Our silent white god, oh we love you!

Our silent white god, oh we love you!
Originally uploaded by dina the m and o.

YeeHaw

Let's pretend

To encourage Ben's pretend play (which is already loads better than 6 months ago), we gave out birthday ideas to the grandparents for things like Little People and Playmobil. I went to the Playmobil site today to have a look around, and they really do have quite a selection of stuff. Two of the out of the ordinary were the Hazardous Waste set:

and the Vacation Home set:

Can I have a vacation home? Anybody?

She moves, she moves!

Our carpet commando in motion:

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What I've done so far with my summer

I was out of town the week before last staying with my folks while the landlord renovated the kitchen. I thought that it would be a nice break. I brought books and cds and stuff I wanted to catch up on. I imagined Ben playing with my folks outside, gardening and playing in the wading pool while Naomi had a nap and I could read and nap in the swing on the deck with a warm breeze. Sigh, that would have been nice. In reality, it rained all week, so everything was damp and grey and humid and hot and then cold. We took Ben out to play in the puddles which he loved, but the mosquitoes were also out in full force. Even with repellant we were getting eaten alive. Ben decided that he would forgo naps all week, which meant that I was losing my mind everyday by late afternoon. When he finally did nap Thursday, I nearly backflipped. Combine this with Naomi's teething and you have a recipe for a stressed-out mommy. Of course the last day we were there, both kids went for naps at the same time and were good all day, ugh.

We did have a few nice bits. We went out and bought fresh strawberries from a farm and ate them all week. Mom got Ben to help her in the garden and plant some beans, and we got the wading pool out for some splashing.

Our new and improved kitchen looks really nice. I have unpacked quite a bit of stuff and the cabinets are still holding it all. The best thing is the DISHWASHER! The landlord was nice enough to do the rough in for one. I phoned my lovely friend Lynda and she ordered it for me. I love having a friend who is the appliance queen. It's a nice unit with super quiet insulation and a tall tub for pots. The landlord hooked it up last night and we ran it when we came home from a movie -sweet! I feel like a grown-up again!

We went out and saw Superman last night, fantastic! I'm really not used to going out downtown anymore - so many people and cars, I was acting a bit like my parents when they come in to town. I must get out more.

Ben started his swimming lessons last Saturday and he's loving every minute. We went to Ottawa to see Steve's folks for Canada Day weekend. On Tuesday and Wednesday, my folks came in to babysit so I could go to a two-day seminar on Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy being given by the adaptation centre program we're waiting to get Ben into. I knew nothing about ABA, so it was very interesting, as was talking to other parents and getting the real dope on private therapists and other pitfalls. I now have a lot more resources.

A video!

Thanks to Lisa for using this site, the free account lets you have 10 free short videos.

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coke and mentos

Apparently, there have been a lot of these types of videos posted on the internet lately, but this one is pretty impressive. Go now and see what two guys with a camera, lots of coke and mentos, and way too much time on their hands have created. Not surprisingly, mentos may hire these guys for a commercial, and coke wants nothing to do with it.

Happy Birthday to me!

Happy Birthday to me!
Originally uploaded by dina the m and o.

I am older than I was in this picture, but the general attitude remains the same :-) Yay me!

a little something

So, it seems that posting has become regularly irregular. What to do? Post more photos of course! These are all on my flickr site, but in case you don't go there:
I love having a girl to put in dresses. I never thought I would say that, but there are a lot of things that you don't know until it's too late:

Ben is continuing to astound us with new words and pretend play. Yesterday, he was rescuing Buddy from the branches of a small shrub, and fishing for leaves with a stick in the sandbox. He also likes the view from Daddy's shoulders:

Siblings mean never having to hang out in the shopping cart alone:


Dumbest thing that I have done lately?
Put the mail on the top of the car and drive off without it (I have no picture of this). If you found some of my mail runover on the street, please return it. Thanks!

Momming out

I had a pretty good mother's day weekend! Saturday we got the troops ready and drove to Ottawa for the day to see Steve's folks and brother. We were supposed to go and take in some of the tulip festival, but the weather was lousy and rainy and cold, so we had a nice lunch and stayed inside instead.

We ended up leaving kind of late because I thought it would be a good idea to get mexican for supper and so we drove home in the rain and dark and the kids only fell asleep about 3/4 of the way home. Sunday was my day. Steve made pancakes, I got a couple of great DVDs and cards, and I lounged about all morning while Naomi took a nice morning nap and Steve took Ben out puddle jumping. We then jumped in the car and went to the Kids' CBC show down at Monument Nationale.

It's a great theatre, but it's smack dab in the middle of an area of strip clubs, sex shops, and where various degrees of shadiness and seediness occur. It must have been quite a shock for people who live and work around the area to see hundreds of parents and children milling about. I'm sure there was also more than one parent who had to answer the question, "Mommy, what's a Sexotheque?".
After the show, we went to our local chinese place for some good food and to show off the kids. The restaurant was almost completely empty, but the take out orders were pouring in - looks like we weren't the only ones who decided on chinese for mother's day. Hope all you other mommies had a great day!

Loving the new camera

Yes, it's true, I can take pictures of things that aren't my kids...sometimes. Click for more.

Tales from the motherhood

So yes, it has been over a month since my last post. I haven't joined a support group for blogging, but it seems as though I have nothing worth blogging and my brain feels mushy and kinda dumb most of the time. Spring is treating us to a few beautiful days surrounded by rainy cold ones. Last week, Ben came down with that gastro-fever thing. It began with a voluminous puke in the car just as we were getting on the expressway for a trip to the mall. We rushed home and there he stayed being very sad and sick and cuddly until Wednesday, but he wasn't truly rested and better until Sunday. Steve got it Thursday and Friday - ugh! Naomi and I seem to have come away without it, hopefully she has inherited my resistance to tummy bugs.
So, what with that and my constant state of distractedness (I just walked away, cleaned up the kitchen, put a load of wash in the dryer, another in the washer, brushed my teeth, and went through my closet and drawers and packed up all my maternity clothes), I seem to have very little time to blog (no, I'm not kidding, I just did that). The baby is having a very unusual thing called a nap, so I go a little crazy and attempt to clean things when she's not attached to my body.
Now, on to my exciting news. For months I have been anxiously awaiting the release of the Canon S3is, and the camera stored called and it's in and they have one set aside for me! Yippee! I will probably give in and go down today when the baby wakes up. Be prepared for many more boringly cute pics of my children on Flickr like this:

and this:

and this:

and this:

A few pics

I haven't had any time for blogging. We've been sick and busy and now that spring is teasing us with a preview, every spare minute we've been outside playing in the park or out for a saunter. Here's a couple of visuals:

Happy St. Patties!

