And yet another long blog break...

I think it was the last post I did that I apologized for the long absence and this has been even longer...I haven't even been able to read some of the blogs of the lovely ladies that read mine and who are anonymous so I can't even send them a quick email letting them know that I'm thinking of them!! All of us got the flu in November and it lasted four weeks...let me just say that having the flu is awful on a good day but having two babies (the little one and the 33 year old one), trying to not take too much time off work, and keep everyone fed is a mothers worst nightmare! LOL! It was bad, but not that bad! With being sick and then Christmas I just haven't had a minute to myself. So needless to say I have enough stories to post 20 blogs! My plan (fingers crossed) is to post a few short blogs so that they actually get finished!

I read a FB quote this morning that got me thinking about children and blogs...
"Before you were conceived, I wanted you.
Before you were born, I loved you.
Before you were here an hour, I would die for you.
This is the Miracle of Life"

Happy Friday and more posts about the turmoils of working motherhood to follow shortly!

Time constraints of life!

I apologize for the absence...it is kind of sad when you realize that someone with a newborn is managing to update more than you are with a 2 year old! It has been nonstop for the last couple months and I'm on the border line of getting the flu...I think just from exhaustion! I've felt like I'm about to get sick with a bit of a sore throat, tired and achy for probably a month now but I don't know how to slow down. It seems like the busier I get with work the more I try to make up for it with my toddler. I know most people require the two income household these days but I think from growing up in a home where my mom was always at home with us makes me feel like a failure sometimes. I know that is ridiculous because I also have career ambitions and was very academically focused for most of my life until Connor. As I work through lunch to ensure I can get enough done not to be late to pick up my handsome little man, rush home with him to make dinner and play and then spend the rest of the night cleaning, playing, bathing and bed time (which is still a long process for us) I feel like I should be able to do more for him. I should have time to take him out playing or something. My weekends are jam packed with as many kids activities as I can manage with grocery shopping and the other chores I have to achieve before its back to work on Monday. He's getting so big so fast and I feel like I am missing it!!! I keep being told maybe it would be better to work a couple days a week but there are a lot of flaws with that too. 1. The price of the day home for full or part time would be the same, 2. I'd like to get some debt paid down so that with baby #2, whenever that happens, I can stay home if I so chose without money dictating my decision, 3. I'm a little selfish, I don't want to sacrifice on a bunch of things...I want to do trips and take my kids to Disneyland and join all the mom and baby classes that my heart desires, 4. I may be a little OCD because I want to be good at it ALL!. I want to be the working mom that can sign up for all the neat classes, bake fun things for the holidays, keep the house perfect but not freak out when kids pull out every toy and spread them throughout the 2,100 square feet house...isn't that what the world seems to expect from moms? Be able to be the ideal mom, house wife and employee???

Calgary Toddler Fun

I've talked to some women that don't know where to go with their toddlers...Calgary is full of places designed for the little beasts so I thought I would list a few and what I thought of them...

1. Gymboree - This will always be at the top of my list for toddlers because we spend so much time there and you can bring other children with you (up to age 5) for a family class if you have more than one child. It’s great for very active children as well as more mellow kids. You can go to a play and learn class or a music class and open gym time is great to get rid of some of their pent up energy!
2. Zoo - we purchased an annual pass and find it a great way to get outside. Connor loves to make various animal sounds and just finds it amazing. I always pack snacks and drinks and either bring the stroller or the wagon depending on whether I think he may want to nap (less so now that he two but he frequently napped in his stroller at the zoo when he was younger).
3. Calgary Corn Maze - Went there a week ago for the first time and I wish I had known about it before. The place is great; it has playgrounds, petting zoo, tractor train rides, as well as the corn maze (I was told that you should wait till their older to take them in because it can take quite a while but the rest of the place was enough to entertain Connor for a few hours)
4. Calloway Park - Great place to take a toddler in the summer as I was amazed at how many rides they have for the little ones. Connor is a little crazy so flying around on rides resulted in lots of giggles and "weeeeee"'s! (I also would bring drinks and snacks with us and always brought the wagon with the cover because it is hot with very little shade)
5 - Tommy-K-Play - Fantastic for a toddler but until they are probably closer to 4 (depending on the child) you will need to wear something comfy and climb around with them because some of the spots you will need to lift them up for them to keep going. It is basically a large climbing apparatus with tunnels, slides, etc. They do have a toddler play area but it doesn't contain many toys and the battery powered toys are not usually working.
6 - Mom and baby coffee shops - These are all across the city! It is a great place to meet other moms and have a coffee while your little one explores wooden kitchens and playhouses.
7 - Swimming classes - There are classes all around the city at different times (so good for working parents) for all ages. Connor has taken two sets of lessons now and loves the pool.
8 - Sportball classes - We have registered for Sportball starting in November. So I'll have to update on this then but it is basically a ball sport introductory class covering 8 different ball sports including soccer, baseball, basketball, etc.

