Everyone is a Critic

I have been having some problems in the feeding department with Isa lately. I mentioned before how she will only eat things that are just solid or mushy but certainly not both. This means that she will not have lumpy mashed potatoes or soup with chunks of veggies or meat.

Not a problem, we learned about this particular eating requirement early and took steps to ensure that it was met. The problem is that I always have to think of something different to make her for meals. She will not have many of the things I make because they violate her requirements, ie. spaghetti sauce with meat and veggies or any nice home made soup.

Thankfully she is a great eater when she gets food that she loves, like cheese, yogurt, avocados, bread, pasta with tomato sauce and eggs. And she especially likes to sit at the table with us while we have our meals. This is something that both the Husband and I have taken very serious. But it sure is hard because before I would get so much house work done when she was happily strapped to her high chair. Now I have to make sure that the meal that everyone will be having is prepared for the times that she eats. Needless to say this only works on the weekends.

Ahhh, I miss the days when she would take just about anything, now she has standards.

So for those reading this article, if you are a parent of a baby that is just starting solids and is eating everything you give them with no problems, enjoy it, because Isa was like that and now she is not. On the other hand if your little one is not so keen on the solid stuff right away, don't fret because I know many babies who were like this who now eat anything their parents give them. And then there are the lucky ones whose child always loves food. If you are such a parent, don't tell us.

The moral of the story is that you just never know how it will be in the future and that you just have to adjust. Experiment and don't freak out if they wont eat something today because they can change their minds tomorrow.

Before

After

Let The Hunt Begin

I was so wrong about how Isa would react to the Easter egg hunt. As I said, we went over to my in-laws to celebrate Easter and they bought a ton of little Easter eggs and bunnies for the five kids including Isa to search throughout the house.

In the end they decided to only hide the eggs in the living room and to have most within Isa's reach. I was very skeptical as to how much Isa would be able to participate. But boy was I totally wrong. As soon as she got her basket and saw the other kids looking for the eggs, she knew exactly what she had to do. It was incredible to see the focus in her little face, she looked everywhere for the little eggs. Unbelievable. It was hilarious to see her searching under the sofa, in the plants, on the coffee table, everywhere for her chocolate. In fact she even learned how to say chocolate. chote.

We were all just laughing so hard, it was incredibly fun to see her doing this. I have to say that I enjoyed it and that it will have to be a family tradition because she has so much fun.

Needless to say she got to enjoy the fruits of her labour and was just wired. Thankfully I was able to calm her down with a nice bath and was in bed at her usual time.


A wonderful Easter was had by all, round two happens in a couple of weeks at my other in-laws in Ottawa. Isa is going to start thinking that this happens all the time.

Happy Easter

We wish you all a very Happy Easter full of yummy chocolate bunnies.

I know that Isa's grandparents are going to go INSANE over the chocolate bunnies for many years to come. Every time we go over they have some sugary treat for her and the smart little girl knows it.

I have to say that I am not sure how I feel about the whole Easter egg hunt thing and the cheap quality chocolate animals. I don't want Isa to think that this is all Easter is about. Now, don't get me wrong I think that the Easter Egg hunt is lots of fun and will be something that we will all enjoy taking part in. I am also looking forward to decorating eggs and doing other Easter crafts with her. Especially since I only got to do this once as a child (my mother was not a crafty person) I just need to ensure that she also knows that Easter is about Lent, Holy Week and the Resurrection of Christ.

But there is no point in worrying about this right now, she is only 18 months and has only a small idea of what is happening.

HAPPY EASTER

My Apologies

I had hopped that now that I was no longer working at The Bank with my boss sitting right behind me I would do more blogging. But this last week I have been so busy getting ready to open up the store that I have had no time to blog or to even visit my favourite blogs. But things should be better this week as I have straighten things out.

So I hope to keep to my promise or goal really of blogging more and stopping by to say hi.

Cheers.

The Sunday Blues

I have always had what some call the Sunday Blues, on Sundays I would get a little sad that the weekend was over and that I had to either go to school the next day or go to work.

I read in Cosmo, a long time ago that it was a good idea to do something that you really enjoy on Sundays to minimize the Sunday Blues. So I would usually spend it doing my favourite things like reading a good book, hanging out with friends, going for walks in Bloor West and having a very nice dinner with the Husband and watching some good t.v.

