Duckie or Tuesday??

I've started to plan my son's halloween costume.
Okay - I know that sounds crazy, but Martha Stewart I am NOT. And, for some reason I always feel the need to sew Matt's halloween costume.
Seriously. I bought a sewing machine when he was just a couple of months old, and the sole purpose for this purchase was in order to make him a halloween costume. I've made little else since. I've attempted pj's for Matt and Kyla (this was before Paige) but other than that it's halloween costumes.
So ...
Yet again halloween is on the horizon and I thought that I should probably start thinking about what Matt will be - since it will take me forever to make a costume (my time line includes several on the brink of tears phone calls to my sister, handing over some of the sewing to a friend and then getting my mom to finish all the difficult parts). I estimate abut 6 weeks.
So, today I explained halloween to Matt and asked him what he would like to dress up as for halloween.
He said "A duckie - quack - or Tuesday."
So I said "Tuesday?"
And he said "Not friday - Tuesday."
So, I repeated to him "you want to dress up like Tuesday?"
Yep.
So I pulled up a website of halloween costumes. I thought maybe he would be inspired by some pictures - maybe a dragon or maybe a pirate. He was intrigued by the elephant (way above my skill level), but still wants to go with the Tuesday costume.
I have no idea what exactly that means. He clearly has something in his head. I don't know what it is. So I think we will go and look at some patterns - try to figure out if there is, in fact, a costume that meets his expections of Tuesday.
Or maybe I will go with the duck.
Quack.

More Government Fun!!!

So today I made my call to the government - CRA - to figure out what on earth the stupid letter was about.
I decided to call early, sip coffee while on hold, and not lose my cool when I had to talk to an agent. I actually was fairly successful in my calmness.
The conversation, though, was bizarre. First of all, I don't understand why on earth everyone at the CRA is Mr. Last Name or Ms. Last Name. Whatever. The phone call went better than I expected. After several failed attempts at logging into the system, and sitting on hold for only a couple of minutes I finally spoke to someone.
I pled my case - how on earth can I be expected to send you more information when you don't tell me what info you are looking for?
Well, silly me. Apparently all good Canadian citizens (along with all good EA's for that matter) are fully expected to have a well tuned sense of ESP and KNOW that they were simply waiting for something from our 2005 tax return in order to let us keep the money they mailed to me.
Duh.
I should have known that.
Now I do. Situation solved. So, that information will be sent this weekend. And, once they receive the missing information I can keep the full amount of money sent to me. They will, so I was promised by Mrs. Whatshername, clear my debt and I will receive the child tax universal whatever it's called benefit properly.
All in all, not a complete waste of time.
But, I did point out, after I was given all of this information, that had they simply sent a letter telling me what they needed I would have complied.
I also pointed out that it's not fair to send anyone a letter demanding money back - especially when said money was supposed to be applied to childcare. When she said "I don't understand" I explained that I couldn't ask the daycare to refund one day's fee because I would have to send it back to the government.
She suggested I ask.
Seriously.
And, she also suggested I send them the info ASAP so this wouldn't happen again.
Okay. I will.
Rant over.
On to better things. Like the weekend in a few short hours.

Let's go to the Ex!

Yesterday I took the day off and Matt played hooky from daycare and we went to the Ex!
It was soooo much fun. Really.
Part of the excitement was probably because it was a last minute decision. We filled up the stroller and went. And, in case you don't know, my whole parenting philosophy is basically throw caution to the wind and go for it.
So we did!

The highlight of the day for Matt - at least when we started out, was that he got to ride in the streetcar. He LOVES the streetcar.

I was really impressed - he was totally well behaved. I think I maybe shouldn't have told him ig he stuck his hand out the window it would get chopped off. But, it worked and his hands stayed in the streetcar.

Anyway .... so, now for the stories in pictures.

This is in the petting zoo. Matthew loved feeding all of the animals. I freaked out. I hated feeding them. And then there was this woman who Matt tried to feed. Oops. She was overweight (not throwing stones here!) and she honestly said to me "is he trying to feed me cause I look like a cow?" Ummm. No? What do you say? She didn't, but I guess she was self conscious. Seriously ... he's 2!

After the petting zoo I took Matt to see the horses. This picture is a pretend horse. It's an automatic ride and you can adjust the speed. Matty climbed on and loved it. The woman even turned the speed up because he was loving it so much! The funny part was when I said say "yee haw" he threw his hand up in the air, just like a cowboy. Calgary Stampede here we come!!!

