Goodness I simply cannot believe that 365 days ago Ian was born into our family. I had a feeling all through the pregnancy that he would turn out to be a boy and my instinct was right.
I still remember so clearly hanging my swollen belly while doing the dishes that night. I had practiced that pose so many times during the countless times I went into false labor. I still believed it was false labor but also knew that every contraction was working to get my baby lower and prepare my cervix for the long job ahead. I had been walking around at 4cm dilated for weeks and never actually thought I'd even make it to my due date. Yet there I was, standing in the kitchen doing the dishes, my due date had nearly passed and I still hadn't delivered.
The contractions came slowly at first, perhaps 7 minutes apart. I would just pause what I was doing and let my belly hang while I closed my eyes and breathed slowly and smoothly. Then I'd continue with the dishes or folding laundry. After a few hours of contractions they started to get a little stronger and I wasn't able to talk through them anymore. I was starting to think I may be in labor but I'd been here before and didn't want to get all excited only to have everything peter out - once again.
Once they reached 5 minutes apart I had been contracting for only a couple of hours but decided it was time to tell Craig that I thought this was the real deal. No matter what I was doing they were continuing; a sign of true labor. But they still weren't nearly as intense as I was expecting them to be. Especially since doctors advise that once your contractions are at 5 minutes apart for an hour to head to the hospital. The hospital was the last place I wanted to be at that point. I was happy being able to surf the internet, casually timing a few contractions here and there. I pulled out some muffins from the freezer that I had made earlier in the week and watched some TV with Craig. It was just as casual and yet as intimate as I had imagined it would be.
An hour later it was nearing 10:30 and I realized that if my parents were to come and babysit Shaun while we went to the hospital, I would need to call them since it's an hour drive for them. Craig called and gave them the heads-up. They decided to pack their overnight stuff and come anyway. Once they said that I had to accept that this was true labor. Craig called my midwife and said tonight is the night and then he called his family and let them know that grandbaby #6 would be arriving very soon. Little did we know how soon.
The plan was to wait until contractions reached 3 minutes apart before heading to the hospital and then we'd call my midwife and she'd meet us there. My intention was to labor at home as long as possible. Who wants to be on the hospital's timeline for delivering a baby? Not me! I wanted to walk in the door, wait maybe an hour or two before pushing, rest and relax for a day and then head home.
My midwife called back a half hour later to say that she would be coming to the house. It was 11PM and she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep with the nagging thought in her head that I was laboring. She needed to know how far dilated I was so she had a bit of a timeline in her head. She arrived around 11:30, checked me and I was completely dilated. She called the backup midwife, broke my bag of fluid and immediately I was plunged into intense labor. It took deep concentration to lay still enough and relax enough to allow my body to do the work it was designed to do. Pooja and Craig were scurrying around me setting up stuff for the inevitible homebirth while I silently said over and over to myself that I could do this at home. When my backup midwife arrived 20 minutes later she and Pooja quickly finished setting everything up. I had my eyes closed for much of the process because it really was scary but I remember Pooja clearing off the dresser and setting up a resuscitation station with an oxygen tank and infant mask and a hot water bottle along with blankets and gloves. It was clinical but still comforting at the same time. Sort of an oxymoron.
I pushed through only 3 contractions before Ian was born. Once they gave me the okay to go ahead I didn't mess around. Pushing felt so much better than trying to relax and breathe. No one said anything while I was working except Amanda would use the dopplar occasionally to check on Ian's heart rate. Craig was at my side holding my head and keeping the pillows piled up behind me. He had the camera on his hand; at the ready for those first photos. And the first words uttered after Ian was born were those of Craig's announcing that we had a son. Then the complete profanity sputtering from my mouth at the insurmountable task I had just completed. I was simply amazed that I was able to do what I did and that I had been growing that human inside me literally only 15 seconds before that point.
At 22 minutes after midnight on August 9, 2008, Ian joined our family. He was fashionably late for his August 8 due date. He weighed 8lbs 1oz. We woke up Shaun shortly after to introduce him to Ian by telling him it was August. He had been waiting for August to arrive for weeks because we had been telling him that the baby would come in August. As soon as I told him it was August he knew exactly what I was talking about and asked if the baby was here. It still puts tears in my eyes to remember his excited little face when he computed that he was officially a big brother.
Craig and my dad sat in the living room cheersing each other over a new son and grandson while my mom washed sheets and towels used for the birth. Only 2 hours after Ian was born and 7 hours after the first signs of contractions, Craig locked the front door, turned off the lights and made his rounds saying goodnight to his family. Including the newest member, only hours old, sleeping silently in my arms.
Ian, you have brought a whole new dimension to our family. You jazz up even the most mundane day. You love to wrinkle your nose when you're being silly and your eyes widen when you get your hands on something precious to your big brother, like his sword or his Lego. You love emptying baskets and buckets and bins and drawers. After getting your fingers pinched countless times you're getting better at removing them before the drawer closes. You don't mind shoes but really like pulling at the velcro straps. Eventually you'll figure out how to haul them off.
Mealtimes are always a breeze with you. You eat virtually anything but your favourites are fruit. Your poops are a testament to how much you love berries since they're always full of seeds. You get insulted if I put food on your tray but won't let you eat it until it's cut into little pieces. I have to cut it before you get it or offer you a larger chunk while the rest is getting cut. You love your Louie that Shaun bought you the day after you were born. He thought long and hard about that little guy and I'm so glad you've become so attached to that little monkey. Shaun named him Louie after King Louie from the Jungle Book. You've been crawling for just over a month and pulling up and cruising furniture for a few weeks. Nothing is safe anymore unless it's up on a counter. I learned that the hard way last week when you attacked my full cup of apple juice.
You say a few words but your favourite is still uh-oh. You use it properly but it's used for everything. Sometimes we'll hear you over the baby monitor chatting uh-oh to yourself. When I eventually head up to your room, you'll have emptied everything out of your crib and it will all be laying in a pile on the floor. You'll be standing at the end of your crib with a giant grin on your face, so proud of your work. You love to give kisses and Daddy and I will have competitions of who can get the most kisses out of you at a time. I'm sad to say that so far, Daddy's winning with 16 kisses. You and I will have to work on that. I think Daddy bribed you with a promise of a bite of his ice cream or something. Pokey and Kitty are constant sources of amusement for you. You get distracted when you're eating if they're anywhere close by and you chase them at full throttle if they happen to walk by while you're playing.
