Monday, May 31, 2010
A Death In The Neighbourhood Family
Sasha (the dog) had taken a turn for the worse this past week, and her family members thought it was best to end the suffering and send her off to a better place. We are all VERY sad about the news. Sasha was a fantastic dog. She would sit outside on the front grass most days just to keep an eye on the neighbourhood. She never strayed and was never a nuisance. She was always so sweet and friendly and she was an especially wonderful friend to my toddler. She was very patient with him, even when he was "petting her" (aka - thumping her on her back with great strength), pulling her ears or chasing her around the yard.
So, the family dilemma became, how to tell our little guy that his buddy Sasha had passed away. Our neighbours were so considerate that they took me aside and wanted to know what we were going to say, so that they could reiterate the same information to him if he ever asked. Not really sure how to break the news myself, I checked a couple of books to see what they recommended. Most books advise to keep it simple and tell the truth. Don't say things like "the dog has been put to sleep" or "the dog has gone away" because it might scare the child into believing that anyone may go to sleep or even make a trip to the grocery store without ever coming back. They also cautioned that children at this age don't really understand the idea of permanence, so they may ask where the dog is often. This might pose to be a painful reminder to my neighbours, but we're very lucky that they're both extremely understanding people.
What my husband and I ended up doing was telling our son that Sasha was very sick and died. We told him that she had gone to heaven, which is up in the sky, but that she was not coming back. He asked a couple of questions and we answered to the best of our abilities, but the explanation seemed to be enough. He did, however, ask where Sasha was a couple of times, after the fact, but we echoed that Sasha had gone to heaven, which is a better place, but she will not be coming back. I'm hoping that this explanation, though seemingly very blunt for a 2 year old, will help him grasp the concept of death, without sugar coating it.
Our deepest sympathies go out to the Moores. We know how much Sasha meant to you (as she meant a great deal to us, too!) and we hope that knowing that she's in a better place eases the pain, even a little bit. We will all miss her, but we know that she will still be keeping her watchful eye on the neighbourhood.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Daycare Nightmare
* I'm getting a haircut today (it's been almost a year since someone put scissor to head...it's VERY necessary and long overdue)
GOALS
My mother-in-law, who has been so gracious thus far, will be able to provide her babysitting duties in her usual capacity (two days a week)...but I wanted to be able to have a day where I could spend with JUST my big boy and dedicate ALL of my attention to him. So there goes one of those freebie - Nana days. That means there's just ONE left. ONE day to spend entirely with the little baby (something that my toddler had all day everyday for the first two and a half years of his life! Seems like a bit of a gyp for the wee one!). How can I squeeze in some more "alone" time with these kids? Especially when it looks like I'll have 3 days a week where I'm trying to keep 2 very differently needy kids at bay.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Can You Feel The LOVE Tonight?
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Veggie Garden or Kitty Litter...Hmmmmmmmm....
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Desperately Seeking Pedicure
After my shower I notice that my previous pedicure (done eons ago when the continents were all still linked together) had chipped and was looking pretty terrible. So, I decided to take off the old polish and start anew. Unfortunately, I had completely forgotten that I had a planet attached to my mid-section and could BARELY get my feet close enough to get Kleenex to polish remover to toes. Thankfully I was able to clean up the initial mess that I had, but was completely helpless to repaint them with the marksman precision that is required for a pedicure.
Now, you may say, "DUDE, go to the Vietnamese nail place at the end of your street and quit your yappin' already. Your toes are making me vomit" and to this I would reply, "I understand your nausea, trust me...but I feel like I can't." My hesitance to enter the nail salon stems from the pregnancy dos and don'ts list that every soon-to-be mother is introduced to in order to put the fear of God into her. Items that fall on this list include:
* No drinking, smoking or drugs (obviously)
* Limit your seafood (not a problem for me, as I'm vegetarian)
* No soft cheeses (not normally a problem, but this pregnancy I've been DYING for bocconcini...)
* No changing of kitty litter (PERFECT! Another excuse to get my husband to clean up after that killer cat from hell!)
* Limit the amount of caffeine
* ...and the list grows and grows and grows daily
Now, one could consider me a bit of an extremist when it comes to things to avoid while pregnant. When I read the word "LIMIT" in the don'ts section, my brain translates it into "IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU AVOID THIS THING AT ALL COSTS" because if (GOD forbid) anything were to happen to my little beaner, I would go through the catalogue of everything I'd done over the past 10 months and blame myself for what had happened because of my weakness.
I read somewhere (don't ask me the source...) that one should limit their visits to nail salons because some nail products contain harmful chemicals. When one has repeated exposure to those chemicals (some of which contain formaldehyde) it can cause birth defects in their fetuses. So in the craziness that is my brain, I can't even walk by a nail salon without holding my breath or else I feel like I'm doing this:
Therefore, going to a nail salon is basically ensuring that I will give birth to Rusty from Mask.
So, where does that leave me? I'm not sure. I guess I could ask my poor husband to give me a pedicure, but I'm pretty sure I've emasculated him enough for this lifetime. I could always go toenail-naked, which in most seasons is quite bearable, but in the summer, not the most attractive of options. Lastly, I suppose I could go to the nail salon and take my chances...but the cons do still seem to outweigh the proson that option...What the world needs now is not love, but rather an esthetician that makes house calls. If you know of one, PLEASE let me know. Until then, just look away and don't judge me fore my lower digits will remain unkempt.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
The Cleaning Lady vs. The Killer Cat From Hell
As some of you know, being pregnant for the second time is MUCH different than the first. In addition to all my aforementioned posts, there is the matter of the baby shower. For the most part, I understand why people are hesitant to throw a second party. After your first, you've accumulated most of the necessities, so it's not crucial to go through the whole rigmarole again to gather another pile of stuff. That being said...sometimes, especially when your children are close together, there are still things that one needs to purchase and/or duplicate. THIS IS NOT MY WAY OF HINTING THAT I WANT ANOTHER BABY SHOWER. We have bought everything we need to accommodate two kids...so please, I'm not fishing. I'm just sayin'...SOME people need the extra crap.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Bigfoot Sighting in Etobicoke!
