stopping to smell the hibiscus

I've mentioned in a previous post that I'm a "smell-o-holic".
I definitely have a super sensitive shnozz.
Sometimes this is a good thing and sometimes not so much.
Apparently I was even like this as a small child.
My mom was telling me a story about a time we were at a neighbour's house for dinner when I was around two or three,
and I had to use their bathroom.
But I refused to go in the bathroom because of the smell.
Unfortunately I announced it to everyone in the room.
I imagine the neighbour was quite horrified, but probably not as mortified as my mother was.
I'm sure it wasn't that bad, just not as clean as our home.
Then again, the only place cleaner than our house growing up was maybe the hospital,
and even that might not have been as sterile or clean as our place was.
I'm a bit of a neat freak myself, but no where near as fussy as my mother.
So I come by my O.C.D. naturally.
It appears I have passed down my smelling obsession gene to Lulu.
We were recently at Target, loading up on cool stationary, plastic cups & party favours, some super soft Thomas O'Brian white cotton towels, shoes & hair accessories for Lulu, props for work and last but not least some aromatherapy socks for me.
They smelled like lavender until I washed them...what can I say? I'm a sucker for aroma gimmicks.
If it smells good, it has to be good, right?
We went to the washroom to do a quick diaper change, when Lulu starts sniffing the air.
She had a completely disgusted look on her face.
"peeee-youuu!!!!!" she announces to everyone.
There were a bunch of giggles from behind the stalls.
Admittedly it was pretty offensive in there.
Now normally I carry a mini glade "fresh linen" air spray with me, but I couldn't seem to locate it.
Lulu was actually getting pretty distraught, and being a bit of a drama queen (like her mama), kept repeating herself
"peee-youuu! stinkyyyyy!!"
Then she puts her tiny finger up to head and sais "idea!"
"spay..."
Maybe she's a mind reader as well..hmm.
Just then a woman came out of the stall and offered to give the place a little freshen up with her mini glade "fresh linen" air freshener.
What a coincidence- our favourite brand.
Perhaps she was the culprit of the mysteriously nasty smell in the first place??
But who cares, she gave the place a few squirts and all was fresh and lovely.
Lulu was happy.
I was laughing.
The mystery lady was off the hook for the bomb she dropped and made it look like she was just there to save the day.
Now if I could just get her to stop sniffing my breath first thing in the morning and announcing
"stinky- breaff" ummm gee thanks Lulu.

on the mend

So Lulu's tooth is still hanging in there.
It's a bit loose and fairly crooked, but hey, it's still in her mouth.
The main thing is that she's feeling better and doesn't seem to be traumatized by the ordeal at all.
On the contrary, she now points to her mouth and sais
" tooth better-boo boo- dentist fix"
(if you call pulling down her lower lip for 5 seconds and telling us to keep an eye on it-"fixing it")
and then she tells me all about the toys she got when she was there.
This dentist had a treasure chest filled with toys that the kids get to help themselves to.
very cool dentist if you ask me.
But I guess you could say it's been a bit of a bumpy ride over the past week.
In addition to the tooth incident, I really haven't been myself over the past few weeks because of some really bad lower back pain.
I figured it was just a pulled muscle or something like that, and nothing that a little Advil extra strength, a heating pad and some stretching wouldn't fix.
But I guess I was wrong.
The pain kept getting progressively worse, to the point that I've been wincing while trying to move.
Even putting on my pants in the morning was (is) excruciating.
Never mind constantly picking up a 24 lb. toddler all day long.
Finally today I decided to go to the doctor, and it turns out I might have some nerve damage and a possible slipped disc.
Fortunately it's nothing that can't be treated.
whew.
I'm far too active a person for a set back like this and I've never had any health issues to date.
It was however, a bit of a wake-up call.
I've really been neglecting myself over the past couple of years, not only emotionally but obviously physically as well.
I kept telling myself "I should be working out more, doing yoga, pilates and more ab work" but more for vanity reasons.
I really wanted to banish that muffin top once and for all.
But now I realize my entire well being is at stake.
It really sucks to be in pain.
It has pretty much every affected every aspect of my life.
I can't sleep, I don't have an appetite, I'm kind of irritable, our vacation was fun, but the back pain really put a damper on things, I can't really do much, especially run and play with Lulu, which is the worst part of it.
I will admit (and I've said it before) I can be a bit of a drama queen, but I just want to feel normal again and want this pain to go away.
I'm also really looking forward to big daddy getting home tonight.
He's been away since Thursday and I've really missed him while he's been gone.
Not just because I hate taking out the recycling, making the coffee in the morning or shovelling the driveway...
But because it's just not the same without him around here.
So once he gets home I'm hoping we will all be feeling back to normal.
Because there's still that one particular New Year's resolution that needs a bit of work..
wink wink, nudge nudge, wince wince.