You love to dance by rocking front to back. Sometimes when you're in your highchair or carseat and don't have the complete range of motion, you'll move your butt cheeks and get your groove on that way. You enjoy stacking blocks but knocking them over is far more fun. Shaun gets so frustrated that you're not patient enough for him to stack more than 3 or 4 blocks at a time. You're fascinated by anything that belongs to Shaun. His big Bruder recycling truck is always lots of fun. You study it, trying to figure out how to get the treasure out from the back, and open and close the front doors, jamming your little fingers in the cab each time. You're learning how to complete the wooden animal puzzle. You haven't completely figured out the whole concept yet of sliding the piece in but you know how to roar like the lion and you laugh when I clap my hands together like the aligator snaps his teeth. *snap, snap, snap*
We waited so long for you Ian. I always knew I would have another boy so when you plopped onto your Daddy's side of the bed, I wasn't at all surprised. But the long wait was so worth it and I like to think that Someone was making sure the perfect baby was being grown for us. You fit right in with our goofy family and I can't think of what our life would be like if another baby would have been born to us instead of you. You're perfect and we love you. Happy Birthday Beaner.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
What is Done For One...
I just love this photo of my and Ian's feet. Little Piggies...
Since I posted a picture (sort of) of the new baby I thought I should probably be fair and post pictures of the big boys too. We were at Craig's uncle's cottage over the long weekend and spent a day down at the beach in town. Ian ate tons of sand and cried whenever we'd change his diaper the following day because the sand was scratching his little hiney and Shaun built a big sand castle with Craig complete with finger holes to represent the windows.
It was hot and sunny and we had a terrific time splashing in the waves even though the water was a little chilly for me. Hard to imagine next summer when we'll be a family of 5; out-numbered by the kids.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Canada's Wonderland
We went to Canada's Wonderland, a big theme park, with Craig's whole family on Friday last week and spent the remainder of the weekend at my family's cottage. It was forecasted to thunderstorm off and on all day Friday so we were considering postponing the Wonderland trip until later in the weekend but it wasn't raining when we woke up on Friday so off we went. 
It turned out to be wonderful weather and only spit for literally 2 minutes, and right when we first arrived.
It turned out to be wonderful weather and only spit for literally 2 minutes, and right when we first arrived.
Shaun and his cousin Laura pause for a picture with Scooby-Doo. Shaun kept searching for Shaggy but he was no where to be seen. What a let down.
All the kids were great and Shaun even went on a few rides. Complete shocker since he's such a chicken!! Shaun was actually brave enough to try out the kiddie waterslide. He loved it and was so sad when we had to leave that part of the park! Hopefully he'll try some other ones at the local waterpark as the summer speeds along.
The rest of the weekend was literally washed out though by the incessant rain. At least we didn't have to mow all the grass because there sure is a lot there.
Now we have 3 more days remaining in this week before we leave for yet another cottage late Friday night to spend the long weekend with Craig's family again. My parents are coming Monday afternoon to pick up Shaun and Ian for a 3 day sleepover at their place then we have one more weekend and we're off camping for 6 days. Summer time sure is busy! And I wouldn't have it any other way. I can't even think of how boring our life used to be!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Antificated
Shaun used this word last week and then again on the weekend. Craig told me about it but I hadn't heard Shaun use 'antificated' until today. We were building with his blocks and he was able to balance a difficult piece on another and he exclaimed, "I'm so antificated". Really? When I asked him what antificated means he replied that it means he's a smart cookie. Shaun's former preschool teacher, Claire, told Shaun at graduation that he's a smart cookie and he's been using that to his advantage since then. Some days I agree more than others.So I just had to Google the word. According to Urban Dictionary, there is an existence of the word. It means the process of rejecting a word, ideal or belief by a single person. Maybe Shaun reads Urban Dictionary in his free time and just got the application wrong? It wouldn't be the first time I learned something new from him.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Eleven Months
Just look at that wrinkly nose and pizza face. No wonder I allow him such tantrums; because I'm melted to blubber during his happy times. And the mohawk is out of control!!! Craig keeps trying to convince me to cut it but I just know that cutting his mohawk will somehow change Ian's dorky personality to something boring and bland. Nothing worse than a bland kid in a family full of nutjobs.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Neighbourhood Pond
Shortly after we moved here Craig discovered a neighbourhood pond in the forest near our house. It's full of weeds and lily pads but when Craig and Shaun went there a few weeks ago to fish for the first time they saw a snapping turtle. People from the neighbourhood who we've spoken with about the pond say that it's full of catfish, turtles and goldfish.
I brought the boys there today and we had a terrific time throwing Cheerios into the water and watching the little fish and a painted turtle nibbling on them. Apparently the snapping turtle is pretty huge. I'm glad it didn't show up for a snack! I know already we'll be spending a lot of time there this summer. Having such a terrific place a short walk away in the middle of the city is such a treat.
Roseola
Last week poor Ian came down with this mystery high fever. It spiked at 40C (104F for you Americans and oldies) and the only way I could control it was using Tylenol and then it would return after only 3 hours or so. I felt so terrible for keeping Ian medicated for so long but I figured it was his teeth that were bugging him and, sure enough, he cut a new one on Friday.
But the fever still persisted through the day. Saturday rolled around and while the fever had disappeared, Ian was sporting a nifty rash. It was red and splochy and covered his torso and head. Nothing on his arms or legs. Then I was reminded of Shaun having exactly the same symptoms at nearly the same age: mysterious high fever (I was convinced it was his teeth then, too) followed by a rash that lasted only a day. Shaun had roseola. Ian ended up with roseola last week too. Apparently it's really common in little people less than 2 years old and is a virus of unknown origin. Perhaps it had something to do with all the crab apples he was eating at the campsite on the weekend.
Snuggling with his Nana.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Totally Slacking but An Update Just the Same
I don't even know where to being with all the updating. It's been nearly 2 weeks since I blogged last but I know there were things from months ago that I feel pretty certain I forgot to mention.
First, when Ian was born, he was diagnosed as having an undescended testicle. The left one, to be exact. The midwife who did the newborn exam noted it on his record but in the chaos of the unplanned homebirth, forgot to mention it to me. I brought it up to the family doctor when Ian went for his first shots and we decided to let it be for a while in hopes that the testicle would drop on its own. After much research, Craig and I decided that if surgery was needed, it had to be done before Ian was a year old. Any longer than that and the testicle had a greater possibility of dying because of the higher temperatures from sitting in his toasty little belly. Also, undescended testicles (testes??) have a slightly higher chance of becoming cancerous and we certainly don't want to take that risk. Plus, add to that our own infertility issues between Shaun and Ian; we just want to get the whole thing taken care of ASAP. So Ian's 6 month appointment rolls around and I push the doctor to get us a referral to a urologist so we can move on with scheduling surgery for before he turns a year old, as the testicle is still being shy. That was February. A couple of months go by. April rolls around and we get a call from the family doctor saying that Ian has an appointment with a urologist for July 6. Great. Knowing the waiting list for non-emergency surgery is about as long as here to the moon, I was starting to panic a little that Ian would get in in time for his first birthday, which is August 9. Plus, we're vacationing around that time and I didn't want to have an infant with a sore nut sack being dragged around. Yikes, I can only imagine! Okay, so time moves on, the end of June arrives and the family doctor calls one afternoon with news that our July 6 appointment has been moved to September 9. WHAT?! Why didn't the urologist call? And why so far away?! There can't possibly be that many men who need their junk looked at.
