Meal planning Mondays

In September, I blogged about my immense dislike of meal planning. I'm not much a big meal planner. In fact, I'm not much of a chef. I like to bake, but I detest cooking. That's what take out is for.

However, take out is not economical feasible or healthy. So someone has to cook meals and that someone is me as barbecue season has now come to a close. Lately, I've been doing okay in the meal making/planning department. Although I didn't plan any meals in advance last week, I made most of them. The only stumble in my new dinner making regime was on Friday. Dear husband decided that he didn't want leftovers and I decided to continue on the bad food day I was having (I had a burger and fries for lunch) that we decided to get some pizza slices for dinner. I hope to redeem myself this week.

So this week I decided it was time to bite the bullet, come up with a meal plan and grocery shop accordingly. Hopefully it will work. Tonight we are having chicken tetrazzini, which is simmering in the slower cooker as I write this. Tomorrow will be slow cooker lasagna. I have even browned the hamburger meat. Also on the list is meat loaf, a good ol' standby in our household. We bought a small whole chicken which will make a delicious meal. I was planning to make almond chicken and rice sometime this week, but I'm not a big fan of frying chicken in a frying pan. Too much work for my taste. Earlier today I found a slow cooker recipe for a chicken dish. I've already got all the ingredients, so I may make that instead. Although I dislike cooking, I'm a big fan of my slow cooker. I like assembling my meals in the slow cooker in the morning and turning it on. Not only does it make my house smell delicious and homey, it takes the pressure off of assembling meals around 3 or 4 p.m.

I'm hoping my new meal planning mantra sticks as I'm tired of opening up the refrigerator door, wondering what's for dinner.

Operation Santa a success, well sort of

This morning I decided it was a good time as any to make a quick visit to our neighbourhood mall Santa Claus. Last year, we went early in the Christmas season and I was able to include the photos of our visit in Christmas cards. They were a hit. If I get my act together, friends and relatives will be receiving similar photos this year of a larger baby with much more hair.

The visit went over relatively okay. Although darling daughter didn't burst into tears, she had quite a confused, serious look on her face. Who the heck is this strange man with a big bushy white beard? the look on her face said. Why are you handing me to him? And why is there a woman taking photos of us?

At this age, the only reason I head to the local mall for a visit for Santa is strictly for the photo op. I readily handed over $12 to get darling daughter's photo taken with the big guy. And although she wasn't impressed, I do enjoy the photos. The way I figure it this is likely the last year for a few years at least that we can get photos taken with Santa. I'm sure next Christmas she'll be in that age where she'll burst into tears once she sits on Santa's lap.

Decoding the laundry mystery

I may need Huckle cat from Busytown Mysteries to help me solve this one. I'm trying to decode the laundry mystery. How can a family of three produce so much laundry? On Sunday, I washed, dried and folded about four loads of laundry. Although my memory is a bit hazy, I recall folding towels, darling daughter's clothes and two loads of mine and dear husband's laundry. And I think I may have even washed a load of my gym clothes.

Four days later, I find myself doing a load of whites, darks, an entire load of darling daughter's clothing and a separate load of dishcloths. (I've got a dishcloth fetish. I go through about five dishcloths a day. Although I have quite the dishcloth collection, I find myself washing dishcloths about every four to five days).

I find that once I'm done washing, drying and folding, the sensation of a job well done doesn't last long as the dirty laundry starts accumulating in the clothes hampers. It almost makes me want to cry.

Maybe it is the convenience of having laundry facilities in my own home. It may be a different story if we had to go to a laundromat to do laundry. Perhaps we just produce a lot of laundry. Or maybe we are just like any other family with a young child: lots of laundry is just a part of parenthood.

If anyone out there can help me decode the laundry mystery, please let me know. Excuse me as I fish my latest load out of the washer and into the dryer. Ah, the laundry cycle. It never ends.

Goodbye my huge bag of chocolate chips. I'm surprised you lasted so long

This morning I said goodbye to the two kilogram bag of chocolate chips I bought at Costco a couple of months ago.

