Sweet justice

My oldest daughter has been obsessed with going to Calaway Park all summer. Ever since the flyer came in the mail depicting throngs of smiling children merrily walking the midway and going on rides she has been talking about Calaway Park and it's "all you can ride buffet". Interestingly the frazzled parents carrying bags laden with sunscreen, bugspray, ritz bits etc and covered in sticky cotton candy/candy apple finger prints are somehow left out of the advertisement. Since then she has taken to writing the words "all you can ride buffet" on various paper like surfaces. When I was cleaning the kitchen the other day I noticed her childlike printing scrawled on the back of a photo. Sure enough, it was the aforementioned phrase. Curious, I turned the photo over and there centred in the middle and taking up most of the space was the well endowed derriere of my ex-mother-in-law. (The kids had taken a disposable camera with them on their last trip to MB and for some bizarre reason thought they needed a picture of their grandmother's butt)It was one of those sort of satisfying moments, so much so that I had to keep the picture. Now, if things get nasty with my ex-in-laws as they so often seem to, I can pull out that photo with the words printed on the back and smile.

She's here!!!

It's kind of been a surreal sort of week. Last Thursday I was enduring the sympathetic comments of T's co-workers and trying to do anything possible to bring on labour in order to avoid an artificial induction (can anyone see the irony there?), this Thursday I take my almost week old baby girl for her one week check-up. Apparently all my efforts Thursday past were not in vain. By midnight I was in labour and by 3am I was bailing on a conversation with a friend and debating whether or not to make the 40 min drive out to Stony Plain. I'll save the gory details for another time and just keep to the basics. After a relatively easy labour and delivery we welcomed Alexandria Elizabeth Katrine to the world at 11am on July 15. Interestingly, she was not as pleased with this event as we were and was declared to be one of the most pissed of babies ever delivered in that location . She weighed 9lbs 9oz which was significantly more than I was expecting and made stepping on the scale the next morning all the more fun. I've got to hand it to midwives, they really know their job. By 4:00 that day, we were headed for home -baby in the backseat, well earned tim hortens iced cappuccino in hand. All in all, I felt pretty good. Since then, the baby's mellowed significantly and life has sort of settled into a slightly elevated state of choas.

One down, two to go

Well, the due date has come and gone, the eviction notice has been posted and still there is no indication that this baby would like to make her appearance any time soon. I'm not at all surprised but I am getting tired of well meaning strangers making comments like "oh my god...when are you due?" and "is that really a baby...i've never seen anyone with a belly so perfectly round before"The midwife's orders this morning were to go home and have sex 3X in the next 24 hours and then take a specified homeopathic tincture every 5 min for the 2 hours following with the hope that it will induce labour. It's going to be a very long night. You all really wanted to know that didn't you?

It's amazing how far away the floor can seem when you're only 5'2 (and 3/4). I've adopted a new policy. If it can't be picked up with my toes, it was never meant to be off the floor.

Moving Day

I never want to move again! If there is a next time I plan to be in a position to afford movers or maybe professional cleaners, or some sort of coma inducing medication, or at the very least, able to see my feet while standing. Once the mind-numbing fatigue disipates and all of my possessions have been freed from the cardboard which encases them, and my dreams are no longer haunted by abrasive scrubby sponges and orange scented Mr Clean, I will return.

Once again my hands are stained with the ink of many newspapers and the house is covered in cardboard boxes. I'd like to say that I'm excited about this move, but to be honest all I feel is exhaustion. In some ways i keep waiting for something else to go wrong. Nothing has gone smoothly yet.I also have a whole new appreciation for my family. The last time we moved, they helped out when they could. This time, its just me and Yanna doing all the packing and she's much better at unpacking and playing with the boxes and tape. On the upside, we're moving into a brand new and spotlessly clean house. This means no scrubbing walls or cupboards, no finding the left behind garbage of previous owners stashed in unlikely places, no needing to paint or clean up the yard.....I can appreciate all of this.The other advantage to moving now, and I realize that I'm totally leaving myself open to all sorts of interesting comments, is that I can't get pregnant. The last two time that we have moved I've been pregnant within 2 months of unpacking. Needless to say once we found this house, we made haste in getting an early possession date. :)

I'm fat, I can't see my feet anymore and doing up my belt (which ironically I still need) has become more challenging than should be allowed. Time, which had previously flown by, has now started to crawl at an inhumane snail's pace. These next 13ish weeks are going to be fun. I think I'd better go find some cheese to go with that whine....and maybe some salsa....

I've sort of avoided putting anything in my lj as of late to spare all of you the emotionally volatile ramblings of one suffering from pregnancy induced psychosis. Did you know that a woman's brain actually shrinks during pregnancy (they tell me it returns to normal in the post-partum period, but frankly, I'm inclined to disbelieve) I'm barely coherent at the best of times, imagine what occurs with the decrease in grey matter. It's frightening.

After over a month and much frustration, it appears that we may once again become home-owners. This pleases me to no end....especially because our new neighbors have a dog and a distinct liking for cheesy metal played loudly. I wish I could say that I was more mature and could ignore their inconsiderate behaviour, but alas, I'm not. I've chosen to blame that one on the pregnancy as well. T went out and bought himself a subwoofer for the surround sound on the TV and damn but the LOTR trilogy sounds quite amazing when played at higher than considerate decibels. I've also noticed that their dog only barks when they arent' there so I've found a sadistic sort of pleasure in knocking on the wall in various places when she does bark thereby sending her into a frenzy of growling and running around their house. I think it's safe to say that I've sunk to a whole new level.

"I'm sorry, it's a girl."

