Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Blah...Blah...Blah (Part II)

I have not been feeling very inspired in the blogging department lately. Things at casa BWM have been very quiet lately, Isa has not done anything out of the ordinary. In fact she has been behaving like a regular 16 month old, you know, the tantrums, the "exploring" of the cupboards and the adorable but unrecognisable speaking. I have to say that I love how she talks to herself when she plays with her toys.

One interesting thing that did happen this weekend was that we went to the Canadian Toy and Hobby Fair at the Metro Convention Centre in Toronto. It was a trade only show, where many of the wholesalers and distributors of toys (for both young and old) showcased their products to Retailers. Being brand new to the toy business this show was very important because we got to meet the people whom we would be doing business with. So we got some contacts, spoke with the sales people of various brands and checked out the new toys for 2007...by the end I was exhausted.

Because children were not allowed we asked my brother to baby-sit Isa. In fact it had been the first time that he had taken care of her during the day, he usually baby-sits her at night when she is in bed and never wakes up. For this reason I was curious to see how it would go for him. Needless to say it went great, he gave her lunch, he took her for a walk, changed her diaper, gave her a bottle and was happily playing with her when we go home. When it was time for him to go she went up to him and extended her arms to be picked up. We had to pry her out of his arms. How cute is that!

All in all a busy weekend, The Husband and I have a lot to do in order to get the store on-line and I worry that he is working himself sick. We could both use a vacation were all we do is stay home and get the things done but not worry about going to our day jobs. How sad is this.

Hopefully I will have more interesting and exciting things to talk about later in the week.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

The Ever Changing Isa

Here is the evolution of Isa... from birth to now. Cheers.


Isa, Two days old


Three months old...weighing 15 pounds or so.


Isa visiting down south at 6 months...muy caliente!


Mommy can I have the camera? (10 months)


Where are the rest of my gifts?
Happy First Birthday!


Sixteen months and counting

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Dreams

I have been having some very weird dreams lately. I am prone to have strange dreams, I think that I inherited this from my mother who has some really strange dreams. There was a point when I thought that I would keep a dream log in order to remember them but as I have stated before I am an extremely lazy person and cannot be bothered to take a minute in the morning to write them down. Frankly every second is used up for sleeping.

So I am going to share two of my most resent dreams before I forget them completely. They don't really mean anything, at least I don't think so.

Dream 1:

I had this dream the first week of January 2007 (can't remember the date) I was on vacation so it is interesting that I dreamt about my work. I will give everyone a little background on where I work. My office is located in the financial district of Toronto and in this area we have something called the P.A.T.H.( have no idea right now what it stands for) what this is is that all of the financial institutions and a few other buildings are connected underground, there are shops, restaurants, food courts and other things underground and this is where most people go during their breaks and lunch time. The building that I work in has an entrance from the P.A.T.H. which is nice and wide and there are shops around it and so forth. This is where my dream starts.




I am walking towards the doors that lead to my office, I am with someone because I am having a conversation and not really paying attention to where I am going or what is going on around us. All of a sudden we hear the fire alarms go off in the building and as we are close to our own office we decide to go out the doors of our own building since they are nearer.

We are about to walk in when there is an explosion from the entrance of our building and we are thrown down the corridor. When I open my eyes I can barely see what is going on because there is smoke everywhere. I hear people screaming and the fire alarms wailing, I don't know where the person whom I was with is but I remember that all that I could think about was getting out of here because of Isa. It was very hard to move and my body felt very heavy, I was very frustrated because I knew that I had to get out as soon as possible. I finally stand up and try to remember what is the nearest fire exit. I remember that there is one close by on my left so I try to move in the direction but it is very hard because of all the smoke, I worry that this smoke will suffocate me before I get outside. I keep saying Isa's name over and over and trying to reach the door but it seams that my body is not responding. I keep picturing the exit door and how far it is from where I stand and willing my self to reach it...and then I wake up.