After Isa was born and I was back to work, my Sunday Blues got even worse because it meant that I would not spend as much time with her. My working weeks were very busy and thankfully they went quickly.

But now I have no more Sunday Blues, I can spend as much time with Isa as I want during the week. If I feel like keeping her home from daycare one day I can. Or she can go to daycare and I can pick her up early and we can go on play dates with her little friends.

I am just so grateful to have this opportunity.

Here is to the end of my Sunday Blues.

Just A Little Update

For those who are interested here is an update on what is going on:

I did hand in my resignation last week and to be honest it was really nerve racking. I knew that it was the right thing to do but it still felt really weird to be leaving a job without having another one to be going to. Don't get me wrong, I know I will be VERY busy with the new business, there is so much to do and so much to learn. But we are taking a risk, a calculated risk but a risk never the less.

Like I have said before I am really looking forward to focusing on the business, there is so much that I want to do. I need to do more research and update the Resources that are up on the site, I want to think of other ways to make it even more helpful and interesting to parents. The other really fun thing is to search the Internet, read magazines and talk to moms about new and exciting toys that are coming out.

I am just soooo excited.

I know that it will be a lot of work but it will be very rewarding work, I find it so rewarding when we get comments from parents about the site, get suggestions on resources that should be included, a new mom group is created and moms join because I know how much support other mothers can give you.

I am also really looking forward to being able to spend more time with Isa during the week. I will be able to pick her up from day care earlier and it will not be just about coming home, eating and going to bed. We will be able to have play dates with my mom friends who are not working full time, go to the park and enjoy the nice weather that will be coming soon or just come home and play inside together.

All in all I am very happy and looking forward to what the future will bring. I will probably go off line for the rest of the week, as we get ready to open the doors.

I feel bad that I have not been able to keep up to date with all my favourite blogs, but know that I will be back and get caught up and leave a comment or two.

Cheers, everyone.

Be Back Soon

I have to apologize for not keeping up with the blogging, work has been busy and my bosses have been hanging around me.

I will be taking a short leave from blogging as I get ready to open up the store on my website. There is lots to do and very little time as we hope to have it up by April 1.

I am actually quitting my job today to put all of my attention and energy into our venture. I am so excited to do this...will let you know how it goes later on.

Cheers!

Not In the Mood

I am not in the mood to write today. I am tired and not very motivated...work has been pretty boring today, I would have rather stayed home and been productive there than come in and do nothing.

Hopefully I will be in a better mood tomorrow.

A Little Bit Sad

I had two ideas for posts floating around in my head yesterday. One was about how much I hate public transportation and the second was about how happy I am about having had a girl. Then I started reading The Sweet Hereafter by Russell Banks and after that I was a basket case.

The book is told through the voices of the people that were affected by a school bus crash that killed 14 children of a small town in up state New York. Needless to say I was crying non stop, it is amazing how I cry at everything now. I have always been a very empathetic person but now since Isa was born I am worse. Not that I think that it is bad to be empathetic it is that it affects me for a very long time. When something or someone makes me happy it is great because I am in a good mood for days but when I hear or read or see something that makes me sad or angry then I am this way for long time.

This book got me thinking about losing the ones I love and how I would cope with it. I have to be honest and say that I don't know how I would react, I have never lost anyone that I loved and so I have not experienced death. As I read the part of the accident and the children dying, I kept thinking about Isa and how I would cope with her death if it came suddenly. I don't know what I would do, I don't know if I would completely shut my self in, if I will be strong enough to get help, will I let myself love someone again or will I retreat in fear of loosing that person. I just don't know and I don't want to know.

I have not spent time thinking about this for too long in the past, for the obvious reason that I just don't want to think about it. I also don't want to live in fear of what I just can't control. There are days when I think that I/ my family must really live that day like it was our last. We should appreciate being together and spend as much time together. We should not worry too much that Isa is not eating so well, that she is having problems feeding herself, that we are tired and just want to spend all day in bed, that the cat threw up again and so on. This book has reminded me of this, I will worry less about the pile of laundry that has to be done, about the mountain of dirty dishes that I have to put away and the lack of dinner, instead I will spend the short hours that I have with my Isa every weekday playing with her and cuddling her because you just never know. And lets not forget the Husband, we two must also spend time together and not just family time but couple time.

Now, I know that I will still freak out about stuff and I will forget to take my own advise and once the store is open I will be even more exhausted but the important thing is to make the effort.

Sorry for the gloomy post...like I said things affect me. I will be in a good mood again when I finish the book, which should be tomorrow.

Eureka!

Have you ever been there the moment that your little one makes a discovery. Have you seen their whole face light up, their eyes widen and their lips form the faintest of smiles.

Isa made a discovery today, she was playing with a blue pen...because I am such a good mother that I let my child play with pens. Well she loves pens and she really likes this one, the good thing about this pen is that you have to click the end in order to be able to use it.

This is what Isa discovered today, she was holding it in her hand and clicked on the end. She stands there and just stares at the pen, she can't believe that it went click. So she does it again and the same thing happens. Then her eyes get bigger and she has this grin on her face. She has come to the realization that this is something very interesting and lots of fun. She looks at me and her dad and clicks again. And again and again and again and again, all the while laughing hysterically and running around the living room. The husband and I are also laughing hysterically because it is just so funny to watch your 16 moth-old hold out a pen to you, take her thumb and press hard and with purpose on the end all for the pleasure of hearing click.

We spent a good ten minutes laughing at the whole thing, Isa was extremely proud of herself and we where just absolutely gaga over her.

God, I love her so much.

F.Y.I Fridays

Attention Mamas and Papas, there will be a big Mom 2 Mom Toronto Spring sale coming up March 17, 2007 in Brampton, for details of time and location please visit their website.

I personally have never been to these sales so I cannot say how good they are but it could be worth a look. And if by chance you are interested in selling some of your own baby stuff you can rent out a table at the event. For those of you interested in selling some big stuff like cribs, strollers, exersaucers, high chairs, etc you can pay $5/ each to have your goods be sold in the big ticket item area.

I do recommend that if you are interested in going, arrive early and bring cash, I don't think that you will be able to pay with credit or debit. Also, if you see something get it because if you take too long it will be gone. It might also be a good idea to know what things you are looking for this way you can be more efficient and can focus on what you really need.
I hope to be able to go but we will see if the husband will watch Isa, as it will probably be easier sans bebé.

Have fun shopping!

Toddlers and Twenty-Something Year Olds

They say that toddlers and teenagers go through similar emotional development...but after having dinner with some friends last night I think that working-single-twenty-something people can be included in this comparison as well.

Let me first start with sharing that we had a meeting with the director at Isa's day care to talk about her up coming transition to the Toddler Room. For those of you who have gone through this transition you know that it is a big deal. It can be a very stressful time for both parents and child as both get used to the new faces and new routines. I will be honest and say that I am probably less prepared than Isa is, I am not ready to accept that she will be turning into a toddler, I still want to keep her a baby.

We have no idea how she will react to the move, they have been taking her over to 'visit' the toddler room and to be introduced to the teachers and the children, and the good thing is that she will see some familiar faces since many of her friends from the infant room are there now. Her teachers tell me that she loves to go over and play with the toys but this surprises no one as they are new and very fun toys, so who would not love to visit.

So yesterday we discussed how the transition will work and some of the things that is expected of us. We will be given a list of how we can help her become more 'independent'. It is expected that she will be working towards being able to put on her own jacket (I have no idea how I am going to accomplish this), put on her own shoes, eat everything by herself (including soup), sit at a table, and sleep on a cot. I have to be honest and say that I have no idea how this will be done but it will be. I think that she will get a lot of help from her little friends...they tell me that peer pressure is a powerful tool at day care.

Though I am not ready to see my baby change rooms, I am very ready to pay toddler prices. It will be a very welcomed relief to the budget. I already know what I will be spending the extra $200/month...paying down debt.

***********
Now to my dinner with friends...I met up with some co-workers of a good friend of mine to celebrate Chinese New Year. We went to china town for a "traditional" Chinese dinner.

Now this story is not about the dinner and whether it was authentic or not. It is more about how the co-workers interacted with each other. Let me give you a little background information. Before Isa was born, I had a group of friends at work with whom I would have lunch with every day, go out after work for drinks and go clubbing on Saturday with every once in a while. We would do a lot of things together and would joke and make fun and sometimes throw insults at each other for fun.

All of these friends have now left the company that I am working at and so when I returned to work I did not have anyone with whom I can have that same relationship. Not only that, but I have to leave everyday at 4:30 to pick up my daughter. I am a very different person now, and I was a little shocked that I felt that the way the group was acting last night was extremely childish and annoying. I can't believe that I felt that way, I told me husband and he told me that I just did not have the same cool people at work to hang out with, but this is not the point. The point is that I know that I am pass that, I don't need to act like that, that kind of behaviour is for teenagers or early-twenty-something.

Am I wrong in thinking this way...could I have become boring and stuck-up? I don't know...a little part of me misses my old friendships but there are just so many more wonderful things now that I am a mom and my responsibilities have changed. I love the amazing people that I have met because I am a mom.

There are times when I feel old at 28.

It's Monday...Noooooooo

I hate Mondays...mostly because I have to go back to work and be away from Isa. But what I hate the most is that it is snowing today. Now don't get me wrong I used to love snow and in fact I love snow on the weekends when I am home and can choose whether I would like to go outside and deal with it or not. But on the weekdays I have no choice, no matter what I have to go and get my pants filthy and I have to attempt to push a stroller with a 25 pound baby in it.

This is what I hate...I loath that most of the time I am the one plowing the sidewalk with the stroller because the city has not been out to clear them. On one occasion I left the stroller at the daycare and carried Isa, needless to say my back has not been the same since.

I am hoping that since it snowed last night that the city people will have gone and cleaned up the side walk by the time I pick up Isa. crossing finders.

Enough ranting...lets move on. What a nice weekend I had, I have to say that I was very productive, I did three loads of laundry (but folded nothing), vacuumed, cleaned the floors, did some grocery shopping and made two batches of rice pudding. One on Saturday and one on Sunday,the first one was not very good as I put in a tablespoon of salt, when it called for a teaspoon. In my defence the recipe was in Spanish and I was not 100% sure what 1 crdt meant. I also got Isa to have fish for both lunches, which makes me happy because fish can be so good for her and she is so darn picky.

You may be wondering where the Husband was this weekend. Well he was at home but he has been very busy getting the store front of our website off the ground and ready for testing, that we agreed that I would be responsible for house and baby for now and then when it is my turn to work on the business he will take over. I am so looking forward to having more help soon, thought I should not complain too much as Isa is a great baby and is very independent and very well behaved. What I am tired off are all the house chores that I have to do on my own.

Soon the store will be up and I will be busy with that...can't wait!

Back to the weekend...Isa had a great time on Saturday walking to the grocery store on Bloor West. The day was just amazing, it was sunny and not too cold, the air was nice and crisp and people were out and doing their thing. It is days like that that I am so happy that I live on Bloor West because I just love going for a stroll with her, Isa absolutely loves it. She loves looking at the people, the dogs and kids. She loves checking out the buildings and cars. Her face lights up when she sees me taking out her big stroller because she knows that we will be going into the village.

I am grateful for Bloor West for helping me through my maternity leave, since I had no car and as we all know too well the TTC is not stroller friendly, I hung out close to home. I would take a walk every day for that year into the village going to get groceries, stopping at the Chapters and getting caught up on the "trashy" magazines, going to the library or meeting up with my mom friends at the Second Cup. I love the Village and I love all the people that I have met, which means that it will be very hard to try to look for a house anywhere else, meaning that I have better start playing the lottery in hopes of winning money to be able to afford a house there.

Last night I made dinner for us and we had nice wine and my rice pudding and sat down to watch both the Oscars and Heros. I have to say that I am not a big fan of Ellen DeGeneres so I did not really pay that much attention to the Oscars, but Heros was fantastic.

All and all a great weekend, can't wait for Friday.

Fight Like A Girl

This statement can mean many different things and in my case it means that I don't fight at all. I am extremely non-confrontational, this means that I tend to avoid conflict as much as possible. It is my character flaw if you will.

This is the mode that I went into yesterday, I was very upset about something and instead of saying right then and there how I felt I kept quiet. This morning as I was coming in to work I realized that I had done it. I had not said anything and because of that I was angry and hurt.

The problem that I have is that at the moment that something happens I shut down and then when I am ready to talk about the issue, some time has gone by and it is no longer as important, so I put it aside. I tell myself that I was probably over reacting and that I should just move on. But then something else would happen and still I would not say anything, until one day I would just explode. My Husband now knows how to distinguish the signs of when I am upset and drags it out of me but I think that it is very important for me to bring up the issue or the problem.

And so I have done it, I have spoken up about how I felt yesterday and I have to tell you, I feel great. I will try to not take the hurt feelings to bed with me anymore.

I will listen to my mother who said...Never go to bed angry. Words of wisdom.

Shopping Anyone?

