Being grateful - 20120529

I am grateful for Sarah Richardson.

Her new season of Sarah 101 started today, and they're airing two episodes every week. And I'm on mat leave. Awesome. While I can't say I agree with her decisions and design choices 100% of the time, I do like her style and find Tommy Smythe highly entertaining. If her choices aren't exactly top notch in my book, I find that the end snippet after the closing credits with Tommy makes up for it.

Being grateful - 20120517

I am grateful for good reviews and schedules.

We had some bffs over tonight for fun. I made dinner and dessert and also did some baking for Mr.S' work potluck. It wad hectic but I stuck to my schedule and felt awesome after it all.

And even better, I finally unleashed my White Chocolate Brownie to my girlfriends, who are the biggest fans of the Moxies version and they deemed it BETTER!! Amazing amazing amazing. (i would have had a pic but we ate them before I remembered.)

My Schedule for the day. Crazy, but I did it!

Key Lime Cheesecupcakes. Some for us, some for the potluck!

Being grateful - 20120516

I am grateful for good news from my doctor.

I had my first appointment after delivering today. It was good. First, I'm okay to go for running again. Second, I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Pre-pregnancy body is another story, which also makes the green light to run a good thing.

Being grateful - 20120514

I am grateful for strollers and nice walks.

I took the boys for a walk today to the store instead of driving. It was so nice. What would have been a five minute drive each way was a twenty to thirty minute walk. It was exercise too, of course, pushing around 30+ pounds plus the cargo back. D like being out and looking at the houses and lawns and birds and people and W, well, he slept the whole time. Must do this more often.

Being grateful - 20120513

I am grateful for beautiful days on beautiful days.

Happy Mother's Day, Mothers! I love Mother's Day. I think it's partially because I love being a mother, and partially because I like having a day a week or so after my birthday where I get more presents. Just kidding about that last part.

Wasn't it such a nice day out today, for you Torontonians/GTAers? It was a beauty.

I got to do things like this...

It was so cute. We woke up D and told him he could have some popcorn, and after, blow some bubbles. There was so much open area around for him to chase after the bubbles. He was so excited, and even made some friends with people sitting around or people walking their dogs.

Pinch little guys like this...

Argh, isn't he so scrumptious?!?!? Sometimes I find myself pinching his cheeks so hard, he ends up with marks on his face. I know, bad momma, bad momma, but I can't help myself.

 And eat cold, sweet things like this...

....from a sweet thang like this! Hahahaha!

I hope your Mother's Day was a beautiful one!

Being grateful - 20120427

I am grateful for Thomas the Tank Engine.

We have this DVD of Thomas the Tank Engine. 15 episodes back-to-back or something like that. D-nut recently rediscovered it and loves watching it...which makes my life a little easier when I have a ton of stuff to do. I know, TV, the babysitter = not good parenting. But seriously, sometimes you need TV or some sort of distraction just to give you enough time to get some stuff done, and when playing with toys, reading books and all that other good stuff isn't working, sometimes you desperately need TV. Ugh, I sound horrible.

BTW, does anyone else think Gordon is scary?

Being grateful - 20120426

I am grateful for breaks.

Mr.S and D-nut had a date tonight to spend time together and to give me a break. It was nice to be able to watch just one child, something I haven't done for weeks. I had no idea how easy it was to have one child versus having two.

And you know, when they came home, I felt more appreciative of them in my life, and D was so excited to see me. I love that.

Being grateful - 20120424

I am grateful for quick getaways.

Today was one of those Momster days. D-nut was having a terrible two day and I needed a break. So after Mr.S got home, after dinner, I escaped to the grocery store for diapers.

Grocery stores are so peaceful after the after-work rush is done. The bigs stores especially. It was a quick trip but much need and very enjoyable.

I'm not saying a need an escape from my life but sometimes you need a step outside of your day, some time alone to spend with yourself, to regroup and go back to be a better you. Mothers know what I'm talking about, right?

Being grateful - 20120423

I am grateful for naptime.

What mother, at home with her kids, isn't? Today's naptime came at something like 6PM. Dinner time. I knew though that if I had kept the big one awake to eat, he wouldn't have eaten and likely would have had a meltdown...and then I would have one too. So 6PM naptime was fine with me.

