risk reality.

2007-12-08T14:20:00.000-05:00

Xavier is now 10 months old, and starting to walk. -cries- Where has the time gone? It's always bitter sweet to see your baby actively growing into a toddler - but I'm excited about what's to come. Gabriel is a month shy of two years old, and he's so much fun. Having two toddlers on my hands will be a blast.

I'm kicking myself at the moment for not keeping up with burning my photos. We had an accident with the laptop I use to upload all my photos, and it's currently not working. If we can't get it up and running, I'm going to see if I can take the hard drive in to someone to attempt to save the photos. There's atleast a thousand. And the majority of Xaviers entire life in photos on there. :(

I leave for the States on Monday, at 2. I arrive at 2:50 Central Time. Sooo excited to see friends and family. And spend the Holidays with friends and family. I was hoping to get a break from snow, but the Chicago area got dumped on a few nights ago - such is my luck.

wonderful thanksgiving.

2007-11-27T08:12:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving was wonderful. Tons of yummy food. And we had a great time with the people who joined us. My mom and sister left on Saturday afternoon, but it wasn't a sad goodbye. As I have a flight to Chicago in 13 days. :)

Xavier is getting so big. I can't believe how much hair he has.

Am I really going to have a two year old and a one year old in two months?!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-22T13:47:00.001-05:00

Meet Mr. Turkey.

He's got about two more hours until he'll be completely done.

Everything we're having for dinner today is made entirely from scratch.

I put together two apple pies last night. We spent an hour tearing up 5 loaves of bread and putting together the stuffing. I peeled 10 lbs of potatoes this morning for mashes taters. And put together a green bean casserole, where the only thing "pre-made" was the frozen green beans. Mmm. And I've currently got turkey gravy from the turkey drippings going on the stove.

My mom and I have been cooking and doing dishes and cleaning since last night - but that's what I love about Thanksgiving. Being with the ones who matter the most, and eating damn good food!

It's just going to be my family and good friends of ours - and we'll have a ton of leftovers, but it's ok. I'm relieved Georges family didn't come. It would have been much too stressfull.

*****

My mom and sister got into town yesterday morning. We're having a blast.

We've got a ton of snow and Gabe had a ton of fun in it while George was shoveling the drivey way.

I should get some more stuff done while the boys are sleeping.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

2007-11-09T12:55:00.001-05:00

The boys and I have been sick for the second time in 4 weeks. I guess that's what ya get when you're around many different children and spreading germs. First it was a stomach bug, which left us all vomiting and lethargic. Now it's high fevers, sore throats and runny noses. Gabe is doing better, but Xavier has broken out in hives (something I did often when fighting a virus when I was a child) and seems to be having issues with his eye now, too. We all went to the chiropractor today, so hopefully the adjustment will help us all out. I <3 our chiro.

My immigration lawyer sent an e-mail last night telling me I was granted my permanent residence, and I should be getting my PR card in the mail soon. About time! It's been almost 18 months since I applied.

I'm going back home for the Holidays. I'll probably fly down in the beginning of December and leave after Christmas. I havent been home for the holidays in a couple years - it'll be nice.

2007-10-30T19:39:00.000-04:00

Monday, we went to Small World (http://smallworld.ca/), an indoor playground here. It's going to be a great place to take the kids, and hold my meetups, in the winter. Gabe loved it. He was climbing all over the play equipment, rode on the carousel about 10 times, and just generally had a really good time. Last time we tried to take him to an indoor play area, he was too shy and just clung to my legs.

This morning, Gabe woke up having a tantrum. And that's all he pretty much did, all morning long. He was not having a good morning. So, I left the boys with George and went to Old Navy in search of a fall sweater. I ended up getting one top, too. The sweater in white, and the top in a teal color. I need to go back and get a few more things. I don't have much in the sense of winter clothes, because I've been heavily pregnant the last two winter seasons. Not anymore! I also need to go down a pant size. I'm in 6's.

The boys went down for a nap right after I got back. Well, Gabe did. Xavier did for a small one - but he's my wonder-child who never sleeps. So he "helped" me stuff a bunch of diapers.

Went to the park this afternoon. It was too nice outside not to. Met two other mothers, both of whom had 3 children under 4 years old. Did not help with my baby fever. But Gabe had a ton of fun running around with 4 other boys his age.

Tomorrow morning, we having "signing story time" at a book store. George has his first consultation for the chiro, and I have an adjustment right after signing story time.

We're not celebrating Halloween. We did carve pumpkins, but we're not dressing up. Maybe next year. I just don't see the point in dressing up two kids who aren't going to a party or trick or treating. -shrugs- But I'd like to hit up the costumes on clearance, to build a dress up stash.

my boys. <3

2007-10-28T09:17:00.000-04:00

crappy night.

2007-10-25T09:06:00.000-04:00

Tuesday, I took the boys on an errand to the bank to deposit a check. Just as I was pulling into the bank parking lot, Gabe started vomitting.

Now, this isn't all that unusual for him - because he gets car sick all the time. However, it's usually not on such short drives.

So, I cleaned him up and went on about my way.

10 minutes after getting home, he threw up again. I thought maybe he was car sick, again. But then he just kept throwing up, and developed a fever. -sigh-

He was okay and slept well that night.

Fast forward to yesterday evening, and Xavier starts. He started at 7pm, and didn't stop puking every hour until 5 this morning. I started getting worried around 9:30 when he had thrown up 5 times already, so I called George home from work. He works an hour away, and if anything were to happen and I'd need to get Xavier to the hospital, he wouldn't get home in time and I'd end up having to wake Gabe and go. He got home around 11:00pm, and took care of Xavier for a few hours so I could get some sleep.

Poor kid. He kept wanting to nurse, and then no sooner than unlatching it would all come back up. Finally around 5am he nursed and was able to keep it down. And then nursed again around 7am and kept it down. He's still sleeping in bed, and seems to be doing fine.

I feel like crap, am trying to avoid puking, and have the smell of stomach acid permanently burned into my nose.

'Tis the season.

pumpkin patch.