I just got back from a shopping excursion where I was not able to spend two hundred dollars worth of free money.

Let me elaborate...

My husband won a very generous $200 gift certificate to Mountain Equipment Co-op and since I have been complaining to him that I have no warm winter coat (nothing that can handle the -30 C) he gave it to me to go and find myself something warm.

Now, I am a girl that likes to shop at such stores as Zara, Jacob, Club Monaco, etc...I am not a very casually dressed person and certainly not sporty or outdoorsy in any way. But I had hopes that I could buy a nice zipped up sweater to layer under my coat in a very nice dark colour. So I headed over to MEC to see what they had...after all I had $200, what girl can't spend that kind of cash?

So I walk into the store and I see that things are arranged by categories such as Biking, Hiking, Running, Climbing and so on. My first thought was shit, I am in big trouble...I don't do any of these things where am I going to find a simple sweater. Then on the second floor I spot a sign that says Women's Apparel.BINGO.

I head over and start scanning the racks...there are lots of sweater...all kinds of sweaters...sweaters of different colours, styles, fabrics, and absorbency level. My first reaction is UGLY and FREAKING EXPENSIVE. There was this plain sweater made with some kind of patent pending material for $175...can you believe that? I mean for that kind of cash I should be able to get a whole freaking coat at this time of the year. I am very disappointed by the selection but decide to look at every single rack to see if I can find something to buy.

As I am going up and down the racks I think about what I could use...what do I need...work-out clothes is something I need. So I search for pants and shirts, but either things are just too expensive for a t-shirt ($75) or they did not have my size, or it was just not the right thing to work out in an indoor gym (long sleeved shirt).

I move away from looking for a work-out outfit...what else could I use? I know plain shirts. I spot some nice long-sleeved cotton shirts that I could wear under my sweaters. Score, there is a nice white one in my size for $14, this is a good price so I take it. Then I spot the sales rack and see if I can find something interesting. I see a nice hot pink sweater for $35 that looks like nothing that I own. So I take it...after all, why not. But I just can't find anything else that I like and I have very little time left, so I took those two item and went to pay.

Then, I remembered that I have to buy a freaking membership to this place, thankfully it is only $5 but still now I have $5 dollars less to spend on stuff that I don't like. Oh well, maybe the husband will find something nice or I can give it a couple of weeks and try again. After all I am a lifetime member of this place.

La Familia

Ahh a new week...what a busy weekend we had. I have to say that I don't feel rested at all, we had my husband's family (mother, stepdad, sister) in from Ottawa. My MIL was dying to see Isa and was besides herself with glee when she did. Isa was a little freaked out because here was this woman freaking out in front of her, it took her a few minutes to go to her grandmother.

I don't think that I have said anything about my MIL or about our relationship. To be honest we have a great relationship, we have many many things in common such as reading, eating good food, good wine/beer, and lounging around. She knows me very well and we have always understood each other, she has been there for me as a second mother after my mom moved back to Nicaragua. I am very happy to have such a good relationship with her and I love visiting them in their beautiful ski lodge style home in a small town called Wakefield, Quebec.

Before Isa was born I would go there to totally unplug from my everyday life, I would spend hours outside on the balcony among the trees reading a good book and drinking a nice cold beer. In the winter months I would spend those same hours lying on the couch in the living room reading or talking with her about what was new. Always with a beer, a glass of wine or a nice cup of tea.

Now with Isa things have changed, I no longer have hours to read instead we all watch Isa play or chase the three cats around the house hopping to get one of them. We spend time cooking and talking about what has been going on and how Isa has been doing and stuff. My MIL is the best cook...the woman can cook anything, when we go there I come back 10 pounds heavier because I can't stop eating and once Isa is in bed, drinking.

Back to this weekend...the family was here to celebrate my MIL's sister-in-law's 40th wedding anniversary and they had a big party at this beautiful reception hall with about 60 of their closest friends and family. Needless to say Isa was the star of the party, she used her powers of cuteness to charm everyone. I was so proud of her because she was not overwhelmed by the amount of people and she agreed to play with my young sister-in-law and let me have nice conversations with all the other family members.

My heart would swell when she would scan the crowd of people and spot me and her little face would light up and she would come running to me and nothing and no one could stand in her way of getting to me, It is so amazing to know that you mean so much to someone.
It was a very busy weekend but it was very nice to see the family and to get caught up. Now I am off to be productive.