Penis

Yes, I just called this post that.

Boys, by nature, are viewed to be the more curious sex at times...and well, D-nut has discovered his junk. Not just discovered it though, but is also exploring it. It's gotten to the point that he finds that putting his hand down his pants helps put himself to sleep. We're not sure what to do about this.

So, I was reading up about it and trying to remember what stuff I've read and heard about this topic, and found this.

So, if you're ever around my son, don't be surprised if he says "I like my penis". He's just learned it has a name.

(AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! Help me.)

Being grateful - 20120418

I am grateful for Tylenol.

I had some funk going through my body today. It felt like the flu and a migraine met, hooked up and impregnated me with their child. Horrible. And sudden too. What sluts. Anyway, that's how it felt. It settled in yesterday night actually, and then in the middle of the night, I was freeeeezing and covered myself with layers and blankets and then woke up in the middle of the night sweaty but with chills. Don't you hate that feeling? We didn't have any Tylenol other than what the hospital gave me after I delivered so I popped some of those after realizing I couldn't "tough it out". Phew, thank goodness. I don't think I could have survived the day, especially with two little ones. I kept thinking about how I felt like I was living a Tylenol commercial today. Seriously.

Open letter (to W):

Dear W.,

Please wake up and eat soon. My right boob is starting to hurt.

Thanks,
Momma

Being grateful - 20120413

I am grateful for shared guilty pleasures.

D-nut and I did something bad today. While waiting to meet up with Mr.S after work, we had some time to kill, so we opted for a snack. We went to McDonalds. We had ice cream and medium fries and shared it. I realize that what we snacked on was actually my decision, not his. I just craved something sweet and salty and hot and cold and that was exactly what I needed. And, I figured I'd introduce my little man to this cheap snack, and if he didn't like it, he'd enjoy the ice cream and fries separately.

So, we did it. And he liked it. At first he kinda poked the ice cream with his fry, and then he was swooping in like I was. I also taught him how to lick ice cream from a cone. And then he learned what a cone was. He kept saying he wanted to try the "cookie" and I kept telling him, "No, this is called a coooonnne." "A cooooonnnne, Momma?" "Yes, a coooonnne." "Mmmm...I try... ... ...Mmmmm! I like coooommme!" "No, cooooNNNNNNNNe!" "Yeah! I like cooooome!"

So really, this snack was not only a guilty pleasure, but a lesson in food. HA!

Being grateful - 20120410

I am grateful for easy days.

Day 2 - me and the boys. Today was much easier than yesterday. This week is kind of experimental. With it being the first few days of me being home with the boys, I'm trying to figure out what works and what doesn't and what the best methods are for juggling the needs of two very different boys of two different age groups, who are also in the process of adjusting.

Today was good. There wasn't much juggling involved since their needs seemed pretty much staggered, and well, D-nut put himself to sleep for a nap...which meant that I could also go to sleep for a nap without what has becoming a very daunting task of getting him to sleep.

I think there's hope for me.

Being grateful - 20120407

I am grateful for nursing stations.

Modernization of malls these days means more places to nurse your baby. I probably wrote about this when I was a new mom, but yeah, they're awesome. They're always nice, quiet places to nurse your baby. The good ones even have places to entertain your older children or even have a TV for you, usually on CP24 or something like that, so you're not entirely out of touch with the world.

Being grateful - 20120405

I am grateful for understanding people.

We had a family outing today - we went to the mall to buy some birthday presents. We ended up eating dinner at the food court. D-nut was tired and moody. When Mr.S went to go move the car from a department store lot (where we'd get stuck if they closed the entrance) to a mall lot, D-nut freaked out. He's become quite clingy and has been suffering from some separation anxiety since W was born - more on his adjustment later. So, I was sitting there with a sleeping infant and a screaming toddler as people scrambled up and down the escalator to leave the mall that was closing in minutes. Some of them stared but most of them looked then looked away. It's like those people knew that this kid was tired but was going to be heading home soon. Thank God for them.

