April Fools Day!

So I thought it was some kind of a joke... Earlier this week (Monday or Tuesday, I can't remember exactly), I was trying to get Furia to latch on it was close to 2am when I heard someone banging on our front door.  I freaked out and woke Laurence up to go see who it was.  By the time we got downstairs, there was no one there.  However due to a fresh snow fall, we were able to tell that someone had driven up to our place, got out and came to the door, knocked twice, and then returned to the vehicle which drove away.  All this left us totally baffled as to who would have been at our door in the middle of the night.  We were still speculating as to who it was yesterday, but this morning we get a strange phone call from the Police saying that there has been a few noise complaints against us... playing loud music, kids screaming, things banging around 1am in the morning.  The Constable said that he had been to our house at the time of the first complaint but we didn't answer... WTF!!! We have Anomantia who is 2 and sings in her bed if she wakes up in the night (which is very rare) and Furia that might cry while I try to get her to latch on as we bed share, she is never crying for long.  As for the loud music, I don't even have a set of speakers that are loud... I have no stereo, just my Zune with a set of computer speakers that I listen to music but never after 11pm and it is definitely not loud especially if Anomantia has gone to bed.  As for the banging, if the wind picks up, it'll make our garden shed shake and it kinda bangs, but it is made of cheap metal siding and currently the door is broken.  Things have been relatively quiet with our dealings with the RCMP but I think the Wicked Bitch of the West (The evil old lady who lives to the west of us), must be getting bored and starting to stir the pot again.  She called the cops on us several times in the last five years and is a miserable neighbour to have.  We are not the only ones to think this either, she is miserable to our other neighbours as well.  I have a friend who knows her grandson and even he doesn't like visiting her.  She doesn't celebrate Halloween and yells at the kids who come to her door on Halloween because she won't turn her lights out. 
So when I saw the RCMP number show up on the call display this morning, I thought it was some kind of joke!

I can't remember where I found this picture, but I thought it appropriate for today.

Today I am starting my new program and routine, I am hoping to declutter the entire house in 30 days.  I am following a few of the Flylady techniques and changing it up a bit to fit in my needed diaper changes and nursing times for the girls.   I will try to post updates daily this month all depending on how the process goes and how much time it takes away from doing fun stuff with the girls.  I am off to start flying and spend more time with my lovelies.  (Anomantia is blowing kisses at the screen.

Another Month is over

I realised today that March has come to an end and April begins tomorrow.  This month the weather has been back and forth trying to decide if spring is allowed to start or if it is going to snow more and stick with winter.  We have busy with the business and I feel like there are days where we are running all over the place for peanuts.  This month, I have been struggling with the worst part of my depression (part PPD, part depressive episode - been dealing with these since I was a kid) this year and am still fighting the ugly behaviours.  I am lucky I have the support of my husband who can tell me straight when I am falling into the funk again.  I have decided not to drug myself again as I tend to go through a period where things get way worse before they get better.  I have managed to pull myself through with the help of my amazing sisters and loving husband who have lent me their ears on days when I didn't think I would make it.  But sure enough, I am still here and I am still fighting and I do it not only for me but for my girls.  I truly hope with all my heart that they will never have to suffer or struggle like I do with mental illness. 
March is another one of my crazy months... mostly because I miss my mum more than ever on her birthday (29th march).  This year she would have been 56 years old, and in August it will have been TEN (10) years since she passed away.  I wish so often that she could see me now, how far I've come and see her beautiful granddaughters (all four of them!  Not just my girls but my sister's as well).  She would have been the most amazing Grandma.  So this month in honour of my mum, I made sure to kitchen dance with the girls, painted the windows with soap, cuddled more and read more books, I try to laugh and love them more everyday to make their lives happy and full. 
This month we also wanted to wish Liz(30th) and Banauntie Megan(19th), very happy birthdays too! 

The fight isn't over yet but I will prevail all in due time!  And tomorrow is another day, so I will keep on going one tomorrow at a time and soon enough things are bound to get better.  In the meantime, I am starting a new routine program for the whole family starting tomorrow, fingers crossed that it works.  Love to all and hopefully you don't get too Fooled on April Fool's day.

Today and upcoming sewer repairs

I just got a notice in my mailbox that the alley behind our house is having some sewer work done this week.  The note also included instructions saying that our sewer service will be temporarily shut off.  Obviously I am going to have to find somewhere else to be during the SIX (6) hours that we will have no waste water capabilities.  Their instructions are as follows:
1. Do not was clothes or dishes. (Yahoo... a holiday from the chores!!!!  Catch up will be a pain in the butt the next day, but a break nonetheless!)
2. Do not take showers or baths. (Yikes!  I will have a messy child that day!)
3. Do not flush toilets. (Better hope that we don't have to use the diaper sprayer either otherwise it'll be stinky in my house!)
4. Do not operate sump pumps which are connected to the sewer system. (Don't have one so it doesn't matter.)

I was thinking I should take the whole family to the recreation centre for the afternoon (work pending for Laurence), that way the kids have fun and I get them clean after hitting up the pool and play area.  Furia will most likely sleep the whole time but Anomantia can go haywire!  

