36 Hours

A mere 36 hours until I'm back to work FULL TIME. Eeeeeps! Freaking out slightly here. I mean, I'm gonna miss Evy like crazy, but also, 36 hours does NOT leave a lot of time to polish my birkenstocks and get the crease just right in my jeans. Heh... gotta love working for the government.

Doh!

The stupid free software I was using for comments has stopped working, so, I've lost all the comments from the past year. Doh! (This is in case you were wondering why comments from 18 months ago are showing in the 'recent comments' section. I swear, I have had comments since them!

Hope everyone is keeping warm on this chilly day!

Daddy's little helper

I got Evy her first Black & Decker tool set earlier this week. It was on sale, and I couldn't resist buying it. Put a power tool in her hand and she looks even more like Rob - it's uncanny!

Here she is, getting to work on some carpentry projects this morning:

safety comes first!

Not quite sure what these things are!

ready with her level and drill


There's always time for a bottle break while working hard

Congratulating herself on a job well done!

Puke Mountain: The novel

So, we (barely) survived our weekend at Blue Mountain. And unfortunately, the resort is going to have to be renamed 'Puke Mountain'. (A less attractive name, to be sure, and won't help Intrawest sell off the property, but I'm afraid it's now the more appropriate name).

The high points? Good food. Good friends. Beautiful weather on Saturday. A gorgeous location, and 2 nicely appointed condos. Laughter, skiing, fun in the great outdoors. And Evy had SO so SOOOOO much fun with the other kids.

The low (low low looooow) points? Puke. And peepoops. An unwelcome guest called the flu... or possibly using his ole' alias, Norwalk Virus.

Of the 20 of of there, 8 people ended up getting sick. That's only at last count, mind you. There could be further casualties that I don't know about yet (not to mention that Evy passed it on to the husband of our daycare provider, who will probably try to shoot out the windows of my car the next time I drop her off there - and you can't blame him really. I was lucky enough to avoid this ebola-like illness, but, from what I hear, it's one of those lovely instances where you really need 2 toilets - one for each end.)

I know what you're thinking right now... "Why Sarah, this has GOT to be your most deeee-lightful blog post EVER!"

Hey, I make no promises about the savouriness (or gag-reflexeriousness) of my content. And between Rob and Evy both being sick earlier this week, my gag-reflex has been working overtime and I need to share the misery.

The light at the end of the tunnel: As of yesterday, both husband and child are better. The carseat cover washed out suprisingly well. And, I've chloroxed the entire house until the paint is almost worn off the walls.

The dark at the end of the tunnel: Along with this horrible flu, Evy has a brutal cold and sounds not unlike Louis Armstrong (hard for an 18-month-old, I know, but she manages it). And, because I mocked Rob for needing Yops to get over the flu, Karma dictates that I shall suffer from this cold. And suffering I am.

So, from hereontoforthintheworld, I hereby decree that Blue Mountain shall be known as Puke Mountain, and that if you want to stay healthy for February, I shall advise you with a great amount of self-pity and regret, that you should probably stay away from me and my family. If there's a germ going, we seem to embrace it with an absurd amount of enthusiasm. If you cross the street when you see me, I shall not judge. Care packages of Vicks, echinacea and zinc lozenges (and Yops for Rob) can be left at the end of the driveway.

Here are some pics from the weekend (I'm pretty sure you can't catch germs through photos, so feel free to browse).

chaos in the condo

gathering in the warm glow of the Wii

Felicity, Evy and Bernie

3 little monkeys

Evy and Felicity take in the (mini) slopes


Rob gets attacked by a posse of children
(I suspect this is when he was infected with the dreaded virus)

Snow angel playing outside the condo

What a cutie!

I do sincerely hope that everyone has had a fine latter-half of January, and here's to next month and the fact that Spring is around the corner!

Cookie monster

I was pretty sad earlier this month when Evy had her 18-month check-up. Turns out she's still off the bottom of the percentile chart for weight and height. I was pretty sure she must be weighing 20 lbs by now (or, say, at least as much as your average 7-month old!) but alas, she only weighed in at 18lb 6oz. Little teeny tiny!

So, I worried for about 2 minutes, and then realized that she's happy and healthy. She sleeps between 12 and 13 hours straight at night, plus a good 2-hour nap during the day. She eats 3 meals a day, drinks formula, milk, water, and juice, and is a jolly little soul. So, I just refuse to worry about it!

We go back in April for another weigh-in, so we're currently on 'Project Chubby'. This means helpings of fabulous Liberty yogurt (13% milk fat) with every meal. The only downside is that I end up finishing anything she doesn't eat, and I need project slim-down!

Here is the poor waif, scarfing down 2 oatmeal chocolate chip cookies at once, while running all over the house:

I suspect it's all the running around that's the problem, but short of tethering her to a ring on the floor, I don't see how I can cut down on the calorie burning. So will just continue on with the big meals and lots of snacks and will see what happens.

Busy busy

Apologies about my last (dreary) post. Am feeling much better now. Have decided what to do about the job situation, and feel better for having taken action. And, as always, miss E has been keeping me on my toes. Here she is on Monday making good use of her new Firetruck toy. (She's clearly taking after Poppa with an interest in Emergency Services).