This was my dream...needless to say I woke up and felt really freaking weird. I could not fall back to sleep for a very long time and kept wondering if this was some sort of premonition. Though it could mean that I did not want to return to work. I have no idea but it was pretty freaky. I gave Isa extra kisses and hugs that morning, she was like enough already put me down and let me go and chase the cat.

Dream 2:

I had this dream last night and I have been thinking about trying to get some exercise in at least once a week. I hope to one day make it to three but lets be realistic here.


I dreamt that I was in a gym and trying to find a machine to work out on, there were other people around and for some reason I realize that this cute guy is my personal trainer (don't worry this is a PG dream) so I get onto a machine, I think that it is some sort of elliptical thing and start working out. I don't really feel like I am doing anything but the guys is telling me that I really need to work harder and that I should concentrate. Then for some reason he goes somewhere and this woman comes up to me and tells me that she too is a personal trainer at this other gym near my place. I am interested in this because maybe I can go to that gym instead of this one that seams to be far away. She also tells me that this machine will not help me loose fat because it does most of the work for me. So I get off and she takes me to another machine...then I wake up.

Not a very fun and exciting dream...there was a moment there where it could have gone the R-rated route but did not. I guess that I have this working out thing on my mind more than I realized. This has always been an issue for me...I have never been an extremely active person. Though I go for walks on the weekends with Isa and run around after her, I was never involved in sports as a kid let alone now as an adult. The Husband plays tennis every Saturday with his dad and he golfs and used to play Rugby. I took a few tennis lessons but nothing came off it ( I really suck).

So these are two of my most resent dreams...I will try to share a couple of them every once in a while if they are interesting or I have nothing to write about.

I think that Isa only dreams of the cat, whom she adores to pieces.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Winter Wonderland

I was born in a country with a very nice Hot climate and moved here when I was a young girl so you would think that I would be used to the cold weather by now. But no, this is not the case...I hate winter...I know that we have had an extremely mild winter and really I should not complain but I just can't help it.

To tell you the truth, I don't hate the cold per se but I do hate the slush and the ice. I hate this even more now that I have to push a stroller every day.

Yesterday, being our first really bad winter day, I headed over to pick up Isa early so that I could make sure to make the pick up time. I was so excited that I got there early and that this would mean that we would be home before it got dark and could spend more time together. This did not happen.

Isa decided that she did not want to go home...she was having too much fun with the toys and the other kids. I had to bribe her to get into her snowsuit. This did not work as well as I had hoped because as soon as she got the object that she wanted she did not want to stand still for me to get her dressed.

Once I was able to pry her from her friends and her toys and go out into the hallway, I had to set her down so that I could put on my boots. She took this opportunity to run down the corridor towards the other rooms were the bigger kids are. So I had to chase after her, pick her up and attempt to get into her stroller. But she was having none of this she started arching her back and screaming to be let down.

So I gave up...I put on her winter boots, her hat and gloves and we walked out the day care hand in hand. With me pushing the god damn stroller through the slush.

She was in heaven...she was squealing and giggling and just having a blast. I was just exhausted...mostly because it had taken so much energy to get her out of the building and then trying to help a 15 month old walk through snow that reached up to her knees; with freaking cold temperatures.

We walked for what seams like hours and I finally had enough and decided that I will have to put up with the wailing and screaming in order to get her into her stroller. Thankfully the wailing did not last for too long. Now I had to push the freaking stroller through muddy sidewalks to the bus stop.

The only good thing that happened is that I was able to catch an accessible bus within two minutes and made it home in 15 minutes. I have to say that I missed the days when she would be so happy to see me in the afternoons. Now when I go and pick her up she barely even looks at me let alone come running to me and not letting me put her down.

I know that in a way I should be happy that she is doing so well at day care and that she is very well adjusted but I would just wish that she would at least want to go home. Though I really can't blame the kid...they have fun toys at day care and there are all these nice kids to play with. Hell even I would like to stay.

I just have to find ways to make her interested in going home...I have no idea what that will be. It used to be that she would always get her soother when she went home; but we have stopped doing this...so this won't work. I don't know...will think of something or put up with the fighting and hope that eventually she will out grow it.

