7 1/2 Week Ultrasound

You know what's funny? I think I've come full circle as far as early ultrasounds go. Back in the day, before I had children of my own, I wasn't all that interested in other people's ultrasounds. They just looked like blobs to me. I was excited for them because it was their baby, but I couldn't recognize anything they were pointing out to me and even if I could, I didn't really care.

Then I got pregnant with Shaun and every ultrasound was a picture of my baby that I treasured. I carried that first ultrasound in my purse and showed anyone who would look. Same story with Ian. Now that I'm on baby #3 and pregnancy #5 I'm back at the start again. This baby, while I know it's growing inside me and I'm so excited to meet it, I can't really tell too much from the blurry picture. I can recognize the leg buds and where the yolk sac, brain and eyeballs are but that's about it. I certainly won't be carrying around this picture with me. It's not that I don't care, I've just evolved as a Mum and I realize now that ultrasound images are much more important to the parents than anyone else. Just for the record though, I posted this picture for those of you who have been consistently harassing me for pictures! :P

Red Lobster

Melissa surprised us last night and offered to look after Shaun and Ian while we went out for dinner together. We looked after her 3 boys for the day since her nanny had asked for the day off and her husband is back on the ship for 5 weeks. We aren't able to get out together very often without at least one kid in tow so we took advantage of the opportunity and went to Red Lobster. Delicious! I remember as a little girl I went to Red Lobster with my parents and complained the whole time about what I was eating. We never returned there again. Come to think of it, we didn't eat out much at all growing up. It must have been because of the expense. So anyway, thanks so much to Melissa for the terrific treat! We'll be sure to repay you soon!

What is it about vitamins that makes my stomach so upset? When I was pregnant with Shaun I could take my prenatals any time I wanted with no ill effects. I'd always take them right before bed, after brushing my teeth. Then with Ian I learned - after barfing many times right after heading to bed - that I had to take them with food. At the very least I needed to have a glass or orange juice or milk in my tummy. This time I just can't stomach them at all. No matter what's in my stomach I get nauseated within about 10 minutes. I'll have to ask my midwife about that and possibly switch brands.

My belly's growing. Already. I knew that this baby would demand a lot of real estate early on because it's been such a short time since Ian occupied that space but I never realized how quickly it would happen. There's been a couple of people (one lady who came to sell me some of her maternity clothes and the cashier at the grocery store) who have asked me how far along I am. I've had to answer sheepishly that I'm only 8 weeks.

My midwife's office called late last week to confirm my due date (December 31, exactly what I thought it was) and to schedule my first appointment. The reason they've waited this long is because we really didn't know when I was due since I had only one period before getting pregnant, and it was loooong before I actually got pregnant. Anyway, Pooja, who delivered Ian was supposed to be on holidays for 3 weeks starting at the end of December; and Amanda, who was also present when Ian was born, was also scheduled to be on holidays at close to the same time. But once the ultrasound came back, Pooja actually delayed her holidays until January 11 so that she'd be around to deliver me! How cool is that?! Man, I LOVE midwives!! And just for the record, providing everything continues normally and without complications, we'll be birthing this baby at home again. At least we'll be more prepared this time and I won't have to ruin all my nice, white towels with blood from the birth.

Ultrasound pictures to come. I'm getting ready to scan them right now.

Our Video Montage

This was what we emailed to the family yesterday to announce our baby.

Thunder Stealing

I spread the news of our third baby to the family yesterday. Craig and I worked together to pick through a pile of photos from Ian's birth up until now and then put them into a short video montage. Then we emailed the link to all the family. It was fun to get the calls of congratulations as they came in because now we know who checks their email regularly and who doesn't!

Then my brother called tonight. He and his wife have been married about 3 1/2 years. He's a stock manager at a surplus store in London and she's in university full time. Apparently, I stole their thunder with our news yesterday because he told me they're pregnant too!!! Due in the middle of December, only a couple of weeks before I am. Talk about an awesome month for my parents. Now they'll certainly have to buy that minivan: from 3 to 5 grandchildren in only hours.

It wasn't intentional but I think I'll have to call myself a professional Thunder Stealer now.