F.Y.I Fridays

This is the second edition of F.Y.I. Fridays here at the Baby Thoughts blog. For this post I would like to share a children's gently used clothing store that was recommended to me.

The business is called Kaleidoscope and they have great gently used children's clothing. In fact, I have stopped by their Roncensville location and purchased quite a few items for Isa. All the items are washed and have no stains, holes or missing pieces such as buttons. The staff is very nice and will show you where things are. Also if they have new stuff that they have not put out for display they may let you go through it and you can have first dibs.

As they say, they only have name brand clothing and many things have not even been worn. They have some great selection of seasonal things so that if you have a little one and are looking for some winter or summer clothing that you know they might grow out off quickly this place might be a good place to check out.

Happy Shopping.

El Dia De Los Enamorados

The husband and I had a very nice and quiet valentine's day yesterday and after our meal and good quality TV time we started talking about our day at work. Now, normally this is just a short conversation about how long and boring it was( at least on my part, my husband likes his work) but instead it was a real conversation about what is going on in our respective projects, how I have been given more opportunities to lead some meetings and him giving me suggestions on how I can really knock the socks off them.

After we had finished talking about our work, we moved on to our other favourite topic, ISA. We talked about all the cute things she did today, how she ate all her dinner by herself, how she played nicely with her toys, cuddled with Mommy, walked over to the tub when it was time for bath and agreed to go to bed for 6:30 because both Mommy and Daddy were a little tired and wanted to take a short nap.

It was a great Valentine's Day, very much like New Years, were we also stayed home and had a great dinner, some very good wine and the best conversations. This to me is the best way to spend a romantic evening with the one you love. There really is no need for expensive gifts and a big bouquet of flowers. Though diamonds are always welcome;)

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day with the ones they love.

Obsevations of a Bored Subway Rider

This post is about random thoughts and opinions...it is not very politically correct so if you are a touchy person you might not want to keep reading.

(first observation has been removed...I really don't want to offend anyone who may be reading the blog)

I start to scan the crowd in the subway car for something else to occupy my time. And there sitting all pretty is this very good looking girl wearing 3 inch stiletto black pumps.

Now, normally this is not a big deal, after all just because I can't wear the things does not mean that I can't appreciate those who can. But on the day that they are predicting 15 cm of snow to fall this afternoon, this might not be the best footwear to have on. I don't get it...is there an underground parking lot attached to a subway station that I don't know about? Because even if you do drive to the station you still have to trek to your car in 15 cm of snow. So what's up?

I was a little jealous because I cannot and will not be able to wear such high and thin heeled shoes. The highest I go is 1.5 inches and this is even a little too high for moi. And now with having to go and pick up Isa and having to lug the stroller down a flight of stairs with baby strapped in I tend to wear flat shoes as it is safer for everyone.

These were my two observations on the way to work, there sure are some very interesting people on the subway every day.

El Laberinto del Fauno

My friend Winni and I went to see Pan's Labyrinth on Saturday...I have to say that the movie was great but it scared the hibbi yibbies out of us.

Though it is not a scary movie per se, it has many parts that required me to close my eyes because they were just too "intense". I guess that I could say that there are parts in the movie that are very gruesome and violent.

It is much darker than I had anticipated...though I really knew nothing about the movie going in except that it had received some good reviews and that it had won some sort of award. The acting was amazing, the "creatures" were incredible and very well done and the whole feel of the movie was realistic. You can check out some reviews at Metacritic .

I also LOVED the fact that it was in Spanish and after a couple of minutes I was able to sit back and enjoy the movie without having to read the subtitles.

All in all it was a very good movie to use an extremely boring adjective. Check it out if you like the scary stuff though you might not want to go and see the late show...you will have a hard time falling asleep afterwards.

F.Y.I. Fridays

I have decided that on Friday's I will share with you something interesting that I have come across. This Friday I am going to share something about myself, Her Bad Mother sent out an Internet wide meme on 8 Wacky and Weird things about you and I have decided to attempt this meme.

It took a 45 minute subway ride yesterday to think of 8 wacky and weird things about me, but I think that I have come up with some good ones.

Here it goes...

1- I like to put lemon on my eggs and salt on my oranges and mangos. The lemon on eggs is a family thing, I learned it from my dad. The salt thing on oranges I learned from my nanny when I was very young. Sounds gross but it tastes great...you should give it a try.

