Jeeta, Jeeta and Other Little Tidbits

A few weeks ago, I posted a random list of little details – things I don’t want to forget about Evalyn. So, here I am again. A few new things that I never ever ever ever want to forget.

Evalyn loves to sing. Her favourite songs are Jesus Loves Me, Happy And You Know It, Head and Shoulders, and the ABCs (see also: I have got to get her “singing” the ABCs on video). Recently, I’ve started singing a Clean Up song that I had tucked up my sleeve from my preschool teaching days as well as a Bible Story song as part of our nightly routine.

The other day, she and Evan were playing together and she kept saying “Jeeta” over and over again. We were so confused. The funny thing is, “Jeeta” is a name that our nephew, H, used to call his little sister. But? We knew Evalyn had never known Baby A as “Jeeta” so she wasn’t saying her name. We just figured she was babbling.

Then, that night at bedtime I said, “Okay sweetie. It’s almost time for bed. Let’s clean up your toys”.

And what did she do?

She hustled over to her toy box, started putting things in it and chanting “Jeeta, Jeeta, da da da da da da da” – “Clean up, clean up, everybody, everywhere”.

And then today, she spent a good 30 minutes sitting with two laundry baskets beside her, putting toys in one, taking them out, and putting them in the other, singing “Jeeta, Jeeta” the whole time.

So apparently Jeeta = clean up in Evalynese.

Also? I am cherishing this time in her life where she thinks that cleaning up is the! coolest! game! ever!

***

She is on a photo kick. She has recently started paying attention to the framed photos in our house and wants to go up to each one to see who it is. Usually, she can pick out Dada, Mama, Nana, Eva (Eeeeena), Uncle (Unco), Hunter (Hunta) and Aunt Logi (Gogi). If she doesn’t know who it is, it’s “this” or “baby” (bayyyyyy). Learning and saying and repeating people’s names is also on the top of her list of fun things to do lately.

She constantly wants to know where people went. Especially her Uncle Evan. Girlfriend is obsessed with that guy. Multiple times a day, she will walk around our house with her arms in the air saying, “Unco go? Unco go?” She loves him.

***

She is a Daddy’s girl, through and through. She goes nuts when she sees him and in the morning, as soon as she’s done at the milk bar, it’s all “Dada? Dada? Dada? Go?”

Yesterday she stood at the patio door repeating “Dada. Go. Dada. Hat. Go. Car. Dada. Coat. Dada. Go”. Think she wanted to see her Daddy?

***

She calls me Mama, unprompted, almost all the time now. And even though I’m used to hearing it? My heart still bursts. For so long she thought it was hilarious to joke with me and say Dada every time I told her to say Mama. Now, she says Mama all the time. And, just between you and me, I was feeling pretty good about myself when Evan got her out of her crib the other morning and she immediately started asking for Mama.

***

She doesn’t watch much TV – simply because we don’t have cable so anything we watch has to be on the laptop or on DVD. I got a DVD a few weeks ago that has 6 different kids shows on it. So far, we’ve stuck mostly to Barney but I decided to try Bob the Builder yesterday. And? LOVE. “Bob. Bob. Tractor. Truck. Bob”. When I said, “Look at Bob. He’s working hard!” She said “Bob. Dada”. Apparently she’s caught on that Daddy goes to work.

***

She has a miniature rocking chair in her room that she spends a good deal of time climbing sitting on. Yesterday, I watched her push the chair up to her crib, stand on it and try to climb into her crib. Yi ie ie. Today? She opened the bottom drawer on my potato and onion bin, stood in it, and opened the “potato” portion, which actually houses my extra baking supplies, and helped herself to a bag of chocolate chips. Thankfully, she couldn’t get it open. I’m not sure how, but she hasn’t figured out that she can climb on the couches yet. I am hoping she doesn’t make that discovery for at least 7 more years.

***

She’s figured out how to get her sippy cups closed. She works and works and works until she flips the top over and the straw disappears. And then? She SHOUTS “HELP” until I open it for her. Makes for some longgggg car rides when I can’t reach back to open it back up for her.

***

In the bath tub the other night, I put a turtle toy inside the cup I used to pour water over her hair and said, “Where’d the turtle go? There he is!” And, wowza, wasn’t that the best thing ever? Every night since then she has spent her entire bath time, putting the turtle in the cup, saying, “Tutu go?” and then pulling him out and yelling “Hi Tutu!”. Amusing.

***

Watching a toddler utilize problem solving skills may very well be the funniest thing ever. Like, how can I get inside this laundry basket without letting go of the 72 toys that I have in my hand? How can I get my magnets that are all shoved under the fridge? How can I put this shoe back on my foot? How can I sneak into the pantry and take the baking powder into my room without my mother seeing me, especially considering I can’t do anything I’m not allowed to do without saying “no, no, no, no” over and over again, evidently giving myself away?

***

And the best one? A few days after I posted the video of her saying bible and God, we were at my friend’s house, doing some organizing in her (soon to be born) baby boy’s room. Evalyn asked to get up in the rocking chair with the new baby’s bible. She was rocking bath and forth, chattering to herself, ahem, I mean, reading the bible, and then she signed/said “Thank you God”. Melt my heart.

***

That’s all for now. Enjoy the moments.

It’s happening to me…

I’ve come to the realization that it’s happening. It is really and truly happening.

I am becoming my mother.

You see, my sweet Mama is notorious for .. hm, let’s see, how should I put this? She is notorious for lacking necessary observation skills while shopping for retail purchases including, but not limited to, food and drink, household supplies, and gifts.

She is the one to purchase pumpkin pie filling instead of straight up pumpkin, Windex instead of toilet bowl cleaner, or an extra extra extra large print bible for my sister who has excellent vision.

And I don’t say this to make fun or belittle my Mama. She’s not an unintelligent person. She just, you know, forgets to read the labels. It’s an innocent mistake. She is a busy woman. Often in a hurry and sometimes this means she accidentally grabs the wrong thing.

And, well. Apparently, so do I.

A few weeks ago, my mother and I visited the US to do some shopping. At Target, they had basic long sleeved T’s on for $10 a pop. A girl can never have too many long sleeved Ts so I tried on a few, figured out which size I needed (medium, for the record) and grabbed five. All the basics and a few for fun. Black, white, grey, black/grey stripe and teal. I got home, stuck them in my drawer to wait for cooler days to arrive and thought nothing of it. Until a few weeks later when I started to need long sleeves. I put the teal one on and realized it felt kind of snug. I took it off, looked at the tag. And? Extra Small. Remember, I needed medium? I dug the other four out and guess what? Of the five I purchased? ONLY TWO WERE THE CORRECT SIZE. I came home with an extra small, small, two mediums and a large. I don’t know if the size on the hangers didn’t match the size on the shirt or what. But regardless, I pulled a Mama.

Then last week, I did it again. I was out shopping and I found something that was perfect for my mom (huh, coincidental) for a Christmas gift. Something I knew she’d appreciate. I can’t tell you what it is since my mom reads this blog (Hi, Mom! Don’t hate me for making fun of you in this post. I love you. I really do)  and I don’t want to spoil the surprise. But, I will tell you that it’s something really nice and it was significantly marked down. So much so that I decided I should get two. I grabbed them and off I went. Then, at the last minute, I decided I had changed my mind about the colour. I headed back to the section of the store and made the switch. Paid for them and away I went. That night when I got home I was showing Evan the sweet deal I had scored when I noticed, can you guess? When I switched the colour I got the wrong size. Which was clearly marked in pretty large letters on the item. Thankfully, I was able to do an exchange and ended up gaining $14 in the process (another story for another day…).

So here I am: admitting that it’s happening to me.

I’m becoming my Mama.

Which, really, isn’t such a bad thing at all aside from the occasional retail inconvenience.

The only difference between she and I? I noticed my mistake before I wrapped it up and gave it to her on Christmas morning. So, I guess I still have a little bit of my sanity left.

it makes it okay.

It’s been about a month since I began the transition from full time SAHM to part time working mom. Funny how when this happens, you don’t suddenly become a part time mom. Rather, you are still a full time mom and you just have to figure out how and where to add employment into your life, fitting it around your duties as wife/mom as best you can.

I’ll have to admit, in the weeks leading up to my return to work, I was scurrrrrrred. I had no idea how I’d find the balance between work life and home life. I didn’t know how I would feel about leaving Evalyn with someone. I didn’t know how Evalyn would do away from me. If you read my whiny posts, you’ll know that I was struggling. Of course, just like any situation in my life that I worry about, looking back I realize there wasn’t much to worry about. So far, the transition has gone very well. I’m thankful that my work load has increased (and will continue to increase) gradually. I was able to dip my toes in and slowly wade in rather than taking a huge belly flop of the high dive.

What I’ve learned is that there are some things that have made my transition to work okay. Some things that have really, really helped and, believe it or not, even made me look forward to and enjoy the challenge.

I mean, first of all, and obviously, having a second income has been a definite bonus. But that’s not what I’m talking about. There are other things that make it okay.