Although I'm sad to see it go, I'm glad it will longer tempt me with its chocolaty goodness. A month ago I blogged about this very bag of chocolate chips. I thought I'd be thrifty and buy chocolate chips in bulk in an attempt to save money. I have spurts where I'll make a lot of chocolate chip muffins, mainly to take with me to playdate potlucks or book club. Between the spurts where I'm not baking muffins, I often find myself indulging in a small handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips throughout the day. Hiding the bag was no use. I'd often hear it calling my name, even if it was hiding in the deep freezer downstairs.

So this morning I managed to use the last meager cup of chocolate chips left in the bag in a batch of banana muffins. (Although a couple of chips did make their way into my mouth). So the bag is no more. Although there are no more chocolate chips left in the house, I do have a small bag of peanut M&Ms to finish off. Once that is gone, there will be no more chocolate left to tempt me. It will be interesting to see how long I can go without chocolate. Even if I cave and buy the odd chocolate treat or two, I'm never going to buy chocolate chips in bulk again. It is too tempting.

Twilight madness: will the addiction ever end?

After seeing New Moon last night, I broke down and bought the entire series. I broke two cardinal rules of mine: (1) spending money frivolously and (2) buying books. Several months ago, I made a pact with myself not to buy books because I never re-read them. Instead I borrow them from the library. But addictions seem to know no bounds and I'm in desperate need of a Twilight fix.

In June, I blogged about my Twilight obsession, which started innocently enough. One day while walking pass the express reads shelf at my local library, I spotted the book Twilight. I had heard about the book from others and I decided to see what the hype was about. After the second chapter, I was hooked. I borrowed the three remaining books from a friend and in a period of three weeks I had read the entire series.

In my first blog posting about Twilight, I wrote the following: I know writing about this is terribly silly as I am a 30-something woman who has a young child, but in the last three weeks I have tapped into my 17-year-old excitable teenage self by reading Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series. I have sat for hours, turning page after page, reading. I’ve stayed up late, reading. I’ve continued reading while dear husband has attempted to have conversations with me, to no avail because I’m too busy reading. I have discussed the books with friends. I have watched the Twilight movie. (And I’d watch it again if it wasn’t for the fact I’m too cheap to order it again from Rogers on Demand). And I have watched the New Moon trailer on the Internet several times. Oh, for the love of God, I don’t know how I got hooked on a story involving a vampire and a naïve, but clumsy teenaged girl, but I did and now I’m going through withdrawal since finishing the series.

After that blog post, my Twilight addiction slowly eased. At the time I was glad I had borrowed the books because I'd be tempted to read them over and over again. However, my addiction has returned with a vengeance after seeing New Moon last night. I, with four other friends, lined up to see the movie. We bought our tickets in advance. We were squished like sardines, waiting for the theatre doors to open. And once they did open, it was pandemonium. People ran towards the doors, pushing people out of the way, squeezing through the narrow doors. At one point, I thought the movie employee trying to do crowd control was going to be trampled on by excitable teenage girls eager to see Edward and Bella's return to the silver screen. It was craziness. But definitely worth it.

Although we weren't all able to sit together, me and another friend found two seats together near the front of the theatre. Despite our close proximity to the screen, they were pretty darn good seats. As expected, there were passionate screams when Edward first appeared on the screen. More screams were heard during Bella's first scene with Jacob. I cried when Edward left Bella. I quickly mopped up the tears with my sleeve, hoping no one saw me cry. The movie stayed true to the book and there was even a cliffhanger ending for those who haven't read the series.

When I came home last night, I was definitely on a Twilight high. A friend called this morning, telling me to turn the channel to MTV because they had a behind-the-scenes look of the making of Twilight and New Moon movies. So the addiction that I thought I had conquered when I finished the series is back. And the only way for me to quell the temptation to break into my local library branch and scour the stacks for Twilight books is to buy the entire series.

And that's what I did. I went to Shoppers Drug Mart and bought the entire series. (Tip: if you are looking for new books, check out Shoppers. For a pharmacy, they do have a good selection of books at reasonable prices). By buying the books at Shoppers, I was also feeding another addiction: collecting Optimum points.

After quickly snatching the books off the shelf, I powered walked to the cash. While paying for the books, I had a conversation with the teenage boy cashier.

