Headed to Lawn Bowling

I'm not sure if it's the approaching New Year or the recent baby boom, but fitness does seem to be the talk of the town. I have been building myself up one small step, (and I mean small step), at a time. I gave up Coke almost two weeks ago! I have been trying to drink more water and last night I created a month of dinners using vegetables I have never even held before. I'm taking baby steps on the right path.

So now would be a good time to start turning myself towards the fitness part. I actually own a copy of Fitness For Dummies as it was a textbook for a class I took in college. It's nice to draw on that class now. But I do crave human interaction, so I had to find something active to do with others.

I headed to the church for the drop in Volleyball time on Monday night. It's supposed to be for adults, but has been overtaken by the youth. This bothers a lot of adults and as such there are 4 who attend regularly. All of them have a heart for youth. So while they may wish it was a bit more competitive, a bit more organized, a bit more of a workout they continue to come to meet the kids and give them a place to hang out. I have such a heart, which is good considering hubby is a youth pastor, and so I too will continue to go.

Now, I know how to play. I only played on a team in elementary school where there were no cuts. But I faithfully showed up to every intramural game all the way through college. I can't spike or overhand serve, but I do know where to stand and how to position my body to hit the ball right, etc, etc. It seems that in my old age I only know how to do that in theory. I missed a lot of shots, but I was also incredibly intimdated by the Sr. Boys Volleyball team that showed up to play.

I stood there in my HUGE jogging pants and maternity t-shirt. I missed a few things I should have gotten. Then I got to serve, and scored three points!! There is a man who plays, he brings his son and daughter with him. This man is, (and I'm not exaggerating), 7 feet tall and built like a brick wall. He just has to breathe and the ball slams into the ground on the other side of the net, (okay that's an exaggeration). But he sent a ball straight at my head-and I returned it.

Suddenly the boys were encouraging me and we were playing like a team. I think it will take a month for me to be comfortable, and then I don't think I'll be picked last! That was on Monday night. I'm still sore today. And it wasn't even that much of a workout. I spent half the time sitting as we had to rotate teams, and I walk up 30 stairs a zillion times a day, but my butt and thighs are still a burnin.

Maybe lawn bowling is a better choice.

The Barenaked Ladies know their stuff.

It’s been one week since you looked at me

Dropped your arms to your sides and said I’m sorry

Five days since I laughed at you and said

You just did just what I thought you were gonna do

Three days since the living room

We realized we’re both to blame, but what could we do?

Yesterday you just smiled at me

Cause it’ll still be two days till we say we’re sorry

It's a love/hate relationship for me. I love Coke. I could drink an entire 12 case every day. Honestly, I think I 've done it. Two litres isn't even a challenge for this gal. I hate that I can't have the body I want if I keep on downing it in epic portions. I love that I can come crawling back to a can when I've had a bad day! And I hate that I made it public knowledge I was giving the stuff up. What was I thinking? It's so much easier to fail and give in to the sweet syrup when no one's watching. I had to settle for No Name Lime Citrus Punch at a social event this weekend while 4 bottles of Coke stared at me daring me to drink them. Augh.

When I do get to sleep I sleep much better. But that must just be a coincidence. How I hate to love it. And the jingles are addictive too. All I can hear in my head is a constant battle of "I think I can, Always Coke-a-Cola, I think I can, Always Coke-A Cola."

Working 1-5.

AM that is. Brooklyn has begun a disturbing trend of waking up to eat at about 1:00 am and she'll fall in an out of sleep for the next two hours when she'll want to eat again at 3:00am. It means getting up out of bed constantly to calm her or at least try and keep her from crying loud enough to wake up Isabella. We have not been successful at that, so we've given up and now cuddle on the couch with her during those two hours. But the real fun starts after she eats at 3:00. She just starts screaming. For no apparent reason. She's eaten her full, given us some good burps. We change her diaper, we hold her close, or we lay her on our lap if that seems to be her preference. She just screams for anywhere from 1-3 hours! We are exhausted. Hence the lack of posting. That and my NEED for organization has kicked in and I'm working on my recipe blog. Now all the recipes are categorized and if you click on the category at the bottom it links you to all the recipes in that category. Very cool!

