Cute things my kid said, volume 2

Me: Griffin, why are you being so infuriating this morning?

Griffin: You're jealous.

Me: Bwah-hahahahahahahahahahaha!

******

(Griffin is standing on his chair, dancing around, while eating his cereal.)

Me: Griffin, can you please sit and eat your breakfast?

Griffin: Aw, c'mon buddy, you just gotta TRY this!

Me: Bwah-hahahahahahahahahahahaha!

(Sorry about the lack of...well...anything around here. These days I get home and walk right into a great big brick wall of tired, and have a hard time getting around it. Less than 8 weeks to go...)

Home Alone

I am home alone. Blissfully, totally alone (well, except for the dog.) No toddlers, no husbands, nothing but me.

Wow. I hardly know where to begin.

And thus, I blog!

I have a list. A list of things I want to do. Another list of things I really should do. My plan is to alternate between lists, one thing at a time, interspersed with hot chocolate, chai lattes, and naps.

I started the day by whipping up a batch of this Chai Tea Syrup. Oh my heck, is it yummy!

And now, I'm heading to my sewing room, for a thing I want to do - turning a whole bunch of really cute flannel into receiving blankets.

Look for me later, I'll likely be back, since I've no one else to talk to today!

Wordless Wednesday - It's beginning to look a lot like....

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming...

My body, my 3 year old and I are all recovering from the stupid time change. I'm hungry at all the wrong times. Kid is tired at all the wrong times, as well as awake at VERY wrong times. I'm driving home from work in the PITCH DARK.

Me no like.

Next year, can I please opt out?

Halloween

Well, we made it through a night of trick or treating, including collecting candy and handing out candy at Kendra's house, without a single piece of candy passing the lips of our little munchkin! (Who, incase you don't know, turns into the spawn of Satan when he eats sugar!)

The deal? We offered to trade him his bag of loot for a "new show" - ie: a new DVD, of his favourite series Samurai Jack.

Our little ruse worked. I get the candy, the kid gets a show, everyone wins!

We spent a delightful night in the big city, with Julia and family and Kendra and her gang....it's been a while since we've managed to gather all of us in the same place at once! We headed out for a bit of Halloween festivities with the kids, Griffin hit about 7 houses and suddenly decided he was done, and turned around and headed for home. I think he actually enjoyed answering the door at Kendra's more, and handing out candy to all the kids, instead of collecting it himself (generous guy that he is!)

For all our efforts last night, we were rewarded with an EXCELLENT night's sleep, until 7am...which was sadly really 6am with that blasted time change!

Hope everyone else had a delightful time too!

Well that changes things...

So I learned something today.

I learned that when you talk about length of labour, specifically with the midwives, and you say "my first labour was X hours long" that when they do that math, they don't count the first part. Hanging out at home, having contractions all day long? Doesn't count. They count the "active labour" time.

So, here I was thinking that we had a nice long labour last time around, and had nothing to worry about. Except those 10 hours that I spent labouring at home? Nope, we're not counting those. What we count is the time when things really picked up, till pop goes the baby.

The whole event is a little blurry for me, but the part that the midwife pointed out to me is the part where I went from 6cm to fully dilated to pushing to pop goes the baby in about, oh, 90 minutes. The part where we sent my mom home to get some rest, and she ended up missing the whole thing. The part where the second midwife arrived JUST in the nick of time to catch the baby.

So, if my first labour was any indication, we may be looking at a rather SPEEDY labour this time around. (Hopefully not as speedy as some people, granted, but still speedy!) A speedy labour at home, where the midwives are all travelling from at least a 1/2 hour away, in the dead of winter, and knowing our luck, likely in the middle of the night.

Good times.

So we get to have the "emergency chat." (I think they do it for all home births, but the midwife I saw today stressed it's importance this time around.) This is the chat where they sit down with the husband and say, "so if you're wife goes into labour, and we don't think we're going to make it on time, this is how to deliver a baby."

You should have seen Steve's face when I told him he had to have "the chat."

That being said, they also advise that if things aren't looking good for their arrival, you get your butt on the phone with 911, and hope that at least the paramedics arrive in time to catch the baby. And luckily, there is an ambulance depot here in town. And you may be thinking (as Steve was,) is it terribly wise to be planning a home birth under such conditions? The midwife assured me today that indeed it was, as having a baby at home with paramedics in your living room is much preferable to having a baby in the back seat of your car on the side of the highway, on the way to the hospital.

So. Speedy labour. Right. I think I can get on board with that.

Then again, I don't think I'll have much choice!

Fighting the good fight.

Steve came home sans incident on Sunday night, which is fantastic! Except he brought with him the plague, which is not. I spent the day in bed today, trying to beat whatever it is that feels like it's about to take over my body. I don't feel better, but I don't feel worse, so I figure I'm winning. I don't have the time or the energy (or the immune system for that matter) to be taken over by some mystery plague. So I battle. And maybe I disappear for a few days, in order to fight that battle. Because battles involve going to bed early. Very early. As in now.

G'night.

The road to naptime is paved with good intentions....

Today I tried everything possible to thwart a car nap.

