lifepassedby.com » sign language

One winter’s day

kasper — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 03:53:42 +0000

Yesterday was one of those lazy days where it’s so hard to get off the couch. Monday for us is the equivalent of Sunday because hubby has Sunday/Monday off. At noon my Dad called and asked us to go out for lunch. I agreed but told him that we’d be ready around one since hubby still needed to get a shower. My Dad was surprised that we’d need so much time since he also needed to shower before leaving the house, but that’s the slow man I married. I knew that it might take a bit of arm twisting to get hubby to agree to lunch. As expected, he wasn’t impressed and even said “How rude, you can’t make plans for me!” at which point I laughed and jumped in his lap mocking him. He knew he wasn’t going to win this fight so off he went to get a shower. In the time it took for hubby to do whatever it is he does pre-shower, then shower, I managed to get myself dressed and baby D changed, dressed and fed. When it was all said and done we didn’t get out the door till after 1:30! The clichÃ© about women taking forever to get ready really applies to the man of the house around here. After throwing restaurant names around a bit we finally decided to go to East Side Mario’s.

During lunch I couldn’t help but watch baby D. I’m so thankful that he’s so good. He just sat there in his carrier happily playing with a toy and eventually even fell asleep. I really do realize how lucky I am that he’s as good as he is. I certainly can’t expect that a second child would be so good (but I can still hope). He really isn’t a problem while we’re out. I’ve even had people comment on how good he is. Like when we were out with the real estate agents before we bought the house. We would be out looking at houses for between 2-4 hours and he wouldn’t cry or anything. We’d drag him from house to house and most of the time he’d just fall asleep. My little angel!

So after lunch we went to check out a daycare center. Their ad boasted security cards for parents and teachers with a knowledge of sign language so I had to have a look at it. When we got there I was almost ready to give up on the place as I didn’t see a playground. That is until I looked up. The center is on the second floor of a plaza and the playground is up there too. Talk about security! I really like that idea. So hubby and I went inside after a mom held the door for us on her way out. Once inside and heading up the stairs I felt like we shouldn’t be there, and then remembered the passcards. Luckily a staff member escorting 2 little girls up the stairs came along and I apologized for getting in without buzzing first but was looking for some information. We were ushered in to meet the director who was very nice and took us on a tour around the center. The place looked really good and all the staff seemed really nice and friendly. We talked a bit more in her office after the tour and she nicely stifled her laugh as I told her when I wanted daycare for. Worst case scenario I need daycare for mid-March for an infant. Yes I know I’m an idiot! I’ve had nightmares ever since baby D was born about leaving him and going back to work. I really want to stay home with him, so looking for daycare goes against what I want. Now of course I’ve left it so long that I’m basically screwed. In fact the daycare is already booking infants for February 2009! Man did I miss the boat! There is a possibility of getting a toddler spot in August, so I guess we’ll just have to try to do everything possible to get there. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Here’s where we are right now. My maternity ends mid-April, so I’m expected to go back to work on April 14th. Because I work for the school board and they’ve cut us down from 12 months to 10 months/4 weeks (the entire school year, minus holidays, plus 2 weeks after school ends and 2 weeks before school starts) we now claim unemployment during the summer when we’re off. Therefore to get paid this summer I would have to count 600 hours back from the start of my summer which brings me to the week before March break to go back to work. What I’m really hoping for is to extend my unemployment, which apparently I can do with a doctor’s note stating that I am anxious about going back to work (no lie there!) or am still nursing (also true). If I do manage to extend my leave, then that would take me to the middle of July and I would have no money coming in for a month until I start work again mid-August. It would be tight to say the least, but we do have a bit of savings that we could use and hopefully hubby will either be at a better job or will be able to get enough overtime to get us through.

I was supposed to go to my baby sign language class this morning, but the weather was so yucky I decided not to. The class is about 25 minutes away on a good day and with the weather as snowy as it was it probably would’ve taken me close to an hour one way. Since the class is only 45 minutes long I didn’t see any point in spending that much time in traffic dealing with the commute. So instead me and the little guy took his new (to us anyway, it’s used) sled out for a test drive. Friends can see some pics on Flickr.