Hopefully this trend stops soon and we can get some zzzz's. We're going nuts!

Working 1-5.

AM that is. Brooklyn has begun a disturbing trend of waking up to eat at about 1:00 am and she'll fall in an out of sleep for the next two hours when she'll want to eat again at 3:00am. It means getting up out of bed constantly to calm her or at least try and keep her from crying loud enough to wake up Isabella. We have not been successful at that, so we've given up and now cuddle on the couch with her during those two hours. But the real fun starts after she eats at 3:00. She just starts screaming. For no apparent reason. She's eaten her full, given us some good burps. We change her diaper, we hold her close, or we lay her on our lap if that seems to be her preference. She just screams for anywhere from 1-3 hours! We are exhausted. Hence the lack of posting. That and my NEED for organization has kicked in and I'm working on my recipe blog. Now all the recipes are categorized and if you click on the category at the bottom it links you to all the recipes in that category. Very cool!

Hopefully this trend stops soon and we can get some zzzz's. We're going nuts!

The Gong still Ringeth

Yesterday was Grey Cup sunday. We went all out. Sent out the email invite to our peeps, I made a tonne of chili and home made buns and home made apple pie. Nick borrowed the projector from the church so we could watch it on the entire wall. Half the people we invited showed up. And the game was a gong show. But I got to watch Amazing Race on that projector screen. The people were practically life sized!

And we got our reverse osmosis water system installed today. The guy was supposed to come this afternoon. But he called at 7:30 this morning to ask if he could come right away so his day could be done by noon. I had Nick tell him no. I hadn't gotten the kids up, I hadn't seen the shower in three days. There was no way I was accomodating him going home at noon. But he pushed on until I agreed he could come for 11:00. He showed up at 10:00. Luckily my Woman reflex over powered my Mom reflex and I let the kids fuss while I had a 10 second shower this morning.

Then we went to the doctor for Brooklyn's one month weigh in. 25 minutes to get dressed and out the door. 10 minutes in the doctor's office. Fun times. But Brooklyn weighed in at 8 lbs 9 oz!!

I beginning to believe there always is a silver lining.

Cue the Gong.

So yesterday we finally had a few free hours to go and switch over our health coverage from Alberta to Ontario. We had quite the time switching over our licences, (or I should say Nick did as I didn't know I would need my marriage certificate to prove I was the same person when I was born as today), so we weren't particularly looking forward to switching over our health coverage. A friend reminded us to bring snacks. We had to go to another city and would have to come home on a highway so we hoped to be done before rush hour.

We arrived at 2:45. On the internet it lists 3:00 as the down time, so the best time to go. We arrived to a huge line and the computer systems were down. We could wait or go home. We chose to wait. The system was back up in 20 minutes. Sweet.

Now when you arrive you meet a front desk lady. She checks to make sure you have the appropriate documentation. Again I was screwed. Until we realized that our car insurance had my name listed with our current address. (Funny how I just needed to say I was me to get car insurance, which costs money, but I needed all kinds of documents for free services). So we were saved. We were given a number.

The numbers are numerical, but also broken up into categories. So some start with A some with D etc. Once the system was up and running they began taking a pleasant mix of all numbers. We were 8 away. Then all of a sudden everyone was gone. Just two wickets left open. And they were only taking numbers beginning with D. I figured no problem, just lunch half hour max.

A lady came in, waited 10 minutes, and demanded the front lady give her a number beginning with every letter. She was not going to wait for the next 3 hours. She was gone in 10 more minutes. I began to steam.

A baby cried. I began to leak.