accidents happen

The most difficult part of being a parent for me is without a doubt, when lulu gets sick or hurt.
Unfortunately last night she experienced the latter.
Big daddy was busy getting a quote from a roofing company and I was getting a quote from the carpet company.
Strange how they both showed up at the exact same time.
Anyhow Lulu must have slipped and fell onto our very large, very heavy and very sharp coffee table.
This is the third time she has whacked into this particular piece of furniture.
I immediately knew this was no ordinary cry.
Within a few minutes my sweater was covered in blood as was her sweet little face and mouth.
I took her upstairs to her bedroom-away from the carpet guy and the roofing guy and tried to console her.
Big daddy managed to clear the house of smoke smelling trades guys and help calm Lulu and I down.
I was trying to appear calm, but I don't think I was doing a very good job of it.
when we finally calmed Lulu down enough to look at the damage, I felt seriously nauseous.
Her poor little mouth was a mess.
Her bottom gums torn open and her bottom tooth loose and crooked.
gulp.
not her teeth!
She needs those for at least another 5-7 years.
how will she eat or talk??!!
she ONLY has the two bottom teeth, now she might lose one of them?!!
We called tele-health and my mother-in-law (who was a nurse and is no stranger to medical emergencies having had four boys)
and they told us to monitor her and get to a pediatric dentist a.s.a.p.
which we did first thing this morning and after a two second jiggle and look at the gums and tooth told us to just monitor the tooth for possible infection, but hopefully it would just heal it self.
a hundred bucks later.. but well worth the piece of mind...
Not exactly the first dental experience I was hoping for, oh well.
Lulu has been handling it all exceptionally well.
Much better than myself or big daddy.
I couldn't even eat my cereal this morning my stomach was in knots and my hands were actually shaking.
I know it's inevitable that kids are going to get hurt and we can't protect them from every bump or bruise (or god forbid premature loss of teeth) but it doesn't make it any easier.
I just hate to see my sweet Lulu in any pain whatsoever.
This is just one of many bumps on the road of life for her (and me)
So all that I can really do is hold her close, keep an eye on her as much as physically possible, take ten long deep breaths,
and maybe burn that dammed coffee table..

lay-zee

I've been feeling incredibly lazy since we got back from our holiday.
After two full nights of uninterupted sleep (the first in what feels like two years) I still feel like going back to bed, pulling up the covers and hiding out for the day.
I'm attributing it to the weather.
It's cold and snowy outside and besides, aren't we supposed to feel like hibernating in the middle of February?
We are mammals after-all.
All I feel like doing these days is eating comfort food, drinking wine, lighting the fire and tucking in for the evening.
Oh yes..and watching copious amounts of television.
There goes that New Year's resolution (along with working out more often...err..or at all)
But the problem is I abhor laziness.
My lazy days are other peoples super productive days.
Today I felt so lethargic, but I still managed to clean both bathrooms, organize some kitchen cupboards (how much plastic takeout containers and Tupperware can one accumulate before you can't even close the cupboard doors anymore?), do four loads of laundry, swifer all the floors, have a friend and her baby over for tea, and of course it goes without saying, entertain Lulu all day.
Note to self: must find a good cleaning service- all this house work just doesn't jive with my feeling lazy days.
I'm one of these people who loves to "should" on themselves all the time.
At least that's what my therapist once told me.
"I should be doing this" or "I should be doing that"
I really need to stop "should-ing" on myself.
Kicking back, putting your feet up and doing nothing is perfectly fine occasionally.
But now that I'm a mother, this feels like a huge luxury.
I always feel like I "should" be doing something productive.
But tonight it's left over Chinese take-out (from last night-feeling lazy yesterday too)
and not my usual home cooked, sit down at the dining room table, Friday night dinner.
For me this is the ultimate in lazy decadence.
mmm.
rice noodles with beef and black bean sauce
shrimp congee
fried turnip patties Singapore style
and my fav.
baby pak choy with garlic sauce
oh yes, and a glass or two of vineland estates pinot grigio.
So I'd better run and pop all that delicious chow into the microwave.
because I really "should" be sitting on my butt and sipping a glass of wine.
Being lazy is kinda nice from time to time.

what's love got to do with it?