Six Weeks, 9 Months, 3 years 8 months, Drafted Post from May 9, 2009

The ages of my kids right now. Granted, the youngest is still gestating but you get the idea.

The child that is growing in my womb is six weeks old today. I am due to give birth to this child in 34 weeks.

Baby's heart is beating. Baby is twitching. Baby is about the same size as a kidney bean, it's heart as tiny as a sesame seed. Baby makes me tired, feel sick and constipated.

When we talk about the future now we talk about having 3 children. It includes thoughts on where the carseats will go in the van, how we will afford Disney World in 3 years, finding a babysitter, carpooling, grocery shopping for so many mouths, laundry, having only 3 bedrooms.

But I am so happy. I love this baby. I love my family. I love my life. I already picture us as a family with three children. I imagine myself bundling up 2 boys and wrapping my bulging belly in a sweater as we hurry outside in the cold. I picture our bedroom all set up for a home birth. When I daydream of days spent at the beach I see a family of 5. I see myself carrying an infant and Shaun holding Ian's hand as we stroll to the park.

This baby surprised us but it was always wanted.

Three's a Crowd, Drafted Post from April 24, 2009

I cried - a lot - when I first realized we were growing our family. I want three children and I've made it very clear to Craig that my intention is to have 3 eventually but not now. My personality is Type A - I have to plan things. Everything. This was not in the plans for right now. I've lost control over something that I always thought was in my control. What are we going to do?!

Obviously we'll have the baby. No question there. But how will we adjust to a third baby when our second is only 16 months old?

My home childcare just opened and my first client starts at the end of June. When the baby comes I'll have a 16 month old of my own, a 17 month old that I'm looking after and a nearly 4 1/2 year old. Goodness.

It's not that I'm not grateful. It's just that this comes as such a surprise. We struggled for 19 long months to get pregnant with Ian. There were 2 devastating miscarriages in that time. We started to think that we'd never be able to have another healthy child. We looked to fertility treatments and had a start date set when we learned that Ian was coming along. My mind is drowning thinking about how our lives will change with a third child.

Another Blessing, Drafted Post from April 23, 2009

I simply can't believe it. I took this after dinner tonight. I sort of had a feeling but never imagined I was actually pregnant. We've been using contraception. I was charting as part of our family planning but we were using VCF too. When my temperature remained high after ovulation I started getting a little suspicious but figured my body was still getting back on track. I'm still breastfeeding Ian and I've only had one post partum period. Go figure Craig's swimmers would get through the barrier of spermicide and that my body was actually ovulating. I guess God had other plans for us.

Cat's Outta the Bag

It's time I figure. We're thrilled to announce that we will be expecting our third child sometime after Christmas this year!!! I had an ultrasound this morning and everything appears to be going well. Our baby is growing and has landed in the right place. Although this baby is coming much sooner than we would have planned, we're both feeling very blessed right now and can't wait to have a busy house full of little feet!

Smells like...

I went out this afternoon to run some errands with the boys and picked up one of those scented oil refills. When we returned home, Shaun stayed outside to play and I put Ian in the playroom while I unpacked the bags. Well, wouldn't you know it, at the very same moment as Ian fell backwards into a bin of toys and Shaun called me to help him from outside, I dropped the damn thing and it smashed into 856 (yes, that exact amount) tiny shards of razor sharp glass all over the kitchen floor. And the oil splattered everywhere too.

Thank goodness Ian isn't crawling yet because after spending a brief moment cussing, I was able to quickly console him then run outside to help Shaun while leaving the glass all over the kitchen. When I came back inside I foolishly used a damp dishrag to mop up the oil. Now the dishrag and the laundry room and my hands reek. Scented oil is nice in small puffs, not when it's all over your hands and permeating everything. Next time I'll use paper towel, since that's what we buy the stuff for. See how cheap I am? My first thought was to wipe up scented oil with something reusable. What was I thinking???

In the meantime the house smells like Morning Rain, according to Febreeze Air Effects. I think it smells like Too Much Air Freshener.

9 Months Old

Good grief, can you believe Ian is nine months old today? I can't.

