Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Little Miss Fussy Pants. (also known as, "Mom, you may be spoiling me rotten.")

Photo caption contest: (a) So, you actually thought you could get something done today?
(b) Mom, please, lay off the raw cauliflower!
(c) And you thought nothing bad would come of holding me nearly 20 hours a day. Mwah-ha-ha!

I shouldn't have looked.

This weekend I took a look through the career section in our paper. I'm not exactly sure why, I just did. And wouldn't you know it, in there was one of my dream jobs. Why NOW? Why at this point in my life when I'm not looking for work? It's a job I'm fairly sure I could get and I'm fairly sure I'd be good at. And it's made me a little sad that I "can't" even apply for it. I'm sure there are some who are reading this blog that are tsk-tsking their way through it. I'm sorry. No, scratch that, I'm not sorry - this is the way God made me. I like to/need to be intellectually challenged. I'm happy for those who are completely comfortable/happy to be SAHMs. I just don't think I was designed to be one.

And yet, on a fairly regular basis I get to take a leisurely bath with this:
and I think to myself that life can't get any better.

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Beef & Bouquet

Beef:
Last week (at least I think it was last week) I went out to see if I could get my glasses repaired. I had some money from a health spending account from my work that if I don’t spend I lose at the end of the year. May as well get my glasses repaired and buy a new pair at the same time. What a lovely treat! The eyeglass store that I went to had a buy one get one free offer on. Therein lies the complaint. To repair my glasses (new frames) would cost around $100. However, I couldn’t use the "free" offer on that. Instead, I HAD to choose a new frame and therefore new lenses as well which in this case ran at about $280. Does that make any sense to ANYONE out there? It would have been considerably cheaper for them to just repair my broken glasses but noooo, that would be thinking outside the box. Thankfully, the salesperson also saw the "rule" as ridiculous. And so, now I am getting TWO entirely new pairs of glasses for the price of one. Which, I should be excited about but I really LIKED the pair that broke. (Note: I would have just chosen that same pair again as my free ones but they no longer sell them. Sigh.)


Bouquet:
On Friday I went to pick up the mail and in the contents was an envelope addressed to me from J-L’s company. Odd. I opened it fairly quickly as I was more than a little perplexed. Inside a handwritten note of congratulations from the president of J-L’s company. A handwritten note AND a cheque for $100 for me to buy something nice for me or for Abby or for J-L and me to go out on a date (all noted in the card). Kudos to that man. President of a company of over 600 employees and he takes the time out to write a personal note to new parents. As J-L said, "Now you know why people are so willing to go to bat for him."

Thursday, November 24, 2005

Thanksgiving

I recognize that our (Canada's) Thanksgiving was over a month ago but I never finished my list of 100 things I'm thankful for. So, I'm "cheating" and finishing it off on the American Thanksgiving.

