Things I Love (not a comprehensive list)

Pierogies, made by my husband, with bacon, onions and sour cream.

Perfectly timed naps.

Really pretty shoes, especially if they're comfortable, but even if they're not.

Compliments, especially if they're sincere, but even if they're not.

Coffee.

The smell of lilacs and the petal-iferousness of peonies.

Elle's giggles.

Hugs.

Finding that perfect position on a really comfortable bed or couch with just the right ratio of pillows to feel cozy and supported at the same time.

Bread, cheese, chocolate, ice cream, potato chips in sandwiches, pretzels dipped in peanut butter and chocolate, butter on steak and crispy duck.

Kissing Elle's cheeks - smushing my lips right into those squishy bad boys and staying there until she wriggles away.

Sleep, glorious sleep.

I can see clearly now...

Today is one of those days where everything just seems to be lined in silver, you know? The sun is shining, the birds are singing literally right outside my window. It's three hours later than I'm normally wrenched out of my blissful slumber and I'm quietly sipping coffee in my jammies. My belly is full of delicious pancakes, my house is empty of all noisemakers, and I have time to collect my thoughts and breathe a little before I start my day. It's perfection. It's the kind of day when I feel like I can be exactly the kind of person I want to be and accomplish all kinds of ambitious accomplishments.

It's too bad about this "End of the World" thing.

But if that doesn't pan out, it's the first day of the rest of my life, right?

My Bad

Wait a sec...this blog is supposed to be about reasons to smile. Check this out - Elle with bookends, cousins Charley and Finnegan:

Parenting for Dummies

I'm just wondering...

These parents that I see everywhere, who just effortlessly know how to make their children happy, who know when to play with them and when to let them go off on their own, who can redirect a child who is focused on something without any eliciting any whining or yelling, who always know the right thing to say to turn a bad mood into giggles...what's up? What's your secret?

I remember before having kids I used to look around and see a lot of sucky parents. You know the ones, who yell at their kids for breathing too loudly and whose idea of "redirection" is yanking little arms out of their sockets. I had all kinds of sage advice for them (that I would keep to myself, of course, for fear of similar abuse) and all kinds of ideas about how I would raise my kids.

But now that I am a parent, I look around and see the opposite. Everyone is calm and happy and getting along like best friends. It's nice. But it makes me feel completely incompetent when E starts pushing those buttons and I've got nothing. Sometimes I find myself just sitting there, looking at her, because I have no idea what to do to diffuse the situation. It's not a good feeling. And sometimes, when she's really pushing the boundaries, even though I know that a smile or a song might turn things around, I just don't have it in me. Could I really be that selfish? Yikes.

I guess it's possible that I'm just seeing what I'm looking for. I'm looking for people who are doing it right, hoping to stand close enough to them that some of that "born to parent" dust will get sprinkled onto me. I'm hoping that one morning I'll wake up and all of the energy and motivation I had around here somewhere once will be restored, and I won't start every day feeling like a zombie. I know. Less chocolate, more vegetables. E and I have a lot of fun together, but I feel like too much of my time is spent stressing out about scheduling and forming bad habits and doing too much or not enough.

I'm lucky. I have a very wonderful daughter who is not a problem child in any sense of the word. But she is 2, she is very intelligent, and she is not afraid to voice her very strong opinions. And I suppose you would be hard pressed to find the parent of a 2 year old who is feeling pretty good about themselves 100% of the time.

If you're having trouble following my choppy thought process through this post...welcome to my world. These days I'm a lot tired, a little emotional, and fairly disjointed at the best of times. Maybe it's the rain. On the upside, I haven't changed a poopy diaper in over a week. And that's a pretty big upside.

...and he saves lives too.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my husband.

Thank you, husband of mine, for not responding to my desperate announcement this evening of "I have a lot to do and need a large chunk of uninterrupted computer time" with "Me too", but instead asking when I would like to have that time and enthusiastically sending me away with my beer to have that time while you took charge of the girl and all of the post-dinner/pre-bedtime activities without even a single blip of a complaint.

