Monday, February 28, 2011

All in a Weekend......

Hey Everyone! I am writing again only a few days after my last post! Can you believe it!!! Well, I have been reading a lot of new blogs lately and was feeling motivated to share our busy weekend with you!
My Little girl is such a flirt!
Since being back at work, I have been lucky enough to have most Fridays off. Instead of tacking on my vacation from my year off, I decided to use a vacation day every Friday to give me a long weekend. This has worked out wonderfully and made the transition much better. So Friday morning, after sending Kaylee off to daycare with her Daddy, I crawled back into bed and slept like a baby for another 2 hours. When I first crawled back into bed, I felt guilty... I should get up and start my chores, walk the dogs or do my work out video....Instead... I snuggle in just a little deeper and drift off.  

Enjoying an Oreo cookie.

8:30, the dogs stir... We get up and begin our day. I clean the house, top to bottom. it smells good, it looks good and this makes me feel- oh so good! It is amazing how efficient you become once your a Mom. What used to take me 3-4 hours, now I complete in 2 hours max! It makes me wonder why the heck it used to take so much time before. After cleaning, and getting myself cleaned up, I headed out to get my errands done before picking up my munchkin early for the day. I picked up a very tired, refusing to nap baby. She had been outside playing and was now not happy about having to go down. We headed home for the day and once we got in, she went straight down for a nap. I know I could have left her at the sitters do do this, but there is something about having her home with me for that extra time, even if she is sleeping. That being said... I will miss my Fridays big time once I no longer have them off. I have come to enjoy "me time" which usually results in my cooking or cleaning.

Getting ready for bed..
After her nap, we spent the afternoon playing and making a big mess of my nice clean living room... These however are the things I have learned to let slide... The things I have learned (with many bumps in the road) not to let get to me. That evening, I was looking forward to a nice glass of wine and catching up on some recorded TV. I gave Jordon the okay to go and play poker with his buddies while I snuggled on the couch.My plan was going off without a hitch... until 11pm...  11 rolled around and suddenly I heard my "sleeping" baby, playing in her crib. I walked in to find her wide awake and playing with her bears.... Earlier that night Mom had called and wanted to Skype but Kaylee was already in bed... I figured, better later then never and gave Mom a ring at 11pm.  Much to her delight of course, Kaylee and Nanna chatted  back and forth on the computer. After about 20 minutes of this little charade, I told her it was time for bed and headed back to her room. She went down no problem and slept until 7:30am. What a treat.
Saturday morning we let Daddy sleep in while we played and ate breakfast. It was rather chilly out so we decided against a walk but rather a drumming session on the pots and pans! This was a wonderful way to wake up Daddy in a hurry. hahaha!
Mommy and Kaylee

 We bundled everyone up in the car and headed out to run some errands. Our wedding is only 5 short weeks away and we still do not have wedding bands. We went to Costco to take a peak and while we did not find wedding bands, we did find watches... Jordon and I like to call this impulse buying... We do it every now and then when we are simply feeling the need to spend. In this case, it was spending Jordon's money! hahaha! we picked up a few other things then headed off for the hot dog we always get before leaving, then home.

Saturday night, we enjoyed the company of a few of our neighbours, a few cocktails and laughs before I hit the sack by 10:30. I find Kaylee is so active that she tuckers me right out chasing after her all day. She slept wonderfully  Saturday night which was great because Sunday we had a big day. Kaylee's first big birthday party! It was an Elmo party for Maddox's first birthday. I have posted numerous photos of him on here before, but I must say, seeing him all tuckered out sleeping on his Daddy's shoulder at his own party was adorable.
Kayee- AKA Miss Independent, went off by herself to play. No looking around to see where I was, no hesitation to walk up to a child she didn't know and pluck the toy right from his hand and no fear what so ever of walking up to a man she didn't know and crawling into his lap. The poor elderly gentleman just kind of looked at her and then up to me. It wasn't until she flashed him one of her "I am so adorable" smiles did he begin to relax.
At this party there was also a great big Elmo. Kaylee took quite a liking to him as well, however from a distance. She stood and stared at him, even got close enough to touch him a few times, but the second I tried to put her on his lap for a photo, the scream and tears began. Needless to say, we did not get a photo with Elmo other then a few of her starring at him in aww.

