School Years Resolutions

I read somewhere that when it comes to resolutions, Fall is the best time of year to make them. Apparently it has something to do with being inspired by the changing of the leaves. If you're a student, and/or have kids, then scheduling other changes during the natural change of going back to school is supposed to make goals easier to accomplish. I can definitely say that I am NOT inspired by the blah feelings that come with the end of the Christmas season, and 3 or 4 more months of wet, cold winter stretching out in front of me in January. I made some resolutions in September, but slacker that I am, I didn't blog about them until now. You might think that doesn't bode well for me actually keeping them, haha. I'm just going to say that I've been so busy trying to live my resolutions, that I haven't had a chance to blog about them. *wink wink*

One thing my life definitely needs is a handful of good friends. I've written here and there about attending a moms group in the past, but to be 100% honest with you, I just never felt like I gelled with the other women there. I felt like we were "friends" simply because we all have kids and stay home, and that was it. Of course, some of the other women bonded and were really close and that's great for them.

I mean no disrespect if you're this kind of Mama, but I personally have no interest in discussing my hair, or my nails, or whether my husband is doing a good job at being the leader of my home. Honestly, I mean no disrespect at all, but that's just not me. I'm the mom wearing yoga pants around all day without shame (I secretly can't wait to get my yoga instructor's certification so that I can have the excuse). I'm not the mom who sleep trained at 6 months (or ever) and has been getting beauty sleep for over a year now. I'm the crunchy, granola, Earth-Mama type who would have absolutely no issue having all her kids and the family pet in bed together if they made mattresses big enough. Just nothing in common, you know? I felt like I couldn't be related to, so I just stopped going. One of my goals for this school-year is to make a couple of good
friends.

Another goal is to do something about my back pain. I've had back issues since high school required that I keep a small library on my back at all times, but it's been really bad since carrying a kid on my sciatic nerve for 9 months. It took a full year after delivery for my hips to stop feeling like they were separating from my body whenever I walked, but my back is still a mess. I've decided that this year, I need to make my health a priority. I'm twenty-five years old, I should not be taking 3 extra strength Tylenols every night before bed until I've at least achieved Grandmother status.

I've made a doctor's appointment for tomorrow morning, and though I think it will just be a consultation, I'm excited about working out a treatment plan that will hopefully include chiropractic and massage. I'm going to need it if that fat kid still insists on me carrying him around several times a day. I kid. He's not fat. He actually has no fat on him whatsoever, and I'm honestly a little jealous. He is pure muscle, so still heavy--when we aren't calling him "Baboo", his nickname is Bam Bam.

I have also been working quite a bit on secret goal number 32, from my list of 101 Things to do in 1001 Days. I'm still not ready to reveal it, lest I die from embarassment, but I'm aiming for completion somewhere around January 2011. Go me!

Another thing I really want to do this year is go to counselling. I've been having a lot of anger issues come up lately, when I think about my childhood. I think they're resurfacing because of everything that's going on with my parents. I don't feel like getting into my frustrations right now, but I feel like I need to let go of those feelings and work through those issues while my Sweet Baboo is still a baby. I want to make sure I can be the best mom possible for him, and that I won't be repeating a cycle of emotionally damaging  my kiddo(s) because I still have unresolved crappy feelings inside.

Lastly, I want to bring focus back to my relationship with the Hubbs. I feel like its just being pushed into the margins at all times. He does schoolwork all day, then he comes home and plays with our son, and then when our kid finally goes to sleep we have a little bit of time to ourselves. I've written before about trying to leave Baboo with people other than family, and it just NOT going well (ie, them calling us after half an hour because he screamed hysterically the entire time). Well, on Friday we decided we'd try it again. We left him at a child care program at the community centre, and he had a blast. We got some time to ourselves, and he played with the other kids and the teachers and didn't shed one tear the entire hour we were gone. I'm so relieved, and now we plan to have a standing date, at least twice a month, where we leave Baboo at the community centre (its a day program, but the perks of having a student hubby are that he's sometimes available during the day) and have a date. We'll just do lunch, take a walk, see a movie, or just come back home for "alone time" (bow chicka bow wow), but it will be glorious.

I'll keep you posted on my progress, and I know there's a MUCH overdue update needed on my 101 in 1001 goals. More on that later.