I am just glad that the weather has been so nice today.  I woke up to Furia projectile puking sour milk all over herself (in her hair and all).  So it was off to the shower for the two of us, got us all cleaned up and dressed and had time to nurse and get her back to sleep before Laurence and Anomantia woke up.  Once the rest of the family was awake, I made breakfast, got Anomantia dressed and playing with a mouse (electronic not live) and keyboard in the kitchen while I did up some dishes (Sigh, Yes my dishwasher is still not working).  After the clean up, I changed Furia's diaper and fed her again.  By then Anomantia was going into the pantry to get at some food and decided that peanut butter was the food of the day!  Peanut butter and homemade raspberry jam sandwiches (insert a couple of verses of Fred Penner's version of the Sandwich song, originally by Bob King, here) for lunch.  Wiped off Anomantia's face and hands, changed Furia's diaper again, nursed Furia again, go Anomantia ready to go outside to play... looked at the clock 11:30am!  Wow this day was moving slowly.  Went outside and played in the sun with the neighbourhood kids... sidewalk chalk season is finally here.  Anomantia has a couple of new words "heart, chalk and Attention".  She has started singing songs in her own little babble language with a few comprehensible ones thrown it, it is Fantastic!  I had to carry her home at 3pm because she was tired and had sat in a mud puddle and was soaking wet from that (her diaper was still dry on the inside but soaked on the outside!).  She was not to happy about having to go back to the house but she did put up a good fight.  Right now, both girls are napping (yay!) and I am taking a few minutes for myself with my lovely cup of tea.  I guess the chores are waiting on me too... better get a moving to get things done before the toynado strikes again. 

New Beginnings for my feet!

 Today, of all days, would have been my mum's 56th birthday.  She was an amazing woman and everyday, I strive to be like her.  She was the best person I have ever known and I wish we had of had more time together.  This August will mark 10 years since she died and there isn't a day that goes by where I don't think of her.  I love you forever mum!  She taught me to enjoy the little things and she loved her runs... so today I have retired my old runners, and got some new ones!

 This is what 3 years of well used runners looks like... 2 pregnancies and a hell of a lot of love, my New Balance 474's have bit the big green weenie and are done.  They definitely have been through a lot for me, but I am finally ready to move onto the new shoes (with better support for running). 

 These awesome specimens are my new shoes... yes, I am very excited about getting new shoes, it has been THREE (3) years since I went shoe shopping for myself and I think it is well worth it.  They are neon orange and black (it is Halloween everyday in Gurneyland, just looking at my feet!) and really comfortable.  I am looking forward to breaking them in this weekend (hoping that the weather holds and that no more snow is in store).

I know I typically post about the girls here, but today they are napping and I am marveling at my new runners... it is funny because I so rarely buy anything for myself other than stuff needed for work (ie: Carharts, boots, gloves etc...) this is a real treat having something brand new for ME!  So I am off to stare at my feet for a bit and hopefully get some knitting done before the girls wake up.  Ciao!

Cake and Poop!

As in my previous post Anomantia begged me to make cake today, so I did... Chocolate Devil's Food Cake with a Brown Cow Butter cream icing (yes there was Kaluha in it).  And for some out of my mind reason, I served CAKE for dinner tonight.  I guess I didn't realise what time it was (the time change has really thrown me for a loop this time) and I served Anomantia a giant piece of that beautiful cake.  After eating her cake and specifically asking for more when I realised I had better give her something other than sugar, I gave her a bowl of soup (leftovers from lunch).  She has refused to eat the soup (still sitting on the table- 45 minutes later) and decided that eating a banana (Danna as she calls it) and drinking water is good enough.  I am still waiting to see if she is going to eat the soup. 

Today has been one of those National Lampoon type days for me, everything goes wrong when Laurence is out or just in the garage (stepped out of the house for a minute and shit -pardon my language- hits the fan).  I get all the crazy things today.  Anomantia using the toilet then peeing on the kitchen floor, so I threw her in the shower because she smelled like pee, ran upstairs to change Furia and pull the cake out of the oven, get downstairs to get her out of the shower to find that she pooped in the shower (UGH!), my day can't get any worse.  I had to run out and get Laurence's suit from the cleaners and pick up a parcel from the post office, I get home to find that Anomantia is soaking wet (peed through her diaper and pants) again... I have had it with her not using the toilet, I have no idea how to get her to potty train, but this summer she will be bare bum until she uses the toilet properly.  I have tried training pants and pull ups, but she just runs and hides to pee and poop and won't use the toilet.  I had to get rid of our potty because she was so scared of it that she refused to go into the bathroom if it was in there.  So for now, it has become a point of contention in our house, Anomantia must potty train so she can go to preschool.  She could care less if she goes to preschool or not, she really has no interest in other people or kids at this point and I am still trying to find a way to make her interested in learning.  She does things her way and in her time at home so why doesn't the rest of the world work on her schedule too is the attitude I get from her.  I desperately need to get her on a schedule, that way she might be more interested in doing things differently. 

Spring... or so it should be!