Meeting Elmo... she wanted to look but the moment he reached out to hold her, the water works started!
By the time we arrive home at 3pm, Kaylee had yet to have a nap and was extremely cranky. I laid her down for a nap, knowing I would have to wake her up by 4 if there was any chance of a normal bedtime. Waking Kaylee up is never any fun. She tends to be fussy for the first little while and want nothing else but to be held.
We had a quiet evening and she went to bed without a hitch... I made chicken wings and cesar salad for the boys playing poker in my living room and headed to bed not long after Kaylee. This was short lived however.
I have fallen victim in the last couple of months to the cuddle bug... Kaylee wakes up throughout the night and since she has only recently become a cuddler, I go in, hold her and rock her while she wraps her tiny arms around me and snuggles. I do this until she falls asleep and then lay her down. This was cute until I had to come back to work... Now it is simply exhausting. After speaking to my babysitter, she said plain as day "Jaymie, she is doing this because you keep getting up with her. Let her cry or she is always going to get up in the middle of the night"... Light bulb moment... Didn't I already go through this 6 months ago?
Last night was a true test to this. She was up at 12am... 20 minutes of yelling (not to be confused with crying), until she fell asleep... 30 minutes of sleep until 20 more minutes of yelling. REPEAT cycle until 5:30am.. Followed by my alarm clock going off at 5:45... Although I did not get up once, I am exhausted. I had to wake her up this morning and it was clear that she too is exhausted. She is not sick and there are no teeth coming through that I can see... So my only guess is that my babysitter is right and I have done this.... It could be a long week.

"No more kisses Mom"


Anyway, that's all for today, this post seems to have gotten longer then it probably should  be!

Have a great day!

Jaymie

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall.......

Alarm is set for 6:05am this week... I roll over at 5:56am.. Thinking, man I have to pee and then god knows I want to crawl back into this bed for another couple hours... Knowing this is not in the forecast, I instead lay there and contemplate what I am going to wear for the day.... Jeans and a sweater, dress pants and knitted shirt, Jeans and a fitted long sleeve shirt... Ugh the descions...
By the time the alarm goes off 9 very short minutes later, the dogs are stretching out, waiting to go for their morning pee and come in for breakfast, Jordon is stirring and pleading with me to hit the snooze button and snuggle for just a couple more minutes and I am still debating my wardrobe choice of the day in my head. Much to Jordon's distaste, I crawl out of bed and begin the morning routine. After getting things going, I stand in front of the closet, pull on jeans and a sweater then move towards the mirror.
I stand there looking at myself for a moment... I look at my belly, stretched by motherhood...*sigh*. I immediately think, ugly... Then I hear the usual morning "bababa.. Daaaa-Deeeee" from the other room and then reason with that thought inside my head... The reason for that stretched belly is happily awaiting me in the room next door, and for that, it is beautiful.
I turn away from the mirror and head into the next room to see the most content little girl, smiling up at me still saying "Daaa-deee". Little bugger... I get her ready for the day, feed the dogs, get coffee and tea ready to go for Jordon and I and then head back to the bathroom to finish getting myself ready.
Starring in the mirror once again, I pick up my concealer and dab it under my tired looking eyes, sweep my hair up into a ponytail with a cute clip, add a little mascara and think, there now... not so bad for a Mom that was up 3 times last night- right?
There is the constant battle of having good self esteem and bad body image...
I pride myself on being a confident woman and with that comes the assumption that while I am confident in who I am, I am confident in my body. I try and keep myself in the positive light. After all, I was not a size 0 before I got pregnant, no sense in beating myself up for not being a size 0 now.
Of course Jordon tells me often enough that I look beautiful and I am fine the way I am. To this I simply smile and think my love really is blind...
So my question to those who read is... Where is the balance between self esteem and body image? How do you find a happy medium where you are happy with your body but don't allow your my love handles are just a part of who I am attitude become an excuse for your jean size slowly crawling up?
Would love some feedback!

Have a great day!

 Jaymie

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Adjusting.

Daddy and Kaylee
Hey out there to anyone who still reads my blog... I know it has been a while and I also know I always say that. Trying to juggle life has become so much more difficult.

Happy Girl!