He has a weigh in with the doctor in just over a week so I'll update his weight more then. He still has only 2 teeth but makes up for his lack of teeth with his superior chewing skills. He can chew anything. Strawberries and chicken are his favourite. I still make and puree baby food for him but he's accepting it less and less. I think that's because he's much happier when he can feed himself. He loves toast and cheerios. Feta cheese has gone over really well as has cottage cheese. He enjoys yogurt and applesauce. Baby cereal is tolerated but only because he knows he gets fingerfoods when the cereal is done. I know that won't last long. And he loves the boob. Oh my, does he love the boob. He had a stint back about a month ago where he was getting really distracted and I feared he was weaning but I persevered and we came through and now he's back to nursing 3-4 times a day. It depends on where his naps fall and if he has a third nap. Most days he does but I'm trying to drop the third nap and just get him to sleep longer in the afternoon.

Ian's not crawling yet. It's funny because he looks like he's going to so often but he never actually gets up on all fours. I don't think he has the upper body strength to crawl yet. The whole world will open up to him once he's crawling. I know that life is easier with an immobile baby but I also know that he'll be much happier when he can chase Shaun around and crawl to reach the ball that rolled away.

This morning Ian danced for the first time. I was getting him dressed and Shaun was playing with the Fridge Farm that plays various tunes. Ian was sitting on his bum and rocking back and forth with a great big grin on his face. When the music stopped, so did he. When I asked him if he was dancing he smiled and babbled. I remember the first time Shaun danced. I was so proud that all the dancing I had been doing with him was finally showing up. Now all the goofy dancing Shaun does is finally showing up in Ian. He's getting so big.

I think Ian Meows too. There's been a few times when the cats have strolled into the kitchen and he's meowed at them. It doesn't happen every time but it's happened enough that I think I can call it confirmed. Shaun's first official word was "Ted", though he said it "Det". I wonder what Ian will say. I had a dream last night that Ian's first word was Boogeyman. Somehow I believe that.

My parents are coming this afternoon to babysit because Craig, Shaun and I are going to Medieval Times for dinner. Ian hasn't seen my parents in a few weeks so we'll see if his stranger anxiety has kicked in yet. I'm torn. He's not nearly as timid as Shaun was at this age but I haven't been out and about as much having 2 kids as I was with only 1. Mum and Dad are going for pizza. Ian will love that!

Nature Valley

Have I said yet how much I love my house? If not, I Love My House.

Spring is in full swing and all of the perennials have popped out of the ground and many are in full bloom. I'm learning so much about plants and gardening, I'm sorry I didn't give more attention to my planting beds in the townhouse. There's periwinkle and flox everywhere and last week I planted some Saxafrage. Along one side of the house there's clamatis peeking out of the dirt; I'm sure it will be climbing the bricks in no time. Along the other side of the house, lining the fence, there's strawberries. I've never grown strawberries before - or anything but tulips and lilies to be honest - so it'll be fun to see how fruitful (pun intended!) the crop is from this wannabe green thumb.

The absolute best thing about living here is how hospitable the birds find our backyard. We have no less than 3 nesting birds. One family has babies, we heard them this afternoon. The robin couple swaps sitting on 3 bright blue eggs. There's a third nest high in the spruce tree that belongs to some very happy, but very squawky grackles. Those are the blackbirds with iridescent heads.

I've read that robins incubate their eggs for almost 2 weeks. It's been about 10 days since Momma laid her 3 eggs so we should be getting some action within the next few days I'd think. I've taken pictures of the nest as it was being built and have a picture of the little eggies. I'll have to check out the nest today and see if there's any babies yet. What an awesome experience for Shaun!

And we have a little bunny who frequents our backyard these days. He arrives from under the fence on the left side and takes the same trail every morning. First hopping over to the shed and meandering around under there for a few minutes. The first time I actually watched him I thought he had left but he appeared from the other side of the shed a few minutes later. Then he continues on to the sandbox. Sometimes stopping to sniff the toys and nibble on the long grasses that stretch for sunlight from under the umbrella tree. He follows the border of the flower bed and rounds the patio, pausing at the strawberry bushes. There aren't even blooms there yet but I'm pretty sure he's trolling, just waiting for that first sweet blossom. Then he quickly slips back under the fence on the opposite side from where he came. I have my camera ready to snap a picture of him but I haven't been able to get a good shot of him yet. I'll keep trying.

