We need hobbies!

Last night was a normal night.  We ate dinner, played with Leah, and then put Leah to bed.  Each of us settled onto our respective couches ready to watch whatever our PVR recorded for new TV.   To our horror, there were no new shows on last night.  None that we watch anyway.  After a few minutes of channel surfing Dave turned to me and said "can I play games on your phone there's nothing on."  I threw it to him and thought to myself, there must be something on we have 200ish channels what do you mean there is nothing on.  He was right there was nothing on.  


So I thought, out loud, we need hobbies.  We are so reliant that there will be something on TV for us to watch in the evenings that we are becoming dependent on it to entertain us.  We could play cards, read (which I do but Dave doesn't), find a video game to play together...  Something.  I would like to think that between my new running program with Breanna, yoga with Katie, and up coming work that I won't find myself in this position again.  But, lately, I have often come home to or find Dave sitting and playing games on my phone as there is nothing on and he doesn't know what to do with himself.  I wonder what hobbies are out there that we could do together to fill the voids?  I am sure once I go back to work this problem will solve itself more or less as there will be household chores to be completed in the evening.  But I do still think that it will be helpful to have hobbies.

We did it...Mostly

Today, for the first time, I dropped Leah off at her day home and left.  It was hard, but slightly gratifying.  Leah was only there for about 3 hours.  But still, it is a step in the right direction.

To our day home's credit.  Things seemed to be okay.

I think that a little morning history is needed to give you the full scope of why it was only okay.  Leah woke up at 5:00 am crying for her soother as she couldn't find it in her crib.  This is a full two hours before she normally would have woken up.  She then went down for roughly 20 minutes.  I then listened to her fuss for 15 minutes after she started fussing the second time.  I waited the second time only because I have a strict nothing happens before 6:00 am rule.  When I went in again she was drooling and chewing on her thumb.  She is cutting her 5th tooth.  And I thought to myself, damn you tooth today of all days you had to make your grand appearance into Leah's mouth.  You really couldn't have waited until tomorrow.  So, needless to say, Leah was not herself this morning.

So, when I say things were okay, I mean that Leah was okay for behavior.  I guess she would be happy and then upset and wanted to chew on everything in sight.  I didn't seem to matter what was done to try and comfort her, Leah was on and off happy.  The reason I know this, Leah only ate a yogurt for lunch.  For those of you who know Leah, when she refuses to eat her mouth really must hurt!  So, when she tried to put Leah down for a nap it didn't go well; luckily I was on my way to pick her up.

Regardless of what happened today.  I feel that this was a mini milestone in our lives.  Today, Leah learnt, as the great Hap Palmer song says, "My mommy comes back, she always comes back, she always comes back to get me..."

                                           Leah before we left for her day home.

Spring are you really here?

Wow.  It's nice out.  It changes yours mood.  I think that maybe I was starting to develop a little bit of SAD?!  As the winter months drew on I feel like we were either hiding inside from the cold, sick, sick again, or hiding inside from the cold.  And despite some of the Lew Crews best efforts there were days when we just stayed home cause it was that cold outside.  

Now, I find myself going for afternoon walks with no coat on (or no hat depending on who you are LOL).  I am only wearing one layer today instead of two or three.  I would like to think that spring and eventually summer is our reward for toughing it out through the winter.  


Where else in this world do you get to experience such extreme season changes?  Yes the weather differs through the seasons, but I would like to think that the Northern areas of Canada have very defined seasonal changes and if you have patients and wait you will be rewarded with your favorite one.


Warm weather I welcome you.  Please stick around we missed you so much.  


P.S.  Just think I say this now (that +4 is warm) but come October I will think it is freezing!  

The End is in Sight

I was sure that this time in life would never come.  Everyone always said "enjoy your year off while you can it goes by so fast."  Now, here I am with an 11 months old (11 months yikes) and asking myself where did the time go.  I still feel like it's Christmas and I am thinking yeah I still have so much time left; and now it's March.  Wow.

Let us keep in mind that I have been off work since Feb 2010.  So, in all reality, I have had more time off then the average person.  Due to the kick butt benefits at my work I did not have to go back in Feb 2011. Alas I get to go back 52 weeks after my delivery date. 

The time has come to start easing Leah into dayhome.  Easing myself back into that work mind set.  Prepare us for the next stage in our lives.  The stage where mom goes to work, Leah goes to care, and we spend the early mornings, late afternoons, and early evenings as a family.  No more 24/7 with my little girl.  It makes me sad.  But I do believe that it is the best for me to return to work and for Leah to play all day with friends and with an adult supervisor other than her mommy.  She is already a mommy suck and the older she gets the worse it gets.  