There were lots more pictures, but blogger won't led me load them.

More tomorrow, I guess.

Let's go to the Ex!

Stupid Government

I don't usually complain about the government. I really don't. I vote. I volunteer. If I have a major opinion on something I do something about it. These days it may mean writing a letter. In unversity I went to a couple of protests.
And, I really hate it when people sit and watch the news and then whine, and never do anything about it.
But allow me this vent for one minute.
We've started getting this universal child care benefit.
I think it's stupid. I mean $100 per month sounds great, but ... it's not that much.
Mike and I aren't eligible for any subsidies, and we have been paying roughly $1350 per month for daycare.
We got our first $100 cheque at the same time that our daycare fees went up by $8 per day. Perfect, I thought, as I cashed the cheque and paid our fees. I was pretty impressed. I was also a little surprised because I got the exact same amount ($100) as my sister who is a Stay at home mom (well, she got it twice since she has 2 kids) and another friend who is a single mom with the father not paying child support.
But, great. A child is a child, and frankly I think we should all get the same amount of money.
And then on Friday I got a letter in the mail telling me that I now owe the government $66.47. Apparently they need more information before they can allow me to keep the whole cheque.
This is ridiculous.
First of all - I pay tax. Every 2 weeks when I get my paycheque close to half of it goes to taxes. In addition to that I've been paying $75 per month to the government for an outstanding amount I owed for a previous year. And, I file my taxes.
But, this stupid letter saying I owe this stupid amount says they need information that I didn't provide. Why would I have sent them more information? I got a cheque in the mail. They didn't ask for any info. I didn't apply for anything. I just got a cheque.
And now they want me to return 33% of the cheque they sent me (which I used to pay for child care) and also send more info. What this info could be eludes me. They did not specify in this letter demanding money. They just simply told me I hadn't sent it.
HELLO - YOU ARE THE GOVERNMENT - YOU HAVE ALL MY INFO.
Clearly, I'm still annoyed. I decided to cool off a couple of days before calling them.
And then today I check the mail.
I GOT ANOTHER $100 CHEQUE.
WTF.
Are they complete idiots? Yes. I do believe they are.

Tired

I'm tired.
I thought tonight I would get to go to bed early. We took Matthew out all day, and he slept for only a little while, in the car, while I went grocery shopping and Mike sat in the car with him.
Seriously.
Matt got up and started entertaining me at 6 am. We went to the Burlington kids' festival for the afternoon. We then spent the evening at my parents' house where he chased his cousin around and played with one of his favourite adults. He should be tired.
I am.
We kept him awake in the car because we knew that it is impossible to put him down after he's had an evening nap in the car.
And, then, I even allowed him to sleep in my bed. Why? Because I had the blissful idea that we would doze off together, snuggled up in the bed while Mike was out having a beer with some friends.
But, no.
No no no.
Nice thought though.
Instead, here we are. 10 pm has come and gone and Matt is still awake. We gave up on the idea of being in my bed and decided to snuggle on the couch and watch the teen choice awards. Poor child was traumatized by a) Jessica Simpson's horrendous eye make up b) Britney Spears in her bizarre pregnant and slutty state and c) Kevin Federline. And, at this point, if I have to turn on Treehouse, Barney, Wiggles or Veggie Tales I will literally lose it. And then it happens.
My child pees on me.
Yep - I'm tired, cranky, freaked out by Britney and I get peed on.
It was the weirdest feeling. He actually peed on my lap, so it was the strange sudden sensation that maybe I was suddenly experiencing incontence. I just had no idea. And then I realized, and Matt laughed and I laughed and then I showered.
Ick.
So, now my wide awake monkey and I are watching Nanny 911.
Why? Well, cause it's 10:15 and my toddler is wide awake. And, it's really reassuring to watch parents who have worse problems than me. Ahhh!