We are growing a giant

I hope that she likes basketball. During our trip to the doctor today, I learned that Naomi is now 15 pounds, and 26 inches long. That puts her roughly at the height of a 6 month old. No wonder we had to start her on cereal last week! Yeeps!

 

Weird question

To all you mommies with kids in daycare or school: I've noticed that since Ben started daycare, he no longer smells the same and I find it kind of disturbing. He smells like the daycare, a combination of tempra paint and toddler sweat. I find it kind of sad that he doesn't smell the way he used to. Is that just strange? Has anyone else felt like this?

quiet days

Ben's now been in daycare a whole week. On the whole, it's been going very well. He still cries when Steve drops him off, but it's been getting steadily shorter. He loves going outside to the park most mornings, as well as the gym-time when it's too cold. He's totally charmed his teacher and a few other teachers with kisses and hugs. His classmates know that he doesn't talk, and they watch out for him like 7 tiny mothers, making sure that he hasn't lost Buddy and being super sweet. He's taking his naps there now, which is going very well. The only thing he's not doing is eating their delicious lunches, he's such a picky eater. I've been giving him lunch when we get home at 3, but I hope that he'll start to eat more than a few crackers and a muffin there soon. Today was minestrone soup, which I know he won't have touched.

I have had to deal with quiet mornings with the little lady. So far we have amused ourselves running errands and having extra long stretches of floor time. I still go to playgroup, but it's weird being there without Ben, I miss him. We are already starting to see some changes for the better though. He seems more responsive and quicker to learn new words. He's also started putting himself to bed, which we think is hilarious and convenient.

Being the calm, cool, and collected coward that I always am

Today was Ben's first day of daycare, and I of course sent Steve to drop him off because a) I am a big chicken and b) I would have broken down into tears and scared Ben and his entire class away from daycare forever. No, really. Instead, I chose to play the hero and pick him up before lunch, we're doing half days this week to break him in slowly. He was fine at the drop off, he found a toy fishing rod and hardly noticed when Steve left. I called at 10 to find out that he had had periods of crying, which is good considering that most kids cry non-stop on their first day. When I went to get him he didn't even notice that I had walked in, but almost all the other kids noticed the carseat I was carrying and came to investigate Naomi. She was a bit stunned by the five little faces bending over her. When Ben did see me, he ran over into my arms and was very happy. They had a good morning of playing in the gym (it was too cold to go outside today) and colouring and playing with dinosaurs and blocks. He was also very free with the hugs, so his teacher, Linda, is now attached, that kid really knows how to work a room. He was so tired that he barely made it through lunch at home before he collapsed into bed. All in all, a good day. Tomorrow will no doubt be a bit harder because Ben knows that we're leaving him there. Hopefully it won't be too bad.

Conversation with a stuffed crinkly chicken

Happy Birthday Steve!

My wonderful husband just got a little older today, but I love him anyway!

Ugh

As a Canadian, I am completely appalled by this family, they make us look bad. When you read this, you'll wonder what planet these people come from and what the hell they are teaching their kid. I hope they get what's coming to them and learn that finding something and not returning it is theft.

daycare

I must have a golden horseshoe implanted somewhere (no guesses please), because we have found Ben a place in what looks like a good daycare with little effort and no hanging around for a year on waiting lists. They had an immediate opening, so Ben can start March 1. I hope that he likes it, the facility looks good, clean, and organized. The providers seem very nice and competant, they have a good program with lots of activities, and the kids all seem very happy. They even have a speech therapist, so if he needs therapy, he could start in September. I got a bit teary during the meeting (I really wish I had better control of my eyes leaking), but Ben went from room to room playing with the various toys and art projects. He was a bit out of sorts today, very tired. We had a lot of activity this weekend.

Kuan and Alex came up and we had a great visit and a wonderful time at Lynda's bridal shower. It was so nice to be together with old friends. Maggie and her crew came over Saturday morning for brunch, Saturday night, Kuan's dad and step-mom came over for supper, Sunday morning Melanie came over for a quick visit, then the shower. We got home at 9 last night and collapsed. This week we have appointments for Ben, and I have to organize the craft for playgroup and make the goodie. Busy, busy! And next Wednesday, Ben starts daycare, sigh, I know that it's probably the right thing to do, but I'm not sure how I'm going to drop him off that first day and manage to not cry.

A few things

I have a few things brewing in my head and no time to write! Before they get stale or lost:

• I love the olympics! Especially the winter ones, you get all the great nordic names (Dordi, Antti, Jaako, Hedwig, Erben), and let me just say that I'm enjoying the event names too: Oval Lingotto (mr. robotto) and Sauze D'oulx (pronounced sozay dukes). There's also the amazing athletes in stretch garb, but because it's winter, you don't see them sweating all over the place. I also find winter sports more interesting on the whole, much faster and more dangerous, even the cross-country relay was fun to watch.
• Why is Roots doing the US outfits and Canada gets The Bay this year? We look like we're trying to be hip, but failing badly.
• Emanuel Sandhu and Johnny Weir are spoiled girlie-men. Buy a pair and stop whining and making excuses that blame everyone but you for screwing up. No one cares if you couldn't find your auras or you were upset about not going to the olympics in 98, you divas. Zang Dan fell so badly on a throw jump that I thought she'd broken something and she got up and skated the rest of her program perfectly-that's an athlete with heart!
• Ben said 'Momma' for the first time last week and I have a whole teary post in my head that may or may not see the light of day.
• My friend Kuan is coming up with her baby, Alex, today for the weekend and I can't wait to see her.
• We may have found a daycare spot for Ben in March, but I don't want to jinx it, it would be a miracle if it's true.

 

like a fish

My creation
Originally uploaded by dina the m and o.