Well, wouldn't you know that when I went to put my shoes on for work yesterday NOTHING would fit. I tried on 7 different pairs of shoes before I could find ones that I could squeeze my Fred Flintstoners in to. Now, you may ask yourself, as I did..."WHY THE FEET???" Is it not enough that everything else has to get bigger? Can't I just hang on to one little bit of normalcy? Honestly? I guess it's asking too much.
With much time on my hands (being the only person in my household awake at 6am), I did a little internet searching to find out why I am being punished so. This is what I found:
(From www.babycenter.com/404_i-think-my-feet-have-grown-is-this-possible-9428.com)
Okay, obviously this little beaner didn't get the memo that he/she didn't NEED to make its way down the birth canal this time ...therefore the Relaxin technically wasn't necessary. So, in addition to my stomach not ever being as tight as it once was, and my boobs becoming deflated rocks in socks, I now have to count my feet on my list of body parts that will never look the same after birth. Ugh! To make matters worse, the foot growth is permanent. I can't head to the gym postpartum to get my feet back in shape. Nope. It doesn't work that way. Once a bigfoot, always a bigfoot.
Now, after doing my research on "Pregnancy Foot Growth", I was curious as to what other fun things I may get to encounter this time around... those include (but are NOT limited to):
* Teeth problems (I experienced this during pregnancy #1 and was thankful that my husband's benefits covered my two root canals, 1 gum graft and 11 fillings. It could've been a VERY costly affair! I can't wait to see what I get this time around!)
* Skin discoloration/acne (I haven't experienced this one yet, thankfully, but with a little less than 8 weeks to go, I won't count myself safe just yet!)
* Thicker (...and then thinning) hair (I'm not sure I ever had the "thick" portion of this, but I can tell you that I was pulling out clumps of hair like it was going out of style shortly after the birth of my son)
* Leg cramps (Check!)
* Butt pain (Apparently there are occasions when a women's bum gets pins and needles during pregnancy if the fetus is sitting in a certain position and pinching certain nerves. Needless to say, I've (so far) been spared this literal pain in the ass.)
AND LAST, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST:
* Varicose vaginal veins (Good Lord! Even if I had the capacity to get my eyes down to that location at this point, I'm not sure what I'd even be looking for. Sounds gross, so I'm quite happy to pretend like I never even read that!)
Now, there is always a silver lining to any black cloud, right? And you ladies out there know where I'm going with this...With big feet comes big shoes! I get to buy a whole new shoe wardrobe! Move over Imelda Marcos, cuz I'm ready to rock! So, when I bat my doe eyes at my husband as he passes me his overused Mastercard, all I can say is, "It's not my fault. The baby's making me do it!"
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Visiting Hours are OVER! (and they never even started!)
And I can totally respect that. When I was in the hospital with my son I had visitors morning, noon and night. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my family and friends. I really do...but I felt like I had NO privacy at all. Now, of course, there were extenuating circumstances surrounding the birth of my son. First of all, I'm half Italian, and my Italian side is BIG and I think it's a sign of respect to come and visit the baby and mother in the hospital. I get that. But when your family is as big as mine, the room has a tendency to become a revolving door of Nonnas, Zias and Zios, second cousins once removed, etc. You get the point. Needless to say, there wasn't a lot of time to catch my breath, or take a pee (and trust me, after a c-section, it takes about a hundred years to make one's way from the craftmatic bed to the bathroom). I don't want to sound ungrateful, because I'm not at all. I just think that next time, I'll ask la famiglia to wait until we get home to make their "visitas".
In addition to just having a big family, my grandmother was visiting from Italy and she obviously wanted to come and visit the baby. And who could really take that away from her? There's only so many opportunities to meet your great-grandchildren, right?
My son was also the first grandchild in both my husband's and my family, so of course, we had lots of visits from both of those sides too. And, it doesn't help that I worked across the street from the hospital that I delivered in, so we had many well wishers who were "in the area". Granted, mine wasn't just the regular 24 hour hospital stay that those lucky vaginal birthers get. I had a full blown 5 night, 4 day stay at the Radisson Mt. Sinai. Four of those nights were shared with a woman who spent the evening crying because her husband left her on her own with a cesarean and no help. So, with no rest at night and days filled with loving and wonderful visitors, I felt like I needed to get home just to get a break and a wink of sleep.
This time around I have a feeling it won't necessarily be the same experience. The novelty has worn off. Plus, both immediate families will have their hands full sharing toddler babysitting duties (although if I could pick any visitor in the world to be at the hospital with me, it'd be my baby #1!)...So without sounding rude, ungrateful, disrespectful, unappreciative, ungracious and all the like, please...let my family rest in the hospital. There will be plenty of time to fawn over my beautiful beaner when we get home, trust me! But if I'm lonely in the hospital, don't be surprised to get a phone call. You'll be ready to jump in the car, right?
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Bah-Humbug!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Bring On The Baby!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Buona Festa Della Mamma!
Friday, May 7, 2010
Bootie and the Blowfish
Ka-CHING!
My list is as follows:
1) Double stroller - Of course one of the costliest of the purchases we will have to make. We currently own a single travel system (where the car seat buckles into the stroller) and wanted to not have to buy a new car seat (which is also quite expensive)...so we were on a mission to find a double stroller that fit our car, our car seat and budget... I was about to resort to this: