Someone around here may need it.
Apparently the fridge told the washer that if you conk out, you'll get some extra lovin' from the Mrs and a visit from the appliance doctor. Unfortunately for the washer, she's not worth saving.
So here I sit on Monday morning frantically looking up washing machine options as the laundry continues to pile up... Add to this the fact that I forgot to renew my license, which expired last Friday, and you can image the happy Monday I'm having.
On a MUCH brighter note, my bestest friend is at the hospital this morning to have her BABY!!!
27/01/2012
fortunately, unfortunately
Unfortunately I haven't been blogging a lot lately
Fortunately I have friends with easy blog post ideas (and they don't mind me plagiarizing)
Fortunately the heater in the kitchen hasn't acted up again like it was last week post-power outage.
Unfortunately the fridge hasn't fully recovered from the power outage/surges and she ain't keeping things cold anymore.
Fortunately the (usually awesome!) fridge was free from a friend so it's worth the dough to see if we can get it fixed.
Unfortunately until the repair man comes tomorrow we are throwing out spoiled food everyday.
Fortunately we are getting take out for dinner tonight.
Fortunately I introduced dairy into Jonathan's diet last week and so far there have been no ill effects, so...
FORTUNATELY we get to order PIZZA!!!
Fortunately I have friends with easy blog post ideas (and they don't mind me plagiarizing)
Fortunately the heater in the kitchen hasn't acted up again like it was last week post-power outage.
Unfortunately the fridge hasn't fully recovered from the power outage/surges and she ain't keeping things cold anymore.
Fortunately the (usually awesome!) fridge was free from a friend so it's worth the dough to see if we can get it fixed.
Unfortunately until the repair man comes tomorrow we are throwing out spoiled food everyday.
Fortunately we are getting take out for dinner tonight.
Fortunately I introduced dairy into Jonathan's diet last week and so far there have been no ill effects, so...
FORTUNATELY we get to order PIZZA!!!
25/01/2012
"Anything going on in your life worth blogging about?"
I just received an e-mail, it only had one line:
"Anything going on in your life worth blogging about?"
Well, I guess it depends on who you ask.
***
Life has been pretty good around these parts lately. Although there are some hiccups here and there, JayJay and I are settling nicely into being home most of the time. I absolutely love the kid and cherish this time I get to spend with him. {Although sometimes I fear Tom has set up a camera that I don't know about and he'll see what kind of goof balls occupy this house during the day... But who am I kidding, really? Tom already knows what kind of nuts live here.}
I love that I have girlfriends that are willing to stop by for an afternoon to offer adult conversation and a little freedom to get other things done. And that I have friends' places to go to when we need to get out of the house. Haven't gone anywhere lately though, too much rain. Yes, you heard me, rain.
I'm also loving the fact that we haven't purchased bread in weeks. Ever since the bread machine arrived we've had nothing but fresh, preservative free bread around here. Both of my boys just love the (organic, 75% whole wheat, flax) bread that I make. Please don't tell them the description in parenthesis ;)
I'm also super stoked about my photography class. It's been fantastic (even if I haven't been practicing enough during the week). I wish I knew all of this a long time ago! But I'm really glad I'm at least learning it now. One major draw back though? The LIST of photography items I now pine for... Including more classes!
Now, if I could quit being so lazy and actually get around to sewing something...
"Anything going on in your life worth blogging about?"
Well, I guess it depends on who you ask.
***
Life has been pretty good around these parts lately. Although there are some hiccups here and there, JayJay and I are settling nicely into being home most of the time. I absolutely love the kid and cherish this time I get to spend with him. {Although sometimes I fear Tom has set up a camera that I don't know about and he'll see what kind of goof balls occupy this house during the day... But who am I kidding, really? Tom already knows what kind of nuts live here.}
I love that I have girlfriends that are willing to stop by for an afternoon to offer adult conversation and a little freedom to get other things done. And that I have friends' places to go to when we need to get out of the house. Haven't gone anywhere lately though, too much rain. Yes, you heard me, rain.
I'm also loving the fact that we haven't purchased bread in weeks. Ever since the bread machine arrived we've had nothing but fresh, preservative free bread around here. Both of my boys just love the (organic, 75% whole wheat, flax) bread that I make. Please don't tell them the description in parenthesis ;)
I'm also super stoked about my photography class. It's been fantastic (even if I haven't been practicing enough during the week). I wish I knew all of this a long time ago! But I'm really glad I'm at least learning it now. One major draw back though? The LIST of photography items I now pine for... Including more classes!
Now, if I could quit being so lazy and actually get around to sewing something...
17/01/2012
power, baby
Yesterday morning I was doing laundry and surfing the net while Johnny was enjoying a long nap. A rarity, but more about that in another post.
The apartment felt a bit cool, but we had a cold snap going on (-20!) with a bit of a wind so maybe it was just the lack of adequate insulation that was the culprit.
But then it started to get quite chilly... Then I noticed our downstairs thermostats, which usually have a digital output of temp setting, current temp,time, etc, were blank. Uh oh, this can't be good.
I was bit confused though seeing as they're baseboard heaters (not a furnace)... And the lights were on (so we weren't out of power). I contacted Tom at work and he got me to check the oven (which didnt' work either) then explained the difference of 220 vs 110 power. It seemed that anything that ran off of 220 wasn't working. Unfortunately this includes most major appliances and baseboard heat.
I phoned Hydro, they told me to contact my landlord as a problem with 220 power is RARELY their fault. Our landlord would have to get an electrician to come out, check the issue, and either fix it himself or call Hydro if it was indeed their problem. (Right, because he all have a few hours to spare looking for an electrician while our homes are freezing over...)
The landlord stopped by and ensured me he was on it, but I decided a home with no heat was no place for a baby to be when it was -20 outside. I packed up (and realized how unprepared I was for a situation such as this!) and headed to a friend's house. On my way out of the driveway I saw our landlord again and he informed me that the electrician had already come and the problem was indeed with Hydro (it's times like these that it's awesome our landlord knows everybody). Apparently the whole block was having the same problem.
I spent the afternoon at my friend's then on my way to pick up Tom from work I swung by the house and saw the Hydro guys working on this issue. Perfect! I thought. We will be in before dinner.
When Tom and I returned after his work, there was no power at all anymore. Never mind an issue with 220, the street was DARK. None of the houses had any power. And what was worse, the hydro guys were no where to be found.
We headed back to our friends', who graciously made us dinner and kept us occupied for the evening. Hydro Quebec has a lovely automated call in system that informs you when they think you'll be back up and running... They predicted 3:00am. Great.
Now, we had been sleep training Jay for the previous few nights and he had made AMAZING progress. I was so upset it may have been for nothing considering we may be bunking at our friends' house for the night. I was desperate to get back home. Desperate to get Jay back in his crib for the night. So around 9:30pm we decided to take the little man for a spin so he could get some sleep (there were quit a few people over at our friends' house, which was great for a distraction but not so good for a baby to fall asleep.)
We picked up some Tim's and went for a ride. Around 11:30pm we swung by the house and saw the Hydro guys working again. They had replaced the transformer and were in the process of packing up. YAY!!
We continued to stalk them thinking it was only a matter of minutes before they flicked the switch and we would be back in business (and going to sleep in our own beds!) Around 1:30am (yeah, not exactly a matter of minutes...) they were done, the power was on and we were in our home.
I was so thankful we were home! The thermostats read about 15 degrees so we put an additional heater in Jay's room to get the temperature up sooner than later so he could go to bed. We woke Jay and began the process of suiting him up in his jammies. Right when I had him stark naked the equivalent to fireworks went off right outside our bedroom window. Major cracking, flashes of light, loud sizzling/hissing and then, of course, total darkness. The whole block was out again.
I sat holding my cold naked baby in the dark and was furious. We were thisclose to sleeping in our own beds. Now it's nearly 2:00am and we need to pack back up and leave. To make matters even more interesting the hydro line in front of our house was on fire. Yup, on fire. The line is about 20 feet from our bedroom window... So right at eye level for us. Funny thing is I was so mad at this point it didn't scare me, just pissed me off even more.
Our town's security was there within a minute (probably the most exciting thing ever to happen on his shift!) and the firetrucks arrived 9 minutes later.
We put our poor tired baby back in the car and headed back to our friends' home. Thankfully we have a key and they were half expecting us back anyways. But I must say, I consider anyone willing to let us (and our baby - who probably wasn't going to sleep after all of this) in with welcoming arms at 2:15am to be awesomest people ever. But I already knew that about them ;)
Jay did fall asleep, eventually. And so did we. A call to the landlord this morning and we had the great news that we had power again (and had for about 2 hours already... Meaning maybe it was worth returning again). The tree in our front yard had been chopped to bits and our heater in the kitchen apparently decided to retire after all of the excitement.