2- I came face to face with a Boa Constrictor. Yes you read correctly...a boa...I was about 5 years old and the snake was hanging out on my swings. The only reason why I am still alive is because it had already fed and was digesting. Needless to say I had nightmares for years. And yes, I did grow up right next to the jungle just in case you are wondering.

3- I have very weird pet names for loved ones. I have this habit of giving those I care about "terms of endearments". They are very weird names, such as "llorona" for my mother which means cry-baby I call her this because she always complains about things. So disrespectful you would think but that is what I call her in private. In public I call her mother which is another term of endearment. You have no idea how many I have for Isa...pretty much one for every month that she has been alive.

4- I played with Barbies until I was 13 years old. I know that this is going to send some people running away from my blog, but I have to admit that I did play with Barbies and that I loved it. They were my friends when I moved to Canada and had very little friends at school because I knew zero English. It was also a way for me to slow down the process of growing up, because I loved being a kid and did not want to be a teenager. I hope that my Isa enjoys playing with toys as much as I did, I had so much fun with my dolls.

5- I shot a hunting rifle. Needless to say this is very weird given number 4. But it is true, I went hunting a la English aristocracy the summer before Isa was born. My prey was an 8 cm diameter clay disc, I got it once but missed the second time. It was one of the coolest experience ever and I have to say those suckers are heavy. I could barely lift the thing let alone try to aim at a moving object.

6- I have "fluffy" toes. Okay don't get grossed out when I say that I have hair on my toes...but I do. I inherited my father's hairy genes and I get a couple of hairs on my toes. I also get some on my fingers but much lighter.

7- I really can't do math. The funny thing is that my title has the word "accountant" in it. Now that is funny...but don't worry, like everyone I have no opportunity of screwing up, they leave that up to the computer programs.

8- I like to bite my hair. I feel weird telling you this because it is my dirty secrete that only my family knows about. But when I am stressed, bored, or concentrating I like to bite my hair.

There you go people, eight weird and wacky things about yours trully. I hope that I have not totaly sent you running for the hills...I really am quite normal...really.

Ooooh Gooody

I have just discovered that I can actually blog at work...I have to tell you that I can barely contain my excitement. You may be wondering what the fudge I am talking about. Well, because my work actually wants us to be productive and stuff like that they will not allow you to sign into Internet based email providers ie. gmail.

Now as we know and complain about, New Blogger now has us signing in using gmail. So I was not able to sign into Blogger to post entries. But somehow, I have no freaking clue how, I am able to log into my account and create this post...Hurray for me.

Now I can actually contribute more to my blog since I have more time at work to take 5 and quickly write something. All I have to do is think of something interesting to write about. I will have to work on that.

Okay I have to go and think hard on what to talk about.

Hush Little Baby

I have started a new bed time routine...one that I just absolutely love. In the past I would just put Isa in her crib give her her stuffed pig, place a blanket on her, give her a kiss and say goodnight as I closed the door.

Now, before I do all of this we have a few minutes of cuddling. I don't have to tell you how wonderful this is. She lies on my chest and we just hug each other. She has gotten so cuddly lately, she was never like that before. Before we would give her a hug and then she would like to be released, I guess it was because she had things to do and places to see, now she comes to us and asks for hugs.

This new routine gives me the one on one time with her that we both need, since now only get to see her for a couple of hours a day during the week, I can spend a few minutes holding her, stroking her hair and singing her lullabies. It reminds me of when she was just born and I would do this for what seams like hours to try to get her to sleep. I used to wish for the day that I would not have to do that and now I am returning to it, funny how life is.

Sweet dreams everyone.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Feliz Navidad...Merry Christmas

I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

May you have a joyful time with friends and family.

Feliz Navidad

Bloor West Mama and Family

Let The Fun Begin

I AM ON VACATION!!!!

As you can imagine I am very excited to be on vacation for the next 3 weeks. The last time I had this much time off during Christmas was when I was in grade school ( I don't count my mat leave because I had a new baby to take care off).

So as you can imagine I am very excited and look forward to doing some work for the business (Baby Thoughts) and to get caught up with some house work (the never ending laundry and dishes)

I also have doctor and dentist appointments lined up for both Isa and I and I hope to get together with some friends for lunch.

I also hope to be able to get together with my moms group and the kids over the break, I was really worried that we would loose contact but we have been making a real effort to get together and now we see each other once a month. Being in this group has been my lifeline...I loved getting together with other women and just having a fun chat over decaf coffee (at the beginning and the real stuff later on). I loved that Isa had little friends to learn from and interact with. I just plain loved having the support and adult conversation.

