Work, New Boots, & A Positive Change in Behaviour

It's been a while since I last posted, in fact I can't even remember when that was.  Two weeks ago, maybe? I've just been so busy with other things...and then when night rolls around and the little one is either going to sleep with hubby or already fast asleep, I am too tired to move my bottom off the couch to write a post.  I can't even bring my laptop with me.  The battery charger is busted, so it sits at a docking station all day in the basement at 0% battery.  I can only use it when I'm at my desk, which is where I sit right now.

And am I tired? Absolutely yes.  I picked up an extra shift these last two weeks to cover a colleague on vacation.  I am so, so ready to get back to normal scheduling next week.  I really take for granted having a day off in the week, but I realize how needed it is for everything: for getting those little errands done that you don't want to do as a family, or need to do as a family; for taking care of piled up laundry that piles up if you don't get to it during the week; for having a break and shopping at some of my favourite home stores that you don't want to take the family to because all they'll do is rush you or complain; and for a much needed mental rest.

This morning we woke up to dreary, rainy weather, and just when you thought it was going to last all day, the sun actually poked through the clouds for a decently warm afternoon.  Fast forward though to 3 pm and we had a hail storm, just as I was about to get into my car and drive to the school.  I can never get a break.  Lexis has these really old pair of rubber boots, size 13.  But she's not a size 13, she's a size 2 - 3.  Though I wanted to protect her feet from the wet weather, when I saw that she couldn't pull them up to get her feet inside all the way, I asked her to change into normal sneakers and "stay out of the puddles".  No, she insisted on wearing them anyway, so I think she mostly walked in a heel in her boots at recess.  Crazy kid.  I told her I was getting her with the car so that we could go to Walmart for a new pair of boots.  I searched there for months without any luck, but hoped they would get in new stock, and thank the heavens they did and we finally found a new pair of rain boots! Size 3! (so she can wear them in the Spring too).

Lexis has always had a strong personality, but I have to say that as an almost 6 year old girl, I am proud of the person she is becoming.  It hasn't been easy raising her, let me tell you.  Age 5 has been one of the hardest ages to endure.  If you thought the terrible two's were something, it can get worse.  She definitely went through the terrifying three's and frightening four's, and if those aren't things, then I just made them up! The five's have been...all of those things combined.  Sorry to scare any new moms out there that are not quite there yet.  BUT, here's what I've noticed in the last two or so weeks.  She has actually shown some real improvement in her behaviour.  When I say that, the lashing out at you for no apparent reason has magically subsided; the compromising and understanding that you can't always get what you want has been progressing real well; and the overall showing of kindness and helpfulness around the house has also been happening.  Is it going back to school that did this to her? Like what changed? Is it growing up? Like is there really this difference between an age 5 versus age 6 child? I want to know! And how can we as parents help to keep this up?! I see light at the end of tunnel! Ha-ha.  

While that's all great, we still need to improve on bedtimes. Sigh.  That's for another blog...

Morning Tears, Barbies and an Ariel Party

It's the second week into school, and Lexis is still under the weather.  However, I've had to send her in every day, besides, unless she spikes a fever I would never pull her out.  Every day of learning counts.  But she's been doing the I don't want to go to school bit, and this morning was no exception.  

Even though I can still manage to get her there without much trouble, today at drop off the tears just started pouring down her face.  It broke my heart, but I didn't know what to do.  I couldn't help her.  I didn't understand it either, was it because she was still feeling ech, or was it more than that.  At the time she wasn't ready to talk, but just kept repeating, "I don't want to go to school..." Then I rushed to work.  Guilt all the way.

