. There were craft tables, playdough tables, car ramps, tunnels, you name it. We waited for at least a half an hour until it was our turn. A was happy to play so it wasn't so bad. But when it was her turn... forget it. No way. It was at that point we decided to leave.

All in all it was a pretty frustrating experience. I'm not totally sure what went wrong. I think it may have been a combination of things. I guess A was a bit young. But since she's supposed to be going to Preschool this fall I thought it was a good thing to do. The layout of the 'fair' is a bit overwhelming. Hard for a kid like ours to want to actually do something structured when there is SO MUCH COOL STUFF EVERYWHERE! I don't know. I was very thankful for Peter who somehow managed to keep it together as I was progressively losing it.

I know it's dumb but if I'm really honest with myself I'm disappointed because I know Miss A is really bright and I wanted to see her do well at all of the screenings. The thing is, I already KNOW she's bright. I don't really need proof. This whole thing was probably more of a learning experience for me than anything. At least now I can't say I don't know what that whole thing is about. Maybe we'll try again next year and maybe it won't be such a total bust.

Oh Brother

I seem to be saying that a lot these days. It's funny how we (well, I do) adopt new sayings at different times. And obviously these sayings become 'cleaner' once we have children. And once those children listen to every. word. you. say. and can repeat it clearly.

I have reached the 'really pregnant' stage. I think I may need to remove my wedding rings soon. I only noticed yesterday that I'm feeling a tad puffy in the hands and the rings are getting a bit snug. I've been getting all those ignorant comments from people that seem to come during the last few months of a pregnancy.

"You're going to be HUGE by July!"

"You've still got a long way to go!" *Translation: You're going to be HUGE by July!

"You look like you could have that baby RIGHT NOW!"

Thanks. Thank you all. Because there is nothing better than feeling like you are pretty enormous and then having those feelings confirmed by the inconsiderate comments of mere acquaintances. This is a down side to my job. I see a lot of people. And for some reason those people are fascinated by this sort of thing. And because they don't know me well, (other people's clients anyway) they feel they can say almost anything to me. No matter how stupid.

On Saturday we had a Birthday get together for Peter. Before heading over to our friend's house we stopped by Dairy Queen to pick up a cake. I had worked all day and then spent the remainder of the afternoon and early evening making snacks for the party. As we walked up to get in line at DQ I was both waddling a bit and limping because my ankle was sore and I really needed to get off my feet. This lady who works at my bank was already standing in line. I noticed she was chuckling at me. I flat out asked her if she was laughing at me. She said "No, not at you." Hmmm. Sure. What was so funny? The fact that a very pregnant girl, who was having difficulty walking was in line for ice cream? Don't I deserve ice cream? I mean, I'm carrying around this kid, who is kicking the crap out of my insides and making me want to pee every five minutes. Carrying it around on an ankle that was operated on a mere four months ago and continues to swell and be uncomfortable, perhaps even more as this child grows bigger. Don't I deserve a little something for all my trouble? Or should I go home and have some celery sticks so I don't balloon up further thus causing myself more difficulty walking? Grrr. Rant over.

My brain is also turning to mush. This has really been obvious to me in the past week. It's so frustrating because I know what I mean to say but what actually comes out of my mouth is all wrong. My coworkers seem to find it amusing and I try to be good natured. What is the point of being upset?

I am happy to say that Miss A seems to be past her days of not wanting to have her picture taken. She is now happy to pose for a photo. I took this one last week and when I looked at it I began laughing to the point of tears... it just struck me as funny. When I showed her she began laughing as well (probably because I was) and so we sat and laughed together about what a silly girl she is.

YouTubesday

These are the the kinds of videos that brighten my day and make me feel excited like a teenage girl again...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAPA D!!!

Today is my lovely husband's Birthday. Unfortunately, we won't be seeing much of each other because he works until 3:45, we kiss at the door and then I work until 9:00(ish). Miss A and I made a treat for us/him. Also, I thought the picture diary would be a cute present he could check out from work. Almost as good as spending the day with us.

This one was taken last night actually. Miss A was so pooped that she tipped out of her chair and crashed on the floor. It's a cute one of both of them.



And here are our cookie making adventures.









And as you can see Miss A is holding a special Birthday cookie with a candle in it!



We love you Papa D!

The Sun Has Gone to Bed (and so must I)

So Miss A has this new thing she's doing. Often when going up or down stairs she stops and says she needs to do "The Sun". At first I didn't know what the HECK she was talking about until she started going up on her bum and singing the song seen here and especially seen at 2:24. It's official, I've given birth to the strangest and cutest kid ever. I wonder what the next one will be like.

Thank Goodness and a Belly

I have managed to get Miss A into the tub twice in a row using the same method. First of all I run the bath without her even knowing, therefore we avoid the protest before we even attempt to get her in. Then I make a heart on the wall with the finger paint soap and also put a small puddle on the side of the bath. Then I lead her to the bathroom to reveal the bathroom paradise. We now have NO toys in the bath except "Baby Anna" and a wash cloth both of which she keeps VERY close tabs on. We usually spend the first part of the bath with A washing baby and me washing her. Then at some point she wants the baby and anything else out so the tub in completely empty. She then proceeds to lay on her tummy, submerge her face and blow bubbles. As I said before, her fear is definitely NOT of the water. Anyhow, I am so relieved and happy to have finally found a way for her to be comfortable with bathing again. I can tell that the same concerns are still there so I just try to be very sensitive and careful not to do anything that would upset her.





And since I always bug everyone I know to post or send pictures of their growing belly... Here is mine. The expression I have in this picture is very odd, Not sure why.

Better but Not Back to Normal

Just an update for those of you who might be wondering how we are doing over here...