I tried for days to get through by phone to the urologist's office. Busy. Busy. Busy. Busy. They're just down the street from me so one afternoon I walked there with the boys to find out what happened with Ian's appointment. Six women were behind the desk, not one on the phone (I had called immediately before leaving the house to try and save myself the trip, and of course, it was busy) and they were all chatting and carrying on with one another. It took about 15 seconds for one to acknowledge that I was standing there. That's a really long time when there's SIX people there talking about daughter-in-law's mother. AND not answering the phone. Anyway, heavy-smoker behind the desk (I could tell by how raspy her voice was and she stunk) explained to me that the doctor Ian was to see had a talk scheduled for noon on the day of Ian's original appointment so they had moved it. I insisted that he needs to be seen before his first birthday and after much humming and hawing on her part, she moved Ian's appointment BACK to July 6, only an hour later. Couldn't they have done that in the first place? Gah! I was happy she moved it but honestly, having my family doctor call to tell me and then delaying the appointment by 2 months so Dr. Rich can head home early? No. I pay my health insurance through my taxes so that I can get an appointment in a reasonable time period. Not 5 months after the original call for the scheduling. That's ludacrous!
Fast forward to July 6 and Ian's appointment. Craig took the day off so he could be there and it was literally 5 minutes in with the doctor. The doctor used some lube and felt Ian's little ball sack, then he told Craig that the testicle is partially undescended, thus no surgery is required. Once puberty hits and the testicles become larger and heavier, it will descend into the scrotum on its own. If Ian is approaching his third birthday and his testicle is still not visible in the bathtub or when changing his underwear on a warm day, we can call the office and schedule another consult. They will likely do surgery then. But for the short term, my baby should be fine! Phew! I felt like a bit of a fool for making such a big deal out of getting him in BEFORE his first birthday but I have to sleep well knowing that heavy-smoker will likely never know the results of the consult and will thus, never know that I made a big deal out of nothing. Better nothing than have it something where he needed surgery and it ended up happening too late and the testicle died anyway. Worst case scenario but I'm sure it happens all the time.
Second, home childcare is working out well! The little guy I've been hired to watch had a tough time adjusting to being here rather than with his mom in the beginning but we're well into our second week of full time care and he's been doing VERY well. At home he gets his back rubbed to fall asleep and often ends up in his parents' bed when fussing during the night. Here he's been falling asleep on his own in the playpen. I do the regular routine of brushing teeth, closing the blind, turning on the fan, talking quietly and rocking a few minutes, then place him in the playpen. The first day I had to lay him back down a few times before he lay still and I did rub his back until he fell asleep for a week or so. But each day I rubbed softer and softer until this week when I just lay my hand on his back on Monday. Then Tuesday I jiggled the playpen a little and when he would start to get restless I'd gently place my hand on his back and reassure him he was okay. By Tuesday afternoon I just sat beside the playpen until he fell asleep. He rolled over a few times to make sure I was still there and I'd just silently roll him back over. Yesterday I actually left the room while he was still awake. I don't think he realized I had left but I checked back in on him about 15 minutes later and he was fast asleep. Similar story today though this afternoon took a little longer to get him to sleep since Shaun was stomping around downstairs and alerted him that there was something going on that he was missing out on. Overall I feel like I'm getting to know this little person very well. I am learning what makes him tick, as it were, and I think I am pretty good at comforting him when he's sad or scared. I was feeling a little discouraged last week when one day didn't go as smoothly as I would have liked but children have up days and down days just like us. I make sure to spend time outside with them every day and I have art activities planned every day as well as sensory experiences, so the days are kept busy. It should be a fun summer!
Shaun's off at his friend's house tonight for a sleepover. I can't believe my almost 4 year old is having sleepovers at his friend's place. I don't think I slept over anywhere until I was 6 or 7. But we've been friends with this family since Shaun was born and I babysat the 2 oldest boys while their Mom had to return to work before baby #3 was born. We've formed quite the friendship over the years and so have our boys. It's nice to be close friends with people who parent so similarly to yourself. I know the same expectations will be placed on Shaun at their house as he would receive here and their day is structured similarly to our own which really helped when Shaun was smaller and still required a naptime in the early afternoon and a set time for bed. These days his schedule is much more flexible but he still wakes up around 7AM and is gearing down for bed somewhere around 7:30 or 8. He rarely naps anymore and I prefer it that way since he's such a serious napper. He could sleep 3 hours in the afternoon, no problem. The downside is that then he isn't ready to sleep again until it's closing in on 10PM. We learned that the hard way.
Ian's been sick these last few days. At first I thought it was teeth that were getting ready to appear - he still has only 5; a far cry from the 9 Shaun had at this age - but his low grade fever has persisted and he has had virtually no appetite and only wants to snuggle all day long. He fell asleep on my shoulder a half dozen times yesterday while I was going about my day lugging him around. Thankfully he's still less than 20 pounds so carrying him, so long as it's in a good position, isn't difficult in small doses. He and I both fell asleep on the couch together last night since I just didn't have the heart to send him to his bed when the only place he wanted to be was in my arms. I have to take advantage of these days because too soon he'll be a busy toddler and won't want to pause for a snuggle. Though I must say I've been pretty lucky with Shaun in that he often comes up to me during the day and tell me he loves me. That always prompts a big bear hug and a brief snuggle, usually on the floor in the kitchen since it seems that's where I spend most of my time these days.
Ian loves opening and closing doors and drawers and his fingers show the battle scars where they've been pinched over and over again. Will he never learn? His favourite thing to do is find Shaun's stuff and raid it. Shaun has a special collection he calls his Bad Collection. It includes his sword and shield from Medieval Times and his firefighter's helmet Craig converted to a knight's helmet. Also in that collection is various knight figurines and two of Shaun's very favourite trucks: a Bruder recycling truck and an electronic garbage truck. Each truck is stashed with Shaun's favourite smaller toys. Every moment Ian has to crawl over to Shaun's Bad Collection, he takes advantage of. If Shaun leaves one of his things for only a second, Ian's making a beeline for it. And his face is priceless once he gets his hands on it. It's like the forbidden fruit that Adam and Eve ate in the Garden of Eden. I'm sure Ian dreams at night about finally getting his hands on those toys for long enough that he can really see what's inside those trucks and really swing the sword. For now he basically gets quick glances and a gentle caress before Shaun comes swooping in shouting, "No Ian, those are mine." Little does Shaun know that he'll have to share all those things very soon. Ah, the joys of being a once-only child.