I failed.

I KNEW we were going to be grocery shopping today. I wanted to go this morning, but my kid can not resist the lure of the moving car, and falls asleep every time. Problem is, the grocery store is only 20 minutes away, and a 20 minute nap is hardly my idea of long enough.

At 10:30am he came to me and said, "Mommy, I'm a little bit tired." Great, I thought! Nap time it is. I set him up with his chosen "quiet time" fodder (Pinocchio) and turned off the lights and closed the door. 45 minutes later he came paddling out of the bedroom.

"Mommy, I'm awake."

Humph. I see that.

At 11:45 he was asking for soup. So I stuffed him full, and said "how about quiet time now?"

"Will you come too?" he asked.

Hells yes! And off we toddled. An hour or so later, he came to me and said "Mommy, it's time to get up." I had a lovely nap. Him? He lasted about 20 minutes on the bed, and then snuck away. I heard him sneak away. I choose to ignore it. I was damn comfortable.

After his my naptime, I decided it was finally time to haul arse to the grocery store.

Kid? Asleep in less than 4 minutes. I timed it.

How I spent my Friday Night

One quilt. Started at 8:00pm. Finished (with the exception of hand stitching the binding) at 10:37. Just another wild night here in the big town!

Blustery Night

It is a very blustery day, shaping up to be a very blustery night. Inside and out.

It is the end of a long week here on the Roof. Griffin, fresh from a full week of school and daycare, is a red hot mess. He hasn't napped today. He slept in this morning (that's how I KNOW something is wrong.) He hasn't had a decent poop in a week. He is alternating between complaining about his belly hurting (that would be the no poop thing) and his tongue hurting (I have no idea what that's about.) I haven't the first clue about what to do with him, aside from put his cranky little butt to bed.

I came home and decided to sew. Griffin took offence to this, and won't let me be upstairs for more than 5 minutes before he starts screaming my name. Tonight, for once this week, he goes to bed and I stay up and have a little bit of me time. Yup, that's right, ME. All me. Complete with hot chocolate, candles, and sewing, rounded off with a cup of tea when I'm done sewing, and a book. Oh, and maybe even a bath!

Steve comes home this weekend, and is bringing with him a nasty cold that he's picked up in the past day, and a big bag of dirty laundry. But he's coming HOME, and that's all that really matters to me. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to our little family being all together again, for a long long while.

*****************
Took a little break there to put the kid to bed. After a massive battle involving pillow placement, that involved plenty of tears and a few well placed smacks to the arm (him, smacking me) Griffin took about 7.56 seconds to fall asleep. And that's my cue to sew. I may be back later with pictures to share - I plan on this little project taking a grand total of 2 hours.

Have a lovely evening!

Nearing the end

Apologies for the radio silence here. Steve is on his last leg of his cross country Odyssey, that seems to have been going on since early May. I'm at home, being 30 weeks pregnant, with a 3 year old and a dog, and just trying to stay afloat. I must confess, most nights every night since he's been gone this time around, I crawl into bed with the kid to read him a story, and since it's so damn hard to even roll my fat self out of bed these days, I don't even bother. Honestly, I've stopped even pretending that I'm going to get up again and when it's time for him to go to bed, I make sure things are ready for the morning before I even think of starting stories.

And now it's that time, so I bid you adieu. Or, lets be honest here, and I'll bid you goodnight.

It's so close to being over, and I SO can't wait to have my husband home for a good, long time!

Caution: Floor Unstable

I never had this feeling the first time around. But now, in this second pregnancy, some days I feel like all those muscles hanging around my pelvic floor just aren't up for the challenge this time around. Some days I'm walking around and feel like if I'm not careful, a baby just may fall out of me. My lower parts feel rickety - picture walking in an old barn with an old barnboard floor - you just never know when one of those suckers may give in. Yep, that's how things feel down there these days. Do they make fall arrest systems for uteruses? (And what the heck is the plural of uterus anyway? Uteri?) Anyway, they should.

The midwife who poked and prodded me the other day thinks Cheeseball is head down. And I would tend to agree, because it kind of feels like I'm walking around with a small watermelon between my legs. A watermelon that just may come crashing to the floor any second, which is why I sit as much as possible. Or stand with my legs crossed. Or even better, lay down. With pie.

11 more weeks, eh? I'm too certain how I feel about that. Considering that just about EVERYTHING, from mac and cheese to organic Green and Blacks chocolate is giving me heartburn now, I really don't see why we should carry on this charade that much longer. Well, except for the baby's sake...I suppose it really is about the baby now, isn't it. Damn...when did it stop being all about me?

Humph.

Growing Up

Can I tell you something? Something I almost can't believe? (Something that I'm a little afraid to even mention for fear of jinxing it?)

After 3 years and one month on this planet, my son, my beautiful mischievous charming son has finally found it within himself, to fall asleep all on his own. Nobody snuggling next to him until he's sound asleep. He just does it. We read 3 books. We snuggle for 10 minutes or so, and talk about our respective days. And then I kiss him and squeeze him tight, say goodnight, tell him I love him one more time ("I wuv you too Mommy") and away I go.