51. My boy and his love of me and our daughter.
52. Abigail and falling in love.
53. That it no longer hurts when I pee.
54. Wonderful, pretty gifts from my coworkers.
55. Thursday nights are back on! Tonight! Hurrah!
56. Being able to turn over in bed without grunting.
57. Abigail's totally melodramatic cough that makes me laugh every time.
58. Our clean bedroom.
59. That not every night is like last night.
60. Being able to fit some of my "normal" clothes already.
61. Cutting Abby's nails for the first time... without cutting her.
62. A pleasant visit with my coworkers.
63. Leaving the office.
64. Blogs that make me smile.
65. Not being afraid of sitting down.
66. Friends/family who email me nearly every day.
67. Warm sweaters on cool days.
68. Christmas and my family being together in a month.
69. My boss' first words to me: "Still humming, hey?" I like being remembered for humming - even if he found it annoying. :-)
70. Christmas decorations starting to pop up all over the place.
71. That my back is no longer sore 24/7.
72. That our baby took the bottle fine her first time.
73. An outing with just me and my boy tomorrow night.
74. My (semi) regular morning cup of coffee.
75. My 2 favorite plants that have survived my culling of the last few years.
76. Cuddling with my boy.
77. Cuddling with my girl.
78. Feeling no need/desire to cuddle anyone else in the world. :-)
79. Our beautiful red comforter. Wool from my father's sheep. Blanket made by my mother and me.
80. Discovering that we have enough air miles for one of us to fly free to somewhere new. Perhaps we CAN afford a holiday next summer.
81. The luxury of a warm bath while Abby gazes on from the nearby car seat.
82. Being able to walk quickly again.
83. Rockets - the candy.
84. My boy getting up last night to head to the living room with Abby so that I could get at least a couple hours of sleep.
85. Not getting too depressed that my jeans don't yet fit me.
86. Photography.
87. Sautéed mushrooms, zucchini and onions.
88. A concert to look forward to.
89. My baby sleeping so that I can work on this list.
90. Thus far not having to deal with any post-partum depression.
91. Freckles on my back.
92. Hand lotion.
93. Elizabeth Arden Green Tea Perfume.
94. Hearing that key in the lock when my boy comes home.
95. That my shiner is nearly 100% gone.
96. That Abby's thrush is nearly 100% gone.
97. Being childish with my boy. Eg: Giggling about the hotel near our place that has burned out lights so that it spells out "homo".
98. Knowing that in the not-too-distant future I'll be able to pack away my maternity clothes.
99. Movies to look forward to: Syriana, Rent, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe...
100. And the one that combines so many of those listed above: That I'm not pregnant anymore! Yay!

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Ohhh...

the weather outside is frightful* but the fire is so delightful. And since we've no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
*Not really. It's -1 outside. Quite lovely for late November.

P.S. Thanks for the outfit, Auntie Sue.

Monday, November 21, 2005

Music

One never can tell when it's going to hit. When the throat will dry and it will be hard to swallow. When tears will rest softly just behind the eyelids. It can catch me completely unaware.

This weekend it happened twice. Both times connected to music and I like that and I think Dad would like that too - that memories of him are so often connected to music or laughter.

The first happened when I went to see a movie. (Yes, that's right, my first outing without my girl - to a movie! Aren't you impressed, bbb?) Walk the Line - the movie about Johnny Cash's life. Don't get me wrong, my father was not necessarily a big fan of Johnny Cash. And yet, some of those guitar strains and some of that twang is so connected with my youth. And there I sit, in a dark theatre thinking of my dad, missing him.

The second moment happened at church yesterday morning. One of the members of our band played the harmonica (or mouth organ as Dad referred to it) and again I thought of my dad and his drei, drei, drei, eint, twei, twei, twei as he would play or try to teach us to play Jesus, Lover of My Soul using the low German language.

And I missed him. And it made my heart glad. To have someone to miss.

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

My weekend of emotional ups and downs

1. Disappointment.
This was our first weekend as a family (away from the hospital). I'd been home alone most of the last week. There was nothing I'd have wanted more than a weekend for the 3 of us to bond. Plus, it was a LONG weekend. Even better. But, no, my husband had to work 2 out of 3 of the days. Sigh. The one weekend all year that he has to work and it has to happen on our first weekend.


2. Pleasure.
I aim to take a shower every day. I'm determined not to allow myself to become a milk encrusted, spit-up covered Mom. At least not within the first couple of weeks. I do this right after her first morning feeding. And by first morning feeding I mean the one around 8 am, NOT the one around 4 am. Just before I head into the shower I lay her down in the middle of our bed. And, this, folks, is what greets me when I come out of the shower. Life is good.
3. Peace.
Well, if I can't have my husband home with me I may as well make the best of it. My sister, her girls, my girl :-) and I head off to our church's retreat. I had to miss this last year due to studying for a gruesome exam, REALLY didn't want to miss it this year. Knew I wouldn't last all weekend but maybe for a day. Thankfully, my sister was willing to cater to my schedule. Blessings to her. And so we went. And I got to introduce so many of my church family to my daughter. And I felt love and compassion. Again, life is good.

