Yesterday was very long day. Kevin was away helping family with a construction project leaving the three of us on our own. The day went well enough. We went to Walmart and the Pet Supply House to gear up for Cassie's arrival (more on that another day) then later to The Little Gym for Roman's class.
While dinner and witching hour when fine, things disintegrated at bed time.
Lauren did not want to go to sleep. When putting kids to bed on my own, Roman watches a movie while I wrestle the monster to sleep. Wrestle is not generally the word I have to use but last night it was relevant.
Eventually almost two hours after starting the nighttime routine, they both were in bed and I finally had a smidge of time for myself.
Open the chips, pull out the dip and tune into the Olympics. Curling. I confess I'm a little more interested now that I actually understand scoring and the tactics involved. Plus the gold medal game was already in the seventh end so it wouldn't be too long to see if we would have another gold to add to the tally.
Canada's Kevin Martin against Norway with those.... frightening... pants. Eek. Sorry guys. It's curling not golf...
What I remember most about the event was not the battle, the strategy or the pants but rather a single moment for Kevin Martin.
I so wish I had a capture of that photo. While on the podium, listening to our national anthem, the look on his face declared complete joy and peace, "This is where I am supposed to be. Right now. In this moment." His face and more specifically, the look in his eyes showed he was truly living in the moment.
With the struggles I'm having now, Lauren's communication delays, poor sleeping, return to gassy nights, Roman's 4 year old attitude swings, I long to have one of those moments again. Complete contentment. Peace at being where I am when I am.
Not that I intend to become an olympic curler to get one... I don't think I can drink enough beer to be a curler.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Today
Today was a memorable day. Not necessarily all pleasant memories but to be remembered nonetheless.
Today I met our 'forever vet'. We're looking at adopting a dog through a rescue organization. Often the lingo is that the dog is looking for their 'forever home'. While looking for the right dog to give that forever home to, we also needed to find a 'forever vet'. The bar was set very high after Dr. Larry Wilder in Toronto. The bar was set when, at our first appointment ever, he kissed my cat on the head during her exam. A simple, easy to miss moment that sealed the deal for me all those years ago.
Today, Dr. Mark Gemmill met the mark. My initial reason for going to the clinic was simply to get a feel, see if I liked the clinic and liked the veterinarians there. (We met a vet in the fall when we thought Billie's time was done and... well... I don't think she could even see the bar over her head let alone reach it. She was more of an animal person, less of a people person...) Today I had to change our 'nice to meet you' visit into an actual appointment.
Today Dr. Mark showed he really is the vet for us when he made me laugh, let me cry and then called my Blue "Sweetheart" each time he picked her up. The last time he said it, he lovingly cradled her in his arms and said "Come on Sweetheart. Let's go..." when he took her still little body out of my arms.
Today, when I got home from the clinic, Lauren was in her undies. This is not entirely unusual in this house. The rule is, if she wants to go naked, she has to get her pants off herself. The significance is that later she was mostly naked and her undies were beside the potty. And her pee was IN the potty.
Today, at dinner, Lauren didn't want any proper food. She wanted a cupcake. I offered to help take the paper off and she insisted I go away (not quite in those words but as a mom, you get the drift pretty quick). A moment later I looked back to see the paper neatly off the cupcake, pressed flat on the table and half of it - the cupcake - already gone. In the time I'd been gone to the vet, my daughter had gotten older.
Today I remember our kittie leaving us and our little girl starting to grow up.
Today I met our 'forever vet'. We're looking at adopting a dog through a rescue organization. Often the lingo is that the dog is looking for their 'forever home'. While looking for the right dog to give that forever home to, we also needed to find a 'forever vet'. The bar was set very high after Dr. Larry Wilder in Toronto. The bar was set when, at our first appointment ever, he kissed my cat on the head during her exam. A simple, easy to miss moment that sealed the deal for me all those years ago.
Today, Dr. Mark Gemmill met the mark. My initial reason for going to the clinic was simply to get a feel, see if I liked the clinic and liked the veterinarians there. (We met a vet in the fall when we thought Billie's time was done and... well... I don't think she could even see the bar over her head let alone reach it. She was more of an animal person, less of a people person...) Today I had to change our 'nice to meet you' visit into an actual appointment.
Today Dr. Mark showed he really is the vet for us when he made me laugh, let me cry and then called my Blue "Sweetheart" each time he picked her up. The last time he said it, he lovingly cradled her in his arms and said "Come on Sweetheart. Let's go..." when he took her still little body out of my arms.