Ben loves his swimming lessons

Pictures!

An evening session trying to get a valentine's photo for the grandparents:

Cauliflower soup and fresh rolls!

soup!
Originally uploaded by dina the m and o.

This is what happens when the kids' naps overlap by an hour.

The shower dilemma

If you're not a mommy, then you'll have a hard time relating to this one. When you are at home with small children, your own personal hygiene tends to take a backseat. You find yourself rubbing your tongue over your teeth at 2pm trying to remember if you brushed, wearing yesterday's socks and sweatpants because they were next to the bed when you woke up at 5am, and wondering if you'll ever be able to actually 'do' your hair again instead of just throwing it up in a ponytail. Your baby doesn't want you clean either. The minute one of your toes hits the inside of the bathtub, she immediately awakes from that deep nap she was in and demands that your smelly body come and pick her up before she bursts into flames.

It's at this crossroad that you have to make a decision - remain sweat-encrusted, or attempt to shower before your neighbour calls child services. Welcome to the mommy shower, the ability for moms the world-over to clean themselves in under two minutes. Long gone are the luxurious 15 minute showers using shampoo and conditioner. Mommy showers are direct, get straight to it affairs involving a flurry of activity with a bar of soap as you longingly gaze upon the lovely scrubs and loofahs, body washes, lotions, and face cleansers that remain untouched on the shelf since your baby was born. Never mind the foot soaking beads you got as a baby present from some thoughtful friend when your little treasure arrived, your feet will remain unsoaked until they hit puberty.

On days when I am completely out of the mommy shower zone, I shower after supper when there is another adult for my children to torture while I stand under the water trying not to hear the baby screaming while the toddler rattles the bathroom doorknob, anxious to run in and whip open the shower curtain and babble and  point at the water and shampoo now stinging my eyes. During one recent experience, I remembered the Jetsons. Do you remember George Jetson's conveyor belt morning ritual? Why hasn't anyone invented that yet? What are you smartypants people out there waiting for? What I wouldn't give to push a button and in minutes be washed, dressed, and styled with a cup of coffee and a paper in my hand! One thing's for certain, when it does happen, it will probably be invented by a woman.

Sink in

I haven't had a lot of time to think about writing a follow-up to my last post, and I certainly haven't had a lot of time for writing. I've spent some time looking at the list of web sites that the psychiatrist gave us - some sites talk about completely debilitating autism and scare me by saying things like most kids won't learn to talk or go to normal schools, some suggest that with prompt treatment Ben can be just like any normal kid. Until we go through the next series of evaluations, we don't know where he is on the 'spectrum'. We should be finished testing for the hospital on the 16 of this month, then we wait for a social worker for our neighbourhood to contact us, then another evaluation, then that social worker meets with the social workers from our area's adaptation centre to approve and decide on treatment. In the meantime, I'm looking for daycares and looking into my work insurance to see if private services are covered so that we can get started as soon as possible while we inch our way up the public waiting list. We are also on track to start a parent training program, part of a study by our psychiatrist, that will begin either April or September, depending on which group we're in. It's great living on a city that seems to conduct so much research because there are lots of extras we can get in on. Maybe it will help Ben, if it doesn't, it certainly can't hurt.

We're trying to push Ben a bit harder at home. We've always tried to get him to speak, but we've also tried to stand back a bit and let him develop at his own pace. Now, we're being more insistent, and it seems to be paying off. Yesterday, I got him to say 'juice' and Steve ran around the house with him touching walls and doors and saying 'wall' and 'door'. We hope that this means that he will respond well and fairly quickly to therapy. Speaking of therapy, he has an appointment with an occupational therapist in a couple of weeks.

The news was a shock, both Steve and I fully expected the doctor to say that he wasn't autistic in any way. I was pretty upset for a few days, but I know what a wonderful, beautiful, sweet, smart little boy he is and just how lucky we are to have him. This will undoubtedly be a minor blip on his way to great things and I'm happy that it's been diagnosed so early so that he can be treated before it becomes a problem.

Results

We had an appointment with a child psychiatrist today about Ben's lack of speech, and he's now been diagnosed with a mild autism. It's not so bad, but part of me is just shattered. Apparently, he should do very well with the right treatment (he really charmed the doctor), so now we wait for further evaluations and a mountain of meetings and appointments. The doctor said that daycare would be a good idea, ironic considering that we specifically wanted to avoid daycare because we thought that it would be better for our kids. Now we have to figure out how we manage to do meetings and appointments and afford (and find) the daycare and still take care of the baby and give her what she needs. I'm a little overwhelmed right now, I'm sure that it will sink in soon.

Speech impediment

I was watching a cooking segment on some talk show today and remembered just how much I hate it when people use the words "actually" and "literally". I'm guessing that how-to people on tv get paid for every one that they utter, "... then you actually just stir in the rice blah, blah ...", "you literally paint the wall purple and then you're done", ick! They bloat up a perfectly good sentence. I've been trying to listen to myself lately to discover what annoying speech ticks I have. I use "you know" wayyyyy too much, and I also say "so" a lot, probably because usually I'm halfway through a sentence and I forget what the heck I was saying. I may have conquered "like" and "um", although I'm not positive. It's embarrassing to realise that you sound like that annoying 13-year old you heard on the bus talking on her cell phone. When did this happen? I'm sure I used to speak like an adult. What I need is a device that whacks me in the back of the head when I screw up. Any ideas?

Another cute pic of my daughter

The party's over

The holiday is over and it's back to the usual. Despite all the activity, it felt really long, so today home alone with the kids is gonna be tough. Of course, they're still sleeping and it's almost 8:30, so some would say I'm getting lucky. It was a great holiday. My folks and Steve's brother came for Christmas, Bill and Cecil joined us for Christmas dinner which was yummily prepared by Steve. We had lots of visitors and even made it out to the townships for a few visits ourselves. In between, we had a lot of fun with the kids, Ben's discovering that snow can be fun and Naomi is proving to be quite a communicator, she tries to engage people every chance she gets.

Santa was good to me, among the gifts were the newest John Irving and Zadie Smith. I also received a beautiful pilates/yoga mat, so it's finally time to start getting in shape. I don't do resolutions, but this year I would like to lose some baby weight (Ben weight, Naomi's is already gone) and get some more exercise.

