first birthday

happy birthday to you
happy birthday to you
happy birthday dear mr. liam the light of my life, my favorite little person in the whole world i can't believe you are one year old already!!!
happy birthday to you :)


pre-birthday banana peel... why not right?


the birthday cake my mom spent close to 10 hours making


one of the 2 little smash cakes my mom made for liam. these are using a special cake recipe that won't cause him to get sick


the birthday boy enjoying his birthday lunch. pizza, broccoli & strawberries


auntie kim looking on


playing with Kynan in the pool


god momma meg in blue entertaining matt & jess


nanners & liam chilling for a bit


liam enjoying some afternoon corn on the cob


rachael & arianna playing together


carole, meg, kynan & mishelle partying it up for liam


liam enjoying a pre-cake bottle with nanners


the birthday boy getting ready for his cake...


this is the start of the meltdown which occurred as we began the birthday song. what is it about the birthday song that makes kids lose it?? full meltdown in 3... 2.... 1....


awwwwweeee he didn't even touch his cake

yesterday was good because it was liam's first birthday, but bad because he was a bit sick. he woke up with a low-grade fever. after his morning nap it went up to 101. we gave him motrin, discussed canceling his party but because he seemed to be in good spirits (playing, giggling, smiling, cruising around) we went through with the party. in hindsight probably a big mistake for which i feel terrible.

about an hour into the party everything with liam started to go pear shaped. he got more & more clingy, never leaving my side (except for the corn & bottle), he was okay when someone was holding him, but would not let anyone put him down. he freaked out for the cake & then crashed in the car on the way home. he felt so hot but it was hard to tell if he was still feverish or if it was because of the sun - we had a scorcher yesterday & almost everyone was scrambling to find shade. thank goodness god momma meg's backyard had some shady patches. the bbq was a success & i think everyone had a good time - i know it did :)

when we got home after the air conditioning of the car we realized it was fever & not sun. his temperature went up to 103 so we called the on-call dr. at his dr.'s office. she said it was probably something viral but to keep dosing him with motrin & take him into CHEO if he got worse. it took about an hour of whining, crying & clinging before the motrin started to kick in & his fever went down by .1 degree, then 1.1 degrees, etc. he went to bed the normal time & i went into give him motrin & 6oz of milk at 11. he was burning up, back up to 102. i stayed with him for a bit, put him down for the night & prepared to be woken up at 5am with screaming & a boiling hot baby.

this morning i woke at 7am to the usual squeaks & lalala's. going into his room i was not sure what i would find. he was standing up grinning at me. i flooded with relief. rushing over to feel his head i was shocked that it was cool. taking his temperature it was a respectable 98 degrees, sometime during the night his fever had broken. thank goodness.

what a birthday!! thanks to kim & brad for making the drive with 11 week old gwen. kim with mastitis & feeling horrible suprised us all by showing up at meg's house when we thought they were still in hamilton unable to make it. liam is a lucky boy to have such loving relatives. my parents have been with me since thursday night so it was with a lot of tears and "please don't go's" that i walked them to the door this morning. i will miss them terribly & am feeling lonely in ottawa without them. we missed becky & justin horribly, but liam absolutely loved their gifts. we couldn't have had this party without meg & astar. they helped us by decorating, rushing out to get a booster seat for liam, cooking all the meat for the bbq & cleaning up after. it meant the world to me that they did so much for liam. all the guests, thank you so much for coming & for the presents, you were all much too generous. liam is such a lucky, lucky little boy & i am so blessed for having such great friends. here's to another year mr. liam. cheers!!

do canadian working mom's do it differently?

yes they do! find out why by reading my article "Do Canadian Mom's Do it Differently" over at Mommy Track'd.

do YOU think we have it better? leave a comment to let me know what you think... eh

last day of being a baby

insert tears here

today is liam's official last day of being a baby. every time i think about it i get all sniffly. this year has had so many ups & downs, but i can't even imagine my life without him. not to be cheesy, but he's literally the very center of my universe.


still crawling up a storm, but taking steps here & there all by himself


hives the result of chicken primavera


liam's favorite new thing to do while i cook dinner


such a good little helper!

and so it goes

that on day #3 of eliminating bread from all but one meal a day i have lost another pound

okay

so my chart sucked. it sucked large. you can't blame me for trying... its because lately i spend way, way too much time mucking around in charts at work. i like Power Point way more than i should considering its a program on a computer and not a scarf i can wear or a pizza i can eat.

there is something really soothing about making pie charts and line graphs and bar graphs. here's why:
- i like making them into pretty rainbow colors so my eyes don't hurt (the default colors are disgusting)
- i like how amazed everyone is that i was able to figure it out & this makes me look like super woman even though when they tell me that i roll my eyes & say something like "oh its so easy" (deep inside i appreciate the compliments)
- i like that when i'm playing Power Point i don't have time to fit anything else in my head

go here & vote for my pie chart!

