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Monday, July 29, 2013

Embracing Change

I had a moment of panic last Thursday evening.  The lady who runs the dayhome that the boys would be attending when I return to work sent me a message; she had accepted a job in another province and will be closing her daycare before I return to work in September.  Ugh.  If you've read previous posts, you probably know that I've been terrified to leave my boys and return to work.  For the past few months, to try to get them acquainted with Katie and her daycare, I have been dropping them off once or twice a week for a couple hours.  It has been going really well, which has made me feel a bit better about returning to work, so when I got the news that she was closing up shop, I was devastated.  I put out a couple ads right away and had quite a few responses.  By the time I went to bed that night, I had heard from at least 4 qualified people, which made me optimistic.  We have since met a very qualified dayhome owner in our subdivision who is the likely candidate....just waiting on reference checks.  So, fingers crossed, we will have the boys used to someone else before I start work.  Returning to work is looking like reality now since I haven't won the lottery yet ;)

Life is changing all the time, we're always moving from one stage to another.  We've gone from bottle feedings every 3 hours to making baby food, now on regular foods.  Our time isn't spent preparing bottles and baby food anymore, it is spent chasing babies around and trying to keep them entertained....and safe!  Just when I think the house is baby-proofed, they go after something else that needs to be moved out of reach! 

Even though they look so much alike these days, they have their own individual personalities.  Lucas is still a mischievous little clown who likes to get people's attention and make them laugh.  Nicholas is happy to entertain himself most of the time, rolling and spinning from one end of the house to the other to point out the things that shouldn't be within his reach!  Up until the last couple months, we thought that Lucas was the more ambitious of the two and thought he would be the first to walk; now that is doubtful.  Nicholas is constantly trying to stand/crawl/walk and Lucas is happy to sit in one spot on the floor, playing with whatever is around him.  It is obvious that they have inherited both parents' stubbornness and their father's devilishness (that couldn't possibly be from me, right?!). 

In two week's time, the boys will turn one.  I can't believe it!  When I was pregnant, I would have people tell me all the time how fast the first year would go, but I had no idea!  Lucas and Nicholas are such characters and I love them more and more with every passing day.  Even though we are far from rich, I feel like we have everything we need in life :) 

Thanks for reading,
Daphne :)

Lucas - July 2013

Nicholas - July 2013


Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Back When....

I'm sitting back relaxing with a coffee in my hand, my computer in my lap and my foot soaking in an Epsom salt bath; yes, it's quite relaxing, but I'm soaking my foot because of my clumsiness, not my need for relaxation (in fact, I'd rather be doing laundry and cleaning the house).  Yesterday, I was in the basement tidying up and I stepped on a screw and drove it into my foot.  I'd like to say that this is an isolated incident, but I'd be lying.  You see, I'm convinced that I'm one of the most accident prone people around.  A couple of weeks ago, I dropped an 18 litre jug of water on my index finger.  I am constantly stubbing my toes (multiple times a day), rolling my ankles, bumping into things, etc.  As a child, I was so accident prone that when I'd walk into the doctor's office or the hospital (requiring stitches or an x-ray, more often than not), my doctor would say "What did you do THIS time, Daphne?"  Thankfully, I haven't required stitches or an x-ray for quite some time (knocking on wood right now), but I certainly haven't mastered grace in adulthood.  I am hoping that our children will take after their father in this respect.

Stepping on the screw yesterday made me think of the times I'd done the same as a child (yes, I've done this before, more than once) and my grandmother would fix up her infamous bread poultice to draw out any infection that might exist.  This is one of those old home remedies that actually seemed to work (for splinters as well).  My grandmother had many of these remedies, including a concoction that she would rub on herself for her arthritis, made up of camphor, liniment, a bunch of other smelly stuff and some type of alcohol (I want to say rum, but it may have been brandy). 

I think my grandmother's generation may have been on to something with their way of life - have a large family, work hard, stretch a dollar and never waste, take pleasure from the small things, use natural remedies rather than seeking medication for every little thing.  My grandmother raised 12 children (including a set of twins) and was a stay at home mother (which was the norm in her time) on very little money and lived to the ripe old age of 84.

I am frustrated with the expectations placed on us in today's world.  As mothers in today's world, we are expected to build a career, have children and return to work, which generally hinders the ability to have more than one or two kids due to the high cost of child care.  Being a stay at home parent is not an option for many (including us), as in today's society, it takes two incomes to maintain a household. My grandparents had 12 children in a house half of the size of ours and now, with only two children, we are complaining daily about our lack of space.  Perhaps this is due to all of the toys and other baby items that we have accumulated, but perhaps it is due to the standards and expectations that society places on us which we then place on ourselves.

I will be returning to work within the next two months and as I'm sure you can tell, I am very apprehensive.  I like the job that I have worked at for the last 8 years, but I LOVE the job that I have had for the last 10.5 months.  I keep wishing for a lottery win for us or some close family member, for money to fall from the sky, for our mortgage to disappear or anything else that will allow me to stay at home with my kids (and possibly have more!).  I guess I'll go buy a lottery ticket now!

Thanks for reading,
Daphne :)