The pregnancy is going splendidly. I had an appointment with Pooja last week to check up on the baby and she asked how I was feeling. I had to be honest with her and admit that I was feeling a little uneasy in more than one way. The lack of morning sickness continues to unnerve me, though it would be gone by now since I'm 15 weeks - can you believe that?! - but also I just don't feel pregnant. With the boys I felt like I had a life growing inside me. This time, it's just different. Perhaps it's the lack of time I have to spend with myself. I just don't do as much reflection now as I was able to do before. I can't stay awake longer than a couple minutes after heading to bed, much to Craig's disappointment (we've found other times to connect so he hasn't been neglected too bad), so all the movements that I remember feeling this early with Ian I haven't been feeling at all. I have to remind myself that the baby is still only 4 inches long or so, and that I have an awful lot of insulation and padding now that no doubt acts as a buffer, but I just don't feel like I thought I should. Nevermind the complete lack of fatigue. Yes, I fall asleep easily at night but I'm not nodding off at dinner anymore like I remember doing when pregnant with Ian, and I wake up easily in the morning. No more hitting Snooze 4 times before falling out of bed and into the shower. I'm up and ready to go within about 10 minutes. Maybe it's just that I don't have time to be tired. With Shaun and Ian and this new little guy, I'm going all day long. Go figure I've fallen behind with my blogging. And I'm honestly sad for that because I kept such good notes from Shaun. This baby is going to think it appeared out of nowhere because I've barely mentioned it since I found out.
Speaking about this baby being an It, I scheduled the next ultrasound appointment for the beginning of August. We're hoping to find out gender then so stay tuned!
Oh, back to what I was saying about my appointment with Pooja. I told her I was feeling uneasy about the pregnancy and she said she'd try to find the heartbeat but if there was nothing, she'd send me for an ultrasound to curb my fears. I've read too many stories about second trimester miscarriages and still births to ever be able to have a normal pregnancy again. I have this ongoing fear that something terrible is going to happen and I'll continue carrying a dead baby for weeks and weeks. *Shudder* On to more positive things and back to Pooja. I reminded her that I wasn't even 14 weeks yet and I was well into my 16th week when we heard Ian's heart beating because of my retroflexed uterus. Basically when God sewed in my uterus, he sewed it in backwards. It still works fine, just sits backwards and actually folds up on itself when not in use. A little like a flacid, well, you get where I'm going. Ack, back to Pooja. She searched for literally a minute and then, there it was, the sound of my baby's heart beating away. It was really slow, like 130BPM or something like that. Both boys' were always in the high 150s so it gives me hope that I may be brewing a different gender all together.
Well I've been at this far too long. I grabbed the TV remote when I sat down at shortly after 8PM because I was going to blog quickly and then tune in to see what's on at Primetime on a Thursday. I don't watch all that much TV anymore so I don't even know where to begin with what to watch. Now it's closing in on 9:30. I never thought I'd be here in limbo this long. Guess that's why it's taken me so long to update everything. I knew it'd be eons before I got off this darn computer!
I have every intention of taking a belly picture tomorrow but we'll see how long it takes me to actually post it. Maybe by typing this and making it more concrete, I'll actually get around to it while it's current.
First, when Ian was born, he was diagnosed as having an undescended testicle. The left one, to be exact. The midwife who did the newborn exam noted it on his record but in the chaos of the unplanned homebirth, forgot to mention it to me. I brought it up to the family doctor when Ian went for his first shots and we decided to let it be for a while in hopes that the testicle would drop on its own. After much research, Craig and I decided that if surgery was needed, it had to be done before Ian was a year old. Any longer than that and the testicle had a greater possibility of dying because of the higher temperatures from sitting in his toasty little belly. Also, undescended testicles (testes??) have a slightly higher chance of becoming cancerous and we certainly don't want to take that risk. Plus, add to that our own infertility issues between Shaun and Ian; we just want to get the whole thing taken care of ASAP. So Ian's 6 month appointment rolls around and I push the doctor to get us a referral to a urologist so we can move on with scheduling surgery for before he turns a year old, as the testicle is still being shy. That was February. A couple of months go by. April rolls around and we get a call from the family doctor saying that Ian has an appointment with a urologist for July 6. Great. Knowing the waiting list for non-emergency surgery is about as long as here to the moon, I was starting to panic a little that Ian would get in in time for his first birthday, which is August 9. Plus, we're vacationing around that time and I didn't want to have an infant with a sore nut sack being dragged around. Yikes, I can only imagine! Okay, so time moves on, the end of June arrives and the family doctor calls one afternoon with news that our July 6 appointment has been moved to September 9. WHAT?! Why didn't the urologist call? And why so far away?! There can't possibly be that many men who need their junk looked at.
I tried for days to get through by phone to the urologist's office. Busy. Busy. Busy. Busy. They're just down the street from me so one afternoon I walked there with the boys to find out what happened with Ian's appointment. Six women were behind the desk, not one on the phone (I had called immediately before leaving the house to try and save myself the trip, and of course, it was busy) and they were all chatting and carrying on with one another. It took about 15 seconds for one to acknowledge that I was standing there. That's a really long time when there's SIX people there talking about daughter-in-law's mother. AND not answering the phone. Anyway, heavy-smoker behind the desk (I could tell by how raspy her voice was and she stunk) explained to me that the doctor Ian was to see had a talk scheduled for noon on the day of Ian's original appointment so they had moved it. I insisted that he needs to be seen before his first birthday and after much humming and hawing on her part, she moved Ian's appointment BACK to July 6, only an hour later. Couldn't they have done that in the first place? Gah! I was happy she moved it but honestly, having my family doctor call to tell me and then delaying the appointment by 2 months so Dr. Rich can head home early? No. I pay my health insurance through my taxes so that I can get an appointment in a reasonable time period. Not 5 months after the original call for the scheduling. That's ludacrous!
Fast forward to July 6 and Ian's appointment. Craig took the day off so he could be there and it was literally 5 minutes in with the doctor. The doctor used some lube and felt Ian's little ball sack, then he told Craig that the testicle is partially undescended, thus no surgery is required. Once puberty hits and the testicles become larger and heavier, it will descend into the scrotum on its own. If Ian is approaching his third birthday and his testicle is still not visible in the bathtub or when changing his underwear on a warm day, we can call the office and schedule another consult. They will likely do surgery then. But for the short term, my baby should be fine! Phew! I felt like a bit of a fool for making such a big deal out of getting him in BEFORE his first birthday but I have to sleep well knowing that heavy-smoker will likely never know the results of the consult and will thus, never know that I made a big deal out of nothing. Better nothing than have it something where he needed surgery and it ended up happening too late and the testicle died anyway. Worst case scenario but I'm sure it happens all the time.