Cashier: So you are buying the Twilight series?

Me: Yep. I borrowed the books from a friend, but I really need to read the series again after seeing the movie last night.

Cashier: So you have read the books and seen the movies and you are buying the series?

Me: Yes. I can't really explain it. (How can a 30-something woman explain to a teenage boy that she has addiction to a series that involves vampires and a klutzy girl?)

Cashier: That's kind of funny.

Kind of funny is the understatement of the year. I can't explain my addiction or my decision to invest $50 into books I've already read. But the way I see it is that I have at least another two movies, even three if Breaking Dawn is split into two movies, to see. And if I have this kind of reaction after seeing New Moon, I'm sure I'll have the same experience in the future. And I read the books so quickly that I owe it to myself to re-read them again before I see any more movies.

So please excuse me as I've got four books to devour.

I'll take what I can get

With winter around the corner, I've got to stock up on sleepers, a staple in any toddler's wardrobe. Today, I had to make a trip to Costco. Several months ago, I blogged about Costco raising its prices on Pekkle sleepers. At one time, they were sold for $7.49. In March, they jacked up the price to $9.49, a $2 difference. I, and some other mothers I know, weren't happy with the price increase. Well, imagine my surprise today when I saw a sign above the sleepers, stating they were $7.99 each.

I'm not too sure when Costco lowered the price on its sleepers. Maybe it happened months ago, or maybe it happened more recently. Regardless, I'm glad that I can get Pekkle sleepers cheaper than I could back last spring. Although the company didn't lower the price to $7.49, I'll take what I can get. So thanks, Costco for lowering your prices. Every little helps. I got to keep track of every penny, especially now with the provincial government set to introduce a harmonized sales tax next summer.

Horrifying but fascinating at the same time

They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I'm sure we can all think of things we do in our life that we do the same over and over again, hoping the results will be different, but they never are.

In my household, one of the things that comes to mind that fits that definition is vacuuming. The only carpet we have is on the stairs leading upstairs and downstairs. Every time dear husband vacuums the stairs, I have high hopes that they will be clean. While they look relatively less dingy and grimy when he puts the vacuum away, they are still dingy and grimy.

Well, this week we bit the bullet, laid out several hundred dollars and bought a Dyson. Before making our purchase this week, I always wondered Dyson lived up to the hype. Well, I am impressed.Very impressed. The above photo is what the Dyson pulled out of the carpet that covers both stairs.

We were both horrified and fascinated at the dirt in the bin. (Dear husband remarked that he always thought the stairs were "clean" when he was done vacuuming. Obviously they weren't). Every time I vacuum with the Dyson it is like a science experiment. I'm always wondering what it will manage to suck up. I even vacuumed the keyboard of my laptop. Along with the dirt, it sucked up a couple of keys that I had to rescue from the bin.

I'm not surprised that the Dyson was able to pull that much crap out of the carpet. We have laminate flooring throughout the house and controlling the dust bunnies that I often find rolling underneath the beds and crib is an ongoing task. I don't want to give the impression that the Dyson was able to restore my carpet to its original state (it is cheap carpet and it is looking quite worn), but my stairs are looking incredibly less dingy and grimy.

I want to stress that we didn't buy the Dyson to clean the cheap carpet on our stairs. We bought it for dust control. In particular to control dust mites as well as to eliminate their habitat. After cleaning the stairs and the downstairs foyer, I tackled our mattress. For those who have dust mite allergies, one way to control those allergies is trying to eliminate the source: dust mites as well as their fecal matter. Unfortunately, humans attract dust mites. They feed on flakes of the skin we shed. (I know disgusting). Obviously, they flourish in areas where we spend a lot of time, like our bedrooms.

I won't get into too much detail of what the Dyson was able to pick up from the mattress, but I was amazed and disgusted at the same time. Honestly, I should have kept the plastic bag the mattress came in.

Buying a Dyson was a good investment for us. Not only does it control dust, it almost makes cleaning fun.

Coughing in public in a post-H1N1 world

To the woman who was standing in front of me at the front cash last Saturday afternoon: I don't have H1N1. Promise!

