New Years Eve

Well here we are the last day of 2011.  I have no resolutions for 2012 except to spend as much quality time with my husband and child(ren) while I still am able (before maternity leave ends and I have to go back to work).  I am still very pregnant and have yet to have any real signs that this baby has any intention of giving up residence inside my uterus.  With the deadline of an Estimated Due Date looming, I am still waiting to experience the beauties of natural childbirth.  So hopefully early in the new year we will be welcoming our new son or daughter into our lives. 
Laurence and I were joking about how in the last few years, we have not made it to midnight (at least not since Anomantia was born).  Maybe this year we will actually make it depending on how tired we are from the day of playing and hanging out with Anomantia and relaxing waiting for labour to start.  I finished packing my hospital bag yesterday and the baby's stuff is mostly ready, it is all washed, dried and folded sitting in laundry baskets waiting for the baby to grow into it.  Meanwhile, Laurence is busy painting his new office and getting it ready to move in, and once he moved into the office we will start the renovations on his old office to transition it into a bedroom for Anomantia and make her a new bedroom.  The plan is to have these rooms completed by the end of the spring. 
We are going to be keeping busy with the new baby, an active two year old and all the renovations.  So we wish you all the best as we usher in the new year and hope you all have a wonderful end to the year 2011.

Happy Holidays

To all our friends, family and anyone who happens upon this post,

We hope this holiday season finds you all in good health and happy.  We are enjoying our Christmas day as a family at home in Gurneyland this year.  This time last year we had thrown the idea of making the trek west to see our extended family for the holidays but with the pending birth of our second child, Laurence and I made the decision not to travel (plus I am way too pregnant to make a trip that long). 
This morning we woke up at a reasonable hour and opened the door to Anomantia's room so she would just come downstairs when she woke up.  She surfaced about fifteen minutes later.  The gift opening was entertaining as she has figured out how to peel back wrapping paper.  She really enjoyed all of her gifts, taking the time to inspect each one and show her grandma and Pabby who were on Skype with us during half of the opening (I love technology for that!).  After the gifts and eating half of her Pez refills, we made breakfast of waffles, bacon and Apple-Pork sausages (so yummy).  Anomantia ate lots and decided that today is a shirt-less day again.  So currently she is playing with her new toys and books wandering around the living room in her pants and diaper.  I was hoping to put a cute outfit on her and take some pictures today but that is not going to happen unless she decides on it herself.  For Christmas we got her a tablet (for kids age 4-9 a little out of her age category, but seeing as she is techno-savvy, we got it anyways) and she LOVES it... games and drawing applications and such, she has been playing with it since it was opened.
Tonight we are forgoing the turkey dinner because with our luck it would all be foiled by me going into labour (yes it is that close to baby time), so we are doing a blade steak roast instead which is almost impossible to wreck unless it is undercooked.  I am just really looking forward to everything this holiday season brings.
So with all that I will leave you with many best wishes for a very happy holiday season and all the very best health, wealth and happiness for 2012.

Love from The Gurney Family:
Carlee, Laurence and Anomantia (and soon to be announced baby)

photo bomb

 The three of us on Anomantia's 2nd Birthday.  December 16th 2011.

  At a party at the neighbours' house.

 Ready for Christmas Dinner #1 at the Lacombe Lodge.

December 20th, 2011

 Climbing to get at the Fruit Loops in the pantry

December 21st, 2011.

 Laurence telling Anomantia to be careful when standing in the pantry.

 Anomantia and I getting some ice cream for dessert after dinner in a super messy kitchen.  

I was in shock when I saw how big my baby bump really is... Yikes!

Another view of the belly.  

I am totally in awe at all the changes in Anomantia since last week.  She has been talking in sentences and repeating words that I didn't think she would be able to say.  Last night's word was ridiculous.  She is a ball of joy and I can't wait to see how she reacts to Christmas this year.

Farts

The other morning, we were all sitting at the breakfast table when I leaned forward to reach for something and let the biggest fart rip at the same time.  Anomantia was sitting next to me and looked at me and said "bad mum, POOP (pointing at my bum then signing poop)!"  Since I am very pregnant, my passing gas is a usual occurrence but this was an unusually loud fart that I let rip.  Laurence and I couldn't help but laugh at the fact that our now 2 year old can figure out that farts and poop are related.  It was so funny, I almost peed my pants and accidentally let another fart rip due to laughing so hard and again I get the finger pointed at my bum and Anomantia (now standing on her chair) excitedly yelling "BAD MUM! POOP!"  which just made me laugh even more. 

Tonight she was an angel at the Christmas dinner in Lacombe.  It was awesome, she was quiet during the presentations and played nicely with the 15-20 grandmas she had to entertain her.  After the dinner was over and we were getting ready to go, she took a wipe out of her diaper bag and wiped down almost every chair in the entire hall (40-ish seats) before putting her sweater on and saying goodbye to everyone.  I can't believe that she managed to sit still for as long as she did.  The cutest part of the night was after dessert, she licked her plate clean (literally).  I wasn't going to take it away from her as the presentations had begun and we needed her to keep relatively quiet but she was pretty much self entertained by her toys that I brought for her to play with in the lobby if need be.  She sat beside the table and played with her book and batmobile for a bit then lap hopped for a bit and wandered around for a bit too.  At the end of the evening almost everyone commented on how well behaved she was.  Now only to keep up the behaviour modification program we have been on by monitoring her food intake very closely to make sure that she is not over doing it with the sugar intake.  So far so good even with the holidays and her birthday in the mix, she has been adapting very well. 

Today

Happy 2nd Birthday to my girl.  Anomantia is the big T-W-O today.  I will post pictures later.  I just love her to bits.

FUNNY(caution empty bladder then read)

Late this morning, Laurence and I made lunch for all of us.  Anomantia had not had tuna fish yet, but we made tuna melts to try with her.  She sat at her seat oh so patiently waiting for her lunch, and when it arrived at the table, she poked at it until Laurence put salt and pepper on it.  Once it was how she liked it, she proceeded to lick all the salt off the sandwich.  Once all the salt was licked off the sandwich, she took one tiny bite.  Laurence and I were watching from the kitchen.  The next thing she did, I nearly peed myself laughing, she spat the bite out and climbed down from her chair and walked around the living room saying "Blech, blah, blech, blech, blah!"  It was so funny.  She then came into the kitchen looks at Laurence and then leans over the garbage can.  She walked over to me and said "It belongs in the garbage!"... that was when we both couldn't hold the laughter in anymore and I nearly peed my pants I was laughing so hard.  She cracks me up so much sometimes it is so hard to keep a straight face.  So in short Anomantia doesn't like tuna melts.  I made her a peanut butter and raspberry jelly sandwich instead, to which she replied "Yum, yum, yum!" and ate it all up. 

