Monday, March 16, 2009

Day 6-11

Day 6: March 11, 2009 - We stayed in because Ed and I still seemed sick.


Day 7: March 12, 2009 - Ed was getting better but we skipped out on Mother Goose anyways, don't want to risk getting other little ones ill.


Day 8: March 13, 2009 - We were feeling much much better, went to Dufferin mall with some cool Junction Moms, Ed fell asleep in the car on the way home and I only had like 2hrs before his second doc appointment so we headed over to Cloverdale mall, I fed and changed his bum, we strolled around Kitchen Stuff Plus and then got back on the road to St. Joe's. So crazy because the nurse gave him his shots, but instead of nursing him she wanted me to hold him facing her with his feet between my knees and holding his arms by his side...I was nervous but she was finished before Ed or I even noticed and he barely flinched. We picked up Daddy afterwards and headed to Subway for supper :)


Day 9: March 14, 2009 - We didn't do much, the weather was gorgeous. I did head out and picked up Ed's next car seat, Safety 1st True Fit. It seemed to get good reviews on http://www.car-safety.org/ (comparable to Britax Marathon) and it was on sale at Zellers. Thanks RFD.


Day 10: March 15, 2009 - Playdate with Junction Moms while Dad cleaned up dog poo and maple keys outside. Made homemade rice cereal for Ed, he wasn't too fond until I added pears. We took his socks off because it made him look like a little hillbilly :) He was really enjoying playing with the spoon more than the food and yes I usually strap him in :P


Day 11: March 16, 2009 - Sarah was supposed to come out to Earl Bales park with us for a urban hike with the Urban Hike Group :P but she was sick...boo :( Ed and I went after getting lost because I didn't realize there isn't a Bathurst St exit while going east on the 401, ah duh?!?! It was a beautiful day and I met some more nice moms :)

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Day 5: March 10, 2009 - Doc Appointment

I swear my baby doesn't look sick, his sleep is a little messed up and he's sporadically coughing and sneezing and he still seems a little hot, but otherwise his regular funny self :) I haven't figured out if he got me sick or if I got him sick, my throat feels like sandpaper in the morning and the evening...I hate being sick!

Ed was supposed to get his shots today but because of his fever the doctors didn't want to give them in case he reacts to them, which wouldn't be good on top of his cold. I finally decided to get the blood taken for my thyroid test, I feel like things are probably fine but it'll be interesting to find out for sure since all the women on my side have thyroid issues.

I've cancelled all my playdates this week but am hoping that we miraculously get all better by the end of the week so we can have a good weekend...did I mention I hate being sick!! The calendar is full and I hate missing out on my daily outings, they keep me sane.

Anyways, here's the photo of the day. Ed has recently started sitting up without support fairly well, here he is propped up on his change table and looking in his circle mirrors, he loves them :)

Monday, March 9, 2009

Day 4: March 9, 2009 - Recipe Exchange

So today our activity was a recipe exchange with the Junction Parents at Cool Hand of a Girl. What a great little shop, I had never been before and tried an avocado sandwich for the first time ever...so good :) Half the ladies ended up cancelling for various family emergencies or last minute notice (with the RSVP/waiting list system) but 5 of us still made it out and enjoyed chatting it up, eating lunch and exchanging recipes.

I almost thought I was going to have to cancel for a while this morning, Ed woke up at 6am this morning -- very unlike him and I noticed that he was boiling in his sleeper. I changed his bum and took him back into bed with just his diaper. It took him about a half hour to get back to sleep just in time for DH to start snoring...by 7am the alarm went off and Ed was still boiling, I took out the thermometer and he had a slight fever. He's never had one before and it bothers me that he's so hot all over. I get DH to call his mom and we give him some Tylenol. Once dad leaves we go back to sleep till 10am!!!!! It seems like his fever is a little better and he's not boiling all over but then he starts wincing his eyes...he's never done that before. He was fairly well behaved while we were out and we didn't actually get back till after 1pm so he's tired and napping. I'll get his 365 pic sometime later this afternoon or tonight. I'm concerned for my little dude but luckily we have a doc appointment tomorrow so that's fairly convenient.

Day 3: March 8, 2009 - Daylight Savings

So I'm a day late and I realize I'm not gonna because to keep up with a blog a day...there just aren't enough hours in a day...especially since spring daylight savings steals one from us. Ed didn't wake up till 9am on Sunday, which was really 10am. The worse was the night time, he was already staying awake till 10pm before the change...last night was 11:30pm before he finally decided to sleep. I tried the whole night time routine thing but he just doesn't want to sleep at that time. We had previously tried CIO for about a week almost a month or so ago and after a full week we saw no progress so decided to put it off for another month or so. I'm leery about starting it again, it was really hard to deal with. I can't really complain because once Ed does go down he's only up a few times during the night to eat and since he's in bed with us...I'm half asleep and hardly notice.

