This and that: 1st Edition

Life is too crazy lately for my regular rambling, so I thought I'd update everyone in a quick bullety form.

• Thank you to everyone for their well wishes for my dad. He's recovering really well and got a good health check from the doctors earlier this week. It really was the best care scenario: his heart attack was big enough that it made both the doctors and my dad stand up and take notice, but not so much that it caused irreparable damage. Hopefully now that his arteries are all clear again, he'll be around for a long while to come!
• I got my first comment on this blog from someone who isn't a family member or good friend. I was filled with this wonderful feeling of connection and also a slight panic as I realized that my words are out there for anyone to read. It's a weird combination. I'm proud that people who don't know me find my musings interesting enough to read. And somehow it's easier to post to people I don't know and don't have to answer to. Lord knows Mama Mugs lets me know if I've stepped over any lines - and it goes way past a mere comment on here!
• We've finally finished our vegetable garden! It may have taken us two months to get it made, but now the fence is up, the soil is tilled and mixed with compost and I even have some veggies planted. All that we have left is to plant the celery and a few odd veggies...and I have to work at keeping everything alive. That's the real challenge!
• Hayden has become what we now call "Horrible Hayden." It seems that along with all the other milestones, he's entering the terrible two stage early. He has his daddy's quick temper. When you piss him off (which isn't hard to do) he will either throw himself to the floor and flail around while screaming like a banshee or with a very determined look, he'll wind up and smack you. This happens at least five times a day. Thank goodness he's so darn cute and has long periods of tender loveliness or I'd go crazy.
• My nephew turned two last weekend. That kid is going to be a rocket scientist. At two years old, he's talking in full sentences, making jokes and solving problems. He can sing the alphabet song and count to ten. I don't know what my sister feeds him, but I'll bet it's some sort of mental steroid. How else does a kid get that smart so young?!
• For said birthday, I made my little Gagers a little something special. I wrote and illustrated a book about his adventures with his dog and then made the t-shirt and cape that plays into the story. I was pretty darn proud of myself. Except when I tried to put the iron-on letter on the shirt and screwed up twice and then had to buy another shirt and a whole new pack of transfer sheets and start all over again. Argh.
• Storms here suck! I'm so used to the mild pitter-patter rain storms we'd have in Ottawa. Now I'm in southern Ontario where every time a drop of rain falls, they issue a tornado warning.
• I love spray-on sunscreen! I bought some of that continuous spray stuff and don't think I'll ever go back to the sloppy goo of regular sunscreen. This stuff is so fast to apply that even Horrible Hayden doesn't have time to complain before I'm done. Plus I can get the weird crevices easily (like when he ventures stark naked into the yard...don't want his little member getting sunburned!).

Happy mother's day!

Happy mother's day everyone! I hope that your weekend was as fabulous as mine. For me, this felt like the best mother's day yet. My first one was last year and we had moved from Ottawa to Cambridge only weeks before. Our lives were so disheveled that I don't remember much of it aside from a gorgeous hand print Adam helped Hayden to make. This year, Hayden's school helped him to make two beautiful cards and a little pot of ivy. And daddy helped him to make another gorgeous card on Sunday morning.

On Saturday my in-laws came over and brought us their old pool and gazebo. My mother in law and I went to the grocery store before lunch. She's a wanderer. Every time I'd turn around she was gone. I don't know how many times I'd be in the middle of a story only to find out that I was talking to myself. It was sort of like shopping with Hayden but less panicky.

After the in-laws left we went and found some plants for the front yard. For under $100 we bought a lilac bush, two trays of chicks and hens, some forget me not seeds (my favourite flower), two blueberry bushes (Hayden eats them like candy), and a nice hanging basket. Back at home, Hayden and I transported rocks from the backyard while Adam dug up the sorry looking grass and made me a garden. Hayden absolutely hated the wheelbarrow rides! Every time I'd plunk him in (I didn't have much choice with him being a runner), he'd scream like a banshee! Anyhow, back to the story. We lined our new front garden with the big, round stones that seem to pop up everywhere. It looks very neat and natural. (photos to come) Oh and while we're on gardening - my ferns (that my lovely neighbour gave us) are starting to sprout under our big maple tree. I think our front yard is going to look spectacular! Seems I have a green thumb after all!

On mother's day morning, I woke Hayden up at 8:00. I know, I know, I'm crazy to wake a sleeping baby, but I wanted to spend my special day with my little heartsong. We had a yummy pancake and bacon breakfast courtesy of daddy. Then he gave me my mother's day present: a DVD of Hayden's birth! Hayden is a year and a half old and I've never seen it! I could never find the right tape and if I ever did, I couldn't find the cords to attach the camera to the TV. Now I can easily watch it over and over again. It was such a wonderful gift and I found myself biting back tears watching the doctor place him on my chest for the first time. He was so tiny and floppy and perfect. And oh his little cry. It made my ovaries (briefly) ache for another one!

Adam ended my wonderful mother's day with a sushi dinner. My absolute favourite food that I don't get to indulge in very often. I've finally found a great sushi joint too. We've been trying different restaurants around town and stumbled upon a tiny little place called California Sushi. Normally I'm wary of unknown sushi joints, but we bit the bullet and went for it. The sushi was the best I've had since I left Ottawa, it was cheap, the service was friendly and fast, and they even wrote a mother's day message on my take-away box! A great way to end the day.

So to all of you mamas out there - Happy Mother's Day! I hope that your children and husbands were as thoughtful and spoiling as mine.

Drive-by bullets

• In developing our vegetable garden, we dug up an old family pet. (Note: this was not our pet, but one left behind by previous owners!) So gross. The smell was indescribable. Sorry to fluffy for disturbing your resting place. And to his owners - bury your animals more than a foot in the ground please! And not in the middle of the yard!
• We are burning out. Adam is working insane hours to keep up with the number of clients, I am trying to lead three major projects at work and we're both trying to tidy up and renovate our house and garden with every spare minute. Too much. Note to self: Must have more down time.
• I love our neighbours. They've been so helpful and friendly. This weekend we learned that the neighbours who abut our driveway are going to put in a small retaining wall along the edge to finish it! Wonderful! One less bill to worry about.
• Little boys love to get dirty almost as much as they love getting clean. Hayden has gone from having 3 baths a week to having one every night. Partially out of need, partially out of desire!
• I have the weirdest dreams. So real, so bizarre, so random. I could make a whole post on the rantings of my unconscious mind.
• I love my husband. Last night, despite the fact that we were both exhausted and dirty, he convinced me to have a very romantic evening. At first I was reluctant, but now I'm really glad that we went through with it. Those little moments really help to reconnect you and remind you of why we do all this!