I'm really sorry for the coughing fit. I'm sure you were really nervous and annoyed at me, but it couldn't be helped. These coughing spells of mine happen usually out of the blue, without much notice. I'm sure you were pretty happy to get the hell away from me when the second cash opened. I'm so sorry for my choking performance. I would have left the store when my coughing fit started, but wool yarn is on sale this week and it was too much of a bargain to pass up.

To back up, last week I spent the entire week inside because I was showing cold-like symptoms, congestion and a cough. I didn't even venture out to the gym because I was too scared to cough in public. But as the week wore on, I concluded I didn't have a cold. I have allergies.

While this may sound like good news, it isn't. At least a cold ends. My allergy attacks take forever to disappear. I was dreading this may happen. Five years ago, I had a horrific allergy attack that lasted from the end of December to April. I was severely congested and I had a terrible seal-like barking cough. A couple of times I even lost use of my voice. The culprit, you ask? Dust mites.

I've never seen a dust mite. They are too small to be seen by the naked eye. But they make my life miserable. I wait for the day when they are officially on the endangered species list. But I doubt that will ever happen. It is estimated that 10 per cent of the population are allergic to dust mites. Those who aren't allergic to dust mites aren't allergic to the actual mite per say, but they are allergic to their feces. And my allergic reactions to dust mites seem to be the worst in the winter when the house is closed and the humidity is high.

I won't get into the details because they can get quite sickening, but dust mites are everywhere. The only thing that "cured" me the last time was allergy needles. The last time I got a shot was two years ago around the time I got pregnant with darling daughter. Since that time, I've had my fingers crossed that I would never experience anything like that again. But it looks like my luck has run out.

To get me through the last week, I've been using my neti pot constantly and now I'm taking over the counter allergy medications. I'm not too sure how long I can keep up this regiment up. I'm tired because I'm not getting any sleep because I have coughing fits. I'm afraid to go out in public in case I have another coughing fit. But thanks to the neti pot, at least I can breath. Last time this happened it sounded like I had a perpetual cold.

Living with allergies is not fun. The snow has yet to fly and I'm already looking forward to spring.

The new era of gift giving

I've discovered the secret of holiday shopping.

Life is much easier when you don't do it.

It is as simple as that.

I've decided that I don't want anything for Christmas. I told my mother today not to buy us anything and I told her to pass that message along to my brother. We'll do a gift exchange for the kids, but other than that, save your moolah, I declared.

So if you were contemplating getting me a gift this year, don't bother. Do as the ING Direct guy says: save your money.

Earlier this fall, I spent days decluttering the basement. And it felt good getting rid of stuff. I made numerous trips to Goodwill to unload my unwanted stuff. Anything that I didn't get rid of is now crammed into the small storage closet downstairs. I've got no storage room. And plus, I really don't need anything.

Plus, as a parent, I've got another type of clutter to deal with: toy clutter. Yesterday, I weeding through darling daughter's toy collection upstairs. I introduced new toys and I put away old toys that no longer captures her attention. She'll likely be spoiled this Christmas. And if I was to get gifts, not only would I have to find room for my items, I have to find room for her new toys. Life is already complicated enough. I don't need more complications.

I've already told dear husband he'll be getting a gift certificate of some sort. He's okay with that.

I may sound like scrooge, but in this new era of recessions and downsizing, I say save your money. You'll thank me later.

Toy confusion

This plastic baby bottle with bow-tie pasta and brown rice is darling daughter's favourite toy today. I quickly put it together this morning. And she loves it.

Sometimes I wonder why I buy her toys. Give her a couple of face cloths, a bib or a pair of her own shoes, she's happy for hours. Buy her a new Little People set or an Elmo World phone, they might capture her attention for a couple of minutes throughout the day.

So now I'm on the fence when it comes to Christmas gift giving. I've got three Little People sets sitting in the storage closet for her for under the Christmas tree. (I bought them when they were on sale). While she isn't all that big about the big Little People sets, she does enjoy playing with the actual Little People. But isn't three Little People sets too much for a little girl? The good thing with these sets is that I can keep them and save them for later, or give them out to others for birthday gifts. They certainly won't go to waste.