So Sunday night was eventful but during the day we mostly just hung out around the house, not much going on at all. This is supper time with avocado and banana, me trying a technique in photoshop to isolate the messy puree:

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Day 2: March 7, 2009 - Hanging with Aunty Sarah

Day 2: I had recently got a BabyCenter email:
Many babies are happy and outgoing at this stage. If yours is, then this an ideal time to show her that other people can love her almost as much as you do. Try letting her spend some time getting accustomed to warm, trusted caregivers and babysitters. The experience will help her feel more secure a couple of months down the road, when separation anxiety makes its entrance and your little extrovert becomes more reluctant to leave your side.
With this on my mind I decided to talk to Aunty Sarah about her previous offers to babysit, we had hung out earlier in the week so Ed and her had a chance to reacquaint with each other. He even fell asleep on her in the Ergo while we had walked around the ROM...so cute!! So Saturday came around, DH and I had decided to go see Coraline in 3D downtown (it was great btw). This was Ed's first time being away from Mom and Dad, the entire time leading up to it I didn't think I would freak out but I did a bit, trying to think of everything I could to possibly tell Sarah: his likes, dislikes, toys, food, dogs...yabbber, yabber, yabber...on and on and on :)


Of course Ed decided to take a 1.5hr nap and only woke up as we should have been leaving the house, so I nursed him quickly and we took off...after getting stuck in a few traffic jams we made it into the theatre just as the previews were starting. Aunty Sarah tell us that Ed was great for her...I had suspected that he might be but was still a little nervous. I think I was the most amazed that he had even went down for a nap...something Dad and I even had a hard time with not so long ago :)

Day 1: March 6, 2009 - Balmy Swinging

I found this great idea about documenting a year in the life of your child with photos, basically taking a picture everyday to see how they grow and change. I went back through Flickr and tried to see if I had any significant consecutive sequence of days but there are huge gaps between picture taking in the past 6mos so I figured I'd start now and get Ed from 6mos to 18mos. It will also give me an opportunity to hone my photography and Photoshop skills.

So since the weather has started getting a little nicer and Ed's gotten better with his neck and upper body strength I've wanted to get him to a swing at a park to see how he likes it. On two separate occasions I've passed parks while on foot but Ed's been sleeping and I never wake my sleeping cutie :) On Friday we went to Ed's first birthday party, we had a great time hanging out and playing with the other babies and moms. The weather was so nice, something around 14 degrees, I decided to walk over to the Junction with the stroller. Barely 15mins into the walk I had to take off my jacket because I was sweating....YES!!!

So after the party, DH wanted me to head over the Blockbuster and see about buying a video game so I took the long way around Keele and the Stockyards. Ed got a little fussy after finishing up in the store so I put him in the Ergo and proceeded to push an empty stroller home. We were passing a park and he was awake and the weather was still great so he went for his first swing...YAY! He was a little apprehensive at first but overall enjoyed himself.

Here's Day 1:

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Declutter Challenge Week 1: Desk/Office-Part 2

So I spent the better part of last night and today going through the papers, so many papers. I had tax stuff from well over 10yrs ago...it was always the folder that I avoided because it was so fat with documents. I've purged the papers now I just have to develop a system to organize it once it comes into the house and then I'll decide if I need to get some more organizing equipment.


I also took the time to sign up for ebilling with the remaining companies I hadn't bothered with before. Surprisingly, Superior Propane is only utility that doesn't provide any sort of online capability.

I still have to look through the insurance and auto papers. Then I'll just have to send off the garbage with DH so he can shred it all. With regards to the desks, I've done a cursory sweep of the desks but there is still quite a bit left to do and it's really not as easy to do this as before Ed came along.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Declutter Challenge Week 1: Desk/Office-Part 1

kickypants has offered up a decluttering challenge which I have accepted and the first project is the desk and office area. I have two desk/office areas in my house. One is downstairs in our family room and used frequently as it has the only computer in the house atm. We have another "computer closet" as it's been dubbed upstairs but since Christmas it's computer busted and I haven't had an opportunity to fix it. The computer closet has the luxury of having doors so it can be closed off when the desk gets overwhelmed with stuff...let's just say the doors have been closed for a while and it's recently become a major dumping ground.

