We had a really great weekend over here in Seattle. The weather was nice (it usually rains every Sunday but not this weekend), we got to have a Saturday date night, relax at home, and had a fun and yummy family dinner out on Sunday. Everything looked good on paper. The reality however, is less than perfect, only because we thought parenting would get easier as time went on, not harder. We still enjoy life, it's just enjoyed on a much more exhausted level on mine and Brendan's part.
Our Small Human, who has so far always been an easy going and relatively low maintenance child, is starting to become a divo. No, he has not become a pop opera singer, but he is suddenly much more high maintenance. We can deal with the need for constant activities and mind stimulation, that we expected. We were also prepared to deal with a highly energetic little boy who needs to run and jump and explore on a daily basis. We were not however, prepared to deal with night time wakings every night for three months straight; nor were we prepared for his extremely short attention span and inability to sit still in social situations.
Perhaps we are asking too much of our two year old by going out to restaurants and expecting him to sit still and behave for a quick meal. Fine, we accept that that's on us. The nightly wake ups though, are quite possibly, slowly killing us and we just don't know what else to do. He wakes up once or twice a night and always ends up in our bed at some point in the very early morning. It doesn't seem to affect him one bit, but definitely hasn't been good for his dad and I.
Brendan bears the brunt of the wakings, because Small Human often wants daddy, but then daddy has to go to work in the morning. I at least, can attempt to recuperate by napping when the baby naps. I honestly don't know what to do. Are there sleep specialists we can see? Do we just grin and bear it? It's been three solid months of this, and I am incapable of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
I feel terrible for complaining because life is truly good right now, except for the not sleeping and somehow keeping up with our son while completely exhausted part. How does he have so much energy?! We are really big fans of Stumptown coffee in this house. Happy Monday friends. :)
Monday, March 30, 2015
Thursday, March 26, 2015
What a Great Day!
It makes the hugest difference in the world when it's sunny, and you have good friends who kindly take your toddler off your hands for the whole morning. Small Human was out and about today from 9 til 1, frolicking on the beach with friends. Now he is peacefully napping in his bed.
The superhuman amount of things I can get done without my son around is astounding. How did I not accomplish more in life before baby?! I enjoyed a lovely, wrangle-free, admonishment-free morning with my husband, and now I'm reading in the sunshine (READING) with a cup of tea. To most people, that is a normal part of their day, but for me it feels like I'm some lady of leisure in a fancy soap opera.
Life feels grand and I'm totally full of gratitude for all of it. Ahhhhh. May you all have a happy Thursday everyone! (It's 21 degrees Celsius, 70F here!)
The superhuman amount of things I can get done without my son around is astounding. How did I not accomplish more in life before baby?! I enjoyed a lovely, wrangle-free, admonishment-free morning with my husband, and now I'm reading in the sunshine (READING) with a cup of tea. To most people, that is a normal part of their day, but for me it feels like I'm some lady of leisure in a fancy soap opera.
Life feels grand and I'm totally full of gratitude for all of it. Ahhhhh. May you all have a happy Thursday everyone! (It's 21 degrees Celsius, 70F here!)
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
15 Random Facts About Me
Every so often, I get tagged in one of those "fun facts about you" posts and I always give in. Mostly because it's fun, can be an ice breaker, and makes me feel like I'm 16 and filling out a YM magazine quiz with my friends in the school library again.
It's just something silly and vapid, which we all need once in awhile. So here are some totes rando facts about Lilibeth:
It's just something silly and vapid, which we all need once in awhile. So here are some totes rando facts about Lilibeth:
1. I love lots of different kinds of jewelry, but I have one tiny gold and diamond bracelet that I never, ever take off. For about two years now.
2. I find the Game of Thrones TV series really crappy. I bet I'd like the books better.
3. I have a dozen pairs of identical jeggings.
4. I have a terrible, terrible potty mouth when I'm driving. Like, maybe worse than Chelsea Handler.
5. I love cleaning and all housework.
6. Except ironing, I hate ironing, it sucks.
7. I am always late for everything.
8. My husband calls me Minou, and I call him Mokey.
9. We have nicknamed our son "Noma" or "Mini".
10. I am obsessed with Doctor Who and think about the show at least once a day, every day.
11. I love coffee so much, and try very hard to only have one cup a day. Since moving to Seattle, I can no longer consume crappy coffee.
12. I have very little patience. Becoming a mother has been a real lesson in patience.
13. I have a lip balm addiction because I'm allergic to most lip products, so when I find something that works, I roll with it. There are at least 3 lips balms in every room of the house, and maybe two dozen in my bathroom, and 3 in my purse. (many are unopened backups)
14. My middle name is Victoria.
15. My favourite guilty pleasure are Doritos, which I know are filled with unhealthy chemicals but I just can't seem to resist them for longer than a couple months.
