stay small, little one

She's growing way too fast! At nearly three months, my sweet baby girl. Lady A, is already getting so big. She's smiling, giggling and tall enough to fit in 6 month old sleepers. How is this possible?

Ok, I know how the 6-month sleeper thing is possible, I married someone who is 6'5", and I'm not a shorty myself. But, does she really need to grow so quickly?

I already have one little lady who is wise beyond her 2 years and 9 months, and now a baby who is showing me once again how quickly time passes.

One of my girlfriends and I were chatting about this the other day, about how you want everything to go just a little faster with your first child - you're ready for the sleepless nights to end, you want your child to crawl, walk, and talk because each new milestone is so exciting. But not the second time around. In fact, I'm finding its quite the opposite; I want things to slow down. She's already trying to roll over, and before I know it she'll be strapping on her first pair of running shoes, and chasing after her big sister! I just want her to be my little snugglebug a while longer.

I do find I'm able to enjoy the baby stage in a much different way this time though, which is nice. Its likely because I know each stage doesn't last forever, and of course, part of it can be attributed to the fact that I'm more confident in my parenting skills this time so can relax a little more. But, since I can't make time stand still (although that would be a pretty awesome superpower), I'll just soak up each moment with both my girls, knowing that time passes all too quickly. Thank goodness each stage is so much fun in its own way.

roughin' it

There comes a time in everyone's life where you just can't help it. You just won't make it in time. You just have to do it right now. There's no other choice. 

Well, the other choice is having a very wet carseat. 

The other night, after a nice dinner out, and perhaps a little too much fluid at the dinner table, Lady M could not hold it any longer on the drive home, so like any good parents we contemplated our options: 

• suggest she hold it until we got home, risking the wet carseat
• find the nearest public restroom as quickly as possible
• or, the inevitable...

That's right; we pulled over to the side of the road, and let our baby girl pee in the grass. I always thought her first moment of roughin' it would be on her first canoe trip, or while experiencing some fabulous outdoor adventure. But no, it was on the local expressway, a mere five minutes from our home, with cars zipping by. No cottage scenery or waterlilies dancing along the water here...just a patch of grass, my little lady, and me holding her up. 

The best part of the whole experience was how fabulous Lady M thought the scenario was. Quickly going from grave concern, and a stern face as she tried desperately tried to hold it in the car, to realizing I was actually letting her squat in the grass to empty her bladder made her light up like a Christmas tree - she was thrilled! She started giggling, I started giggling, and Cal was laughing right along with us from the driver's seat. (Lady A was fast asleep in the back, blissfully ignorant to what was happening). 

So, it was no canoe trip, but my little lady's first experience of roughin' it was memorable. In fact, the next day when we were heading somewhere in the car she told me she didn't have to go to the bathroom beforehand. Thankfully, I knew her plan...but there would be no expressway pit stops that day. 

fuckle...

It drives me crazy when people mispronounce words. I have a degree in English after all, so that gives me the right to make fun of others when they say words incorrectly, right? However, for some reason the delicious chocolate frozen treats enjoyed in the summertime have always been known to me as a 'fudgicle', as opposed to a 'fudgsicle'.

I suppose like many people who mispronounce words, I never really realized that I did. That was, until I said it one time several summers ago to my husband who teased me mercilessly. Why did I drop the 's'? I have no idea; but I liked the way it sounded, so I went with it. Even after realizing the correct way to say it, I chose not to. Truthfully, I was just being stubborn, wanting to do things my own way, as usual!!

So last night we bought a box of this timeless summer treat and I sent Lady M to ask her daddy if he wanted one. I fed her the line, and she headed over to him and said "do you want a fuckle?". Er, my mispronunciation has just come around to bite me in the butt. I was laughing like crazy, but I'm not sure that I should encourage the word 'fuckle' to be in my two-year-old daughter's vocabulary.

After my fits of giggles subsided, and I pulled myself off the floor where I had turned into a puddle of laughter, I tried again. Carefully pronouncing the unnecessary "s", I said "oh, he'd like a fudgSicle?", and she said "yes, a fud-sicle". Phewf.

