Day 260 - Feelin' Hot Hot Hot!

Oh boy. Heidi was wide awake at 0630 when Jenn left for work, so that makes me somewhat coherent at 0630. I laid her down on the little mattress beside the couch & she did fall back asleep for an hour or so. Harrison was up at 0730 and him & 'Tina' played quietly (relatively). Pretty soon he asked me to play Bob the Builder (Can we build it? YES WE CAN!). Then it was time to play tug of war with 'Tina'. They ran around & around & around. It was quite entertaining to watch!


After I put Heidi down for a nap, I had a quick shower. I told Harrison to stay upstairs & watch Bob. I heard a bit of banging & when I went upstairs, the sliding screen door was lying against the deck railing. Oh dear. Well, I put it back on the railing & carried on. We put on our hats & sunblock & went outside to play in the back yard. We wrote on the sidewalk with chalk, blew bubbles, dug dirt, 'mowed' the lawn & Harrison drove his red car up & down the sidewalk. Still a wee bit paranoid about my dream from the previous evening, I kept a VERY close eye on Harrison. I had the video monitor with me, so I knew that Heidi was still sound asleep! Phew!


We went inside for some lunch about 1130. Heidi woke up at 1200. I fed her a bottle until 1215 & then Harrison & I went downstairs for his nap. We read a couple of books & then he laid down on the bed, head on the pillow, waiting for me to cover him up with his blanket. After I did, he said, 'Bye!' and that was it! Lights out! What a good boy! I'm lovin' this routine thing! What a great idea!!!


Mama came home shortly after & we chilled out for a bit. Once Harrison was awake, we went to town to order some supper. YUM! We had Vietnamese & it was delicious! I was quite full after only a small portion, but it was fantastic! We looked at some photos afterwards - I am editing Jenn's wedding photos in exchange for some movies. It's a great trade! 


I packed up my things & said farewell to Harrison & Jenn & motored home. Mom was doing a photo shoot at 1930 & I wanted to help. But. By the time I arrived home, I was wiped. I unpacked my things & was headed for bed when Unka Jer showed up! Oh dear. By the time I hit the hay, it was 0200. Yes, a 20 hour day. 


Thank goodness it was a sleeping day tomorrow! I'm wiped... See you tomorrow & NOT EARLY!!! :o)
xxxxxx
Maria & Valentina

Harrison & Upside Down Tina

I tried to get Harrison to stay upside down too, but no luck!

So the other day Mike gave Harrison the bag of Goldfish & he shook the bag. There were Goldfish everywhere! Valentina thoroughly enjoyed the smorgasbord & managed to get her head inside the bag to give it a good lickin'.

Harrison chills out in the van while we wait for supper.

Day 258 - SuperNanny Flies Again!

With a headache still slowing me down, I visited on the phone with a few friends this morning, while Mom panicked about the grease in the BBQ. Hint - If you visit & use the BBQ, be sure to clean it up! She was a wee bit cranky! Add to the fact that there was a MOUSE in the bottom of the BBQ & I was squealing like a stuck piggy! Eeeew! I do not like rodents!!!! I promptly grabbed Adios & put him on the little table where the BBQ sits. He didn't even bat an eyelash. Hmpf. Too bad he could perform at EVIC & not here! Apparently Adios had caught a few mice earlier in the morning, so I guess he had reached his quota for the day! In any case, it got my heart pumping quickly!

I was supposed to be heading up to Cochrane to hang out with Harrison & Heidi for a couple of days, but this head was not allowing me much enjoyment whatsoever! I laid down mid-afternoon & finally decided I was fit enough to get ready & go. I took a few things & headed out towards Cochrane with Valentina by my side. Harrison loves 'Tina', as he calls her, and the past few times when I've stopped in I haven't had her with me. The disappointment on his face breaks my heart! So, now I make sure 'Tina' is always there too!

The children were already sound asleep by the time I got there (about 2100). I visited with Jenn & Mike for a bit & then we decided to watch The Prince of Persia. Hmm... We only watched half of it, as it was a late start & tomorrow was an early morning... I will look forward to the end of it tomorrow! It was a slow start, but by the time we pressed 'pause', I was well into it! 

Wish me luck with the tiny tots! Sleep well & see you tomorrow! 

xxxx

Maria & Valentina

Photobooth Goodnight!

Day 232 - Supernanny Rides Again... & Then Sleeps!

Oh happy day! I slept in until 0745! I was loving every minute of my sweet, sweet slumber past 0630! Harrison was awake before Heidi, but not by much - Heidi woke up around 0800. 