Today, when I got home from the clinic, Lauren was in her undies. This is not entirely unusual in this house. The rule is, if she wants to go naked, she has to get her pants off herself. The significance is that later she was mostly naked and her undies were beside the potty. And her pee was IN the potty.
Today, at dinner, Lauren didn't want any proper food. She wanted a cupcake. I offered to help take the paper off and she insisted I go away (not quite in those words but as a mom, you get the drift pretty quick). A moment later I looked back to see the paper neatly off the cupcake, pressed flat on the table and half of it - the cupcake - already gone. In the time I'd been gone to the vet, my daughter had gotten older.
Today I remember our kittie leaving us and our little girl starting to grow up.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Say "(un)Cheese"!
Official medical opinion yet to be obtained, dairy is hereby declared to be EVIL in our house.
Yes. You heard me. Evil.
Let me explain...
With dairy, our daughter is a miserable, pain filled, unhappy, not sleeping little girl.
Take dairy away, our daughter has very little gas pains... at all... she's full of energy, sleeping (mostly) and even, get this, NAPPING! and for more than 40 minutes. This week we've had three, maybe even four, days with 2 hours naps. Seriously! 2 hours from a girl that struggled to sleep more than 40 minutes! The first two times this happened, I had decided to simply sit and stare out the window savouring a cup of coffee to pass the 40 minutes. Let`s face it. Why start anything? 2 hours later I'm still sitting in the chair but now getting bored.
But back to the dairy is evil thing.
To recap: No dairy + daughter = sleep... AKA GOOD!
Dairy + daughter = bad... AKA EVIL
Therefore, Dairy = Evil
Any questions?
Oh yes. The calcium debate. Turns out that while the dairy industry wants us to believe only dairy can give us the calcium we need, there are other places that are as good or better to get it: bok choy, broccoli, chinese greens... soy. Tofu is extra good if set using calcium salt. Fortified non-dairy milks like rice and soy have calcium added and Lauren seems to be very happy with rice milk. Almonds and sesame seeds are good too...
So, dairy still = evil.
And it's getting easier to be dairy free in our house especially with "The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook" by Jo Stpaniak. Yep. Uncheese = good. The recipes mimic cheese in flavour and texture but are dairy free and still full of protein and calcium. It's not cheese to slice and eat in little cubes but to date we've had gooey grilled cheese sandwiches and a substitute colby in tonight's "toxic goo" (homemade hamburger helper c/o my mom's 'must-go' recipe). Both were really tasty and even Roman wolfed down his grilled cheese.
Kevin was impressed enough by the book's introduction that he suggested we all go dairy free instead of just Lauren. Given how obnoxious Roman has been lately it's worth at try. Dairy proteins can affect the nervous system and therefore moods. It can't hurt to drop it for him too. I was impressed by Kevin's suggestion. He's taking it very seriously and I appreciate it.
So, to our original hypothesis: Dairy is Evil.
Until such time as Lauren outgrows her sensitivity or someone can clinically prove to me that she is not dairy protein intolerant, dairy is officially declared evil in our house. Oh.. you're welcome to bring it here especially on a Pizza Nova pizza. We're not cruel and heartless. We won't put it out in the cold or anything... just make sure there's something cheeseless for the littlest one too.
Yes. You heard me. Evil.
Let me explain...
With dairy, our daughter is a miserable, pain filled, unhappy, not sleeping little girl.
Take dairy away, our daughter has very little gas pains... at all... she's full of energy, sleeping (mostly) and even, get this, NAPPING! and for more than 40 minutes. This week we've had three, maybe even four, days with 2 hours naps. Seriously! 2 hours from a girl that struggled to sleep more than 40 minutes! The first two times this happened, I had decided to simply sit and stare out the window savouring a cup of coffee to pass the 40 minutes. Let`s face it. Why start anything? 2 hours later I'm still sitting in the chair but now getting bored.
But back to the dairy is evil thing.
To recap: No dairy + daughter = sleep... AKA GOOD!
Dairy + daughter = bad... AKA EVIL
Therefore, Dairy = Evil
Any questions?
Oh yes. The calcium debate. Turns out that while the dairy industry wants us to believe only dairy can give us the calcium we need, there are other places that are as good or better to get it: bok choy, broccoli, chinese greens... soy. Tofu is extra good if set using calcium salt. Fortified non-dairy milks like rice and soy have calcium added and Lauren seems to be very happy with rice milk. Almonds and sesame seeds are good too...
