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December 27, 2005

Weekly Dose of Cuteness

This has to be quick cause Liam is waking up and I have to get him back to sleep, but here is your weekly dose from Kentucky. We went out for a walk and Liam fell asleep. SO CUTE! Notice his rosy cheeks? You would think that it is from the cold, but no, it is from teething. He currently has perma-rosy cheeks. It looks like we have painted two circles of red rouge on his face, but really we haven't. Hope your Christmas and other celebrations have been going swell. I'll see y'all in a couple of days. We are having a spectacular time with Steve's side of the family. We even went to a movie today. YAY!

Posted by leah at 07:34 PM | Comments (0)

December 22, 2005

Wish Us Luck!

So we are off on a plane to Kentucky tomorrow to join Steve's family for Christmas. I am freaking out a little - partially expecting Liam to be a horror on the plane and partially because of everything I still have to do to be ready to leave. Oh, how I long for the carefree days of childless travel when you could pack the day of and just step out the door into a taxi. Now there is planning and buying and lugging and juggling and preparing food and OH MY GOD I AM FREAKING OUT! Did I say a little before - silly me.

So a little family update for you before I leave town - I'm not sure if I'll have much of a chance to post while we are gone. I'll be sure to give you your Tuesday Dose, but other than that - ???

On the homefront, Steve has been working like a madman trying to get as much done as possible before we leave. Which means I have been by myself with Liam alot which stresses me out and probably stresses Liam out in turn. Which may be why he has been having trouble getting to sleep at night. Naps have been fine and once he gets to sleep at night, he's been good, but it's been anywhere from one to TWO AND A HALF HOURS to get him to sleep. By myself. Which sucks, but I've managed to deal with it okay.

Liam turned seven months old yesterday and his first tooth is just trying to make an appearance. This may have something to do with his sleep problem, but I don't think so cause you'd think he would be cranky and hard to put down during the day too. I have a feeling that this is probably early separation anxiety rearing its ugly head - perfect timing when we are about to be with family that will free Steve and I to have some couple time. Oh well - I guess we'll see.

He is working hard on crawling. He pushes himself up on his arms and kicks his little legs like crazy - so much so that I am worried he's going to break a toe - but he still hasn't figured out that he also needs to lift with his legs to get mobile. Just this morning I could tell he was trying to put weight on his knees as well, he just doesn't seem to have the strength yet. Soon though - GULP!

I'm not getting as much sleep as I'd like, nor as much exercise - with the holidays, my focus has been elsewhere. I plan to start spending as much time planning my health as I do planning Liam's starting in the New Year.

Which brings me to the end of my post. Liam is waking up from his nap and I have laundry to retrieve and shopping to do. So, wish me luck on our first plane trip with baby and I'll be back at least on Tuesday.

Happy Holidays!

Posted by leah at 11:10 AM | Comments (1)

December 20, 2005

Weekly Dose of Cuteness

I don't know if you are going to be able to handle all the cuteness this week, 'cause it's super duper cute.

Here's Liam in his bath with his favourite bath toy - a hippo that squirts water and tells us if the water is too hot. She (the hippo) doesn't have a name yet, 'cause he's still too little to name his toys - being that he isn't talking yet, that would be tough. But I think she's pretty cute too. Here, check them out:

Posted by leah at 09:36 PM | Comments (0)

December 19, 2005

Happy News!

Congratulations to Sue and Jay on their engagement! I am so very happy for you - you make a beautiful couple:

And the bling is pretty nice too :)

Posted by leah at 09:40 PM | Comments (0)

December 16, 2005

Welcome to my anxiety attack

We are going to a party tonight. At night. With other adults. With NO CHILDREN. Without Liam. We have a babysitter coming over. I am very excited. And I am anxious to the point of hyperventilating. Parenthood is hard.

I am very excited to be going to a social engagement with Steve. Other than a couple of movies when parents were in town we haven't gone out since Liam was born. So this rocks. Jess and Guy are so great for agreeing to babysit for us. But at some point I need to relax and enjoy it, which, I hate to admit, is bloody unlikely.

Remember how I said that I worry and obsess? Well OH MY FREAKING GOD, I need to CALM DOWN (Thanks Jess, I know)! I have a hundred gajillion things running through my head that we need to tell Jess and Guy just in case. Like, he will probably wake at about 10pm and make noise, don't go into the room unless you like to listen to a screaming baby. If you just ignore his noises, he will fuss and squeal (but not outright cry) for about 15 minutes and then fall back to sleep. Like, here is the bottle I left you just in case and here's how you warm it and here is the baby bjorn if you need to take hime for a walk to calm him down and here's how you put it on and here are the gas masks in case there is an anthrax attack and... What? It could TOTALLY HAPPEN!

I know I am out of control. We are going to be gone for oh, maybe three hours. I am incredibly pathetic. I hope it gets better. I mean if I can't relax when leaving him with two caring, responsible, close friends how on earth am I ever going to entrust his care to a neighbourhood teenager? How could anyone entrust the care of their child to a teenager? What were those parents thinking in the eighties - leaving me alone with their child? Oh, for the love of God, Leah, PLEASE JUST STOP!

Don't worry, I'll be okay. I have a ridiculous amount of stuff to do today because with all the worrying, I got my days mixed up and somehow thought we were going out on Saturday and I am nowhere near ready for tonight. So that should take my mind off of things for the rest of the day. Sure it will.

You believe me, right?

Update: Just so we're clear, I am not worried that Liam will come to harm, I am worried that if he happens to wake up he will drive my closest friends crazy will all the screaming. And then, my biggest worry of all, I might have to come home early and give up the adult conversation and all of the intoxicating beverages. Yes, there it is, my real worry is I won't be able to get blasted and hurl in a random planter somewhere. Good times.

Posted by leah at 08:55 AM | Comments (2)

December 14, 2005

Happy Birthday Jocelyn!

Great big birthday wishes to Jocelyn:

It's an old picture, but it's already on my computer. Convenient, 'cause I'm lazy.

Hope you have a great time celebrating. Wish I was joining you. Do some dancin' for me.

Posted by leah at 01:17 PM | Comments (1)

I can totally feel my arteries clogging

I made a quiche yesterday. It was my first quiche ever, which is surprising cause I cook a lot. Steve had mentioned a while back that he'd like quiche for dinner sometime, so I thought what the hell, I have most of the ingredients - I'll give it a shot.

Now, anytime I see a recipe that calls for heavy cream, I pause, think about the possible consequences for my ass, and usually look for a different, more ass-friendly recipe. In this case since it was requested by my cutie I threw caution to the wind and vowed to live on carrot sticks for the rest of the week.

I'm not sure why quiche is considered an egg dish, as there are only 4 eggs in a whole quiche. There are 4 eggs in brownies and brownies aren't considered an egg dish. When you think about brownies, you think mmmmmm... dessert not mmmmmm... eggs. Reflecting on what goes into a quiche, is it not so much eggy goodness as it is a WHOLE LOT OF ARTERY CLOGGING SATURATED FAT goodness.

Of couse my pastry turned out great, because my pastry always turns out great. This is not so much due to my skill as a cook as it is the expert instruction on pastry making I was given by one of my ex's mom (Deb P. if you ever somehow find my blog, thanks - I and my family thank you). I'm not so sure about the filling though. It did not seem like restaurant quiche. I don't know why and I really want to know why cause I am a perfectionist when it comes to cooking and there must be a reason that my filling's texture was that of silken tofu. Or maybe quiche is supposed to be like silken tofu? By all accounts it didn't TASTE like silken tofu, which is an enormous plus. Anyone make a lot of quiche? Or know of a resource where quiche is discussed in excruciating detail? This is the level of my obsession with making perfect food - I want the minutia which bores normal people.

