Kistmas!

Whew – we finally made it through Christmas (or Kistmas as KEW says). The days leading up to the big day and the big day itself go by faster are much more busy than you ever want (or remember)… and that is even more true when you have a busy toddler. Loads of fun were had by all… but there were more than a few challenging moments. Lots of sugar and so much stimulation make for many an adventure to get a young girl to nap or go to bed at her regular time. This has a tendency to make a Mama more tired and irritable than usual… which ultimately makes for a roller coaster ride of a holiday season. As much as there were moments of amazing joy and laughter experiencing Christmas through the eyes of my girl… there were moments where full on exhaustion and frustration and just too much to do brought me to tears (go figure, the mother of a toddler in tears… what’s new?!?!). As has been said by many an adult in this world… Christmas really is for the kids. Never before have I realized or truly understood what toll this takes on the parents of said kids. I have and will continue to sacrifice pretty much anything for my kid and to keep us both healthy and safe… but this holiday season has reminded me (once again) of how different my life is from a few years ago.

Santa… and lessons from a cook

So I finally made it back to the mall to go and pick up the Santa pics. I decided Tuesday afternoon was not going to be the day. Kaia woke up kinda cranky from her nap, and I had no desire to get myself cranky in the afternoon traffic. Besides, I already had a cranky morning after getting a phone call from work asking for my help. I ended up spending about an hour and a half online to fix someone else’s mistake. Actually, two other people not really doing their job at all… but that is a whole other story.

Anyhow, after fuming a bit, I saw the Chatelaine magazine that I read last week… including an interview with Nigella Larson, the British TV and cookbook star. In the interview they asked how she comes across as so comfortable on her shows. She explains that she started the TV bit right when her husband was dying from cancer. She learned very quickly that her job was just a job… and to let it stress her out so much that it carried over in to her personal life was not going to happen. She wasn’t going to waste the precious little time she had with her husband stressing out over work. Wow – what a reminder and an amazing lesson. I’m truly thankful that I haven’t had to learn that lesson first hand… but I am thankful that she shared. I don’t want to even consider how many hours of my personal time have been wasted (lost, caput, gone forever) being stressed or worried about work. Don’t get me wrong, I know that just having a job is a blessing… and I do like to work (most days even where I currently am)… but wow - that job has no right to invade my home life! I’m not really one for New Year’s Resolutions… but I think this is one worth trying!

Ho Ho Ho!

I’m SOOOOO happy to be off of work right now! Lucky for me that daycare closed on Friday and I need to take this week off of work as I’m without childcare (dang). With all of the rushing around and so much to do and so much excitement, I actually need these few extra days to get things finished and get organized! And to sleep – no really – KEW and I are BOTH tired! With all of the crazy energy at daycare and all of the running around, neither of us has been getting great sleep… or even rest. The last two nights she has taken a bit to settle down, but has then slept like a log and even slept in! Yes, when you are normally awake anywhere from 5am to 6am, waking up after 7am can officially be called sleeping in!

We went to visit Santa in the mall today… which was making Mama nervous. No, I don’t want to force my child to go and sit on the lap of a stranger… but I look back on many a photo from my own Christmas’ past and see my own growth at those milestone events. So of course I want the same for KEW. Last year wasn’t so pretty… much screaming was to be had. This year we have been building our way up to a visit with lots of references to the man in red and even an e-mail from him! The RRU Christmas party was not such a great experience with the Ho Ho guy… so I wasn’t optimistic. Then there was the line in the mall today… lines aren’t good. No, really, 2 year olds do not do well in lines. Lucky for us we had a wonderful 5 year old (another beautiful young ginger) in the line in front of us who became fond of “The Piya”, so we had some entertainment to help get us through. Then the girl in front of us had her turn as we waited on the sidelines… and all became silent. Oh oh… was this going to go bad? Our turn was next. Out of the stroller… Jerome in hand… and yippity do – right on over to Santa! She jumped up on his knee and had a little chat. There weren’t a lot of big grins… but there wasn’t fear either. Pictures you ask? Yes, there are pictures! I ordered them and paid for them… but the catch with Mayfair is that you have to go back the next day and get them. Oy… it’s going to be a long week!

'Tis the Season...

…to be DANG tired!

I’ve become my mother! Calm down - I mean that in a good way. Or at least I think it’s the good way! I don’t stop… I barely sit down anymore… my brain doesn’t stop. I haven’t yet asked if they’ve landed on the asteroid, but I do find myself paying less and less attention to TV and movies (gasp!!!). Me… I know… I LOVE TV… but Frack, there is a hell of a lot of stuff to get done in a day! And did I mention I’m tired!?!?!

Ok, so what has kept me busy… well there is that whole toddler thing (my girl has energy to burn!), and the whole Christmas thing (oh so much to see and do), and the whole work thing (crap I hate budget season… and organizational awkwardness – make a decision already!!!!) and then of course my new obsessions with two blogs.