2007-10-23T10:08:00.000-04:00

Sunday was absolutely gorgeous. It went up to 23 celcius - and it's the end of October!

We pulled out a big Lilac bush from the front of our yard. It was sitting right in front of the entrance to our home, and it was overgrown and just ugly. George cut it down, and then a friend of ours backed up his truck to pull out the stump. When Gabe woke up from his nap that afternoon, and saw that the big bush was gone, he just stood in front of the door saying, "Wow! Oooh, wow!" I can't believe he noticed there was a difference. LOL

Later on we took a trip to Chappell Farms. My AP Mom's group went last Monday, but it was rainy and not a lot of fun. Sunday was a blast, however. We went with two other families who have two children each, very similar in age to ours. One baby was a mere 7 weeks old, and made my ovaries ache! It's crazy how fast you forget how little your babies once were.

Gabe had a blast feeding the animals, going thru a corn maze, playing on a big hill, going on a wagon ride and picking pumpkins. At one point, I was wearing Xavier, carrying my purse & camera, and holding 3 pumpkins while walking thru a field. Yep, I'm superwoman.

Afterwards, we went to dinner with both the families. It's so nice to go out with other people who have children your age - because it's okay if your kid gets gravy all over his face and then randomly decides to throw a napkin at the person sitting across from you. Well, you obviously tell your child not to throw things - but you don't have to apologise profusely because their kid, sitting right next to them, is probably doing something equally as annoying. And it's always nice when you can steal someone else's 7 week old, and use the excuse of, "Oh, I'll take your baby so you can eat" - when secretly you just want to steal the baby because you have crazy baby fever.

(It's pathetic how grainy photobucket makes my pictures.)

2007-10-20T20:08:00.000-04:00

Its been crazy busy the last few days.

Yesterday, I forced George to stay home. (Yes, forced. He resisted and I got pissed, and he gave in.) I had a plugged duct for a couple days, and the night before it became very painful, swollen and very read. And the next morning, cue the nausea, fever and all around icky feeling. I asked him to stay home so I could rest and get better before it got worse. After basically pulling teeth to get him to stay home, I had a relaxing afternoon and later George managed to work that clogged duct out and all was well.

This morning I ran around frantic, because my house was in disarray (have you seen the show Jon & Kate plus 8? Shes insane about order and organization and Im similar. ), I had to go grocery shopping, one of the cats took the smelliest shit in the litter box ever, I had to go grocery shopping and I had plans with a friend in the afternoon.

I ended up putting Xavier down for his nap, and then taking Gabe grocery shopping with me while George was left home with orders to clean up a bit.

Which he did a pretty good job of.

After groceries, I headed to the three children`s consignment stores we have here with a friend of mine. We were both babyless and it was wonderful! I was looking for some things for the boys for Christmas - knowing full well that if I got something now, I would not be able to keep it from them until Christmas. LOL I found lots of wonderful things, but only got a few. I, however, plan to go back in the next couple of weeks and actually do some Christmas shopping and I promise I will stash the goodies away in the closet until Christmas time. -nods-

While we were out, we stopped at Wendys for lunch. I stopped drinking soda four days ago, but automatically (without thinking!) ordered a coke with my meal. It wasn`t until my friend mentioned something that reminded me of my soda kick that I realized I ordered one! I hadn`t taken a sip yet.. I did take one, after.. and I swear I got the biggest buzz from the caffiene. Oh my goodness. Four days with no soda, and one sip had me buzzed. I couldnt finish it and tossed it. I most definetly do not want to go back to drinking soda.

Hm. Laptop says I`ve got 13 minutes remaining. So I will post some recent pics - and then move on to folding 5 loads of laundry and stuffing 2 loads of diapers.

Gabe and his friend Liam, having popsicles for dessert.

Helping Daddy fix the Dyson.

First time eating spaghetti!

making a change.

2007-10-17T09:27:00.001-04:00

My children have been unusually ornery the past two days. Gabe isn't pleased with anything for very long, but then the world has ended if you put it away. ("Puh! Puh! -points to the mantle above the fire place-" - is Gabes way of letting me know he wants to play with his wooden puzzles. He sits there for 15 minutes, putting pieces together, clapping and woo-hoo'ing with every piece. And then when he walks away from it, I gather it up to put away and he comes running from across the room screaming. ) He's been especially obsessed with finger painting, water colors and markers. I'm definetly going to be investing in a nice easel for his birthday or Christmas. I need to set up a little craft station for him. He'll water color, finger paint or color with markers and crayons multiple times a day.
Xavier is ornery because he just cut his fifth tooth and is working on a sixth.
I think their grumpiness has been heightened by my constant fatigue as of late. Pregnancy is possible, but I highly doubt it. My cycle is textbook, and while we do have unprotected sex, it was several days prior to my ovulation date - so I highly doubt that is it. I'm fairly certain my poor diet is just catching up to me. And it's been even poorer than usual the last 2 weeks.
Which has lead me to promising myself to eat better. Which I do quite often, but it's one of those thoughts that pass thru my mind.. "I should make better choices tomorrow." and then it's forgotten the next morning. This time? Well - I've got a plan.
And this time is different. Prior, I would force myself to eat well with the intention of losing weight. I could stand to lose 20 lbs, don't get me wrong, but I don't have the desire. I'm comfortable with my body at the moment.
I am not comfortable with how dragged down and tired I feel constantly.
So. Here is my plan..
This week: Cut out all soda. None. Kaput. All done! Soda has been my vice for years. Until I got pregnant with Gabe, all I would drink was soda and milk. Sick. Then I started forcing myself to drink water with Gabe. And eventually I limited myself to one soda a day - sometimes slipping and having a 2nd or 3rd. Well, I'm finally ready to be done. So, here's to a week full of caffiene headaches - with a great outcome - no more addiction to soda!
The following two weeks: Make one of my meals a day completely raw. Which will probably be fruits. And my breakfast.
The two weeks after: Makes two of my meals a day competely raw. Which I think will be a combination of lotsa veggies thrown into a juicer for breakfast. And then snack on fruits for the rest of the day. And have whatever I make my family for dinner.
Eventually, my goal is to be 100% raw.
This morning I've had a handfull of grapes, a peach and a banana - along with two bottles of water. Quite a change, considering I grew up in a home where my mother hardly ever bought produce.
I never thought I'd be attempting to eat raw - however, Gabe has been the one who's lead me to this. After constantly worrying about him only eating fruits and veggies - I did some research and found the world of raw. Gabe already refuses meats. At first it was just beef, but now it's everything. And then he started only wanting fruits, veggies, nuts/seeds and sometimes cheese. So - we'll say this is child-lead. I'll let him eat what he wants (with the exception of cow's milk. Which he consumes about 30oz's a day currently. I want to change him to either rice or almond milk.) - but within reason, and we're getting rid of all our processed crap.
It'll take a while to make the entire change. But everything I've done to change myself for the better has taken a while. I always thought to myself, one day I'll find a way to change our diets - but for now I'm not ready.
Well, I'm ready now.