Lexis watches a lot of YouTube against my better judgement but the content varies here and there.  Lately, it's been a lot of cake making videos and she knows more about fondant than I do.  But this evening, she asked me for some balloons.  Then she grabbed one of her many Barbies.  Now, if you know where this is going, then you too have a child who has seen many a YouTube videos of this, but if not, I'll explain.  I don't know who the YouTuber is, and there is probably more than one, but one person out there has shared how to make pretty interesting Barbie outfits with balloons.  You have to cut the balloons in a certain way, then pull them over the Barbie's head or underneath from the bottom, and I've seen tube tops, dresses, headbands, and more and it's quite ingenious.  Not that I would want to play with latex.  It is better though than the outfit Lexis made with Play Doh several weeks ago.  That got messy.  Imagine now, a five year old making latex outfits for her Barbie.  Oh, the stuff they learn these days! In my days, there was no YouTube, but I think I would have just been pretty content with the store bought outfits? That's the difference between her and me.

As you know we went to Party City over the weekend to check out some birthday party ideas.  Lexis decided on mermaids, that eventually turned into the ultimate mermaid: Ariel.  The thing is though, this party came on very quickly and unexpectedly because I was under impression that we were still planning to do the theatre party at the end of October, giving me a lot more time and obviously out of the house! None of her friends had done one before, so I was really excited to be the first one, and looking forward to a change in the normal kids party scene and showing them all a good time.  Turns out, there's only one PG movie playing around that time and she showed no interest in it at all.  In fact she downright said: "No." That would have been an easy party for me.  Sigh.  I've never had it easy when it comes to parties.  They've always been at the house.  They've always been chaotic, with flying candy, and dirty wet shoes, and crumbling homemade play dough with little star confetti under the beds.  This party will be at the house again, in less than a month!

And did I mention that I still have to design the invitation?

A New Blog, Halloweeny Things, and Gilmore Girls

This is my new blog. 

Last week, I read Lauren Graham's Talking as Fast as I Can.  I could have finished it all in one night, but at some point I had to go to sleep.  If you haven't read it, or even if you have, I'm not about to go into the details of the book, but I will comment that her writing style had me completely hooked.  

In my opinion, it's all about how a book is written.  It's all about style.  If I don't like the style, I don't read the words.  Her style made me never want to put the book down, and her style is kind of exactly how I write, or at least how the words always sounded in my head, and what made me want to start this blog.  Crazy, right? Who knew a book would have such a powerful effect.

Also, I would have never picked up a book written by an actor, any actor, because biographies aren't really my thing.  BUT, I'm a die hard, yes, die hard Gilmore Girls fan, not a groupie, and that woman is a complete goddess.  Plus, Chapters had it on sale for $8.

Lexis had been feeling a little better by Saturday morning.  Rain was in the forecast, and because she wasn't feeling great, just better, we cancelled our original plans that involved spending quite a bit of time outdoors.  So, in the morning, we headed up to Michaels (north, that is).  Actually, we were going to Party City to look at birthday party themes for her, but we stopped into Michaels afterwards because I needed some double-sided tape.  Hubby had expressed interest for some time in making this the first Halloween that we decorate the outdoors with "scarier" things, going beyond my usual pumpkins and chrysanthemums from Costco.  I was cool with that when I found out that Michaels was having a BOGO sale! We scored a three-foot skeleton to hang from the porch, a three-foot ghost to stake in the dirt, webbing, and a spider that's apparently mechanical but I haven't seen what it does yet.  In the next week or two, we'll go back to Party City for some grave stones (and birthday party things).

Back to Gilmore Girls, I haven't restarted the series on Netflix in about three months.  That's crazy long for me.  Now that I've read the book, I want to watch it again because it's shed so much light on the person that Lauren is.  Like what? Who knew that she moved three times in the first few years of her life or grew up without her biological mother.  Shoot, I am going into details now.

The Lukeisms are my favourite, and frankly, without a Luke, the show it would not make.  Did I say that right? But I can go on for hours on some of my favourite lines, so here are just a few...

"You cannot gather here...you cannot gather here...you cannot gather here."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure you do.  You know what, Kirk? Go ahead.  Sue me.  Crash into my diner, make me lose a week's business, make me pay for the repairs, and then sue me for damages - for brain damages! That sounds fair!"

"Jess, are you a gigolo?!"

Lorelai had some good ones too, but that my friends, will be another rambling when I start the series again for the 9th time...