Second, home childcare is working out well! The little guy I've been hired to watch had a tough time adjusting to being here rather than with his mom in the beginning but we're well into our second week of full time care and he's been doing VERY well. At home he gets his back rubbed to fall asleep and often ends up in his parents' bed when fussing during the night. Here he's been falling asleep on his own in the playpen. I do the regular routine of brushing teeth, closing the blind, turning on the fan, talking quietly and rocking a few minutes, then place him in the playpen. The first day I had to lay him back down a few times before he lay still and I did rub his back until he fell asleep for a week or so. But each day I rubbed softer and softer until this week when I just lay my hand on his back on Monday. Then Tuesday I jiggled the playpen a little and when he would start to get restless I'd gently place my hand on his back and reassure him he was okay. By Tuesday afternoon I just sat beside the playpen until he fell asleep. He rolled over a few times to make sure I was still there and I'd just silently roll him back over. Yesterday I actually left the room while he was still awake. I don't think he realized I had left but I checked back in on him about 15 minutes later and he was fast asleep. Similar story today though this afternoon took a little longer to get him to sleep since Shaun was stomping around downstairs and alerted him that there was something going on that he was missing out on. Overall I feel like I'm getting to know this little person very well. I am learning what makes him tick, as it were, and I think I am pretty good at comforting him when he's sad or scared. I was feeling a little discouraged last week when one day didn't go as smoothly as I would have liked but children have up days and down days just like us. I make sure to spend time outside with them every day and I have art activities planned every day as well as sensory experiences, so the days are kept busy. It should be a fun summer!
Shaun's off at his friend's house tonight for a sleepover. I can't believe my almost 4 year old is having sleepovers at his friend's place. I don't think I slept over anywhere until I was 6 or 7. But we've been friends with this family since Shaun was born and I babysat the 2 oldest boys while their Mom had to return to work before baby #3 was born. We've formed quite the friendship over the years and so have our boys. It's nice to be close friends with people who parent so similarly to yourself. I know the same expectations will be placed on Shaun at their house as he would receive here and their day is structured similarly to our own which really helped when Shaun was smaller and still required a naptime in the early afternoon and a set time for bed. These days his schedule is much more flexible but he still wakes up around 7AM and is gearing down for bed somewhere around 7:30 or 8. He rarely naps anymore and I prefer it that way since he's such a serious napper. He could sleep 3 hours in the afternoon, no problem. The downside is that then he isn't ready to sleep again until it's closing in on 10PM. We learned that the hard way.
Ian's been sick these last few days. At first I thought it was teeth that were getting ready to appear - he still has only 5; a far cry from the 9 Shaun had at this age - but his low grade fever has persisted and he has had virtually no appetite and only wants to snuggle all day long. He fell asleep on my shoulder a half dozen times yesterday while I was going about my day lugging him around. Thankfully he's still less than 20 pounds so carrying him, so long as it's in a good position, isn't difficult in small doses. He and I both fell asleep on the couch together last night since I just didn't have the heart to send him to his bed when the only place he wanted to be was in my arms. I have to take advantage of these days because too soon he'll be a busy toddler and won't want to pause for a snuggle. Though I must say I've been pretty lucky with Shaun in that he often comes up to me during the day and tell me he loves me. That always prompts a big bear hug and a brief snuggle, usually on the floor in the kitchen since it seems that's where I spend most of my time these days.
Ian loves opening and closing doors and drawers and his fingers show the battle scars where they've been pinched over and over again. Will he never learn? His favourite thing to do is find Shaun's stuff and raid it. Shaun has a special collection he calls his Bad Collection. It includes his sword and shield from Medieval Times and his firefighter's helmet Craig converted to a knight's helmet. Also in that collection is various knight figurines and two of Shaun's very favourite trucks: a Bruder recycling truck and an electronic garbage truck. Each truck is stashed with Shaun's favourite smaller toys. Every moment Ian has to crawl over to Shaun's Bad Collection, he takes advantage of. If Shaun leaves one of his things for only a second, Ian's making a beeline for it. And his face is priceless once he gets his hands on it. It's like the forbidden fruit that Adam and Eve ate in the Garden of Eden. I'm sure Ian dreams at night about finally getting his hands on those toys for long enough that he can really see what's inside those trucks and really swing the sword. For now he basically gets quick glances and a gentle caress before Shaun comes swooping in shouting, "No Ian, those are mine." Little does Shaun know that he'll have to share all those things very soon. Ah, the joys of being a once-only child.
The pregnancy is going splendidly. I had an appointment with Pooja last week to check up on the baby and she asked how I was feeling. I had to be honest with her and admit that I was feeling a little uneasy in more than one way. The lack of morning sickness continues to unnerve me, though it would be gone by now since I'm 15 weeks - can you believe that?! - but also I just don't feel pregnant. With the boys I felt like I had a life growing inside me. This time, it's just different. Perhaps it's the lack of time I have to spend with myself. I just don't do as much reflection now as I was able to do before. I can't stay awake longer than a couple minutes after heading to bed, much to Craig's disappointment (we've found other times to connect so he hasn't been neglected too bad), so all the movements that I remember feeling this early with Ian I haven't been feeling at all. I have to remind myself that the baby is still only 4 inches long or so, and that I have an awful lot of insulation and padding now that no doubt acts as a buffer, but I just don't feel like I thought I should. Nevermind the complete lack of fatigue. Yes, I fall asleep easily at night but I'm not nodding off at dinner anymore like I remember doing when pregnant with Ian, and I wake up easily in the morning. No more hitting Snooze 4 times before falling out of bed and into the shower. I'm up and ready to go within about 10 minutes. Maybe it's just that I don't have time to be tired. With Shaun and Ian and this new little guy, I'm going all day long. Go figure I've fallen behind with my blogging. And I'm honestly sad for that because I kept such good notes from Shaun. This baby is going to think it appeared out of nowhere because I've barely mentioned it since I found out.
Speaking about this baby being an It, I scheduled the next ultrasound appointment for the beginning of August. We're hoping to find out gender then so stay tuned!