But besides that we are home. Unscathed. Twenty-four hours later.
The apartment felt a bit cool, but we had a cold snap going on (-20!) with a bit of a wind so maybe it was just the lack of adequate insulation that was the culprit.
But then it started to get quite chilly... Then I noticed our downstairs thermostats, which usually have a digital output of temp setting, current temp,time, etc, were blank. Uh oh, this can't be good.
I was bit confused though seeing as they're baseboard heaters (not a furnace)... And the lights were on (so we weren't out of power). I contacted Tom at work and he got me to check the oven (which didnt' work either) then explained the difference of 220 vs 110 power. It seemed that anything that ran off of 220 wasn't working. Unfortunately this includes most major appliances and baseboard heat.
I phoned Hydro, they told me to contact my landlord as a problem with 220 power is RARELY their fault. Our landlord would have to get an electrician to come out, check the issue, and either fix it himself or call Hydro if it was indeed their problem. (Right, because he all have a few hours to spare looking for an electrician while our homes are freezing over...)
The landlord stopped by and ensured me he was on it, but I decided a home with no heat was no place for a baby to be when it was -20 outside. I packed up (and realized how unprepared I was for a situation such as this!) and headed to a friend's house. On my way out of the driveway I saw our landlord again and he informed me that the electrician had already come and the problem was indeed with Hydro (it's times like these that it's awesome our landlord knows everybody). Apparently the whole block was having the same problem.
I spent the afternoon at my friend's then on my way to pick up Tom from work I swung by the house and saw the Hydro guys working on this issue. Perfect! I thought. We will be in before dinner.
When Tom and I returned after his work, there was no power at all anymore. Never mind an issue with 220, the street was DARK. None of the houses had any power. And what was worse, the hydro guys were no where to be found.
We headed back to our friends', who graciously made us dinner and kept us occupied for the evening. Hydro Quebec has a lovely automated call in system that informs you when they think you'll be back up and running... They predicted 3:00am. Great.
Now, we had been sleep training Jay for the previous few nights and he had made AMAZING progress. I was so upset it may have been for nothing considering we may be bunking at our friends' house for the night. I was desperate to get back home. Desperate to get Jay back in his crib for the night. So around 9:30pm we decided to take the little man for a spin so he could get some sleep (there were quit a few people over at our friends' house, which was great for a distraction but not so good for a baby to fall asleep.)
We picked up some Tim's and went for a ride. Around 11:30pm we swung by the house and saw the Hydro guys working again. They had replaced the transformer and were in the process of packing up. YAY!!
We continued to stalk them thinking it was only a matter of minutes before they flicked the switch and we would be back in business (and going to sleep in our own beds!) Around 1:30am (yeah, not exactly a matter of minutes...) they were done, the power was on and we were in our home.
I was so thankful we were home! The thermostats read about 15 degrees so we put an additional heater in Jay's room to get the temperature up sooner than later so he could go to bed. We woke Jay and began the process of suiting him up in his jammies. Right when I had him stark naked the equivalent to fireworks went off right outside our bedroom window. Major cracking, flashes of light, loud sizzling/hissing and then, of course, total darkness. The whole block was out again.
I sat holding my cold naked baby in the dark and was furious. We were thisclose to sleeping in our own beds. Now it's nearly 2:00am and we need to pack back up and leave. To make matters even more interesting the hydro line in front of our house was on fire. Yup, on fire. The line is about 20 feet from our bedroom window... So right at eye level for us. Funny thing is I was so mad at this point it didn't scare me, just pissed me off even more.
Our town's security was there within a minute (probably the most exciting thing ever to happen on his shift!) and the firetrucks arrived 9 minutes later.
We put our poor tired baby back in the car and headed back to our friends' home. Thankfully we have a key and they were half expecting us back anyways. But I must say, I consider anyone willing to let us (and our baby - who probably wasn't going to sleep after all of this) in with welcoming arms at 2:15am to be awesomest people ever. But I already knew that about them ;)
Jay did fall asleep, eventually. And so did we. A call to the landlord this morning and we had the great news that we had power again (and had for about 2 hours already... Meaning maybe it was worth returning again). The tree in our front yard had been chopped to bits and our heater in the kitchen apparently decided to retire after all of the excitement.