He's a Big Girl (I mean Boy)

Matty's favourite line lately is "I'm a big girl."
Okay, he's a boy. we know. He doens't quite get that, but whatever. The point is, he is ready to be a big kid, he's growing up.
On Friday our daycare administrator approached me. She told me that she think Matthew is ready for "toilet learning". I knew this day was coming. I know parents anticipate it for years, or at least months. But, I honestly admitted to her that I'm not ready. I'm not.
I have no interest in discussing potties, cleaning up accidents, etc. etc. But, he is ready. And so I will suck it up an start training him. All the signs are there. He wakes up with a dry diaper. He tells us when he needs a change and he is obsessed with the potty. The morning he told me he needed the potty, pulled off his diaper, sat down and peed.
Okay - it was impressive.
I'm beginning to think he may train himself.
According to the daycare admin, there has only ever been one boy go to the preschool class toilet trained. I think Matt is scheduled to move up in October. Is this a challenge???
My friend's daughter pretty much trained herself. Salina had been trying for weeks, and then one day her daughter refused to put on diapers, would only wear underwear, and wanted to use the potty. Okay, it was pretty funny because she decided to do this on a day when Salina, Ginny and I were going to a playgroup, and when this little girl makes up her mind, it's made up. But the point is when she was ready she was ready. As is Matt apparently.
And this morning he told me he wants Diego underwear (we only have Bob the Builder). Ummm .... okay. I shall buy those (does this come out of clothing budget or out of our grocery budget where the diapers come out of - see questions I am unprepared to answer).
But, there have been other signs of him growing up.
First of all, his speech has changed so much. He talks in complete sentences and thoughts. It's pretty amazing. For instance he says "Matty hurt his knee yesterday. I'm okay now" Wow.
I love this speech development. I have always talked to him constantly. (shocker) and finally he responds constantly. Sometimes it's almost a contest to see who can talk first.
He is also really quick witted. Like, yesterday he kept doing the same thing over and over. Frustrated, I turned to him and said "Matthew I already said no." And he said "Mommy, I already said yes".
What???
Kids - they're amazing.

Strength

This week has given me a lot to think about.
We're nearing the end of summer, and with the last few weeks on the horizon we've been making a concerted effort to be outside, to spend time with Matt (that does not involve spending money, buying stuff or any other commercial interests). It's meant a lot of picnics, a lot of time at playgrounds, and in the end a much happier child.
One of the changes we've made is that we leave early every morning to take Matthew to the payground in front of daycare. He loves running around. And, I'm not quite sure if it's because we are paying so much attention to him or because he's just having fun being a kid. But whatever it is we are seeing a happier child. And, what I've added to the end of his daily routine is that I let him play at the playground when I pick him up.
We don't always spend an hour. Sometimes we only spend 5 minutes. But the point is that we are doing it. I've begun to understand that postponing dinner by a few minutes to play with my child is worth it. And, I wish I'd done it earlier.
But I've had lots of stuff to think about this week too.
Follow me if you will - one of my favourite bloggers has been talking a lot about the physical aspect of children. It is beautifully written and I love to read what she says, and what people say in response (badladies.blogspot.com).
It's not fair for me to try to paraphrase her because her writing and her knowledge and just general wisdom is on a level WAY above mine. So go read it. But, the point I think she is making is that we should be comfortable celebrating our children however we can - including their physical selves. It's beautiful and eloquent and well thought out.
But, at the same time, in my e-mail this week I've been following a story of a girl I used to babysit. I have kept in touch with her mom through e-mail for years. This family is one of the most wholesome loving families I have ever met. They have raised their children well, and I have consciously or unconsciously taken some of her parenting techniques and applied them to my own life.
And, awhile ago she sent me an e-mail telling me about some issues her daughter is struggling with. At the moment she is hospitalized with a severe eating disorder and going through extensive counselling, etc. In the last year she's fought this eating disorder and depression. At the same time she finished her first year of university with phenomenal grades, and was planning to spend the summer in China.
What happened?
I don't think anyone really knows.
I have my own thoughts on depression. And I'm not for a second suggesting or implying that her parents have at all contributed to any of this.
But it all makes me wonder how all of this is all tied to together. Here we are as new, young moms trying to love our children as much as we can, do what's best for them and help them to succeed. We're admitting our failures and applauding our successes. And, our kids are pretty cool.
The other day my husband said that he sometimes thinks Matthew is a perfect kid - he has his faults, but he's just so pure and fresh and full of love.
And then something happens. What? And how do we protect them? How do we let them go out on their own and grow up while still keeping them close. I don't know. And how do we try to take care of them while letting them struggle with their own battles.
The mother I was talking about whose daugther is literally fighting for her life ... I think she would tell me that you love them and keep loving them and trust that all of these challenges make them stronger.
I really hope that's true.

