Grateful
Briony got sick on Saturday - nothing life-threatening or earth-shattering, just a typical January cold.
Having a sick baby is never fun, but it took a turn for the SUCK this weekend when Geoff was scheduled to work nights on Sunday and I got *just* sick enough to have all my fibro symptoms seriously flare up last night. Briony + I had a rough night and a rough (early) morning, and I was just about in tears thinking about how we would manage today.
Then Geoff stopped and got the groceries I needed on his way home from work this morning.
Then Katie offered to come and play with Briony for a couple of hours.
Then Amber agreed to stop by after work to help me with Briony's dinner + bedtime.
It's still a difficult day, but I am completely overwhelmed by how our little family is blessed with people who love us and help us function. It's the only way to successfully parent with a chronic illness. I actually think it's the only way to successfully parent PERIOD.
It's definitely taking a village over here. And our little village ROCKS.
Labels: Amber, Arthritis/Fibromyalgia, Briony, Katie, Mommy Stuff, My Friends, The Boy
Choosing Today
So today should have been a terrible day.
Well, it's true. Yesterday was one of those days that was nonstop starting at 7 am and ending... I don't even know when. Late. I don't think I sat down once until well after 8 pm - and my day included a bunch of errands and a 90 minute walking tour during a client meeting.
So BIG FREAKING SURPRISE, I woke up in a ridiculous amount of pain this morning. Geoff was long gone to work already and I lay in bed, assessing the situation and listening to Briony waking up, when I realized that I had a choice to make. And I made it. I got Briony out of her crib, went downstairs, and made an awesome pancake breakfast for us which we ate giggling in our pyjamas.
We were still in pyjamas (and had coloured about a hundred pictures) when Emily arrived two hours later, but we quickly made ourselves a little more presentable and the three of us set off for the playground via Starbucks. Briony had some lunch at home and then went down for a nap while Paul played Sushi Delivery Boy and joined Emily + I for lunch.
After they left, I managed to have a shower and get dinner into the slow cooker before Briony's nap ended. And then after dinner, we were colouring again when Christine, Amber, and Dolly showed up for girls night here. While we all caught up on each other's lives - and in between Briony treating us to various renditions of 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' - they even managed to help me get the kitchen cleaned up and a cake baked to take to the lake tomorrow.
I'm still tired. I'm still in lots and lots of pain. But I am so very glad that I made the choice that I did this morning. Today could have turned out very differently. I would have ended up tired and in pain anyway, but I would have missed all the good.
Labels: Amber, Arthritis/Fibromyalgia, Briony, Christine, Dolly, Emily, Mommy Stuff, My Friends, My Life
The Day of Tiny Miracles
Today was kind of extraordinary, in that super special ordinary way. You know what I'm talking about. It was one of those days where it felt like the whole universe was conspiring to just kind of lighten my load a little bit.
Geoff forfeited sleep after a night shift to let me sleep an extra two hours this morning.
My clients were surprisingly non-needy today.
I got THREE amazing leads for casual childcare this year, all in the last 24 hours.
I found the boots I'd been coveting last winter on sale for 60% off - IN MY SIZE.
The upcoming scary day in Geoff's schedule that I'd been panicking the most over in terms of not having any help with Briony (and me needing to work) got covered today.
Briony went to sleep easily tonight. THANK YOU, GOD.
Josy was here and cleaned my house today. I still have a hundred things I feel like I need to take care of, but just knowing that my floors are all clean and my bathtub has been scrubbed is kind of incredible.
I found some new glasses frames that I like, and I'm ordering them tomorrow. WOOHOO!
I got to sneak in an hour with friends who I love - not nearly long enough, but enough. I don't think they have any idea how much it helped me for them to just spend some time loving my daughter (and helping me load up my car after).
A client who's behind on payments finally touched base with me today and is taking care of things.
I had a TWO Pumpkin Spice Latte day today.
Oh, and Katie's back in Manitoba again! YAY!
It was a remarkable day, but I didn't know that it was going to be while I was living it. In fact, today also contained some terribly low points - including my attempt to give Briony a bath by myself for the first time in months. Let's just say that there are compelling physical reasons why I don't usually handle bath duty. And I'm not likely to try again for a very long time. I ended up crying on the bathroom floor.