Some of the moms on one of the online message boards I belong to employ the something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read policy. Plus, Santa may leave a little something under the tree and in their stockings.

I really like that policy. I really do. But I've got a tendency to overspend at Christmas and I don't know if I can hold to that policy. Last year I did okay, but I have done better and stuck to the original plan of being thrifty. Because at the time, darling daughter was only five months old and she really didn't need anything. Plus, it looks like dear husband is becoming worse in the gift giving department. He couldn't resist and bought her several toys last year.

As well as the Little People sets, I also bought her a wooden puzzle and a rattle with bells, for her stocking. So if I think about it, one of the Little People sets could be filed under the something you want category. Since I bought a bunch of books for her in recent month, I'll replace the book with the puzzle for the something to read category.

I'm stumped when it comes to the something you need category. She's 15 months. She doesn't really need anything. So I may just use one of the Little People sets to fill that vacancy or buy her some Fred Penner CDs. We do need more music CDs. And for the something to wear, well, she's a clothes horse. I've spent a lot of clothes in recent months, but I may make her a hat if I find the time.

The third Little People set can always be given to her from Santa.

So yeah. If I stick by that plan, I should be good. But I find it so hard not to cave in and buy more at Christmas. I'll keep you updated in how I do.

Remembering modern day heroes

I don't know Master Corporal Marcie Lane. I've never met her. But I think of her and her daughter, Olivia, often.

Like many, I was introduced to Marcie and her family through news stories by CTV Ottawa in September 2008. The news crew profiled Petawawa residents Marcie and her common law husband, Master Cpl. Scott Vernelli. The couple had just welcomed their daughter Olivia into the world. In fact, Marcie labour was induced a week early so Scott could meet and spend time with his baby girl before being deployed to Afghanistan later that month.

The images of the happy, smiling young couple holding their infant daughter have always stuck with me. Although I could relate to what they were going through because at the time darling daughter was about six weeks old, I couldn't comprehend what they were facing; he being sent to a war torn country while his baby daughter and wife stayed in Canada, waiting for his safe return. I know this is a reality for many military families and I have a great admiration for the sacrifices they make for this country.

Like many Canadians, my heart sunk when news broke in March that Scott died when an improvised explosive device exploded while he was on patrol in the Zhari district of Afghanistan. His friend and comrade, Cpl. Tyler Crooks, also died in the attack. My heart went out to his wife and his daughter. He'd never see his daughter grow up and Olivia would never know her father.

Marcie's strength constantly amazes me. Last night I watched a moving piece on her and her daughter on the CBC's The National. If you do have a moment, please watch it. (The piece is called Olivia's hero). Marcie, who is a military photographer, takes the portraits of military personal before they are deployed. These are the same photos are that handed out to the media when a solider is killed. Soldiers call them death photos. But Marcie has a different name for them. "I quickly correct them. It is now your hero portrait," she says.

Marcie says she clearly remembers when she realized Scott wouldn't be coming back to Petawawa safely. The doorbell rang at Friday, March 20 at 6:15 a.m. She sat up in bed and she instantly knew the news that was waiting for her behind her front door. "I said out loud, 'Olivia, daddy's gone.' "


When the news was confirmed, she realized what it meant for her daughter.


"I remember saying, 'No, I have a baby sleeping in her crib upstairs who will never know her dad."


In the days after her husband's death, I remember seeing footage of Marcie standing at attention, saluting her Scott's casket, while holding her daughter. She was so courageous and strong. She was later given Olivia's booties, the same booties she word home from the hospital. They were found in the secret pocket inside Scott's uniform.


Towards the end of the National segment I was crying. Like I said at the beginning of this post, I've never met Marcie and I never had the opportunity to meet her husband. But I just want her to know that Scott isn't only Olivia's hero. He, and all his comrades who have sacrificed their lives while serving in Afghanistan, are my heroes too. And I'm sure a lot of Canadians feel the same way I do.

How do you grocery shop when you live in a bubble?

The inside of my refrigerator tells a subtle tale of the last week.

Yep, it is clean, but we had no food.