Stephen Lewis is circumcised.

2007-10-15T13:38:00.000-04:00

I saw Stephen Lewis, of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, speak about the pandemic of HIV/AIDS in Africa. He was a great speaker, very vibrant and held the audiences attention. He and his foundation has done so many amazing things for the people suffering in Africa.
However, he lost me during part of his speech as a result of something he said.
He said, "Circumcision has reduced the AIDS rate in Africa by 60%."
Now, if that was true - that would be fine. I sat there thinking to myself, "If I hadn't have seen the studies he's talking about, would I be okay with this?" And I would. If that was true and the studies were done correctly - then great. Circumcise the men in Africa. The men who believe women are nothing but property and can be raped and molested as they please. The men who commit such heinous sex crimes on these women that they deserve part of their members being chopped off - without pain medications, to boot.
However, it's not true. I've read the studies and they were done very poorly. There were three studies done - two of which were published in medical journals. One study randomly chose 124 males, who had partners who were uninfected by HIV. (I do not believe they tested them, and then waited 6 months to re-test before starting to trials, however. Which can play a big factor in the outcome of the results, as HIV can take as long as 6 months to show on a blood test.)
Among 70 men who were circumcised, 11 transmitted HIV to their partners. Of the 54 who were not circumcised, four passed on the infection. Almost all new transmissions occurred in the first six months. Because there were so few cases in either group, the findings were not statistically significant and may have occurred only by chance.
An independent panel of scientists overseeing the study recommended that no new volunteers be enrolled because, even though the early findings were not statistically significant, it concluded that the original hypothesis -- that uninfected women would indirectly benefit over the short term from male circumcision -- was unlikely to prove true.
However - it's still all over the media that HIV rates drop by "60% in circumcised men!" Which is grossly exaggerated, at best.
And it doesn't explain why the United States has the highest cicumcision rate and the fastest climbing AIDS rate.
In 1990, the circumcision rate in the U.S. was 85%. And the AIDS rate was 16.9%. The closest following was Spain with a circ. rate of 1% and an AIDS rate of 14.2%. And then Italy with a 1% circ rate and a 8.9% AIDS rate.
Since 1990, the circumcision rate in the States has fallen a bit. But the AIDS rate continues to climb.
One of my biggest pet peeves is misinformation. Especially when such misinformation is being supplied by someone who has the credentials and the brain to read the studies he's quoting, but still spouts off grossly exaggerated numbers.
And then follows it with, "When I visited a tribe in Africa that practiced routine circumcision because its cuts the rate by 60%, they were telling me all about their circumcisions. And then I, of course, told them that I was circumcised. And they cheered and we danced and celebrated."

broke the sink.

2007-10-15T08:57:00.001-04:00

I love weekends where we complete much needed tasks around the home, and just spend time together as a family. Friday I broke our sink.The lid of a soup can got stuck in the drain, and it was the perfect size. I didn't have room to pry it out at the sides, at all. So, in my genius, I stabbed it with a knife.
Well, our sink is plastic. (Much to our disliking. We plan on changing it to stainless.)
And I guess I punctured part of the drain, and it was leaking. Heh.So, George and Gabe took a trip to the home hardware store. And then fixed the sink together.Gabe certainly had a blast helping Daddy fix the sink. He's always been so interested in fixing things, figuring out how things work, and doing whatever Daddy is doing.

Xavier sat in the highchair, eating 'nanas and cheerios, observing.

Me: George, you know you're the luckiest man in the world to have two little helpers?
George: Two for now. Soon we'll have 7!
Me: 0.0

After the boys finished fixing my sink, I had a huge mess to clean up. So, I did - with Xavier going for the ride.(These next two photos aren't of yesterday, actually. But they're pictures George took while I was cleaning the kitchen with Xavier on my back on two other days.)

Gotta love the butt sag. I've recently lost another 5 lbs and now none of my jeans fit. Yay for that.

After all that fun, George took a bath with Gabe. Gabe has refused to take baths for the last week. A couple times I've forced him, but then I said screw it. That's obviously not going to make his recent disliking for baths any better. So, I'd wash him down with a wet cloth before bed and that'd be that. However, yesterday it had been 4 days since he had a bath and I wasn't okay with that. So George got into the tub and coaxed Gabe into it - and they stayed in their splashing and giggling for an hour. Hopefully baths from now on will be easier.

This afternoon I'm going to see Stephen Lewis speak about the AIDS crisis in Africa. Sans kids. Yay!

kid rambles.

2007-10-12T21:47:00.001-04:00

Gabe discovered his new favorite book this evening. "Little Boy Blue"
We read it about 10x before bed. We did our normal bed time routine, and he was quiet for about 30 minutes so I figured he was out. Hah. No.
He wanted his darn book. So I read it to him once, pointed out all the ducks and chickens and cows and sheep. And when I would point to the chicken he`d do his sign for chicken (arms flapping, Mels mother taught him this one) and when he`d see little boy blue sleeping he`d do his sign for sleep (finger to nose and "shh-ing").
After 15 minutes of this, I finally told him I would let him read his book quietly in his bed for 10 minutes then he was going to sleep. So I kissed him, walked out, and as I was walking out he waves to me and then started snoring. LOL George taught him to fake sleep, and when he does, he snores. Its pretty funny.
I keep peeking in on him every few minutes and he`s happily reading his book. Page by page. Randomly laughing and doing his signs.