I've tried several times in the past to get these areas under control but they are #1 on the list of reoccurring offenders. I guess I've yet to come upon a system that works for me on a regular basis. The problem is papers! I am inundated with papers, more and more papers and I only get like 3 paper bills now a days. I took "before" pictures tonight...I can't believe I'm going to post these, it's very embarrassing, lol :)

Main Floor "Computer Closet" - yes those are butternut squash, lol, they need to be kept somewhere cool and this area at the back of the house is a little cooler and they needed to get off the kitchen table :)


Family Room Computer Desk

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Pimp my Ride Mom

I fell in love with babywearing before I even got pregnant. I'm such a nerd by the time Ed arrived I had made my own ring sling, pouch, mei tai and wrap. I've used them all but in all honestly the ones that have gotten the most use are the pouch and wrap. I ended up borrowing a stretchy wrap (like a moby) from a girlfriend and used it for several months exclusively but the messy winter weather puts a hamper on tying those tails, not to mention I was having to re-adjust it more often as Ed has gotten heavier. The pouch was great while he was newborn as it was quick and easy, but he hasn't been cradled in there forever...we've moved onto the hip and sometimes the kangaroo carry. The wrap is good too, nice and comfy and the one I made does not stretch so Ed does not end up near my knees but it's still winter so it's restricted to the house.

I like the mei tai but it still has those long straps and it's still winter, I wanted something faster and easier for DH to deal with so I decided I wanted a soft structured carrier, which has buckles instead of knots. It was a really hard decision between an Ergo and a Beco but in the end I was able to get a cheaper secondhand Ergo from Kijiji. I totally stole an idea from The Baby Wearer and pimped Ed's Ergo...apparently we now have a Pergo :)



Using the stolen idea, I got a snap tool and made an interchangeable panel for over the pocket. I then removed the hood and made it interchangeable as well. The best thing is that a fat quarter is exactly enough for the panel and hood so by the end of this adventure I'm sure I'll have quite a stash of different designs.



Action shots to come :)

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Colds and Cooking

I can't believe it's been a month since I blogged last, it seems like forever ago.

Ed is 5mos now...that is totally insane! I was finally getting back into the swing of things after going away for the holidays when he goes and gets his first cold ever...he was still a fairly happy baby throughout it and luckily never got bad enough that he ever had trouble nursing. The issue is that I had a really full week of activities planned and the weather wasn't that bad, but once he got sick we couldn't playdate or visit other babies so we ended up inside the entire time.

I did do up a meal plan for the first time in a long time and cooked like crazy that week, even a lemon loaf...that I ate all by myself in two days!!! LOL! I had decided to do some decluttering and went through almost 3years of WISH and Chatelaine magazines...ripping out all the recipes that looked good and articles I liked or hadn't read (or don't remember reading). I picked out a week full of meals and made some things I'll definitely make again and others that just looked good but didn't taste as nice. I used leek and savory cabbage for the first time, made a Moroccan braised chicken dish with raisins and apricots and found a faster and better way to make cabbage rolls--which I love so much!

My computer still isn't fixed, I think my mobo is fried and I'm trying to get a cheap second hand one but it's so old they are few and far between. I haven't even been sucessful in getting the other computer to read the old hard drive and IT'S DRIVING ME NUTS not having the stuff on that disk :( and having to go to the basement for computing.

I'm hitting up my local moms' baby food exchange party tomorrow, for my contribution I made organic butternut squash puree. I'd never even bought a squash before, except for Halloween pumpkins for carving. I bought way too much squash...which I believe was probably an issue with my metric to imperial (and vice versa) conversion; I have 2 huge squash left over, luckily they last for up to 3mos--maybe I'll try some soup. I was using my Super Baby Food book to help me prepare it and it was so easy...the most time consuming part was straining all the puree through the only sieve I have which is practically the diameter of a soup can. I'm super excited to get the stash of assorted solids from the other moms, which will include prunes, carrots, apples/pears, sweet potato & cinnamon, banana & quinoa puree, and banana peach oatmeal.

Monday, January 5, 2009

My Computer is Dead :(

Well I knew it'd be a while before I posted because of holidays, but then I come home to a busted computer. Being the nerd that I am I usually freak out but at least I have a backup in the basement...but I can't move it and am now without the requisite music player upstairs to facilitate easy nap times for Ed.

Oh it's been so long since I built a computer or had to fix a major issue, this sucks...and I have very little time to tinker around with it to boot. I have no POST, but did just find a tutorial to run through...one step at a time when I find the time I guess.

I feel like I was just getting used to being at home with Ed, then Christmas and holidays hit and now I feel like I'm starting all over again.