all you have to do is CLICK HERE and then on the thumbs up sign so my chart makes it to the main page

that stinks

for christmas my sister becky got liam this amazing stroller bar that he absolutely loves



it has just been recalled :( such a bummer because he adores it. he's played the music in the elephant so many times its batteries are dead. the mirror under the hippo's face is smeared with mouth goo from his dribbly little smile as he chats away to the baby in the reflection. he hasn't even had the dexterity yet to master the squeeker in the giraffe's nose. booourns. to that!!!

parentdish explains the specifics of the recall

hey clicker

shout outs to you!!

thank you, thank you, thank you for clicking on an ad on my blog, not once, but twice in one day

thanks to you i have almost $9.00 coming my way (total for the month of august)

all it took was one little click. one second of your time. all you did was click, then close the page that opened (if you didn't want to read the ad)... words can't express how happy i am that you took the time to support my little blog. seriously, i have tears.

bikram

last night was my first night back at bikram. as i lay in the middle row (bad choice because i was directly under the heat vents) i realized just how much i'd missed it, how hard its been having no physical release (okay, get your heads out of the gutter!).

the man behind me, i felt very sorry for. a few times he had to lay down, his face purple, the veins & tendons standing full attention on his neck & chest. the girl in front of me looked like she'd been going to bikram for a long time as she did all the moves, but she kept making pivotal mistakes... like keeping her wrists bent when they should be straight & pulling her toes to the side, instead of directly up behind her head. i was also surprised that the teacher was a chubbers. i've never seen a chubbers bikram teacher before...

there were two new people in the class, obvious with their awkward postures, confused facial gestures & utter shock that yoga could be so difficult. when i first saw him, he was wearing a ball cap, a black t-shirt & a pair of black shorts. his mate, a pretty brunette, was wearing normal work out clothes. he looked like a meathead, which made me laugh, because these meathead guys almost always start bikram looking smugly confident that they'll be able to pick it up "like natch" & end bikram hat less, shirtless, sweating buckets like the rest of us, completely drained. he was no exception. it was fun watching as first the ball cap went, then the shirt, then the socks, then the dignity as mr. beef'inator was forced to lay down a few times & even leave the room when it got too hard.

admittedly i had the leave the room as well because my water was so warm it tasted like soup & the heat on heat action (bones to skin) was making me more than a little throwy-uppy. next time i won't be forgetting to toss a couple bottles of water into the freezer the day before so that i have nice cold ice to suck on mid class.

when i got home last night i arrived just in time to give liam his bath & put him to bed. i ran a warm tub & crawled right in with him. we played for 15 minutes with his squishy bath toys while i shampoo'd his hair & washed his little body. we both laughed as he enjoyed first filling, then dumping a cup of water over & over again. he is my #1 pride & joy. this little son of mine. afterward, i got him out but left the water in, settled him in his pj's, gave him his bottle & tucked him into bed. once he was snug as a bug i went back into the bathroom, ran the hot water for-e-ver & had a long soak with epson salts. which didn't do any good because ...

i am damn sore today! every movement my muscles are screaming in protest. every shake of the head, my spine feels like its going to whip right out of my body. my upper arms are aching. my lower legs feel like jelly. i can hardly stand, let alone bend over & scoop up my little son.

it doesn't matter. bring on the pain. its good for my soul right now. i feel so guilty for making the hardest choice of my life recently (more about this soon) & this pain is a way to punish myself. both my owie's match, my soul owie & my body owie. i'm going to push myself (my body) the absolute limit & maybe that way i'll be able to squash the horror, guilt, absolute terror thats been consuming me lately.

i also lost 5 pounds since last week. i am going to be jamaica ready (in my body at least) in no time.

trimming the bushinator

some LOL's for your friday


see Obama pictures


see Obama pictures


see Obama pictures


see Obama pictures

four for friday

1. What is in the back seat of your car right now? a ton of crap. empty mcdonalds sacks, vinyl books for liam, toys for liam, a couple pairs of heels, a few gift bags (to grab on the fly), an old umbrella... probably a few empty timmy's coffee cups... a map?
   