This will be good for us?!  Right?

Dye my hair?

I always have this idea in my head that I should dye my hair.  The problem is I never do it.  I fleetingly think that I should do something to make my hair colour more vibrant and rich.  But what?  Do I go Georgina blond (don't think that I could pull it off), Breanna dark brown (really don't know what that would do for my complexion), or Katie highlights (nice but seem high maintenance).  I know that I should probably do something that is my own.  But what?  I have never hopped on that train.  But I am feeling the winter blues and think that this will make me feel better.  Here's the thing.  I think that I am way to cheap to pay to have a professional do it.  So, do I dye it out of a box?  Which I have do before and have only had one major mishap in college.  Or pay someone....

I have had people comment on my "chocolate brown" hair before saying they love the colour.  But, it has been this colour for most of my life.  I need a change.  And really how many 27 year-olds do you know that don't dye there hair.  Decisions, decisions...

Cold & Bored

Why do I live here again?  Out of all of the choices that I have made in my life why did I choose to live in The City of Edmonton, Alberta even?  It is so cold, and the wind chill makes it cold enough to even question leaving your house with a baby.
I really do wish sometimes that we would move to a warmer climate.  Most of the time we wouldn't even have to leave the province to do that.  Just move south.  Which then makes me wonder why people live farther North than Edmonton.  It is a pickle.  Maybe I should take a Facebook quiz and find out which Canadian City or Province best suits me and move there.  Seriously Mother Nature this is enough it's March now.  Where is the warm weather? I will even take dumps of snow to not have to wear socks to bed at night to stay warm.

Are we better yet?

Oh wow.  It has now been one week since the first illness hit our household and what a week it was.  I don't think that we have ever been this sick for so many days in row and we are still recovering.  


This all started last Tuesday when I came down with the stomach flu.  Right behind me was our little girl getting sick all over her crib.  Then 24 hours later I thought that we were on the mend and very happy that we didn't pass on our illness to my sister (who was getting married on the coming Sunday).  Then it hit us.  Our little girl gets a nasty nasty cold.  I think to myself, how can one little girl be so unlucky?  Well I have my theories...Teething.  Leah, now, has 6 teeth.  They always come in sets of two and she always always always gets a cold with them a nasty cold.  To the point that once again on Saturday we take her to our weekend Dr. clinic just to make sure that it really is a cold and not something else.  The Dr. working this weekend reassures us that it is a virus.  Plenty of fluids, saline rinse for her nose and rest.  He tells me no Tylenol or Advil unless her fever is over 39 degrees.  That I did not listen to.  Tylenol and Advil made her happy, comfortable, and not in pain.  She was back to her old self again by Saturday afternoon.  We thought all was well.  


Sunday rolls around, she was clingy (not Leah) and upset but okay.  Sunday evening, Gramma comes to watch Leah, Dave and I get ready for the wedding.  We leave to a screaming little girl and go out for a night of fun.  The wedding was lovely.  Thankfully my sister had recovered from the stomach flu that she caught from us a mere 36 hours before hand and was truly happy on her day.  


Dinner was wonderful, the reception was just starting to kick off and....Dave gets sick.  The poor man gets sick at my sister's wedding.  I felt horrible and because I am wife of the year, I had already had to much to drink, which means after being sick in a strange public bathroom he had to drive us home.   I really felt bad for him.  We get home to find out that our little girl is also having a rough night having spent most of the evening sleeping on Gramma on the couch downstairs.  I knew that I was in for a bad night.  We all go to bed.  An hour later Leah is up and will only sleep if I rock her in the chair in her room.  What a night! I think the first night that you spend up for the entire night rocking your baby so she/he will sleep evening even though you are getting no rest is one of those things that truly makes you a parent.  After five hours of rocking I am able to put Leah to bed and get a few hours of shut eye.  


The next morning we try and rest and make it through the day.  Leah becomes more of herself in the afternoon and there is now light at the end of this very long dark tunnel.  We are all in bed by 9:00 pm and get a good night sleep.  


So far our day is going well today.  But you worry.  It has been 7 days since my little girl has had a decent meal.  She is eating and drinking but not like she normally does.  One of two teeth are through and I think we are down to a matter of hours before the next one arrives.  She is happy and herself.  But man.  How many teeth are there in the human mouth and how many more times do we have to go through this.  I know it sounds horrible.  But at this point in our lives I wonder...Does she really need teeth?  She can eat steak without them!


So please please please cross your fingers for us that we are on the road to recovery.  And send good healthy thoughts out to my new brother-in-law Mike as he is the only person who was staying my house that has not gotten sick yet.  I would really feel bad and guilty if he got sick on there trip across Canada on Via Rail.  Alas....