That being said, I am getting there. Kaylee is doing incredible!  Over the last few weeks she has learned to say "Da-dee" which a super high pitch at the end. It is so adorable and while I am jealous it is not "Mommy" I can accept it.
She is also learning new things everyday. There is an adorable little fellow that she goes to day care with who has coined her "Baby Kaylee" so now Kaylee is trying to say "bay-bee". It is not nearly as often or dominant as her "Da-Dee's" but non the less it is adorable.
My baby sitter is phenomenal. I have not once picked Kaylee up, upset, or unhappy. Honestly, some days she doesn't want to leave (ouch)...
I know that this is an incredible thing and I am happy about it however I still have that ache in my heart when I drop her off. Kaylee is now passed walking and is full on running. She is so fast it is unbelievable. She gets around and gets into everything.
She was quite sick  last week, which of course I coughed up to the fast that it was daycare and being around other sick children, but after being sick for a couple weeks, Mommy not getting much sleep at night and her coughing to the point of throwing up at some points, we decided it was best to take her to the doctor.
It is hard to take your child to the doctor without feeling like one of those crazy Mom's who is banging on the doctors door everytime their child has a sniffle. That being said, I feel like I waited a long enough  time with my sick little girl to go.
When we arrived, the doctor clearly saw how sick Kaylee was and gave us an anti-biotic. Kaylee's first antibiotic. Eeeks. I was hesitant about giving it to her however within 24 hours my little girl started coming around. It took a few days but she is now 100% back to normal.
We are adjusting to our new lifestyle at a slow and steady pace.
All of that being said... In 7 weeks I will be getting married. WOW. How insane is that. Long time coming or not, saying that out loud is crazy. I bought my dress a few weeks ago and I  have to say I love it. I did the typical- saw it on the hanger and did not like it, tried it on and LOVED it.
It is fitted in the top (sucking me in and pushing me up in all the right places) and loose at the bottom. It is not to heavy which will be nice for the beach.
We have also begun using Skye. Anyone out there use it? The video chat over the Internet for free? Its amazing. I do not know why my family and I have not thought of this before. Each night we set it up and My Mom, Dad and Sister all get to see and talk to Kaylee. It makes it feel as if they are not missing so many important moments. I am not just telling them about it but they get to see it. I also hope that Kaylee will begin to take more interest in it so she can learn to recognize who our family is.
Other then that, it has been pretty quiet. I have always been a home body, but now that I am back at work, I feel like this rings true now more then ever. I am content to head home at the end of the day, pick up my baby and just enjoy the quiet evening. Suppers and cleaning are done when I am able and the rest of the time we just wing it. Ha ha.

My Sweet little girl! Bath time with Daddy!

One last note, to those that do read my blog. I want to thank you for your support and guidance. I know I am sometimes crazy and babble on but I always have such great feedback from everyone. So thank you so much for that!

Have a great day!

Jaymie







Thursday, February 3, 2011

Settling in.

 Hey Everyone,

Well, it has been a while since I have written and I promise not to have a meltdown through this blog. Slowly but surely, Kaylee, Jordon and I are settling into a very new routine.
I will not say that it is easy and I will not claim to be very good at it yet. That being said we are learning and growing and working towards making it work.
I was so carried away last month with the thought of coming back to work, I did not even write about my little girl turning 1.
Wow, now there is a thought. 1 year has passed since I had Kaylee. It sounds so cliche to say "where does the time go" and "it went by in a blink of an eye"... But wow, how true. In the beginning, I did not feel like I was very good at being a Mom and I felt like it dragged on. Kaylee was colicky and cried for many hours at a time, so between exhaustion, frustration and the whole process of trying to learn a whole new life, I felt like it was lasting forever. So when people said "it goes by so fast", all I could think of was "ya right, then you are getting more then 4 hours of sleep in a day". ha ha.
That being said, once Kaylee turned 12 weeks, we turned a corner. Suddenly Kaylee was turning into a little person and each and everyday something new was happening. Now she is 12 months old and running around, saying a few words, laughing at random things, eating absolutely everything and the light of my life.
Now that she is 12 months old, I am now also back at work and once again going through a new change in my life and trying to find balance in work and family living.
I can honestly say, I wish I could work part time. After all the things I said about needing work, which I still believe I do, I simply wish I could do it a few days a week and have more time at home with Kaylee.
That however is not an option and so we must continue doing what we are doing.
Kaylee has adjusted to daycare amazingly. She is running around with 3 year old's and playing with them as if she has been doing so forever. She is not upset to be dropped off and not eager to be picked up. While this is fantastic and exciting, its also hard to watch.
I am learning however to enjoy the small amount of time I have with her each night, more then I ever have before. I value the small things so much more and I am slowly learning that supper doesn't have to be a big event every night, the house doesn't need to be perfectly clean every night and that Jordon doesn't expect me to do it.
I guess I just became so used to having everything done and having my time with Kaylee that I assumed I would be good at it all once I was back to work full time as well. It seems to be a little more difficult however.
There,  that's me trying to say what I have been thinking without going on and on and on.
So Mom's, I have to send out a message and ask! What are some of the tips, suggestions and thoughts you have for me on how to balance it all. How do you maintain your home lifestyle and work full time everyday!

Have a great day everyone!!!!

Jaymie