2. When was the last time you threw up? a few months ago when i had food poisioning. damn you fish!!!
   
3. What's your favorite curse word? the "F" word, usually with "Motha" attached to the front when i'm really getting upitty
   
4. Name three people who made you smile today. i haven't seen three people today, its 7:25am. i've seen dave at work & thats it. i think i smiled at him. can i drink my coffee now?
   

the dr

yesterday we all went to the doctor because, yes, we're still sick but no we don't have anything bad, just nasty colds all around

at the weigh in for liam we found out something really strange. he used to weigh 30 pounds, now he weighs 23. that's a 7 pound weight loss since the last time i weighed him at home

now i know what some of you are thinking "you weighed him at home? how accurate is that?"

pretty darn!

my scale at home matches the scale at my mom's and the scale at my friends house. so i know its accurate

7 pounds... sigh... how is that possible? its true that he's stopped consuming food like a horse, its like he's just not interested in eating anymore. he drinks all his bottles so i'm starting to wonder if that's part of the problem: too much milk filling him up leaving no room for food

is this something to be worried about?

steps

liam took 3-4 steps by himself yesterday maybe 3 times total; all day we kept trying to get him to walk & he would do it but he'd cry the whole time (poor muffin). it was adorable. i'm posting because i don't want to forget when he walked for the first time

don't be afraid

"don't be afraid"
"only write the truth"
"don't edit your work because you are shy about what you're writing"
"never, ever censor yourself"

all sound advice given by my journalism prof given many, many years ago

so it is with this advice in mind that i debated back and forth. do i post my article? don't i? if i do, how many people from work will read it? if i don't, does that mean they'll never find out? or if they do find out - do i really give a shit? do i give a shit what my old 'friends' from highschool think? do i give a shit what my extended family think? do i?

yes and no

its a constant struggle for me on this blog. honesty. a lot (A LOT) of my friends, family, co-workers, friends of friends, family of my family, etc. etc. into infinity read my blog. which means, more often than not, they know pivotal events in my life before i have a chance to tell them about it in person (or rather my mom finds out about pivotal events in my life from her friends or sisters before i get a chance to tell her myself and then feels left out, which is hard for both of us and our relationship).

often i get grilled about a subject when friends or family see me in person before i have a chance to prepare for the grilling. or they question the legitimacy of such-and-such post; which is fine and good because it keeps me on my toes. that's the price i pay for "getting my writing out there" & it doesn't matter how strange or weird or annoying it is, i'll never stop. writing that is. writing the truth. writing the real stuff that maybe no one else wants to write about.

so, after much deliberation internally i commit - again - to my code of honestly on this blog and share this link from mommymatter with you my readers, an article i wrote entitled "Oh the places my boobs have been"

ps. we're all sick. since saturday evening its been gross at our house. this is my first taste of having to be a working sick mom who can't take time off to nurse myself because i know, in the back of my mind, that i need to save my sick days for when liam is really sick and can't go into daycare. truthfully i miss being selfish. all i want to do is lie in bed, suck on HALLS and watch bad tv. i have a bit of a fever. sniff. sniff. someone hug me :(

the farm

last weekend my work hosted a family day at a farm in Ottawa, the Lone Star Ranch. everyone & their families went & it was a fun day of ponies, horsies, bouncy castles, trucks, one freaky ass clown & balloon animals.


he did a lot better with the horses. the pony he wasn't so sure of


me petting the pony to show him it was okay


liam really enjoyed the part of the ranch with the big yellow trucks


he cruised around the picnic table like it was nobody's business


my hubby shaun also got in on the action. boys will be boys!


on the way there liam thought it would be fun to try to eat his feet

today is my good friend Shannon 3's birthday (so called because i know 2 other shannon's & she is the 3rd i've met in order of first to last). we are going to a beach in Fitzroy Harbour for some fun in the sun action. there is supposed to be a BBQ at Shannon's sister Kelly's house in Kanata after but i doubt we'll make it ...

you see, liam is sick with a nasty cold. having attended daycare for 2 afternoon's last week i'm pretty sure he picked it up there. this morning i woke up with a scratchy throat. as we were grocery shopping i asked shaun how he was feeling & he said his throat was dry & scratchy too. which i guess means we all got liam's cold. thanks daycare!! so we're going to the beach but playing it by ear after that. we're not sure how much action mr. liam can handle today.

i'll update with pictures tomorrow. have a great sunny saturday readers :)

milestones

the other day i was giving liam a bath. since moving to the big-boy-bath tub he's been a bit.. um.. annoying? yep, annoying. he constantly wiggles around, tries to stand, falls down, bangs his head, sucks on the water (cup, sponge, cloth, toys), tries to catch the bubbles, grab his belly fat. the list goes on.

the hardest thing is when he stands up. we are worried he will hurt himself like he's done a few times, slipping as he sits down (nothing serious, more afraid than hurt)

so the other day he stood up in the bath. i caught his eye & very firmly said "liam sit down." he smiled at me & then - HE SAT DOWN. i grinned & praised him & he seemed very proud of himself. a bit later he stood up again, i caught his eye again & said (firmly, again) "liam SIT down." AND HE SAT DOWN. he knew exactly what i said to him. he understood me.