But besides that we are home. Unscathed. Twenty-four hours later.
16/01/2012
I need to write more down
I read a baby blog recently and thought to myself: What a great journal this mama has!
Then I thought: Umm.... Get on it woman!
So here's a list of what the Jay man is up to as of late, not for your benefit but for mine.
Then I thought: Umm.... Get on it woman!
So here's a list of what the Jay man is up to as of late, not for your benefit but for mine.
- He does indeed call me mama. It took a while for Tom to admit it, but he does :)
- He calls Tom Dah.
- He's still wobbly on his legs, but is getting better. Although walking is still a ways off, he's getting pretty good at scaling the walls/furniture/chairs/anything to get where he needs to go. For some reason he hasn't figured out that he can take a straight path if he was willing to get down, crawl, then get back up. Nope instead he goes aaaallll the waaaay arooooound the room to get to the other side. Oh well, buys me some time! Sometimes he scales his way to his car (one of those little push/ride on things) and then drives across the room...giggling all the way... He's so proud of himself when he does it!
- He loves playing peek-a-boo. He'll hide behind the wall to the kitchen and duck out from behind it to look at daddy on the couch... Grinning from ear to ear waiting for daddy to say "Wha!" Jay then bursts out with laughter and hides behind the wall again... giggling with anticipation of doing it again. And again. I love this kid.
- When he was sick the week before last he kind of gave up on solid foods. Thank goodness I'm still nursing so we had nothing to worry about nutrition wise. I figured he wasn't feeling well and simply didn't feel like eating. Then he got better but still wasn't interested in eating. It escalated to the point that when we put him in his high chair, he'd turn 180 degrees away from us and screech to get down. What??? I thought to myself... My son LOVES eating and usually accepts whatever organic mashed up goodness that was offered to him! I'd shovel, he'd open, mash, and swallow contently. Hhmmm.... I got to the point of tricking him into eating some, but then remembered my dietitian friend proclaiming the benefits of the division of responsibility when it comes to infant/toddler feeding and nutrition so I put away the trickery. I also realized that he was still eating his finger food, just not his spoon-fed food.... So a few nights ago I baked some sweet potato sticks, cubed chicken, and lightly mashed some peas and placed it all on his tray for him to explore... He ate all of it. And has been eating contently again ever since. Yup, my baby no longer needs me (or WANTS me) to spoon feed him (sniff!). Although I'm a little heart broken over it, I'm loving the extra time it takes him and the freedom I have to clean/cook etc in the kitchen while he munches away. Yay for real meals for the whole family!
- He likes to point at things now to show me. I find the ability for him to comunicate this way with us so heart warming.
- When hthey say goodnight to each other Tom points at Jay and Jay points at Tom... Tom slowly moves towards him until their index fingers touch. This. Is. Thrilling! for Jonathan. Oh heck, we all love it!
15/01/2012
sorry, we've been sick
Blah!
It all started over Christmas holidays. The boy wasn't feeling well, then I wasn't feeling well. Both of us had separate trips to the (amazingly available, very friendly, way better than Quebec's) Manitoba doctors' office. But nothing was concluded. Then we got home (to Montreal) and Tom came down with a ruthless head cold. I crossed my fingers that Jay and I already had it, that it was the same coodies that we had but just manifested differently in Tom.
I should know better than to cross my fingers.
Jay and I came down with the same terrible cold a few days later... You know, a few days after Tom started back at work and there was no one around to take care of us. (SOB!) I had a whopping migraine to go along with it the first day too. Not sure if you know this, but being a sick mom (with a sick baby) is no fun AT ALL.
Ugh.
It's been almost 2 weeks now. We've been on the mend for the past few and (dare I say) I think we're pretty much over it. But thanks to all the phlegm Jay had been routinely getting up every couple hours at night... Sadly this hasn't passed with the cold symptoms. Crap. I HATE sleep training. :(
On a brighter note, I started my photography course! I love it and it's exactly the level I need right now. I'm such a lucky girl to have a guy that insisted I find one, signed up for it, and got to go to it. I'm so looking forward to my next class on Saturday but have lots of homework to do before then!
It all started over Christmas holidays. The boy wasn't feeling well, then I wasn't feeling well. Both of us had separate trips to the (amazingly available, very friendly, way better than Quebec's) Manitoba doctors' office. But nothing was concluded. Then we got home (to Montreal) and Tom came down with a ruthless head cold. I crossed my fingers that Jay and I already had it, that it was the same coodies that we had but just manifested differently in Tom.