What are some things you hope to accomplish in the next year? Any tips to share on staying motivated?

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The Pumpkin Patch Was Bliss

We went to the pumpkin patch. It was so much fun. Just when I think that having a toddler is about to make me pull my hair out, I get a day like that, and it reminds me how great this age can be. Sure, the screaming fits in stores are no fun. The demanding to watch Muppets  music videos all the live-lone day can grate the nerves. And I could definitely do without the screaming any time the Hubbs and I are paying attention to each other instead of him.

But the pumpkin patch was bliss. If I could move to that farm, I would.

We made animal friends. (And said the word "dog" for the first time!)

We climbed on the hay jump.



We took a hayride.

We picked pumpkins.

We drank delicious apple cider. The hot mulled kind for the Hubbs and I, the cold refreshing kind for Our Sweet Baboo. We also may have picked up a bottle of sparkling cider to drink with Thanksgiving dinner.

Barrels, and tractors and trikes, oh my!

Last year our three month old spent the day snuggling against us in the baby sling. This year we couldn't stop him from exploring every nook and cranny of that farm. I can hardly wait for next year, and two year old adventurous goodness. I think I've found my new favourite family tradition.

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A Few of My Favourite Things: Fall Edition

10. Hot apple cider

9. Corn mazes

8. Our annual trip to the pumpkin patch for hay jumps, tractor rides and photos

7. Candles that smell like pumpkin pie, mulled cider or creme brulee

6. The chance to photograph spectacular changing colours

5. Being reuinted with old, comfy sweaters

4. Shorter days that make kids go to bed earlier and sleep in later

3. The sound and smell of leaves crunching under my feet

2. Thanksgiving get-togethers with my massive extended family

1.Seeing my Sweet Baboo all dressed up in his costume, then eating his candy ;)

Add yours below!

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Life in a Nutshell

We've had a lot going on lately , so instead of a long, rambling blog post like I usually do, I'm going to attempt just short updates on each recent event in our lives. We'll see if I can keep the blabbering to a minimum. We'll start with today and work our way backwards.

Elimination Communication:
Today was my second attempt at Elimination Communication. When I first heard of this I thought it was insanity, and that anyone who tried it would end up with pee and crap all over their house and would spend their kid's entire childhood running back and forth to the bathroom, but I've since revised my opinion. It need not be all or nothing. I am not going to have a "diaper free baby", but I am going to attempt to read his cues and learn when he has to go, and then hold him over the toilet during that time so that we use less diapers and they are strictly there as insurance. My main reason for attempting this is because I want to be eco-friendly. My preference would be to use cloth diapers and only use disposables when we are out, but we don't have a washer and dryer in our unit. We actually share ONE machine with the six families who live in this building, so CDing is out of the question, sadly. On top of that we'll save a ton of cash, which is always good.  Anyway, two days ago I held Baboo over the toilet and he was only interested in standing on the seat. Today the same thing happened, except that as soon as I took him off the toilet and into his bedroom to put a new diaper on him, he peed all over his change table. Awesome. : /

My Simple Thanksgiving Dinner:
We had a small Thanksgiving dinner yesterday, just the three of us, which was no small feat. Baboo was tired from his big weekend and wanting to eat every hour, and The Hubbs was sick with a cold. It was a far cry from the last Thanksgiving dinner I made two years ago. That year I made a turkey, stuffed peppers, a build your own salad bar, garlic pesto muffins, hash brown casserole, corn on the cob with gingerbread brownies and strawberry wine. All of it from scratch (minus the wine.)
This year there was no way that was happening with a baby. The Hubbs and I eat sandwhiches three times a day. I decided to do my best, and we had:
Hors D'oevres (Cubes of cheddar, sliced pickles and salami)
Roast Chicken (which I bought premade from the deli, drizzled with extra sauce to keep the moisture in and warmed in the oven)
Hash Brown Casserole (we used frozen hash browns, baked them, then mixed in sour cream and grated cheddar and baked until brown)
Orange Butternut Squash Soup (we bought a carton of soup, then I squeezed orange juice into it, and added cinnamon and minced onions) with Home Made Croutons (whole wheat bread cut into cubes, drizzled with oil and toasted)
Crunchy Vegetables (frozen mixed Asian vegetables, sauteed in grapeseed oil, seasoned with oregano, topped with grated mozzerella and crunchy salad topping by Mrs. Dash)
and Pumpkin Pie (store bought, heated in the oven, add whipped cream)

