Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Wordful Wednesday: A Christmas Lilahbility

It's the day after the day after the day after Christmas and the gifts have all been opened.  (Well, not all, actually - we're saving a few of Lilah's for a rainy day.  Oh, who am I kidding?  It's winter in Vancouver, they're all rainy days!  More accurately, we're saving them for a bored and grumpy day.)  The turkey has been devoured, the joy and excitement felt, the giggles shared, and the photos snapped.

 
A little Christmas morning magic
My tongue and teeth hurt from all the crap I have eaten over the past few days, and  yet, as I sit here, I am unwrapping yet another mini Toblerone bar.  Santa put too many in my stocking and I just can't stay away.  Besides, I have only a few more days to indulge before those darned New Year's Resolutions must be abided.

Another Christmas is over, and I have that feeling of satisfaction, fullness, and restlessness that comes in the wake of overindulgence, time with family, and barely-contained chaos.  It was a good one, my friends.

My Christmas spirit had been almost completely quashed by Lilah's illness during the two weeks leading up to the festivities.  I wrote about it here, but little did I know that it wasn't actually over at that point.  Two more days of vomiting and diarrhea had us driving to a drop-in medical clinic at 5pm on Tuesday.  All we got from that was a little reassurance and a requisition for a stool sample.  You'll have to get the Hubs to share that story someday - a whole new high in his parenting experience, I assure you!  But by Wednesday she was starting to seem a bit more like the Lilahbility we know and love, so we decided to proceed with our plans to head to the top of Grouse Mountain for our breakfast with Santa.  Well, this is how that turned out:


It was a little ambitious, perhaps.  No matter, the Hubs and I enjoyed our buffet breakfast, and Lilah was so exhausted by the whole experience that she dozed off during the four minute gondola ride back down to the bottom of the mountain and then fell into a deep sleep on the car ride home.  I think she'll enjoy it a lot more next year, when she is a little older and more Christmas-savvy and (knock on wood) not just getting over an epic tummy bug.


The real magic happened on Christmas day.  It was enough  to make me believe in Christmas miracles again.  Our girl, who has been under the weather and a little sad for quite some time now was happy and smiling - an absolute delight all day long.  And she ate.  Boy, did she eat!  The clinginess and whines for "mama" of the past few weeks were replaced with giggles and cute scrunchy-faced smiles.  And that was the best Christmas gift we could ever have asked for.  My new camera accoutrements, tickets to Cirque du Soleil, and bath products were really just icing on the cake.




Christmas finery provided by Grandma and Grandpa
We arrived at my in-laws' place long before the rest of the family, so there was plenty of time to bond with Grandma and Grandpa (after the requisite warm-up period, of course), admire the tree and decorations, and for Lilah to indulge in a long winter's nap before things got really chaotic: 
It's not a wild and crazy Christmas dinner unless someone takes their clothes off.
(In her defence, her three-year-old cousin did it first.)

If you were wondering how she got the belly in the last photo, this would be it.
Apparently ice cream is now a finger food.  The spoon was purely for show.
I think we are now officially in the "holiday hangover" phase.  There are a few extra Toblerone pounds on my frame.  There are brand new toys strewn across my living room that the Hubs and I have been tripping over a hundred million times a day.  There is a lop-sided gingerbread house with most of the candy decorations picked off, looking a little sad and forlorn on the kitchen counter.  All proof that things are just as they should be at this time of year.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

This is the Time of Year...

This is the time of year...

When I want to scream at the traffic lights, "C'mon, change.  Change.  CHANGE!!!"

When the sappiest, cheesiest, most obvious things make me cry.

When I am constantly running behind and apologizing to myself and others for just not being able to do it all.

When I want to create holiday traditions for my little family that will last through the years; traditions that my kid(s) will look back on with fond memories when they start their own families.

When being at the mall makes me feel like this:
"Oh no, we're going to the mall?  Again???!!!"
When I feel so incredibly lucky to be able to say (with total honesty) that I genuinely like my in-laws!

When our bank account bleeds money.  Like a severed artery.  With no hope of rescue till January.

When I remind myself to take stock and count my many blessings.  The past 18 months have been one wild, amazing, bumpy, and beautiful ride.


MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Wordless Wednesday

The Hair Edition:

I can't believe you are making me wear my hair like this.  Oh, the humiliation!

Wait!  I have an idea!

Almost there. Just. Have. To. Pull. A. Little. More...

Got it!