he is also obsessed with the dog's food. still. the fascination went away for a short while only to be re-discovered again. he loves to play with the water dish. he likes to stir the food, picking up the pieces one-by-one & dropping them on the ground to see where they land. the same day he listened to me in the bathtub he also responded to me when i caught him in the dog's food - again - and said (sternly, again) "liam, stop that now. Come here!" (pointing in front of me). he sheepishly crawled over, pulled up on my legs into standing & raised his arms to be lifted up. he understood me.

i knew this day would come. it had to come. he is growing up so fast & can't stop it no matter how much i wish we could. i love that he can understand us, but now its a whole new ballgame. no more swearing, no more clandestine groping in the kitchen while he innocently looks on... suddenly we, the parents, have new parental controls in the form of an almost-one-year-old-boy

who, by the way, woke up screaming bloody murder last night after getting both his hands & all his fingers stuck in the open weave in his "cuddle" blanket. poor muffin.

honking fail

can't stop watching. laugh so hard every time i hit play. the action starts around 9 seconds in. there are so many funny things about this video, lets break them down;

first - skater boy can't land a trick

second - granny was working on crossing that side walk long before Mercedes came along

third - revvvv revvv scare tactics, intimidation, bahahahaa (you just know this guy is a fast ... um.. finisher)

fourth - go granny go "grandma gonna knock you out"

fifth - absolute embarrassment. priceless!! airbag FAIL

four for friday

here we go!

Q1 - Revive: When you're dragging or lacking energy and on the verge of letting out a succession of yawns and you have work to do, what do you do to snap out of it?

eat a piece of fruit & if that doesn't work, drink a cup of strong coffee. picture (in my head, i'm not going to make a drawing) my boss yawning with her mouth closed during the sales meeting & snicker to myself. sneaky boss lady... no one saw - at all... haha

Q2 - Turning: Do you turn your blinker on when you're in a clearly designated and differentiated turning lane?

yes! there are only two types of people i want to slap. directors that use the title of their programs in the text of their programs (ie. i love this show "Eureka" but whenever the scientists yell "Eureka" i want to punch someone) AND people who don't use their freaking directional! its obnoxious. who do they think they are?? do they think the rest of us can't see that their car is switching lanes or turning corners? its unsafe i tell you. unsafe!! it should be mandatory. everyone should HAVE to use the directional at all times. everyone. so many times i've wanted to be a cop just so i could nail some stupid jackass moron non-directional user. wow, i am getting really pissed thinking about this.. end of rant.

Q3 - Tracking: BrickHouse Security recently partnered with Duracell batteries for a national advertising campaign to highlight the lifesaving value of child locator devices/beacons. BrickHouse's device is said to helps parents relocate wandering children before the unthinkable can happen. If you have small children, have you ever considered using such a devise? If you don't have children yet, is this something you think you'd use?

hahahaa! um, no. i don't think i would use this device. not on small children anyway... on my husband maybe. it should be mandatory for all teens.

Q4 - Olympics: At initial glance, one might think the International Olympic Committee blundered by awarding the 2008 Summer Games to a city in a totalitarian country that aids Darfur's thugs but considers the Dalai Lama a menace, and that censors political debate but can't silence the hacking coughs from some of the planet's most polluted cities. The four other finalists for the 2008 Olympics were all fine and attractive cities that were most certainly less controversial than Beijing (safe to say we wouldn't have seen "Free Saskatchewan" protests leading up to a Toronto version of these Summer Games). And perhaps that's precisely the point: whether it was the IOC's intention or not, due to all the surrounding sagas, Beijing seems to have made the Olympics interesting again. Regardless, with concern for environmental impact and human rights existing across the globe, do you think the U.S. and other countries should have boycotted the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, or do you think having them in a communistic country will eventually lead to democracy for that country?

yikes, politics at 7am. yawn. um. yeah. i think... what do i think? i think.. um... what was the question again? oh right. r-i-g-h-t... um. um. um.

okay. i'm not about to pretend i have an opinion on this subject. truthfully, i don't even have television so i haven't watched any of the Olympics. yesterday's Ottawa Citizen had a few articles about the "gong show" the Olympics became during the opening ceremony & i have an opinion about that. like the rest of Canadian's, i'm shocked & appalled that the little girl who sang the anthem was lip syncing for a not-as-pretty little girl (who wasn't chosen because of her chubbers cheeks & sleepy hollow scissor teeth); i'm surprised that the audience was faked in some areas & i'm let down that the fireworks you saw (not me, i don't have tv remember) were digitally inserted into the program for your (not mine) viewing pleasure...

sigh. honestly there is just so much wrong with the world that i can't focus on any one problem before i finish my coffee. fade to black...