Funny Shit of the Day!

This morning Laurence was in the bathroom, when Anomantia bust in with her Fisher Price cell phone to her ear like she was talking to someone.  Laurence looked at her and said "Oh you got your phone!" She looked up at him and said "Shhhh!" with her finger up to her mouth she actually shushed him after barging into the bathroom on him.  It was hilarious. 

The other thing she started to say today is "TWO".  Yes, my girl will be two in a week, we have been working with her on the fact that when she is two, she will be a big sister and a big girl.  She is liking the idea thus far.  In other news this baby has started its decent and will hopefully hold on another three to four weeks before making his or her debut into the world.  We still do not know the gender but are really excited to meet this little one when it does arrive.  

This Woman is AMAZING!

                                      Happy 58th Birthday Grandma Joan!                              
This coming Tuesday, it will be my Mother in Law's birthday.  Anomantia is busy at work creating a masterpiece (to be sent along at Christmas and with Pabby's birthday stuff too) for her Grandma.  I just thought it would be appropriate to say THANK YOU for everything you have done for us.  We love you and are grateful that you can enjoy your grandchildren.  Keep on fighting Mom, we are all routing for you!  
Love you tons,
Carlee, Laurence and Anomantia
sorry this picture is the best one that showed pure love that I could find.  I have lots of others but this is the best.  xo C.

Stalking and Baby.

Lately I have found myself stalking any and all how-to web pages and blogs that I find links to.  My latest project has been slippers.  The pattern was for 0-3, 3-6 and 6-12 month sizes.  While I was working on my second pair this morning, Anomantia was playing under my sewing table (the usual getting into everything and anything... today it was toothbrushes and bobbypins).  She managed to reach up on the table and grab one of the finished slippers and tried to put it on her fat little foot.  So I had the epiphany to try to modify the pattern (I don't like deviation from directions usually this throws me through the loop) to make a pair her size.  After getting one finished, I realised that it was definitely time for a diaper change and a nap for her.  She got up way too early for the late night she had last night.  So I have successfully completed one slipper that she refused to remove for her nap and now I have finished the second but I have to wait until she wakes up to try it on her other foot.  I am still waiting for my machine to be repaired (ETA is next Friday) and in the meantime, I intended to do more knitting but that has been delayed.  In the meantime, I finally got my backup machine out and running to get things on the go.
I managed to knit a pair of socks for Nora and another pair for Anomantia but now I have to finish the longies I am making Anomantia for Christmas along with the flannel pyjamas.  I have a million loose threads to tie in before sending anything off and that is what I am procrastinating about the most out of anything. 
Yesterday, I went to the grocery store.  It took me close to 4 hours and 2 stores later I got home to realise that I am not going out again before this baby is born other than to finish off the Christmas stuff (minor little things that I will probably send Laurence to do for me) and to the post office to ship it all away.
Everyone I talk to these days (strangers included) seem to think that this baby will come any day now.... STAY IN THERE BABY!  I'm not ready for the pregnancy to be over.  Most other women that I have met who have recently or who are around the same gestational age as me, are all eager to get the baby out.  I am loving being as big as a "space ship" as Laurence refers to me.  Alright, I'll admit I don't really like the indigestion, leg cramps, and insomnia right now, but all in all I feel good and fat!  I am not ashamed by my weight gain of close to 40lbs, it is all controlled and monitored and mostly going to my belly and boobs (again... sigh)  and maybe my ass but that is allowed because I live with tons of stairs and that melts off pretty quick with all the laundry that having TWO kids will bring (shudder).  My Chiropractor has been awesome and a saving grace for my ribs and hips this pregnancy.  The adjustments are awesome and I can feel the baby moving in the right direction.  He has also told me to call him when I am in labour and he will do an adjustment if I need it to help with any pain I might have.  I am so excited about this baby being head down and not breach like Anomantia was.  Laurence is so supportive of all the decisions I have made so far, I couldn't ask for a better support person.  I am glad to have him acting as my advocate when/if I get to the point that I am unable to communicate for myself.  He is a huge help around the house now and with Anomantia because I just can't lift her anymore and I can't spend a whole lot of time on my feet without the BH kicking in more than I am comfortable with.  We are both hoping that this baby holds off until after Christmas, so I am keeping my fingers and my legs crossed until then (not that that will help any except for a funny visual).  Until then, I am going to be hanging out and stalking web pages.  If you have any good suggestions, email me the link. And to the family, if you have any special requests of crafting of any kind let me know via email.  My phone is temporarily out of service as the touch screen has decided to stop working, I have to take it in.  Until I get enough courage to leave the house, that isn't going to be happening.  So in the meantime, I am on skype or email only contact.  Sorry.  Until I can get more pictures off my phone, I'll leave you with these: Anomantia thinks the tongues out is the funniest thing ever especially when I do it to her.  And the other is just my blue haired beauty it is not everyday you see a blue haired, blue eyed, crazy monster.  The hair colour has faded out to closer to a minty green now (dyed it in mid September) and will look awesome with her Christmas outfit that I am making her.  I am excited this year for all the festivities as she is a little more understanding but she still has a hate on for the fat man in the red suit.  I don't blame her, he kinda creeps me out too.

It's been just one of those days.

Today has been one of those days that you just have to look back at it and laugh. 