Then Isabella got restless. So I took her to an open area and began playing with her. We were playing peek a boo around corners. She was giggling and every now and then squealing. A security guard came over and asked me to keep my toddler silent as it made it hard for the workers to concentrate. And then Nick was watching her and she ran a bit too hard into the fake glass that surrounded an office. The security guard started coming toward us. Then she was crawling under a metal sign, we were watching her head, she was fine. He reminded us that metal and glass are "danger" and we shouldn't let kids play like that. Nick reminded him that he was the parent and was just fine thank you.

We steamed some more.

Then another lady who had been there for 10 minutes got tired of waiting. So when someone's number was called and they didn't go up to the wicket right away she went up and played the I-don't-know-where-my-number-is card. But she also lied to the front desk lady and didn't have the right documents, so she was sent home and had to come back the next morning. Ha. Ha on her. Budgers never win.

So then at 5:00, (1.5 hours) after all the workers left, they finally returned from lunch. It took another ten minutes for them to realize the system wasn't totally working and they weren't calling any numbers beginning with A.

Brooklyn began to stir. But I thought there's 18 wickets and we're only 7 numbers away I'll just wait until we get home to feed her. She dozed in and out, it seemed to be working.

We got to leave at 5:45. But at least we now have health insurance in Ontario.

And we were only stuck in rush hour traffic for about 45 minutes, which is a record in shortness for rush hour.

100 Things

I got this from Jen and Lindsay , you can check theirs out as well if you want to do it and need ideas.

1. I got a gift for Brooklyn from Elizabeth .
2. I made Elizabeth a thank you card.
3. I realized I forgot the stamp on the envelope after I put the card in the red mailbox.
4. I saw Sarah McLachlan in concert in 2004.
5. At that concert she said she felt brain cells leak out whenever she nursed her daughter.
6. I can relate to that.
7. I love Sarah McLachlan as a musician and a person, from what I know of her in interviews and documentaries.
8. I would definitely see her in concert again.
9. I have also seen Nickelback in concert.
10. As well as Matchbox 20 and Lifehouse.
11. I will never go with Nick to a Metallica concert.
12. He has been to many.
13. I am up today at 3:00am.
14. I was up to nurse Brooklyn.
15. I am waiting for her to fall asleep again.
16. I have a hard time staying awake at 3:00am.
17. When I was in college I rarely went to bed before 3:00am.
18. What was I thinking?
19. There was also a time in college where I had insomnia and I didn't go to bed at all for days at a time.
20. That's how I got to know Erica .
21. I always loved how Erica sounded when she sang.
22. I don't really know how to sing.
23. I can read a little bit of music.
24. I like singing in choirs, but never alone.
25. That's one thing I like about church, it's like being in a big choir.
26. I did sing in the choir in highschool for a bit.
27. I never went on an infamous choir trip though.
28. I heard crazy things happen on those trips.
29. The craziest thing I ever did was go on a blind date with someone I met chatting on the internet.
30. I never told my mom that.
31. She knows now.
32. I have known my mom for 26 years.
33. Coincidently I am 26 years old.
34. I will be 27 in June.
35. For my 27th birthday I would like someone else to cook me a Christmas dinner with all the trimmings.
36. Simply because I love stuffing.
37. I could eat the stuffing from inside the family turkey all by myself.
38. I am not exaggerating.
39. Sometimes I do exaggerate.
40. Like if you ask me how cold it is or how tired I am.
41. Although now a days I'm not exaggerating about how tired I am.
42. I am tired.
43. I have not slept for longer than 5 hours at a time in the last month.
44. But I no longer have to get up in the middle of the night to pee.
45. Instead I now release milk in the middle of the night.
46. I make Brooklyn happy when I do that.
47. That is assuming she's there.
48. Sometimes my boobs just let it flow without asking me first.
49. Waterfalls are something that flow.
50. I live near Niagra Falls.
51. My grandparents live nearer Niagra Falls.
52. I will be taking my girls to see the falls this Christmas.
53. We will be doing that because they light them up for Christmas.
54. Christmas is only 40 days away.
55. (You might want to check that my math is bad).
56. There is only one house on our block with Christmas lights up.
57. I'm sure there will be many more before Christmas comes.
58. I think I even have outdoor Christmas lights.
59. I will check on that.
60. Correction I will have Nick check on that.
61. Then I will hang them.
62. Correction, then I will supervise while Nick hangs them.
63. I like Nick.
64. I like that Nick is tall.
65. Nick reaches a lot of things down for me from high shelves.
66. Every shelf is a high shelf.
67. When he's not home I climb on the counters.
68. That scares my grandma.
69. Both of my grandmas are still alive.
70. I know that makes me lucky.
71. Lucky is the name of a guy on a soap opera I watch.
72. I only watch one soap opera.
73. I only watch it once or twice a week.
74. Everyday I watch George Shrinks, Big Comfy Couch and Lazy Town.
75. I actually enjoy them.
76. I also enjoy watching Belle dance to the theme music.
77. And try to do the clock stretch.
78. I do not stretch nearly enough.
79. I know this because my toenails are long.
80. I only realized this yesterday.
81. I'm sure they didn't grow this long overnight.
82. I can't remember the last time I was somewhere just overnight.
83. Oh I lied, I had a few one nighters during our move out here.
84. I guess that brings me back to leaking brain cells.
85. Isn't it crazy how cyclical life is?
86. I find comfort in how cyclical the seasons are.
87. My favorite season is winter.
88. I used to despise summer.
89. Now that I have kids I have to at least tolerate all seasons.
90. Or else they'd never get any fresh air.
91. And that would be bad for them.
92. I do a lot of things I would rather not do because they're good for my children.
93. Like get up at 3:00am.
94. I hope they appreciate that.
95. I know they'll never say they do.
96. And I don't really expect them to.
97. In reality I don't even want them to.
98. Because that's what being a mom means.
99. And I chose to be a mom.
100. Brooklyn is finally asleep.