First there is Bakerella. Man oh Man this chick is amazing – full of so many creative baking ideas! A friend e-mailed me her site on Sesame Street’s 40th Anniversary. Yes, my friend is another Mom… and we Moms have a lot to celebrate with Sesame Street! Anyways, Bakerella has these AMAZING Cake Pops. No really, this girl is GOOD. I do plan on recreating (in my own special way) some of the Elmo and Cookie Monster pops for Kaia’s birthday... and in the meantime, did some Christmas Reindeer Pops. I learned a lot about cake pops on Sunday. First of all, not every thing is better bigger… especially when it comes to cake pops. Secondly, the suggestion to COOL the pops, she wasn’t kidding. Thirdly, those candy melts do eventually harden… and if you don’t clean up as you go, you have a big hard crunchy mess! But from all accounts (so far everyone at daycare) the treats were great! Not hard to please a crowd of two year olds when sugar is involved… but I’ll take it!

So my second blog addiction is The Pioneer Woman. When I grow up, I think I want to be this lady. Although she is currently giving me a bit of an inferiority complex (how the hell does she do all that she does?!?!?), I’m hooked on her. Cooking, photography, animals, kids and of course the Marlboro Man. The more I read, the more I get hooked. Maybe one day I too will get to go from Black Heels to Tractor Wheels!

It’s been a while…

… since my last blog, but I have a legit excuse – cold and flu season. Kaia and I have been trading off illnesses for the last month and it’s exhausting! It really does make you realize what is important in life (health, happiness, family & friends) when you are struggling to keep it all together. And you learn quickly what can wait – like vacuuming and mopping the floors! It has also made me realize how important it is to eat right, sleep well and take care of myself and Kaia. Getting run down and stressed out at work makes it so easy for a little cold to totally wipe me out and knock me on my butt!

So I’m working on lots of Vitamin C to boost my immunity and energy and some vitamins to help stay on top of what I might be missing. I’m trying the same for Kaia… but it is a challenge when she’s a bit of a small eater. Yes, I know… Karma is a bitch and I’m getting pay back for being such a picky eater myself!

I’m working on the natural remedies to take care of us… ‘cause I’ll be honest that the other prevention out there that is all over the news scares me a bit. There is SO MUCH hype with the H1N1 pandemic and the vaccine… I really don’t know who or what to trust. As much as we like to think that we in North America have it made because information and “the truth” is at our finger tips with the internet and the freedom of the press… it feels to me more like a crazy amount of fear mongering and propaganda. Of course mix that in with just the right amount of protesters and freedom fighters that are ready to accuse the government of anything and everything. Sure… the truth is out there… you just have to wade through pages and pages of information to decide what to you is indeed the truth.

Giving Thanks...

So I caught myself in a bit of a pity party this morning after yet another round with Stinky Bum. I’m tired, I’m still recovering from being sick, my kid has been sick for a week and I’m frustrated that all of my efforts just aren’t making her well. Not to mention the fact that it was about 9am and I had already been up for nearly 4 hours. So I hit a weak moment of why this and why not that and poor poor me. Then I caught myself – this could be so much worse – on so many levels.

One of the gals I have worked with for years has a daughter in rehab in Vancouver after spending about 6 weeks in Children’s Hospital not knowing whether she was going to live or die. A gal I worked with died a couple of months ago from cancer… just before her 38th birthday. Ya, things could be a hell of a lot worse.

I started thinking about all of the things that I am so lucky to have… and really ran with it. I have an amazing daughter, who although she has “Stinky Bum” right now, can still laugh and smile and dance and is learning new words by the second – and I love her more than anything I ever could have imagined. I have an incredible family who love me and are so supportive – and they love each other. I have friends who I may not get to see as often as I would like, but are and will be there whenever I need them. I have a job. I have a place to live. I can put good food on the table for me and my daughter. And I could go on (did a bit more, but you get the point). Compared to way too many out there, I live a really good life. Ok, pity party over.

So then I went on FB and saw a few status updates and some of them included complaints about whatever was going on in their life. It got me thinking more and more about how ungrateful we can be – and on the Thanksgiving long weekend to boot! Things that others have that make me jealous, they are complaining about. Things that I have that are probably making other jealous of… I complain about. Wow… this really has to stop!

So here is my wish for this Thanksgiving - if you catch me bitching about something that I should be grateful for – call me on it. I need to stop – and honestly, so do you. So be prepared… it may be subtle or it may be direct… but I’m gonna start calling you out too.

Man, I Feel Like a Woman!

Sometimes the simplest things can make you feel sooooooo good! I’ll be honest, it’s been a while since I’ve shaved my legs… probably a good two or three weeks. Maybe it’s the busy single mom… or maybe just a busy mom (probably the latter as I’m sure Moms all over have this same challenge)… but these little details easily get bumped to the bottom of the to do list. I’m probably a little lucky as a single mom in that I don’t have a partner who is whining about my unshaven legs… but I’m not here to weigh in on the pros and cons of being a single mom. So, as much as I have wanted a nice hot relaxing bath over the last week or so, my schedule and my exhaustion and my cold had my cozy bed win out over the bath. But not so last night – I finally made some time for myself – woo hoo! A bit of a soak, legs shaved and underarms too and wham-oh, I’m feeling better!

The other thing that helps a gal feel pretty good is a compliment. Well I was the lucky lady to receive two out of the blue over the last two weeks. Yes I did complain about the first – it felt kinda creepy coming from someone as old as my grandfather. The second came when I was at the low stage of the cold and feeling pretty crappy… so I struggled to believe it. But in the end, when someone tells you that you “look beautiful today” or are “really looking great lately” it does eventually sink in, and does make you feel kinda good… even though it wasn’t from a hot single guy that I could crush on!