Snow, and more snow
Wow, we're making up for the lost winter. Apparently it's supposed to snow another 10cm today. Although, with the warmth of yesterday, we probably lost a few cms during the afternoon thaw.
I have just finished a wonderful book, which I highly recommend to anyone interested in Canadian fiction/the suffragist movement or midwifery. It's called The Birth House by Ami McKay and it's set in Scot's Bay, Nova Scotia. It's a treasure.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Monday, February 27, 2006
It's chinooking
So, it has pretty much snowed all weekend right up until 9am today, with temps below -5, however, currently the temperature is about 9C and the sun is shining. How bizarre.
We met with our two doulas yesterday, Tania and Deb (the backup) and both Ben and I agree that we much prefer the backup to the main doula but how to tell her?!
It's nearly time for Clara to be let out of her room and who knows what we'll be doing then. She recently got a new puzzle with Winnie Pooh, Tigger and Pliget on it. And no, that's not a typo, she calls Piglet, Pliget, which makes me smile as I think of some old Greek philosopher gone wrong.
So, it has pretty much snowed all weekend right up until 9am today, with temps below -5, however, currently the temperature is about 9C and the sun is shining. How bizarre.
We met with our two doulas yesterday, Tania and Deb (the backup) and both Ben and I agree that we much prefer the backup to the main doula but how to tell her?!
It's nearly time for Clara to be let out of her room and who knows what we'll be doing then. She recently got a new puzzle with Winnie Pooh, Tigger and Pliget on it. And no, that's not a typo, she calls Piglet, Pliget, which makes me smile as I think of some old Greek philosopher gone wrong.
Saturday, February 25, 2006
I have new slippers!
And they are very comfortable. I have been on a quest for comfy, inexpensive slippers for a couple of years now, and despite trying new ones, have usually tended to revert back to wearing these old mocassins that were my mums and that have worn through in holes (through leather!). However, Ben found a pair from Naturalizer and they are working out just fine.
And the biggest news is that Clara, after an hour or so of playing in her room, got back into her crib and had a two hour nap today. Miracles never cease. That is the first time in her short experience as a toddler that she has gone to sleep on her own that wasn't an immediate happening, if you can follow that explanation.
Still more snow, but nothing like what Newfoundland is getting. I have to say, based on the past couple of years weather-wise, I'm awfully happy to not be living on the east coast. Doesn't sound like much fun, between hurricanes and blizzards, they are getting dumped on!
And they are very comfortable. I have been on a quest for comfy, inexpensive slippers for a couple of years now, and despite trying new ones, have usually tended to revert back to wearing these old mocassins that were my mums and that have worn through in holes (through leather!). However, Ben found a pair from Naturalizer and they are working out just fine.
And the biggest news is that Clara, after an hour or so of playing in her room, got back into her crib and had a two hour nap today. Miracles never cease. That is the first time in her short experience as a toddler that she has gone to sleep on her own that wasn't an immediate happening, if you can follow that explanation.
Still more snow, but nothing like what Newfoundland is getting. I have to say, based on the past couple of years weather-wise, I'm awfully happy to not be living on the east coast. Doesn't sound like much fun, between hurricanes and blizzards, they are getting dumped on!
Friday, February 24, 2006
And it just kept on snowing
Now, its that perfect winter wonderland snow that glitters like diamonds and is all soft and fluffy. It reaches up to about Clara's knees which makes for fun but slow walking around. We spent the entire morning and early afternoon at Abbey's house and now Clara's having her quiet time upstairs. I've stopped calling it a nap.
I have had an absolutely wonderful morning, with blueberry/banana pancakes and some delightful pressies first thing (Clara thought it was her birthday!) and then lunch made for me by a friend (okay, it was peanut butter sandwiches and KD but still, I only made part of it) and now the sun is shining and I'm having a decaf latte and reading the paper.
Despite being in Canada, Calgary doesn't seem to handle snow very well. I know the city only plows the streets that are bus routes and major roads/highways, but they don't actually seem to do those very well. Interesting.
Now, its that perfect winter wonderland snow that glitters like diamonds and is all soft and fluffy. It reaches up to about Clara's knees which makes for fun but slow walking around. We spent the entire morning and early afternoon at Abbey's house and now Clara's having her quiet time upstairs. I've stopped calling it a nap.
I have had an absolutely wonderful morning, with blueberry/banana pancakes and some delightful pressies first thing (Clara thought it was her birthday!) and then lunch made for me by a friend (okay, it was peanut butter sandwiches and KD but still, I only made part of it) and now the sun is shining and I'm having a decaf latte and reading the paper.
