Potties come in handy.

Potties can be used for a few different things. Like a normal toilet, they are most commonly used for eliminating pee or poo. Last night, I discovered, they can be used for other things. Like when you are very sick and have to sit on a normal toilet, you can use the potty, which happens to be right in front of you, as a puke bucket. Lovely, I know, you must be so happy I shared that with you.

I was up all night feeling terribly sick. I know I was sick a couple weeks ago but that was nothing in comparison to this experience. That was like a walk in the park. This feels like I am rotting from the inside out.

Dad has been very helpful. Just yesterday I was chatting with my pal S. and I was mentioning how bitter I am that Dad never lets me sleep in. Well, today I am happy to report that dad was kind enough to take care of Stinx all day and let me stay in bed. It was wonderful except for the circumstances. In all seriousness though, I am so glad this happened when Dad is on vacation.

Now I am just hoping little Stinx won't get it. I'm hoping it's food poisoning and not a stomach flu - although the symptoms seem more like a flu.

Thanks Santa!

So Santa did happen to read my blog! Who would've known? Not me. There was a parcel delivered to my door and it turned out to be the Kidsleep alarm clock. It is a nice night light and alarm, however, we haven't really tried it out yet. Mostly because it states in the instructions that in order to use it as a sleep indicator, your child should be 30 months old. Hmmm. I guess I didn't read that in the fine print.

I think it may still work if we try it. Stinx seems to respond well when I talk about the normal alarm clock in his room. Say if he is up, at like, hmmm... 3 am, I will, "The clock says its still night night. When it gets to 6am it will be morning time". Sometimes this doesn't work at all, but sometimes it does. And in my opinion, having the Kidsleep alarm clock should make it easier. "Look, its still night night, the bunny is sleeping. We get up when the bunny wakes up". The visual is so much easier to understand.

So I am just debating when we'll try it out. Today Stinx woke up at 6:36am. Which for us is a splendid hour. The down side is that he was up twice last night... But Dad handled that - not me. Lovely. So anyways, we'll see how he sleeps for the next while.

Traditions

The topic of Christmas traditions has come up a few times in conversation between Dad and I. Right now we don't really have any. There was a little pressure from some family to start our own traditions. So since its a little too late for this year, I am planning for next. I came up with some ideas and then wondered where I should put them. I have them written down but surely I'd forget about them next winter. So I figured what better place than the blog.

So here are some of my ideas for future Christmas traditions. They aren't in a special order. Some won't be "do-able" until Stinx is older but it's a start for ideas.

1. Christmas Baking - and in particular, sugar cookies with my new icing recipe.
2. Attend a Christmas Eve church service
3. Go to the Calgary Zoo lights
4. Volunteer at a homeless shelter - obviously Stinx would have to be older, but in the mean time we can do a donation of goodies or blankets etc.
5. Read the birth story of Jesus
6. Decorate a Christmas Tree
7. Use Advent Calendars
8. Get some warm tasty beverages (Soy Nogg, Cider, Hot chocolate etc) and go for a drive looking at Christmas lights
9. Have Stinx (and any future kiddo) make Christmas cards
10. Make a special Christmas breakfast
11. Watch Christmas movies

Thanks

I think I need to do a "What I am Thankful for" post. I find the Christmas season kinda stressful, and I know it shouldn't be. That's not what its about. I wish I could simply celebrate Christ at this time of year, and not worry about the other crap. Crap meaning many things. So here goes being "posi" :

I am thankful for:

• Dad and Stinx
• Our extended families
• A nice home
• Food
• Friends
• That Dad has a job he loves
• That I can be a SAHM and watch Stinx grow and learn
• That I can work 4 hours a week at a job I love
• That all of our needs are always met
• When Stinx STTN :)
• Our church
• That everyone in our family is in pretty good health
• Forgiveness, grace and mercy
• God - who still loves me even though I stumble and make lots of mistakes

A lovely afternoon. Not really.