jamaica, spanx & diets

yesterday at work we had our monthly breakfast meeting where the seniors go over our corporate goals & the progress we've made in the last month etc. at the end of the meeting they announced that since we had such a good year they're taking us ALL to JAMAICA for 4 days and 3 nights.

what??!

yes. friendly island Jamaica. we'll be staying at the Gran Bahia Principe. our hubbies, wives, gf's, bf's and besties are invited to come too. amazing no?

yes... and no... yes because its Jamaica and - hello - work is paying for me to go.

no because its Jamaica & everyone from work will be there. think about it: there is a HUGE difference between tromping around in a bikini in front of strangers & tromping around in a bikini in front of all your co-workers. yikes. double yikes.

the spanx i wear under my everyday clothes (the slim congnito seamless mid-thigh bodysuit) will show if i try to wear it under a bikini (no shit). so the DIET is on! its ON!

tonight i'm starting bikram again. for those who don't know - back in the day - i used to work at the Bikram Yoga College of India here in Ottawa (before the college closed down because the owners moved to Ireland). back then, i was ridiculously thin & stupidly flexible without a jiggly bit on my whole body.

here are some pictures for inspiration


i am front & center all in black


there i am again, about to lower my head down & touch my knee

i know, beyond a doubt, that i can get back to this if i cut out carbs, start eating right & go to bikram at least 3 times a week. i was a zero 0 in these photos - ZERO. i am currently a size 6-8 depending on the clothes.

watch as i drop +20 pounds in less than 3 months - you have my promise. i am going to do this.

re-enter the workforce with ease

real life advice from yours truly

check out "Re-Enter the Workforce with Ease" published on Type-A-Mom

did i hit the nail on the head? did i miss anything? was there anything you would have done differently?

leave a comment & let me know what you think (because your feedback really does matter)

belly laughs

my new favorite blog. every day it gives me much needed laughs


see more pwn and owned pictures


see more pwn and owned pictures


see more pwn and owned pictures

daycare

went really great. i was worried for nothing. liam ate all of his lunch & then had a 1.5 hour nap in the afternoon. its such a relief to know that he's okay with daycare...

apparently he did burst into tears a few times when H's son shrieked - but we know this about liam, he can't handle loud kids, they scare him. he'll get over that soon enough!

meal times with celiac disease

check out my article "Meal Times with Celiac Disease" published at Mommy Matter. it should explain a bit about what we've been dealing with in our family since Liam has been on the celiac disease diet.

which is apparently spelled Coeliac - giant OOPS!!

damnit, my crappy spelling problems strike again

nicole kidman

i think she faked her pregnancy

think about it. it took forever, literally, for her to show. them blamo - one day she just had a big belly, not huge, but respectably noticeable.

she never looked puffy, she didn't look like she gained any weight at all except in the belly. we never saw her huge & lumbering like other celebrities are near the end of the pregnancy. she didn't show her bump off at all. she was out in public a lot but it was always really well hidden...

one day we heard that she "had" her baby & a week (7 days exactly) later she's back out in public skinny again. not just skinny but looking EXACTLY like she did pre-baby. exactly.

i don't care who you are or how much money you have, no one looks exactly like they used to a week after having a baby. no one.

she's a big faker. i bet she wore a prosthetic belly & paid someone to have the baby for her.

i'm just saying...

count down to birthday time

as the days pass & we approach the end of the first full week of august, i can't stop thinking about liam's birthday. specifically his party & the fact that we keep getting asked the same question "what does liam want for his birthday?"

that's a toughie to answer. what does a 1-year old want? who knows? its ridiculous trying to figure out what goes on his head. he wants things he can't have but as soon as he gets them he loses interest. tv remotes, keyboards, the mouse, our Iphones, diesel's food dish... not good presents for a baby

what does liam NOT want? plastic toys. he hates them. they bore him. he plays with them for maybe 10 minutes, then loses interest. i think its because he doesn't have to do anything. most come with batteries & lights & whistles & pops... they're like junk-food for his little brain.

what do we, as parents, want to see liam playing with? wooden toys, toys that encourage him to bang, stack, take in/take out, pull along, wheel, walk behind or manipulate including, but not limited to these types of toys:

• Xylophone
• Knitted friends
• Bath toys for tubbie fun
• BPA free utensils & dishes for babies
• Touchy feely Books with knobs, feathers, fabric, twisty parts
• Junior bibs with catchy pockets

naners & pop pop are getting liam a wooden rocking horse. how adorable is that? in nanners words "it is quite dear jenny & will be a keepsake for years to come." what a thoughtful gift.

now we need to start thinking seriously about what we, mommy & daddy, are going to get him... we are fresh out of ideas.

do you have any ideas for a good first birthday present??