Muuuuuch better!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Vomitous

*This blog contains graphic descriptions of a family dealing with a nasty stomach virus.  Reader discretion is advised*

Hi, it's me.  I haven't been around much lately, I know.  There's a good reason for that.

What's that smell, you ask?  Sorry.  It's kinda been following me around since last Monday.  It might be the smell of the contents of our fridge rotting since it's barely been touched in the past week.  Or it could be vomit.

Lilah brought us home a little present last Monday.  It was... (in best Price is Right voice) a lovely stomach bug!!!  And when Miss Lilah has a tummy ailment, she doesn't rest until all the contents of her stomach are strewn across our apartment.  Oh, and she also marks the hallway and front steps of our apartment building as her territory too, just for good measure.

So that was the beginning of last week.  I stayed home with her on Tuesday, and the Hubs took the day off to look after her on Wednesday.  It was kind of a relief to go to work on Wednesday knowing that she was starting to turn the corner and her daddy was looking after her.  And once I had showered the vomit out of my hair, I was feeling pretty spiffy and ready to be a speech therapist again, as opposed to playing the role of barf-cleaner-upper I had on Tuesday. 

But apparently I started celebrating too soon.  My first appointment of the day?  An adorable four-year-old boy.  He and his mother rush in, slightly distraught at being 10 minutes late due to traffic.  No sooner do they get in the door then he upchucks in the front entrance/waiting area.  While his mom is busy cleaning him up in the bathroom, someone has to deal with the chunks in the waiting room.  When I saw one of our admin staff members jump right in - with gloves on, of course - and it happened to be her birthday, poor woman - I strapped some gloves and got down to work too.  I'd been dealing with it for the past two days anywayBut that's when I started to suspect that the vomit might be following me around.

Lilah seemed to be recovering, and when neither the Hubs or I had come down with it by Saturday, I figured we were in the clear.  One thing I have learned in my 17 months as a parent is that, as soon as you think you are in the clear for anything, the universe will mock you.  Sunday night I started feeling a little woozy and achy and by midnight I knew I would be calling in sick on Monday.  I may gloss over the details here, because nobody wants to hear about the inner workings of my digestive system, but let me just tell you, this was one nasty bug.  And then of course Lilah, who had been okay for four whole days, randomly puked all over the Hubs after he picked her up from daycare that afternoon.

My many warnings to the Hubs to eat bland food in case he, too, should come down with this horrid bug went unheeded.  The man thinks he is invincible.  Seriously, any reference to illness or injury has him assuring me that he is Wolverine of the X-men.  Sure enough, 4:30 am on Wednesday saw him sprinting to the bathroom gagging and sorely regretting his decision to eat nothing but hummus and chocolate for dinner on Tuesday.

Now it is the weekend again and the Hubs and I are back to gorging ourselves on the rich food of the season.  Lilah, having actually learned something from the whole experience, is still studiously avoiding any food that happened to be in her tummy at the onset of each episode, which, let's be honest, was pretty much all her regular foods and stand-by meals.  Which means she is currently essentially living off mac 'n' cheese and breast milk.

And now, almost two weeks after the whole debacle started, I'm finally starting to shake the vomit smell from my nostrils.  Sweet baby Jesus, I think I can smell the candy canes and gingerbread again!

Got any vomit stories you'd like to share?  Tell me in the comments, and don't worry if it's gross -  I have a strong stomach (most of the time)!

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Secret Garden

On Saturday we went to a two-year-old's birthday party in North Vancouver.  It's about a half hour drive for us, and we knew Lilah would probably take a wee nap in the car, as is her habit when we drive anywhere on weekend mornings.  We always try to time our morning outings with her mid-morning nap.  Too early, and she won't nap on the way there but will fall asleep on the way home, which means either a very short nap and a cranky baby, or parents sitting in the parking garage bored out of their minds and wishing they, too, were napping.   Too late, and it will mess up the beloved and lengthy afternoon nap. 

This birthday party didn't start until 11:00am*, so we decided to head to North Van a little early and aim for a 10:00am-ish car nap.  We didn't want to surprise our hosts by showing up egregiously early, so we drove to a nearby strip mall parking lot to wait for the Lilahbility to wake up.  When she did, there was still about half an hour to kill before party time.  I spotted a public garden that was accessible from the mall parking lot and was advertising its Christmas light display.  Of course, this being 10:30am, the lights weren't on, but we decided to check it out anyway.  I am so glad we did.  What a beautiful little gem of a garden, tucked away where you'd least expect it!

