Toddlers and Twenty-Something Year Olds

They say that toddlers and teenagers go through similar emotional development...but after having dinner with some friends last night I think that working-single-twenty-something people can be included in this comparison as well.

Let me first start with sharing that we had a meeting with the director at Isa's day care to talk about her up coming transition to the Toddler Room. For those of you who have gone through this transition you know that it is a big deal. It can be a very stressful time for both parents and child as both get used to the new faces and new routines. I will be honest and say that I am probably less prepared than Isa is, I am not ready to accept that she will be turning into a toddler, I still want to keep her a baby.

We have no idea how she will react to the move, they have been taking her over to 'visit' the toddler room and to be introduced to the teachers and the children, and the good thing is that she will see some familiar faces since many of her friends from the infant room are there now. Her teachers tell me that she loves to go over and play with the toys but this surprises no one as they are new and very fun toys, so who would not love to visit.

So yesterday we discussed how the transition will work and some of the things that is expected of us. We will be given a list of how we can help her become more 'independent'. It is expected that she will be working towards being able to put on her own jacket (I have no idea how I am going to accomplish this), put on her own shoes, eat everything by herself (including soup), sit at a table, and sleep on a cot. I have to be honest and say that I have no idea how this will be done but it will be. I think that she will get a lot of help from her little friends...they tell me that peer pressure is a powerful tool at day care.

Though I am not ready to see my baby change rooms, I am very ready to pay toddler prices. It will be a very welcomed relief to the budget. I already know what I will be spending the extra $200/month...paying down debt.

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Now to my dinner with friends...I met up with some co-workers of a good friend of mine to celebrate Chinese New Year. We went to china town for a "traditional" Chinese dinner.

Now this story is not about the dinner and whether it was authentic or not. It is more about how the co-workers interacted with each other. Let me give you a little background information. Before Isa was born, I had a group of friends at work with whom I would have lunch with every day, go out after work for drinks and go clubbing on Saturday with every once in a while. We would do a lot of things together and would joke and make fun and sometimes throw insults at each other for fun.

All of these friends have now left the company that I am working at and so when I returned to work I did not have anyone with whom I can have that same relationship. Not only that, but I have to leave everyday at 4:30 to pick up my daughter. I am a very different person now, and I was a little shocked that I felt that the way the group was acting last night was extremely childish and annoying. I can't believe that I felt that way, I told me husband and he told me that I just did not have the same cool people at work to hang out with, but this is not the point. The point is that I know that I am pass that, I don't need to act like that, that kind of behaviour is for teenagers or early-twenty-something.

Am I wrong in thinking this way...could I have become boring and stuck-up? I don't know...a little part of me misses my old friendships but there are just so many more wonderful things now that I am a mom and my responsibilities have changed. I love the amazing people that I have met because I am a mom.

There are times when I feel old at 28.

It's Monday...Noooooooo

I hate Mondays...mostly because I have to go back to work and be away from Isa. But what I hate the most is that it is snowing today. Now don't get me wrong I used to love snow and in fact I love snow on the weekends when I am home and can choose whether I would like to go outside and deal with it or not. But on the weekdays I have no choice, no matter what I have to go and get my pants filthy and I have to attempt to push a stroller with a 25 pound baby in it.

This is what I hate...I loath that most of the time I am the one plowing the sidewalk with the stroller because the city has not been out to clear them. On one occasion I left the stroller at the daycare and carried Isa, needless to say my back has not been the same since.

I am hoping that since it snowed last night that the city people will have gone and cleaned up the side walk by the time I pick up Isa. crossing finders.

Enough ranting...lets move on. What a nice weekend I had, I have to say that I was very productive, I did three loads of laundry (but folded nothing), vacuumed, cleaned the floors, did some grocery shopping and made two batches of rice pudding. One on Saturday and one on Sunday,the first one was not very good as I put in a tablespoon of salt, when it called for a teaspoon. In my defence the recipe was in Spanish and I was not 100% sure what 1 crdt meant. I also got Isa to have fish for both lunches, which makes me happy because fish can be so good for her and she is so darn picky.

You may be wondering where the Husband was this weekend. Well he was at home but he has been very busy getting the store front of our website off the ground and ready for testing, that we agreed that I would be responsible for house and baby for now and then when it is my turn to work on the business he will take over. I am so looking forward to having more help soon, thought I should not complain too much as Isa is a great baby and is very independent and very well behaved. What I am tired off are all the house chores that I have to do on my own.

Soon the store will be up and I will be busy with that...can't wait!

Back to the weekend...Isa had a great time on Saturday walking to the grocery store on Bloor West. The day was just amazing, it was sunny and not too cold, the air was nice and crisp and people were out and doing their thing. It is days like that that I am so happy that I live on Bloor West because I just love going for a stroll with her, Isa absolutely loves it. She loves looking at the people, the dogs and kids. She loves checking out the buildings and cars. Her face lights up when she sees me taking out her big stroller because she knows that we will be going into the village.