I am pretty sure I won't be making it again for a good while though - you can't eat a lot of this stuff without causing serious damage to your health. I don't think the Heart Health Associations approve of dishes that combine bacon, cheddar, cream, eggs and pastry in the same dish. It did taste pretty damn good - though maybe not quite worth all the carrot sticks.

Posted by leah at 11:32 AM | Comments (1)

Why I Hate Stephen Harper Part II

Schmutzie's Fiery One has written an excellent little review of Stephen Harper and the Conservatives that ya just gotta take a look at. Though, what terrifies me seems to amuse said Fiery One over In Palinode's Palace, which gives me hope. So thank you, 'cause I much prefer this hope to the dread that I usually get when thinking about Harper.

Posted by leah at 08:47 AM | Comments (1)

December 13, 2005

Weekly Dose of Cuteness

Considering that I started this blog well after Liam was born, I thought that I would do something a bit different and take you all back to when he was just a month old. His face is smooshy and his limbs are still all curled up like a newborn. It's amazing to me that he looks so very different just five months later. Here he is in his Big Blue Bear onsie - artistic stylings by Nicole:

Posted by leah at 09:26 AM | Comments (0)

December 12, 2005

Enh... Christmas

I finally put some lights up today. I'm not feeling very Christmassy. We're going to my sister-in-law's place in Kentucky for Christmas, so I'm finding it really hard to prepare for the big event when we are going to be on the other side of the border. The things I usually do to prepare for Christmas are decorate, bake and shop. We're not going to be here and I have this baby I have to either entertain or try not to wake up, so decorating isn't all thaat appealing.

And I'm worried that we are going to get hassles if I try to take a bunch of presents and baking over the border. Are they going to want to confiscate my nanaimo bars at the border? If I make cranberry and white chocolate chip cookies, are they going to make me throw them in the big green agriculture bin? If we take presents are we going to get hassles about duty on the way there and the way back? Do I really want to lug presents all the way there just to wrap them up, unwrap them and then cart them all the way back here? How do people usually do this? I can't believe I'm the parent now. My mom is the one who is supposed to worry about this stuff - ARGH! So much pressure and uncertainty!

Do you see why I am not down with the Yuletide? I like having a plan and I like knowing that I am doing what is expected of me and right now I don't know how to make a plan because I don't know the rules and I know that I am obsessing and over analyzing and making myself crazy. So instead I just decided to give up and do nothing which also fills me with dread cause I know that by doing nothing I am not doing what I think is expected of me and on the day I'll feel bad that I didn't do more. And such is my life... worry and obsess - which is why Steve is so good for me, he doesn't care about this stuff.

I am really excited to see my inlaws. That is what I really need to focus on - family. We haven't seen everyone on Steve's side for a long time and most of them haven't met Liam or have only seen him a couple of times a long time ago. I'm sure it'll be great once I shake all these imagined expectations.

Posted by leah at 08:27 PM | Comments (0)

Quandary: Can Nice and Confident Coexist?

Over at DadCentric, they are talking about relational aggression and this statement made me shake my head:

Like all parents, I want my daughter to grow up to be both strong and generous without being ostracized, and want to be very careful that I’m teaching her to be successful in a productive—not destructive—way.

I would love that for everyone's children as well, I would also love world peace and to live in a utopian society, but it ain't gonna happen. On second thought utopia just sounds boring, I don't think I'd want that even if I could have it.

Am I jaded? Am I being too cynical? When did I lose my idealism? Probably in the 2nd grade when Leanne and Roxanne stopped being friends and I took Roxanne's side and we would walk around school saying mean things to Leanne and the few girls that took her side. I think we all learned really quick that it is much safer to be on the side slinging the barbs than defending against them. We also learned that other little girls can be really mean and there is safety in numbers. And thus began our reality in social cliques.