I've also got the usual get organized, eat less sugar, become a millionaire aspirations, we'll see how those work out. By request, I received one of those small plastic cabinets with a hundred little dividers that you use for separating screws and nails, etc. I love things with compartments, because they make me feel organized. Over the next few months, I hope to finally go through all of our boxes of hardware, etc, and get all the small stuff into that cabinet. I don't know why I'm obsessed with compartments. For years I tried to find a used library catalogue cabinet, you know, the huge old oak jobbies. If I ever found one I'd buy it despite the fact that I now have nowhere to put it. Just the thought of all those drawers for storage with neat little spaces to put labels makes me giddy. I can't be the only one with a thing for storage, The Container Store is proof of that. Maybe I should just concentrate on having less stuff to store. The last time I knew where all my stuff was when I lived alone. When you move in with someone else there is suddenly another person moving your stuff, and then you lose track of your stuff in their stuff. Now, there's kid stuff taking over our living space, and that's only capable of being organized when they're sleeping, because as soon as they wake up, it's everywhere again.  Speaking of which, I should use this time to pick up all the blocks off the livingroom floor-see ya!

Have a good one!

Mail

We received a child assistance cheque in the mail this morning, for some reason, I'm feeling the urge for beer and popcorn......

Shopping with a smile

I finished my Christmas shopping this weekend, and it was a pleasure. No, I'm not a masochist with a thing for overheated crowded shopping malls full of stupid people who don't know where they're going, rude salespeople, and screaming children. On Saturday, I let Steve and his brother mind the children (I ran away clicking my heels), and I went with my mother-in-law to Pointe Claire village. Free parking, beautiful sunny day, and fantastic shopping! I discovered little treasures in the tiny shops that line the block and a bit on the lakeshore. Handmade, unique gifties for just about everyone, and stuff that you just don't find at the big chain stores. I'm also happy to report that the prices were very reasonable. Instead of killing myself going from store to store and getting frustrated and tired, I enjoyed a free couple of hours with helpful store clerks who actually wanted to serve me and always asked if they could gift wrap presents with a smile. I talked to store owners who told me stories about various products in their stores and got free samples of all manner of edible goodies and free coffee. It was heaven! Malls suck the happiness out of this wonderful time of the year. If you really want to get into the spirit, head for the small stores and support your local merchants. You won't regret it!

Neither rain, nor 30 41cm of snow....

could keep me and my crew, Lisa, Paul, Jack, and Maggie and her kiddies from meeting up this morning for a get together. Lisa's only in town for a few days from England, so we took the opportunity to finally meet in person. Unfortunately, it was our first big storm of the season, so the going was tough, knee-deep tough. We all made it eventually and swapped babies and had a great time. We should all visit in the summer next time though, much less clothing and slogging involved!

Say Awwwww! until you overdose

http://cuteoverload.com/

How many days until Christmas?

It was a bit of a shock when I looked at the calendar a couple of days ago and realised that it's almost Christmas and I'd barely done anything on my list. When you stay at home, you tend to forget what day it is, let alone what month. I now have no right to get annoyed at my folks when I call on the weekend during the day and they ask if it's a holiday. So I've organized my Christmas errands by geographic location and store hours, this is what you have to do when you have kids. Steve watched the kids for an hour last night while I got some stuff done. Tonight I hope to sneak out for another hour. We're expecting a storm tomorrow. Maggie and I are meeting Lisa tomorrow for a coffee and some child swapping, I hope I don't get stuck in a snow drift :-)

Still haven't gotten to the Christmas cards, I promise that they'll be out by Easter........

For Libby

Quick stuff

This is my first full week alone with the kiddies, so I have to make this quick:

• I'm down to only a couple of freakouts a day
• Feeling very guilty that I have not been able to get Ben outside yet this week to the park despite the fact that it's across the street-of course, it's cold here, so I can use that as an excuse
• Managed to get the kids to playgroup yesterday, a personal triumph even if we were over an hour late
• Had to call Steve in the afternoon to beg him to come home, which of course prompted the baby who had been screaming inconsolably for two hours straight to pass out 5 minutes before he arrived
• Wrote out half of my thank you cards, after that the Christmas cards!
• Baby smiles are the cutest things, and just like Ben, Naomi smiles with her eyes
• I've been contemplating doing some Christmas baking, am I crazy?
• I keep repeating, it's going to get easier, it's going to get easier....
• Maggie promised she'd come and visit next week so I don't lose my marbles

That's it for now. And a big thank you to Dan and Libby who agreed to be Naomi's godparents and who sent a bunch of goodies for Ben and Naomi and the biggest poinsettia I've ever seen! I hope that we can keep it alive until Christmas :-)

Time is relative

When Ben was born and Steve went back to work, there were days, as every other mom I know has had, when I didn't shower, brush my teeth, eat, or manage to get anything done other than keep that teeny tiny dictator alive while trying not to lose my mind. Steve got a two week contract and I have now spent two days alone with the kids and I'm wondering what the hell I wasted my time doing when I only had one. What a wuss I was, whining about how hard it was dealing with one baby, I laugh at my former self. Just getting the two over to the park across the street nearly did me in the other day; returning from the park with one in the stroller, dragging a toddler in the heat of the meltdown of the century made me realise that it's going to be a long winter. I suppose that it's a learning curve. Give me a couple more months and I'll be able to shower in five seconds and peel a banana with my toes while I change a diaper and breastfeed. Until then, everyone have a kind thought for me, and for you mom's with 3+ kids, you have my utmost respect, I'm a big wuss :-)

Can you hear me now? Good!

We took Ben in for a hearing test today. He's 28 months old and, although he babbles up a storm, he has yet to really start speaking a language that we know. This is the first step to finding out if there's anything wrong, or if he's a late bloomer. Fortunately, his hearing is fine. Unfortunately, the audiologist told us that his verbal skills should be much better at this stage and she isn't sure if he understands as much as we think that he does. We're going to hear from our pediatrician soon to find out how we proceed, it will certainly involve waiting lists for specialists and more tests. For me, this is hard because although I've been worried, I've also been trying to believe that he'll just sort himself out. Now, I'm concerned that they're going to diagnose him with some strange syndrome that requires drugs and therapy, when he may be one of those kids who just needs more time to figure language out.
It's also Naomi's 1 month birthday, and although Steve already posted this pic, it's too cute not to put up here as well.