I have to say that I am ready for winter to be over...at least for the freezing rain and the slush and freezing temperatures. I will accept the nice snowy days with temperatures around zero or slightly bellow.

Here is to another day fighting with a 15 month old to get into her snowsuit, her winter boots and her stroller. Oh, the fun.

Saturday, January 13, 2007

There Goes Another Bed Sheet



I don't know if anyone else has this problem but now Isa wakes up every day with a diaper that weights about 20 pounds. For the last three days she has woken up completely socked in pee...so I have to take her straight to the tub and wash her down, change the sheets, and open a window to let out the smell. I just feel so bad... I also hate that I have to change her sheets (I am just such a lazy person).


I don't know what to do to stop this...because this has got to stop. Scarbie Doll from Martinis for Milk suggested that I go in before I go to bed and change her diaper. I could do this but it scares me that she will have a hard time going back to sleep.

I have started to cut back on how much water she has with her dinner and she no longer has a milk before bed time but she still wakes up with 20 pounds of pee.
I may have to see if buying larger diapers for sleep will work but they could be very uncomfortable for her...maybe I will do that this weekend and see how it goes. I don't know how I am going to potty train her...I guess that by the time I do this she will have a larger bladder.. I hope.

Friday, January 12, 2007

Let Me Count The Ways


It is unbelievable how much I love my Isa...I know that every parent says this but it is just so freaking true. There are times when I want to take her and just eat her up because she is just so adorable. She is now 16 months and I am in love with her personality.

She is such an easy going person...even though she still has her little tantrums(she is not that easy going) she gets over them pretty quickly (for now...crossing fingers).
I just love how she communicates and follows directions and is becoming more and more a big girl and not a little baby. She has a few words now that she says...

1- agua (water) this applies to any drink, hers or anyone else's.

2- gato (cat) she mostly screams this one out every time she sees the cat or any cat or dog on the street.

3- tata (can I have), if she wants something she says tata. There have been times when she points at the cat and says "tata" this is followed by a small tantrum because she cannot have the cat(because he will rather die than be near her) and she is saying "tata".

4- tachi (thank you) if you give her something, sometimes she will say tachi.

5- peta (soother)


6- pato (shoes) she loves wearing shoes...she cannot be dressed and not have shoes on. Also if she sees her shoes she thinks that she is going out so she goes straight to her stroller and tries to climb on. Needless to say it does not matter what time it is, say 7 am and mommy is barely awake and certainly NOT ready to go outside.


7- titi (socks) she knows that first she has to put on the socks and that after come the shoes.


She can say mama but she does not always call me by this name...we (mostly the Husband) are trying to get her to say papa. But she does not care to cooperate.
All of the words that I teach her are Spanish words and she responds to me when I speak to her in Spanish which makes me so very happy. She knows that when I tell her that it is time for a bath she goes to her room and waits for me to undress her and she and I walk to the bath holding hands. This just about kills be every day...she is just tooooo adorable.

The Husband and I have noticed that she loves her routine...she does very well with it and there are times when she is one step ahead of us. I just love that at least the routine is a good one and I am not trying to break a bad habit.
So this is my Isa at 16 months...she is just so amazing and every day brings new things. I love seeing what new word she will say or how she will respond to what I tell her.

It is incredible how much fun they are.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Season of Giving

This past Christmas the Husband and I decided that we would not get presents for each other and my in-laws and instead we would take the money that we would normally spend on gifts for each other and donate it to charities.

We really don't need anything and it just feels so good to give to those who can do so much with our donations. Since we have started our own business we have been very tight with our budget, but we took our money and donated to two charities.

-The Food Bank, because they can stretch the money that they receive so much more than we can. In fact they can get 1Lb of food for each dollar that we donate. This is way more than what we can get if we shop at No Frills.

-The Children's Help Phone, because children should have always have a place were they can go for advice and support.

My MIL donated to OXFAM and with her donation they were able to get 5 goats, 30 chickens, a few pigs and much more.