Messiah Remix

most of you know by now that my hubby is a drum and bass DJ. the music being played in this video is of the "drum and bass" variety... specifically a remix called "Messiah" originally produced by Konflict (& yes, Shaun owns this record & has played it on many a mix in the club circuit)

as you can see in the video, church folk are rocking out to the track... observe with speakers if you please



what i find funny about this scenario is that the music was obviously selected because the title of the track is "Messiah" however the producer [the person(s) who created the track, who physically sat down & wrote the beats] is Konflict. did the people at church know that? a lot of Christians are fundamentally against Conflict.

its probably a big joke anyway. consider the source (utube) but i'm just saying...

published again on Mommy Matter

check out my article on Mommy Matter called "Oh No! I'm that That Mom?"

let me know what you think. are you that mom too?

four for friday

i almost forgot!!

Q1 - Paint: Did you paint the walls in your home or were they painted to your liking before you moved in?

they were painted to our liking, but we did some touch ups. we were going to paint some rooms, got lazy & never did. we probably never will.

Q2 - Room: What's your favorite room in your house and why?

liam's room. i love it because i worked so hard on it. its the only room the whole house that is always clean & tidy. i love how it smells like him - all sweet & powdery & like my baby. i love the colors & the mural & all the baby "stuff" in there. click here to see liam's room

Q3 - Work: If your employer offered you the opportunity to work from home, would you take it?

in a heartbeat! unfortunately i don't think i can ever work from home again because in order to connect to work through our VPN we need to take down our firewall & that leaves us completely unprotected & that is just NOT going to fly at my house

Q4 - Houseguests: When was the last time you hosted overnight visitors in your home, and how long did they stay? Option follow-up question: Do you enjoy entertaining/hosting overnight visitors?

the last over night guests were my parents & we loved having them. i really enjoy having overnight visitors; making breakfast the next morning, having everyone all smooshed into our living room, kitchen & dining room. i'm looking forward to the end of august when my family is coming down for liam's birthday.

is this something to worry about?

daycare... erg...

as i spent time with my daycare provider, we'll call her H from now on, i noticed some things that sort of bothered me.

1. she doesn't let the kids feed themselves. she feeds them. even little pieces of banana. we're not talking about little babies either - but kids older than a year & a half. this makes me wonder, how are these kids ever going to learn to feed themselves when she does it for them? yesterday liam fed himself a blueberry that shaun put on a baby spoon. he lifed the spoon to his mouth & fed himself. this is progress. these kids at daycare seem like they're regressing... i do NOT want her to feed liam. he HAS to feed himself. we worked very hard & very long on teaching him this skill...

2. she tried to make 3 of the kids eat this plain yogurt + rice with veggies thing she made. half of the bowl was yogurt, half was rice. all of the kids were completely grossed out. one of the girls even spit it out and started crying. i saw 2 banana's being divided among 3 kids, but no veggies at all. this isn't a big deal for us right now b/c of liam's celiac diet... but what if he overcomes his problems & can start eating "daycare" food? then i wouldn't trust her to feed him right & would still have to make his lunch every day. i'm paying for his lunch & snack to be provided. its included in her fee. do you see what i'm saying here?

3. she uses double negatives. in sentences... a few times. i'm an english major, do i need to say more? liam will be learning language from H - 8 hours a day he will learn to repeat what she says.

4. in the backyard there is a big open pit along the side of the house where a window to the basement is. you know what i mean right? like in the pit there are rocks & its lined with metal. its just sitting there - all PIT LIKE - waiting liam to tumble down it & cut himself on the rocks.

5. when he went down for a nap he screamed like there was an axe murderer in the pack n'play. my september mommies have mentioned hearing this type of cry before from their babies but this is the FIRST time i've ever EVER heard liam cry like that. he napped pretty horribly yesterday & was a mess by 5:30 last night. we had to put him to bed early & he woke up an hour into his sleep to scream bloody murder. then he slept straight through & was still sleeping when i left for work this morning. i am concerned. there isn't much to be done about this though & its a problem he'll have no matter who we place him with

6. she has all these lovely windows but keeps the shutters down. there is no natural light.

7. when i first came over she waited until i was in the living room to turn the tv off. she knows how i feel about tv. for us, we've chosen not to have it in our house unless we're having an absolutely cranky day from hell & then baby einstein to the rescue. i don't care if she watches it on her own time, but i DO NOT WANT TV ON ALL DAY at daycare. if this is what she is like - fundamentally - i wish she would just be honest & tell me so that we can find another place for liam that is more in keeping with our lifestyle.