I used that time very wisely, and was even able to produce what may be the world's longest sentence (see above).

I completed my weekly requirements for my online course - and it's only Tuesday!

But most importantly, I FIXED MY BLOG! Really, all by myself! Pretty awesome.

A little of this, a little of that

Okay, I'm just going to go with this as long as I can...can't save so I'll have to just hit "Publish" as soon as her highness wakes up...

Still can't post pictures, so you'll just have to take my word for it that the girl continues to be astoundingly adorable.

Recent events include a stellar week of potty training. E is now wearing underwear all day, only wearing a diaper for naptime and bedtime, and has - at most - one accident per day, with zero accidents some days! Yippee! I wish I could show you her Potty Page. I'm glad I got the 1000 sticker booklet instead of 50.

There has been lots of rain in Toronto, so our outside time has been cut down drastically. The time we have spent has included splashing in every puddle between our house and the park, our house and the corner store, and our house and the fire station. And in lieu of the sandbox we've been spending our time with Play-doh, glue sticks and honing our negotiation skills as they relate to movie watching, chocolate eating and showers vs. baths.

Yesterday I started an online course in my quest to regain an active massage therapy license. I've been away for over three years and there are a couple of hoops that I have to jump through before they'll let me loose on the public again. I've never done an online course before, so I'm a little nervous. So far there's been a little polite banter on the Discussion Page and a score of 9/10 on my first quiz, which I consider to be a good start.

And, of course, when I go back to work, my teeny tiny little baby will be off to...what's that?...PRESCHOOL?! What? Holy...

Turns out preschool is kind of a big deal, kind of expensive, and kind of a big decision to make from a different city. So, after a couple of weeks of circular discussions and unanswerable questions, J and I have decided to actually drive to Ottawa next week to check things out. But not before we do a little BBQ-ing in Milton, a little fireworking in Napanee, and a little holiday driving in our still-pretty-new-and-exciting wheels.

And, of course, when we're not busy being busy, we can always count on E to fill the gaps with an endless litany of WHY?'s to answer.

Oh, the WHY stage.

Why me, God?

Why?

I hate computers.

Sorry for the silence, folks. I have lots of terribly interesting things to say, and some very, very cute photos to show you, but Blogger is not working properly.

Can't save anything, photos won't load. Anyone else having problems, finding solutions?

Back soon, I hope.

xo,
M.

Potty Update

I, or rather E, just wanted to show you the progress on her Potty Page:

Look at all those stickers! And would I be one of those annoying, braggy moms if I mentioned that yesterday she went the entire day (minus nap and bedtime) in ONE pair of UNDERWEAR!!! That's including a trip to the park where mom spent her time scoping out inconspicuous patches of grass, juuust in case. We're pretty proud.

Incidentally, day 2 of Project Undies is about half over with NO ACCIDENTS!

Hooray for undies!!!

This is a shot of Elle demonstrating our Downward Dog Wipe Technique.

I'm thinking of having it patented.

Babies. Love 'em.

And this one is no exception. This is 7 week old Desmond, whom we had the pleasure of meeting last weekend. He is the perfect little munchkin of dear friends Maria and Sanju, and he let the Cowfam snuggle him and kiss him and make googly faces at him all weekend without a single complaint.

Yesterday E and I were reminiscing about the visit and she said "Someday I will have a brother or a girl...a sister." Sounds like someone's been talking to Gramma again...

The Thank You Note

Today Elle and I made a To Do list. I announced items that needed to be done, Elle repeated them, and I wrote each item on the back of an envelope while Elle helped hold on to the pencil. It was a very thorough, if not entirely efficient, process. One of those items was to write a thank you note. Elle assured me that she could knock this one off without too much trouble while I got around to the more mundane tasks of paying bills and emptying the dishwasher. Here's what she came up with:

Thank you for your welcome.
Thank you for a apple.
Thank you for my toy.
Thank you for a operation.
Thank you for a draw and a crayon.
Thank you for another toy.
Thank you for the opportunity.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

Now, let's revisit that list...

Blog. Check!