So, dairy still = evil.
And it's getting easier to be dairy free in our house especially with "The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook" by Jo Stpaniak. Yep. Uncheese = good. The recipes mimic cheese in flavour and texture but are dairy free and still full of protein and calcium. It's not cheese to slice and eat in little cubes but to date we've had gooey grilled cheese sandwiches and a substitute colby in tonight's "toxic goo" (homemade hamburger helper c/o my mom's 'must-go' recipe). Both were really tasty and even Roman wolfed down his grilled cheese.
Kevin was impressed enough by the book's introduction that he suggested we all go dairy free instead of just Lauren. Given how obnoxious Roman has been lately it's worth at try. Dairy proteins can affect the nervous system and therefore moods. It can't hurt to drop it for him too. I was impressed by Kevin's suggestion. He's taking it very seriously and I appreciate it.
So, to our original hypothesis: Dairy is Evil.
Until such time as Lauren outgrows her sensitivity or someone can clinically prove to me that she is not dairy protein intolerant, dairy is officially declared evil in our house. Oh.. you're welcome to bring it here especially on a Pizza Nova pizza. We're not cruel and heartless. We won't put it out in the cold or anything... just make sure there's something cheeseless for the littlest one too.
Do these come in a size 5?
Step one: Get them out of Mama's room (out of the box they came in...)
Step two: Get them on
Step three: Go for a walk!
Mama says, "Good thing somebody gets to wear them!"
Step two: Get them on
Step three: Go for a walk!
Mama says, "Good thing somebody gets to wear them!"
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Cough cough bark bark
With all the doctors we see for Lauren, you'd think we'd keep non doctor days all to ourselves. Not today. Today I hauled Roman off to the pediatrician to look into his nagging cough.
Remarkably, he's been relatively healthy regardless of being in JK. Last year while he attended pre-school two afternoons a week, he (and often we) were sick for months on end. This year he goes to school 2 or 3 days a week, all day with 18 other kids and this is the worst we've, I mean he's had.
Unfortunately it's lingering in the most annoying way. Constant dry coughs all day all night for the past 2 and half days. We even gave in and tried our usual cold medicine. I know. I'm one of those horrible parents who ignores the label change to not use on kids under 6 but we don't mix-and-match and the meds usually do help him. No luck today.
Our pediatrician is really quite wonderful and had time to fit us in on short notice this afternoon. And before you think I'm one of those moms who runs to the doctor every time there's a sniffle, let me tell you that in this case, it was take him to the doctor or throttle him to make the coughing stop. I figure one extra trip a year for him is the lesser of two evils.
I'm certain it's equally annoying for Roman but frequently throughout the day I wondered if he really has a cough or is just doing it to piss me off...
At any rate, we're stuck with it for a while. There's no sign of infection so likely it's a 'post viral irritation' or something to that effect. It may also be post nasal drip from Roman's still drippy nose but either way, it could be a couple weeks before it really clears up. Whatever it is it's post something.
At least he goes to school tomorrow. He can entertain Madame with it instead.
Remarkably, he's been relatively healthy regardless of being in JK. Last year while he attended pre-school two afternoons a week, he (and often we) were sick for months on end. This year he goes to school 2 or 3 days a week, all day with 18 other kids and this is the worst we've, I mean he's had.
Unfortunately it's lingering in the most annoying way. Constant dry coughs all day all night for the past 2 and half days. We even gave in and tried our usual cold medicine. I know. I'm one of those horrible parents who ignores the label change to not use on kids under 6 but we don't mix-and-match and the meds usually do help him. No luck today.
Our pediatrician is really quite wonderful and had time to fit us in on short notice this afternoon. And before you think I'm one of those moms who runs to the doctor every time there's a sniffle, let me tell you that in this case, it was take him to the doctor or throttle him to make the coughing stop. I figure one extra trip a year for him is the lesser of two evils.
I'm certain it's equally annoying for Roman but frequently throughout the day I wondered if he really has a cough or is just doing it to piss me off...
At any rate, we're stuck with it for a while. There's no sign of infection so likely it's a 'post viral irritation' or something to that effect. It may also be post nasal drip from Roman's still drippy nose but either way, it could be a couple weeks before it really clears up. Whatever it is it's post something.
At least he goes to school tomorrow. He can entertain Madame with it instead.
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