Despite being in Canada, Calgary doesn't seem to handle snow very well. I know the city only plows the streets that are bus routes and major roads/highways, but they don't actually seem to do those very well. Interesting.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Snow, snow and more snow
Well, it just keeps on snowing. Yesterday, it snowed all day, and Clara and I cleared the sidewalk and the back walk about 10:45am and by 3pm, you couldn't tell. But it makes for fun sledding and throwing naked babies in the snow. I guess we'll go out again today, seeing as more of the white stuff is coming down. Clara did actually have a nap for about an hour yesterday but today we're off again. That's one nap in just under 2 weeks. She's really dragging out this one. And now we're dealing with her waking up at 6:00am. That's always fun, because even though I ignore her until closer to 7:00am, it's not condusive to getting back to sleep to listen to someone yelling and crying and pulling on the door, then singing and playing, then yelling and crying some more.
Well, it just keeps on snowing. Yesterday, it snowed all day, and Clara and I cleared the sidewalk and the back walk about 10:45am and by 3pm, you couldn't tell. But it makes for fun sledding and throwing naked babies in the snow. I guess we'll go out again today, seeing as more of the white stuff is coming down. Clara did actually have a nap for about an hour yesterday but today we're off again. That's one nap in just under 2 weeks. She's really dragging out this one. And now we're dealing with her waking up at 6:00am. That's always fun, because even though I ignore her until closer to 7:00am, it's not condusive to getting back to sleep to listen to someone yelling and crying and pulling on the door, then singing and playing, then yelling and crying some more.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Hockey gold and caught in the act
Seems that we've been doing very little this past week besides me stressing about Clara not napping. Man, if there's been one recurring theme throughout the past two years, it's been a sleep one. Anyway, she's turned into a veritable monkey and can climb her dresser and her shelves and in and out of her crib in a wink. We tried her in the crib as a daybed for two nights, and I'm sure we didn't give it long enough, but she was miserable and couldn't sleep at night so we turned it back into a full crib on Friday night at 10:30pm, with the help of Amy Sullivan who was visiting. Practice for her soon-to-be little one. I just couldn't face the battle of trying to get her to sleep well at night given that she gets no rest during the day. So, now it's just waiting out the transitional phase that she's in that is stopping her from getting her afternoon nap. It's been over a week since her last afternoon nap, but I'm not ready to throw in the cards yet. She did get up to no good on Saturday so we've made a thorough effort of baby-proofing her room and everything is removed or latched down/locked up. A bit too late for the green turtleneck though but since then, the destruction has been limited.
And she's all about puzzles these days. Ben brought back a 2-in-one puzzled from France that is 20 pieces/puzzle and for ages 4+ and she's doing it on her own already. I guess we might have a trip to the puzzle store this afternoon to get something else because they get done so quickly. Speedy G, she is.
We're still making it to the swimming pool on Tuesdays mornings and Clara is still loving her time there, and today she was much more accepting of going to see the ladies (babysitting) for 30 minutes before joining me. She's been practicing jumping into the pool, both feet together, toes near the edge, and performed a perfect leap into the water first thing today. And I had my first lap of what felt like real swimming, rather than near-drowning. Only one of the laps felt like that though, but it's a start, right?!
And yay for Team Canada, with a gold in Women's Hockey. Now, men, pay attention and repeat this performance. Thankfully they beat Czech Republic today. That's the latest, other than now Ben is happy as he owns the complete box set of the extended version of Lord of the Rings.
Seems that we've been doing very little this past week besides me stressing about Clara not napping. Man, if there's been one recurring theme throughout the past two years, it's been a sleep one. Anyway, she's turned into a veritable monkey and can climb her dresser and her shelves and in and out of her crib in a wink. We tried her in the crib as a daybed for two nights, and I'm sure we didn't give it long enough, but she was miserable and couldn't sleep at night so we turned it back into a full crib on Friday night at 10:30pm, with the help of Amy Sullivan who was visiting. Practice for her soon-to-be little one. I just couldn't face the battle of trying to get her to sleep well at night given that she gets no rest during the day. So, now it's just waiting out the transitional phase that she's in that is stopping her from getting her afternoon nap. It's been over a week since her last afternoon nap, but I'm not ready to throw in the cards yet. She did get up to no good on Saturday so we've made a thorough effort of baby-proofing her room and everything is removed or latched down/locked up. A bit too late for the green turtleneck though but since then, the destruction has been limited.
And she's all about puzzles these days. Ben brought back a 2-in-one puzzled from France that is 20 pieces/puzzle and for ages 4+ and she's doing it on her own already. I guess we might have a trip to the puzzle store this afternoon to get something else because they get done so quickly. Speedy G, she is.