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Mum where’s my nap?

kasper — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 19:20:26 +0000

Thought I’d start with DasBecca’s “Big Fake Meme” because I found it so amusing.

1. What song did you discover most recently?
“Stephanie” by Grand:PM. I saw them on Breakfast Television and thought they were great. Give them a listen.
2. What three songs are making the most rounds in your iTunes?
I actually still use WMP (version 9 if you can believe that) instead of iTunes (don’t throw things I just don’t like change) “Franklin” by Paramore, “Pressure” by Paramore, and “Cold” by Crossfade.
3. What song makes you the most emotional?
“Because of You” by Kelly Clarkson. It always strikes a nerve whenever I hear it.
4. What’s the last movie you watched?
“Shrek the Third” Just a few minutes ago actually. I liked it better than the first 2. Great watch.
5. What do you waste time looking at online when you’re alone? PORN? It’s porn, isn’t it?
Er, um. NO. Seriously no. I mostly look up baby stuff lately. Neat gadgets and such. I love this stuff for instance: Boon.
6. What did you dream about last night?
Gladly nothing. I’ve been having pretty bad nightmares lately. I’m so stressed out about returning to work after having baby D, so some of them are with that regard. Some of them are just your average being chased by a psychopathic killer variety.
7. What’s up with all these ads?
I’m just trying them out for the moment. If I can make a couple of bucks while blogging then why not? Besides the canned theme had that section pre-made, so I figured I would fill it.
8. What’s your fondest hope for the next year?
That I can get over this absolute dread of putting baby D in daycare and of me going back to work.
9. What are you wearing right now?
My blue flannel pj pants and La Senza nightshirt. It’s lazy, but what’s the point in getting dressed if I’m not leaving the house?
10. How lame is this meme?
I quite enjoyed it actually. Thanks Becca!

So I’ve managed to add a few things around here and hope to add more stuff as I get time. I was pretty busy this week (as my life goes anyway). Tuesday morning me and baby D went to his second WeeHands class. I’ve been signing on and off to him since he was a few weeks old (mostly just the sign for milk) but thought that a more structured class may be helpful. Last week there were only three of us with our little ones, but this week there were 7 mums and babies. The little girl next to us was already crawling and crawled right over to baby D and was trying to touch his face. It was so cute.

Wednesday I took the little man to the doctor’s for his 9 month checkup. I stupidly thought he had to get another set of shots so I ended up drugging the poor kid only to find out that there would be no shots until 12 months. DUH! Oh well, the good news is that he’s put on quite a bit of weight. His weight has always been low so his father especially has been worried. I just figured (like the doctor) that every kid is different and he’s totally healthy and happy so what’s the problem? So he went from 6.9 kilos in December to 8 kilos. What a little porkchop!

Then yesterday (Thursday) my church mums group started up again. I met with them from September through November to do a parenting video series “Honor in the Home” by Gary Smalley and this time we’re doing “Bringing Up Boys” by James Dobson. I really enjoy getting together with other women, but have to admit that I have to push myself to do it. I’m just not a social person I find.

My only issue with my weehands class and with the parenting group is that they are both in the morning. When baby D and I are home (which is most of the time), then he is totally on a schedule and everything is great. But when I throw outings into the mix it messes everything up. He can’t eat when he usually eats or nap when he usually naps. In fact both Tuesday and Thursday he didn’t have his afternoon nap at all and was oh so cranky because of it. I think it’s important for us both to get out, so I’ll just have to deal with it, but it is frustrating.

So I’m expecting my mum to come down either tonight after dinner or tomorrow morning. She’s bringing the sled she bought for him, which will be useful if we ever get any snow. The house is in pretty good order, but I always tend to go overboard cleaning when I know someone is coming over, so I’m off to clean…

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