Oh, back to what I was saying about my appointment with Pooja. I told her I was feeling uneasy about the pregnancy and she said she'd try to find the heartbeat but if there was nothing, she'd send me for an ultrasound to curb my fears. I've read too many stories about second trimester miscarriages and still births to ever be able to have a normal pregnancy again. I have this ongoing fear that something terrible is going to happen and I'll continue carrying a dead baby for weeks and weeks. *Shudder* On to more positive things and back to Pooja. I reminded her that I wasn't even 14 weeks yet and I was well into my 16th week when we heard Ian's heart beating because of my retroflexed uterus. Basically when God sewed in my uterus, he sewed it in backwards. It still works fine, just sits backwards and actually folds up on itself when not in use. A little like a flacid, well, you get where I'm going. Ack, back to Pooja. She searched for literally a minute and then, there it was, the sound of my baby's heart beating away. It was really slow, like 130BPM or something like that. Both boys' were always in the high 150s so it gives me hope that I may be brewing a different gender all together.
Well I've been at this far too long. I grabbed the TV remote when I sat down at shortly after 8PM because I was going to blog quickly and then tune in to see what's on at Primetime on a Thursday. I don't watch all that much TV anymore so I don't even know where to begin with what to watch. Now it's closing in on 9:30. I never thought I'd be here in limbo this long. Guess that's why it's taken me so long to update everything. I knew it'd be eons before I got off this darn computer!
I have every intention of taking a belly picture tomorrow but we'll see how long it takes me to actually post it. Maybe by typing this and making it more concrete, I'll actually get around to it while it's current.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Chatty Boy
Ian's been saying a few words lately. He started using 'uh-oh' a few weeks ago. He'd drop something off the highchair tray or hear something crash in the kitchen or something and shout out 'uh-oh'. When we were together with Craig's family for Father's Day, Ian spilled a can of pop on the picnic table while he was sitting up there and right away said, "uh-oh". He got a good laugh from everyone.
He's been saying 'ma' a lot too. I didn't really think it meant anything except that he was basically calling to me. 'Ma', give me more food. 'Ma', I like that game, do it again. Then we were out for dinner last night and family rules state that you have to eat your meat and veggies before digging into the fries. Ian ate some of his meat and veggies so Craig gave him one french fry with the intention of getting Ian to eat more meat after. Well Ian started shouting, "Ma, ma, ma," over and over when Craig wouldn't give him another french fry and instead tried to get Ian to eat another piece of chicken. I finally figured out that he's telling us that he wants More. All this time I thought he was calling to me when really he was doing exactly what I've been teaching him to do: that is tell me he wants More.
Then this morning Craig let me sleep in and I guess Ian was getting into some trouble with the fireplace tools; touching them and what-not. I vaguely remember hearing Craig telling Ian, "No," and hearing Ian squawk a little at the scolding. Craig told me later when I finally crawled out of bed that Ian clearly shouted, "No," back to Craig. Ian told him off!! Shaun's reaction was to say, "I can't believe it." Shaun knows the Big Trouble that comes from being saucy to Craig or I so he couldn't believe Ian was daring enough to give Craig lip. We had a good chuckle over the past week's verbal events while drinking coffee together this morning.
He's been saying 'ma' a lot too. I didn't really think it meant anything except that he was basically calling to me. 'Ma', give me more food. 'Ma', I like that game, do it again. Then we were out for dinner last night and family rules state that you have to eat your meat and veggies before digging into the fries. Ian ate some of his meat and veggies so Craig gave him one french fry with the intention of getting Ian to eat more meat after. Well Ian started shouting, "Ma, ma, ma," over and over when Craig wouldn't give him another french fry and instead tried to get Ian to eat another piece of chicken. I finally figured out that he's telling us that he wants More. All this time I thought he was calling to me when really he was doing exactly what I've been teaching him to do: that is tell me he wants More.
Then this morning Craig let me sleep in and I guess Ian was getting into some trouble with the fireplace tools; touching them and what-not. I vaguely remember hearing Craig telling Ian, "No," and hearing Ian squawk a little at the scolding. Craig told me later when I finally crawled out of bed that Ian clearly shouted, "No," back to Craig. Ian told him off!! Shaun's reaction was to say, "I can't believe it." Shaun knows the Big Trouble that comes from being saucy to Craig or I so he couldn't believe Ian was daring enough to give Craig lip. We had a good chuckle over the past week's verbal events while drinking coffee together this morning.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Did I Miss The Announcement?
I'm sure I did. There must have been one back in the early spring or something and I just missed it because my life is crazy. Or maybe I flipped the calendar too early and it's still May.
I don't really know but this freaking weather is driving me completely insane! Seriously, it's nearly the middle of June and we're still below normal temps and the rain just won't go away for more than a day at a time. Sheesh, I don't mind the rain so much in the spring but come on already! Enough! All the knowitall weather guys on the radio this morning said things like, "it looks like it'll rain today but the moisture will keep south of the lake", "today will be cloudy, but don't worry, there won't be any rain", "the system that's hanging over the region will stick around for the day but we'll miss the rain." Yeah, what do they know. It's been raining since noon. Yep, 8 hours of miserable drizzle. The kind that makes my hair do strange and unnatural things and makes the boys grouchy because everything just feels damp.
I just want to crawl into bed and sleep until July when it *should* be nicer out. Hibernate in the winter? That's old-school. Hibernating until all the miserable weather is gone in the spring: that's where it's at.
I don't really know but this freaking weather is driving me completely insane! Seriously, it's nearly the middle of June and we're still below normal temps and the rain just won't go away for more than a day at a time. Sheesh, I don't mind the rain so much in the spring but come on already! Enough! All the knowitall weather guys on the radio this morning said things like, "it looks like it'll rain today but the moisture will keep south of the lake", "today will be cloudy, but don't worry, there won't be any rain", "the system that's hanging over the region will stick around for the day but we'll miss the rain." Yeah, what do they know. It's been raining since noon. Yep, 8 hours of miserable drizzle. The kind that makes my hair do strange and unnatural things and makes the boys grouchy because everything just feels damp.
I just want to crawl into bed and sleep until July when it *should* be nicer out. Hibernate in the winter? That's old-school. Hibernating until all the miserable weather is gone in the spring: that's where it's at.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Chipmunkey
Today was the first time I've witnessed Shaun playing interactively with another child who is, essentially, a stranger. We went to the park after dinner and there was another little boy there who looked to be about 4 or so. Shaun was shy at first but they quickly hit it off and Shaun shared some of his apple slices with the little boy. Then they went off running together, chatting about how scary the slide is.
Shaun returned about 5 minutes later with his cheeks stuffed full of apple. I said to him that he should swallow his food because his new friend wouldn't be able to understand him if his mouth was full - not to mention, it's rude! But he explained to me that his cheeks were full because he was pretending to be a chipmunk. The little boy's chipmunk. Apparently he was a baby chipmunk named, get this, Chipmunkey. Genious!
It was just so neat watching the two of them talking with one another and designing this whole game all on their own. I've never been able to see Shaun play with another child like this, although I'm told he does it at preschool all the time.