Not So Brave

While Shaun was an older infant and toddler I always encouraged him to try things - food, climbing, etc. - so it's not like I was one of those mothers who snuffs out all of her kid's creativity and sense of adventure. So explain to me why Shaun's such a chicken? We went to the park this afternoon. There's a great big free standing slide there that has an elaborate set of ladders to climb to the top. I have pictures of Shaun at the top from last spring and the spring before. This spring he's petrified of this stupid thing. He honestly doesn't believe us that he EVER went down that slide. He made it to the top this spring and had a complete meltdown and I ended up having to crawl up there and escort him down. He was carrying on and on that it was too scary and really creating quite the scene. This afternoon at the park he wouldn't go near the slide with a 10 foot pole. And the swings. Oh Lord, don't get me started on the swings. I feel like people must think I never take him anywhere because everything becomes such a production. Six months ago he was still using the baby swings because we couldn't count on him not letting go but he would scream and complain that the swing was going too high and we were pushing too hard. You would have laughed at how high Shaun considered high. He jumps from higher off the stairs and was swinging higher when he was 6 months old. So we stopped putting him in the swing. If you're going to swing, then SWING for goodness sake! Now that he's only allowed on the big-kid swings he won't go near them. He'll push Ian on the baby ones and push him high, but at the mere mention of a big swing for Shaun the whining starts that 'they're too scary, I go too high, I'm scared I'll fall off, the wind makes my spit hit my face' (seriously!). We've tried everything to try and get him to love the swings and slides again but he's a stubborn little guy and is having none of our schemes. His timidness at parks just makes it so boring because he doesn't want to do anything. He even admits that parks are boring and would rather stay home and pretend to mow the lawn. Go figure.

Porn Pops

He loves them, much to my chagrin. They're not exactly the best cereal out there but Craig had to go and buy the absolute biggest box he could find and now we have them coming out the ying yang. What are they? "Porn Pops" according to Shaun. I told him that 'porn' is not a word and he said he knows but is just being silly. Great. I can hardly wait until he asks for them at the grocery store in front of some old lady!

Alexander and the...

I guess I got too cocky because the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad flu bug that hit me, Shaun and Ian on Friday night has now hit Craig. He came home from work early today with body aches and nausea. I'm sure he'll be barfing before the day ends. I've been telling everyone that Craig escaped the whole thing but obviously I spoke too soon.

Poor guy.

Mum's the Word

I think I finally figured out what my problem is. I'm a perfectionist. I've found a couple of blogs recently where the thoughts are so profound and the writing style so unique that I just can't measure up to them. I fear that somehow through their blog tracker that they'll land back here at my blog and be appalled at my juvenile writing style and absense of any real paragraph structure and my misuse of hyphens and semi-colons. If I can't do it perfectly the first time, I figure I may as well not do it at all.

I don't feel like I have anything really thought provoking to contribute to the blogosphere and I'm not entirely convinced that people really want to hear about my day to day ramblings. I certainly don't, because I live it. I don't want to feel like I have to write about it; as if I have to find a concrete way to remember. Some things I'd rather forget, in fact.

___________________________________________________


Okay, now that that's out of the way. We've had to go back to basics with Shaun. Like when he was still 2 years old basics. His attitude and saucy mouth have run their last marathon. I'm on a rampage to quarantine the Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde that is my son.

Today he flipped out that I didn't give him the cup he wanted when I gave him a drink. He never actually TOLD me what cup he wanted so I gave him the one on the top of the stack in the cupboard. The whining continued and he was shouting and carrying on that he wanted the blue cup and I had given him the yellow. For the record, yellow is his favourite colour and he ALWAYS asks for yellow. So I sent him to his room and took away his buddies (the three stuffed toys who are his whole world and only true love). I told him to stay in there until I called him for dinner. I heard him about half an hour later calling to me from the bathroom. I told him I wasn't talking to him right them but that he could tell me at dinner. Fourty-five minutes from the time I sent him to his room, I called him for dinner. He met me in the hallway and said, "Mummy, I'm really, really sorry for talking so rude and having so much attitude." Well, what could I do? I melted, of course! I gave him a hug and said 'Thanks'. Shaun was happy and clapped his hands. "Now I can have Ted back!" he exclaimed.