Winter is here

At least for this past week. According to the weather reports, we're supposed to get a few days of mild weather and rain, then back to snow. This was a perfect week to try out Ben's new snowsuit. He didn't really enjoy playing in the snow last winter because it was hard for him to walk through the snow. This year, he's making up for it! Check the photo to see a few more.

Naomi loves the toy dog from Terence and Irene.

It's been a hectic couple of weeks. Babies sleep a lot, but it always seems that when you need them to sleep, they're wide awake and hungry. What is it with babies and shower radar? They always know when you're about to step into the bathtub. Then there's the growth spurts. She hit one on Monday and nursed from 11am until 11pm nearly non-stop.

Naomi's a lot like Ben, she likes to sleep on people, which is cute, but she really needs to sleep not on me more so I can get things done and take care of our other kid. I'm starting to wonder how I'm going to cope with both of them when Steve goes back to work.

So, so far, so good and Naomi is so beautiful and Ben's a fantastic big brother.

Thanks Lisa, Paul, and Jack!

We received a great package in the mail today which included awesome Green & Black's dark, milk, and white chocolate, Cadbury goodies for Steve and Ben, fun kids' magazines for Ben, and the cutest outfit for Naomi and a fuzzy reindeer hat and Christmas bibs. Pics of the reindeer hat will follow.

Updates

Whipped
Steve and Naomi at 2am:
Naomi: Waaaaaa
Steve: Yes, sweetie, shhhh, it's ok.
Naomi: Waaaaaaaaa
Steve: Ok, ok, yes, you can have a pony.
Naomi: WAAAAAAA
Steve: Ok, two ponies.

Baby poop
After Naomi was born, I started remembering all the baby smells and getting nostalgic. When she was two days old, I was holding her and got a whiff of something that reminded me of Ben when he was a baby. I happily took in the baby aroma. It was only later that Steve pointed out that that smell was baby poop. When you move to toddler diapers and solid food, you forget that by comparison, baby diapers are a field of roses.

Ben and Naomi
Ben has been very good to his sister so far. He likes to look at her and honk her nose. Last week he gave her a kiss and I got all teary. So far he's had a lot of attention from grandparents and both his parents. I hope that he's so understanding when everyone's gone and Steve goes to work. I think that this morning he started saying "Nomi", but he could also just like saying that sound.

Nursing
Nursing is going pretty well. It took a few days for everything to come in, but Naomi has a suck like a suped-up hoover. She's had a few all day feeding sessions that have been difficult, and she still likes to stay up at night and sleep during the day, but we're coping. In another proud parenting moment, Naomi burped while nursing the other day. She's making her mommy so proud!

Weight
One week after she was born, I was down to my pre-Naomi weight and wearing my old pants. Of course, I never lost my Ben weight, so I'm still mumble-mumble pounds over, but it's nice to be back where I started in February.

Naomi, napping

Naomi, napping
Originally uploaded by dina the m and o.

Is there anything cuter than a napping baby? I think not!

Girl!

Girl!
Originally uploaded by dina the m and o.

We have a girl! Naomi Christel was born October 31, 2005.
Whee!

Where'd I go?

My site seems to have been down. I didn't notice, because we had a pumpkin on Monday. I have tons to post about that - more soon!

Ready to go!

preggo 2
Originally uploaded by dina the m and o.

Really shouldn't have had that extra piece of pie......

One day left ....

Dear Pumpkin,

As you can see from the counter above, you have one day left to come out on time. Your mommy is a stickler for being on time, we come from a long line of sticklers who are always on time. Your daddy is also exceedingly punctual, and your brother was so early that I didn't have time to sit around and contemplate his arrival.

Now I realise that good things come to those who wait, but enough is enough my little friend. Kindly quit the premises so that I can stop getting up to pee and stretch and sit up awake half the night wondering when you are going to appear and what exactly you are doing in there with your limbs because it hurts!

Everyone is waiting, now stop being such a diva and get out here. We don't do fashionably late in this household.....

Lots of love,

Mommy

Still nuthin'

Nuthin' happening still. My doctor is calling this baby laid-back. I have to go back in on my due date if pumpkin doesn't arrive before then and have an ultrasound to make sure that everything's fine and dandy. Until then, there is more waiting and more lunches!

I took my car in yesterday to the autobody shop. They've given me a crappy neon until my car's ready. I negotiated to get some soon-to-be-rust areas dealt with at the same time. I'm going out to lunch with Maggie today - hopefully the indian food will be spicy today and shake pumpkin out of its daydreaming state and out of my body. What could it possibly be doing in there that's so important? Everybody think kindly eviction notices!

Sob!

IMG_7427
Originally uploaded by dina the mundane and oblivious.

I thought that the truck was letting me in to his lane, he didn't see me and didn't notice that the light changed - smoosh, scrape, ugh!

Tee hee

Leave it to the Germans to come up with an incredibly straightforward approach to where babies come from.
Via Drawn!

And still waiting...

Still nothing to report on the baby front. The baby is very much in front actually, my shape seems to have changed again and I'm more pointy. Thursday and Friday the sun was out and so were we. Ben enjoyed some quality outdoor time and we ran errands. I made some chili last night, super yummy! It ranks up there with my carrot-ginger soup for being perfect Fall weather food. That and some hearty homemade bread-mmmmm! I'm still hoping to get some muffins made and maybe a couple of casseroles. Ben and Steve are going to head over to park so I can get some cleaning done this morning. Ben likes to "help" vacuum. This generally involves turning the vac off and trying to retract the cord, or ride the vac while we try to pull it around the rooms. He's getting more interested in household chores. Last night, he wiped up some water he spilled on the floor with a tea towel. Ben also likes to impress you with his door-opening skills when you are in the bathroom. He often lets himself in when we are showering and whips open the curtain to have a chat. A couple of days ago, he appeared wearing my underpants around his head - too bad our camera's not waterproof, it was priceless!

temporary pillow

temporary pillow
Originally uploaded by dina the mundane and oblivious.