Xavier took a 90 minute nap this afternoon. It was wonderful! He`s hit this seperation anxiety phase, and as a result, he has been napping for 40-50 minutes at a time and waking up hysterical when he doesn`t see me laying next to him in bed. I wear him in a wrap to sleep, and then lay him down and we have no problems there. But if it`s nap time and I`m not in bed with him when he wakes up, or if I`m not in bed at night when he wakes up, he freaks out. And its always every 40-50 minutes. However, he doesn`t do it when I`m in bed with him at night.

I took the boys grocery shopping this morning while I let George sleep in a bit. I had Xavier in the wrap on my back and Gabe in the cart. While we were walking thru the aisles, Gabe would lean to the left so Xavier couldn`t see him over my back, and then quickly lean back over to the right and Xavier would let out this shrill of excitement which would in turn make Gabriel shriek with delight. They did this during the whole shopping trip and it was adorable.
They`ve been interacting with eachother a lot lately. Xavier chases after Gabe on his hands and knees, and Gabe will play peek a boo and tickle his brother until he can`t breathe from laughing so hard.
Aaand, 40 minutes.. right on cue. Xavier is stirring.

A Bazillion Photos of the Boys

2007-10-03T23:04:00.000-04:00

Life is crazy around here these days. But in a great way. :) Gabe's becoming such a little toddler. And Xavier is growing out of his baby-ness right before my eyes. :(

Gabe's starting to talk more and more everyday. This afternoon after taking a bath, he ran to the sink and said, "Brus teef!" He can say about 15 words and more often than not speaks in a sentence. He rarely says a single word. Weird?

Xavier is cutting his 4th, 5th and 6th tooth. His hair is growing in quite a bit and getting curly. He's on the go, always tagging along behind Gabe. He's such a little cuddle monster. And weighs only 2 lbs less than Gabe! (Gabe is 28, he lost a couple when he was sick last week. And Xavier is 26.)

His favorite thing to do; eat.

Dirty face but still beautiful.

"Does an 'apo' need it's nails clipped?"

"Doesn't everyone eat their 'apo' with a fork?"

"Feed me brother, PLEASE!"

Curls!

Barries Breastfeeding Challenge 2007

2007-09-29T16:33:00.000-04:00

We had a great turn out this morning! 23 nursing moms and 25 nurslings! (Two women tandem nursed.) Two newspapers were there and one TV station did an interview.

The three of us who organized the group made shirts for ourselves and our children. (We each have two children.) Here are our toddlers enjoying a snack. :)

The "Three Breasketeers" - Hollie, Gerri and myself. :)

Edit: To add Newspaper Article: http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=715724&auth=Kelly+Pottage

a slew of different topics.

2007-09-28T13:39:00.000-04:00

Both boys are sleeping. -insert shocked smilie here-

So while I have a free moment..

We're all getting over our colds, finally. Gabe had a really rough time with it, and there were a few days he was realling worrying me because he wasnt eating - at all. He was hardly drinking, and as a result he was constipated so that made things worse. I ended up going out and buying gatorade, juice boxes and chocolate milk in hopes that he would drink something. We usually have none of those things in our house.

George is enjoying his new job in Toronto. He was hired on as a contractor, and he told me this morning that he's already been offered a promotion into a higher, full time position as a "project manager". He doesn't know the details of the job yet (pay, benefits, etc.), but it could be a good thing. :)

I started seeing a Chiropractor earlier this week. I've had lots of lower back pain since getting pregnant the first time, and it's never gone away. It's gotten to the point where there are some days that I can't move off the couch. A woman who joined the group I started is a Chiropractor, and I got a free consultation coupon when I attended the mothers morning out program she hosts. She did several tests, including a pelvic xray - and I have scoliosis. =\ She's not sure if she can correct all of it with chiropractic care, and of course she doesn't know if I've always had it or if it was pregnancy induced - but no wonder I've been having issues. One hip is also higher than the other. And I had some neck issues as well. I had my first adjustment this morning and my neck already has much more range of motion - well, it has the same range of motion but it's not as stiff. As if she oiled up my neck and I can move it easier. LOL I honestly didn't even notice my neck was stiff. I'm going to be seeing her 2 times a week for a couple weeks, and then once a week until my next evaluation in November.

As soon as George starts getting his paychecks from this new job I'm going to set him up an appointment too. With the type of work he does he definetly needs the preventative care that Chiro can offer.

Last night the two women I'm organizing the Breastfeeding Challenge with came over so we could iron on BFing logos to shirts. We did 4 adult shirts (one for each of us, and one to raffle), 3 infant shirts (for our three babies) and 4 toddler shirts (for our 3 toddlers and 1 to raffle). They turned out pretty nice. H also got her uncle, who owns a sign making shop, to donate a large banner that says, "Barrie's Breastfeeding Challenge 2007". And we've gotten a few local stores to donate gifts to raffle off. Exciting!

I'm supposed to be getting a phone call at 4pm from a writer with the local newspaper to do an interview. We're expecting a couple different news crews tomorrow, too. There was already a snippet in the newspaper yesterday, although they editted out a lot of things that kinda hit a nerve with me. I assume they were trying not to be "controversial" - and ended up calling it a "FEEDING challenge" - "Barries Mom join in a Feeding Challenge" -- Uhm, it's a BREASTfeeding challenge. And rather than saying we will "latch on" at 11 - he said "launch at" 11. Silly little things, but they did it for a reason. =\

2007-09-24T13:15:00.000-04:00

We're all still sick. The group I started had it's first meeting this morning, so we ended up getting out of the house for the first time in a week. It was nice. But not that nice at the same time. Gabe was really crabby and not acting like himself because he was feeling crappy. And I wasn't all there because I was feeling crappy. Luckily George had to come with, so I had help with Gabe. Our van is full of Georges tool box, since he starts his new job today. So he had to drive the boys and I in our car - which I can't drive because it's a stick. Why he insisted on getting a stick, I don't know. I personally think they suck. =X

The group was nice. There were 5 other women, and 4 had homebirths. It's really nice to know women in real life who have had a homebirth. All of them had their babies with a group of midwives here - which I'm on the fence about using when I get pregnant again. From what I've heard from several different people, they're not a group of women that I would want to be involved with.