It started out early as Laurence and I had some work to finish off from the night before, so we were up way too early after an incredibly late night.  I had a million emails to reply to and orders to confirm were on their way.  I made us breakfast, Laurence took his plate to the office to eat as he was still trying to meet deadlines and I ate and replied to emails, answered phone calls, changed diapers and got the kiddo dressed for the day.  By 11am I remembered that I had appointments with the Chiropractor and Midwives at noon and 12:40pm, so I scrambled to get the invoicing done for the pending pick ups from the previous day, just to find out that the printer wasn't working properly at 11:40am.... AHHHHH, I had to leave the invoices open for Laurence to figure out the printer and deal with Anomantia who was messing around with her buttons (a new obsession) and emptying his tool box all over the office floor.  I ran out the door to my appointments expecting that Anomantia would go down for a nap while I was out and I arrived home to find her still awake (2 hours later).
At the midwives clinic, I found out that everything is on schedule, the placental placement is posterior and poses no threat to my scar line which makes me a perfect candidate for the much wanted VBAC that I have been vying for since the conception of this baby.  We still don't know what gender this one is (GO team GREEN!) and are excited that we will have that surprise at birth.  At my adjustment, my Chiropractor told me that my hips and pelvis are starting to prepare for the baby's arrival and he told me that this one will probably arrive the week of Christmas (He has a 92% accuracy in predicting when labour will start).  Not what I wanted to hear as I am really hoping for a 40 weeker this time.  Stay in there baby, take as long as you want... as I discussed with my midwife today, there will be no eviction notices given as it will put me at a higher risk for intervention (not what I want).  This baby can stay in up to the middle of January if it likes (I hope not but it is always a possibility).
After all my appointments, I came home made some lunch (leftover spaghetti sauce just needed to boil up some noodles), ate bites of lunch between answering more phone calls and emails for the business and booking appointments for this evening all of which seemed to overlap for the customers' convenience.  So I ended up having to do a hard drive swap and install on an operating system on a laptop with a client while Laurence was building a system that has to go out tomorrow morning at 8am.  So many issues with everything from software compatibility to hardware issues in the machine that Laurence was building.  Needless to say our daughter was napless and getting hungry and needed another bum change.  So I managed to make her a snack of veggies and dip to tide her over until I had enough time to actually make dinner.  I also somehow managed to sweep the kitchen and entrance way floors and vacuum the living room in between customers showing up.  Finally at 7:30pm I found the time to make dinner just to run out of propane for the BBQ (ugh! what else?!?) so I had to cook the sockeye in the oven.  I made a pot of rice and heated up some corn to go with the sliced carrots and cucumbers, from earlier.  We scarfed back dinner, I answered more phone calls and booked more appointments for tomorrow and Friday and replied to a couple more emails.  Finally around 8:30pm Anomantia had enough of being awake and headed up to bed after a huge meltdown (probably because she was so tired).  I got her changed into a nighttime diaper and put her clothes back on her because I didn't feel like digging through the clean laundry to find a pair of pj's at that time and tucked her in when she voluntarily climbed into her bed.  Then it was back to work.  Tomorrow is our garbage day so I gathered up all the empty boxes and recycling to go out as well as emptying the garbage cans from around the house.  I don't usually empty the one in the office but for some reason today I did, not knowing that Laurence had tossed his phone into the corner where the garbage can sits, he missed the desk and the phone landed in the garbage can.  It wasn't until he was looking for it about 10 minutes ago that he realised that I had emptied the garbage and that his phone could possibly be on the curb awaiting pick up first thing tomorrow morning.  It is lucky that I was still awake and able to retrace my steps and we put 2 and 2 together enough to go looking for his phone. Sure enough, I had thrown his phone in the garbage and we managed to retrieve it from the garbage at the curb before it was gone forever.  While doing this, we were laughing our asses off at the whole scenario while going over the chaos of the day. 

All in all this crazy day makes us appreciate the fact that we are able to laugh at our lives and that we obviously don't take everything too seriously.   We enjoy the little things even though it is sometimes those things that drive us absolutely crazy.  The highlight of my day today is the fact that I managed to finish off the baby's blanket with the embellished top stitching and everything.  I love the way it turned out and I hope the baby likes it as much as Anomantia loves hers.  I also somehow managed to squeeze in three (3) loads of laundry and one load of diapers today... I still don't know how I did it all, but I think it merits the Wonder Woman shirt tomorrow (even though it doesn't cover all of the belly anymore).  Finally I have headed up to bed to be a bit lazy and Laurence is back in the office still working (hopefully not for too long).  But if anything else had of gone haywire today, I think I would have totally lost my mind.  Here is to hoping that tomorrow is a better day than today.

Christmas stuff... SIGH!

Here it is the middle of November and yes, I am guilty of pulling out my Christmas stuff.  Our lawn has about six inches of snow in some parts (thank you wind drifts) and our Christmas lights and lawn ornaments have been up for over a week.  This is totally out of the ordinary for me as I usually put it all up in the first week of December and take it all down as soon as January 1st .  But this year with the new baby coming sometime around the holidays, I thought I would get a jump start so I am not trying to decorate a tree or hang lights at term (37+ weeks pregnant).  Anomantia is not overly impressed with the changes to the house or the fact that there is a hideously fake tree in the living room where some of her toys used to be.  She was quite upset with me for moving her table and toys and one chair to make room for the green monstrosity.  I finally got the lights up so the tree doesn't look too bad, but it still needs the silver pine cones and the candy canes to finish it off.  I decided last year that my fragile ornaments were not going to go up on the tree until she is older and no longer feels the need to move, eat or remove things off the tree.  Last year, Anomantia ate all the candy canes in her reach (plastic wrap and all) so the bottom half of the tree is still debatable if we are going to put candy canes on it or not. 
These past couple of weeks, we have had a ton of progression with Anomantia talking.  Update for those who didn't know, she had a terrible ear infection in the spring that delayed her due to it going undetected for a few months by her GP and it took her vomiting and me getting frustrated and taking her to the walk in clinic to get it diagnosed and treated properly.  She had some major set backs with her speech and balance but now we are almost back on track.  Yesterday, we had a bit of a road trip around Gurneyland and ventured out to visit some friends at their farm for dinner and to watch the UFC fights.  Anomantia had a blast playing with their kids and animals.  By the end of the night, the cats were "kitty" and the dogs were "puppies" which is neat as before that, every animal was either a monkey, frog, puppy-woof-woof or meow.  She now knows the difference between cats and dogs.  She has a fond love for all animals especially farm ones.
We are still at war with her over clothes but everything else seems to be going smoothly.

It's been awhile....