A Sick Kid, 80's Videos, and Logic Problems

Let me start by saying that I have horrible penmanship.  Also, if I write for too long, I develop a semi-painful, uncomfortable cramping in my right hand.  In November, I'm due to see a specialist who is testing the muscles in both of my hands for strength.  When I went to my family doctor about it over the summer break, he asked me these questions: do you feel any pain? No.  Do you feel any numbness or tingling? Not really.  If I sleep on them weird, then yes.  Immediately he ruled out carpel tunnel, but are you sure? It's not crazy to think that I would ever have it because it does runs in my family.  And why do I have to wait until November?

I am a mom living with my little family of three in the suburbs.  My husband is a commuter, but I'm happy to say that I'm not anymore.  I can get to work in about fifteen minutes, but if I stop for a Timmies, and let's be honest I do every time, I need a few extra minutes depending on the drive thru traffic that morning.  My little one, who isn't so little anymore, is attending grade one in a Catholic school.  In just her third day in, she came home with the inaugural cold.  It came a whole week earlier than last year.  I had run out of all the relief medicine in the house that I had for her.  The pharmacy wouldn't open until 9 am the next morning, after I would take her to school.  But if I had known just how terrible she was feeling (the real onset came in over night), I would have rushed out that evening.  The Food Basics around here can give me the creeps, but their pharmacy is cheap.  

Last night, she went to bed early.  A seven o'clock bedtime is early in this household, although hubby and I wish she would do it more often.  We didn't know what to do with ourselves.  But I decided that since my body was still feeling a little sore from the weights that I lifted the night before (er 10 pounders, but it had been some months since I picked them up), I was going to take it easy and have a lazy couch potato type of evening.  Well needed, well deserved sometimes, I think.  Do I want read a book? Watch TV? I wasn't feeling any of those options yet, so I picked up my giant book of puzzles and opened it to the first logic problem that I saw.  Don't mock my nerdness.  If I concentrate really hard, I can, cross my fingers, successfully complete a logic problem from start to finish in about half an hour.  With TV in the background, maybe forty-five minutes.  But this particular logic problem here - what the - you just have to see it for yourself: "The diner who ordered the trout ate the food ordered by the person who had the chicken.  The person who ordered the spaghetti with meat sauce, who was not Lou, ended up with the trout." I have never in my life (I think) reread a line (or two) in my head, then eventually out loud, as many times as I did and I still couldn't get it! Trust me if you're already this stumped on the very first clue of a logic problem, it ain't looking good for the rest of it.  Let's just say it got put aside, for now...

I had been listening to the same old songs on my Spotify on the drive to and from work.  I have a playlist for 90's hits, alternative rock, and new wave.  LOVE new wave.  New wave is one of those genres that the songs just never get tired.  There's nothing about them that can ever be offensive, or rude, or someone can say, what is this s***? I mean, unless you're really just like what is the s***, and then I would respond, what is wrong with you? I like a song best if I can sing the lyrics, but my singing voice isn't something that I brag about.  So, logic problem now out of my mind, I sat there and downloaded a few new songs...Oasis, Collective Soul, Our Lady of Peace.  Wait, these aren't 80's new wave bands! No, but in my mind I remembered that time last week when we came across a channel on TV that showed Retro videos.  My hubby decided to record the segment on the PVR after I commented that we should show this to Lexis (I've left my daughter's real name out for privacy protection and will be referring to her as this from here on out).  This will give her a real look at what our lives were like.  I mean, it's all in the videos, right? I asked him to check if there was one for 90's hits, and low and behold we had just caught the last few seconds of Offspring's Pretty Fly for White Guy.  LOVE IT.  What a trip down memory lane.  Did I add that one to my Spotify right after? Yeah.  Then he remembered he PVR'd the 80's video segment and we spent the next two hours with me pulling up the lyrics on my iPhone of the songs I didn't know so well and horribly singing them in a lower voice not to wake up the sleeping sickly child who was in her bed above us.

Last night rocked.