The only downside was I have NO idea where this little guy's mother was. There were maybe a half dozen families at the park but this little guy never checked in with his mom so I never got to catch a glimpse of her. Potentially, Shaun and this little guy could be in the same class in September so it's too bad that I don't know who he belongs to. I'll have to head back to the same park over the next few nice days and hope they return.
Shaun returned about 5 minutes later with his cheeks stuffed full of apple. I said to him that he should swallow his food because his new friend wouldn't be able to understand him if his mouth was full - not to mention, it's rude! But he explained to me that his cheeks were full because he was pretending to be a chipmunk. The little boy's chipmunk. Apparently he was a baby chipmunk named, get this, Chipmunkey. Genious!
It was just so neat watching the two of them talking with one another and designing this whole game all on their own. I've never been able to see Shaun play with another child like this, although I'm told he does it at preschool all the time.
The only downside was I have NO idea where this little guy's mother was. There were maybe a half dozen families at the park but this little guy never checked in with his mom so I never got to catch a glimpse of her. Potentially, Shaun and this little guy could be in the same class in September so it's too bad that I don't know who he belongs to. I'll have to head back to the same park over the next few nice days and hope they return.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Q/A
What do you say when your nearly 4 years old 3 year old starts asking questions you can't really answer? Wing it.
Question: Old people die because they have lots of kids and are tired. Why do babies die?
Answer: Well honey, sometimes babies die because they get sick, just like you and me and Daddy sometimes get sick. Except, sometimes babies bodies just aren't strong enough to get them healthy again so they die. That's why it's so important for us to keep our bodies healthy so that, hopefully, we won't get any babies sick. That's also why it's important to wash our hands and not touch babies faces unless their Mummy says it's okay.
Question: If guns are bad, why do good pirates sometimes carry guns?
Answer: Sometimes good people do bad things, like carry guns. People make mistakes, just like sometimes you bonk your brother and make him cry. But you don't hurt him on purpose and you always say you're sorry after. Good pirates make mistakes too. They should carry parrots instead of guns, huh?
Question: How did Daddy's part of the baby get in your belly?
Answer: Mummy has a special place on my body where Daddy puts his part of the baby. It's kind of like a teeny tiny piece of a baby that moves around and finds the part of the baby that I have in my body already. Then they get together and become friends and make a baby that grows in my belly. Kinda wierd that there's a baby in my belly huh?
Question: Why do the things outside the van window sometimes go faster than other things?
Answer: Because the things that are farther away, like that barn out in the field, are farther than the things that are close, like the posts on the side of the road. Even though they're both moving the same speed, the ones that are close look like they're going faster because they're right in front of your eyes.
Question: When there's rain in the sky and it doesn't rain, how does it move somewhere else if there's no wind?
Answer: Even though we can't feel any wind today there's still lots of wind up in the sky. Here we're protected by the trees and our house and lots of buildings, up in the sky there's nothing in the way of the wind so it blows the rain clouds somewhere else. Aren't you glad for the wind? I didn't want it to rain here again today. Someone else can have it. Like maybe Gramma and Grampa!
Question: Old people die because they have lots of kids and are tired. Why do babies die?
Answer: Well honey, sometimes babies die because they get sick, just like you and me and Daddy sometimes get sick. Except, sometimes babies bodies just aren't strong enough to get them healthy again so they die. That's why it's so important for us to keep our bodies healthy so that, hopefully, we won't get any babies sick. That's also why it's important to wash our hands and not touch babies faces unless their Mummy says it's okay.
Question: If guns are bad, why do good pirates sometimes carry guns?
Answer: Sometimes good people do bad things, like carry guns. People make mistakes, just like sometimes you bonk your brother and make him cry. But you don't hurt him on purpose and you always say you're sorry after. Good pirates make mistakes too. They should carry parrots instead of guns, huh?
Question: How did Daddy's part of the baby get in your belly?
Answer: Mummy has a special place on my body where Daddy puts his part of the baby. It's kind of like a teeny tiny piece of a baby that moves around and finds the part of the baby that I have in my body already. Then they get together and become friends and make a baby that grows in my belly. Kinda wierd that there's a baby in my belly huh?
Question: Why do the things outside the van window sometimes go faster than other things?
Answer: Because the things that are farther away, like that barn out in the field, are farther than the things that are close, like the posts on the side of the road. Even though they're both moving the same speed, the ones that are close look like they're going faster because they're right in front of your eyes.
Question: When there's rain in the sky and it doesn't rain, how does it move somewhere else if there's no wind?
Answer: Even though we can't feel any wind today there's still lots of wind up in the sky. Here we're protected by the trees and our house and lots of buildings, up in the sky there's nothing in the way of the wind so it blows the rain clouds somewhere else. Aren't you glad for the wind? I didn't want it to rain here again today. Someone else can have it. Like maybe Gramma and Grampa!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Blueberries
It's approaching berry season in Ontario and the grocery stores are filled with sweet, juicy berries of every variety. Ian has taken a special liking to blueberries. I make sure to halve or quarter them before tossing them on his tray but he gobbles them up as quickly as I can slice them. The last couple of days he's had odd clumps in his diaper and only this morning did I realize what the clumps are: blueberry skins. Since the poor guy doesn't have any teeth with which to chew, he basically just smushes the berries in his gums and swallows them. Evidently a 10 month old's digestive system is a little immature still and can't digest blueberry skins (though I haven't checked my own waste recently to see if my digestive system is working at it's full potential) so they've been coming out in his diaper. At least all the blueberry seeds are keeping him regular.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Of the Female Variety
I woke up early this morning from Ian squawking because his blankets were crumpled down by his feet and he was cold. I tiptoed into his room and gently covered him back up and then stumbled to the bathroom to pee. While I was sitting on the can I remembered the dream I was in the middle of when I awoke.
I'm pregnant with a girl. My dream told me so. She's going to be a tiny, brown haired little thing. I'm not one to ever believe dreams and I rarely even TRY to remember what my dream was about because that's how much I really don't care. But the dreams I had for both the boys were right so I'm kinda putting a lot of weight on this one.
Watch, I'll have a boy now! Only 10 weeks or so until we find out!
I'm pregnant with a girl. My dream told me so. She's going to be a tiny, brown haired little thing. I'm not one to ever believe dreams and I rarely even TRY to remember what my dream was about because that's how much I really don't care. But the dreams I had for both the boys were right so I'm kinda putting a lot of weight on this one.
Watch, I'll have a boy now! Only 10 weeks or so until we find out!
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Zone Defense
I've embraced my new role as a mother of three but that doesn't change the fact that we can't use man to man defense anymore. I'm watching the end of the hockey season intently, trying to pick up as many pointers from the shorthanded team as I can. By January I should be proficient in zone defense.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Real Estate
Just over 8 weeks in. Craig commented this afternoon on the baby's demand for real estate. I figured it was time for a picture. Granted, my abs just aren't what they were pre-children and my boobs have seen better days, especially since I'm still nursing Ian but you get the idea. This baby's alive and well, apparently!Monday, May 25, 2009
Generation Text
I don't text. Neither does Craig. Never have. Never will.