4. Terror/Shock/Shame/Pain/Guilt/Sadness/Vulnerability...
After the conference we headed back to Winnipeg. I had intended on heading home as I was getting rather tired from a full day of being out. But, as we were nearing my sister's house Abby started to fuss and I realized I would need to go in to feed her. Quick feeding and then home. Little did I know. As I walked up their driveway I tripped and fell. Wouldn't have been anything out of the ordinary or worth recording had I not been holding my daughter. I was holding her in my left hand (thankfully, firmly strapped in her car seat) and therefore the impact of the fall was felt fully on the right hand side of my body. I have the sore eye, strained muscles (abdomen, arm, neck) and skinned knees still. I could go on and on about the emotions of the accident but for one this post will be long enough and for another I'm trying to forgive myself for what was an accident. See the glasses and the gash above my eye? Yeah, the broken arm of the glasses was lodged in that gash. I had to physically pull it out of my eye. And, breastfeeding within moments of the fall proved to be a challenge as well. At first Heather held the compress until we came up with the hot little number seen below.

5. Joy/Love.
Due partially to the fact that I could no longer see (no glasses) and the fact that my mom and her husband were coming to my sister and brother-in-law's for supper we (J-L came too once he was done work) decided to stay for supper. And now, it all makes sense that we did. My family (1 brother, 2 s-i-ls, 3 nephews and 1 niece) from Alberta had driven some 1200+ km. to come and meet Abigail and to see us. Wow. What an unbelievable surprise. What a blessing. I felt humbled. Thanks, guys! Now only 1 brother remains who will get to meet her at Christmas.

6. Contentment.
Our first Sunday in church. It was very important to me that we have communion at our wedding. I considered it a special blessing that it just so happens that the day for communion occurred on the first Sunday we brought our daughter to church. One word pretty much fully captures that first Sunday in church as a family of 3: Home.

7. Satisfaction.
A full weekend was wrapped up with supper at the in-laws. Good food, laughter, conversation and people who love Abby with nearly the same depth that we do. Life is very good.

Monday, November 14, 2005

My feelings on Premium Plus crackers

For the most part I like soda crackers quite a bit. In fact, when I have a salt craving they will often do in replacement of chips.

However, when I was dealing with nausea during my first trimester what did I eat a LOT of? Crackers. Got rather sick of crackers.

And then, at the end of the third trimester when I was dealing with heartburn what settled my stomach slightly? Crackers.

And now, I am on pain medication that needs to be taken with food. So, if I need to take it at 3 am what do I use for food? I think you can probably guess.

I think the next time I go grocery shopping I will buy a different type of cracker for some variety. I do like Wheat Thins quite a bit.

Thursday, November 10, 2005

4 Things (for now)

1. Yesterday morning things came to a head in our household. It seemed that my stitches were MORE painful than they had been the day after delivery. I wasn't expecting that I'd be completely healed by day 5 but I WAS expecting that the pain would get less instead of more. Nope. It was excruciating. I couldn't sit, stand, walk or lie down without pain. The ONLY time it subsided for any amount of time was when I lay in the tub. Can't do that all day. It hurt so much to pee that I had held my pee back for about 24 hours. Not good. AND I was bleeding more every day. So we decided that it was time to get things checked out. First I called my doctor (more on that later) but eventually ended up needing to go see the ob that delivered Abby and check myself back into the hospital. Thankfully, it was only for a very short amount of time. The ob checked me out and gave me some bad news but mostly good news.

Bad news:
The type of episiotomy that I received just takes longer to heal from than some others.

Good news:
No infection.
Prescription pain killers.