*In my old life, I would have laughed in the face of anyone ridiculous enough to utter the sentence "This party didn't start until 10 am," but now it sounds perfectly reasonable to me.  I've already been up for five hours by that point!


Anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that I am hardly the bubbly, enthusiastic type.  I get excited about things, sure, but I don't tend to wear it on the outside like many people do.  Mine is usually a more quiet type of enthusiasm (drunken exuberance aside).  But lately I find myself noticing the beauty around me more than ever, and just needing to point it out and exclaim over it.  A pretty sunrise on my daily commute to work just has to be pointed out to my carpool buddies.  The moutains with their snowy peaks are just dying to be admired, and none too quietly, either.  I think this has a lot to do with my newfound passion for photography, which was ignited by having Lilah and then receiving my fancy new camera as a gift from the Hubs.  I often find myself wishing I had my camera with me to capture this image or that, and I almost always find myself wishing I were a better photographer so I could do certain moments justice.

 
A great shot made slightly less great by my penchant for showing too much eyelid.

So when we found this little hidden gem of a garden (or perhaps not-so-hidden, if you live in North Van), with night frost still glistening, I was all, "oooh I have got  to get a shot of this fountain - look how the light hits the water!" and "Ohmygod how amazing is this gazebo? Oh, the vines! And the hanging stars! We need a picture of that!"  I wanted to photograph everything, to remember the beauty of the garden and that moment in time

But Lilah had other ideas.  Having just woken up from a nap, she had been ripped from her warm cozy carseat and thrust out into the morning chill, and no way was she letting Mama put her down.  So the Hubs took most of the pictures.  I decided to go with it and take advantage of the opportunity for a rare mother-daughter photo shoot.



The Oriental Garden, with its pond complete with foot bridge, bonsai trees, and its authentic Japanese tea house was my absolute favourite part. 


This is one of the few photos I took in the thirty seconds Lilah allowed me to put her down. 
Hokey as it sounds, it was truly a magical morning!  And it was that much more special for being totally unexpected.

Have you stumbled upon any hidden gems lately?  Has your camera impacted the way you see the world?  Tell me about it in the comments!

Saturday, December 4, 2010

The Girl Who Cried Poo-Poo

Lilah has started pointing to her diaper and saying "poo-poo" when it's dirty and needs changing.  Like many moms, I have high hopes about What This Means For Future Potty Training Readiness.  However, she also always says no when asked if she's done a poo-poo and needs her diaper changed.  Toddlers, who can understand them?

For the time being this subject is more like a hobby for Lilah.  We hear a lot about poo-poo even when there is none in the diaper.  She comments whenever the Hubs or I take a potty break.  Her dollies get regular diaper changes, and guests to our home are ceremoniously presented with diapers along with the usual random crap treasures, such as books and teddies and plastic food items.  Our poor cats have been subjected to being chased around the apartment with Lilah waving a (clean) diaper at them and trying to convince them to sit still for its application.  (Walking a mile in my shoes for once!)

Late one afternoon last weekend, we bundled Lilah into the stroller to talk a walk, get some errands done, and pick up some dinner.  She started whining and crying the minute we put her in to the stroller, but she'd been havnig a challenging day, so we didn't think much of it and carried on to see if she would calm down once we were on a busier street with lots to look at.  Three blocks later she was still crying, so the Hubs turned around and brought her home while I carried on with the errands.  Turns out she'd had a dirty diaper and had somehow managed to sneak it past us.  Usually there are obvious signals - much grunting, turning red in the face, and of course the pungent odour.  But this one was sneaky.  I can't say for sure, but there might have been a declaration of "poo-poo" that got lost in the hustle and bustle of getting ready to go.  If there was, it was probably mistaken for general poopy banter rather than an alert as to the State of the Diaper.

The moral of the story?  Don't cry "poo-poo" when there is none.  The villagers won't believe you when you have a real poo-poo situation!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

November 2010 Recap

Amber Strocel does a monthly recap and has invited others to play along and link up. So here's what I learned in November:

1. Daylight Savings is useless to me now.  Those days when "fall back" meant an extra hour to party -in my early twenties- and an extra hour to sleep -in my late twenties- are long gone.  It now means not only waking up at six am when the rest of the world thinks it's seven, but it also entails trying to trick the surprisingly stubborn body clock of a little one.  It took over four days for Lilah to recover from the hour time change!