Well it has been awhile since I did an update... September came and went with a visit to the island to see the extended family and to celebrate my 30th birthday (yes, I have come to grips that I am no longer in my 20's but I have hit the big 3-0.  Maybe some kind of revelation should occur but life seems to be continuing on all the same).  October was great fun with the weather being relatively crisp and great for fall walks with Anomantia who is obsessed with her push trike.  October 25th, we had a 3D ultrasound done in town and I would have to say that I am totally disappointed and left feeling ripped off.  Peek-A-Boo Baby 3D Ultrasounds Ltd. really didn't make the cut.  I paid for the "One Peek Package" and the quality was TERRIBLE!   The DVD was so blurry from the technician's shakiness, you could barely make out the baby.  The baby also wasn't very cooperative for positioning but when Laurence asked to find out the gender (I don't want to know until birth) the tech kept on trying to find it and told him what she thought it was and we left feeling more confused than what we had in our minds going in.  We got a couple of pictures that are of mediocre quality but the rest is really crappy.  I am just relieved that this ultrasound wasn't the important one for the midwives.
For Halloween, we tried to decorate as much as possible but with the ongoing renovations in our house it was all last minute again.  I sewed Anomantia's costume all fleece lined so she wouldn't have to wear a coat and it was a good thing too because we got snow that afternoon.  Halloween morning began on a down note with the beginning of the flu running through our home.  Anomantia was feeling well enough to trick-or-treat at a few neighbours' houses before calling it a night.  She was dressed up as Batman (orange and black) with her pimped out trike as the batmobile all custom with headlights and a jet engine made out of plastic containers.  Everything was made by scratch by Laurence and I this year as we couldn't justify spending outrageous amounts of money on a costume that may not ever be worn again.  So I made her costume so she would have something warm to wear under her snowsuit when we go ice fishing later on in the winter. 
Following that, I fell ill with the flu and ended up at the hospital getting rehydrated for almost an entire day.  Now being in my third trimester, I am finding it harder to be pregnant again.  I do have more energy to keep up with Anomantia but I am slowing down and at a rapid pace.  My home is a disaster zone and trying to clean up is futile as I have a hurricane that follows behind me ripping things apart again.
Yesterday and the day before we had Chinook winds through the area and melted all the snow that was on the ground allowing me to put all the Halloween decorations away and clean up the last of the yard tools for the winter.  We pulled out our Christmas lights and are hoping to get them all put up while Anomantia naps this afternoon as even though there is snow falling, it is still rather mild out.  Tomorrow, I am hoping to bake some more cookies and start on my Christmas baking (finish it off too if I am lucky).  My sewing machine is in the repair shop again and I am hoping to get all my knitting done by the beginning of December so that I can get the sewing portion of my Christmas gifts done as soon as my machine is back on the bench downstairs.  This however will delay a couple of baby gifts for friends and family but I guess it is a small price to pay for the love.
Anomantia is having a dad day and wants nothing to do with me right now, so I am going to put my feet up and enjoy the quiet moments that I do have to myself.  I need to relax and try not to focus on the craziness of the upcoming week.
With all that I leave you and hope you all had a great Labour Day Weekend, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Remembrance Day and are all ready for the upcoming winter.
Much Love
Carlee

Fall is in the air...

This morning I woke up and the air felt different today than it did yesterday and everyother day this past week.  I got out of our tent (in the backyard) and came in the house deciding that today was a great day to make carrot muffins.  Before Anomantia got up, I had cleaned the kitchen and started mixing the batter to my carrot muffins.  After breakfast, we sampled some of the muffins and then went for our daily walk around the block and down the back alley to admire everyone's gardens.  This year our garden is a write off.  It has been attacked from every angle and I am ready to give up.  This spring was a very dry spring and our soil proved to be fairly dead, followed by a rainy month of June and terrible wind-rain-tornado storms for most of July.  We have been hammered with hail the size of golf balls which took the leaves off of any plants that did grown in our barren wasteland of a garden.  August so far has proved to be pretty much of the same what little we have had so far.  All I can say is I am grateful for my greenhouse.  So far it has yielded a single tomato and a green pepper, several carrots (our soil is too dense to do these outdoors).  But this morning, I feel harvest time is quickly approaching as the threat of frost looms. My guess is that before labour day weekend, we will have seen the beginning of the end of gardening for this year. 

The dentist and wonder

This past week, I was tickling Anomantia and noticed a dark spot on one of her bottom teeth.  Within seconds of finding it, I was on the phone with our dentist's office.  Luckily enough, I managed to get an appointment for Laurence to have his teeth cleaned and a check-up on Friday morning and they had an opening for Anomantia on Monday morning.  So come Monday, Laurence will be taking the drive with the squirt to the dentist's office.  From what I have heard from other patients is that the dentist is very good with children.  Anomantia is still a little young for her first dentist appointment but because of the spot, there is an exception.  Thursday evening after finding the spot, I brushed her teeth and the spot came off... Now I think it was just a piece of blueberry skin stuck to the tooth, but it was also under the gums, so we decided to take her for the check up just in case it is something more than that. So Friday morning, I took her to the dentist's office while Laurence was in for his appointment to familiarize her with the office so she won't freak out come Monday morning.
Today, Anomantia and I went out for all you can eat sushi lunch with my good friend Elise.  I found out that Anomantia doesn't really like the seaweed in the maki rolls and she LOVES rice of any kind.
This afternoon, I realised that I have done and experienced so much more than I have ever dreamed of doing in the last three months alone.  I have gone ice fishing (on my bucket list), gone back to work, seen the northern lights (also on my bucket list), experienced a real winter storm (with wind drifts higher than the bumper on our Jeep),  taught my daughter to love and respect animals and other critters, and seen Anomantia change from being a baby into a toddler and more like a little girl everyday.  I love seeing the changes in her daily.  Her curiosity for everything is facinating and allows me to look at the world from her perspective and innocence. I love seeing that spark and spunk that she has when approaching the unknown. I took a bunch of new pictures this week and I am still trying to figure out my new computer, so I will upload them once she goes down for another nap later on today and hopefully post them tonight or tomorrow.  Anyhow, I am off to change another soiled diaper, still no luck on the potty training front, she is still terrified of the potty and hates the bathroom because she thinks that she has to take a shower everytime we go in there.  I have tried playing with her in the bathroom but all she does is pick up her toys and run out of the room.  I guess it doesn't really help that it is the coldest room in the house.  I guess that we will have to try something new because I would really like to have her using the potty or the toilet within the next six months to a year.  If anyone has any suggestions please comment here and not on Facebook.  I am closing my facebook account for posting comments and upping the security as I have been hacked on that account and need to revise my security options.  And with the lack of comments and imput, I am seriously thinking of retiring this blog as I don't know where to take it.

Yay for spring in Canada...