Things have been... better. Not better enough to get rid of the sick feeling I have been carrying around in the pit of my stomach or the urge to cry all the time. (The later may have something to do with pregnancy hormones too.)

I appreciate all the feedback and good wishes more than any of you could possibly know.

I have wondered myself if she is more aware of this pregnancy and it's future implications and aftermath that I have given her credit for.

And I also would not be surprised if this could be fall out from the whole ankle breaking fiasco. Really, she coped amazingly well at the time, perhaps she is just allowing herself to react now that things are back to 'normal'.

I do hope it is a phase that is over quickly. My heart has been breaking when I see her behave in ways that seem so opposite to her usual self. It is something I can't seem to stop thinking and worrying about. Which does no good at all other that to give myself an ulcer but I can't seem to cut it out.

Anyhow, I will write again soon. I am hoping that it will be to say that things have settled down.

Issues

Okay. We are having issues. There's the bath phobia thing. Then this weekend Miss A had what I think you'd call a 'Night Terror'. It was SO scary! She woke up and when I tried the usual stuff that I do when this happens she started to freak out and scream and writhe and kick. She seemed afraid of me, she hid in the corner of the room and when she'd look at me she'd scream. No matter what I said I couldn't calm her down. Eventually, I left the room and called for Peter's help. I began sobbing uncontrollably because I just couldn't believe what was happening. Peter was somehow able to pick her up and soothe her and then we sat together in the living room for a while watching a show to make sure she was calmed down. She seemed fine all of a sudden and kept asking "Mama feel better?" She went back to bed relatively easily and slept the rest of the night without a problem. It took me a long time to go back to sleep since I was so freaked out by the whole ordeal. Has anyone else experienced this or anything like it?

We also seem to be struggling with eating right now. Like, not in a picky way. In a, I don't want to eat anything kind of way. She's nibbling on stuff but she really doesn't want to have anything to do with sitting down and eating a meal. This is SO not her. She is the girl who loves to eat. Who eats bizarre things. Who has a huge appetite.

And then there's the crying. Everything seems to make her cry these days. She's just really not herself. I would describe her as miserable actually. With very brief sunshiny moments. Not nearly enough sunshiny moments these days.

So I don't know. I'm feeling pretty down about all of this. I keep thinking about how I will deal with this stuff when I have a new baby to deal with as well. I know I will be lacking the patience I need to handle this stuff. To be honest I'm lacking the patience now. My belly is getting bigger and more in the way all the time and it makes it difficult to wrestle with a very strong toddler. I'm feeling a bit like I'm treading water and my legs are slowly turning to lead.

YouTubesday

This is a fake trailer for a real movie coming out in December. I was just screwing around on Youtube and found it. I thought it was so incredibly well done and splices together footage of the actual actors who have been cast in the movie. I would never take the time to do something like this myself but I am enough of a geek to appreciate it when someone else does.

Potty Tales

Wow! This potty training thing is tough. It's been happening gradually for several months. My goal is to have A trained before the baby comes. Also, she is starting preschool in September and must be trained by then or she won't be able to start.

I don't know why I wasn't expecting it to be hard. I guess because several months ago she sat on the potty and went #1 and #2 without batting an eye. It gave me a false sense of security. Then there was the whole breaking my ankle thing. Potty training during that time was pretty much not happening. So now we've been back on track. We've tried just switching to big girl panties but... the laundry... with the still sore ankle... was too much. So we're doing the pull ups thing. Which sometimes seems pointless sometimes. I try to talk to her and explain that she needs to tell me when she needs to go. When I ask her if she needs to go she won't. And I don't want to make her. We have good treats for when she does go and when she does go she seems very excited and proud of herself.

So. Maybe I'm just impatient. It's happening. Just not as easily as I hoped. What else is new? Really.

Unreasonable?

The driveway and main door of our neighbors home happens to run right alongside both ours and Miss A's bedroom windows. This is unfortunate for many reason. Especially in the winter when people need to let their vehicles run to warm up.

Last summer new neighbors moved in. I'm not sure what the living arrangement is. If it's a young couple or if the girl or guy own the house and are renting a room out to the other. We have tried to be friendly but they don't seem very interested.What has really been bugging me lately is that they seem to frequently have people over on weekends. The problem? Their guests smoke outside the door.

Sidenote: Having grown up with parents who drank alcohol on a regular basis as well as hosted many drunken gatherings I am familiar with how ingesting a fair amount of alcohol affects your ability to judge how loudly you are speaking. I spent many nights of my childhood laying awake for hours in bed listening to the boisterous voices of my parents and many of their 'friends'.

Having explained my prior expertise in this area I think it's fair to say with much certainty that my neighbors guests are under the influence while standing outside my window. They proceed to 'talk' which is actually yelling. This happened on the weekend waking me up at 2:30 AM. I think this is ridiculous. On another occasion several guests were leaving and I suspect they were all heading to the bar. They must have stood outside shouting back and forth to one another for at least 15 minutes before they finally left.

Is it unreasonable for me to expect more from our neighbors? Is it too much to ask that they are quiet after 11:00? I'm not talking about unavoidable noise such as vehicles coming and going or doors opening and closing. I'm talking about the yelling. Yelling at all hours of the night. So far they haven't ever woken Miss A up in the night. I think that might be grounds to go outside and play the bitchy neighbor role.

I keep thinking about the best and most non confrontational way to deal with this. I'm not sure it's such a good idea to deal with it in the heat of the moment when we are angry and they are intoxicated. That situation has the potential to even be dangerous. I'm thinking about putting a polite note in their mailbox explaining my view. Perhaps they don't even realize how obnoxious their friends are being. The pessimist in me tells me they won't care and they'll just blow it off and then things will be even more unpleasant. I just don't know. What would you do?