I have loved, absolutely loved, getting to choose real person clothes to wear to work every day. I don’t have a dress code at work. I can wear sweat pants and a tshirt if I want. But I choose to look a little better than that because it’s one of the few times that I can. I don’t usually do dress pants, often jeans, but I like to make myself look (somewhat) put together. It’s fun being able to pick out outfits that I don’t have to worry if I can nurse discreetly in, or if the snot that Evalyn wipes on my shoulder will show up, or if she’ll strangle me when she pulls on my necklace 45825 times in the first three minutes after I put it on. It’s nice to be excited about style.

Another thing that makes it okay is having a kid who has done so very well with the transition. She hasn’t gotten upset when I leave her yet. She has napped well almost every time she’s been away from me. She goes to bed just fine for Evan, my mom, her aunties, the girls upstairs – no one has ever had an issue putting her to bed. She flips back and forth from sippy cup of cow’s milk to nursing like it’s no big deal. My worries about how she would do without me? Ha. Enough said.

Right now, she’s spending most of my work days with one of my best friends. Can I tell you how much more at ease I am knowing that she in the hands of someone who I would trust with my own life? I know that C knows Evalyn’s schedule, habits, likes, dislikes, and habits almost as well as I do. She has spent a lot of time with her since we see her multiple times per week, even before she started watching her. She knows when to put her down early, or keep her up a bit longer. She knows just how much fussing is okay before going in to check her. She knows her favourite toys, songs and games. She just knows her. And that? That makes leaving her 100% easier.

And, of course, the last thing that I’ve found that makes it okay is getting to experience the excitement Evalyn shows when I pick her up. Before I started working, I was rarely away from her during the day. Most of the time when I , went out, it was in the evening. Either after she went to bed or for dinner or what not, which meant she’d be sleeping when I got home. And, you know, by morning time, she doesn’t remember that I was away the night before. Now? When I get to C’s to pick her up, she remembers that she missed me. I get a little taste of the excitement she shows when Evan gets home from work each night. She smiles, laughs, sometimes claps her hand and boogies her little tooshie over to me to give me a hug and cling to me like I am the most prized possession in the world. And that feeling? It makes it okay.

Tuesday Tidbits

You may have noticed that aside from Eva’s monthly update, I haven’t posted in over a week. No? You didn’t notice? Well, let’s pretend that you did so that I feel popular. Mkay? Anyhow… I just thought I’d stop in with a totally random post to let you know what I’ve been up to that has been keeping me away from blogland.

Last week, canning fest 2011 began when I spent the day with two of my girlfriends canning close to 40 pints of peaches. This was the same day that Eva decided that sitting on the door of the dishwasher and carrying a Coach purse on her shoulder were her favourite pastimes.

On the weekend, we zipped over to the states to pick up a parcel (yay, birthday party stuff) and do some shopping. I’m on the hunt for a new handbag and wallet for my birthday. Since I’m going back to work, I figured it was time. I haven’t really carried a purse other than a few hours here and there since Eva was born and I started toting my mom bag around. I found one that I loved at JC Penny but it was the first one I saw in the first store I looked so I figured I shouldn’t jump the gun. Then, Eva got tired and we decided we needed to hurry up and head back home, so we left. And I didn’t look in anymore stores. More on the purse fiasco in a bit.

On Sunday, my Mom was here when we got home from church. This was the first time that Eva, mom and I have had a chance to spend a few days together in nearly 6 months. It was well overdue. It was almost exactly a year ago that I wrote this post about spending time with my mom. Looking back, I remember those feelings so well. But now, spending time together is even more fun because I get to see how much Eva loves her Nana and vice versa. They acted crazy together and spent the last few days laughing non stop. One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the fact that I got a little teary saying goodbye.

While Mom was here, we did a bunch of canning. Hot peppers, BBQ onion sauce, salsa and more peaches. We also left E and E at home and went shopping and out for Sushi. You know how when you’re window shopping with no money you always find a billion and seven things to buy but when you are shopping with a purpose (like, you know, to buy a new purse for your birthday) you CANNOT FIND ANYTHING? It was that kind of night. I looked in every.single.store that carries handbags but all I could think every time I picked one up? Not as good as that first one I saw in Penny’s. Rip snort. Why didn’t I buy it? I guess my love will just have to take me on another US shopping spree.

We were eating breakfast on Monday morning and I asked Eva if she wanted to watch Mickey Mouse Hot Dog song. She looked at me and clear as day, said, “Haa Dog”. My mom and I about died. And, of course, because we laughed, Eva thought it was the best thing ever. So she laughed. And said it again. And again. And again. And has basically been saying Hot Dog ever since. I must admit. I am less than proud that one of my daughter’s first words is hot dog. Ah well. Mickey Mouse wins.