A cute little picture

This is my son and my niece. Total summer fun!

Cuddles

One of the things that we have gone back and forth on is the topic of co-sleeping, or, in other words, letting Matty sleep in the bed with Mike and I.
Some of my friends who are parents are big on it. Their kids sleep in the bed every night. Other friends are adamently opposed, and never let their kids sleep in the bed. Ever.
Our feelings on this are kind of mixed. Matt slept with us for ages, but the day we quit breastfeeding we put him in his own crib and that was the end of him being in our bed. He was 19 months, and in our eyes it was time. He never complained. He seemed to like his own space and actually slept through the night and we were happy. And so we went from Sears to Ferber overnight. Or so it seemed.
But lately Matt has been crawling in bed with us.
It started pretty innocently. While on vacation he had his own bed, but he was scared and would climb into our nice big bed. Then when we got back he was out of routine and wanted us to climb into his bed to help him fall asleep. We pushed back because we didn't really want to have to sleep in his bed every night. And after a couple weeks he was over that.
But lately he's been coming into our bed. Like on the weekend at about 4 am he'll hop in and sleep for a couple hours. My thoughts on this - it's okay because otherwise we'd be up at 4am, so if it means more sleep that's fine.
Besides, I kind of like it. I love that he snuggles up with me and I get the hugs that are so lacking when he is running around being a typical 2 year old.
And then last night, it happened.
We had a late night. Mike and I were shooting our last challenge for the show and Eric (Matty's godfather) was babysitting. We got home around 9:30 and then had some birthday cake for Eric. And, then it was 10pm. And, Matty was wired. Mike was driving Eric home and I was exhausted. So, I told Matty he could cuddle with Mommy.
I know it's a slippery slope. But, I was tired, he was tired, and I didn't feel like getting up with him 15 times. In about 10 minutes we were both sound asleep. Mike got home and neither of us woke up. He dutifully picked Matthew up and brought him to bed, and he slept all night.
So will he be sleeping in our bed? I don't think so.
I like him being in his own bed. But, sometimes, just sometimes, I think I will let him in. Because last night's sleep was so great!

Hubba Hubba!

Matty often says things that are hilarious.
Sometimes on purpose, sometimes by mistake, sometimes he mispronounces something and it makes us laugh.
But by far the funniest of his sayings is "Hubba Hubba".
Lest you think my child is already eyeing women, I should explain. It's part of a song as in
"hubba hubba world so high - like a diamond in the sky"
Yep. The famous Twinkle Twinkle little star. The problem is that he doesn't get that far. He just loves singing over and over again
Hubba hubba world so high.
And it kills me, every time.
Yesterday we were at the playground and I was pushing Matt on the swing. He loves to sing and swing, and over and over he just kept singing the one line. The people playing tennis just kept looking at him. Eventually he moved on to his ABC's.
Lately Matty's been talking a ton. He's on to full sentences, and he is understanding concepts. Like, if you ask him how his dinner is "it's delicious".
Yesterday I asked how he was and he said "I'm wonderful".
Or, "the white moon in the blue sky is beautiful."
I don't know where this all comes from. But, I love the positivity, and the excitement.
Hubba hubba!