The Fourth Trimester:Month One

I think it was Karen who first introduced me to the phrase 'Fourth Trimester' in a comment she left. I've thought of how appropriate it is since I first heard it. We spend so much time preparing for the arrival of our children during trimesters 1, 2 and 3. There are doctor's appointments, books to read, conversations to have, names to pick, all kinds of decisions to make. Then the kid is born and we're back to living life, except life has totally changed. When Belle was born I just took each day one at a time and didn't really do any long term planning. I think that was a fine approach but it ended up with me not doing some things I would have liked to. The big one being that I was 30 lbs heavier than I wanted to be when I got pregnant with Brooklyn. I am determined not to have that happen again, and so I have spent a lot of time planning for the Fourth Trimester. I only started planning since Brooklyn was born, but there is that 6-8 week hiatus when one isn't supposed to work out, or have sex, or do anything overly strenuous and that leaves a lot of free time for thought and planning.

I wrote recently a post about The Uns and how I need to get rid of them. See I've never worked to lose weight before. I've never been all that petite, but I have this little abnormality in that I LOVE to work out. I find nothing more stress releasing than working out. And I have great metabolism as long as I keep the negative stress in my life in check. So, simply by intentionally moving every day I can do my body a lot of good.

The trick is that I have always had a gym membership before, or simply walked everywhere I wanted to go which is suprisingly good exercise. I love hopping on the eliptical and pushing myself to the limit for 45 minutes. I am proud of myself when I drip sweat, not when I glisten. I love it. So I started looking into gym memberships, and they are expensive. Or at least they seem expensive now as my priorities shift. I can't imagine forking out $40-$70 a month to work out.

And thus begins the journey of working out at home, which I think is the definition of torture. And all the discipline it takes to make that happen with two children under the age of two and a social life. I am also looking at going on a diet, (for the purpose of weight loss), for the first time ever, all the while making sure to remember that nursing mothers need 2,200 to 2,900 calories a day to feed the two lives she's supporting.