That basically sums up what’s been going on around these parts. The tomatoes are starting to ripen, so I’ll be elbow deep in canning for the next few weeks, for sure. Grab your Tostitos and head on over because we’ll have salsa coming out our ears.

Oh yeah, one last thing. My baby walks now. A lot.

August Review and September Goals

August's goals and plans were pretty narrow in focus. We spent the better part of our month getting the last of the preparations in order for baby to arrive. Here's the recap:

1. Finish getting baby's room ready.

Check out the two part nursery reveal here and here.

2. Buy, wash, and organize baby's cloth diapers.

Everything about our cloth diapering plans can be found here.

3. Finish gathering and organizing birth supplies for home birth.

There are three boxes and a bag that have been sitting in our bedroom for a number of weeks. Two of the boxes contain sheets, towels, and blankets. One is holding all of the baby's things. And the bag is from the midwife clinic that contains all of the supplies they will need when they are here. We are all set!

4. Pack mine and baby's hospital bag so we are prepared to transfer to hospital if necessary.

Bags are packed - aside from my toiletries which will just be added at the last minute.

5. Finish stocking the freezer with food for post baby days.

I don't think I will have to cook until Christmas!

6. Celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary.

We celebrated our anniversary with a yummy dinner out at Red Lobster.

7. Can pickled beets with my mom.

We did beets, peaches and bbq onion sauce! Also, the Fabulous Dude and I got really eager near the end of the month and ended up canning 26 pints of homemade salsa and 14 quarts of diced tomatoes, too!

8. Celebrate my mom's birthday (which, yes, was way back in June - but this will be the first time she's been able to come visit since then).

My mom was here for 4 days and we had a great visit together. It was so wonderful to spend that time with her before the baby arrives.

9. Attend my second baby shower.

What a wonderful evening! Read about it here.

10. Put my feet up, relax, rest and enjoy the last few weeks of my pregnancy!

I have been napping when I can and trying to do all of the things that I won't be able to do quite so easily once I have an infant in my arms. I have a feeling the next few weeks will involve a lot more relaxing and resting!

September Goals

1. Birth a baby.

The end.

Mumma Daughter Time

My mom and I like to hang.

We share many of the same interests (i.e. shopping and food) and so it makes it easy for us to enjoy spending time together.

On Sunday, my Mom got up bright and early and drove 1.5 hours to meet us at our church. After church, we ditched the dude and she and I headed to Jordan (a quaint little village next to our town) for a few hours. For her birthday back in June, I had given her some gift certificates to some of the places there and this was the first opportunity she had to come visit me since then, so we decided to take advantage. We started by enjoying a yummy lunch at Zooma Zooma cafe. Then, we headed to the Emporium (one of my very favorite stores), and finished off with a delicious ice cream treat from Toute Sweet. Then we came home, went out for a nice walk, and made some dinner to enjoy with M&L. What a lovely day!

And, it didn't end there. My mom had planned to stay until today so we had lots of time to do other fun things together.

On Monday, we worked away at some canning and preserving. We froze peaches, canned pickled beets, and did a double batch of BBQ Onion Sauce. In the afternoon, we got cleaned up, headed into town for my ultrasound (yay for a baby with it's head down and engaged!), and then hit up Costco to stock up on a few things (gotta take advantage when I have someone with a membership kicking around). After that, we stopped in at the mall for a quick second where we may or may not have indulged in a snack consisting of poutine and then headed home to rest up for a few hours. In the evening, we headed to my Aunt Shelley's for my Church baby shower (which was oh-so-amazing and deserves a post of it's own so watch for that soon).

On Tuesday, we took stock of the 'baby inventory' and headed to the great US of A to do a little bit of shopping and pick up the last few things we thought I will need to prepare for baby's arrival. Some newborn diapers, a few more onesies and sleepers, some socks, and of course, some rubbermaid bins for under the crib! My mom also got new towels and accessories for her newly renovated bathroom and I got some nursing bras. All in all, it was a successful day. Except for the fact that we had to try 4 different restaurants before finding one that was open for lunch. Sadness. What is with Americans? Don't you eat lunch?!? I was quite sad because I was hopeful to try Bonefish Grill. Someday, my friends, someday.

We came home from the states and started working on baby's room. My sweet mom helped me wash and fold all the laundry and sort out where everything should go. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed about how it would all fit in the furniture we have in that small room, but after getting two bins for sheets/blankets for under the crib and one set of drawers for receiving blankets, I think we're all good!