So Much Miscellaneous Stuff

It seems like so much has been going on lately that I've missed out on tons of stuff and also haven't really posted on tons of stuff.
Work has been pretty crazy lately. My closest colleague went on vacation and in those 2 weeks I really really missed her and realized just how much stuff she does behind the scenes. Another one of our colleagues, also and E.A. went on vacation for a month (seriously, a month!) and so we've been filling in for her, and between all of that, some crazy stuff going on in the office and, well, just general life I realized that I hadn't even seen people who work in the same building as me in, like, ages.
I sent an e-mail to someone who works a few floors above me - and he was like "are you even working here?" oops. Okay, but this was the same person who called me a Drama Queen - so whatever. He needed some isolation!!!
Anyway, here it goes.
So, first my brush with celebrity.
Guess who was filiming outside my office yesterday? Donnie Wahlberg. Yep. Cool. I know. Even if you weren't a big new kids fan chances are you liked Sixth Sense. Plus, who doesn't like celebrities.
I realized who it was when I was walking across the street with my shopping buddy. we had just stopped at timmies for a coffee (I had 2 - one for me, one for Beth). When I saw Donnie I promptly handed over my coffees to our new VP - and tried to get an autograph. I wasn't allowed, but whatever.
Note to self - before throwing cups of coffee at your new boss (well, arms length boss) make sure that he knows you well enough to respect that sometimes you just need to be silly. Luckily he has 3 kids, knows that this was a moment of craziness, and actually sent me a follow up e-mail laughing about the whole thing.
Whew.
And, speaking of celebrities, I watched Entertainment Tonight this week. No biggie, usually, except that I realized I was totally out of the celebrity gossip loop. Who knew Robin Williams was in rehab or that Carmen Electra and Dave Navarro had split up? I'm still back in the land of Pam Anderson getting married!!! What is happening? Have there been any Suri sightings? I need to watch more.
But, in other exciting me news ...
This morning I discovered that I have lost 25 pounds. Now, since I'm doing weight watchers and I am technically supposed to weigh myself once a week (not once every 3 hours) it won't count till Monday, but still! I'm pretty excited by that. Though I'm also really just hitting that point of not being so enthusiastic about counting points. Tomorrow I will start again. I have a ways to go still.

Simon Says ...

Last night we discovered that the geniuses in our lives (aka the daycare teachers) have taught Matty a very new and effective game.
SIMON SAYS!
Now we don't play it exactly as it is supposed to go. Matthew doesn't quite understand that if you say "Simon says touch your toes" that you touch your toes, but if you just say "Touch your toes" you don't do it cause Simon didn't say it. But, whatever.
Who cares?
We have found a new way to manipulate our child without the dreaded use of the word no which always sends him into a temper tantrum. (Note that we do say no frequently, but try to use other words when possible so No has a bigger impact).
Last night he hopped up on the coffee table, threw his hands out in front of him (a la 'jazz fingers' in the movie Bring it On, which by the way, I love) and shouted "Sirens".
Mike and I looked at each other perplexed and both said "Sirens??"
Then Matty says "Sirens - touch your head" and touched his head, delighted by his new game.
And then suddenly we got it. duh. Simon Says.
We looked at each other and wondered how much magic this new game would hold.
So we played along. We did things like:
"Simon says Dance" and he danced.
"Simon says Touch your nose" and he touched his nose.
And then Mike said "Simon says take your shoes off". Matthew jumped off the table and took off his shoes.
This worked for the entire bedtime routine.
It was amazing.
And, in 15 minutes he was in bed.

Pearl Jam or Amy Grant??

It turns out that Matty has an eclectic taste in music.
Truthfully, Mike and I have very differing tastes in music, so we both have tried to educate Matt in the music we like. I'm more of a top 40, sing along to the radio, easy listening kind of girl. Well, kind of. I'm all over the map. The very first mix cd I created included Britney, Ozzy, Pink, Spice Girls and Biff Naked.
Mike's tastes run from Pink Floyd to ABBA to Beethoven.
And, considering that we were both educated in classical music, you never know what taste Matt will develop.
Let's just say it's bizarre.
Here's the thing. Matthew has a tape player, and when I was cleaning up one day I discovered an Amy Grant tape (circa 1987). Since it was that or the Wiggles, and I thought I would scream if I heard the Wiggles one more time, I decided to put it on.
Well ...
Matthew cannot sleep without Amy Grant. I walk around all evening while Matt is drifting off singing a few of the Christian Rock classics. I think this is good. I like the message, and I really did love that tape when I was in grade 6. (I went to Christian school - Amy Grant was the coolest!) It could be worse.
The funny thing about this tape is that it is Amy Grant Unplugged. Yep. I know that's funny. I can see some people who are reading this rolling on the floor by now. But, anyway, all the people in the tape clap and cheer (the audience) and so Matt cheers right along with them.
It's really cute.
But, then this weekend Mike got the new Pink Floyd DVD. He was very excited about this and insisted that we watch it.
Wonderchild that Matthew is, he has decided that these "movies" are better than TV. He sits with Mike just watching the light show and asking about the singers. It is truly truly bizarre.
And now we are wondering what exactly he will listen to as he gets older.
Hmmmm ....
Does a child's musical taste develop at the age of 2? What will he rebel and listen to?
I don't know.

Long weekend fun!