I am grateful for Bloor West for helping me through my maternity leave, since I had no car and as we all know too well the TTC is not stroller friendly, I hung out close to home. I would take a walk every day for that year into the village going to get groceries, stopping at the Chapters and getting caught up on the "trashy" magazines, going to the library or meeting up with my mom friends at the Second Cup. I love the Village and I love all the people that I have met, which means that it will be very hard to try to look for a house anywhere else, meaning that I have better start playing the lottery in hopes of winning money to be able to afford a house there.

Last night I made dinner for us and we had nice wine and my rice pudding and sat down to watch both the Oscars and Heros. I have to say that I am not a big fan of Ellen DeGeneres so I did not really pay that much attention to the Oscars, but Heros was fantastic.

All and all a great weekend, can't wait for Friday.

Fight Like A Girl

This statement can mean many different things and in my case it means that I don't fight at all. I am extremely non-confrontational, this means that I tend to avoid conflict as much as possible. It is my character flaw if you will.

This is the mode that I went into yesterday, I was very upset about something and instead of saying right then and there how I felt I kept quiet. This morning as I was coming in to work I realized that I had done it. I had not said anything and because of that I was angry and hurt.

The problem that I have is that at the moment that something happens I shut down and then when I am ready to talk about the issue, some time has gone by and it is no longer as important, so I put it aside. I tell myself that I was probably over reacting and that I should just move on. But then something else would happen and still I would not say anything, until one day I would just explode. My Husband now knows how to distinguish the signs of when I am upset and drags it out of me but I think that it is very important for me to bring up the issue or the problem.

And so I have done it, I have spoken up about how I felt yesterday and I have to tell you, I feel great. I will try to not take the hurt feelings to bed with me anymore.

I will listen to my mother who said...Never go to bed angry. Words of wisdom.

Shopping Anyone?

I just got back from a shopping excursion where I was not able to spend two hundred dollars worth of free money.

Let me elaborate...

My husband won a very generous $200 gift certificate to Mountain Equipment Co-op and since I have been complaining to him that I have no warm winter coat (nothing that can handle the -30 C) he gave it to me to go and find myself something warm.

Now, I am a girl that likes to shop at such stores as Zara, Jacob, Club Monaco, etc...I am not a very casually dressed person and certainly not sporty or outdoorsy in any way. But I had hopes that I could buy a nice zipped up sweater to layer under my coat in a very nice dark colour. So I headed over to MEC to see what they had...after all I had $200, what girl can't spend that kind of cash?

So I walk into the store and I see that things are arranged by categories such as Biking, Hiking, Running, Climbing and so on. My first thought was shit, I am in big trouble...I don't do any of these things where am I going to find a simple sweater. Then on the second floor I spot a sign that says Women's Apparel.BINGO.

I head over and start scanning the racks...there are lots of sweater...all kinds of sweaters...sweaters of different colours, styles, fabrics, and absorbency level. My first reaction is UGLY and FREAKING EXPENSIVE. There was this plain sweater made with some kind of patent pending material for $175...can you believe that? I mean for that kind of cash I should be able to get a whole freaking coat at this time of the year. I am very disappointed by the selection but decide to look at every single rack to see if I can find something to buy.

As I am going up and down the racks I think about what I could use...what do I need...work-out clothes is something I need. So I search for pants and shirts, but either things are just too expensive for a t-shirt ($75) or they did not have my size, or it was just not the right thing to work out in an indoor gym (long sleeved shirt).

I move away from looking for a work-out outfit...what else could I use? I know plain shirts. I spot some nice long-sleeved cotton shirts that I could wear under my sweaters. Score, there is a nice white one in my size for $14, this is a good price so I take it. Then I spot the sales rack and see if I can find something interesting. I see a nice hot pink sweater for $35 that looks like nothing that I own. So I take it...after all, why not. But I just can't find anything else that I like and I have very little time left, so I took those two item and went to pay.

Then, I remembered that I have to buy a freaking membership to this place, thankfully it is only $5 but still now I have $5 dollars less to spend on stuff that I don't like. Oh well, maybe the husband will find something nice or I can give it a couple of weeks and try again. After all I am a lifetime member of this place.

La Familia

Ahh a new week...what a busy weekend we had. I have to say that I don't feel rested at all, we had my husband's family (mother, stepdad, sister) in from Ottawa. My MIL was dying to see Isa and was besides herself with glee when she did. Isa was a little freaked out because here was this woman freaking out in front of her, it took her a few minutes to go to her grandmother.