It was last Thursday when I officially realized we had no food. I managed to make dinner with some frozen pork chops that I found in the freezer and apples left over from a jaunt to an apple orchard in September. And it was tasty. Thank God for the Internet as it is a great resource in finding recipes that meet paltry ingredient list requirements.

The following night, dear husband had the left over pork chops for dinner and I ate a English muffin with cream cheese, along with some blueberries and yogurt that was set to expire in a couple of days. I wasn't too concern about the yogurt's level of quality. It’s yogurt. Isn’t it already spoiled milk?

It was Saturday afternoon before one of went to the grocery store. Dear husband blinked first and he did the thankless, but necessary, task. It is out of pure laziness that I didn't go out and fix this problem earlier in the week. On Thursday night I went to a spinning class, followed up with a Body Step class on Friday evening. What was dear husband’s excuse, you ask? He claimed he was too tired to do anything other than put darling daughter to bed and pick up toys off the living room floor.

Now, since I’m a stay at home mom, it would make sense that I would go out to the grocery store and buy my family groceries. But since all this H1N1 stuff has happened, I am very careful where I take darling daughter. I thought about stuffing a couple of disinfectant wipes in a Ziplock bag to wipe down the grocery cart, but that still wouldn’t prevent her contracting a cold or the flu if someone was to cough or sneeze. The poor kid. The only time she has left the house was a week ago tomorrow for Kindermusik. And now since Kindermusik is now over, I have no clue when she’ll leave the house. We were suppose to go to a playdate this morning, but I had to cancel because I have a cough and it looks like I may be coming down with a cold. So much for bubble living because it seems the germs can still infect my imaginary force field.

So basically we are suffering from bubble syndrome. And I’m not alone. I surmise from conversations from other moms many feel like they are living in a bubble, trying to limit their children’s interaction with the outside world. And who can blame them or me for that matter? But living in a bubble is boring. And I’m unsure how much longer I can take of this. A woman can only listen to Fred Penner so many times. But that, my loyal readers, is a whole different post for another day.

My question was sort of answered . . .

Yesterday, I blogged about my excitement of having a question I submitted to a radio station read on air. For days, I've been puzzled about a media report I heard on the radio that stated the World Health Organization was recommending the half dose of the H1N1 vaccine was sufficient for young children and the booster wasn't required. However, I've been having difficulties finding another news article or a WHO press release that confirms the news report I heard.

So when CFRA announced it was accepting questions from listeners, I quickly sent off a short email, asking if my daughter needed the booster. And I got my question answered, well, sort of.

Dr. Vera Etches, associate medical officer of health with Ottawa Public Health, said the second shot is being discussed and a recommendation whether it is needed or not should be coming soon. She hopes the recommendation is made before the first round of children, who received a vaccine a week and a half ago, reach day 21. When we took darling daughter to the vaccine clinic last Saturday we were told she'd need a booster in 21 days. I know a lot of parents are anxious to learn if the booster is required. Hopefully some kind of recommendation, made nationally or locally, is made in the very near future.

Has it really come down to this?

It appears that the simple things now are the highlight of my entire day.

As many of you may know, I listen to talk radio for most of the day. I feel talk radio keeps connected with the world around me. I also like listening to adult conversations, which are lacking in my household during daytime hours. While I may not agree with their opinions or the topics they talk about, the discussions make for interesting listening.

This morning, CFRA host Steve Madely invited listeners to submit H1N1 questions for an upcoming interview with an official with Ottawa Public Health. I thought this was the perfect opportunity to get an answer to a question that has been puzzling me for days. Earlier this week, I heard a news report that the World Health Organization is advising that the half dose is sufficient for young children. However, I've had a difficult time finding a press release or another news article that confirms this news report.

Once Steve asked listeners to submit questions, I logged into email account and fired off an email. I've heard reports that the World Health Organization is saying that one dose of the vaccine (they receive half that what an adult gets) is sufficient for young children and they don't require the booster. I quickly typed. What is Ottawa Public Health recommending? Will my 1 year old daughter need the booster?

Well, I was surprised when Steve read my question almost word for word on the air. I was almost giddy. And I would have likely jumped up and down in excitement if Steve had said my name. So, when dear husband comes home this evening and asks how my day went, I'll be smiling because Steve Madely read my question on air.