20 March 2012

Well it is officially the equinox of Spring!  I am still undecided if spring has really arrived in Gurneyland.  My checklist is still on the verge of winter and I am finding the transition to spring difficult to believe that it may actually be here on time this year. 

1. the snow is still on the ground- I can see half of the yard but the other half still has a good 20-ish cm (that is 8" for the non-metric users) of snow on the rest of the lawn. 

2. The greenhouse door now opens (no longer snowed shut).

3. Our Vegetable garden is still completely covered (yet the mud somehow finds its way onto my carpets... I HATE beige carpets!!!). 

4. Allergies are in full swing.

5. I can see the dust and pollens in the air but it is still too cold to open the windows and air everything out.

6. The weather report still has that ugly red bar across the top of the page that screams WINTER WEATHER WARNING IN EFFECT!

7. I still have to carry spare socks around in the diaper bag for myself (I am prone to stepping onto a chunk of ice just to find out it is actually an ankle deep puddle of slush).

8. I go into the hardware store for a small part and end up looking at seeds for an hour (or until a diaper needs to be changed -  or whichever comes first).  

9. Anomantia insists on puddle jumping in every puddle with her snow boots on and when she gets water on herself, she yells COLD!  instead of just trying to spray anyone walking by with water as she does in almost every other season.

and 

10. I am dying to get outside more... the cold wind still requires the extra layers, but I am feeling the need to be outside with the girls, if I could only convince them that it is a good idea.  (Soon, it will be easier as Anomantia is able to open the side door into the yard- I am just glad that our alarm system tells us when a door is opened and I can monitor where she is... most of the time she is downstairs harassing Laurence to play Batman on the computer.  

As the days are progressively getting longer and the weather is getting nicer, it will be harder for me to justify being on the computer as much as I have been lately.  I guess that the few minutes that I managed to squeeze in here and there during naps and screen time, during the nursing sessions and after bedtime, I am working on juggling a new schedule for our life here with two girls.  Having Furia has been an absolute joy and Anomantia is starting to adjust to having her Baby Fifi at home, the MINE stage has been showing its ugly face a lot lately.  Sharing is a difficult concept when she really hasn't had much exposure to other kids her age or other kids period for that matter.  I have been trying to socialize Anomantia with other kids so she can grasp social interaction, she however finds it easier to interact with animals or just sits and plays by herself, just not interested in anyone else.  

 23 March 2012

So I think I put my foot in my mouth with the above posted stuff... since then, we have been having intermittent snow periods and tons of flurries and fog... spring should be coming soon (I hope!).

I am realising how much time my children actually take up in a day... As I type this, Furia is nursing, Anomantia is sitting bare bum on a waterproof blanket on the floor and I am finally getting my first meal of the day and YIKES, it is 3pm!!!  So far today, I got up with a fussy plugged nose baby, cleared her nose, changed a diaper, nursed, got Anomantia up and gave her cereal for breakfast, washed up some dishes, picked up toys and folded a load of laundry, turned skype on for Anomantia to talk to her grandparents, nursed some more,made a peanut butter sandwich for Anomantia, had a cup of tea, vacuumed the family room, vacuumed the office, mopped office floor, made tomato, bean and spicy sausage soup from scratch for lunch, did some dishes, talked to Laurence for 2 minutes before he ran out the door while getting Anomantia onto the toilet, changed another diaper for Furia and left Anomantia half naked.  It doesn't feel like much but it really is time consuming.  I wish I had an extra pair of hands on days like today.  Oh Boy, I just turned around to check on the girls, and the flurries have turned into a full blown snow storm... So much for going outside to play this afternoon, it is just coming down too much for Furia to be out in it with her nose already running, probably not a great idea.  I guess that I will just have to find projects for Anomantia and I to do inside... I am thinking about making play dough for tomorrow when it is an all girls day.  Laurence has to head North for a fraternity thing and who knows how long he will be gone.  This afternoon he is visiting some brothers in the hospital.  I am glad he has found ways to connect with people around here. I just wish they had something like that for me.  There are days when Gurneyland is quite lonely for me as there is no family close by and it seems that almost all my friends have moved away.  I have to go, Anomantia has told me that she wants cookies (we don't have any) but I told her I would bake a cake instead.  She is currently pulling at my arm and telling me to make a cake... I guess I will.

 

Saint Patrick's Day and March 18th Photo Bomb

 In the morning the girls got dressed up in their Saint Patrick's Day GREENS... Anomantia wore her green waffle shirt and Furia wore her emerald wool longies. 

 Furia looking cute on the couch in her woolies. 

 St. Paddy's day special, I made paint and introduced a new medium to miss Anomantia for some creative fun with green soap paints.

 Window painting with a soap paint that I made... my windows are super clean on the inside today!

 So proud of her paint brush skills, Anomantia just had a blast.

 March 18th after breakfast the girls were hanging out on the living room floor just talking to one another, it was really cute.

Furia wearing her Kanoko pants that I knit for her.  I love the fit and will definitely knit more from that pattern, they are far easier to get on than the other ones that I have made.  And the slippers are awesome too... they are a gift from Melanie and family and they fit her perfectly.