Ben's using his sibling already....

Still waiting

Yesterday we went out for lunch with Adriana to a new indian place on Monkland that does veg and non-veg thalis - it was yummy! Afterwards, we headed home and Ben went down for a long nap and I watched Steve play a game. Today, I went to my first playgroup day with Ben and Steve and Ben ran around and I talked to mommies and had coffee and had a pretty good time. It's once a week in a church basement and there are toys and slides and trikes. It's a perfect way to blow off some energy, especially when the weather's crap. The dreary weather continues and it's sapping me of all my energy. I have lots of cleaning and baking that I wanted to get done if time allowed, and now that I have that time, I'm wasting it falling asleep on comfy chairs under blankets. I know that rest is important, but I feel a bit at loose ends.  Hopefully the sun will come out again soon and I'll be recharged!

The birth that was

So on the verge of a brand new birth story, I'll recap the previous one. I had a pretty good pregnancy with Ben up until the final couple of months. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, and the hospital had me going in for tests that ate up an entire day at the hospital every week, most of that time spent waiting around in uncomfortable chairs. The tests said that I had diabetes, the dieticians were changing my diet every week, the interns doing the ultrasounds were freaking me out telling me that the baby was way too small, the endocrinologist was confused because GD babies are supposed to be big, and the doctors were concerned that I was losing weight. I was kinda fed up with the lot of them. Oh, and of course the icing on the cake was that Ben refused to turn head down. My doctor (a bit of an arrogant prick) told me that the baby wasn't going to turn and went ahead and scheduled a c-section without even consulting me on the date. I was upset about having to have surgery and my doctor's lack of sympathy about the situation. I wanted the surprise rush to the hospital and the "normal" birth experience. Three weeks before Ben's due date, and two weeks before the scheduled c-section, I went to work, left at 5 saying "see you tomorrow" to all my colleagues, went home, had dinner, watched tv and went to bed. I had some minor gas pain, but nothing out of the ordinary. I woke up at 4am when one of the cats jumped up on the bed and I felt a tiny trickle of water, so I jumped up and went to the washroom. Now, I'd watched enough tv shows to know that when your water breaks it's supposed to be a big, dramatic gush. Of couse, I had low fluids, so I didn't get the big gush. I thought that I may have just lost my mucus plug or something. I woke up Steve and had him call the hospital and ask. He wasn't making much sense, so the nurse asked to speak with me, and she told me to come in just in case. We hadn't packed, so Steve hurried around and I got a few things together. He wanted to take a cab, but I figured that we were just going to be sent home, so I said that I'd drive. Before we left, I had another gas pain, but nothing major. On the way to the hospital, I had two more. After the last one, I started watching the clock and figured that they were about 15 minutes apart. When we were parking, I told Steve about them and he freaked a bit. We were told in the birthing classes that you were in labour when you couldn't talk through the contractions, apparently this is not true for everyone. We got to the birthing centre, the nurse informed us that I was definitely having the baby, they hooked me up to monitors and Steve and I waited for the intern to come and examine me. We read the paper and chatted. Steve called our folks and let them know. I got bored and walked around. When the intern came in to examine me it was 5:30 - I was 5cm dilated and fully effaced. The nurse came in right after and said, "you don't look 5cm dilated". I was taken into the operating room and they were wonderful and talked me through the epidural and joked with me. They raised the curtain between me and the surgery when they saw how tall Steve was. He sat on a stool next to my head and we talked about more stuff, and movies, and then the doctor (who was not my actual doctor) keeping us updated on the proceedings, told me that I would feel some pressure, and then we heard the sound of a very angry, red, beautiful little man being removed from his warm nesting place and straightened out (he was folded in two like a cellphone). I liked that doctor so much that she's my doctor this time around. She came to visit me in the ward after and said that she had called her brother that afternoon and informed him that she had just delivered her first baby who shared his name - pretty good considering how long she'd been at it. Despite the technical difficulties, I couldn't have asked for a better birth, virtually pain-free and still incorporating that element of surprise. Here's hoping the second time around is surgery-free, but just as smooth.

Waiting

So I made it through the weekend! Didn't do too much, ran some errands, napped, and went to bookclub on Sunday night. Today I enjoyed my first day of maternity leave. I slept in (thanks Steve), and had lunch with Maggie, went to the EI office to file my paperwork (that took forever!), and hung out with Ben and Steve. Ben was in fine form all afternoon and evening. He now likes it when you make blankets into makeshift tents. He happily played under a fuzzy blue blanket most of the evening. I've had back uckiness all evening, so now I'm starting to wonder if something's going to happen tonight. Of course, it could just be my bad posture. Still, we are packing up some everyday toiletries just in case.

Last day

Today was my last day of work, and I actually made it! I thought for sure that something was going to happen Thursday night, but no, just my paranoia and aching back and twinges. I had to pack up my office, put all my files into storage, brief people, and throw all my personal crap into a box to take home. I also had to clean out my laptop, you can really accumulate a lot of personal junk on your work computers. I went to see my doctor this afternoon and she was as surprised as I was that I have managed to hold out this long-then she told me to hold on until Monday because she's not on call this weekend. The only reason that she's my doctor now is because my doctor with Ben was on vacation when he was born and I liked her as soon as she stuck her head into the room and we swapped a few casual jokes in the operating room. It would be nice if she was there for the delivery, but I know that it's not unusual to not have your doctor there for the final moments. As far as I can tell, if you have a fairly regular delivery, it's the nurses and interns that do most of the nitty gritty and the doctor comes in for the catch.

It's all starting to get a bit unreal - I'm starting to have that, "I'm going to have a baby - oh my God" feeling. I'm excited, but it's starting to freak me out a bit.

Three days

I made it! Yet another day to sit at my desk and get through my list. Now I have to make it through today and tomorrow because my doctor celebrates Yom Kippur. Everyone keep your legs crossed for me!
Have you ever thought to yourself, "gee, I wish I knew more about Quantum Theory"? Well now you can! You also have the option of only listening to the audio.