I know there is a lot more out there but this is what we have done with Connor (or will be doing soon).

Busy, busy, busy....

I think its a standard North American answer to "How are you?" - "Good but busy!". Our lives just seem to disappear. I envy Europeans and the more laid back attitude on life. I can't seem to get half the things done that I need to do and I'm a fairly organized person. How do others do this work/parent thing? I get to work at 7am (so I can handle day care pick up), usually end up working through lunch (because we're busy!), rush out at 3:45 to get to the day home at 4:15, go home, cook dinner, run after a toddler playing or swimming or at Gymboree class, and then hopefully cuddle him to sleep at 9:30. Somewhere in there I do laundry, the dishes and all your normal household stuff. Now we are into birthday season for my prenatal class so I have one or two birthday parties a weekend for the month, plus Halloween and the Gymboree party as well as Connor's 2 year photo shoot. I need about 5 more of me to handle this!!! But I'm not alone so how the heck do you women do it without getting cranky by Friday!?!?! Maybe I'll pack up my family and move to Europe and see if I can adapt to the lifestyle?!?!?!

Birthdays

A lot of time, and even more money, goes into kids birthday parties. I spent a lot of time finding the best jungle themed birthday decorations, ordered a custom cake, booked Gymboree as the venue, bought numerous drinks and snacks and ordered WAY too much food from Pizza Hut. I tend to go overboard on everything I do and the birthday party probably cost me $700-800 by the time I was done. So when 5 adults and 3 kids cancelled the day of (two people a couple hours before and everyone else AFTER the party started) it is infuriating! That is a lot of people to pay for meals for and have them no-show. I have no problem with people cancelling the day before but any later than that I just have no patience for when dinner is involved. For the Americans out there...how do you do it?!?! That would definitely be a culture shock for me if I moved to the US where, as I understand it, RSVP's usually aren't done.

Besides that, the birthday party went amazing. Connor's favorite teacher ran the class, my best friend ran around helping ensure everything was organized and remained on time and I think all the kids (that did attend) had a blast. I have to say that I truly love kids birthday parties! The look on Connor's face as people sang to him and his enjoyment and "wow, wow, wow" over the presents was priceless. So, regardless of my complaining, it was a success!

The problem is that even with attendance mishaps...I'm already thinking about what I can do for next year...

Swim Lessons and Urinals!

Swim Lessons and urinals...you would think that the two would be separate topics, wouldn't you??? I thoroughly enjoy watching my husband go out of his comfort zone...which I'm sure he appreciates! Swimming lessons started on Monday and all seemed to go fairly well, minus the fact that Connor would see other things he wanted to do during the lesson and I could occasionally hear him give his dad hell for not letting him go do whatever it was he saw. Most of the lesson was smiles, so successful. At the end Connor played in the kiddie pool for a while and had a great time. When he decided that climbing in and out was the best part is when it was time to go. Chris causally asked if I wanted to take him to get him changed...no, thanks! So grudgingly Chris and Connor disappeared into the change room. I was waiting at the doors for them to emerge from the change room...when they walked out I could immediately tell something had happened. Chris had a lopsided smile on his face and was looking guilty and Connor was grinning ear to ear and looked very pleased with himself. Apparently while Chris was changing Connor ran around the corner...so he pulled up his shorts and went after him, only to find him elbow deep playing in the urinals. The looks on their faces were priceless and all I could say as I started to giggle at Chris's now mortified expression was..."did you wash his arms?"

How do germaphobes handle being parents??? I admit, I was bad in the beginning and I still have my limits but the things toddlers eat, play with, handle...at some point don't you have to shrug and go with the old age "what doesn't kill them makes them stronger"??

Terrible Twos? I think not...at least not yet!

Connor is 2 today! I'm so excited and definitely going overboard. I never thought I could love a little monster so much and want to do everything and anything in my power to spoil him rotten! I'm working through lunch to get home early so that I can go to Toys R Us again...can a kid really have too many toys?? (OK, maybe don't answer that!) Everyone talks about the terrible twos and yet I think that this is the easiest stage yet. Perhaps because he was an infant that wanted to be in arms continuously or because it took him a while to sleep through the night or maybe I've just learned to relax and trust what I am doing (most of the time). So far 2 is by far the best age!!!! I'm loving the communication...even the "No, no, no!" finger waggling that has started (thank you again toopy!).

Sorry for the absence...we went on vacation for two weeks. Will write more on the birthday party coming up this weekend, the toopy and binoo live performance we will be attending as well as camping with a toddler shortly...this week is insane so this is short and sweet!