Thanks for reading, I hope I didn't bore you to death, have a great day! ;)
5. I love cleaning and all housework.
6. Except ironing, I hate ironing, it sucks.
7. I am always late for everything.
8. My husband calls me Minou, and I call him Mokey.
9. We have nicknamed our son "Noma" or "Mini".
10. I am obsessed with Doctor Who and think about the show at least once a day, every day.
11. I love coffee so much, and try very hard to only have one cup a day. Since moving to Seattle, I can no longer consume crappy coffee.
12. I have very little patience. Becoming a mother has been a real lesson in patience.
13. I have a lip balm addiction because I'm allergic to most lip products, so when I find something that works, I roll with it. There are at least 3 lips balms in every room of the house, and maybe two dozen in my bathroom, and 3 in my purse. (many are unopened backups)
14. My middle name is Victoria.
15. My favourite guilty pleasure are Doritos, which I know are filled with unhealthy chemicals but I just can't seem to resist them for longer than a couple months.
Thanks for reading, I hope I didn't bore you to death, have a great day! ;)
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Nervous Breakdown Day
Friday was the first day of spring, a solar eclipse and the super moon. Oh and it was allegedly "Happiness Day" whatever the hell that means. If I sound a little jaded and cynical, that's because Friday really, truly, royally sucked for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful for the health of my family, among other things, but sometimes there are just crappy days and you learn to live with them.
All my bad days happen to fall on rainy days, which I know is no coincidence. Anyway, today's a new (sunny) day, but here are a few things that happened yesterday that nearly caused me to lose my marbles.
1. Small Human and I had a fight about watching tv. There was an epic tantrum but I won, and he ended up happy afterwards.
2. I had five loads of laundry to tackle (I thought it was seven!) because I've been tired and lazy, and also taking my son out on more adventures because of his boundless energy. Laundry is sneaky.
3. After getting the third load washed and dried, I started the washer up for another load, went to get the load, and discovered a boy putting all the freshly dried laundry back into the water filled washer. Aaargh!!!
4. There was time out punishment in his room and many loud tears. When I finally went to get him, his room was a total disaster zone, with everything turned on its side, and the printer that lives in his bedroom ripped apart with the paper thrown everywhere. More aaarrgh!
5. This crabby mommy now had a crabby baby. To fix things, I thought I'd make chicken nuggets and watch a movie with my boy. After a few minutes I detected a strange smell, looked over at my oven and saw little black bits floating around in the air. I got up to look at the oven and there were flames in it, growing by the second! After the situation was under control, I discovered several charred, owl sticker remains in the bottom of our oven. I wonder who put them there? Also, who knew little stickers could burst into such huge flames?
6. By this point I was at my wits end and thoroughly exhausted. My toddler only wanted to whine and howl and hang off me, and all I wanted was to sleep, not see his face, and hear silence. I called the restaurant by my house that makes poutine so I could order some takeout and save what was left of my sanity. I was put on hold, and they hung up on me.
7. I broke down in tears.
8. My very kind and understanding mama friends Postmated me over, a ton of poutine. (You have my heart forever, btw)
9. Brendan came home. I fell asleep. Spent the whole night getting kicked in the spine by my toddler.
10. Wrote a blog post about it on Saturday morning.
11. Will be escaping my toddler to go for a relaxing, pampering facial in the afternoon.
12. Will hopefully enjoy a nice, spring weekend.
All my bad days happen to fall on rainy days, which I know is no coincidence. Anyway, today's a new (sunny) day, but here are a few things that happened yesterday that nearly caused me to lose my marbles.
1. Small Human and I had a fight about watching tv. There was an epic tantrum but I won, and he ended up happy afterwards.
2. I had five loads of laundry to tackle (I thought it was seven!) because I've been tired and lazy, and also taking my son out on more adventures because of his boundless energy. Laundry is sneaky.
3. After getting the third load washed and dried, I started the washer up for another load, went to get the load, and discovered a boy putting all the freshly dried laundry back into the water filled washer. Aaargh!!!
4. There was time out punishment in his room and many loud tears. When I finally went to get him, his room was a total disaster zone, with everything turned on its side, and the printer that lives in his bedroom ripped apart with the paper thrown everywhere. More aaarrgh!
5. This crabby mommy now had a crabby baby. To fix things, I thought I'd make chicken nuggets and watch a movie with my boy. After a few minutes I detected a strange smell, looked over at my oven and saw little black bits floating around in the air. I got up to look at the oven and there were flames in it, growing by the second! After the situation was under control, I discovered several charred, owl sticker remains in the bottom of our oven. I wonder who put them there? Also, who knew little stickers could burst into such huge flames?
6. By this point I was at my wits end and thoroughly exhausted. My toddler only wanted to whine and howl and hang off me, and all I wanted was to sleep, not see his face, and hear silence. I called the restaurant by my house that makes poutine so I could order some takeout and save what was left of my sanity. I was put on hold, and they hung up on me.
