I'm sitting here tonight in a silent house. Both you and your Papa are sound asleep. The only sounds are the sound of the dishwasher and the air of the video monitor that is sitting beside me.
You are snuggled so cozy in your bed. You were so tired tonight. You refused to have a nap for your Papa while I was at work today even though you were up earlier than usual this morning and needed one. You were so excited to be going over to your Great Baba's house for a couple hours this afternoon while Papa and I were at work, that you just couldn't sleep.
I'm sitting here at the computer with tears in my eyes. There are so many feelings that I want to write down, to record for you, but my thoughts are just one huge jumble. I don't know which one to record first, and how to fully articulate others. I just don't know where to start.
I think about you, and all that you do now. You are so independent, and yet such a Mama's girl all at the same time. You are so outgoing and bubbly, and yet shy and introverted as well. You are so goofy and silly and yet so serious too. Everyday you surprise us with something new that you do or say. Sometimes it's like a 13 year old is talking to us and not a toddler.
You are so grown up now. You can get dressed all on your own, and love to choose your own clothes. You are potty trained during the day, and sleep in a big girl bed. Almost all the "baby" things have left this house. Instead you have your own babies. All of their names are Baby, you won't give them a name of their own. As sad as I am to see all the baby stuff leave the house I continue to be amazed by you and the amazing person you are becoming.
You love helping me with everything I do around the house, from cooking and the laundry, to vacuuming the carpet and making the beds. You are always right by my side wanting to help. Most of the time it means that particular job will then take even longer, but I love to see how excited you get to help me do something completely mundane like moving wet socks and towels from the washing machine to the dryer.
A lot of the time as I'm watching you I pray for a pause button. I've always said that I would never wish for a stop button, but I wish some days that I could slow time just a little bit. I wish I could stay in that moment for just a little bit longer with you. I've joked with people a lot lately that time has passed so quickly, that somehow I blinked and you went from this tiny little squish in my arms to this big girl.
Tonight when I put you to bed, I put to bed a two year old. Tomorrow when you wake up, probably a little too early for me, chanting "Maaaaama, Maaaaaama" from your bed you will be a three year old.
When I go up to sleep tonight I will slowly creep into your bedroom to check on your like I do every night. I will cover you up if you have kicked off your blankets, and just stare at you resisting the urge to pick you up. Which is ironic because just hours ago I was tip toeing down the stairs praying to God you would fall asleep quickly.
Sleep tight my little one. Who knows what new adventures life has in store for us tomorrow.
Love,
Mama
Showing posts with label Everyday life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Everyday life. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Monday, March 3, 2014
Loss
It has been a rough two years.
Just over two years ago my Memere passed. I think my mom best described her when she said that God broke the mold when he created her. She was one of the most loving, giving, warm people you would ever meet. Her greatest loves were her husband and her family. She didn't speak a lot of English, and unfortunately we never spoke a lot of French, but we found a way to communicate regardless. Even with the language barrier, we never doubted that she loved us, and we still loved her.
Just one year ago we had another loss. This time on my mothers side of the family. Our cousin Leslie passed suddenly while on vacation. We were all in shock when we got the news. Leslie was always the life of the party. You were always greeted with her infectious laughter and a warm hug. It's still hard to believe that she is no longer with us, even a year later.
Today we unfortunately had to say good bye to someone else. Another sudden death. Another loss that we're still struggling to understand. It's one of those situations when you just can't understand it because we just saw her. Two weeks ago she was just having tea and chatting with one of her friends. A week later, gone. Today we said good bye to my Step-Grandmother, Joan.
Let me start by saying I hate the term Step-Grandmother. I feel that when people asked who passed and I said the word "Step" that they almost stopped listening, or didn't care as much. People hear that word and for some there is a negative connotation. Instead of someone saying "I'm so sorry" They said "Oh", or worse yet, nothing.
Joan has been a part of my and my sisters lives as long as we can remember. We can't remember a time when she wasn't with my grandfather. There was a never a time when we can't remember her not being there. She was the type of person that when you went to visit her and my Poppy she was always up and about. She never sat down until everyone else had their food, and was taken care of. She was always taking care of everyone else, and her cat. She loved her cat.