Well the geese are back and by my deductive reasoning, that means so is spring.  The other morning while I was in the kitchen, I was watching the Blue Jays jumping around in our Blue Spruce in the front yard.  I really hate that tree in the summer but appreciate the green needles in the whiteness of our winters.  This morning I decided to play catch up on my podcasts and listened to four hours of Vinyl Cafe consecutively... I think my husband was annoyed to start but Stuart McLean's calming and addictive voice sucked him in, I even went to turn it off and he was standing next to my speakers eating his breakfast and enjoying the stories.  I remember being a young child and listening to CBC with my own mum and I remember her reading stories from the Vinyl Cafe to me when I was in my teens.  I remember road trips where we would take turns reading from books for entertainment while we travelled and no I don't get carsick. The summer after my dad died, my mum, my younger sister and I drove from the island to the West Edmonton Mall.  I remember reading Bruno and Boots Go Jump in the Pool and This can't be Happening at MacDonald Hall.  I remember my mum always listening to CBC radio and enjoying it, not just the news but Quirks and Quarks, Vinyl Cafe, Basic Black and several others, it was something that defined us as Canadians.  We read Canadian authors and listened to Canadian radio, but we embraced our entity as Canadians.
This weekend, we went to the market and bought the seeds we need for the garden this year.  Instead of doing flowers in my planters, this year I am doing strawberries and Bright Lights swiss chard, it is an edible ornamental.  It will be a busy summer here in Gurneyland, lots of projects on the go and lots of things on the wish list that I hope to get to doing this year. 
Anomantia has become little miss attitude lately, she is a ball of energy and loads fun.  A couple of weeks ago, she and her dad went to visit her grandparents back on the island without me... for a whole Seven days.... by my standards, this is something I swore up and down that would never ever happen, well it did!  It felt like six days way too long and I don't think I'd let them go for that long again.  However on the up side, I did get a lot of work done both at home and at the shop.  My carpets got shampooed and the dust bunnies conquered and so the home is getting ready for the windows to be opened and the stuffy winter air to be cleared from within.  Yesterday, I was able to get the cloth diapers out on the line for the first time this year... it is way later than last year when I had them out at the end of February.  This afternoon, Anomantia and I attended a community based trade show to showcase home based businesses in our neighbourhood.  There were free glitter tattoos and I tried to get Anomantia one but she didn't want anything to do with it, on the other hand she picked out a wicked looking bat that I got on my right wrist.  There were some pretty neat little companies, including a cloth diaper company, esthetics services, scentsy dealer, epicure dealer, Usana health food products dealer, Boot Camp services, and a couple of knit/quilted blankets and stuff tables and a few others.  I found it was just nice to be outside for the walk to the community hall and back.  I actually got the Ergo carrier out for the walk, the stroller is just to bulky and not worth pushing through the slush and snow to the end of the street.  I was amazed at how Anomantia still handles being in the Ergo, I haven't put her in it since she started walking on her own but today it came in real handy.  Thank-you to my cousins who lent me their Ergo, it has made a world of difference in our lives having it this past year.
Today I had an A-HA! moment.  I realised that I have constantly been thrown curve balls in my life and that it has by no means been an easy one.  I guess that now is a better time than any to change all this crap in for something good.  Since the new years, I have been trying to change things for the better to create a happier, healthier home for my family.  In doing so, I have managed to return myself to a healthy weight and rediscover who I really want to be.  I realised that I needed to be healthier and happier in order to bring that into my home.  To date I have lost forty pounds, yes that is 40lbs!!! and I feel like a million bucks.  I couldn't justify paying outrageous amounts for a hair cut, so I did it myself twice! (and then had Laurence fix it for me the second time).  I am loving my home life but am feeling under stimulated at work.  I want to go back to school but have yet to decide on what path I would like to persue.  Everything is changing for the better and life seems to be getting better by the day.  I can't wait to see what the next nine months will bring for the rest of the year

On Being Unique

This spring and summer, I have been observing my 18-month old daughter and finding out who she is.  I have come to accept the fact that she doesn't play with dolls or girly stuff much, she is a very unique child and I love her for all her quirks.  She doesn't play with kids her own age, she will stand in the corner and watch them play.  She doesn't say much around people but when she is in her room with her monkey, she has a full vocabulary (thank god for baby monitors).  What she does say around us is mostly babble still but usually followed by a "bad dog" "bad dad" or something like that and including room for the usual F-bomb.  Yes my child uses the F-bomb and says "Shit" in context. We try to sensor her from what we think is excessive but most of the time, she comes with us everywhere we go.  We went to a friend's farm for a birthday/father's day BBQ, when most of the kids were going to bed, my daughter was just getting started.  She is a party animal and danced to popular, country, folk and rock music until close to 2am when I pulled the plug and decided it was time to go home.   My girl doesn't like to wear shoes, eat indoors and loves animals of all kinds (including magpies which are considered pests here, she would rather share her lunch with them).  She is a kind spirit that would run free as she tries to do every opportunity she gets when we leave the front door open.  She has figured out how to communicate what she wants without words because she doesn't like to talk.  She will repeat words like a parrot when she feels like it otherwise we get "DON'T".  She doesn't use the word "No" as we try not to use no with her, she is gentle when she wants to be and worries if someone gets hurt or is crying but doesn't break out in hysterics over someone else.  She throws herself to the ground and arches her back when things aren't going her way, her version of a tantrum which ends up with all of us laughing most of the time.  What I Love most of all about my daughter is the fact that when I tuck her into bed every night, she looks at me and says "Je t'aime!"  It makes every moment of letting the little things slide and letting her discover who she wants to be without trying to shape her in any way all that more better.  On a closing note, she now rubs and kisses my belly and calls it "Baby" but I am not entirely convinced she knows what is going on.

Thanks for the thoughts...

Since we spilled the news of my pregnancy to our family and friends a few weeks ago, I have had an outpour of imput from people.  Lots of opinions on how to go about birth and dealing with two children.  Thanks for all your thoughts but I am at a point now where I can't handle hearing anymore criticism, opinions and suggestions from anyone.  Be it negative or positive, I am tired of feeling inadequate as a parent and as a woman because of someone else's ideals.  Being at a very hormonal stage of my pregnancy, I am at a point where I will burst into tears over someone's stupid comments. 
So my conclusion is now to not discuss parenting, birth or pregnancy with anyone aside from my husband and a very select few people (you will know who you are).  What choices that Laurence and I make this time are about us and our growing family and what is in all of our best interests.  So when it comes to my life, details are on a need-to-know basis for now.  I will start to post again one I have regained a level mind.
Good Bye for now,
Carlee

Shopping with a toddler...