The boys are sleeping and George just left for his first day at the new job. I should be doing laundry and picking up a bit - but I feel like crapola - so I'm sitting.

sickly.

2007-09-21T15:01:00.000-04:00

Ooooh. We`re all miserable here. The night before last was horrible with Xavier. And then last night was just as bad. He was doing a bit better, but I came down with the cold badly and was really uncomfortable. Xavier is doing a bit better today. Now Im miserable and I can tell the cold is turning into a sinus infection - as most of my colds do. And I have no way to pick up any type of pain reliever or symptom reducer, as George took the van so he could bring back his tool box for the new job. And I cant drive a stick shift, and that is what our Nissan is. Gabe is starting to come down with it today, too. So weve done nothing but sit around the house in pajamas all day. Ive got a good 5 loads of laundry to fold and my house is a mess. :( And anytime I inhale too deeply I get this horrible radiating pain thru my sinuses.

2007-09-19T19:55:00.001-04:00

My little man is sick. His first cold, ever. He's being a bit dramatic about it, too. Granted, he can't breathe thru his nose the majority of the time - but Gabe never really acts sick when he is, so I guess I got spoiled. We have vapor plug ins we're using in the bedroom to help keep his nose clear.

Today has been a very lazy day. Between being tired from travelling and having a sick kid - I haven't been able to accomplish much aside from making breakfast, grocery shopping, making dinner and cleaning up the kitchen. =\ Ah well.

George is leaving for Toronto with the van tomorrow. Because he has to bring his tool box back. Because he starts work in Toronto on MONDAY! =D=D=D=D

2007-09-19T09:11:00.001-04:00

Left for Montreal around 7pm Sunday night.
Got in about 1am.
Ran some errands on Monday involving immigration paperwork, Georges business taxes, and pictures for my medical exam.
Spent lots of time playing with the boys.
Gabe fell off the hotel bed, hit head head on the night stand and bled all over pillows.
Woke up, packed up, checked out and got to my Dr's appt. all before 9:30am.
Spent 3 1/2 hours at the Dr.'s Office getting urine tested, blood tested, x-rayed and examined.
Left Montreal while boys were napping in the afternoon.
Ended up having to stop a bazillion times, and it took us 10 hours to complete a 6 hour drive.

disappointed.

2007-09-15T22:39:00.000-04:00

I don't know when I'm going to learn my lesson.

I'm so tired of bending over backwards for people and getting let down over and over again.

George = teh suck up.

2007-09-13T19:56:00.000-04:00

So, George was in Montreal for a week. He got back into town Tuesday evening. Bearing gifts.

I try to tell him all I want is a card that expressed his undying love for me. I never wanted a gift for my birthday. Or a gift for having to put up with him working on Montreal for up to a week at a time. What I want is worth much more than a gift.

Anyhow - he got me a Wii. A GPS for my van. And diamond earrings.

The Wii is a blast. The GPS rawks. And the diamond earrings totally make my ears look hawt. ;)

I've been so busy lately. It's really nice. Most mornings I meet up with a few moms at a park, to wear the kiddos out. Gabe naps, and I clean/relax. And then in the afternoon we go to the park, or to a friends house, and wear kids out again. Back in time for dinner, and then bath and bed. I don't have much time for the internet anymore.

I went to a "Mothers Morning Out" group yesterday morning at a Chiropractic Clinic. The Dr. who is in partnership in the Clinic is a member of the Meetup group I started (for attachment parenting here), and she does really neat meetings once a month on topics that are geared towards natural minded individuals. Yesterday was everything from baby signing, to exercising with your baby, natural childbirth and breastfeeding. Next month it's geared entirely towards nutrition.

The Dr. is very sweet, and borrowed a vaccination DVD from me. And asked me to write a cloth diapering article for a new group she's forming here in town, that's geared towards education of healthy and naturally living.

I also made a consultation appointment for an adjustment. -nods- I need it.

In between I've been helping to organize an event for later this month. I need to copy fliers tomorrow morning to distribute before the weekend. Tomorrow night Mel, Jenna and April are coming over to hang out, have a few drinks and play the Wii. Saturday I was supposed to attend Georges best friend's wedding - but the ceremony is at 12:30 (right in the middle of Gabes naptime) and the reception is at 8:00 (an hour after Gabes bed time) - and it's an hour away from here, in Toronto. So, it's just not going to work out.

Sunday, Mel gets married. =oD

And then Sunday night we're driving to Montreal, as I have a physical scheduled for immigration on Tuesday morning. Still undecided as to whether or not I'm going to let my MIL watch Gabe for those two days. I'm leaning towards no.

Men = teh suck.

2007-09-09T16:49:00.000-04:00

Apparently George has a problem with properly processing things I say to him.

Last week I went into Once Upon A Child to check it out. I was excited that they had one here in Canada. I ended up getting both the boys a winter coat, Xavier some cute winter Robeez booties, and 5 pairs of training pants for Gabriel - all for $43.00. I called George when I was on my way home from the store, because he was watching the boys and I wanted to make sure Xavier was going okay, and to tell him about my finds.

Me: "I got 5 pair of training pants, and they were only $1 each - so $5 for those. And then I got the boys coats and a pair of booties for Xavier, to the tune of about 40 bucks. Not bad, eh?"
George: "Nope, not bad at all..."

Fast forward a few hours, we're in the basement and he found the receipt for everything.