Today I went to visit a friend in the inner city. Stinx and I had lunch with her and her 8 month old son. Her little guy skipped his am nap and was pretty sleepy. I decided to leave because Stinx was being quite the ball of energy and I feared the younger baby wouldn't take a pm nap with all Stinx noise. I decided to warm up the car(Because it was -37c with windchill) and load the station wagon. I had lent my friend some baby stuff like bouncy chairs, bumbo's etc. After putting the baby stuff in the car, I threw my diaper bag in there. And locked the door. I bundled Stinx all up, put my jacket on, and went to grab the diaper bag to get my keys.... Then I realized my horror. I had locked my extra keys in the car. Shoot! I was not pleased with myself.Fortunately I was able to get a locksmith to come within an hour. He was a great fellow too. I plan on referring him to anyone who needs a locksmith. On the way home Stinx fell asleep in the car. I was relieved knowing I wouldn't have to deal with nap time. The past few "transfers" have been smooth sailing. Of course, this was not the case today. Stinx woke up when I tried lifting him out of the seat. And apparently he thought the 5 minute car nap was sufficient. He refused to fall back to sleep. Awesome. It was a lovely afternoon.

Nightmare

Stinx had a nightmare last night. I'm sure it wasn't his first. But it was the first I witnessed. He was sleeping beside me and all of a sudden he sat up crying and shouting, "No! No! No!" etc. Then he started pointing and saying "Bug" through the tears. Poor little fella was dreaming about bugs.For the most part he's been doing well with the subject of bugs. He loves reading stories with bugs in the them. He's handled the spider encounters very well [i think because i sing him the "itsy bitsy spider" so often]. But then yesterday he spotted a fruit fly in the kitchen. I thought these annoying pests were all gone. Perhaps this one came with the groceries last week end. He didn't even seem particularly bothered by the fly yesterday. He kinda just pointed it out. But it seems this small fruit fly may have been the bug he was dreaming of last night.

Snow Angel

It's chilly here these days. Very chilly. The past couple week ends we've had snow storms. The roads are treacherous and icy. The temperature has been as low as -30c and with wind chill -40c. Dad has done a great job of shoveling the snow from our driveway and side walk. Today, though, Dad wasn't "able" to shovel the snow. When I put the recycling outside for pick up and saw that it had snowed, I worried. When would I have time to shovel with Stinx around? I figured I would have to wait until nap time or bed time.

A couple hours later I looked out the window to see that my entire drive way and side walk had been cleared. I literally cried. I couldn't believe someone would shovel the entire thing for me. I looked at my neighbor's walk but it hadn't been shoveled. I looked across the street and theirs hadn't been either. Hmmm. I was puzzled. Who did it? I called my neighbor friends down the street to see if they did it. Nope. Wasn't them. Hmmm. Later in the day I saw the Dad of the kids I babysit. I was driving and slowed down. I rolled the window down to interrogate him. Wasn't him either. I just couldn't figure it out. I asked everyone I know one the street. I even told Dad and he seemed surprised someone would do that for us.

My last thought was that it could have been our friend Tony who lives in a neighborhood not to far away. He was my last guess. And I only guessed him because I knew he knew Dad couldn't do the shoveling this week. Sure enough, it was him. I guess Dad had asked him to help me out with it if it snowed. How nice is that? What a great friend. Silly dad for keeping it from me.

Unfortunately it kept snowing today so I still had to go out tonight and finish it up. It wasn't bad though, just a cm or so. I figured since Tony was so kind today, I would pay it forward and shoveled my neighbors walk. I love that about neighbors and snow shoveling. Earlier when I hadn't figured out who had cleared my walk, I was looking at everyone else's to see who's had been shoveled (hoping I'd find a clue to who it was). And it seemed that most houses walks had been cleared in pairs or sets of 3. Its obvious that when one neighbor starts, he does the walk on either side as well.

There is still some kindness left in the human race.

Another night to remember.

I'm starting to wonder if I seriously hurt myself. Its just that my arm is still really sore. Its most bothersome at night. Its very achy. Maybe I just sprained it? The pain goes the length of my arm, from the shoulder to the wrist. Some spots are more sore than others.

Last night I made the mistake of letting Stinx drink some of my Lipton Iced Green Tea. I have no clue, NO CLUE, why I let him have some. Well, I lied. I guess my only clue is that I've been worried he's dehydrated from all the vomiting and diarrhea so I figured I'd let him have some. He really wanted some. The thought did cross my mind that it might have caffeine. But I figured he wouldn't have enough to effect him.

Well of course I was wrong. He took forever to go to bed last night. I lost my patience with him after an hour of trying. I should have just given up and kept him up a bit later so he'd do to bed easier. But no, I am stubborn. He finally fell asleep but woke up 3 hours later, at midnight. And did not go back to bed until 4;30am. That's right. Stinx was up for approximately 4 hours. The 3 hour sleep I had must have given me more patience because I managed to keep my cool during the 4 hours. He was in a great mood the whole time. It's not as though he was still feeling sick from the flu, or had a nightmare, he just seemed wired. Which I think the iced green tea is to blame, which really makes me to blame. So I get what I deserve.

Another weird note from last night - before midnight, before Stinx woke up, I woke up. I was sleeping and then woke up a bit. I looked across the bed but didn't see Stinx. I panicked. I started looking through the covers, on the floor, calling out his name. Then I opened the door to my room and realized that Stinx was still in his crib from when I put him to bed. It was the strangest thing. I must have dreamt that I brought him to my bed... Or perhaps I was sleepwalking and when I opened the bedroom door I startled myself awake??

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Sometimes I hate you Blogger. Especially when I try to put spaces between my paragraphs and you won't let me. I've tried fixing this numerous times and can't figure it out. Any readers want to tell me what I'm doing wrong?

Bitter about the Flu

Is there a rule out there that states if your child is sick, it is mandatory that you also be sick? Sure seems that way.

Stinx has the flu. I have the flu.

I also know the child that transmitted the flu to all the other babies in the nursery. How I wish he and his family had skipped church on Sunday.

We had some good plans lined up this week. Today we were supposed to go swimming. Tomorrow we were supposed to go to the Science Centre (for the first time ever). And Friday we were going to meet up with our old playgroup for a Christmas party. I'm a little bummed. No, I am bummed. I am basically stuck at home now. It's cold outside. There is 15 inches of snow out there. Its not like I can take Stinx to the park. Well, I guess I could. But I hate snow. It's cold. And he does have the flu. And I have the flu.

And I have the decency to stay home. When Stinx is sick I take it seriously. I don't go gallivanting around to playgroups and swimming pools knowing I could pass the flu along to other babies and people. I still don't understand why people take their kids out when they are sick, especially to places where kids share toys. I am not pointing this directly at the kid at church on Sunday, just in general. There have been many times when I've been to a playgroup and parents bring there obviously sick children.

Now I can deal with a cold. A little runny nose and a slight cough doesn't bother me. A super snotty nose and consistent hacking is not so OK with me. But what really bothers me -Stuff like stomach flu's. If a kid is vomiting or has diarrhea, or stops eating because they're so sick, or they have a terrible fever all night and can't sleep - that is definitely the type of illness I'm talking about. Even if a toddler or baby has just one of those symptoms, I don't want to hang out with them. Seriously! Stay home and wait a few days after the last symptom before exposing people. This is common courtesy!

And I know I'm not perfect. For example, the Roseola. It's most contagious before symptoms even show up. So who knows who we interacted with while Stinx was contagious. I think he got it from another baby at the Halloween party we hosted. But I don't consider that baby liable because the baby wasn't showing symptoms. That Roseola is a pain in the butt. So easily spread and no way to prevent it when its most contagious before you even know your baby is sick.