Aha! That's why he apologized. Not because he was sorry and had learnt his lesson, but because he was manipulating me to get his buddies back. "Absolutely not," I told him. And then it was like he was a different little boy. His heartfelt apology was completely forgotten and he was back to whining and complaining about his cup, his fork being on the wrong side of his plate, the chicken being cut too big, the asparagus being yucky, the cucumbers being too cold, Ian being too loud and the house being too hot. On and on and on it went. And that was just at dinner. It had started when I picked him up at my Mum's this morning and continued until I sent him to bed.

I still read him a story because I believe it's really important to go to bed without being angry with one another but I'm not going to lie; it was really hard to watch him listening to story as if the whole day had just been dandy. He was fine until the last page when he started carrying on that he can't sleep without Ted and the rest of his buddies. He was crying that he apologized and I STILL didn't give them to him. My point was that while I appreciated the apology, he still needs to know that he can't speak to me like that and his consequence is losing his buddies. And if the attitude continues, he will lose them for longer than just a night as well as other priviliges like playing at his friend's house or riding his bike. He didn't seem to like those consequences too much. Hopefully I won't have to use them.

Was I too hard on him after he apologzed? I'd like to think NO because of the way he flipped when I told him he couldn't have Ted back. He was completely playing me and was angry when I called his bluff. But part of me thinks: he's only 3 1/2. An apology at this age is a big thing, especially if it's in his own words. And it really did seem heartfelt. He even *almost* cried.

I can't keep second guessing myself on stuff like this because I think that's where all these problems stemmed from in the first place. I'd say NO to something and he'd push and push and I'd decide it really wasn't worth the battle and give in. It started with little things like him using extra pillows on the couch or having one extra thing for snack in the morning. But I think that each time I let him get away with something like that after his persistent asking and complaining, I taught him that he just has to ask and whine enough and he'll get anything. And when I actually mean NO when I say NO he doesn't know when to quit whining about it because he thinks I'll eventually change my mind.

Well, today was a changing day in my life. I am going back to basics with Shaun. He will earn his priviliges and my word is the final word. No arguing, whining, or complaining about it or there will be consequences. Hopefully I'll have something more positive to post about the new techniques very soon.

Busy Monkeys

I've been away for a while - I know. Life has been pretty stressful of late. I've been getting ready for the grand opening of my new childcare centre, Busy Monkeys (that makes homecare sound so official huh?) and that has been occupying most of my free time.

I'm so excited to get all this up and running! The curriculum plans are coming together and I'm working on designing a menu that includes hot, homecooked meals for lunch and wholesome snacks. Each week's activities support a theme (Summer, Birds, I'm Special) and the art, crafts, dramatic play, science, and sensory activities all follow the theme.

When I was in college we were taught about different educational philosophies. I always thought I really liked the Montessori approach but now that I have children of my own I realize that Montessori is quite regimented and doesn't really flow with my style of parenting. Busy Monkeys loosly follows several different philosophies including Montessori but also Reggio, Waldorf (similar to Montessori) and emergent curriculum.

Okay this wasn't meant to drone on and on about philosophy because it really can be boring. I just wanted to give some excuses why the posts have been so lacking for nearly 2 weeks.

Pronunciation

My whole life I've prided myself on my great spelling and mostly-proper grammar. I've been called out a few times here and there but for the most part I'm correct.

Ever heard of the word 'fandangle'? It means to use trickery to get what you want. In the sense of, "I had to fandangle my way through that speeding ticket." I found out today it's actually 'finagle'. Not only was I spelling it incorrectly, I was saying it completely wrong too! How embarassing! I just knocked myself down a notch.

Medieval Times

Poppy and Nana went to Medieval Times in Toronto last weekend. They said they had a really great time even though their knight was killed second from the whole bunch. Craig and I went for our second anniversary. I remember the food being great and the show being even better. It really is dinner theatre in every sense of the word. Poppy and Nana brought home some souveniers for the boys. Ian gets a kick out of the flag and Shaun likes the crowns. Shaun and I even made a sword and a shield so he could be a proper knight. And now he rides an imaginary horse everywhere and parks it outside. It's too funny to hear him say, "Mo-ommmm, you forgot to feed some carrots to my horse," when I offer carrots for snack to Shaun.