Being grateful - 20120403

I am grateful for sitz baths.

Recovery post-delivery is a tricky process. Each woman has a different recovery process and feels different discomforts and pains. Mine's been okay. It hasn't been intolerable, but it hasn't been fun either. The best part of my day when I'm alone lately is my sitz bath. If you don't know what it is, look it up...I'm not explaining it here. Anyway, it has been helping the healing process, for which I'm truly thankful as well.

Being grateful - 20120401

I am grateful for empty semi-private rooms.

Even though we opted for a private room (yay for insurance that covers private rooms!), the Mother & Baby unit has been so busy, we got the last room available for the next while, which was a semi-private room. Darn. We were placed first on a waiting list for a private room but were told that there was next-to-no chance of being moved. Darn again.

Anyway, today, our neighbours were discharged and no one has been brought in. It's not that we don't like having neighbours; it's just nice to have a room to ourselves. So, it was a very quiet day with a few visitors (thanks to everyone who visited!!) and lots of room.

Being grateful - 20120331

I am grateful for second-borns.

Today, our second-born, W, was born. He arrived after 13 minutes of pushing, and around 12 hours of labour.  The entire experience of birthing this child was familiar but also unknown territory. I'll save much of this for my delivery post (whenever that gets written!), but it was a completely amazing experience. We were #17 of 17 births delivered that day (or actually that began yesterday), and our nurses were happy that we got this baby delivered 17 minutes before their shifts ended. We were also happy that we got the chance to introduce him to one of our nurses, who we got a chance to talk to about our love for running. We're hoping we'll get to see each other in one of this year's later races.

Our second-born has already taught us so much, more than he'll ever really understand. There is so much we've learned from him about life, faith, marriage and above all, love. There's so much he'll teach his big brother and so much he'll teach his younger sibling(s) too.

Today, the world is a better place because of people like our W, born today. The sun got a little bit brighter, colours got even more vivid, and life is sweeter.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, W.

Body changes

If you've ever had a baby and were seeing an OB on the journey, you know that they weigh you at every visit. I'm at one visit every two weeks now, and after my next visit, every week after that til the Baby comes. So, for the past few weeks, I've been able to track how much I gain in 2 weeks.

Every time I go for my appointment and it's time for the weigh-in, it's like a show. The receptionist who weighs me always gets a good laugh at how low she has to tip the scale, and I laugh along with her, because I'm the only pregnant patient my doctor has had for whom she has written down a two-digit weight. When my doctor checks my file, we talk sarcastically about how I need to watch myself and take control of my horrendous weight gain.

Yesterday, it was confirmed that I weigh the same thing I did at the end of my last pregnancy. So this means from here on out, I'm going to be the heaviest I've ever been.

I weigh 110lbs right now.

Now, before your jaw falls off your head at how heavy I really am (HAHAHAHA...this is me being sarcastic, BTW), I want to explain that this 110lbs is doing a number on my body. My legs hurt, people! Also, I'd like to remind you that I'm only 4'7.5" and if I wasn't pregnant and this was my weight, I'd be considered overweight, according to my BMI (Body Mass Index...look it up and look up yours if you don't know what I'm talking about).

Also, all this weight gain means heavier baby, and heavier baby means bigger baby (although we're at the point where the baby isn't getting longer, he's now filling in), and bigger baby means bigger belly, and bigger belly means... ... ...

STRETCH MARKS.

I didn't get them with D-nut, but this time around, I've got them and it is taking a lot out of me to be okay with them. I only found them on Sunday and yesterday I found more. And this is all after telling my sister and friend that I didn't think I had any :(

Oh well, Mr.S and I have decided to call them "The Battle Scars" of this pregnancy. Sounds epic, right? It just goes to show that I have physical proof that this pregnancy has been the most challenging thing my body has ever had to take on...and remember, I'm a marathon runner. They're the marks that show that my body is surviving this and doing what it needs to do to make sure this baby gets here safely and soundly.

That doesn't mean I love them though. I was Googling "Bio Oil" last night to find out how to get rid of these things once my body stops stretching!! Until then, I'm rubbing my stick of cocoa butter on my belly until that thing is finished.