I don't think that I have said anything about my MIL or about our relationship. To be honest we have a great relationship, we have many many things in common such as reading, eating good food, good wine/beer, and lounging around. She knows me very well and we have always understood each other, she has been there for me as a second mother after my mom moved back to Nicaragua. I am very happy to have such a good relationship with her and I love visiting them in their beautiful ski lodge style home in a small town called Wakefield, Quebec.

Before Isa was born I would go there to totally unplug from my everyday life, I would spend hours outside on the balcony among the trees reading a good book and drinking a nice cold beer. In the winter months I would spend those same hours lying on the couch in the living room reading or talking with her about what was new. Always with a beer, a glass of wine or a nice cup of tea.

Now with Isa things have changed, I no longer have hours to read instead we all watch Isa play or chase the three cats around the house hopping to get one of them. We spend time cooking and talking about what has been going on and how Isa has been doing and stuff. My MIL is the best cook...the woman can cook anything, when we go there I come back 10 pounds heavier because I can't stop eating and once Isa is in bed, drinking.

Back to this weekend...the family was here to celebrate my MIL's sister-in-law's 40th wedding anniversary and they had a big party at this beautiful reception hall with about 60 of their closest friends and family. Needless to say Isa was the star of the party, she used her powers of cuteness to charm everyone. I was so proud of her because she was not overwhelmed by the amount of people and she agreed to play with my young sister-in-law and let me have nice conversations with all the other family members.

My heart would swell when she would scan the crowd of people and spot me and her little face would light up and she would come running to me and nothing and no one could stand in her way of getting to me, It is so amazing to know that you mean so much to someone.
It was a very busy weekend but it was very nice to see the family and to get caught up. Now I am off to be productive.

F.Y.I Fridays

This is the second edition of F.Y.I. Fridays here at the Baby Thoughts blog. For this post I would like to share a children's gently used clothing store that was recommended to me.

The business is called Kaleidoscope and they have great gently used children's clothing. In fact, I have stopped by their Roncensville location and purchased quite a few items for Isa. All the items are washed and have no stains, holes or missing pieces such as buttons. The staff is very nice and will show you where things are. Also if they have new stuff that they have not put out for display they may let you go through it and you can have first dibs.

As they say, they only have name brand clothing and many things have not even been worn. They have some great selection of seasonal things so that if you have a little one and are looking for some winter or summer clothing that you know they might grow out off quickly this place might be a good place to check out.

Happy Shopping.

El Dia De Los Enamorados

The husband and I had a very nice and quiet valentine's day yesterday and after our meal and good quality TV time we started talking about our day at work. Now, normally this is just a short conversation about how long and boring it was( at least on my part, my husband likes his work) but instead it was a real conversation about what is going on in our respective projects, how I have been given more opportunities to lead some meetings and him giving me suggestions on how I can really knock the socks off them.

After we had finished talking about our work, we moved on to our other favourite topic, ISA. We talked about all the cute things she did today, how she ate all her dinner by herself, how she played nicely with her toys, cuddled with Mommy, walked over to the tub when it was time for bath and agreed to go to bed for 6:30 because both Mommy and Daddy were a little tired and wanted to take a short nap.

It was a great Valentine's Day, very much like New Years, were we also stayed home and had a great dinner, some very good wine and the best conversations. This to me is the best way to spend a romantic evening with the one you love. There really is no need for expensive gifts and a big bouquet of flowers. Though diamonds are always welcome;)

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day with the ones they love.

Obsevations of a Bored Subway Rider

This post is about random thoughts and opinions...it is not very politically correct so if you are a touchy person you might not want to keep reading.

(first observation has been removed...I really don't want to offend anyone who may be reading the blog)

I start to scan the crowd in the subway car for something else to occupy my time. And there sitting all pretty is this very good looking girl wearing 3 inch stiletto black pumps.

Now, normally this is not a big deal, after all just because I can't wear the things does not mean that I can't appreciate those who can. But on the day that they are predicting 15 cm of snow to fall this afternoon, this might not be the best footwear to have on. I don't get it...is there an underground parking lot attached to a subway station that I don't know about? Because even if you do drive to the station you still have to trek to your car in 15 cm of snow. So what's up?

I was a little jealous because I cannot and will not be able to wear such high and thin heeled shoes. The highest I go is 1.5 inches and this is even a little too high for moi. And now with having to go and pick up Isa and having to lug the stroller down a flight of stairs with baby strapped in I tend to wear flat shoes as it is safer for everyone.

These were my two observations on the way to work, there sure are some very interesting people on the subway every day.

El Laberinto del Fauno

My friend Winni and I went to see Pan's Labyrinth on Saturday...I have to say that the movie was great but it scared the hibbi yibbies out of us.

Though it is not a scary movie per se, it has many parts that required me to close my eyes because they were just too "intense". I guess that I could say that there are parts in the movie that are very gruesome and violent.