To be honest, I'm not sure how to feel about that comment. Somehow "it's a girl" doesn't seem to be the proper diagnosis that is preceeded by an offering of condolence. However, it does appear that T and I are to be the proud parents of another girl. (Much prayer...or valium will be required when all 3 have hit puberty...and I should probably go now and buy one of those hair colouring kits for people with excessive grey. T's going to need it.) I'd love to say that the anticipated event should occur during the first few days of July, but anyone with any knowledge of my previous record knows not to expect to hear anything for quite some time after. So far everything looks good...the correct number and placement of body parts, organs etc. I can appreciate that.

It's funny how there are moments in your life when you know that things are no longer the same. It can be a simple as finding out that there really aren't pirates in big ships or as painful as realizing the impact of a good friends death. I had a friend. I stood up for him despite many peoples advise otherwise. sacrificed for him and believed in him even though he repeatedly let me down. Now I feel like an idiot. I'm not angry at him, but rather, furious at myself for being so blind. I should have realize things sooner and just given up when everyone told me to-but I'm tenacious and stubborn and don't know when to quit. I enjoy a challenge and honestly thought that at some point my efforts would be appreciated.T and I left for a much needed trip to Wpg. I had thought that it would be nice to get away and leave everything at home. He had said that he would house sit...let the dogs out, feed the menagerie of pets etc. It wasn't a whole lot to ask in light of all we have given. Apparently though, it was too much to ask. I called up a different friend to check up on things..just in case. I had hoped that it wasn't necessary. It was a good thing because he came in the house to find the kitchen covered in the filth of dogs who had been neglected for a day and a half. I am furious and feeling stupid but interestingly, not angry at this individual because as far as i'm concerned... he was a bad experience...a learning experience...and no longer exists in my life.Sorry all for the rant but I had to get it out...the time on my counter is now at 2min reamaining...gotta love interent cafe's

coffee junkies unite

This isn't going to come as a shock to anyone, but I really appreciate a truly good cup of coffee. The dark coloured liquid that Tim Horton's tries to pass off as coffee is not coffee. In fact, it's an embarrassment to the sacred name coffee. But, I buy the stuff....I don't enjoy it but I drink it. I like my coffee black, the way it's supposed to be...pure, untainted coffee. Tim Hortons coffee cannot, in my opinion, be consumed this way. Copious amounts of cream and sugar must be added to make the beverage bearable. It's funny what we will put up with for convenience sake. I even reheated my truly terrible cup of joe, because i didn't finish it while it was hot. It's even worse the second time around. Damn Tim Hortons and their nicotine laden coffee.

Mental note to self: the guys who install flooring exist for a reason. All things considered though, the new kitchen floor looks pretty damn good- especially given that it was done by a bunch of amateurs with almost no experience. We didn't kill each other either, which I believe says a lot about our relationship. I do however believe that a book deal on "101 ways to combine various curses thereby making them even better" could be in the works. Fortunately the kids were spending the day at grandmas so there shouldn't be any problems when I pick them up from daycare. Daycares don't seem to like foul language...go figure. Now that the floor is in, all that's left to do is paint. This is the part that I'm excited about. In a twisted kind of way, I love painting. I would probably repaint my house monthly if I was allowed. At first we were just going to use the same colours, but how much fun is that really? So, with all the major work being done, I am extremely happy (you have no idea how much) to report that the house is almost odour free. There's still a funk coming from some where but it's nothing like the eye watering outhouse stench that we came home to. The kids are no longer asking to move which I'm considering a really good sign.On the employment front, mommy guilt kicked in with an extra punch this morning when I dropped my sobbing, clinging 1 yr old off thus causing me to ponder the idea of opening my own liscenced daycare. It could be just the fumes from the linoleum adhesive but it's starting to sound like a good idea. It would only be for a year or two and I would make more money doing that as compared to working full time and paying for childcare. Without the partial subsidy that I managed to qualify for, daycare expenses would have been over 1000$ per month this summer....that's outrageous. As it is I'm still paying somewhere between 3 and 400. It's something to think about, I guess. The evenings, weekends and holidays off are a nice perk too. Not sure if I could do it though...*sigh*

Trudging on with the tenacity and resilience of.....a salamander??

I've come to realize that the last 30 hours have not been all bad. My carpets are now closer than I ever thought posssible to their original shade of creamish-brownish thanks to hours of going back and forth with a rug doctor and some heavy duty, odour fighting cleaners. The new linoleum for the kitchen floor is purchased and sitting ready to be installed. We also happened to find our ex-roommates salamander. He had three of them last year. One plucky little guy had decided to make a break for it and take his chances in the wilds of our basement. He was never seen again....until today. Even more surprising was that he was still alive. Slightly smaller and thinner than previously noted but doing all right for an amphibian that was far from home. After some discussion with the kids regarding why we couldn't keep him or sell him to a pet store, we decided that he would be happiest in the duck's unlimited pond. After a harrowing ride to his new home in a bucket and then a starbucks grande sized cup Sal finally found his freedom. We left fairly quickly because knowing my luck as of late something probably came along and ate him....and I'd prefer to be none the wiser. As far as I know he's swimming along happily doing his slimy salamander thing and I can live with that.Except for dealing with the my house is now the outhouse incident, our trip to Winnipeg was pretty good. We ate too much sushi and did a whole lot of nothing particular. It was nice. I think I need to do it more often.

The girls started daycare today. It's funny, free time was something that didn't exist in my life but instead of feeling liberated I felt kind of lost. The world is a different place with a kid on one hip. You notice things more. Nothing is lost or unappreciated to them because it's all new. Bugs, leaves, cracks in the sidewalk are all things to be explored. Unfortunately Yanna is still in the stage where proper exploration means "let's see if i can stuff this in my mouth before mom catches me" It felt kinda odd hanging out today, doing my own thing....maybe i'll appreciate it more tomorrow.