That's a lot to remember. I don't think I can do it in a half ass way and still see even semi positive results. So I have to get that discipline and motivation and all that jazz. I don't have a work out schedule yet, but I'm going to be doing Winsor Pilates and I'm looking at a stability ball DVD set that I've seen give great results, and intentional walking, (read without pushing a stroller or walking with a toddler), up hills and down hills and who knows maybe it will even turn into jogging!

It's going to be a journey that is new to me and I'll probably talk about it a lot on here. I'm sure no one really cares about my weight loss journey, but there's this tiny bit of me that thinks what if a teenager struggling with her body image is reading this, wouldn't it be great to have a real life example of what women who can't hire personal trainers to come to their home or personal dieticians or personal chefs do in order to maintain their femininity after they've stepped across the threshold that makes 'frumpy housewife' look so tempting!!

Hopefully the pictures will get better and better and you'll be able to see my progress. I'll post my goals after I get the green light from my doctor to get back on the bandwagon, (okay in reality after I make them!) and we'll see how many months this Fourth Trimester lasts. If you're on the same journey, let me know if I can encourage you in any way! I know that whenever I feel my progress has slowed down or even stopped I just have to look at these faces to remember how worth it this journey is to make sure I can see them get married, have babies and do this journey too!

Concerning Christmas

Since Angella starting posting her Christmas Countdown, I have decided it's not too early to talk about Christmas. I have been thinking a lot about Christmas this year as we're going to be doing it a bit differently. For the first time there will be lots of family around. Usually it's just us and maybe our immediate families if that can be arranged. But this year we'll be near my Grandparents and our Aunts and Uncles and all that jazz. We are also involved in a Church family this year, which means the usual Church Christmas stuff but also get togethers with the people we've grown close to.

Another difference is that we've decided to completely skip the gift part. Usually we scrape some money together, totally stressing the whole time, and stuff each other's stockings. Now last year we had Belle and the temptation to get your kids the "perfect" gift was way too much and in an effort to find the "perfect" gift we spent too much. I can hardly imagine what it would be like trying to find two "perfect" gifts. There are so many people who have poured so much love on us and showered the girls with so many gifts that there is also the temptation to give back to everyone and their dog. So we decided to just skip it. Now if you were thinking of giving me a gift, I can honestly say that the greatest gift would be some time with us doing something other than watching tv or just hanging in the living room, (something to take pictures of), or if you live far away the best gift in the world is an updated family picture to put on our wall! And I will definitely be returning those gifts.

There are a lot of differences in who me and Nick are too this year I think. We're growing and re-setting our priorities and time has actually become a commodity at our house. So Christmas will be quite different. I like the differences. I like that the affect it's having on me is focusing on Christ and my little family and the parts of Christmas I want to be remembered and the traditions that are truly important.

Which leads me to the actual point of my post today. (Man am I getting long winded or what!). I was part of a conversation in September about Christmas that still has me thinking.

One of the ladies said that they leave Santa out of Christmas at their house. Now the crowd was all Christian ladies and this was the first time I met this gal. I didn't know if I was setting up for a lecture on materialism or what, but I was ready to listen. She explained that they decided to skip all the "fakes" of the holidays. Like Santa and the Easter Bunny and even the Tooth Fairy. And she had a very compelling reason for doing so.

Consider for a moment about Santa, The Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. We tell our kids about them and create traditions around them, but they aren't real. Inevitably at some point our children will come to the realization that these characters don't exist, they're just enjoyable folklore.

Then consider that at the same time you're telling your children about Santa, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy you are also telling them about Jesus. Jesus in person they will never see. Inevitably at some point in their lives someone will tell them Jesus isn't real.

If you let them let go of their belief in Santa, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy, how can you expect them to hold onto their belief of Jesus? Easy enough to shrug off. I mean Jesus isn't a silly character that brings us treats on a particular occasion. But you have to conceive that it's not that big a jump either.

I do know that I plan on going to the Santa Claus parade on Sunday and when my kids are old enough I'll have them write letters to him, and I will continue to go through the hassle that is getting pictures with Santa in the local mall. I will wait for my kids to come to the tearful conclusion that he doesn't exist and then challenge them to embrace instead the ideal of what Santa represents.