And since Stinx had Roseola, he's been sleeping like crap. Then, just last week he started to sleep through the night again, for about 5 days.... Until... He got the flu. Urgh. So annoying. So here we go again.

Anyways, when I know Stinx is sick, I don't go out and pass it along. I think its necessary to wait a few days after the last symptom before hanging out with friends. I mean, sure, go do errands or go for walks, or do whatever, but wait awhile before letting your kid play with friends and share toys. How I wish this was a mandatory rule everyone followed. I just don't "get" why some parents don't respect it. Perhaps they've never heard the rule?

Just want to apologize for the whiny post. Just had to vent somehow, somewhere!

Fool

I made the mistake of going out today. In the blizzard. In the 15 inches of snow. I was starting to think I may not attend Ry-Guy's 1st birthday party but then Dad insisted that the roads weren't bad as he had checked on-line. He also said the snow was starting to "let up".

Well that wasn't the case. But fortunately Stinx and I made it to the party and home again safely. That will be the last time I drive while there is a warning from police not to drive unless absolutely necessary (Of course I didn't realize this until I heard it on the radio while driving).

What did really go wrong though - while getting to my cousins townhouse the snow was blowing in Stinx' face so I decided to hurry it up. No good. I totally slipped and fell on the snow, while carrying Stinx on my hip. Stinx didn't get hurt because he landed on me. But me on the other hand, I landed strangely on my left arm. I thought I had broken it. I'm such a wimp, I think I only pulled a muscle, but still it killed! Even later today it started tensing up again. I'm sure I'll have bruises tomorrow.

I'll definitely be staying home next blizzard.

Anti

I've successfully taught Stinx how to say "Anti-Kels" which is our special way of saying Auntie Kelsey. Anti has been badgering me to teach Stinx her name before she comes out for Christmas. So now I can cross that off my list of things to do.

Today, Bubga aka Grandma, came over after work and visited for awhile. I brought Stinx and Bubga downstairs to the computer where the picture of Anti-Kels is. When I tried to get Stinx to say Anti-Kels, Stinx just said "Mooooooooo". Urgh. This is because we spent some time on You Tube watching cow videos today. Bubga thought it was hilarious. Was he implying Anti-Kels is a cow?? Some might think so...

This is one of the cow videos that Stinx just adores.

I need this desperately

So for the past few days I have been dreaming of a toddler alarm clock. Something with a light on it that will clearly separate night from day. In my dreams this looks like a sun. It would have regular digital clock as well that the parents could set to a "wake up time"... at a decent hour such as 7am. So at night the parent would set the alarm for 7am. You would have to explain to the child that when the room is dark, its sleepy time, and when the light comes/ or when the sun is shining it means its time to get up.

I have heard of people using this method with their toddlers but with a normal digital clock. They teach their child the different numbers. They block out the minutes with some paper so only the hour can be seen. Then they place a piece of paper next to the clock with the number they need to know, such as 7. I personally don't know anyone who's done this, just read about it on-line.

So today I googled "Toddler Clock" and I got many hits about the Kidsleep Alarm clock/nightlight. This is totally what I need! Stinx has been chonically waking between 4-5am since the battle with Roseola.So seriously I need this. It starts off as a nightlight when your child is a baby. Once your child is a toddler you can use it to teach them to stay asleep or in their room until the bunny "wakes up", and then once your child is able to read digital time, it can be used as a normal alarm clock. So cool. To get it shipped to Canada from Europe though, is very pricey. Almost $77. Yowzers!

I'm praying Santa reads my blog.

I don't mind

Mom - I'm so glad you were being gentle in the nursery today! Maybe it's overstepping boundaries kissing all the babies, but I don't mind, as long as you aren't being aggressive.

Stinx - Mind?

Mom - Yeah, mind.

Stinx- Mind?

Mom - Can you say "I'm losing my mind"

Stinx - Mom!