Something happened to Lulu while we were away last week.
It's like we came home with a different child.
Fortunately she is still sweet and super affectionate.
But she has also become well..a tad high maintenance.
She's been pretty demanding and has even thrown a few temper tantrums.
We are so used to getting compliments from people about how good and how nice and quiet and well behaved Lulu is.
My worst fear feels like it is coming true..my precious child is becoming....gulp...bratty.
There I said it.
In which case, it must have something to do with the parenting and not the child.
Isn't that what every single episode of Super Nanny is all about?
So we must be doing something wrong.
the question is what?
she is screaming in her crib as I am typing this, refusing to nap even though she is totally exhausted.
Usually I rush upstairs and give into to her, but I'm wondering if that is sending her the wrong message.
I am and should be in charge of the situation, but I need to be more consistent and not such a push over.
I wonder if it has something to do with spending so much extra time with big daddy.
who happens to be home today.
He's definitely one of the most high maintenance and moody people that I know and has a pretty short temper.
yet I still love him despite this unfortunate character flaw.
I'm certainly not perfect.
Luckily his attributes far outweigh the annoying stuff, it just makes it that much more challenging around here.
and who doesn't love a good challenge?
so maybe he has rubbed off on her.
When it's just Lulu and I, she is really well behaved, calm and generally easy to please.
But when big daddy is around she refuses to nap, sleep, eat and well kind of acts out.
I definitely see a pattern, and I feel powerless.
I am just a Sagittarius trying to live in harmony with two very strong natured Taurus's.
yikes.
They are both the loves of my life, but geez, it sure can be difficult remembering why some days.
ahh..she finally stopped crying, and it only took 35 minutes.
But I do love them both with all my heart and not every day can be wine and roses.
well maybe wine...in fact that usually helps the situation.
Most days are really great, and without sounding like too much a mush ball,
I feel pretty blessed to have each of them in my life.
I'll take the bad with the good.
The bad usually has to do with low blood sugar and lack of sleep.
The good is pretty much everything else.
happy valentine's day to my two favorite high maintenance people..
xo pg.

needing a vacation

We just got back from a week long vacation.
But I feel as though I need another vacation after my vacation.
I'm exhausted.
When you go away with a 21 month old, vacation time takes on a whole new meaning.
Don't get me wrong, it was pretty nice being in a tropical location, sitting under swaying palm trees with my own personal "beach butler".
It was also really nice to be able to throw on my flip flops, swim suit, sunscreen and a pair of sunglasses and be good to go.
No multiple layering required.
It was a nice break not to have to cook or clean for an entire week.
We also really enjoyed watching Lulu build sandcastles, swim in the ocean, play with other kids at a pretty amazing park located right on the beach, and just have lots of fun in a new environment.
But I have to admit, in many ways it was more work keeping a close eye on her than it is at home.
I was on constant sunscreen watch, paranoid that her lily white skin would fry in the super strong sun (and mine too)
or that she might fall into the pool or slip on the slippery tiles surrounding the pool (which she did) or worse, take off into the ocean.
Or get sand in her eyes (which she did), fall off the jungle gym, get heat stroke, or get bitten by all the tropical bugs (which she did).
Trying to get her to nap was quite the challenge, and most days was impossible.
To eat at a restaurant three times a day for seven days wasn't so easy either.
Lulu got to a point where she would try to drag us out of the restaurant before we even sat down at our table.
"nooo nooooo..pleeeasseee..."
we even had Lulu in bed with us every single night, so say good bye to any possible holiday romance.
Okay it sounds like I'm complaining, which I am, but it's just that I guess this trip wasn't exactly as relaxing as myself or big daddy had envisioned.
Travelling with a small child (especially to somewhat of an exotic location) isn't remotely the same as it was pre-baby.
Why did I even bother to bring a book?
Now I can see why we met so many other couples that were travelling without their kids.
Or the ones that had their had kids with them were also vacationing with the grandparents or even better, brought their nanny.
Mind you we met a couple that had a daughter the same age as Lulu and by about the fourth day were in total baby withdrawal.
I volunteered to lend them Lulu for the day to get a toddler fix, but they weren't quite thaaat home sick...
oh well it was worth a try ;)
we did have a nice time, but I'm glad to be home in my familiar surroundings, where all I have to worry about is Lulu falling down the stairs, flushing lego down the toilet, eating yellow snow or getting frost bite.
ahhh....home sweet home.