8. she is very fat. not just chubby but very very fat. i am sorry if this offends any of my readers but i need to say why this bothers me. it bugs me because very fat people are fat because they don't eat properly and don't exercise. again, i'm sorry if any of you are offended. i am only speaking the truth. my mom was a nutritionist, as a kid growing up i learned a ton about nutrition & exercise & food groups & meal portions. its very imporant to me that liam does not learn bad eating habits early on. again, if he's spending 8 hours a day with her ... what does that say?

good stuff: the kids obviously adore her. they beg to be cuddled & kissed. she loves them. its easy to see that they trust her. they follow her around like puppies. she makes them say please & thank you & even the little ones do it. she is relaxed, caring. chill. i know that liam will be well cared for. she won't let him cry himself to sleep. i just know she won't. she doesn't charge us for vacation days or days that liam is sick or she is sick. she doesn't charge us for days liam won't be attending. she doesn't expect 1-2 weeks paid vacation. she doesn't have set "hours" so the nights i have a sales meeting or need to work late - it won't cost us more money.

whew. that was a lot to get off my chest. but i think they're all valid points. what do you think? i'm new at this, so have no idea if i'm over or under reacting... please share your thoughts

day care

my little boy starts daycare today. i'm at home trying to get some work done, which is impossible a) because i can't seem to connect to work through our wonky VPN client (yes, i called Nitro & left a 'ticket' or whatever) and b) because liam keeps catching glimpses of me in the study and freaks out because we have the gate up so he can't bug me by crawling around under the desk and sticking his fingers into the power bar... and also so i actually get some work done and don't accidentally step on him. which is happening more and more lately as he crawls around under foot (its also a novelty for me to be home during the week so liam thinks its great fun that i'm playing extended peek-a-boo. shaun finally, in a fit of frustration, snapped "go into the other room and don't speak!" okee-dokee boss! so here i am. not speaking. but typing very loudly.)

so anyway, our plan for this morning was to do a "test run" of how the day would go. shaun is working 2 afternoons a week for all of august. i will leave work at 11am those days and make the 10 minute drive home. i am in charge of packing liam's diaper bag the night before, shaun is in charge of getting liam's lunch and bottle ready for daycare and for ensuring liam is up from his morning nap, dressed and ready to go. i will pick them both up, drive shaun to the bus, bring liam to daycare, drop him off, then go back to work.

this morning i am "pretending" NOT to be home. so that 11:10 i can jump out of the study yelling "surprise! lets go!!" and laugh as everyone scrambles to obey me. hahahaha.

wish us luck!

bbq, cousin fun, in a box, corn on the cob

what a goofy nutbar. he's adorable right? still rocking the wonky left ear. this photo makes it seem like the whole left side of his face is sliding off... i can hear my sister now "jenny, stop it, you're going to give him a complex" and she's right. i hope he never reads my blog...


super model face with only 4 of his 8 teeth showing. guess who's working on his molars? yep, me. no, wait- i lie. its liam.


tickles from dad. can you see how long his eyelashes are? those are from me.


first taste of corn on the cob, he went crazy over it


first time playing with a box, he looked crazy in it


first time sharing seats with his cousin svea, it drove him crazy. you can see his extended legs shoving the seat of her chair


later, after the hot tub, in his pj's, liam the dictator took over & kicked Svea to the curb


cuddles from grandma moe moe after throwing a spazz because he couldn't sit on ALL the chairs at the same time

wwyd?

what would you do if someone you loved & trusted lied to you?
what if they'd lied to you before & your forgave them & this is the 5th or 6th time its happened?
would you give it another shot?
would you cut your losses & move on?
would you try again? would your heart ever really be in it to win it back?

these are the questions facing my good friend Mariska. her husband has a porn problem. its affected their sex life & the trust they should share as a couple. after a rocky patch she believed that he'd been able to stop watching it. only to find that he hadn't. that he'd not only been lying about not watching it, but that he'd been watching it for quite some time (like a month). he knows he has a problem, that he is addicted to the escapism in pornography - this has come out in couples therapy. she doesn't want it in her life anymore - also established in couples therapy. he feels like watching porn has "nothing to do with her" - she just wants to be included in the sex happening in her marriage, because right now, she's not. he says he loves her & wants to be with her & finds her attractive, but he never makes the first move, never comes on to her. she feels like she's not good enough, attractive enough, smart enough... she feels like he doesn't love her. she feels like every time he watches porn he cheats on her.

wow. this is a mess. my heart goes out to my friend (Mari i'm so sorry you're going through this & sending you a huge cyber hug right now). what would you do if you were my friend? would you give him another chance (5 or 6 or 7 chances) or would you advise her to cut her losses & move on?

remember, this isn't a discussion on whether porn is good or bad. its already been established that - for them as a couple - it is not acceptable. this is a discussion about whether they can move forward as a couple if one has an addition they won't seek treatment for.

so... what should my friend do?

bladder control

check out my article "Lets Talk about Bladder Control" published at Mommy Matter

i hope it doesn't suck too hard. why does the word "doesn't" look so wrong? that's how its spelled right? right?