I think this baby needs some mouth-to-mouth!

(with bonus extra saliva)

Hmmm. The 'squashing' baby's face is a lesser known form of CPR

To the rescue!

If only I could figure out why my feet aren't working!

So, the week has gone by pretty quickly, and we're looking forward to wild and crazy (but hopefully not sleepless) weekend at Blue Mountain. 12 adults. 8 kids. 6 bedrooms. I'm not entirely sure how this is going to work! I say put all the kids in one room and lock it ...baby cage-fighting! I'll be sure to take lots of pics and will report back on Monday!

Bleh bleh blah

So I think I must be having the January 'blahs'. Is there such a thing? I know you normally get them in February, so I guess mine are just premature.

I'm having a bit of a work crisis and may be starting a full-time job in the near future. Full time at a fabulous job that I know I'll LOVE-love-looooVE in the field that I want to work in. But working full-time means leaving Evy full-time. Which means of her 12 waking hours on a week-day, I'll be lucky to see her for 3 or 3.5 = mega angst.

Yes, I know most mamas do this. And I know and truly believe that working full-time doesn't make you less of a mother, and doesn't generally impact your child negatively. It's just that I'll miss her SO much. One of my friends pointed out that happy at work = happy at home = happy mom. And that's the theory I'm going with for now. It helps that this potential new job is a contract that will end by late Spring, so, I will just be testing the waters for now. (And hey, maybe I'll then be out of work for part of the summer... get ready to host us in New Brunswick, granny + poppa!).

In other 'blah' news I can't stop reading the headlines about Haiti. I feel sick thinking about all of the loss, the pain, families devastated, and now the waiting for aid. It's just really bloody awful. So, I donated my measley-but-I-hope-it-helps $100 and hope that everyone else does the same. I donated through Red Cross, but there are lots of charities accepting money. The cbc has a great list of ways to help.

Oh, and if you too are suffering from the January 'blahs' then might I recommend a possible cure. I just finished reading the latest Dan Brown book, 'Lost Symbol'. And in pure Dan Brown fashion it was dramatic drivel (oooh that cheeky Robert Langdon... whatever WILL he get himself into this time?). But it was very entertaining and I read it before bed and finished it in 3 nights, so, not really a weighty read. Mind you, I did find it a bit hard to read now I picture a freaky hair-straightened Tom Hanks playing the role, and it's just too weird. Seriously. Stop straightening the hair.

And for your miss E fix, here she on Wednesday, wreaking havoc on my architectural masterpiece. Mysteriously, the audio is off by a few seconds - not sure why that happened, but it's still a very cute video.

Miscellany

Here are a few pics that Granny (aka Alice) emailed me today.

The first is bebe Jack. He has, I think, the most pronounced double chin ever. What does it mean when your 2nd chin is bigger than your first? Is there anything cuter than a chubby baby? I think not.

I need to see him soon, as I'm missing him. He is just such a BOY! I love him sooo much and hope that he's been behaving for his mummy and dada!

The next two photos are of Miss E, having some fun this morning when our neighbours came over for a visit.

The two girls are only 3 days apart in age and have lots of fun together!

And finally some snaps from lunchtime.

Evy is LOVING sitting in between her auntie and uncle. They were in town to look at some real estate.

Yes, that's right, project 'Move to Millbrook' (M2M) has been kicked into overdrive! (Do you think that I can turn coercing people into moving to Millbrook into a full time job? I gotta talk to the local Council to see what they think!)

I hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend and that 2010 has been treating you well!

Happy two-zero one-zero

Happy new decade everyone! 10 years ago today we were all pleasantly surprised to discover that the world hadn't ended with a fiery bang from malfunctioning computers and technology. (Ahhh, Y2K!). I woke up on that first morning of 2000 with a severe hangover, an empty bank account, in my apartment on Yonge Street along with some unwelcome rodents.

This morning I woke up with a slight hangover (improvement!), with some money in the bank (improvement!), in our century home in Millbrook along with some unwelcome rodents.
Two out of three ain't bad!

2009 was a good year. It was a busy year. And a certain someone promises to make 2010 a busy year too. Here she is modelling a toque that got forgotten here on Boxing Day. Go John Deere!

Madam is definitely turning in to a little girl now, isn't she? These pictures crack me up. I think it's because with the hat on, you can't tell that she's still as bald as a cue ball, so, she seems more grown up!

Alas, I don't have any pics from last night. We went to a party at our neighbours house and had a great time. There was much laughter, much chatter, and much (too much?) gin. Evy actually fell asleep in their spare room early in the evening. So when it got to the wee hours and was time to head home, we bundled her up in blankets and headed outside. The moon was SO bright, and the snow was very sparkly, and we walked across the bridge on our way home and looked at the shining water and magical ice formations. (Course, that may have been gin-induced). I was grateful all over again that we live in such a beautiful place, with great neighbours and our cozy (mice-ridden) home. It was a wonderful start to the New Year.

I hope that 2010 brings all that you wish for.