This weekend, we went grocery shopping with Anomantia and she stayed in the cart the whole time (this never happens).  After the grocery store, we made a quick stop at the Body Shop for some lotion, Anomantia insisted on coming inside with Nadia and I.  While we were in the store she made a point of making a break for it every two seconds until I discovered a bin full of shower puffs at her height.  All of a sudden she was thrilled to have something to play with while I paid for my lotion and waited on Nadia.  When Anomantia realised that her dad wasn't with us, she started heading for the door again, totally ignoring the puffs.  Meanwhile I had purchased one for her... mine is kind of old and needs to be thrown away anyways.  I gave it to her outside of the store, she took one look at it and started back into the store to put it back giving me a dirty look like "mum, don't you know we're not supposed to take stuff that isn't ours".  I found it so funny and the ladies in the store were certainly amused with her behaviour.  At least she knows (maybe) not to shoplift.  She has all sorts of quirks that make my life so interesting right now.  And I know that we are sure thrilled with who she is.

Gardening

Today we started off going to Canadian Tire to get a thatching rake for the lawn and ended up coming out with a bunch of other stuff and not a thatching rake.  We came home and started in on our garden, getting the greenhouse all ready and planting in the front planter.  After her nap, Anomantia, decided to join me outside in the greenhouse.  I was in the middle of installing our new in-planter watering system in the greenhouse.  Anomantia managed to dig it all up before I even got it totally installed so I had to start from scratch again.  The same went for the seeds I tried planting.  Meanwhile she managed to eat two fist fulls of potting soil and a few seeds too, dropped one marker between the slats in the floor and starting planting rocks in with my already planted seeds.  My conclusion is that gardening with an almost 17 month old should be avoided when in tight quarters, with the exception of the little dirt covered hands on my shoulder and little face leaning in to say "hi" and "what's up?" every few minutes.  And her helpful ways of pulling twigs out of my potting mix and licking the excess dirt off the twigs before throwing them on the floor.

too long...

I guess that leaving this for two months is just too long.  We have changed, done and accomplished so much in a couple of months. 
In March, everything was a bit of a blur and all I remember is working lots and hanging out with Anomantia on my weekends as Laurence worked his butt off to get the business off the ground.  Laurence and Anomantia made a trip to the coast to visit his parents while I stayed home and worked.  I know I swore that I would never allow it and believe me it was a brutal seven days without my family.  I will NEVER do that again. 
In April, we opened our arms to Nadia, Laurence's cousin from Denmark who is staying with us here in Gurneyland for awhile before heading to visit more family on the coast.  For Easter long weekend/ Nadia's birthday, we went to the W.E.M. and had a blast in the waterpark and exploring the city.  Anomantia is finally feeling better after her first (and hopefully her last) ear infection.  She is growing into such a wonderful girl.  And the best part of April, we found out that we are expecting again.  Ironically I have the exact same due date as I did with Anomantia.  
And now it is May, with mother's day and Laurence's birthday approaching, we have absolutely no plans in the works, as we don't celebrate these two holidays.  Laurence doesn't like to celebrate his birthday so that is by his choice and well, mother's day always seems to be just forgotten except for the phone call to my MIL. 
We are all keeping busy now that the warm weather has arrived and I realised that there really are only two seasons here: winter and construction.  Because when one ends the other begins again, there is no in between or peace and quiet... Perhaps that is why I like the winter so much.  Even after six months of white stuff, I am ready for the spring but already being so warm, it jumps straight into full blown construction.
On my drive home tonight, I saw a hotel on fire.  There were five fire engines and several police cars there to control the scene already.  I had never seen a building on fire in person before.  The air quality was poor and smokey and the visibility was limited.  It was a unique experience, one which I hope I will never have to relive.

I will leave on a upbeat note, we are going for our first ultrasound on the 11th of May and I am looking forward to seeing my little sea monkey.

is it spring yet??

So I guess I am ready for a change in weather.  Since we moved here in 2006, our winters have been relatively mild.  This winter, feels incredibly long and cold.  Our snow base is more than we have had in five winters.  Really I am ready for the two and half feet of snow to melt and for the sun to shine once again.  It has been grey here, really grey and all I really want to do is hang my laundry on the clothesline and air my stuffy house out.  I want to get the saw out of the entrance way and finish off all the renos and have the house put back together sooner rather than later.  But I know better than to get my hopes up because something always gets in the way.  I can't wait to plant my garden and for the local farmer's market to start up again.  I always love the beginning of spring.  When the white snow melts away and the green starts to come back.  And being able to walk around the ponds again looking for the pussy willows and buds on the trees.  I am looking forward to sewing Anomantia's Easter dress and getting ready for family visits.  With all the work to do around our home, it keeps me ever so busy but not too busy to enjoy the little things.  I am enjoying all that I can on my days off, unfortunately I still have to work four days per week.
This weekend, Laurence had to be out for work, so Anomantia and I travelled with him.  We also got the opportunity to go to a couple of pet stores.  Anomantia LOVES animals and gets so excited when she gets the chance to see them upclose.  She even got to hold an albino bunny.  It was so cute.  She loves cats and dogs and horses and pretty much anything that is fuzzy and makes noises.  With all of Laurence's allergies, we are not able to have pets in our home and we feel our yard is too small to accomodate an animal, plus the weather in the winter is far too cold for a cat or dog to survive strictly outdoors.  As much as I would love to get a dog for Anomantia, this will NOT happen.  Our home will remain animal-less until we can afford to move to a larger property with a barn for animals.  I am starting to get impatient for the spring to come so that I can take Anomantia to the zoo either north or south of Gurneyland but it all depends on how work is going. 
Lately I have been suffering from severely stiff hands and joints.  I am hoping that this is a temporary thing but it has been two weeks of barely being able to hold a pencil and getting white knuckled from only a few minutes of operating my grinder.  My GP wants me to see the surgeon to have scar tissue removed from the middle of my hand but this would result in lost time from work (not what I want right now).  I have kind of lost faith in him and his decisions since Anomantia's birth and since he decided to put me on medication with which I couldn't breastfeed anymore.  I stopped taking the meds after four days and gave it a few days to clear out of my system, then tried to get Anomantia to breastfeed again, but she wouldn't.  She weened herself, even when I wasn't ready for her to do so.  I am still suffering from engorgement and really unhappy that I was pressured into taking meds even when I didn't want to.  If I could change doctors at this point I would but the doctors here won't take a new patient unless they are without a current doctor.  Back to my chores and renos.