I have been on the shunned end and I have done the shunning. So how do you teach your child to be tolerant and respectful of others, but not so soft that they are a target? Really, you just have to do your best to teach them to be respectful of themselves and others and realize that you have little control over what goes on in the school yard. As much as you think you can protect your child from their peers, you just can't and you probably aren't going to remember just how awful it feels when it happens to you as a kid. That absolute dread every day when you wake up and realize you have to go to school and face another day of crap. *SHUDDER*

I know that boys come with a whole other set of challenges, but I gotta say, I'm a little relieved that I'm not going to have to deal with the whole Queen Bees and Wannabees girl thing. We can talk all we want about how it shouldn't be that way, and it shouldn't, but the reality is that it is, and all the wishing in the world isn't going to make it better for our kids.

I don't have any suggestions on how to fix the problem - I wish I did. I gotta say though, I'm all for school uniforms. It would take a lot of school pressure off for a lot of kids.

Posted by leah at 10:29 AM | Comments (0)

December 09, 2005

Not So Freudian Slips

Now is it just me or has anyone else notice a sudden appearance of the strikethrough font on a lot of blogs these days? The first time I saw it I think was on Suburban Bliss and I thought - hey, clever. And then whammo (I REALLY like saying that, by the way, whammo! whammo! WHAMMO!), it turned up here and here and here and here. I'm sure it's been used before November, but that's when I started to notice it. Is this really a recent phenomenon, or am I just suddenly noticing it?

Regardless, I like the effect - it is quite useful and I have jumped on the bandwagon and added a strike tag to my last post. Though I gotta admit, it leaves me feeling a little dirty.

Posted by leah at 11:13 PM | Comments (0)

Congratulations!!!

I know that you all have heard enough of my bitching and moaning that none of my friends have kids. There are a few of you out there that do have a munchkin or two running about, but you live far away. Though my far away is pretty lame. If it involves crossing a bridge it's far - I'm a downtown girl. In my defense, public transit with a kid is a trying and tiring proposition - if we had a car I might not mind so much.

Anyhow I recently found out that another of my friends is going to join the parenting-fold. Yay! If you could see me you would be witnessing my happy dance - similar to, yet not so energetic as Xander's Snoopy dance. Unfortunately the whole gestation thing means that by the time there is an actual baby I'll shortly start school, but I am still very excited and looking forward to sharing all the parenting bitching stuff with a good friend. As amazing and fun and rewarding as this whole motherhood gig is, it's pretty lonely too.

So, to all the rest of you - go forth, be fruitful and multiply.

Posted by leah at 10:45 PM | Comments (0)

December 08, 2005

Um, yeah, what he said.

I am so tired. After about three weeks of sleeping through the night, Liam has decided he ain't down with that and has started waking twice a night again. At first I thought that he was just getting sick or going through a growth spurt and that it would stop, but no, he is no longer sleeping through the night and you will probably see less activity from me on this site now. I am just too tired to be very coherent. I know I should stop nursing him at night so that he will be more likely to go back to sleep, but at three in the morning I just want to get him to sleep quick so I can go back to bed. We are going to Kentucky for Christmas, so I plan to stop the night nursing when we get back from that. There's no point in doing any sort of sleep training when his routine is about to be majorly disrupted.

So, due to my impairment, I haven't been able to write about the upcoming election like I have wanted to. Specifically, the child care issue. Stephen Harper's puny $1200 a year has me very angry and worried at the same time. Angry that he would jeopardize the subsidy that we qualify for under the Liberals plan and worried that people will vote Conservative just to get a puny $100 a month. THAT is not a child care plan, that is a useless hand out. Child care is going to cost $800 a month - and that is not the most expensive I have checked out - where is the other $400 of the subsidy supposed to come from? That is the jist of my complaint. Thankfully Steve has described it more eloquently.

I need a nap.

Posted by leah at 04:07 PM | Comments (0)

December 06, 2005

Here's a reason to procreate

I don't need a Roomba, I just need one of these. Get to work, Liam.