And, I'm very happy to report that things are looking up today. For the first time since we got home I'm actually not scared of sitting. Still some pain but nowhere CLOSE to what I'd been experiencing.

2. Yesterday J-L spoke with his mother. During the conversation she told J-L not to be hurt when his father spoke about Abby as he's never heard the name Abigail before. Apparently, Abby's pépère has taken to referring to her as "Happy" instead of Abby. Hurt? Are you kidding me? I think it's ADORABLE. She can be her pépère's "Happy" anytime. Kind of reminds me of MY grandpa referring to me as "Cyndia". Similar reason too: English not being their first languages.

3. My first phone call (re: item 1) was to my doctor. Unfortunately, with it being a long weekend in Canada this weekend she was unable to fit me in. In fact, she was working through her lunch and everything. She felt horrible about it. She came on the phone herself (as opposed to her receptionist) and apologized to me. She told me to try to get into the ob or to head to emergency. I'll admit that I was disappointed as I'd rather have seen her than either of the other options. Oh well, c'est la vie. I did what needed to be done and it all worked out okay anyway. But, the reason I'm even typing this is that I was SO impressed when she called me at 6 pm last night to check up on me. Wow. Her staff had left for the day (that is, she had to look up my info herself etc.) and she just wanted to make sure that I was okay. Let me just say, I'm keeping her!

4. Yikes, you can TELL I'm okay with this chair. This post is one of the longest I've ever done. After posting the original photos of Abby my husband realized that shortly after birth Abby looked like a little Inuit baby who'd been left out in the cold too long. (No, that's not a racial slur at all.) Well, she's lost some of that redness and so I thought it time to post another photo.

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Killing my daughter with love

I suppose it all fits. Since I gained enough weight for triplets it only makes sense that I would produce enough breastmilk for 3 babies as well.

Holy hannah!

Trying to breastfeed (a.k.a. blinding Abby with the force of the squirt to her eye) and holding a beach towel under the other breast to keep myself from wetting my shirt, my shorts and the entire bed all the while trying to sit in a way that will not send shooting pains through my ass due to the episiotomy is an art form I have yet to perfect.

November 4, 2005




Just a quick update to all you in blogland.

Abigail Margaret was born November 4, 2005 at 6:39 pm weighing in at 7 lbs. 13 oz. and 20.5 inches long.

I will (of course) be on here telling many more details. That is, once the pain subsides a bit and I can sit in a chair for longer than 35 seconds. Sigh. The glamour of motherhood never ends. :-)


All three of us are doing very well.

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

November 2

I'm sitting here wracking my brain trying to think of something to blog about OTHER than pregnancy. But, it's true; it's happened. I've become like every other single pregnant woman out there who is past her due date. All I can THINK about is the pregnancy, the upcoming labour and our child.

Seriously, Zoog, the pictures are up in the nursery now. It's time to come out.

Oh yeah, and a little pregnancy humour for your day.

Q: Am I more likely to get pregnant if my husband wears boxers rather than briefs?

A: Yes, but you'll have an even better chance if he doesn't wear anything at all.

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Baby

Well, apparently we are having a November baby. Yes, I was secretly wishing that we would have a Halloween baby. I thought it would be kind of cute for a Christmas baby to give birth to a Halloween baby. Plus, seems to me birthday parties practically plan themselves this time of year. Who needs to put together a goodie bag if you can just take the birthday guests out trick-or-treating?

But, alas, that wasn't to be. Peanut has other plans. He/she has been VERY active of late. Actually, very active all the way through but even more so this past week. We sat down and had a heart to heart about that the other day. I tried to persuade him/her that there's a LOT more room out here than there is in there. But, apparently that didn't work either.

Oh well. Maybe he/she is waiting until we FINALLY get the nursery done, I dunno.

Sleep

You'd almost think we've had the baby already. Last night we took turns sleeping. J-L didn't sleep until 3 a.m. and I didn't sleep AFTER 3 a.m.

Nutty.