7. I broke down in tears.
8. My very kind and understanding mama friends Postmated me over, a ton of poutine. (You have my heart forever, btw)
9. Brendan came home. I fell asleep. Spent the whole night getting kicked in the spine by my toddler.
10. Wrote a blog post about it on Saturday morning.
11. Will be escaping my toddler to go for a relaxing, pampering facial in the afternoon.
12. Will hopefully enjoy a nice, spring weekend.
Friday, March 20, 2015
Crabby Start
This morning got off to a crabby start, for me anyway. All Small Human wanted to do was watch tv, which makes me so bonkers. I put my foot down though, and eventually he started to play on his own, using that beautiful imagination I know he's got.
I'm not against watching television like some parents. It can be a tool that saves a family's sanity and I'm not foolish enough not to take advantage of it. Then again, this is mine and Brendan's choice for our son, and may not be right for everyone. So far, we've tried not to make any extreme parenting choices and we haven't regretted anything.
However, I don't like when he just sits there like a mindless blob, transfixed on the screen like a zombie. Most of the time he talks to the tv, and to me about what's happening. He doesn't speak in clear, full sentences yet but he tries his best to communicate, which is what I like.
I think Momie won this morning's tv battle, cause now Small Human is building things out of boxes, chatting away to himself, pretending to cook and taste things while wearing his Fire Chief hat, all while eating a sandwich. I'm just trying to do my best, like everybody else. Someone pour me some coffee, please.
Have a wonderful weekend and happy official spring! Also, happy birthday to my sweet Bear-bear Eleni who turns three today!!!
I'm not against watching television like some parents. It can be a tool that saves a family's sanity and I'm not foolish enough not to take advantage of it. Then again, this is mine and Brendan's choice for our son, and may not be right for everyone. So far, we've tried not to make any extreme parenting choices and we haven't regretted anything.
However, I don't like when he just sits there like a mindless blob, transfixed on the screen like a zombie. Most of the time he talks to the tv, and to me about what's happening. He doesn't speak in clear, full sentences yet but he tries his best to communicate, which is what I like.
I think Momie won this morning's tv battle, cause now Small Human is building things out of boxes, chatting away to himself, pretending to cook and taste things while wearing his Fire Chief hat, all while eating a sandwich. I'm just trying to do my best, like everybody else. Someone pour me some coffee, please.
Have a wonderful weekend and happy official spring! Also, happy birthday to my sweet Bear-bear Eleni who turns three today!!!
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Summer Camp
My baby is going to toddler summer camp for the months of July and August! I don't know what I'm more excited for; the fact that he will probably have a blast, or that I will get three, four hour mornings off a week for two whole months.
What really hooked me were their different themes that change every two weeks. The first two weeks they'll be focusing on a "chef series" complete with aprons, and some hilarious toddler cooking that Small Human is sure to love. He loves cooking in the kitchen with me and getting to use tools, so the first series will be right up his alley. They've also got an art series, beach series, and lastly an Eric Carl/circus series, where they get to ride ponies on the last day of camp. Did they even have anything this cool when we were two years old?!
This will be our first taste of drop off school, so it will be both exciting and bittersweet. I'm probably going to show up early at pickup so I can spy on him having fun. I'm totally that mom, and I don't care.
A big, big thank you to Robyn who told us about this awesome summer camp! I'm glad he'll get to be with a friend there, that's always a comforting thought. They can beat up on each other at camp and scandalize the other toddlers with their rough-housing. I can't believe we've reached this stage, Robyn! *tear*
What really hooked me were their different themes that change every two weeks. The first two weeks they'll be focusing on a "chef series" complete with aprons, and some hilarious toddler cooking that Small Human is sure to love. He loves cooking in the kitchen with me and getting to use tools, so the first series will be right up his alley. They've also got an art series, beach series, and lastly an Eric Carl/circus series, where they get to ride ponies on the last day of camp. Did they even have anything this cool when we were two years old?!
This will be our first taste of drop off school, so it will be both exciting and bittersweet. I'm probably going to show up early at pickup so I can spy on him having fun. I'm totally that mom, and I don't care.
A big, big thank you to Robyn who told us about this awesome summer camp! I'm glad he'll get to be with a friend there, that's always a comforting thought. They can beat up on each other at camp and scandalize the other toddlers with their rough-housing. I can't believe we've reached this stage, Robyn! *tear*
Monday, March 16, 2015
Love Me a Sale
On Sunday, I made a super score. I got several fancy organic kid pajamas that are usually $42 each, for ten bucks a pajama! That is more than 75% off, I couldn't believe it. I went on the site because my friend told me about a swim sale and discovered they were also having a super clearance sale to make way for the new spring collection. Sadly, the major deal was one day only, and most things were sold out anyway by the end of the day.
But seriously, look how cute these are, Small Human pretty much lost it over the Santa's elf pajamas, because Buddy from the movie Elf, is his idol. It's honestly one of the things I love best about living in the States, the deals are truly good deals and not just max 30% off an already super marked up item.
Also, I get excited over pajamas now. Happy almost spring!
But seriously, look how cute these are, Small Human pretty much lost it over the Santa's elf pajamas, because Buddy from the movie Elf, is his idol. It's honestly one of the things I love best about living in the States, the deals are truly good deals and not just max 30% off an already super marked up item.
Also, I get excited over pajamas now. Happy almost spring!
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