Today her daughter Dorothy gave her Eulogy. I don't know how she managed to hold it together long enough but she did, and she did an amazing job. It was great listening to stories about when her children were younger, stories we had never heard before. She shared one story about when her and her brothers were just children. Joan had found an abandoned lab. She nursed him back to health and then posted that she had found a dog so the owner could claim him. No one did. They lived in a small apartment that didn't allow pets. So what did Joan do? She bought a house. It makes me smile whenever I think of that story because that was so her. She was always giving and thinking of others.
Today we said good bye to my Grandmother Joan. She was loved and she will be missed.
Just over two years ago my Memere passed. I think my mom best described her when she said that God broke the mold when he created her. She was one of the most loving, giving, warm people you would ever meet. Her greatest loves were her husband and her family. She didn't speak a lot of English, and unfortunately we never spoke a lot of French, but we found a way to communicate regardless. Even with the language barrier, we never doubted that she loved us, and we still loved her.
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| Andre and I with Memere and Pepere. |
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| Ron, Leslie with Kevin and Rose |
Let me start by saying I hate the term Step-Grandmother. I feel that when people asked who passed and I said the word "Step" that they almost stopped listening, or didn't care as much. People hear that word and for some there is a negative connotation. Instead of someone saying "I'm so sorry" They said "Oh", or worse yet, nothing.
Joan has been a part of my and my sisters lives as long as we can remember. We can't remember a time when she wasn't with my grandfather. There was a never a time when we can't remember her not being there. She was the type of person that when you went to visit her and my Poppy she was always up and about. She never sat down until everyone else had their food, and was taken care of. She was always taking care of everyone else, and her cat. She loved her cat.
Today her daughter Dorothy gave her Eulogy. I don't know how she managed to hold it together long enough but she did, and she did an amazing job. It was great listening to stories about when her children were younger, stories we had never heard before. She shared one story about when her and her brothers were just children. Joan had found an abandoned lab. She nursed him back to health and then posted that she had found a dog so the owner could claim him. No one did. They lived in a small apartment that didn't allow pets. So what did Joan do? She bought a house. It makes me smile whenever I think of that story because that was so her. She was always giving and thinking of others.
Today we said good bye to my Grandmother Joan. She was loved and she will be missed.
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| Joan when she met Emilie for the first time. |
Saturday, February 22, 2014
"Mama, I still your baby"
This has been something Emilie has been saying a lot lately. It's almost like the more she asserts her independence and becomes more like a big girl she needs to reassure both of us that she is still my baby.
My little big girl will be three years old in just two weeks. THREE years old!! Where did the time go? Where is my pause button?
About a month after her second birthday she decided enough was enough with the cloth diapers and wanted to wear her big girl underwear. That went great and she basically potty trained herself in one day. To be honest I miss the diapers. I never minded the two extra loads of laundry a week and always thought her fluffy little bum was so adorable. Not to mention it helped to keep Emilie's pants from falling down! I loved seeing all the bright colours and designs drying on the clothesline in the summer, and I loved that I could reuse them and not have to throw them out. It kills me every time I have to buy yet another box of Dora Easy Ups for Emilie to wear overnight. She will only wear disposables now since her cloth diapers are too thick for her now that she's used to underwear.
Over the last few months nap time has become less and less. "Mama, I no need a nap" and "Mama, I just sit on my bed. I not tired." are things I hear on an almost daily basis. Those rare days when she does nap are a special treat for Andre and I.
On New Years Day we converted Emilie's crib to a toddler bed. The potty training had lead to what we referred to as "Poop Emergencies". All I will say was there was poopy pull ups being hurled out of the crib. I will leave the rest to your imaginations. After the first incident we started talking to her about changing her crib to a big girl bed. After the third emergency I took the front off. Surprisingly Emilie was all for it. She offered to get the screwdriver and hammer and help! From the first night she was excellent in what she now refers to as her "big girl crib". She will occasionally get out of her bed to play when she should be sleeping, but overall the transition has been great. Much better than we expected.