2.  Baby kisses are highly addictive.

Always have to steal my kisses from her.
3.  A long weekend family getaway is worth its weight on gold.

4.  Apparently meteorologists have the inside scoop on the weather and it is possible for Vancouver to get snow in November.

This was after most of the snow had melted
5. I really need to keep a spare pair of contact lenses and some solution in my desk drawer at work.  Driving home with one lens in your eye is not only dangerous, it's a recipe for a wicked headache by the end of the commute.

6.  The bedtime routine is precious and I'm glad I documented here.

7. Lilah does not enjoy having her photo taken first thing in the morning.

Put. The. Camera. AWAY.
8. Online shopping is totally boss!

9.  Lilah likes to sing, and according to the comments I got on the video I posted (here and on Facebook), she's not half bad.  I wasn't the only one who heard "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" amongst all that jargon!

10.  Attempting to fit into your skinny jeans after applying moisturizer when you're already having a fat day is not only an exercise in futility, it can also lead to self-esteem issues and feelings of worthlessness.  Best to skip the skinny jeans altogether, even if it means fishing something out of the dirty laundry pile.  Stained and wrinkled pants are better than sausage thighs any day.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Wednesday of Few Words: Bobs and Lolo

On Friday Lilah met Bobs and Lolo.  They performed a mini concert at the Gap and, after rocking out to their music for half an hour, Lilah was just dying to have her picture taken with them.  Oh sure, she acted all aloof, and she pretended to be totally absorbed in the piece of cauliflower she was munching on, but on the inside she was like a frenzied tween waiting in line to meet Hannah Montana.  Or the latest pop sensation, whomever that may be - obviously I'm not a hip mom, and if Lilah was actually a tween, she'd be all, "Hannah Montana?  Mom, that's like so three years ago!"  Anyway, as children's music goes, Bobs and Lolo's is actually kinda great and I think I could listen to their songs repeatedly without wanting to stick hot pokers in my eyes.  I liked the emphasis on being friendly to the planet, and I found their song "Little Seed" quite sweet and touching without being overly sappy.  If Lilah is a very good girl, Santa just might put a Bobs and Lolo CD in her stocking!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Lilah

This is probably completely boring to anyone who isn't me or the Hubs, but I finally caught Lilah singing on video.  It sounds vaguely like "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" to me.  Or "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep."  Or "ABC's." Take your pick.  To you, it may sound like none of the above, but of course I'm biased so I think my child is the next Charlotte Church.  Well, not really, I'm a bit more realistic than that.  But if she develops the ability to carry a tune and make it halfway recognizable, she will have done me very proud and will, in my estimation, be more musical than 75% of the North American population*. 


*Statistic pulled out of thin air and may be slightly skewed by the viewing of too many seasons of American Idol and Canadian Idol.  But still.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Wednesday of Few Words: A Toddler's First Encounter with the White Stuff

The weather forecast for Friday night called for unusually cold temperatures and snow.  Snow!  On the 20th of November in Vancouver! Of course, having a Master's Degree in Speech-Language Pathology and zero knowledge of meteorology, I felt more than qualified to say, "Pshaw!  I'll believe it when I see it!"  (Yes, I'm unbelievably cool - I say things like "pshaw.")  This of course meant that I neglected to charge the battery of our super duper awesome camera and had only the little point-and-shoot with which to document Lilah's reaction to the surprisingly thick blanket of snow we woke up to on Saturday morning.

Hey, what's this cold white stuff all over the ground?


She doesn't own winter boots or a snowsuit yet because, you know, her mom knows better than those silly meteorologists.  We never get snow before Christmas in Vancouver!  So it was rain boots and a muddy buddy with lots of layers underneath for our li'l Lilahbility. 

There's a rumour going around (probably started by those gossipy busybody meteorologists) that this is going to be an unusually cold and snowy winter in Vancouver.  I might just be starting to buy into the hype!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

The Bedtime Routine

Ah, the bedtime routine.  When Lilah was about four months old and were trying to encourage longer stretches of sleep at night, we concocted a bedtime routine.  We dreamed that this would one day become a sweet, soothing ritual between parents and daughter.  So far, we've got the "sweet" and the "ritual" parts down pat, but "soothing"... well, sometimes, maybe.  Our nightly routine goes a little something like this:

Around 6:45 pm, we brush Lilah's teeth, wash her face, and massage her tear ducts (she has one that is still blocked, and we have an upcoming appointment with an opthalmologist to investigate).  The success of these endeavors depends on her general mood and health, as well as whether or not she is teething.  Some days it is a full-on wrestling match.  The victor is very seldom the contender with the biggest muscles, but rather the one who is not afraid to use both volume and pitch to her full advantage.  Needless to say, I'm crossing my fingers that Lilah has inherited my strong, cavity-resistant tooth enamel.