And he falls asleep. Just like that.

Some part of me knew this day would come. A tiny part of me thought it never would. A big part of me really hoped it came before I had two munchkins to put to bed at night.

And here we are.

Tonight, he even ASKED to go to bed. It was 6:45. He said "it's your turn, Mommy?" (Daddy and I take turns putting him to bed.) I said yes, but told him he had about a half an hour to play with his toys before it was bed time. "No, I wanna go bed now."

Um....ok!

And off we went.

I'm so proud of the little turkey for finally figuring this out. For getting past whatever it was that made him hold onto us so tightly until he just couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. At the same time, I'm a little sad...my baby is growing up, right before my eyes.

But, just in time to be the best big brother a little cheeseball ever had!

Out of my control

When I sat down to write yesterdays post, what I really wanted to write about is the fact that I'm a stressbucket. And then I thought to myself: "Get over it. You just had a lovely long (sort of) weekend with a cute kid, and it's Thanksgiving, so be thankful for a few minutes and post some happy pictures." And then I actually listened.

But now?

It's not Thanksgiving anymore, and I'm still a stressbucket, so tonight I'm going to tell you about it.

The major cause of stress in my life?

In approximately 11 weeks, give or take, I am having a baby. That's not the stressful part. Babies I can do. I've done it before. However, we are planning a homebirth, and I have NO IDEA where that home is going to be! It could be this home. It could be the one we've mostly purchased, conditional on the sale of this house, which, as you can guess, still belongs to us!

Friends, I am a planner. I am a WAAAY ahead planner. If I knew we were staying put for the next few months, I'd be digging out the newborn clothes and the change table and the cloth diapers and all the other stuff that babies need. I'd be washing, I'd be sorting, I'd be quelling all the stuff we don't need and looking for stuff to fill the holes in our stock. But as it stands, I am terrified to even go near our basement storage area. It's like Pandora's Box down there, except Pandora's Box is buried under mountains of other shit that has been removed from other parts of our house - the stuff real estate agents refer to as "clutter."

However, I DON'T actually know that we're staying put. In fact, if this house sells, which it still certainly could, and which is really the desired outcome of all this, we could be MOVING sometime in the next 10 weeks. (Which, of course, would be entirely it's own bucket of stress, but at least then there would be a goal, an end in sight.)

It's funny, whenever I have taken the time to envision this birth, it happens in the new house. But as the time draws nearer, and the house still isn't ours, it gets harder and harder to do that. I've been doing some hypno-birthing research, but I just can not commit to it in my head until I can set the scene that goes along with all the other visualizations. Its REALLY hard to make plans, to see this come to fruition in my mind when I don't know where it all will take place.

Aside from the baby, there's all the other shit that comes with this. If we're going to be here for the winter, we should start thinking about putting up the snow fence, and the driveway markers, and getting the snowblower put onto the tractor and the tractor tuned up. We should put the door on the greenhouse. Swap out the storm windows. Blah blah blah. Except all that? Can't do it by my fat pregnant self, and since the husband it out of town at the moment, my only choice is to sit here and stress about it.

In life, there are things we can control, and things we can't. I can control what I eat for dinner, and today I chose popcorn. I LIKE being in control. I don't deal well, at all, with the things that are out of my control, and this my friends?

This is one of them.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Well, we've been celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend up here in the great white north. Saturday was the only nice day weather-wise, with some sun, and not so much wind that you had to hang onto everything that you didn't want blown away. (Remember last year, when we were on the beach in our short sleeves, or the year before, when it was THIRTY degrees all weekend?) I had to work on Saturday, but Steve and Griffin joined me for the morning, which made it seem much less like work.Saturday when we got home, we had plans to cook our Thanksgiving dinner, as Steve had to work on Sunday. However, we arrived home at 4 and only then did we get started on dinner. At 7pm, for fear of a major meltdown, we fed the kid a grilled cheese and put him to bed, and at 8pm we finally sat down to our dinner. The pregnant lady was almost ready to keel over by then.

Also when we got home at 4pm, I got started on the ONE THING I had it in my head that I was going to accomplish this weekend - an apple pie, from scratch, crust and all....my first one ever. Anywho, I think it turned out OK, don't you?Yesterday the wind kicked up and it was darn near freezing outside. That didn't stop us from a little country hike to pick some apples. Now there's another huge pile of apples, waiting to find out their fate. I think these are going to get sauced.Today, (I must say, against my better judgement,) we headed out to a local Pumpkin Patch. It was still chilly, but not quite as frigid as yesterday.

The last time I was at this "little farm" it was about 5 years ago. Way back then, one could wander freely around, look at the animals, play on the stuff, and so on. Unfortunately, the farm has become increasingly popular in the last five years, and now it's a zoo, complete with a cop stopping traffic on the not so sleepy country road so people could cross from the overflow parking lot. They've also commercialized the crap out of it, and now in order to get to the area with the animals and the corn maze and all the other "fun stuff" you have to fork out ten bucks a person.

We said no thanks, content to roll around in the free pumpkins (and drink $2 hot chocolate!) instead.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend too!