Just this week we received news that the mother of one of the moms in the group passed away really unexpectedly. I really feel for my friend and her family...I really don't know how to best help her because I have never been through such a terrible loss. I am really afraid of doing or saying the wrong thing and hurting her. I know that I am probably being really dramatic but that is how I feel. I don't always know how to act or what to say to someone who is going through a lot of pain. Does this make me seem uncaring? I'm really not...I care a great deal about her and just hope to be able to communicate this.

Sorry for just rambling on and on about this but it has been on my mind.

So have you gone to check out her Bad Mother Auction? If you have not the bidding will close tomorrow so go and check it out and see if you would like to win something.

I am off to tackle the never ending laundry and messy kitchen...wish me luck.

ciao

EXTRA EXTRA

This post is to advertise an auction that will be starting tomorrow Wednesday December 13, 2006. It is for Her Bad Mother's nephew Tanner who suffers from a form of Muscular Dystrophy.

Very good friends of hers have put together an aution with the proceeds being donated to MD Canada in Tanner's name.

So check it out at Her Bad Auction...place a bid and see if you get lucky!!

Cheers everyone.

To Drink or not to drink

I don't know if I should be sharing this little bit about the Husband and I but what the hell...you people don't know us.

The thing is that we enjoy a nice beer or glass of wine almost every night. After Isa is in bed we get a beer/ wine and sit down to dinner or our favaourite tv show. I don't know what that makes us but I do know that it is something that we have grown up with. In our culture it is very common to have wine with dinner.

When I was pregnant I gave up alcohol right from the beginning and let me tell you it was painful. But I got over it, and once Isa was born I would sneek in a sip of wine right after I would feed her.

I have a friend who is about 4 or 5 months pregnant and she has told me that she will in fact have a sip of alcohol once she is 7 months along. I don't know if I could do this, I would be too paranoid that I would hurt the baby. I know that I would start to imagine the worst things and just work myself into an early labour. So no booze for me while pregnant.

For this reason I savour the drinks that I have now because there will come a time when I will not be able to have any for too long of a time.

So on a related topic...it was the Husband's work X-mass party last weekend and I know and are friends with many of his colleges. I was really looking forward to it because I had not seen some of them since the summer and I have a great time with them. We were lucky to get a good friend of mine to take care of Isa (well Isa was in bed by 7pm...so all she had to do was make sure that she stayed in bed).

All I am going to say is OPEN BAR. As you can well imagine I took this a little too far (not that far) but just a smitch too far and wound up with a nice hang over the next morning. Thankfully I did not embarrass the Husband...that would not have been good. And bless her heart Isa understood and was kind enough to wake up at 7 am take her bottle, a change of diapers and go back to sleep 'till 9 am.

It has been such a long time since I have been hung over that I had forgotten how much I hate it and how it is so not worth it... Oh well at least I had a blast.

Let the whining begin

Isa has discoved that if she whines she gets our attention and if she does it long and loud enough she may even get something fun out of it.

So the Husband and I have started to really watch how we react to her because we really don't want to get ropped into this tactic.

What we have started to do is look at her while she is making this annoying sound and see what she wants. Than once we have figured out what it is we say to her " would you like your water?" or " would you like to be picked up?" things like that, though I do try to ask in Spanish as I am trying to only speak to her in Spanish.

Needless to say it is a chanlenge for me because, to me my first language is English...but I must make the effort.

I think that I have shared with people that I would really really love it if my daughter knew Spanish...both my husband and I are Spanish and many of our family members only speak Spanish. So for this reason and others it is very important for Isa to learn the language.

So I am making a very concious effort to provide her with Spanish books, DVD's and friends who also hear Spanish at home so that she will grow up listening to it.

I have no idea how things will turn out but I do know that if I try and work hard at making Spanish an important language in our home she will know a good amount....I hope.

So back to the whining...I have to say that I am not prepared for this next stage in our lives. I am a non-confrontational person. This means that I tend to just give into people's wants and needs. So, this means that my first reaction to when Isa whines is to just give her what she wants...not a good idea. So my life has changed and I am trying to stand firm and teach her the right way to ask for things.

I just hope that I don't slip too much and get in trouble. Wish me luck people 'cause I am gona need it.