This long weekend rocked!
I think we all were ready for a break - and we actually finally had one.
well, sort of.
We were taping for the show on Saturday. But, given that it was the Saturday of a long weekend that started a one-week hiatus for the production, everyone was really quick. There were no extra takes, we got our challenge quickly, and within a couple of hours we were done. In fact, we were done about an hour before Mike's parents were done babysitting, so we took a nap and enjoyed the bliss that comes from a child free condo on a Saturday afternoon.
And then yesterday we didn't do too much. Of course we worked on one of our challenges (it is a tough one), and then in the middle of the day Mike's friend Zac came for a visit. It was just an impromtu cup of coffee, but it was nice to catch up, to laugh and just have a nice visit. Honestly, it's really nice to have people just drop by unexpectedly. And, it was just such a visit.
And, then today we decided to take Matty to Sherwood Park.
We haven't been there since the days of being dog owners (our dog, Jack, now happily resides with my in-laws in Peterborough where he is happier, better behaved and has an acre of yard to run in).
Sherwood is a leash free dog park, but it also has a playground and a water park. Matt was totally in his element with all the kids and dogs and water. It was fantastic. We spent a couple of hours just being outside, having fun and relaxing. And, there were so many highlights.
It was pretty cool to watch Matt interacting with other kids. He is so social and happy and will talk to pretty much any kid. And, the other neat thing was watching him with the animals. Right now we are really not ready to have a dog. Our cat is fine, but having a dog was overwhelming for us. But, someday we will. And, I loved seeing how comfortable he was around the dogs. He knows to put his hand out and let the dogs come to him. He's learned not to pull the dogs' tails and all of that. So it was pretty cute just watching him being a kid, playing and having a full day of Mommy and Daddy before going to daycare tomorrow.
I LOVE LONG WEEKENDS!!!

Friends

So, yesterday I was reading Rebecca's blog and she was talking about friends. In specific, she was talking about a thank you list for her book, but what it came down to was that it was a post on friendship.
And, it got me thinking - a lot.
It got me thinking about friends, how I define a friend, and how, perhaps others define me as a friend.
A lot of blogs lately discuss this whole issue of friendships when you become a mother (Heather wrote a good one, and I will figure out the linking thing soon).
But, really I got thinking just about the whole friends thing.
It's a weird thing to reflect on.
For me friends fall into several categories. There are the immediate friends - the ones you see every day. And, by this I am not referring to the acquaintances that you bump into or say hi to on the elevator. If that were the case I'd have about 200 friends at work alone.
But, really, at work, I consider myself to have only a few friends. Chances are, if you are reading this (or even better have me in your favourites, DD!) then I consider you a friend. And, work friends are tough because you see work people ALL the time. So, to become a true friend it takes time. Do you trust that person to not gossip about you - or at least not in a bad way? Do you like that person enough to go for coffee and lunch? If you felt like you were so frustrated by work that you need to confide in someone or quit can you talk to that person? Then, yep, that person is a friend, and I consider myself pretty lucky to have some good friends, who I happen to work with. And, I hope they think of me in the same way.
But, then there are the murky friendship waters that I don't really want to wade into.
For instance, if I haven't spoken to someone in years are they still my friend? I don't know. I hope so.
My best friend growing up still stays in touch. We never see each other. She lives on the other side of the country, and it's been about 15 years since we actually hung out in person and talked. Wedding gifts were sent across the country. We both shared some tears reading e-mails about post-partum depression (we both suffered it, about a year apart since my son is a year older thna her son). As we have gotten older we have changed. And, we are really different. Do I think that we would be close if we met again? I don't know. But, deep down I still consider her my bestest friend in the world.
And, then there are the friends that I just don't see enough of, or call enough, or write enough. Like, Susie. She was my maid of honour. She is Matt's godmother. She was the only person (other than Mike and the 6 million doctors, midwives and nurses) I allowed in while giving birth. And, she's off following her dreams as a midwife in Windsor. And, I haven't once hopped in my car and driven out to see her. Why? I don't know. But, I love her, and she stills ranks up there on my friends list.
And, other friends too are in that category. Are we growing apart? Kind of. I don't call them for everything. We don't share all of our heartbreaks anymore. When we get together we don't just automatically know where to start the conversation. It's a little rocky at first. But, then we do get talking and it is a ton of fun. It just takes time.
I still see a group of highschool friends - sometimes we get together monthly, sometimes not for a couple of years. Some of my mommy friends from mat leave I just don't have time to see, but I still miss and still consider them friends.
Am I saying I'm just way too popular for my own good? Yep. That's it. That must be it. I just have way too many friends!!!!
I'm kidding of course.
But, in my books, if you're my friend, you're my friend. Period. It may be minutes or it may be years. But, I really do believe that unless we've had some falling out there's always hope.
I guess the best way it was ever described to me was by a friend in 9th grade. She said that friends are like boyfriends. At first everything is hot and heavy. You want to spend all your time with that person. And, then you get used to each other. Some people break up and others become the couple that are together all through highschool.
And, it's true.
So, to my current hot and heavy friends, YOU ROCK! And, if we're not so hot and heavy right now, you still rock. I just need to pick up the phone one of these days to call you and let you know :)
But the nice thing about friendships as opposed to relationships is that you can have more than one friend at once and no one's feelings will be hurt.
Oh - and about that friend from grade 9 -- we did have a falling out and we never speak anymore. And, lest you think she is super intelligent from that one piece of wisdom her other favourite saying was "you can pick your friends and you can pick your nose, but you can't wipe your friends under the couch."
Yep. Whatever!
Happy long weekend.