And to write that publicly makes me sound kind of lame. But when comparing it to the daily grind of cleaning of crushed goldfish crackers, doing laundry and cleaning up toys, of course this is the highlight of my day. Now I've got to remember to tune in early tomorrow morning to hear the answer to my question.

No more Tuesdays . . .

About two months ago I wrote about our foray into Kindermusik. At the time, I had my doubts about Kindermusik. We were the oldest mother-child duo in the class, which posed several challenges. Since darling daughter was fully mobile and most of the kids weren't, I felt like I had to police her so she wouldn't stumble over the other babies or poke them in the eye. Yes, it wasn't the most relaxing class I've ever participated in.

After eight weeks, our time with Kindermusik is over. And our participation rate was pretty good. We only missed two classes due to a cold (darling daughter) and a doctor's appointment (me). I'm kind of sad that we won't be going anymore. However, I don't think we could do another class with such an age gap between babies. Six or 10 months doesn't sound like much a big age gap, but in babyhood and toddlerhood, it is huge. Although I will likely have to give it more thought, but we might consider enrolling into Kindermusik again. But it will likely have to be in the spring. That way, darling daughter will be eligible for the older class.

Time change change-up

Yesterday, I was revelling in the fact I had an extra hour. Today, not so much.

Between getting the H1N1 vaccine and the time change, darling daughter didn't have a great sleep last night. She woke up several times last night. Which meant I woke up several times last night. Added with the fact that I forgot to change the time on my alarm clock on Saturday night, I was majorly confused when I woke up in the morning. When my eyes fluttered open, I thought it was 6 a.m. But in fact, it was 5 a.m., which made sense because it seemed to dark for 6 a.m. About an hour later, I almost had a little panic attack when I saw the little hand approach 7 a.m. because dear husband had not gotten out of bed yet for work. I thought he had slept in. When I woke him up, he pointed out to me that it was not yet 6 a.m. He was not impressed.

So now darling daughter's schedule is a mess. Dear husband is tired because darling daughter woke up several times during the night and I'm getting depressed because there is only about an hour or so of daylight left. The sun seems to be getting too close to the horizon for my liking. I'm not a fan of this time of year. The days are too short and the weather is too cool, which is a sign of winter approaching. I saw a Christmas commercial for the first time today. Yikes! I hope the next several months fly by because I'm ready for spring.

Rediscovering Halloween

When I was a kid, I hated Halloween. I absolutely hated it. The night usually ended in tears, with me crying. I was a painfully shy kid and the idea of dressing up and going to stranger's houses was certainly not a fun one. I celebrated the Halloween when I was technically too old to trick and treat. Staying at home and handing out candy suited me just fine.

I'm still not big on dressing up, but I'm starting to understand why people like Halloween. It is kind of magical in a way. People decorate their houses, get to carve pumpkins and hand out candy to the spooky little ghosts and goblins that haunt their doorsteps. And of course there is the candy. Halloween wouldn't be complete without candy.

Last night, dear husband and I decided at the last moment to take darling daughter trick and treating. Our initial plan was to dress her up and have her "help" hand out candy to the kids. But since we had such a stressful day and it was such a lovely evening, we thought going out might be a fun way to end the day. Dear husband got out the wagon and off we went to roam the neighbourhood. I almost cried when I saw darling daughter sitting in the wagon in her butterfly costume. She has grown so much. Last year at this time, she wasn't mobile at all. In fact, she couldn't even roll over. She'd lie on the floor and kick her legs. Now she is toddling and babbling. It is amazing how many changes have occurred in the last 365 days.

We were out for about 45 minutes. Actually, I think dear husband had the most fun. At one point I had to put my foot down and insist we go home. I believe the reason he had so much fun is he is the main beneficiary of darling daughter's candy haul.

So Halloween is over for another year. We are picking through the leftover Halloween candy and I've got to take down the decorations. I know next year we'll be going trick and treating again. And I'll likely shed some tears because darling daughter will be in a bigger costume and will likely be walking house to house, instead of being carried by dear husband.