And I am challenged to make sure that Santa isn't bigger than Christ during our Christmas celebration and that while I talk about Santa for a season I never stop talking about Christ. I'll do my best to make Santa an acquaintance and Jesus a friend. But, I'm not exactly sure what that looks like in action, specifically during the Christmas season.

How do you practically make Jesus the reason for your holiday season?

Switching

I just switched to the new version of Blogger, so let me know if something is off, (like leaving comments or what not), so I can make sure I did it right.

I wanna "Discussion".

I'm looking for opinions from all.

On Costco. Well not on Costco per se. I don't want you to tell me if you like the company themselves, but rather on the big warehouse type shopping. Nick and I are finding that we constantly run out of stuff we can't get in bulk here that we used to get in bulk in Alberta and Saskatchewan. So we're going to go check out Costco, (this is also the reason for our deep freeze hunt).

I want to know what you find the best deals on at warehouse stores? I don't want to go buy a box of 49 of something if buying 7 boxes of 7 at my grocery store would be cheaper, you know?

I want to know what you bought at the warehouse five years ago and still haven't used up. I am thinking I'll get caught in that trap of buying 100 litres of mayonaise.

I want to know if you are a regular shopper or just when you see good deals in a flyer. By the way where do you get a Costco flyer?

And finally I am wondering, from all you bargain hunters, does it really take a bite out of your grocery bill? Or do you just spend the money in two places instead of one? Or do you spend more cuz the temptation of the great deals sucks you in.

I'm not going until the first week of December so feel free to take your time to comment, I know many of you are BUSY, and I'll check back for comments before I go!

Life

While life with a small 'l' continues to be an exercise in perseverance,

Life with a capital 'L' get's better every day.

Friggin' Fievel

Sometimes life sucks. Now I'm talking life with a small 'l'. The little events that if they happen in small doses are easy to shrug off, but when you have days upon days of said events life really starts to suck.

We had just such a weekend. It was a busy one seeing as this was Nick's saturday off and therefore one of the two days a month I have a husband for a full 24 hours that I don't have to share. So I planned it to the full. Family pictures, changing our licences over and going out to purchase a deep freeze. A small to-do list but each event would take time. I told Nick of our plans on Tuesday and then proceeded to plan an afternoon for myself for Sunday, a day I desperately needed.

Now Nick needed a hair cut, and I demanded he get it done before we have our pictures taken. Nick waited until Friday evening to try and find a place to cut his hair. I should have known right then that the weekend would be a bust. And a bust it was. No deep freeze, no family pictures, no time for myself, I couldn't even change over my licence because I apparently needed my marriage certificate to prove that I'm the same person I was when I was born. It all sucked big time. At 5:00 on Sunday I just wanted to go to bed.

But we have a standing date on Sunday nights with our pals to watch Amazing Race and this week they could hang around to also view Click, (which I would highly recommend). At some point in the Amazing Race Nick, Ange and Rory all exchanged a look. This look said "Did I just see what I thought I saw?". I, however, missed seeing it. We went about our evening. We threw in Click to end our weekend on a high note.

That high note was me screaming, because that's when I saw the mouse.

Okay, okay I didn't actually scream, but I hate mice. Rory was charged up by the sight of a mouse and proceeded to call for a flashlight and stick. He then chased said mouse all over our house until he caught it and released it outside. So now the mouse is gone. Problem solved.

Except I'm not that naive. I know that where there is one mouse, there is a mother mouse and a father mouse, and a cute little sister mouse that sings and evil mice too. Friggin Fievel.

I am sufficiently creeped out. And it's not that I am even afraid of mice, it's just that the pop out of nowhere with no warning and then they skitter around. It makes my skin crawl. I wonder if I'll ever feel comfortable in my house again.

Maybe I can contract Rory to come live at my house and chase mice all day.