Family Day Weekend

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This weekend flew by in a blur, I feel like we spent the whole weekend in the kitchen playing on the floor.  Saturday, we did all of our errands, including Anomantia's 1yr immunizations and running around so that we could spend 2 full days as a family at home or doing activities that we enjoy.  Sunday we started our day off with our usual waffles and bacon breakfast only this week to mix it up with Blueberry waffles and ham instead of bacon.  Anomantia spent the better part of my preparing breakfast sitting on the floor next to where I was working eating frozen blueberries.  By the time she was done eating breakfast, her face was covered with blueberries. (pictures1,2,3).

After breakfast, we cleaned up and played a bit before Anomantia went down for a nap.  While she was napping, Laurence and I managed to finally get the casing around our living room window installed.  One window down five more to go.  After her nap, Laurence made Anomantia a new toy because she kept on stealing the potatoes I was trying to peel for Sunday evening's dinner.  (picture 4).  Meet our new addition, Beaver the potato head.  We are oh so creative with names in our house, her toys are all like: Bear, Monkey, other Monkey, Moose with calf, you get the point.  She doesn't really play with dolls, she prefers her trucks and trains and cars better. 

Sunday evening after dinner, we decided to make cookies.  Anomantia wanted to help, so I let her be my tester. (pictures 5,6).  By the time is was bedtime, she had Blueberries and chocolate all over my kitchen floor and walls and cabinets, on the fridge, the front of the dishwasher and oven door.  I am still finding little sticky hand prints all over the place.  By Sunday night, I felt like I had spent the entire day in the kitchen. 

Monday, was a statutory holiday for us here in Gurneyland.  Meaning NO WORK! Yahoo!   For Family Day, our community organisation (we are on the board of directors) had planned their annual Sleigh ride in the park.  We lucked out with the weather as it warmed up to -5ºC for the afternoon but it is supposed to cool off to -20ºC again tomorrow. (sigh!)  With all the warm then cold weather we've been having, I am ready for spring and for the 2 to 3 feet of snow in my yard to melt. 

This evening, we made red berry syrup for our ice cream dessert.  It came our very similar to Danish rødgrød med fløde only we didn't thicken it as much.  Anomantia loved it!  (pictures 9,10,11,12)  She spent the first part of dessert walking back and forth between Laurence and I eating out of her bowl and finishing off most of Laurence's too.  Finally she sat down in front of the fridge and finished off her bowl full.  I think she wore most of it, but at least she enjoyed it. 

This weekend Anomantia let me look in her mouth and not just probe it with her toothbrush, she now has 2 molars on her left hand side and the top right hand one is ready to break through, the bottom one still looks like it will be awhile though.  She also demonstrated her vocabulary to us by taking a clean sock from the laundry bin and handing it to me and said "sock" and then again tonight she handed it to me and said "chausette" (which is french for sock).  She is ever changing and growing.  As of Saturday morning, she was 30.5 inches long and 22lbs 8oz.  She has gone down in weight since we last weighed her, but she has also started crawling and walking since her last weigh in too (I think). I am a little confused with her weight issue as she weighed 22lbs at 8 months old and here we are 6 months later and she is back to 22lbs after being weighed in at almost 30lbs a little under 3 months ago.  I guess I will have to talk to her doctor about all of this because the public health nurse was unsure about it all.  Any how it will be another early morning tomorrow so I am off to sleep. I hope everyone had as good of a weekend as I did and that you all enjoy your week.  Good Night. 

picture update

 Anomantia's excited face on Christmas morning.  We all had bad colds and were feeling pretty crappy that morning too.

 Chocolate Faced!  Enjoying her birthday cupcake on December 16th.  Happy First Birthday Anomantia!

 Playing Wii with her dad in the living room.  She now has her own remote, it is hot pink and sometimes she talks to it like it is a telephone.  Kids have the best imaginations... I wonder what happened to mine?

 Being cute as a button at the beginning of February. 

 Making a funny face on Christmas morning.

 more being cute...

 pensive...

 kissy faced...

 happy girl...

 more pensive, or worried, I don't know...

 Hanging out in her truck ready for a call (note the open phone in her right hand).

 watching cartoons in her truck...

 playing with the wii remote while I try to get us ready to go out for lunch on Friday afternoon (Feb 11th).

 Brownie faced at the restaurant (Feb 11th)

Flirting with anyone who will spare her a glance at the Wellness Centre this morning.  (Feb 12th)

I am still trying to get all the pictures in order of the few hundred that I have taken over the last few months, these are my favourites of the ones we have.  Anomantia is always on the go climbing up and down stairs now and starting to run, she is fearless and very independent.  She has been keeping us on our toes and ever learning new things.  She sits there and studies your every move then will repeat it.  This weekend, we have made Valentine's day cupcakes with Pink (I wanted a pastel pink but had a mishap with the food colouring, and ended up with a there is no other way to put it other than Barbie Pink colour instead) icing.  I have been feeling crafty again lately and after discussing with Laurence, we have decided to challenge ourselves to create gifts for our friends and loved ones this entire year.  I have most of my Christmas gifts already mapped out and some are already done, but this way come the holiday season, we won't be stressed out about finding that perfect gift for each and everyone on our lists.  Everything will be that much more personal.  All in all we are content with our life in Gurneyland and will try to keep pace with the world around us, sometimes you just have to slow it down and stop to smell the flowers and enjoy the little things in life.  Today was one of those days for me.  We got our errands out of the way for the week in the morning and it left the afternoon for baking and hanging out in the kitchen with my little cinnamon heart thief.  Tomorrow is another day of fun filled activities and hopefully a trip to the swimming pool, we will see where the day takes us.  I am just looking forward to our Sunday morning ritual: Wake up, make waffles and bacon in our pyjamas, eat as a family (one of the few meals we all eat together), clean up, wash up, get dressed and then the day begins.  I look forward to that time where we are all together in the same room, for a brief moment, I feel complete.  Life as a working mum is no easy task, every moment when I am not at work or en route to work, I want to spend with my husband and daughter.  I feel guilty for being away for so long every week, but I have my three day weekends to keep me going through the push for more production, better quality, and faster turn over rates, there are days where my family is the only thing that keeps me going.  Knowing that they will always be there when I get home.  I love seeing them all cuddled up and asleep when I get in the door from work.  I do miss taking part in bedtime, and not being home for dinner, but I know I always have my weekends.  And every week presents a new challenge and new changes, but if it were always the same thing would it be worth doing?  Right now, I am ready for an early bedtime for me tonight and enjoying the little things that make my world spin.