George: "FOURTY FIVE DOLLARS?!" -stares the the receipt-
Me: .... Yea? I told you that's what I spent...
George: NO YOU DIDNT! You told me you spent five dollars!!
Me: -stare-

Two weeks ago I planned on attending a "Mothers Morning Out" seminar this coming Wednesday. It's a seminar that a local chiropractic clinic hosts, with different speakers. This time there's topics such as Natural Childbirth (by a doula friend of mine here), Babe Massage, Baby Sign Language, etc. I called and reserved a spot for myself, Xavier, Melissa, Ainsley and Noah. I didn't reserve a spot for George because I thought he was going to be home.

We have a wedding to go to this weekend, so George isn't going to be going to work for a week. So, at the last minute, he's decided he's going to work Monday and Tuesday to get some extra hours because he's taking next weekend off.

So, that means he won't be home until Wednesday afternoon.

Us on the phone this morning:
Me: So, you're not going to be home on Wednesday?
George: Probably not..
Me: See, I plan things around your schedule - and two weeks ago I planned to attend a seminar at a chiropractic clinic...
George: What are you doing at a chiro-
Me: It's a Mothers Morning Out seminar, with different speakers, and I didn't reserve a spot for Gabe..
George: Sorry?
Me: You did this to me last week, too, when I wanted to attend the LLL meeting on Tuesday night and you weren't home in time!

Fast forward a few hours..

We were talking on the phone and he says, "Your meeting it between 10 and 12 on Tuesday, right?"

... No. It's Wednesday.

And he freaks out telling me I told him it was TUESDAY.

NO YOU DICKHEAD. IT'S WEDNESDAY!

I'm so tired of him half listening to anything I tell him, and then getting mad at ME when he is wrong. Seriously, just fucking listen!

-breathes-

Fotos.

2007-09-08T16:08:00.000-04:00

25 lbs of love.

So, my kid ate dirt.

Usually I'm around to deter such things - but Gabe was running around the backyard with bare feet and ended up stepping in dog poop. Even though I picked up dog poop in the morning. The dogs don't take notice to such things and decide to poop after I pick up.

Anyways, Xavier was playing on a blanket in the yard when Gabe stepped in poop. He started freaking out, so I had to run him inside and rinse his foot off. I was gone like, 20 seconds.

When I came back, Xavier crawled off the blanket and was shoveling handfulls of dirt into his mouth.

And like a good mother, I took pictures. LOL

FIL and Xavier. There is a scary resemblance.

My SIL.

The really annoying woman my MIL brings over everytime she visits.

And a crappy picture of our newest wrap - but it is GORGEOUS.

Wrap snob.

2007-09-08T10:45:00.000-04:00

I started "babywearing" with Gabriel when he was about 4 months old. But we didn't do it around the house. We only had one stretchy wrap, and we only used it when we went out in public to go shopping, sight seeing, whatever. It wasn't that comfortable, because any child over 15 lbs isn't going to be worn comfortably in a stretchy wrap. I knew about other wraps out there, that were more supportive, but told myself I'd never spend up to $100 on a wrap.

Cue Xavier's arrival. He has been 100% different from the get-go. He had a strong desire to be skin to skin at all times, and no matter what I did had a fussy period every evening for about 3-4 hours. When I remembered the carrier I had, is when his fussy period began becoming more tolerable.

It only took me 2 weeks to realise that the wrap I had wasn't going to cut it, and that I needed something more supportive for my needy little baby. I bought my first german woven wrap, and it all went downhill from there.

I went from one woven wrap...

To 6 in a matter of 6 weeks. So much for never spending so much money on a wrap, eh?
I was even able to get George in on the action.

And Gabe enjoyed the occasional back ride, as well...

Here we are, 7 months later, and we still wrap atleast 3-4 hours a day. Xavier is in a wrap before every naptime and bedtime. That's how he falls to sleep, nestled into my chest. We also wrap anytime we go shopping, to the park, etc. - but we're starting to do that less, now that Xavier prefers to sit in the cart at the grocery store, or crawl around in the grass at the park.

And here I am, 7 months later, with 9 woven wraps.

I certainly don't need 9 wraps. But wrapping has become such an intimate and important aspect of our lives, that I've ended up acquiring that many - and it's perfect.

Breastfeeding Challenge

2007-09-05T21:27:00.000-04:00

Since moving here, I've gotten acquainted with a wonderful group of women. A little bit after moving in, I took a trip to the park with the boys and met someone there - who invited me to a playgroup. The day before the playgroup, I received an email from someone I met online, inviting me to the very same play group! What a small world.

Anywho - I attended said playgroup, and the moms in it are absolutely wonderful. One of them only living a short two blocks from me.

One of the mothers, G, has decided to organize the Quintessence Foundation's Breastfeeding Challenge for our city. Of course, being the type A personality that I am, I've offered to help. And, of course, participate. I put together a flyer with G's help this evening...

... and we're going to be distributing them throughout town. We're first waiting to see if the Health Centre and the local LLL would like to participate. We're hoping both do, as it'll save me having to throw together pamphlets of breastfeeding information. Not to mention, it'll give the local LLL chapter much needed publicity. I've heard the meetings are pathetically small (I haven't had the chance to attend one yet - next month!) - so we need to work on changing that.

-shrugs- It'll be a fun little get together and a great chance for me to meet more mamas around here. And it's just the beginning of my plan to take over the world! Muahahaha. ;)

In all seriousness - I've got lots of plans to take bring something exciting to Barrie. But I'm not telling anything more than that until I have the chance to work out more details!

Anyone know how to tie a noose?

2007-09-03T20:47:00.000-04:00

Birthdays just aren't such a big deal when you're older. George asked me a couple weeks ago what I wanted. Originally, I told him a pair of diamond earrings. But then I told him just a card with something thoughtful written in it. Really, that is all I wanted. Going to the pharmacy, or Walmart, and picking out a card and writing something thoughful in it has some sort of innocence and feels so genuine to me.

Did I get a card?

No.