We had a great morning together. Heidi had a bottle, diaper change & went to sleep around 1000. Harrison & I coloured, read books & I sang him a few songs. I don't think I could come up with anymore farm animal noises for Old McDonald's Farm if I had to! Harrison is by far, the first & only human being to enjoy my singing. I wonder if he's had his hearing checked... either before or after! I bought him a Toy Story book & we read it about 6 times. It was a one sentence per page kinda book, so I became quite adept at elaborating!


I filled his water table with warm water & he played with his cars & tractors for awhile, but he was quite concerned about 'Tina' & if she was going to come out & play with him. We had some snacks & Gold Star for Harrison - we made it to the potty every time! Yay! 


Pretty soon it was time for lunch & then a nap. I've never seen a toddler so well behaved. When I said it was time for a nap, he literally RAN downstairs & crawled into his bed (with my help, of course). He picked out 2 books, we read them both, he asked to go potty, we did & then he laid down, turned his head onto his pillow & said, 'Bye!'. Wow! I was impressed! No crying, no fuss, no muss! I knew that Jenn & Mike kept both the kids on a regular routine & it pays off! They are by far the most well behaved kids I've met! Harrison & Heidi are pretty good too! :oP Sorry, couldn't resist that one! I know where to go for parenting advice when the day comes!


Heidi had woken up about an hour before Harrison laid down for his nap. By 1245, she was getting antsy. I knew Jenn wanted to leave right after she was finished work, so I had packed up all of my things & cleaned up the toys & dishes. All I had left to do was my shot. Today was my first day of fertility injections & they had to be done at 1300. I didn't want to hold Jenn up, so here I was in the kitchen, pants around my ankles & a crying baby who wouldn't quit unless I held her. Like I need any more pressure when I'm about to stab myself in the leg! Bless Heidi's little heart - she hung in there while I did my thing. A few hot flashes later, I was cleaned up & keeping Mama's youngest happy & quiet! 


Mom came home shortly thereafter & we loaded everyone up in their respective vehicles & we were off! I survived my first 3 days, well, 2 days as Supernanny! Hooray! 


Okay, I'm exhausted. Can I go home now? Valentina & I made our way home & I unpacked & prepared my laundry. 7 loads! Yes, it had been awhile! I started washing & drying & folding & sorting & nope, it's not going to be finished tonight! I'm pooped! Again, how do these Mothers do it? I'm in awe...


Sweet dreams of sleeping babies & smiles & laughter...
Maria & Valentina
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Harrison played & played & played some more.

He was such a good little boy - at lunch time, I said, 'Okay, your lunch is ready. Can you sit at your table please?' He literally RAN to his table & sat down & waited patiently for me to give him his lunch! What a Superstar!!!

Their nifty little video monitor to tell what baby is doing. Note the clippers in the background. Harrison came upstairs with them & was putting them through his hair & my hair. I didn't think they worked, but Jenn later reassured me they did indeed! Thank goodness Harrison didn't find the right button - my head shaving party would have been much earlier!!! :o)

Day 230 - Okay, So I'm A LITTLE Tired...

Holy cow. How do Mom's do it? I couldn't settle in to sleep until 0100. The alarm went off at 0630. I have heard of this hour before, but I didn't want to believe that it existed! I had heard crying & movement around 0330 & then again at 0530. Oh boy, I have a lot to learn!


Jenn left for work at 0645 & both kids were wide awake. At least 2 of the 3 of us were. Harrison is 2 & Heidi is 5 months. I won't bore you with too many details. Well, maybe I will. Heidi is a beautiful blonde haired, blue eyed, smiling & content little girl. Harrison is a brown haired, brown eyed, little gentleman. They are incredibly well behaved - Mama & Papa must be doing something right!


We had breakfast, changed the diaper, bottle fed, coloured, sang songs (shhh, don't tell anyone!), watched Bob the Builder, played with Valentina & then Heidi went down for a nap. She slept for 2.5 hrs. In the meantime, Harrison, who is recently potty trained, had accident after accident. Me, not knowing the foggiest thing about childhood behaviour, figured it was simply because Daddy was away, Mama was away & here is this strange lady singing to me with her funny little dog... ?? We had a couple of #2 accidents. The first one, no biggie. The second one... Let me enlighten you...


After the first pair of wet undies, I couldn't find any pants for Harrison. As it was raining out & we would be indoors, I grabbed a pair of shorts. Then another pair. Then I finally noticed the basket of clean clothes in the living room. When I asked him if he was dry & he said 'No', but I could see the front of his pants told me otherwise, I thought, well, let's just change him in the living room. WRONG.