Countdown

So my last day is this Friday. Last week, the department took me out for lunch and gave us a really nice gift. I work with fantastic people. They decided not to tempt fate and have the lunch earlier. I thought that Sunday night might have been it. We had my folks in for Thanksgiving dinner and that night I was feeling decidedly unsettled. Turns out it was just too much turkey and my brain playing tricks on me. I was up in the wee hours this morning - now a usual occurrence. Today at work was hard, the walk to the copy room is getting longer and slower. I'm now grateful for the maternity parking too.

Many things were marked off my to do list today - hooray! I'm purposely ignoring some things just because I know that trying to get information from developers will make me look more stupid than, well, something that's really stupid. I'm hoping that I can pass that off on someone with a smidgen of intelligence. Will I make it through another day? We'll see!

Update

It's been a long week. I'm trying to finish my work and clean up all my projects and organize things in case they actually do manage to replace me at some point. Of course, everyday some new thing ends up in my lap and my to do list keeps getting longer. I keep warning my coworkers that I could just not show up tomorrow and be gone for a year, but they don't seem to believe me. I find this strange, because that's exactly what happened last time, when Ben arrived three weeks early. My brain is melting at an alarming rate and I'm losing my ability to concentrate on just about everything. I've developed a full waddle now, my back has started to get achy, strangers are nice to me, and the people I work with have started to fear me. I'm afraid of my water breaking at work-there are some things that I do not want to share with my colleagues.

We went to see Serenity Tuesday night, great movie if you were a fan of the cancelled show. Ben started eating with a fork sporadically last week and has become super duper attached to his stuffed hippo, Buddy. He's now started getting mad when we refuse to let him bring Buddy into the bathtub and take him away when we're eating meals. He brings him to you for kisses and hugs too which is adorable. My folks are coming in for Thanksgiving dinner, I have decided not to be more than an hour away from the hospital. Steve's got all his dinner stuff ready in the fridge.

I'm reading Eats, Shoots, and Leaves, what's the big deal about this book? It's not that informative, and if they formatted it without all the extra whitespace and small pages, it would barely be a book. I think I'm just jealous because I didn't write it.

That's it!

 

 

Newsworthy

I read two very amusing articles in The Gazette this morning. One was from the Washington Post about the creationist museum being built in the States that will show dinosaurs co-existing with man. Here are a couple of excerpts:

"The nation's largest museum devoted to the alternative reality that is biblical creation science is rising just outside Cincinnati. Set amid a park and three-acre artificial lake, the 50,000-square-foot museum features animatronic dinosaurs, state-of-the-art models and graphics, and a half-dozen staff scientists. It holds that the world and the universe are but 6,000 years old and that baby dinosaurs rode in Noah's ark.
The $25 million Creation Museum stands much of modern science on its head and might cause a paleontologist or three to rend their garments. But officials expect to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors when the museum opens in early 2007.
"Evolutionary Darwinists need to understand we are taking the dinosaurs back," says Kenneth Ham, president of Answers in Genesis-USA, which is building the museum. "This is a battle cry to recognize the science in the revealed truth of God."
Polls taken last year showed that 45 percent of Americans believe that God created humans in their present form 10,000 years ago (or less) and that man shares no common ancestor with the ape. Only 26 percent believe in the central tenet of evolution, that all life descended from a single ancestor.
Another poll showed that 65 percent of Americans want creationism taught alongside evolution."

At least they bothered to explain why the T-Rexes that Noah brought on the ark didn't eat all the other animals - baby dinosaurs were probably very small and harmless.

The other article was from the NYT about the book that strikes fear in the heads of all mothers - What to Expect When You're Expecting. I think that the journalist has been reading the Broad, because she has frequently discussed the panic-inducing information inside the covers of this book, as well as pointing out the insanity of several pregnancy web sites and online forums. The rest of us mommies have also piped in our 'here heres' about this subject. We are all a bit fed up with the scary stories. Here's an excerpt:

"in its third decade the book has turned into a publishing conundrum: It is the most popular and widely trusted book in its category and yet is coming under such regular criticism that its authors are revising some of its key tenets. The reaction comes in part from expecting parents who call it a worst-case-scenario handbook. (Nicknames include "What to Freak Out About When You Are Expecting" and "What to Expect if You Want to Develop an Eating Disorder.") Though many parents swear by it, a startling number protest that, instead of emphasizing the wondrous process of fetal development, the book dwells mostly on complications, including the pedestrian (anemia), the more exotic ("incompetent cervix") and a catalog of horrors at the book's end ("uterine rupture")."

Funnily enough, I looked at my copy last night. I had been having really bad backachiness all day and consulted the index. Of course it took me to a page that suggested that I might be having premature labour and to call my doctor - that helped me sleep last night :-)

Both of the links provided require that you register for the newspaper sites - but they're free!

Also, apologies, but my old comment site is shutting down, so I have to go with blogger now. At least you don't have to be a member anymore to use it!

Movies

Occasionally, I stay awake long enough to watch a movie.

We watched Danny Deckchair, which was a cute and funny romantic little bit of stuff. It stars the guy who was the roommate in Notting Hill and Aowyn from LOTR. He cleans up fairly well.

Kungfu Hustle had some great action fight bits and neat super kungfu powers, but not very original plot. I especially liked the landlady who could blast apart a building with her yell.

The Life Aquatic was only ok because I was distracted doing stuff on my computer. There were a few good bits, but mostly it was a slog to get to the end of the movie.

I really enjoyed Broken Flowers, it was a slow moving movie, but the sliences were wonderfully full of unspoken dialogue and the neighbour was fantastic.

Sahara was surprisingly good. I'm an old fan of the Dirk Pitt novels and I found that the characters were well casted, especially Dirk and his pal Al, who I thought was a gas. I hope they adapt a few more of the novels into movies.

Wimbledon was dumb and not very good.