I can't begin to tell you how great it felt to have done this...I will certainly do this again this year and will probably make it a family tradition. I know that once we get the business off the ground and actually making some money we will be giving back more. We also hope to have links to charities that support mothers and children all over the world. As well as have some charity events.

Since I grew up in a third world county I saw poverty all the time and I say children begging on the streets with little or no clothing. I was really affected by this and have always felt like helping but for some reason I have never gotten off my butt to actually do so. Now after I had my own child I have come to discover that I really need to do something and that I don't have to jump off the deep end but calmly walk in.

And that is just what we have done...I will just take this as a start and think of over ways to help when the cash is tight. It is just that I have always hated going around to people and asking them for money, thought I could find ways of volunteering.

The moral of this post is that giving to other is so rewarding, and if you are able to do so I highly recommend that you. Give to whomever you like whatever you can because every penny goes a long way.

Saturday, January 06, 2007

New Years Resolutions Anyone?

I decided not to make any new years resolutions this year. For one thing I have yet to keep one, but basically because they are just not very imaginative or original. I always choose the same one that almost every woman in the world picks. TO LOOSE WEIGHT.

I will not focus on this particular resolution this year...this year I will find a way to change my mind about loosing weight. What I have to is somehow get my body and mind used to and wanting to exercise. I know that people talk about how they just feel terrible if they don't workout...right now I feel terrible if I do. I have been spending WAY too much time sitting on my ass after dinner watching tv. This is what I think I should change...now this does not mean that I will not watch tv (this is not possible for me) but I will reduce what I do watch and how much.

I have lots of things that I have to do...I can clean up, get stuff ready for the next day and most importantly do my nails....just kidding, I don't do my nails. What I do have to do is work on Baby Thoughts and focus on it because this is very important to us.

I guess that in a way this is a resolution...damn. I thought I was able to get away with not having one this year. Oh well so be it.

Wish me luck, I will keep you updated on how long this last.

What A Week!

I was on vacation this last week so I moved forward on some things that we needed to do for the business. I had not realized just how much I had to do, I had to look into getting a GST and RST number for the company, I had to talk to some vendors and try to get business cards printed. I was able to accomplish most of these things but there are still quite a lot to do.

The thing that has got me very excited is that I finally feel like I have responsibilities. The Husband has been very busy building the site and doing all of the tech stuff which means that he is constantly on the computer. Now, I have responsibilities and must make sure to not let things slide.

What a nice week we had in Toronto...what awesome weather. Isa and I went to the park with another mom and her son and had a great time. Isa was not too impressed with the swing...she really hates the thing. But she did like the slide, which is sort off unfortunate for me because I have to pick her up and take her to the top of the slide and follow her down and repeat the whole process again. But the end my back was killing me.


It was nice to get together with one of my mom friends...it's really cool to see the kids playing together now that they are older...I remember when all they could do was lie on their backs and stare at the ceiling. Now they fight for the same toys and run around.

I had a great vacation, I can't believe that three weeks have gone by and that Monday I am back at work and waking up at 6:30 am and getting Isa from day care for 5:30 pm. I am not looking forward to the commute but it is time to get back to normal. I also have to make sure to work very hard at our business and to keep the momentum that I started.

Here is to a good work week and to getting back to the daily routine.

Monday, January 01, 2007

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!



Happy New Year to everyone...

Sorry that I have been MIA but the Husband has been hogging the computer for the last couple of days and before that we went to my MIL's in Ottawa (more on our trip later)


I hope that everyone had a safe and happy New Year...the husband and I had a very nice night IN with Isa going to bed at 7pm and us watching some very interesting TV.

I got my wish and had sushi take out...I had been craving sushi for the last two weeks and decided that new years would be the perfect time to have it. I have to say that it was damn good.

So all in all it was a nice New Years...for a second I missed the old New Years when we would go out, get drunk and freeze our ass off trying to find a cab along with the rest of the city... Ahh the good old days..

But I don't..I am just happy to spend it with my Husband and the sleeping Isa.