Yep. I was upset. I don't know if he's ever going to realise how important a birthday, or an anniversary, or mothers day is to me. He doesn't even like celebrating Christmas. Forget Valentines, Holloween and Thanksgiving. When you're married to someone who is such a downer on holidays, it really rubs off on you. Well, atleast me. It makes me feel stupid and childish for putting so much thought and excitement into them. Although, realistically, I know it's not stupid.

I ended up grocery shopping, buying liquor for the first time (and no, not because I turned 20. Legal age is 19, here - George was just being lazy.), and driving myself to Baskin Robbins to pick up my own birthday cake.

I got phonecalls, emails, IMs, messages, etc. from several wonderful friends. Including a phone call from an ex-boyfriend of mine - who is in Afghanistan! For him to think about calling me on my birthday while he's deployed means a lot to me. And my closest friend, whom I drifted apart from over the last couple of years, called me. She's at AIT training for the military.

It was really nice to speak with her again and not feel awkward. Things went downhill between her and I when I moved away with George. I tried to keep things going, but she wasn't reciprocating. I even drove 12 hours back home for her birthday one year - and got the cold shoulder. But things are slowly becoming more normal between us. She has been trying for about a year to talk to me more - but I'm the one who is now avoiding. I was really hurt with prior events, and I'm not one to let someone hurt me more than once. But I also can't throw away 11 years of a friendship. Especially considering she's entering the Military - who knows what could happen in the future.

Boy do I ramble.

We had plans to go to the Beach this afternoon. You know, spend a few hours there. Georges family wanted to come over for a BBQ, so I figured we'd make it a family outting.

They get here, and Gabes sleeping. So, we give them the choice of eating first and then going to the beach - or going to the beach and then eating. They chose the latter, so we hung out until Gabe woke up and then we left. The beach is 40 minutes from us. And parking cost us, combined, $32.00. No sooner than 10 minutes after we get there, they want to LEAVE!

@%#$^%&$#%@#$#$^$^@#%#$^#$^%

Seriously.

"We hungry. We so hungry we going to die." - says my MIL in her broken english.

I offer to pick up sandwiches or order a pizza to tide everyone over until later in the afternoon. I was hungry, too! But they refuse. Oh, and it was "too much cold". o.0

So we spent a whopping 30 minutes at the beach, and drove 80 minutes there and back. What a wonderful afternoon!

Not to mention all the normal annoying stuff they do while they are here. You see - my MIL and FIL can never come here alone. Just themselves. They always bring a couple who works at my FILs bakery. And this couple.. the husband is alright. He really is a nice guy. He likes to joke about taking my children with him. But his wife? Oh my goodness - she is possibly the most annoying person I have ever met. Honestly.

So, her and my MIL combined - I usually want to hang myself in the bathroom half way thru our visit.

However, even if I tried to act on the urge today - I wouldn't have been able to. She was CLEANING my bathroom for me. Seriously. Nice gesture, yada yada. But really, it makes me feel like she thinks I'm a slob - so she has to clean my bathroom for me while she's visiting.

It was not bad. Seriously. The bathroom was cleaned 3 days ago, you know - toilet scrubbing and sink scrubbing. But somehow she found a reason to lock herself in the bathroom and clean it.

Not to mention all the stupid old wives tales they tell the entire time they're here. And "is he still getting milk? -points to breast-" ... "Yep!" I say, in a chipper tone. "Oh, my baby only have it 9 month. Bad after that, says Doctor.", says MIL ... Me: -blank stare- "My baby never had my milk. They very healthy." - says most annoying person in the world. Me: -blanker stare-

RAWR!

Dog Poo.

2007-09-01T17:31:00.000-04:00

For dinner this evening, we had baked chicken with wax beans, green beans and baby carrots. I carefully cut up Gabriels chicken in bite sized portions, and gave him more baby carrots than beans - as he's not a big fan of beans at all. I set his little toddler plate on the dining room table and told him it was dinner time. He climbed into his chair, grabbed his fork and started eating enthusiastically.

I scoop up Xavier, and stick him in the highchair. I cut green beans, wax beans and baby carrots into mini bite sized portions, and he goes to town. I then sit down to eat my dinner, when I see Gabriel pointing in the direction of Xavier. When I don't react, he pushes himself away from the dining room table and hops onto the floor. He runs over the Xaviers high chair and starts fishing around with his fat little fingers looking for his food.

Why is it that, he could have the same exact thing, but he wants what Xavier has? This is going to drive me nuts as they get older.

After he got over the "I want what baby brother has" thing - he ran outside to play with the dogs. I love the way our new house is set up. I can see the entire yard from the kitchen, and it's completely fenced - so he is free to go in and out as he pleases.

Gabe has this, thing, this obsession, with picking up dog poop. I know, gross. But he really does. It's not really that gross considering he doesn't pick it up with his hands. Anyways, every morning he runs outside and finds all the poop for me. First, he points at it and starts yelling at it/for me. If I don't come right away, he goes to the side of the house and grabs the pooper scooper for me and then brings it to me. I got outside, he shows me where all the poop is, we dispose of it and all is said and done.

Apparently someone pooped this afternoon, and it was unacceptable to Gabe to leave it in the yard. He was yelling at it, and I could hear him - I was eating my dinner! I'm not going to willingly get up in the middle of a bite of chicken to go pick up dog poop. Three minutes later, in comes Gabriel shoving a pooper scooper in my face.

-sigh-

Can a 20 month old really be obsessive compulsive?

It's my birthday tomorrow. The big 2-0. Whoop de doo. George found out he didn't have to work tomorrow, so he's coming home tonight. I don't think we're doing anything special. But we might spend the day at the beach on Monday, if the weather cooperates.

Hathor the Cow Goddess

2007-08-31T13:27:00.001-04:00

Xavier. <3 7 months.

2007-08-30T22:10:00.000-04:00

Well, a couple days short of 7 months. But good enough. The product of me wasting time before Xaviers bed time.

Getting too big.

2007-08-29T21:11:00.001-04:00

How did my babies grow so fast?