We're still making it to the swimming pool on Tuesdays mornings and Clara is still loving her time there, and today she was much more accepting of going to see the ladies (babysitting) for 30 minutes before joining me. She's been practicing jumping into the pool, both feet together, toes near the edge, and performed a perfect leap into the water first thing today. And I had my first lap of what felt like real swimming, rather than near-drowning. Only one of the laps felt like that though, but it's a start, right?!
And yay for Team Canada, with a gold in Women's Hockey. Now, men, pay attention and repeat this performance. Thankfully they beat Czech Republic today. That's the latest, other than now Ben is happy as he owns the complete box set of the extended version of Lord of the Rings.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
More developments
During her nap, Clara climbed out of her crib three times in the space of 15 minutes. Good thing I installed that latch on the outside of her door. But what about the nap? I finally went in to get her and there were books strewn across the room, and she'd made it into a box of clothes (next size up) and was wearing her PJs, red rubber boots and a pink and white polka dotted raincoat. Nice.
This morning, I heard Clara wake up around 7am and next thing I knew, her door was opening and there was Clara, saying "I get out of my bed all by myself". Hmmm. Not sure what I think about this latest.
After breakfast, milk, and books, Clara was playing in her PJs while I dozed on the couch (mornings are getting harder) and I heard her say "I go pee on potty" and she'd taken off her PJs and her diaper and, sure enough, peed on the potty. So, I guess that's all good, right?
Now it's a battle to keep her from using up all the toilet paper and flushing everything for her babies that are going pee on the potty too.
During her nap, Clara climbed out of her crib three times in the space of 15 minutes. Good thing I installed that latch on the outside of her door. But what about the nap? I finally went in to get her and there were books strewn across the room, and she'd made it into a box of clothes (next size up) and was wearing her PJs, red rubber boots and a pink and white polka dotted raincoat. Nice.
This morning, I heard Clara wake up around 7am and next thing I knew, her door was opening and there was Clara, saying "I get out of my bed all by myself". Hmmm. Not sure what I think about this latest.
After breakfast, milk, and books, Clara was playing in her PJs while I dozed on the couch (mornings are getting harder) and I heard her say "I go pee on potty" and she'd taken off her PJs and her diaper and, sure enough, peed on the potty. So, I guess that's all good, right?
Now it's a battle to keep her from using up all the toilet paper and flushing everything for her babies that are going pee on the potty too.
Friday, February 10, 2006
32 weeks and counting
These last few weeks are taking forever to pass. We had a trip to the doctor's this morning, and seems I'm a bit on the small side so I'm off for an ultrasound on Monday morning to make sure everything's good.
Clara had a nap yesterday - I was so pleased that we went to the consignment store and she got to pick out a new-to-her toy. It worked out well, because she chose two new babies, dressed in Winnie the Pooh and Tigger suits, but they are water babies, so they can go in the bath. The reason this is good is that she has been quite determined to take her regular babies in to the bath with her, and then they have to go down in the basement for a few days to dry out. Too much booze, you know. Those babies.
We had a play morning at Heather and Abbie's place today and I'm feeling encouraged because I managed to get Baby Katie to settle and fall asleep while I was holding her. I have to admit, the first few times I'd held her, I've felt like a complete newbie with no clue what to do or how to hold her to get her comfortable. Maybe today she and the "new baby" were communicating because she was pretty happy. Clara had fun playing with Abbie, although Miss Abs still holds firmly to the title of "Grabby Abbie". And poor Clara just stands there, a bit stunned and watches as Abbie grabs everything that she's interested in. But Clara taught Abbie how to climb into her crib and then how to bounce like it's a bouncy castle. I'm not sure that Heather was too pleased with the situation, and Shannon, Kayla's mum, was happy that Kayla was downstairs all the while, not learning the bad tricks.
We've been going to storytime at the library on Thursday mornings, our second session with the same storytime lady. It seems Clara misses her support network of Kayla because, while we are there, she won't do any of the rhymes or songs or stretches that she knows and loves and does at home. She's such an introspective observer.
Still swimming and yoga-ing once a week, despite a nasty on-going battle with heartburn and reflux while doing both activities. Yuck.
These last few weeks are taking forever to pass. We had a trip to the doctor's this morning, and seems I'm a bit on the small side so I'm off for an ultrasound on Monday morning to make sure everything's good.
Clara had a nap yesterday - I was so pleased that we went to the consignment store and she got to pick out a new-to-her toy. It worked out well, because she chose two new babies, dressed in Winnie the Pooh and Tigger suits, but they are water babies, so they can go in the bath. The reason this is good is that she has been quite determined to take her regular babies in to the bath with her, and then they have to go down in the basement for a few days to dry out. Too much booze, you know. Those babies.