Good Night

Chaos

So this week has been crazy busy for all of us here in Gurneyland.  Anomantia has discovered how to fill her bowl when it is empty.  Sunday afternoon, we were eating dill pickle chips (the new baked ones...so good!) in the living room.  I gave Anomantia a few in one of her bowls, she ate them all, then walked over and was eating them out of the bag on the coffee table.  I went into the kitchen to get us some water, returned to find her dumping the bag of chips into her bowl, most of which ended up on the floor.  She is a very observant girl and studies things lots before doing it.  She also has learned to pick her nose.  I got a text from Laurence the other night saying that she had a bloody nose and he had no idea how she got blood all over her face.  The next morning, I caught her red fingered.  She shoves her little index finger up her nostril, actually it is pretty gross.  She has learned the use of uh-uh (while shaking her head no) and uses it in appropriate context now.  It is quite cute but can be irritating at times now that she resists things.  I guess seeing as it is so early in the morning and I have to get up with Anomantia when she wakes, I should end it here.

Relief

Today we were given the wonderful news that Anomantia's acetabular portion of her hip has in fact formed properly (yay!).  It was such a relief to hear this news and actually see the x-rays as proof that she will be able to run and play with her friends as she gets older, however it does still put her in a higher risk bracket for needed a hip replacement at an earlier age.  Still something we have to keep an eye on but at least there will be no surgery for now.  I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders and that I can finally take a breath, I have been waiting for months to hear those words from the doctor.  She hated getting x-rayed and had to be strapped down on a spine board so she wouldn't move but was rewarded afterwards with her beloved Smarties.  She will do anything for a Smarties treat, including climbing up and down the stairs several times trying to get just one.  Today I am just grateful that she decided that her car seat was a great place to sleep, she napped the whole drive to the Children's Hospital and back home again (almost 2 hours each way).  So by the time we got back home, she was wired and ready to tear the place apart even more.... I think my living room should declare a state of emergency, Hurricane Anomantia has struck for the last 4 days in a row!  I have some major clean up to do in there, so I am hoping for a 3 hour long morning nap tomorrow (technically today but I still haven't slept, so it is still yesterday to me, if that makes any sense?!?).  On that note, I am off to bed and just thought that I would share my happy news of not having to get my toddler operated on, mechanically she works-Yahoo!

Happy New Year...very late! and a new Update.

Well it has been a busy New Year, off to a sickly start for the whole lot of us.  We had a bunch of colds and a flu that went through all three of us.  Finally we pulled through and are enjoying the strange weather we have had.  It was beautiful and warm, followed by a big snowstorm and freezing weather (-30ºC to-50ºC) for a week and a bit and then warm again followed by freezing again and now we are finally back to unseasonably warm weather again.  This year, Laurence and I have decided to bust out the bucket lists and conquer a few items each.  A few weeks back his guy friends invited him out for a guys day on the lake, ice fishing, drinking and sledding.  I was so envious because ice fishing is on my bucket list.  It has always interested me and seeing as I have gone almost every other type of fishing I figured I might as well cross that one off my list too.  So the following weekend, we went out as a family to the lake to go ice fishing.  We didn't catch anything that day but at least we are equipped now with an auger and ice fishing poles we can do it again sometime and hopefully catch something.  Anomantia spent most of her time terrorizing the front seat of the Jeep.  She was too cold, and seeing as we don't have an ice fishing tent yet, she was in the wind outside. 
The transition of being on maternity leave to being a working mum has been a hard one for me and I am finally getting the help I need in order to survive.  Unfortunately it comes at a cost, I have to stop breastfeeding as the medication will leach through breast milk.  I have spent a lot of time thinking about it and crying by myself because I feel like I have in someway failed my daughter, but in order to help her better, I have to help myself.  This past month I have contemplated changing jobs, changing companies, going back to school and lots of other things but I think more than anything, I have decided it is best to stay put even if it means being away from home for 13 hours a day, 4 days per week.  I have also decided to take a few courses online to upgrade my certification.  Anomantia is in good capable hands with her dad.  And has also displayed to him that she can talk when she wants to and what she wants to.  Her vocabulary now includes:  wake up, debout, oh-no, uh-uh (shaking her head no), what (with lots of attitude), maman, dad, bye, night night, Oh Shit, and Sonofabitch. As well as the standard: ya, yeah, up, milk, jus, juice, lait, and dog (which is a cat to her).  She tries to boc like a chicken but it comes out toc-a toc-a and she makes wookie noises if you show her a picture of anything Star Wars related (including cartoon Ewoks).  She hates hats and anything on her head and doesn't like cow's milk, so we are trying to come up with some creative ways of getting enough calcium and vitamin A in her diet.  She now walks independently and loves it, she is starting to run and is always on the go.  This morning, I came home from work to find her asleep on my pyjamas with her dad's keys in one hand and one boot on, the living room is a disaster zone due to hurricane Anomantia, I can tell they had a lot of fun.  I am so envious that they get to play and hang out in the afternoons and evenings, I see Anomantia and Laurence only for a few hours on the days that I work as they are both usually asleep when I get home from work. 
All in all things in Gurneyland are busy as always and with Anomantia walking now, we are constantly on the go.  February brings great adventures for us including Family Day long weekend, the last trip to the paediatric orthopaedic specialist (knock on wood that everything is still ok with Anomantia's hips), more ice fishing, skating and anything else we can cram into an already packed month.  It is hard to believe that January has passed us by already, at least I have a start on my Christmas presents for next year!  We are doing a homemade year this coming year, hence the early start.  And yet again the question looms as to when we will be heading West again... This year the answer is sorry but we are going to stay put, we have no plans of travel at the moment, I don't have any holiday time from work because of being sick over the yule season and from only being back to work almost 4 months, I am back at the bottom of the line when it comes to holidays. And with all that I should head off to bed, another long day tomorrow.  Picture update soon, I promise!