Hurry hurry get the firetucks - ding ding ding ding ding!

Last night Mike and I were again doing more taping for this show I keep talking about. It's actually becoming fun now that we're not terrified of the camera, we are used to people in our home and we feel like there is actually a point to what we are doing.
And, the other perk of this is that it requires us to do some taping minus Matty. And my sister has been kind enough to host a couple of sleepovers for Matthew on nights that we need to be in Toronto.
Last night was such a night.
When everyone left, Mike and I went on a late evening date which was pretty fun. We had pizza at 9:30! We just went to this little pizza place we love, and had a slice and chatted. Really, we rarely do this, we were starving, and it was fun. And, I even stayed up past my normal bed time!!!
Why?
Because Mike was going to drive me to work the next day which meant I got to sleep in till 6:30. In my world of 5:30 am alarms, sleeping in is a big deal. (as it is for everyone).
And then it happened.
At 5 am the fire alarm went off!!!
Of course. Why wouldn't a fire alarm go off when we get a chance to cuddle up and sleep an extra hour?
It's not that I mind fire alarms that much. In the middle of the day they are cool - Matthew would have been thrilled to see the truck, and being the amazing mom I am I truly would have made myself semi decent to bring my toddler to see the fire truck, but he wasn't there!!! Of all days.
But, I did find myself drawn to the windows to see the firetruck regardless.
I have no idea why the alarm went off.
My guess is that it was the humidity. When I was in highschool I was a waitress at a seniors residence. The alarms went off fairly frequently in the summer - and they always said it was due to the high humidity.
Funny how those alarms were way more thrilling than these alarms.
At the condo when the alarm goes off I inevitably go running to the closet to get decent clothes on (they never go off when I look decent), try to find the cat carrier to pack up Mojo if we have to leave, and make Matty a bottle or get a snack.
In high school it was a little different. All of the girls would run to the bathroom to make sure we looked decent, put on lipstick, and look as caring as we possibly could while waiting to run out and offer the firefighters cookies. Someone would always end up asking some sort of question to get them to stick around and eat the cookies. It was a wonderful thing.
This morning - not so much. It did, however, afford Mike and I the time to share a cup of coffee before heading off to work. So, in the end, it was worth it.
PS - that subject line is the title of my friend Salina's favourite song!!!