Next come pajamas (another wrestling match, on some nights) and saying night-night to the kitties and Daddy.  By this point, she is often making the sign for "milk" and pointing to my boobs with increasing urgency.  So I whip her into the glider and she nurses.  This is often a serene bonding time for the two of us.  Occasionally, it can turn into our third wrestling match of the evening.  Sometimes we joke around and I tickle her or pretend to munch on her fingers and toes, but usually she just gets right to business and I rock back and forth on the glider, enjoying the closeness of her and relishing in the one time of day when she is stationary, which affords me the luxury of burying my nose in her hair and snuggling in tight.

When she is done nursing, Lilah usually pulls off abruptly, sits up, and starts chatting and wriggling as if she has ants in her diaper.  I have to quickly whip out a book to catch her attention before she launches herself off my lap, so I keep several bedtime-themed stories in the pocket of the glider for quick-draw action.  In the interest of keeping things completely routine and calming, I used to read the same two board books to her every night.  I was practically superstitious about it, like somehow if I switched up the books, the entire routine would fall to pieces and she would go on a sleep strike.  But I finally realized that there are only so many times you can read "Goodnight Moon" before you want to throw the "bowl of mush" at the "old lady whispering hush." Or something like that.

After two stories, it's time for me to sing to her.  Early on, I chose "Christopher Robin" as our bedtime song, mainly because it was what came to mind when I tried to think of a soothing, sleepy song.  I learned it at camp, so it brings back memories of campfires and marshmallows.  But now it has taken on a whole new meaning.  Some nights, I am totally on point, and I secretly fantasize that I am a Glee cast member, wowing my audience with my lullaby skills.  Those nights, I sing loud and proud.  Sometimes, Lilah, too, fancies herself a musical prodigy and I have some serious competition.  Other nights, my voice comes out all flat an nasal, and is barely louder than a whisper.  Those nights, I omit the vocal flourishes and extra choruses and just stick to the bare bones of the song.  You'll be shocked to hear that those nights often coincide with the multiple wrestling matches.
Lilah with her bunny at 10 months old
By the end of the soothing notes of  "Christopher Robin," Lilah is usually sucking her thumb and clutching her bunny lovey tightly.  That's when I whisper in her ear about what a sweet, special, little girl she is and how much Mummy and Daddy love her and how we will always love her, no matter what (ie. no matter how many wrestling matches she instigates).  Then it's time for her sleep sack. 
Conked out in her sleep sack at 11 months
At this point, I turn on her white noise, turn off her light, and rub her back.  She usually lays her little head on my shoulder, sucks her thumb and twirls a strand of my hair.  After a little snuggle time, I give her a kiss or two, lie her down in her crib, rub her back some more, give her butt a few pats, and tell her, "night-night."  I creep out of her room, taking one last look over my shoulder as I close her bedroom door.  Then I breathe.  Sometimes it's a sigh of relief.  After a tough day, it's nice to finally have some me time.  But more often than not, it's a sigh that expresses how full my heart is - of love, of life, and of, well, fullness.  Another day is done; a day full of the wonder and adventure and dramatic ups and downs that only a child can fully experience and appreciate.  And I'm left still wondering what hit me and where the day went.  My little whirling dervish is down for the count, and a few hours later, I will be too.

Of course, I almost always find some excuse to sneak into her room, stroke her little blonde head, and put my hand against her back to feel her even, rhythmic breathing at least once more before I head off to bed myself...

Friday, November 19, 2010

Sleep (In)Compatibility

The Hubs and I are compatible in many ways, but the temperature at which we sleep is not one of them.  I, who am almost always freezing cold during the day, become inexplicably overheated when I sleep.  I give off an insane amount of heat, which all gets trapped under the blanket and boils me alive at night.  The Hubs is the exact opposite.  He is almost never cold during the day, but often wakes up in the middle of the night shivering under my open-window-light-blanket regime.  My tendency to sleep hot became especially pronounced while I was pregnant with Lilah, and during the early days of nursing.  Now that I'm pretty much back to normal, I only wake up sweltering once or twice a night.