Gabriel will be 20 months old on Friday. Four months away from being 2 years old. He shocks me everyday with how much he understands. It's easy to forget how incredibly smart he is, considering he cannot constantly remind me by verbalizing. No, he's not really talking yet. And I'm not worried. He shows an increasing ability to comprehend and attempt to communicate with us - so I don't mind that he's not talking yet. [He says a few things, but not much.] My friend Mel was over the other day and asked Gabe to get her wipes for Ainsley's bum - and he ended up walking all the way to the first floor and tossing down diapers. He understood she needed something for Ainsleys bum. Every morning, as soon as he can get into the backyard, he finds all the dog poop for me. And if I don't get out there fast enough, he finds the pooper scooper and tries to pick it up himself. Considering he hasn't had much interaction with children his age, he is very good with sharing. He loves to give other people/kids his food/feed them and share his toys. He is so good with his little brother. He's constantly giving him hugs and kisses. Xavier is not getting to the age where he can somewhat interact with Gabriel, and there are times where they play together on the floor with a toy.

Xavier.. he's going to be 7 months old on Saturday. I'm going to have a two year old and a one year old in 5 months! He's been crawling for a few weeks. Army crawling, but it gets him where he wants to go. He sits up by himself, and he has started to refuse pureed food - so we've moved onto easy finger foods; such as bananas, blue berries, cut up grapes, crackers, etc. He's doing really well with them. He's had zuchini on a few occasions. I'd like to steam up some baby carrots and see how he does with those. He's got two teeth, and is working on cutting two more. It makes getting him to sleep at night difficult - he wakes up bawling, because he's in pain. :( But they should be cutting thru soon.

I am so glad that I parent the way I do. It has really helped me appreciate every moment with my children. So, I rocked Gabriel to sleep every nap time and every night until he was 10 months old - I can hardly get him to give me a hug now. I cherished those 10 months he let me rock him to sleep. I wear Xavier to sleep every nap time and every bed time now - and there will be a time where he learns how to put himself to sleep and I will have lost that special bonding time. I can't believe how many people get told not to hold their babies or rock their babies to sleep in fear of spoiling their children. They are only babies for a very short time. Cherish every moment - because one day those moments will no longer be there, and you'll look back and wish you would have enjoyed them more.

A Day at the Beach.

2007-08-27T21:28:00.000-04:00

Melissa, Joe, Ainsley and all of us went to Wasaga Beach this afternoon. The guys dropped us off with the kiddos while they went fishing for a bit, and we hung out at the park and ventured off to the beach. It was the first time I have been to Wasaga. It's a cute little tourist town outside of Barrie. There are several beaches, and they're actually pretty nice. Better than I thought they would be. Gabe thoroughly enjoyed his first time playing in a big body of water. Xavier hung out on my back in the baby hawk until George got back from fishing, then we all hung out ankle-deep in the water. Well, except George - he has this incredibly large fear of water. You couldn't even get more than mid calf deep for atleast a 1/2 mile into the water - but he was "getting dizzy" just thinking about stepping into the water. o.0

Miss Thunder Thighs!

Mister Party Pooper

A new beginning.

2007-08-27T09:40:00.000-04:00

I've belonged to a blogging site for several years that is now becoming the equivalent of a inner city's ghetto. No, really - it's bad. The site administrator is incredibly neglectful, and what happens when there is no one to watch the kiddies? Well, lots of immature drama, that's what. Starting new can be scary, but I've gone thru a lot of changes recently. Might as well throw this one in along with it all.

Hi. My name is Taylor. I'm a small-town girl from Illinois. I met my husband while working at Dunkin Donuts. He couldn't resist my coffee makin' skills. I took my first real risk in life when I moved 12 hours away with him, after a mere 3 months of dating. I was barely 16 and he was 27. When I met him I was just coming out of a pretty bad place in my life, and taking the risk I did was the best thing I could have ever done for myself.

I'm not saying it was easy. It may have been the best thing, but it certainly was not easy. George and I had a lot of kinks to iron out in our relationship. I had issues, he had issues... but we worked on it. And almost 4 years later - we're still here and strong.

We conceived our first son, Gabriel, on our 1 year anniversary. We got married June 17th, 2005. And Gabriel Elias was born December 31st, 2005 - a perfect gift for the new year. When Gabriel was 3 weeks old, we made a big move to Canada. I took Spanish in Highschool thinking it'd be a smart move with Spanish becoming the second language in the U.S. Heh. I should have taken French.

We moved to Montreal, Quebec. I loved playing the mommy role so much, we intentionally got pregnant when Gabriel was only 4 months old. Yes, my boys are 13 months apart. Xavier James was born on February 1st, 2007 - at home. I had the most beautiful home birth after cesarean, with the most wonderful and supportive midwives I could have ever found. My homebith with Xavier healed so many scars I had gained with Gabriel. I still remember vividly pulling him up to my chest from in between my thighs and crying out, "I did it. I can't believe I did it! My body isn't a failure."

Yes, I'm one of those Moms who hold labor and birth very dear to her heart. I've always been enthralled with pregnant women and birthing babies. I just never thought I'd be taken down the path of homebirthing. Now? I wouldn't do anything else.

We now live in Barrie, Ontario. I don't foresee another move in the near future. I'm certianly not up for another move considering George and I have moved 5 times in our 3 years together. My boys are almost 20 months and almost 7 months old now. I'm very much enjoying living in an English speaking province, and coming out of the shell I hid in for almost 16 months. I didn't deal will with the language barrier in Quebec. Now that we're in Ontario, I'm excited to get back into my first passion; dogs.

Oh, we have 3 dogs. And 2 cats. And a snake. And a fish tank. It's a bit of a zoo around here. At any given time there's bound to be a few animal hairs floating around. No matter what I do I just can't get rid of it all - but it's the price you pay for the love of animals. My heart is in dog rescue. And I adore dog training and showing - just haven't had the time with two small kiddos. I'm hoping to get back into it soon.

And hubby and I are fighting the urge to conceive another bundle of joy. How can we help it? We make beautiful babies.

Life is grand. Not to say there aren't ups and downs like everyone else - but the overall picture, I love my life and wouldn't change it for the world.