We had a play morning at Heather and Abbie's place today and I'm feeling encouraged because I managed to get Baby Katie to settle and fall asleep while I was holding her. I have to admit, the first few times I'd held her, I've felt like a complete newbie with no clue what to do or how to hold her to get her comfortable. Maybe today she and the "new baby" were communicating because she was pretty happy. Clara had fun playing with Abbie, although Miss Abs still holds firmly to the title of "Grabby Abbie". And poor Clara just stands there, a bit stunned and watches as Abbie grabs everything that she's interested in. But Clara taught Abbie how to climb into her crib and then how to bounce like it's a bouncy castle. I'm not sure that Heather was too pleased with the situation, and Shannon, Kayla's mum, was happy that Kayla was downstairs all the while, not learning the bad tricks.
We've been going to storytime at the library on Thursday mornings, our second session with the same storytime lady. It seems Clara misses her support network of Kayla because, while we are there, she won't do any of the rhymes or songs or stretches that she knows and loves and does at home. She's such an introspective observer.
Still swimming and yoga-ing once a week, despite a nasty on-going battle with heartburn and reflux while doing both activities. Yuck.
Wednesday, February 8, 2006
New big girl room
Two nights ago, Clara slept in her new "big girl" room for the first time. She tried to have a nap that afternoon but apparently it was too exciting because she didn't nap at all, and ended up buck naked after her two hours. And the same was repeated yesterday. However, I think it's all normal and she still sleeps very well at night. While she's in her new room, she's not in a big girl bed, yet. Those with small children might understand the desire to keep them "in the cage" as long as possible. Nothing like a few nocturnal visits to make you wish you hadn't put a twin in so early. Or the noise that might accompany a wee one who is up but locked in her room from the outside. And the mess that there is to clean up the next morning. So, until the new one desperately needs the crib, it's staying in Clara's room.
What she's been saying:
"I'm getting in trouble"
"I'm okay" (when you ask her if she wants any more food)
"bye, see you"
When singing the ABC song, she gets to the end and sings "now I know my ABCDEF.." and the song is stuck on repeat. This makes me smile.
The double Chariot arrived, just when I'd decided to abandon it and go for the MEC double stroller. Oh well, it's very very nice and Clara loves it. Of course, it's all for her, right?
And we met a very nice family doctor this morning who was accepting new patients. This might be the case for others living in Canadian cities/provinces, I don't know, but we've been here coming up on two years and still hadn't been able to find a family doctor, somewhat near to our house that was accepting new patients. So, Clara and I are in, and Ben's going to meet the male doc on Monday. Yay!
Two nights ago, Clara slept in her new "big girl" room for the first time. She tried to have a nap that afternoon but apparently it was too exciting because she didn't nap at all, and ended up buck naked after her two hours. And the same was repeated yesterday. However, I think it's all normal and she still sleeps very well at night. While she's in her new room, she's not in a big girl bed, yet. Those with small children might understand the desire to keep them "in the cage" as long as possible. Nothing like a few nocturnal visits to make you wish you hadn't put a twin in so early. Or the noise that might accompany a wee one who is up but locked in her room from the outside. And the mess that there is to clean up the next morning. So, until the new one desperately needs the crib, it's staying in Clara's room.
What she's been saying:
"I'm getting in trouble"
"I'm okay" (when you ask her if she wants any more food)
"bye, see you"
When singing the ABC song, she gets to the end and sings "now I know my ABCDEF.." and the song is stuck on repeat. This makes me smile.
The double Chariot arrived, just when I'd decided to abandon it and go for the MEC double stroller. Oh well, it's very very nice and Clara loves it. Of course, it's all for her, right?
And we met a very nice family doctor this morning who was accepting new patients. This might be the case for others living in Canadian cities/provinces, I don't know, but we've been here coming up on two years and still hadn't been able to find a family doctor, somewhat near to our house that was accepting new patients. So, Clara and I are in, and Ben's going to meet the male doc on Monday. Yay!
Wednesday, February 1, 2006
Ready to go to the Farmer's Market now...
is what she declared and headed for the back door. Forget that it was -2 and dark out. And I'm posting this as further proof that Clara is like me; apparently, as a young 'un, I was known to strip down to just my socks on many days and wander around. I think she scores points for putting on her hat and boots, don't you?
is what she declared and headed for the back door. Forget that it was -2 and dark out. And I'm posting this as further proof that Clara is like me; apparently, as a young 'un, I was known to strip down to just my socks on many days and wander around. I think she scores points for putting on her hat and boots, don't you?
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