As I pulled down his undies to change them, didn't I just get an extra bonus falling out of his shorts. He was upset that he'd messed in his pants, so he was crying. When bonus #1 hit the carpet & I could see bonus #2 on its way down, I thought we better dash for the bathroom. Before I could pick him up, he stepped in bonus #1. As I picked him up, my hand cupping bonus #2 & his poor little bottom, Valentina makes a dash for bonus #1. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! We head downstairs, with the dog shortly behind. I put Harrison in the tub for a good wash & try my best to scrape the mud pie off of my hand, meanwhile I'm gagging & wretching with my back to the poor little toddler crying in the tub. We get scrubbed up & clean clothes on. 


I was really baffled, as he managed to finally pee in the toilet, but as I go to pull up his shorts, they're wet! We change them. No kidding, 10 minutes later he's wet again! Then another 20 minutes after that! I give up! Even the gummy bear 'treat' incentive isn't working! Well, Mama gets home & when I tell her the happenings of the morning, she said he's NEVER done that & she's never heard him so upset. (I'm thinking, oh my, I've scarred the poor child for life!) It turns out today was the day his 2 year molars decided to make  themselves known. Lucky me! 


After I knew that poor Harrison wasn't traumatized forever & he was happy to be with Mama again, I made a dash home & picked up my drugs, as it was time to start. I had to go for my ultrasound tomorrow morning. Unfortunately this meant I had to be in the city in the morning. Jenn had to work. Sadly, I couldn't convince my Mom or any of my friends to help me or Jenn out for a few hours. It was pretty disappointing, as Jenn's family really needs every penny possible! By the end of the night, she had to phone work & say that she couldn't come to work the next day. I felt terrible!


I decided to have a shower while I was at home, but before I even got in, I fell asleep on the bed! I woke up 2 hours later. Guess this Nanny thing is hard work! I drove back to Jenn's, but before I went there, I stopped at Safeway to pick up some Freezies for Harrison - just in case his teeth were bothering him again. Once I was back at Jenn's, we finished watching Alice In Wonderland. It was really good! I was so amazed by the creativity & imagination that went into it! Wow! By the time 1100 rolled around, I was beat. 


I hit the hay & that was that.
Maria & Valentina
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Peek-a-boo!

Valentina enjoys the house!

Saying 'Cheese' while playing the cars game on my iPod. Kindergarten.com has some brilliant apps to teach kids animals, transportation, fruits, veggies... It's a great distraction from boredom in Ikea, at home, wherever... :o)

My little action man!

Miss Heidi quite content!

Day 229 - Supernanny to the Rescue!

As all my mornings start with a BANG (not really) this was no exception. I did have that phone call from the Medical Registry at 0900. It was reassuring to know that I wasn't being ridiculous for inquiring about the number of years a Physician has been practicing. In fact, I discovered that Dr. Lategan graduated in 1988 from Stellenbosch & arrived in fair Canada in 1988. If you ever want to check out your Doctor's credentials, you can go the the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta & look them up! 


I was going to take the car to the mechanics to have an appraisal done on the damage. I phoned & he was going to be around. Duane is a local fellow that Mom uses all the time. He said he would send me down the road to his 'Body Man'. Hmm, think he could work on this 'body' & take out a few bumps & lumps here & there? :o)


It always takes me awhile to get up & running, so by the time I left the house it was 1430. I stopped in at EVIC to say hello to Shauna. I miss working with her & Joe, so I slip in on their working days & catch up on what I've been missing, which is mostly just them! :o) Shauna had a delivery shortly after I arrived & since I was already late, I left for Duane's. 


As my luck would have it, he wasn't there! I gathered he didn't go very far, as he said he was going to be home all day, so I settled in on the lawn with the dogs & my book. Sure enough, just as I got settled, he drove in the yard! He gave me Warren's number & directions to his place. I thanked him & away I went. 


Warren lives on top of a huge hill. I have no clue how they get to & from the house in the winter. Maybe they have a ski-doo they take up & down. The hill is so steep my car was spinning out on the gravel! But what a view from the top of the hill! Wow! I guess that would make the treacherous trip up the hill worth it! He took a look at the bumper & the trunk, license plate backing, latch, etc... He couldn't give me a quote on the spot, but he took my details & said he would fax me a quote after he'd looked up the cost of parts & so forth. For now it's a bungee cord!


I came home & shortly after, Jenn called. She needed a sitter. She wanted to take me up on my offer. Oh boy. She must be desperate! As I mentioned earlier, I haven't looked after a child since I was 14, let alone 2 children! But, I was determined to help her out. I forewarned her that I would have to go to the city for an ultrasound if I was to start my fertility drugs. I hung up the phone & packed my bags for 3 days of diapers, bottles & nursery rhymes... Wish me luck!


Maria & Valentina
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Waiting on the lawn...

Nice day for a drive in the country

The view from the hill

Note the steep road on the right!