I guess that means I'll have to call it a fudgsicle too...lesson learned.

the bug conundrum...

I'm ok with bugs - for the most part. I can find a spider in my house, and have no problem sending it to its watery grave...although it always gives me a little chill when I have to do so. I spent several years of my life working at a summer camp, and bugs were just part of the deal (along with assorted rodents and wildlife). As long as they weren't too big and scary, I was ok with getting them out of the cabin as necessary. Especially when you've got a cabin full of young girls who are scared of them, somehow you just assume the parental role and remove the creepy crawler as needed.

But now, I really have assumed the parental role. Last week Lady M and I were getting the laundry from downstairs while Lady A was slumbering in dreamland. While downstairs, Lady M said she had to go to the washroom so we hustled upstairs to her potty. Once she was settled, I went back downstairs to grab the abandoned laundry basket. I was halfway upstairs when Lady M started screaming "Mummy! Mummy!" and burst into a fit of sobs. Assuming she was stuck in the toilet or had hurt herself somehow, I dropped the laundry basket on the landing and went to her rescue. She was standing outside the washroom, inconsolable and it took a minute before she finally calmed down enough to tell me what was wrong.

After asking 'what's wrong' several times, she finally pointed to the base of the stairs where a little spider was exploring a square inch of our main floor. It had completely freaked her out, and I'm really not sure why! Cal and I are ok with spiders, so she's never seen us react that way. Her Auntie Muff (who is incredibly afraid of spiders) lives on the other side of the country, so she hasn't seen her reaction, and I don't recall her seeing anything on tv or reading a book where someone was afraid of spiders. So, I'm not sure where the fear developed, but suddenly the creepy crawlers that intrigue her outdoors elicit an entirely different reaction indoors.

Today she found a moth type creature in her curtain before nap time and called for me to come up and remove it. She didn't burst into tears like last time, and I tried to make sure she didn't see my little shudder when I removed it from her room. I'm the parent after all, even if I hate it, I have to pretend its not so bad, right? Hopefully she'll get over this little fear in no time.

wedding season is open!

Yesterday marked the first wedding of the year for Cal and I...and it was wonderful! I loved planning my wedding; every little detail was exactly what we wanted, and almost five years later I still look back at it and wouldn't change a thing. So, now I really enjoy attending other people's weddings to see what choices that have made in planning their own big day, and always enjoy seeing how the ceremony and reception complement the couple.

The wedding we attended yesterday was for a great friend from my university years, so not only was it fun to see this lovely couple tie the knot, it was a real treat to see several old friends from school who we don't get to see very often; the same people who witnessed the beginning of our own relationship when Cal and I started dating, and shared in our wedding day with us. Just having the opportunity to catch up with some friends we haven't seen in a while - those who flew in for the occasion, those who live around the corner, and those who we just don't get to see very often - made an already great day even better.

This particular wedding had the most adorable flower girls and ring bearers who were incredibly well-behaved, which made me really excited to see my little Lady M as a flower girl in a few short weeks. We've got her dress already, and she loves wearing her 'wedding shoes' around the house. She doesn't quite understand what she's going to be doing as the flower girl, but I think its going to be fun to watch! And my dear friend, the bride, says that even if she doesn't walk down the aisle, that's ok! We'll see how it all goes down soon...

It was also Lady A's first big event, and she seemed to be quite riveted as she slept through most of the night! She happily slumbered through the ceremony, until the reception started, and right through the appetizer. She woke up for the main course and dessert, had her own little meal and slipped back into dreamworld. She was a star guest!

So, with this wedding over, the couple happily married, starting their lives together, and feeling blissfully caught up with old friends, it's time to keep working on preparations for the next wedding - which will be filled with friends from high school - another group to catch up with and enjoy the company of!

Wedding season is officially open!

confession of a stay at home mum

When I was off on maternity leave with Lady M, I succumbed to a lot of daytime television; the characters filled the space of 'adult chat' I was lacking at the time, and I couldn't help but enjoy them. However, as the months passed, and she started to pay attention to the television, I stopped watching a lot of things in front of her, as any good parent would. Of course, after going back to work I had to give up the glorious world of The Price is Right, Rachael Ray and The View. (However, I'll be honest - after watching the latter two for nearly a year, I couldn't stand any of the hosts any more, so wasn't too devestated to give them up!)