Our Sweet Baboo's Christening:
It was at my parents' home (which is now just my mother's home since she made the father figure move out). A lot of my relatives were late and missed the actual ceremony (which always happens, see exhibit A: my bridal shower, Exhibit B: my wedding and Exhibit C: my baby shower). The ceremony was nice, though Baboo was a little cranky. I think he was uncomfortable in his super formal clothes. We wanted to Christen him in this:

But they only sell it at Babies R Us in the states (there will be a rant at a later date about why I can't get anything good for my baby in this country), so he wound up wearing this:

He was not happy, especially about the hat lol. We wound up changing him about an hour after the ceremony. I also made my first movie in honour of the day! It had an opening menu page with a montage of scenes from it and special music, a title page and credits and everything! Go me! It had a bunch of video clips and pictures from Baboo's life, and concluded with a Bible verse about Baboo's name (he has a Bible name). Everyone loved it. I am going to make another DVD of his first 6 months for each set of grandparents for Christmas. His Christening was followed by a big Thanksgiving dinner and a second showing of the movie for the late comers.

 

Annoyingly, my father kept trying to hold Baboo, and I didn't like it. I don't like or trust him, and I don't want people I don't like or trust around my baby. I kept trying to take a picture of Baboo and my mother together, and he kept jumping in. It really pissed me off, and now we have NO photos of just Baboo and my mom at his Christening. I am thoroughly annoyed. Especially since my mom revealed the following two tidbits to me recently:

a)The first time he ever "spanked" me was when I was 6 months old. I had comitted the crime of not holding my own bottle.

b) When I was a year old he was fighting with my mom in the car and threatened to run the car off the road.

And that (among many, MANY other reasons) is why he will never be alone with my son.

Knox Pumpkin Farm:

In honour of Our Sweet Baboo's first fall, we went to the pumpkin patch for photos. We dressed him up in a fallish outfit (brown pants, orange long-sleeved onesie and an orange jack-o-lantern bib with a blue and orange winter vest). He was a little cold (though it was one of the nicer days we've had this fall) and a little tired, but he was a good sport. We didn't get the awesome photos I anticipated, though, because it's hard doing outdoor pictures with a baby who doesn't sit up yet. He did have his first hay ride, though, which he seemed to enjoy, swung on a tire swing  and saw a pony (which he couldn't have cared less about).

School of Mom:

Lately I've been feeling like I haven't been taking advantage of the opportunity I have to be at home with my son. I shouldn't just be hanging out with him all day (especially since we rarely go on outings), I feel like I should be teaching him and enriching his life in some way, you know? I've written about the kind of mom I want to be, and I think I need to start doing more with him now that the missing fourth trimester is just about over.

So every day for the past couple weeks Baboo and I do the following (in no specific order):

-Read books

-Play music (I play him  simple songs on the recorder that I picked up for two bucks at Dollarama)

-Practice signing (we've decided to do baby sign language, I got a DVD from the library)

-Practice French (I sing french songs to him and say certain words to him in English and then repeat them in French (I went to French school and he will too). I'm trying to get into the habit of saying everything to him in French and then repeating it in English. Here are some tips for a bilingual baby if you know another language and are interested in doing the same.

-Elimination Communication (you've already read about that)

-Tummy time

-Alone time (I give him time to just hang out and babble to himself. He lets me know when he's done being alone).

And of course we still spend the majority of the day just snuggling, laughing, playing and of course, breatfeeding!!!

Sexual Healing:

To sum up, I am healed, but there is still no sex. We have tried about 3 times, but I am locked up tighter than Fort Knox and drier than the Sahara. We need LOTS of lube, LOTS of wine, and LOTS of time. We are having a date night soon (we will get my mom to baby-sit, my grandmother will be there so I dont need to worry about my mom relapsing (<----see first post on this page) and possibly hurting Baboo) and we are going to go to dinner, drink until our hearts' content, and then come home and make babies (only without actually making babies).

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