It is much darker than I had anticipated...though I really knew nothing about the movie going in except that it had received some good reviews and that it had won some sort of award. The acting was amazing, the "creatures" were incredible and very well done and the whole feel of the movie was realistic. You can check out some reviews at Metacritic .

I also LOVED the fact that it was in Spanish and after a couple of minutes I was able to sit back and enjoy the movie without having to read the subtitles.

All in all it was a very good movie to use an extremely boring adjective. Check it out if you like the scary stuff though you might not want to go and see the late show...you will have a hard time falling asleep afterwards.

F.Y.I. Fridays

I have decided that on Friday's I will share with you something interesting that I have come across. This Friday I am going to share something about myself, Her Bad Mother sent out an Internet wide meme on 8 Wacky and Weird things about you and I have decided to attempt this meme.

It took a 45 minute subway ride yesterday to think of 8 wacky and weird things about me, but I think that I have come up with some good ones.

Here it goes...

1- I like to put lemon on my eggs and salt on my oranges and mangos. The lemon on eggs is a family thing, I learned it from my dad. The salt thing on oranges I learned from my nanny when I was very young. Sounds gross but it tastes great...you should give it a try.

2- I came face to face with a Boa Constrictor. Yes you read correctly...a boa...I was about 5 years old and the snake was hanging out on my swings. The only reason why I am still alive is because it had already fed and was digesting. Needless to say I had nightmares for years. And yes, I did grow up right next to the jungle just in case you are wondering.

3- I have very weird pet names for loved ones. I have this habit of giving those I care about "terms of endearments". They are very weird names, such as "llorona" for my mother which means cry-baby I call her this because she always complains about things. So disrespectful you would think but that is what I call her in private. In public I call her mother which is another term of endearment. You have no idea how many I have for Isa...pretty much one for every month that she has been alive.

4- I played with Barbies until I was 13 years old. I know that this is going to send some people running away from my blog, but I have to admit that I did play with Barbies and that I loved it. They were my friends when I moved to Canada and had very little friends at school because I knew zero English. It was also a way for me to slow down the process of growing up, because I loved being a kid and did not want to be a teenager. I hope that my Isa enjoys playing with toys as much as I did, I had so much fun with my dolls.

5- I shot a hunting rifle. Needless to say this is very weird given number 4. But it is true, I went hunting a la English aristocracy the summer before Isa was born. My prey was an 8 cm diameter clay disc, I got it once but missed the second time. It was one of the coolest experience ever and I have to say those suckers are heavy. I could barely lift the thing let alone try to aim at a moving object.

6- I have "fluffy" toes. Okay don't get grossed out when I say that I have hair on my toes...but I do. I inherited my father's hairy genes and I get a couple of hairs on my toes. I also get some on my fingers but much lighter.

7- I really can't do math. The funny thing is that my title has the word "accountant" in it. Now that is funny...but don't worry, like everyone I have no opportunity of screwing up, they leave that up to the computer programs.

8- I like to bite my hair. I feel weird telling you this because it is my dirty secrete that only my family knows about. But when I am stressed, bored, or concentrating I like to bite my hair.

There you go people, eight weird and wacky things about yours trully. I hope that I have not totaly sent you running for the hills...I really am quite normal...really.

Ooooh Gooody

I have just discovered that I can actually blog at work...I have to tell you that I can barely contain my excitement. You may be wondering what the fudge I am talking about. Well, because my work actually wants us to be productive and stuff like that they will not allow you to sign into Internet based email providers ie. gmail.

Now as we know and complain about, New Blogger now has us signing in using gmail. So I was not able to sign into Blogger to post entries. But somehow, I have no freaking clue how, I am able to log into my account and create this post...Hurray for me.

Now I can actually contribute more to my blog since I have more time at work to take 5 and quickly write something. All I have to do is think of something interesting to write about. I will have to work on that.

Okay I have to go and think hard on what to talk about.

Hush Little Baby

I have started a new bed time routine...one that I just absolutely love. In the past I would just put Isa in her crib give her her stuffed pig, place a blanket on her, give her a kiss and say goodnight as I closed the door.

Now, before I do all of this we have a few minutes of cuddling. I don't have to tell you how wonderful this is. She lies on my chest and we just hug each other. She has gotten so cuddly lately, she was never like that before. Before we would give her a hug and then she would like to be released, I guess it was because she had things to do and places to see, now she comes to us and asks for hugs.

This new routine gives me the one on one time with her that we both need, since now only get to see her for a couple of hours a day during the week, I can spend a few minutes holding her, stroking her hair and singing her lullabies. It reminds me of when she was just born and I would do this for what seams like hours to try to get her to sleep. I used to wish for the day that I would not have to do that and now I am returning to it, funny how life is.

Sweet dreams everyone.