Rabbit Trail

Okay, I know I said I was going to continue yesterday's post today, but I feel like taking a rabbit trail instead.

There is something completely trivial that has bothered me for a while now. I wish I could understand it but I just can't.

Why is it that when one is done their meal at a restaurant the saying is "Cheque please?!". They don't bring you a cheque when it's time to leave. There isn't a $50 on the little black plate with a mint and a note from your waitress saying, "A little something for choosing us over everyone else who could've made you food tonight." It definitely isn't a cheque on there it's a bill. A bill for food and yet it would be completely odd for someone to say "Bill please?!".

Why?

I've got The Uns

I've been thinking all day about how best to describe The Uns. And I think I've finally got it. At this current moment it is 12:45am. Everyone is asleep and I am at my computer. In my defense I just finished filling out a gazillion forms for things like Brooklyn's Record of Live Birth and Birth Certificate and SIN and CCTB. But nonetheless I'm still up. And if tomorrow were a regular day I would probably be snuggled in bed with Brooklyn until 11:00 listening to Isabella play in her room with her Duplos. At approximately 10:45 Belle will come to the gate blocking her door and begin to call in a sing song voice "You up?" "Gaiodnagoeanktenaogda a gndianyea fnd a" (I'm sure they're words I just don't know them). Then we'll get up, head downstairs for brunch, which has officially replaced breakfast, watch Lazy Town and then play, pump, feed and soothe two children until about 4:00 when suddenly I will be filled with inexplicable energy that lasts until my 1:00am pumping session and I head to bed. Upon my head hitting the pillow Brooklyn will sense that I am resting and commence crying until about 3:00am. Then she will sleep and I will say I must go pump again but instead find my pillow and turn my alarm from 4:00 to 7:30 and I will sleep until then. Then I will get up and pump and get Brooklyn for an 8:00 feed and we will fall asleep and commence the afforementioned cuddle session until 11:00.

Did that explain The Uns?

Probably not. There are several of them. Un-Disciplined. Un-Kempt. Un-Organized. Un-Scheduled.

But perhaps the biggest Un, is in itself, Un-Defined.

I have become accutely aware that I must give up my free lancing life as a night hawk and become a morning person as the successful mothers are. The ones that have jobs they get to on time. The ones that have children who eat three meals a day and not two large ones. The mothers who read the news before it's already yesterdays.

I have never been a morning person. I'm not sure I can do it. I'm still a little Un-Convinced.

However, tomorrow I have to take Nick to work for 7:00 am which means leaving the house at 6:30am and then I have to get to a hearing test for Brooklyn at noon, which means I'll be out in public and therefore should not be Un-Showered. Then I have to pick up Nick from work and make supper and plan for our incredibly busy Saturday. I'm suddenly feeling Un-Motivated.

But, I must get rid of The Uns. And I'll tell you why tomorrow.

Constant

I often wondered what I would tell people it's like having more than one child at home. I now know the perfect word-Constant. I am on the go for about 14 hours a day, (it would be longer if I had any discipline, but at the moment I don't). Between four sleeping schedules, three feeding schedules, (well two feeding and one pumping), chores, friends, my time, time with Nick, bathing and other childcare needs, breathing and preparing there is something to do every minute of the day.

I also wondered how Isabella would "regress" after we added Baby #2 to the family. Would she start doing mischevious things? Would she want a soother back? Would she only sleep in my arms? The answer is something I never considered. She has decided to talk. Constantly. In words I cannot understand. From the minute she wakes up and starts talking to her teddy bears to the fiftieth time she calls "G'night see ya later" after we put her to bed. She blabbers, All. Day. Long. But she never says any words. In fact, she notices that Brooklyn gets what she needs by crying and therefore when she needs something, (even just attention), she cries. Constantly.

Constant.

My camera batteries died as I logged on, so go here and click on the images button. Then there is a row of thumbnails on the top and one of them is a baby in a man's hands. That's my baby and my daddy's hands. Check it out. My uncle is the photographer. Hope you like.