This week is shaping up to be a really busy one. Now that I have my own vehicle during the day a whole new world has opened up to me! There's some work that needs to be done on the van so I'll be heading out one afternoon to do that but the boys need spring and summer clothes and I'd like to visit Poppy and Nana one afternoon this week since they've been away on a cruise since Wednesday. We'll shuffle through the obligatory photos but I'm most looking forward to hearing if they got sick on the boat. I've always wanted to go on a cruise but I'm petrified of getting motion sickness. Everyone I speak to tells me you hardly feel the motion but they aren't people who already get sick on car rides and can't handle a twirly ride at the fair. Maybe we can add a cruise to our list of vacations!

Makeover

I'm not too computer savvy so all these fancy-shmancy backgrounds and layouts I've seen on some other blogs have been beyond my technical abilities. Just today I found a really easy website that gives access to free, ready made designs. Right up my alley. And instructions to add them. Also right up my alley!

Twin City Fine Cars

Craig picked up his new car this morning. Well, he was supposed to pick it up this morning. Wait, let me back up to yesterday.

Craig called Twin City yesterday morning and asked if the car was ready. They said no but can you come get it on Thursday? Craig explained that Thursday didn't really work for us, so how about Friday? Nope, Friday doesn't work for Twin City, Craig MUST pick it up on Thursday. Fine. Oh, by the way, come in to Twin City right now and bring us the balance of the money. Craig says okay. Craig tells me he's heading there to give them the money, I say, "no freaking way until we have the keys and ownership in our hands". Craig calls them back, they say he has to get the car before 10AM on Thursday. (Kinda makes me wonder if there was a big drug deal scheduled for today because they sure were adamant that the car be gone TODAY.)

Moving on...

We re-jig our whole routine this morning so Craig can get to Twin City by 10AM. He arrives at 9:45. Closed. Son, father and mother meander to the lot around 10:05. Sorry, the car isn't here, it's in the next city at our mechanic. Come back after 11:30 and it will be ready. Craig tells them he'll call when he gets home at 11:30 and make arrangements to get the car.

Craig makes the rounds picking Shaun and I up from Shaun's preschool and we drive to Twin City. Time we pull into the lot: 11:36. Car's there. Hallelujah! Craig wants to take it for a drive before handing over the cash. Father drives, son sits in passenger seat, Craig takes back seat. WTF? They return and Craig announces the deal's done. He hands over the money and our insurance information. Mother gets in her car with an armful of paperwork and leaves the lot. (I'd love to say she squealed her tires but...) Craig comes to tell me mother has gone to licensing bureau to get the plates and will return in 10 minutes. We wait, and wait, I nurse Ian in the van, we wait some more, Shaun's starving because it is now 12:09 so I run to McPukes for some dead fries and circular pieces of 'chicken', I return from McPukes, eat my lunch in the van, Shaun spills chocolate milk in the van, Ian poops in his diaper so I change him in the van, mother pulls in. Time now: 12:39.

Time we've been on the lot: 1 hour 3 minutes
Time since we were told we HAD to pick up the car: 2 hours 39 minutes

Moving on...

We leave the lot. Drive home. Craig chokes down his cold McPuke, gulps his watery sugar, and leaves for work.

Phone rings. Time: 1:29. Craig left for work 13 minutes ago. It's a payphone. It's Craig. He was pulling off the highway and lost his front brakes. He's using the E brake but has called work and told them he will not be coming in on time today (ya think?!) so he's heading to Twin City right now. Please be careful and call me as soon as you get there. I call Twin City. Phone rings 6 times, yes, I counted. No I don't want to leave a message so I hang up and call again. First ring it's picked up. Now that's more like it! Craig's on his way in. He has no front brakes. You're kidding?! I wish I was.

Phone rings. Time: 1:52. Craig arrived safely. The bolt that holds the caliper on the disc has snapped. They will replace it and send Craig on his way. I mention that son is not a mechanic. Craig has them bring him, with the car, to the next city to their mechanic to have the whole thing taken care of. He heads to work, I bring the boys to the park.

What did we get from Twin City other than the car and a big fat pain in my ass? A free car detailing.