Today was our last day together so we got up, headed out for a walk while it was still (somewhat) cool and then one of my midwives came to do my check up at home. Since we're planning on attempting a home birth, they like to do the 35 week visit at home so the midwives can be familiar with the area and can check and be sure that all of your supplies are in place as they should be. It was great for my mom to meet her and ask some questions since she is planning to be one of my support people during labour. And of course, it was fun to hear the little Monkey's heart beat.

After she left, we headed into town and went to purchase all of my cloth diapers. I feel so excited to have this done! I don't know if I've talked much about my decision to use cloth, but I will at some point. Then, of course, we decided we had better go out to lunch just one last time.

My mom said that since I won't be able to go out all that often in the months following the baby's birth, I should enjoy it while I can. So enjoy it I did!

After lunch, we came home and mom packed up to leave.

I have to admit that as I saw her drive away, I came into my house and, um, cried just a little bit. Maybe I could blame it on emotions ... but, maybe I'm just a sentimental gal.

These few days will be the last few days that my Mom and I get to spend together enjoying Mumma-Daughter time before it becomes Nana-Mumma-Daughter/Son time. And while I'm so eager to see my Mom become my baby's Nana, I have to admit that it is bittersweet to think about the way things are changing. I guess that's why I felt it was so important to document how we spent our time together this week.

If my Little Monkey turns out be a girl, I hope and pray that in twenty something years, she and I will have a relationship that resembles that which my mom and I share. It is my prayer that I will be able to love her, teach her, and care for her the way my mom has and that we will be able to be friends who enjoy sharing time together.

Thanks, Mumma, for a great week. Thanks for all you do for me and for helping me prepare to enter this crazy stage of life that we can now share.

Party in Pink

I know I have written on different occasions about my mother and my mother-in-law and the breast cancer battle that they have both fought. However, when I saw the FringeGirl was hosting a Party in Pink as an opportunity to honour the women in our lives who have battled his disease, I knew I would be writing about it again.

What more can I say except that I am so thankful that both of our moms are alive and healthy today after undergoing such a tremendous battle?

About a month ago, I wrote about the closing ceremonies that I attended for the 2009 Weekend to End Breast Cancer. This was the first year in the past 3 years that I didn't participate in it myself. Since that weekend, I have decided that I will be raising money and I will be walking in 2010. How could I not?

Sometimes, people question these types of fundraisers and wonder whether or not the money raised will actually have any impact on the problem.

Will the money I raise cure cancer? Maybe not.

Does that mean it's not important or helpful? I don't think so.

I've been asked these questions before. I've been asked if I think that my participation in this event will "actually help solve anything".

My response to this question is always the same: I don't know if my participation in this event will make the difference but I have to do something. I may not be able to do much but I can do some fund raising and I can walk 60km... even if it kicks my butt.

After seeing a loved one(s) go through the battle of breast cancer, you are left knowing that you must do something.

I sat on my bed four days before Christmas and listened to my mom speak the words, "I have breast cancer."

I watched her hair fall out.

I sat beside her in a clinic and watched nasty drugs being pumped into her body while she fell asleep and made extremely strange noises (as not funny as the chemo experience is - it is actually kind of funny sometimes).

I heard her tell stories about the other women she met in the clinic during her treatments.

I heard her tell me that some of those women lost the battle.

I cried with the FD when he told me that his mother was diagnosed too.

I prayed for my mom, for FD's mom and for the many other women with breast cancer.

I celebrated when we found out that mom was cancer free.

I celebrated when FD's family found out that his mom was cancer free, too.

I spiked my mom's hair as it grew back, all short and fuzzy.

And through it all, I felt like I could really do nothing.

So, when the opportunity arose for me to be able to do something, I had to do it.

And that is why I will walk again in 2010.
(Please remind me of this when I'm in the process of fund raising and training next year.)

To finish off, here are some of my favourite pictures from the 2007 and 2008 walk ...

Here's to Mom, to Sue and to the far too many other women who have fought/are fighting/will fight in the fight against breast cancer.

For Mumma...

You pray for me.

You laugh with me.
You bake with me.
You walk with me.
You hope for me.
You fight for me.
You buy me cute bathing suits.
You stock the fridge with my favorite treats when I visit.
You check up on me.
You encourage me.
You teach me.
You scold me.
You watch Harry Potter with me.
You don't show up to Parent appreciation assemblies to get your flower.
You are proud of me.
You worry about me.
You let my dog spread black hair all over your clean boat.
You survived for me.
You visit me.
You shop with me.
You believe in me.

...and that is what makes you my mother and friend.

Happy Birthday to the most beauitful woman I know.

You don't look a day over 72!