Come April or May, or as soon as I can make a case for it, depending on what kind of spring we are having, we take the duvet out of the cover, and just use the duvet cover as our blanket.  In the fall, the duvet goes back in its cover and we are once again blanketed in a cloud-like layer of down.  (Ah, the beauty of the wedding registry - luxury furnishing on someone else's dime!)  This year, I finally relented to the Hubs' begging in late October, and the duvet is back in its cover for the winter.  I love the weight of it, and I don't sleep well without a blanket on, but most nights I wake up sweating and have to throw off the covers, only to wake up half an hour later shivering.

Short of sleeping in separate beds, which seems a little sad, not to mention the fact that we lack the space for it, I'm not sure what the solution for this situation should be, if any.  Any other hotties like me out there?  Creative solutions to our sleep compatibility conundrum are welcome!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Wednesday of Few Words: Whistler

We decided to make the best of the stat holiday on Thursday and make it a four-day weekend.  We headed for the hills (er, mountains, actually) and drove up to Whistler for a mini family vacay.

Lilah checking out the view from our hotel room

The view

We spent a good deal of time at this sweeeet playground

Trying to climb up the slide, as always


Playing peekaboo

The remnants of snack time left on her face

Convincing Lilah to go down the slide for a change
(I did mention we spent a lot of time at this playground, didn't I?)

You may recall a little thing called the Olympics that Vancouver hosted in February?
Whistler was the stage for many of the mountain sports.
Unfortunately, we didn't entirely do our homework and hadn't realized the gondola would be closed for fall maintenance, so we weren't able to go up the mountain and take in the views, but we still managed to have a great time and get lots of fresh mountain air.  In addition to practically living at the playground, we did some other fun family things, like attending story time at the library and swimming in the hotel's pool (which is code for trying not to boil Lilah alive in the hot tub).  Oh, and let's not forget the spa!  Okay, so that's not so much a family thing as a mommy thing, but I think we can all agree that spa time for mommy does bring the whole family closer together.  My shiny purple toe nails totally count as family bonding, okay?!!!

I know you don't understand this right now, Lilah, but one day you will see
that Mommy spending three hours at the spa is actually in your best interest.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Wednesday of Few Words

Some shots taken with our new camera lens:

Up close and personal

Lilah takes a trip to Upside Down World

*Both photos taken by the Hubs - he's a natural, I tell you!  (I'm jealous.)

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Needy Mama

I have become one very needy mama.  Ever since Lilah stated giving kisses on a reasonably reliable basis, I find myself constantly asking her, "Can I have a kiss?" and, "Give Mama a kiss," and "Lilah, Lilah, Mama wants a kiss!"  There's a good chance I may sound like a creepy mom stalking my own baby.  But I can't help it.  And occasionally my begging pays off, and she throws a little love my way.  Those two seconds where she grabs my ears as if they are handles, pulls me in close and plants one on me with a big flourish of "Mmmmmwah!" are totally worth the rejection my requests are met with the other 75% of the time.  And I'm totally willing to overlook the fact that she's a sloppy kisser with bad aim and I usually have to wipe her slobber off my entire face.  Her kisses are only marginally less welcome when she has a runny nose or food all over her face.  Man, the things I put up with - I must be one smitten kitten!

Attempting to steal a kiss from the Lilahbility

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Monday, November 1, 2010

October 2010 Recap

Amber Strocel does a monthly recap and has invited others to play along and link up. So here's what I learned in October:



1. Now I get why the Pumpkin Patch is a yearly tradition for so many families.  Definitely on our to-do list again for next fall!

Pumpkins and apples and mud - what could be better?

2. Running for the Cure still puts a lump in my throat and goosebumps on my arms.

3.  Talking about your blissful sleep inevitably ends in poor sleep.  Nobody likes a braggart, not even the Sleep Fairy.

4.  Sometimes people can surprise you with a good deed when and where you least expect it.

5. You can't beat the colours of fall.


6.  I have a lot to be thankful for.

7.  I really should stop making fun of the size of the Hubs' head.  But I probably won't.

8.   It might be time to consider a one-piece bathing suit or tankini for my indoor swims with the kiddo.

9.  Consignment shopping for kids' clothng is fun, cheap(er), and easier on the earth.

10.   I have never been much of a fan of Hallowe'en, but I quite enjoy it now that I have a child to make it all worthwhile.  The littles in their adorable costumes, the pumpkin carving, the smell of pumpkin seeds roasting in the oven... quite lovely, actually!

She doesn't look thrilled, but take my word for it, she had a blast!

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