aw & ha ha

this is filed under: what the hell, its summer & your dad has you wearing a long-sleeve tee AND a sweater?

one question, how high is the AC turned up in our house today?


awww isn't he cute?


hahahahaa i take it back

long weekends

are the best aren't they? liam is getting ready for his morning nap, i'm about to put him down then jump into the shower & get my soap on. we have a busy day ahead of us including a trip to Moe Moe & Grandpa's house to drop liam off for the afternoon while shaun & i go downtown for some much needed alone time. then we're meeting back up later in the afternoon for a family BBQ, some hot-tubbing and hopefully some steak with cheese. mmmm. just thinking about it makes me hungry.

i went all domestic yesterday & made an artichoke spinach dip. its my 4th incarnation of the dip & every time i make it, it turns out differently. yesterday i added too much 2-year old white cheddar & it ended up a bit sharp, but still yummy. i'll be bringing that over to try it out on the family today & if it goes over well, i'll be serving it at liam's birthday party.

the dinosaur cake pan i ordered online came last week. we got a great big cake pan for the guests cake & a little stegosaurus cake pan for liam's personal smash cake. he is still on the celiac disease diet so we had to improvise & shaun found a wheat/glutton/egg/soy free cake batter in the natural section of Loblaws. its for a chocolate cake & we're going to try it out, but probably serve it to liam for his birthday. at least this way he gets cake :)

party planning is in full swing. we've got a little swimming pool for the babies & are going to get a ball'o'saurus which is like a blow up ball pit with smooshy balls for babies to play in. we have lots of family coming to celebrate including nanner's & pop pop, kim, brad & baby gwen. after much deliberation we've decided not to go crazy on decorations like paper plates & cups & tons of balloons. we'll just do standard birthday party stuff. liam is so little he won't remember it anyway. this casual little bbq is going to be so much fun. can't wait!

ouch

kim posted this on her blog & her blog is worth more than #1K... mine? NOT SO MUCH. i can't stop laughing at this...

how much is YOUR blog worth?

My blog is worth $0.00.
How much is your blog worth?

playdates, important calls and bathtime nudity

that thing up there, whats it called? the shower head? its pretty


okay i'll smile for you mom. i'll smile so hard i'll mess up my face


this is what i think of you taking nude photos of me. kiss it mom!


oops. sorry. are you offended?


too bad. i'm just going to ignore you & knock these two things together over & over & over


you can make me sit across from her, but you can't make me look at her


what is Avery doing?


what avery was thinking during our park trip: "you think you can make me keep my hat on? think again suckers!!"


oh man i can't believe i missed this call. how can you just sit there diesel? code magenta!


this is my serious face. i'm seriously sick of being photographed all the time. the momaratzzi is out of control!

four for friday

i got into work early today (without setting off the alarm i might add) so that i would have some quiet time to quickly update. a few more articles have been published over at Type A Mom. i'm sure some of you will remember them because they started out as blogger posts.

Across the City Let-Downs

Saying Goodbye to Breastfeeding

Mom's & Crying

shaun pointed out to me last night that you can't leave a comment for the articles unless you're a registered member of Type A Mom. i highly recommend registering, its a great site - a social networking tool just for mom's, a great place to meet new mom's or reconnect with old mommy friends. if joining up isn't for you, you can always leave a comment here on my blog instead. or not, the option is yours.

introducing, a new section - Four for Friday. every friday i'm going to post 4 questions & 4 answers to those 4 questions and encourage you all to participate - what fun. here we go

Q1 - Television: In case you've missed the public service announcements in recent months, the federal government here in the United States has set February 17, 2009, as the date by which all television stations must discontinue broadcasting an analog signal. Are you prepared for the switchover? Are any of the televisions in your home currently unable to accept a digital signal?

Whats analog?? seriously, is that a technology or something? *insert sarcastic snickering laugh*

Q2 - R.S.V.P.: According to The Emily Post Institute, your most important obligation as an invited wedding guest is to respond to the invitation immediately, especially if you are unable to attend. Generally speaking, how long does it take for you to R.S.V.P. to a wedding, dinner party, birthday party, etc? Do you R.S.V.P. right away or do you tend to wait till the last possible moment?

Yes, i RSVP right away because if i don't, i know the little envelope and card thingy will get lost in the mess that is our house

Q3 - Hug it Out: How do you feel about hugging? Do enjoy being hugged or does it make you feel uncomfortable

i love to hug unless you're big & smelly & then no, i don't want to hug you

Q4 - Stunt: Pick a celebrity, any celebrity. Got one? Good. Now, picture yourself in charge of their next publicity stunt. Do tell... who is your celebrity and what would you have them do?

Shania Twain & i would have her go commando getting out of a limo, that always seems to generate a lot of press