However, I'm now enjoying maternity leave, round two, which has opened up some new shows to me that I didn't know about having spent my days in an office and not near a television for quite some time. So what have I discovered? Well, when Lady M naps each afternoon, and I spend a significant amount of time feeding Lady A, I've started watching a show called The Talk. Its like The View, only lighter and less malicious! (Obama was elected days before Lady M was born, so the show was rather politically fueled when I watched it a few years ago). Now, I get right into The Talk every day, and must admit, I love it!

I've also been a fan of The Price is Right since I was a kid - my brother and I used to love to watch it at lunch. We'd watch it in the kitchen while eating lunch, would run up to brush our teeth after the showcase showdown bids were in, and would head back across the street to school as soon as the winner was revealed. I still find the same enjoyment in watching it from time to time when I'm home. And might I add, Drew Carey is a fantastic host! 

Now onto the more significant confession...

What I'm about to tell you, I'm not proud of; please don't think differently of me...but I'll just say it: I'm addicted to shows about the Kardashian family. Yes, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Kourtney & Kim Take New York, Khloe & Kourtney Take Miami, Khloe & Lamar - thanks to my newly aquired E! channel, I'm watching them all. Please forgive me, this is very embarrassing, but they are trash tv at their finest, and thanks to my PVR I've become well versed in the adventures of this ridiculous family.

I tried to keep my secret Kardashian indulgence from Cal, but thanks to the PVR listings, he quickly caught on to what I was watching, and thoroughly enjoys making fun of me for enjoying such smutty entertainment. What can I say?

I'm not alone, obviously - other people must be watching these shows! I couldn't tell you if any of my friends do though, as I'm not very open about how much I watch it. (I fear my darling Psychologist friend may offer me some free counseling sessions after reading this...)

But there - I've said it; its out there in the open. I'm a stay at home mum who enjoys smut. But, with two girls in the house now, it will be a limited viewing window, because surely these are not shows that will be on around them when the tv is on in their presence. And eventually I have to go back to working full time...

But, for now, I'll enjoy every minute of it!!

welcoming lady a

Its been a busy time around here having welcomed our newest little munchkin just two weeks ago. Although my pregnancy was completely different from start to finish, and I was certain I would be welcoming a little man into the family, I was more than thrilled to discover that we had another little girl! 

Lady A made a simple entrance into our lives; with about 6 good pushes, she came into the world, and my doctor almost missed her delivery! I'm pleased to say he made it on time though, because if he hadn't, Cal may have had some more responsibility in the delivery room than he bargained for! 

The entire delivery was much simpler than sharing a hospital room with the loudest snoring new mom I could ever imagine later that night, but that's a story for another day...  

Of course Lady M has been the wonderful big sister we always imagined she would be; she just wants to play with her sister's 'teeny little toes' and offer her love and hugs at every turn. She's even quick to share her favourite stuffed animals and toys, which is really nice to see. Of course its been an adjustment, as Lady M has had all of our attention for a long time, but I think we're all managing the change very well. 

Its funny how quickly you realize that having one baby, no matter how challenging you thought it was, was really quite simple! Managing two is a whole other story. That being said, I'm sure parents who have more than two...or multiples...would say two is a breeze! Its all relative, that's for sure. I think back to how challenging I thought one baby was at the time, but now it all seems so easy. But, this time I don't have the stress of figuring out how to be a parent, and I find I felt like myself again very quickly.

Getting to be at home with my two girls is just wonderful, although Lady M keeps asking when Lady A will be able to play with her; its hard to understand that it will still take a while. But for now she seems happy when her little sister just wants to look at her, and wiggle her toes.

So, after the first two weeks, we're doing rather well. And now that I know I have my two girls, I look forward to everything that we can do together as they grow up, and look forward to seeing the relationship they have with one another and with Cal and I as they grow...