Posted by leah at 10:32 AM | Comments (0)

Weekly Dose of Cuteness

This week's cuteness has Liam chillin' on the swings at the park in Daddy's shades. BEHOLD!

Posted by leah at 09:00 AM | Comments (0)

December 05, 2005

Being a SAHM is bad for my ass

Or if you like big butts and you cannot lie, it's good for my ass. Perspective is important.

Ever since I can remember, I have struggled with my weight. From the time I was a teenager, I have jumped around from a size 6 to a 12 and everywhere in between. But I have never been bigger than a twelve, until I became a mom. I cannot drop this weight. And I hear EVERYTHING... don't worry the weight will just fall off when you breastfeed, you won't have time to eat when you take care of a baby all day, once he can walk and you are chasing him around it will come off easy. I really fell for the first two which obviously haven't happened or I wouldn't be posting about this, now would I? And the third new mommy lie? Well, let's just say I don't have high hopes for his mobility changing the size of my ass.

So what's a girl to do? It's frustrating to look at all the Hollywood moms who took it off in three months. Proves it can be done - just as long as you can afford to hire an army to whip you back into shape. But even so, THREE MONTHS! And I'm sitting here 6 months later with 25 extra pounds enjoying a long-term lease on my 5'3" frame.

I definitely get exercise. I walk all over the place - Liam and I try to get out at least once a day - and I run for 20 minutes three times a week, but apparently that is not enough to shrink my waistline. And I eat fairly healthfully, I just eat a large volume of healthy stuff, I guess. "But you're healthy, so it shouldn't matter," you say. That is just a very popular lie. Cause it does matter - so I should really do something about it.

The only time I can remember being happy with my weight I was a size 5/6 and friends of mine were worried about me cause I was so small. I wasn't eating much and I wasn't taking very good care of myself, but sadly my self confidence was probably at the highest it's ever been. I remember saying to a friend of mine that when I was heavier I had always thought that if I could just lose some weight I would be happy and I was right. It's easy when you are skinny - you can put on nearly anything and it looks good and people compliment you. I know that I am the same person no matter what size I am - my happiness shouldn't be tied to my weight - but on some level it is.

Now, I'm not really one for New Year's resolutions - I never set them, but maybe just this once since the timing works I'll make one. My goal will be to maintain (ie - not gain) over the Christmas holiday and then really focus on getting into my pre-pregnancy clothes after the New Year. I'll share my progess with you all to keep myself accountable - so you can look for a new weekly feature come January. That is, if I can think of a way to make it entertaining.

Posted by leah at 03:07 PM | Comments (0)

December 01, 2005

Because I like to make myself crazy - wanna join me?

Yesterday Liam got his 6 month shots. I was a bit nervous about it because usually Steve goes with me, but he had a scheduling conflict with work and therefore I had to go alone. It was fine - sure there was crying, but it was short-lived and totally manageable - maybe 5-10 minutes of intermittent crying and then he seemed to forget all about it. But I didn't.

I have a really productive post-immunization ritual. After each round of his shots (2, 4 & 6 months), I have gone home and dealt with a fussy baby all evening and then once he goes to sleep, I put on my MORON hat and start trolling the internet for immunization horror stories. I then start worrying that Liam hasn't made any noises while sleeping and convincing myself that something is wrong. He then wakes up in the morning totally happy and normal. You'd think that I would learn my lesson, but no, because I like to maintain my status as a masochistic CRAZY LADY. Life is just not as much fun without the crazy.

I might be getting a bit better, cause this morning I followed up my search for horror stories with some other-side-of-the-fence medical community information. Now I get a whole six months to forget my lessons learned and start the whole cycle again cause his next shots aren't due until he's a year.

So many of the controversial parenting issues are solved in our house by throwing my hands in the air and saying, "well I got, did, had, etc. X and I turned out okay". Hopefully I turned out okay BECAUSE OF my parent's choices and not IN SPITE OF them.

Posted by leah at 10:09 AM | Comments (3)