 

Installing that exit sign was a good idea

We went in for an ultrasound yesterday and lo and behold this baby actually has its head down! We had  thought that it was transverse, but apparently it's just long-limbed and active enough to make me feel like I'm being prodded on both sides at once. This means that we're still on track for a vaginal birth provided everything goes normally. The doctor estimates the weight at around 5lbs, 7oz now. Ben was born 6lbs, 2oz three weeks early, so I'm guessing we'll be in the 7lb something range by the time it comes - bets anyone? The one thing the doctor did remark on was the length of the leg bones - apparently this one is definitely going to have Steve's legs. Let's hope that the nose again skips a generation :-)

Sleepless

I've had the worst luck sleeping last week. Between Ben waking up at night and baby pumpkin keeping me awake with endless kicks and rolls, I haven't  really been able to sleep from 3am until at least 6:30. By Friday, I was fried. Perhaps this is good preparation for when the next baby arrives, but I had kind of hoped for a bit of a break. I have a distant memory of how I slept before Ben arrived. I was a deep sleeper, the kind of sleeper that falls off quickly and stays asleep all night. I rarely remembered my dreams and would wake up most mornings refreshed. What the heck happened? Ben turned me into someone with 'mom ears', the woman who can hear a small cough over a thunderstorm at incredible distances. Now, even when Ben doesn't wake up at night, I'm so programmed that I wake up anyway. I feel like Molly Bloom, laying awake with my brain running at 100 mph, and of course you know that the more that you think about trying to get back to sleep, the more impossible it becomes. You'd think that our bodies would evolve to deal with this sleep deprivation, but I only get stupider, which seems like the worst quality for someone caring for small children. Last night I slept a bit better than usual and it was bizarre waking up almost early. I was still late for work, but not half as bad as normal. I'm hoping for a repeat tonight - sweet dreams!

Testing something

I'm testing out a new (to me) blogging tool because I'm too lazy to log in to Blogger - how pathetic is that?

 

 

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Four years? Already?

I like being married to the best guy on the planet!

Ugh

Starting from last night, I have had a string of crappy. I sliced open my chin with my thumbnail, scratched my hand with something serrated, spilled and dropped about 14 things and woke up this morning at 5am with a leg cramp that defied the meaning of pain. I drove to the hospital through the Katrina leftover deluge for a blood test and dietician consult, got soaked walking from the parking lot to the door, found out I had to have another test an hour after the first and that I had packed a bad breakfast. Oops! Met with the dietician who told me that my one bad reading was exactly on the upper limit and that she wouldn't have asked me to come in (recap: pouring rain, early morning, needles, breakfast in soggy room full of pregnant women, wet clothes and hair, $15 parking). Ran into my ex in the hallway looking for his wife. He was forced to talk to me and it was like chatting with a small, nervous dog with a caffeine problem. It's hard to conduct a polite conversation with someone when you know they are about to gnaw their own arm off to get away.
Get soaked again walking back to car, traffic caused by super rain, try to run an errand-but of course the store is out of what I want. Back to car-soaked again. More traffic, trees down on road, highway full of water, no maternity parking spots left in front of office, get soaked again. Morning completely wasted and I'm starved. Can I just start over from last night?

Addictive

I found this link last night - evil, evil!!!

Shake, rattle, and roll

Besides a baby, I'm asking my doctor to check for the following during the next ultrasound:

• a soccer ball
  
• juggling equipment
  
• a trampoline
  
• aerobics gear
  
• leg warmers and the soundtrack from Flashdance, possibly also Footloose
  
• a small discotheque
  

Joke

Two men are playing golf. One is about to chip on to the green when he sees a long funeral procession on the road next to the course. He stops in mid-swing, takes off his golf cap, closes his eyes, and bows his head in prayer. His friend says: "Wow, that is the most thoughtful and touching thing I have ever seen. You truly are a kind man." Resuming his stance, he replies: "Yeah, well we were married for 35 years."

New Jersey trip

We had a wonderful time in New Jersey visiting my friend Kuan, her two-year old son Ryan, new baby Alex and Kuan's hubby Chris. Friday morning we jumped in the car and started our little adventure. It was our first long trip in the new car, and it drove great. We got stuck for at least an hour at the border and then were further delayed trying to find food at exits that seemed to contain way too many people. We finally arrived and the next few days were full of baby cuddling, toddler shenanigans, fun with friends, and a teensy bit of shopping.



New baby Alex is super cute and teeny. You forget how small they are when they're so new.


The trip back was better except for the turn off we missed and had to backtrack. We stopped at a restaurant called Red Robin which provided free baloons and crayons - Ben was in heaven!
We got home and were tired. Ben was so happy to be home that he ran around the house looking at stuff and laughing.
See the trip here.

Diabetes update

So I finally heard back from the doctor and I failed only one of the readings which means no gestational diabetes, but I do have to go in for a consult with a dietician. Hooray!

I had my long glucose test on Thursday and I'm waiting for the results this week. Aside from the bruises on both my arms from the needles that makes me look like a junkie, and the awful dizzy nausea created by the awful orange drink they make you take (honestly, how did they manage to make sugar taste so bad?)it went ok. I've said this before, but having health insurance to pay for private testing instead of going to the hospital and waiting around with tons of other people rocks! I was the only customer at the private testing clinic and had a comfy chair to wait around in for the duration of the three-hour test. I did some work, listened to the radio, and relaxed. It was very civilized. I only hope that I won't have to endure the endless testing and poking of the hospital after my results come in. We shall see.

Phones for kids

Rogers has come out with a new phone for pre-teens called Firefly. It's got mommy and daddy buttons and 20 other pre-programmable numbers. I was listening to an interview with a marketing guy from Rogers on the radio, and he was trying to explain why this is what the consumer wants, and really didn't come off that convincing. What really sealed it for me was the fact that they are not just advertising to parents, but they're also going to advertise on YTV and other kids' programming channels because apparently kids are very savvy about identifying products that have their safety in mind.....right.

Bat Cave

We had another bat this week. That is the second bat in two weeks. I bravely stayed in the bedroom again with Ben while Steve shooed it out. Or at least he think he got rid of it, it seemed to disappear after the door was open. We're not sure why we suddenly have a bat invader, but we're hoping that we can figure out how it's getting in. My dad said that it could be getting in through the flue even though it's closed, so we blocked the fireplace. So far no more winged vistors.

State of the art.....

Noodly appendage

All hail the Flying Spaghetti Monster!

Drat

I found out this morning that I failed the glucose screening I had yesterday. Now I have to go in for the big three-hour test and probably endure all the weekly testing and poking and general badgering from the hospital that upset me so much the last time. I am going to try to fight all the hospital stuff, but I fear that it's gonna happen anyway. I'm not in a good mood today....thhhbtttt...