Different babysitter - Day 1

Yesterday was day one of our teenage babysitter.
Why didn't I do this earlier? Seriously, after one day Mike and I decided that we most certainly are going to use babysitters more often. Why?
Okay - first of all, and most importantly, Matthew was happy.
Not that we knew that when we came home because he was asleep. He was curled up comfortably on the couch, sound asleep, listening to MuchMusic. I suppose some people may not enjoy the MuchMusic background, but seriously, in raising a child who is cool and fits in music appreciation is key, and quite honestly all he ever watches with us is Treehouse. Is it possible that she changed the channel after he fell asleep? Perhaps. But, I really get the impression that he was happy to watch her shows. (I shall now attempt to tell him we are watching "Erin's show" and turn on Much and see if that works.)
The other funny thing - he became addicted to the word "awesome" - he even had the tone of the word down. Adorable.
So, we made him corn last night and he sat eating it and said "Yummy corn is AWESOME".
Hilarious. He then proceeded to tell us everything else that was awesome.
And, on top of the fact that he was entertained, exhausted and saying new words, our house was clean! Seriously, she made his lunch and then she cleaned the whole kitchen and ran the dishwasher and then put everything away.
We were shocked.
I left her a note today to say how Matt was great and give her some cash for ice cream or something (I sort of forgot yesterday to do that - oops). I debated mentioning that there was no need to do dishes. But I thought better of it. I also thought better of making some helpful suggestions like laundry, vaccuuming ... I'm kidding of course.
Truthfully, I spent a few summers as a babysitter. It was pretty fun - and a lot of work. And, I usually did try to keep the house clean, do the dishes, etc. etc. But, I forgot about all of that - and I forgot how wonderful it is to have someone help with all of that.
It's really too bad I love daycare so much because I could totally go for having a nanny who kept the house kind of clean, ran the dishwasher, started dinner. My life would be so much easier.

Just for the week ... I want to be Matty!

I've decided that as of this morning I want my son's life this week.
I know you think I'm kidding, but I'm not.
Since the daycare is closed we are in Oakville, and this is the week that Matthew is spending with my parents' teenage neighbour. Last night she and her mom came over to chat, to ask some questions about Matt's schedule, and to make sure that certain things were okay.
The conversation was a little along the lines of this.
Babysitter: Does Matty nap?
Laural: Only if he feels like it. If you think he needs a nap and he'll sleep, sure. Maybe he'll just want to hang out with a bottle and watch tv and that's cool. Up to you. (he hasn't really been napping consistently, why force it)
Babysitter: What does he eat
Laural: We have tons of stuff here - there's Kraft Dinner, etc that he can eat. He may only want fruit or chips. If you're happy and he's happy we're happy. So, whatever. If you want to eat at your house, he'll eat whatever.
Babysitter's mom: Can we have the car seat and take him swimming
Laural: Yes, here's his life jacket and swim diapers. Have fun.

Seriously, this week it's a week of fun. Not only does Matty love the people who are watching him (officially the teenager, but her mom is involved, and her 10 year old sister actually plays with him. Like, she takes him down slides, does underdoggies, etc.) but he's doing tons of fun stuff. Since the babysitter is next door he gets to sleep in. We bought all the yummy food he likes, he gets to go places in a van (which to him is incredibly exciting).
Wow.
And, to think that I was worried about this week. Really, I just want to be him.

Happy 30th Becky!

Yesterday I had a semi-surprise birthday party for me sister.
For thse who don't know her, she is my complete opposite. We are 20 months apart, and as different as you could imagine. Where I am chubby, dark haired and very talkative, my sister is skinny, has curly red hair and is reserved.
So, when planning a birthday for her I had to do the complete opposite of what I would want, while still making sure that it was something that had my signature on it.
So ...
Yesterday I invited her 4 closest friends over and we had an in-home spa pedicure party.
It was a ton of fun.
What I told her was that there was nothing to be stressed about, to wear jeans, be relaxed and look forward to a good day. I didn't tell her who I was inviting, so when she came in she was surprised by who was there. It had taken a bit of advance planning because everyone there has kids under the age of 4 (Kyla, Becky's daughter is the oldest and she just turned 4), and we all had to get our husbands to babysit on a Saturday.
But, we pulled it off.
And, for just over 4 hours we sat around sipping coffee, eating junk food and being pampered. It was a pretty fun way to welcome in the next decade of my sister's life.
Plus, we all kind of needed it. I really think there's nothing better than sitting with a group of friends and just chatting about what's going on in life - to share the highlights and the lowlights, to get advice and share advice. We talked about everything from biting to husbands to kids to movies.
As far as the actual pedicure thing. That, too, is a cool story. The woman who arranged it all has an 18 month old, and she runs this business out of her home because she wants to spend more time with her daughter. I found her through a web site about mom businesses, and to me it seemed perfect to get someone who also was a mom. You know - my issue - support other moms as much as possible.
Not only was she really cool and friendly, but she also added to the conversation. Actually, I will put a link to her site because she was good, and she had great prices and really nice - I would totally use her again.
Happy birthday Becky!