With all of these new firsts have come regressions. Some days she will speak in baby talk instead of using her big girl words. Others she wants to be with me everywhere I go. She will have weeks where instead of getting out of her big girl crib to use her little potty during nap time she will go in her pull up instead. Most of all this has meant cuddles. Lots and lots of cuddles. I guess every stage has a silver lining right?
Some days these regressions are hard, and add another struggle to our routine. Others I'm more than happy to put down whatever I'm doing and cuddle with my little girl.
My little big girl will be three years old in just two weeks. THREE years old!! Where did the time go? Where is my pause button?
About a month after her second birthday she decided enough was enough with the cloth diapers and wanted to wear her big girl underwear. That went great and she basically potty trained herself in one day. To be honest I miss the diapers. I never minded the two extra loads of laundry a week and always thought her fluffy little bum was so adorable. Not to mention it helped to keep Emilie's pants from falling down! I loved seeing all the bright colours and designs drying on the clothesline in the summer, and I loved that I could reuse them and not have to throw them out. It kills me every time I have to buy yet another box of Dora Easy Ups for Emilie to wear overnight. She will only wear disposables now since her cloth diapers are too thick for her now that she's used to underwear.
Over the last few months nap time has become less and less. "Mama, I no need a nap" and "Mama, I just sit on my bed. I not tired." are things I hear on an almost daily basis. Those rare days when she does nap are a special treat for Andre and I.
On New Years Day we converted Emilie's crib to a toddler bed. The potty training had lead to what we referred to as "Poop Emergencies". All I will say was there was poopy pull ups being hurled out of the crib. I will leave the rest to your imaginations. After the first incident we started talking to her about changing her crib to a big girl bed. After the third emergency I took the front off. Surprisingly Emilie was all for it. She offered to get the screwdriver and hammer and help! From the first night she was excellent in what she now refers to as her "big girl crib". She will occasionally get out of her bed to play when she should be sleeping, but overall the transition has been great. Much better than we expected.
With all of these new firsts have come regressions. Some days she will speak in baby talk instead of using her big girl words. Others she wants to be with me everywhere I go. She will have weeks where instead of getting out of her big girl crib to use her little potty during nap time she will go in her pull up instead. Most of all this has meant cuddles. Lots and lots of cuddles. I guess every stage has a silver lining right?
Some days these regressions are hard, and add another struggle to our routine. Others I'm more than happy to put down whatever I'm doing and cuddle with my little girl.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Winter at home activities and December Kiwi Crate review
Quite recently we had a cold snap. Not as cold as some places in Canada (as us Ontarians were reminded over and over) but cold for us. For us this meant that if we didn't have to leave our nice warm house we just didn't. This also meant that on my day off I had to think of what I was going to do to keep little Miss Emilie and myself occupied for the entire day. Not so bad when she was consistently napping for at least an hour and half to two hours every afternoon, but harder on those more frequent days when she decides she doesn't need a nap (hahahaha).
It was so cold here (-40 with the windchill) that the condensation on the inside of our windows FROZE. Craziness.
This particularly arctic day just happened to be a day that Andre wasn't home during this split shift at work so it was just Emilie and I for the day. I decided that we would bake some cookies in the morning. I had done some cleaning and purging of our cupboards the week before and discovered a dry cookie mix that needed to be used up before it expired, so I thought Emilie and I could bake some cookies. She loves to help me bake, so she loved this activity.
Later that afternoon after her hour of calling for me repeatedly while telling me she's not tired nap, I decided to bust out December's Kiwi Crate. After talking to a friend about how she liked Kiwi Crate with her kids, I decided to bite the bullet and get a 6 month subscription for Emilie back in October. We have loved it so far, but this month proved to be a little "old" for Emilie. I knew that this was bound to happen since all of the activities are for ages 3+, but we had lucked out with the previous two boxes.
The theme of this month was "Polar Expedition". For anyone that has never heard of Kiwi Crate before it is a subscription box that is delivered to your home every month filled with 2 crafts with a theme every month. All of the crafts come with everything that you need. You do not need to purchase anything. I love this since I get to do something fun with Emilie but do not need to think of anything!
The first activity in the box was a ball toss game. Emilie wanted nothing to do with sewing up the mittens even though she had been getting some practice with her animal boards lately. So I ended up doing this. She did love putting all the velcro dots on the ball and making up the little "paws" on the mittens. This activity was definitely more Emilie friendly and she still plays with this almost two weeks later.