We have a cell phone that we never use. As of right now it doesn't have any time on it (it's a PayAsYouGo style). The last time I remember it having time was back in the winter when we were driving back and forth from the old house to this one and would bring it in case we got stuck in the snow or something. I tried to turn it on this afternoon and the battery was dead. I can't even remember the last time I actually tried to turn it on before today.
The point is: we survive without one. I'll admit, there's been times when we've kicked ourselves for not having one (case and point, today at the dump with the boys) but by and large we never need one. I can't believe how many people I see with those ridiculous BlueTooth gadgets stuck to their ears or a cell phone flipped open while they rifle through their purse or try to change their baby's diaper. It's sickening that so many think that they simply MUST speak to this person at this very moment.
But what appals me moreso than the obsessive cell phone usage is the texting! And not only the simple act of texting, it's the downright terrible grammar and spelling that it seems everyone uses these days!
Since when has it been acceptable to write 'ur', use the number 4 instead of typing 'for', referring to another person as 'u' and all the disgusting short forms like TTYL, LMAO, and ROTFLMAO? I just don't understand the whole thing. I'd be willing to bet that all these teens who obsessively text are terrible English students!
We have a cell phone that we never use. As of right now it doesn't have any time on it (it's a PayAsYouGo style). The last time I remember it having time was back in the winter when we were driving back and forth from the old house to this one and would bring it in case we got stuck in the snow or something. I tried to turn it on this afternoon and the battery was dead. I can't even remember the last time I actually tried to turn it on before today.
The point is: we survive without one. I'll admit, there's been times when we've kicked ourselves for not having one (case and point, today at the dump with the boys) but by and large we never need one. I can't believe how many people I see with those ridiculous BlueTooth gadgets stuck to their ears or a cell phone flipped open while they rifle through their purse or try to change their baby's diaper. It's sickening that so many think that they simply MUST speak to this person at this very moment.
But what appals me moreso than the obsessive cell phone usage is the texting! And not only the simple act of texting, it's the downright terrible grammar and spelling that it seems everyone uses these days!
Since when has it been acceptable to write 'ur', use the number 4 instead of typing 'for', referring to another person as 'u' and all the disgusting short forms like TTYL, LMAO, and ROTFLMAO? I just don't understand the whole thing. I'd be willing to bet that all these teens who obsessively text are terrible English students!
Hours of Operation
I love doing neat, original things with the boys (okay, mostly for Shaun since Ian simply doesn't care yet) that are preferably free to try and support whatever it is that Shaun's currently interested in.
Last summer he was really into diggers and the like: I spent most of July sitting on a blanket at the side of the road that was being reconstructed by our old house watching the excavators and front-end loaders. He was really into knights and castles: I hauled out the Little People Castle set and we took him to Medieval Times for an evening of dinner theatre. This week it's recycling and garbage trucks. So what did I do? Brilliant ol' me thought it a terrific idea to head to the city dump after dinner to try and catch a glimpse of the trucks as they were unloading. We followed 3 recycling trucks into the compound, parked at the recycling depot and sat on the curb for half an hour watching the trucks unload the glass bottles from their trucks. Then there was a front-end loader that would push all the broken glass back into the pile once each truck left. The driver was waving at Shaun and beeping his horn. Shaun was quite impressed.
Shortly after 6PM I loaded the boys back into the van and headed for the front gate. It was locked and the only way to open it was with a combination, like the kind for the kitchen at McDonalds. There was no one in sight except for the one guy driving the loader back at the depot but I wasn't about to search around for him. I drove back to the parking lot and noticed a pick-up truck pull in to the lot at the next building. When they drove up the road toward the gate I quickly followed, hoping they'd let me out.
I still don't really understand a couple of things: why the city feels the need to place heavy duty chains and combination locks on the gates for the recycling centre; and why they don't have their hours of operation clearly posted. There was no security when I entered, no one knew I was there, yet someone left and locked the gate behind them without knowing that there was anyone left inside.
It turned out that the people in the pick-up didn't have the code either and were from the University collecting rain barrels from the buildings in the compound. We drove around the dump for a while (Shaun got a pretty neat behind-the-scenes look at garbage, recycling and composting) and when we finally made our way back to the front gate, the guy who had been driving the front-end loader was on his way out too and was able to open the gate for us. I don't even want to think about what would have happened if we hadn't been there when he was leaving. Shaun was joking that we'd have to sleep on the glass bottles. I didn't have my cell phone on me and there wasn't a single other car in the whole compound. Lesson: learned!
Last summer he was really into diggers and the like: I spent most of July sitting on a blanket at the side of the road that was being reconstructed by our old house watching the excavators and front-end loaders. He was really into knights and castles: I hauled out the Little People Castle set and we took him to Medieval Times for an evening of dinner theatre. This week it's recycling and garbage trucks. So what did I do? Brilliant ol' me thought it a terrific idea to head to the city dump after dinner to try and catch a glimpse of the trucks as they were unloading. We followed 3 recycling trucks into the compound, parked at the recycling depot and sat on the curb for half an hour watching the trucks unload the glass bottles from their trucks. Then there was a front-end loader that would push all the broken glass back into the pile once each truck left. The driver was waving at Shaun and beeping his horn. Shaun was quite impressed.
Shortly after 6PM I loaded the boys back into the van and headed for the front gate. It was locked and the only way to open it was with a combination, like the kind for the kitchen at McDonalds. There was no one in sight except for the one guy driving the loader back at the depot but I wasn't about to search around for him. I drove back to the parking lot and noticed a pick-up truck pull in to the lot at the next building. When they drove up the road toward the gate I quickly followed, hoping they'd let me out.
I still don't really understand a couple of things: why the city feels the need to place heavy duty chains and combination locks on the gates for the recycling centre; and why they don't have their hours of operation clearly posted. There was no security when I entered, no one knew I was there, yet someone left and locked the gate behind them without knowing that there was anyone left inside.
It turned out that the people in the pick-up didn't have the code either and were from the University collecting rain barrels from the buildings in the compound. We drove around the dump for a while (Shaun got a pretty neat behind-the-scenes look at garbage, recycling and composting) and when we finally made our way back to the front gate, the guy who had been driving the front-end loader was on his way out too and was able to open the gate for us. I don't even want to think about what would have happened if we hadn't been there when he was leaving. Shaun was joking that we'd have to sleep on the glass bottles. I didn't have my cell phone on me and there wasn't a single other car in the whole compound. Lesson: learned!
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