I should know better than to cross my fingers.
Jay and I came down with the same terrible cold a few days later... You know, a few days after Tom started back at work and there was no one around to take care of us. (SOB!) I had a whopping migraine to go along with it the first day too. Not sure if you know this, but being a sick mom (with a sick baby) is no fun AT ALL.
Ugh.
It's been almost 2 weeks now. We've been on the mend for the past few and (dare I say) I think we're pretty much over it. But thanks to all the phlegm Jay had been routinely getting up every couple hours at night... Sadly this hasn't passed with the cold symptoms. Crap. I HATE sleep training. :(
On a brighter note, I started my photography course! I love it and it's exactly the level I need right now. I'm such a lucky girl to have a guy that insisted I find one, signed up for it, and got to go to it. I'm so looking forward to my next class on Saturday but have lots of homework to do before then!
04/01/2012
Enrolled
GAH!
I'm so excited (and nervous).
I enrolled in a photography course! It's just a short one (2 hours/week for 3 weeks), but I think it will be a great start. I start next Saturday!
I'm so excited (and nervous).
I enrolled in a photography course! It's just a short one (2 hours/week for 3 weeks), but I think it will be a great start. I start next Saturday!
01/01/2012
10 months
Today I stopped.
To take every little bit of you in
Time is slipping by so fast
My baby is slipping away
I couldn't be prouder, nor sadder.
So today I stopped
Time is slipping by so fast
My baby is slipping away
I couldn't be prouder, nor sadder.
So today I stopped
And loved your sweet little nose
Your round soft cheeks
Your pursed little lips
And your beautiful bald head
Today I stopped.
And marveled over your dimpled elbows
Your round ears
And line-y little hands
Today I stopped
Because you will not.
I love you sweet baby of mine
I cherish you so much
But our time together is short.
Because you will not.
I love you sweet baby of mine
I cherish you so much
But our time together is short.
New Year's Resolutions
Yes, this year I have some! And to ensure I stick to 'em, I'm posting them here on the World Wide Web. Feel free to ask in the year ahead if I've been successful.
1) To not use plastic disposable shopping bags.
Pamela was the inspiration behind this. One year she decided to not use plastic bags for the month of January and if it went well (and it did!) not to use them for the whole year. What a fantastic idea! Over Christmas I acquired an awesome stash of reusable shopping bags (and produce bags and bulk buying bags!) so I should be set.
2) To not use paper towels
Although I didn't receive any unpaper towels for Christmas, I have scrounged up some fabric items around the house that I plan on re-purposing (YES, a sewing project!) into unpaper towels. If I make it through the month of January maybe I can reward myself with a few fancy purchased ones from Etsy. Maybe. The obvious exception to this rule is when I'm at someone else's home.
3) To not use any non-environmentally friendly diapering options
I pulled off using only cloth or biodegradable options for the most part of last year and we were traveling a lot of the time. I can totally do it this year. However let it be known that I'm always willing to accommodate for any person wanting to provide free child care but doesn't feel comfortable with our diapering choices ;)
So yeah, definitely an environment friendly theme... How about you? Any challenges for yourself for the new year ahead?
1) To not use plastic disposable shopping bags.
Pamela was the inspiration behind this. One year she decided to not use plastic bags for the month of January and if it went well (and it did!) not to use them for the whole year. What a fantastic idea! Over Christmas I acquired an awesome stash of reusable shopping bags (and produce bags and bulk buying bags!) so I should be set.
2) To not use paper towels
Although I didn't receive any unpaper towels for Christmas, I have scrounged up some fabric items around the house that I plan on re-purposing (YES, a sewing project!) into unpaper towels. If I make it through the month of January maybe I can reward myself with a few fancy purchased ones from Etsy. Maybe. The obvious exception to this rule is when I'm at someone else's home.
3) To not use any non-environmentally friendly diapering options
I pulled off using only cloth or biodegradable options for the most part of last year and we were traveling a lot of the time. I can totally do it this year. However let it be known that I'm always willing to accommodate for any person wanting to provide free child care but doesn't feel comfortable with our diapering choices ;)
So yeah, definitely an environment friendly theme... How about you? Any challenges for yourself for the new year ahead?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)