The second activity in the box was homemade window clings. I had received an e-mail from Kiwi Crate before getting the box in the mail so I knew that some other users had some issues with the materials for this craft. Even after being prepared with paper clips to unclog the paint and kneading the paint and glue before using them, the paint was still clogging repeatedly, and at one point the top popped off and paint went everywhere. I was not impressed. We did end up getting two clings complete though, one together, and one that I made on my own.
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| OURS |
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| MINE |
Two out of the last three boxes have come with a little "bonus" activity along with some ideas in their monthly magazine. This month was a little snowflake cookie cutter that she loves to use with her play dough.
Overall Decembers box was not my favourite, but Emilie still had a lot of fun working with all of the different materials and it was nice to have some new activities to do while we were home bound. I can't wait to see what surprises will be in our January box!
If you are thinking of making an order, you are welcome to use my referral code for $10 off your order:
http://www.kiwicrate.com/Refer?i=JennaM7
Saturday, January 4, 2014
New Year, New(ish) Projects!
With the beginning of a new year comes the motivation to get things done, a sense of I CAN DO IT. If you're anything like me, that quickly passes, you don't get anything done, and then six months later you kick yourself for not crossing anything off that ever growing to-do list.
Every year I promise myself that this new year will be different, and then a friend shared a link for another blog, Apartment Therapy . They are doing what they call "The January Cure". Basically every day during the month of January she assigns a project to complete to get the ball rolling on all those things that you were meaning to tackle during the month, and a few other more practical little things. It all started on January 2nd, so you still have time to sign up for yourself and have each daily assignment sent directly to your inbox! For the first assignment, and more information, you can go here.
The first assignment was an inventory of sorts of all the little things that you need to get done around the house. I'm ashamed to admit that my list was a page and a half long. It includes everything from touching up some trim paint, and hanging some pictures, to finally painting the basement stairway. All things that are totally doable. So after January is finished I have a whole list of things to work on this year. I can't wait to start crossing things off that list!
Every year I promise myself that this new year will be different, and then a friend shared a link for another blog, Apartment Therapy . They are doing what they call "The January Cure". Basically every day during the month of January she assigns a project to complete to get the ball rolling on all those things that you were meaning to tackle during the month, and a few other more practical little things. It all started on January 2nd, so you still have time to sign up for yourself and have each daily assignment sent directly to your inbox! For the first assignment, and more information, you can go here.
The first assignment was an inventory of sorts of all the little things that you need to get done around the house. I'm ashamed to admit that my list was a page and a half long. It includes everything from touching up some trim paint, and hanging some pictures, to finally painting the basement stairway. All things that are totally doable. So after January is finished I have a whole list of things to work on this year. I can't wait to start crossing things off that list!
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Recipe Time: Slowcooker Italian Herb Chicken
Anyone who knows me, knows that I love my slowcooker. It started out with necessity. When Andre and I were first married we were both working crazy hours, and evenings at work. If we wanted to eat before 9 or 10:00 at night we needed to figure out how to cook dinner (or at least part of it) before we got home. The slowcooker was the perfect solution for us.
Even now, Andre isn't home most nights until after 7, and half the time I'm not home long before he is. If we want to eat a real meal, and have something for Emilie to eat earlier, we need to cook it while we're at work.
This recipe started as a fluke. We were out grocery shopping and I needed a seasoning packet for my beef stew (yes, I cheat). I saw one for an Italian Herb Chicken. Add some chicken, a few simple ingredients, the packet and Ta Da! What more could you ask for? It soon became a favourite, but the seasoning packets are hard to find now, so I had to improvise with some seasonings at home one night. The result was delicious, and this recipe is still a favourite!
Slow Cooker Italian Herb Chicken
(adapted from Club House Packet Recipe)
Ingredients:
-thawed Chicken (I prefer boneless skinless, but you could also use chicken thighs or whatever you have in the house)
-one can of diced tomatoes (do not drain)
-one small can of tomato paste
-2 tbsp of Club House Italiano seasoning
-1 tsp of Club House Garlic Plus seasoning
You can adjust seasoning to taste, and could also substitute for whatever Italian seasonings you prefer.
-one half a red and green pepper chopped into chunks
-2 cups of thickly sliced mushrooms
(You can also use whatever vegetables you like instead of the mushrooms and peppers)
Chop the peppers, and mushrooms:
Even now, Andre isn't home most nights until after 7, and half the time I'm not home long before he is. If we want to eat a real meal, and have something for Emilie to eat earlier, we need to cook it while we're at work.
This recipe started as a fluke. We were out grocery shopping and I needed a seasoning packet for my beef stew (yes, I cheat). I saw one for an Italian Herb Chicken. Add some chicken, a few simple ingredients, the packet and Ta Da! What more could you ask for? It soon became a favourite, but the seasoning packets are hard to find now, so I had to improvise with some seasonings at home one night. The result was delicious, and this recipe is still a favourite!
Slow Cooker Italian Herb Chicken
(adapted from Club House Packet Recipe)
Ingredients:
-thawed Chicken (I prefer boneless skinless, but you could also use chicken thighs or whatever you have in the house)
-one can of diced tomatoes (do not drain)
-one small can of tomato paste
-2 tbsp of Club House Italiano seasoning
-1 tsp of Club House Garlic Plus seasoning
You can adjust seasoning to taste, and could also substitute for whatever Italian seasonings you prefer.
-one half a red and green pepper chopped into chunks
-2 cups of thickly sliced mushrooms
(You can also use whatever vegetables you like instead of the mushrooms and peppers)
Put your chicken in the bottom of your slow cooker:
In a mixing bowl, mix seasonings, tomatoes, and tomato paste:
Chop the peppers, and mushrooms:
Add the vegetables on top of the chicken:
Pour the sauce mixture over the vegetables:
Cover and cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 4-6 hours. This it looks like after 8 hours on Low:
You can serve this with roasted potatoes, or over pasta, or spaghetti squash. I prefer spaghetti squash:
Directions:
-Place chicken in the bottom of slow cooker.
-Mix tomatoes, tomato paste, and seasonings in mixing bowl.
-chop vegetables
-place vegetables over chicken in slow cooker and pour sauce mixture over vegetables.
-cover and cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 4-6 hours
-serve with roasted potatoes, or over pasta or spaghetti squash.
Enjoy!
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Changes are coming
Hello everyone!
Long time notalk type? I have decided that one of my New Years resolution was to blog more often. For real this time. So I thought that a change was in order.
First change: A new blog name. You will see that Our Little One is gone. Let's be honest a big part of this blog will still be Emilie. She is the centre of our life, and if you give me a minute I will talk your ear off about her latest adventure. I wanted this blog to be more than just Emilie. I wanted it to be about my LIFE. With the change to the title comes the.....
Second change: Different content! Now I will start this by saying there will be plenty about Emilie, but there will also be recipes, updates on changes to the house, products that I love (or not) and anything else that pops into my mind. I wanted this blog to be a little well rounded. It may just end up being an online journal of sorts that no one reads, and that is okay.
Third change: A new photo banner! I am currently in love with some professional photos that we had done this fall, and I really wanted to put them out there for everyone to see.
So there you have it, some of the changes in store!
Long time no
First change: A new blog name. You will see that Our Little One is gone. Let's be honest a big part of this blog will still be Emilie. She is the centre of our life, and if you give me a minute I will talk your ear off about her latest adventure. I wanted this blog to be more than just Emilie. I wanted it to be about my LIFE. With the change to the title comes the.....
Second change: Different content! Now I will start this by saying there will be plenty about Emilie, but there will also be recipes, updates on changes to the house, products that I love (or not) and anything else that pops into my mind. I wanted this blog to be a little well rounded. It may just end up being an online journal of sorts that no one reads, and that is okay.
Third change: A new photo banner! I am currently in love with some professional photos that we had done this fall, and I really wanted to put them out there for everyone to see.
So there you have it, some of the changes in store!
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Weekly photo dump
As I mentioned in my previous entry, I tend to take the majority of our pictures on my phone. It's just so convenient. So here are a small collection of the pictures I have taken over the last few weeks.
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