As I write this, I'm fighting pain along with waves of nausea and a little bit of a fever. Healthwise, today was incredibly difficult. Making it until my appointment in October is going to be really, really hard. But it's these little moments and random pockets of joy that make me believe that we can do it.
Labels: Amber, Arthritis/Fibromyalgia, Briony, Christine, Dolly, Going Rogue, Katie, My Friends, Random Joy, The Boy
Covered in Love
Okay, WOW. I don't even know where to start. Today has been a little bit overwhelming, in the best possible way. I've been crying on and off since I woke up, I think.
Briony did a really good job this morning. I talked with someone at the gate right away and let them know that I was disabled and traveling alone with a toddler. And they were fantastic - someone from WestJet helped carry the stroller to the door of the plane and took my carry-on bag all the way to our seat.
Briony wasn't exactly thrilled about needing to stay within two square feet for almost three hours (and who can blame her... I hate it too!), but she did a good job. We had a separate seat available for her, which was great - but the woman in the third seat over did NOT like kids. She was kind of mean, actually - and I'm sure she got off that plane, stomped over to the WestJet desk, and complained about the child on her flight. But the parents in the row behind us (who were traveling without their kids) played peekaboo with Briony during the flight and commented at the end that she'd been incredibly well-behaved, better than their kids had ever been.
The toughest part was around 45-60 minutes before landing. She was starting to fuss and cry and escalate, and I sent up a quick and desperate prayer... Within seconds, Briony curled up on my lap, leaned her head against my chest, and quietly watched the television screen until we landed. THANK YOU, GOD. I love that we have a God who cares about little things like cranky toddlers and parking spaces :)
In Winnipeg, one of the WestJet people actually stepped up and volunteered to hold Briony while I set up the stroller - and to my surprise, Briony took to her immediately and was giggling and asking her about her nametag. Also to my surprise, she didn't fuss at all about being put into her stroller. And when the elevator doors opened, Geoff was standing two feet away waiting for us (with a Starbucks in hand for me... how did he know?! hehe).
Briony was *so* happy to see her Dada, and thrilled to run around our house checking out all her toys and her room again.
Today has just felt like one big, long hug - from all of Marilyn's help to get us to the airport this morning, to Geoff's smile when we stepped off the elevator at the airport, to shampooed and steam cleaned carpets + totally cleaned out flower beds with new flowers planted all around the house (I'll say it again: I have the best friends in the entire world), to the flowers and groceries that Geoff picked up, to an inbox full of emails and texts from people who were praying for our flight this morning.
I'm feeling head to toe covered in love :)
Labels: Amber, Arthritis/Fibromyalgia, Christine, Family, Going Coastal, My Friends, The Boy, Travel
Feeling Lucky?
Three months ago today, I was having Chinese with Amber + Geoff and opened this fortune...
I taped it onto my calendar so that I'd remember. And now I sit waiting for awesomeness to start raining down on me. Any time now... hehe.
So far, today is a wash. I forgot my BlackBerry at home, which is messing with my day to an extent that is almost embarrassing. I totally feel like I'm naked and missing a limb. But it's Daddy Day today while I'm at work - and I nailed my first meeting. But I'm missing a pool party with some other moms and babies this afternoon. But I'm excited for Girls Night tonight. But I'm having a bad hair day. No evidence of a 'lucky star' - but I suppose it's still early in the day.
My theory is that the cookie I opened was intended for Amber... But we'll see if my theory proves correct :)
Labels: Amber, Nothing Important
One Moment With Briony
You know you've been spending lots of time enjoying the warm weather and sunshine when...
This week, Briony started grabbing her jacket and bringing it to whichever adult is closest to her, saying 'OUTSIDE! OUTSIDE!'
On Monday, we walked to the park with my parents and they had their first Briony swing experience. She did not disappoint. From the first push, it was nonstop shrieks and giggles. We haven't done the swings since then, but we've been going for some pretty serious walks almost every day for the last week or so. I guess she likes it! Which is a good thing, because so does her mama.
I'm not sure how to break it to her that it's COLD out there today... Or maybe we'll just bundle up and make the most of it :)
-
I almost forgot that we had Girls Night here on Tuesday. Amber came over after work to help me with Briony (Geoff was working) and we had a great time having dinner, hanging out, and putting Briony to bed. We knew it was getting awfully close to bedtime when Briony started to show Amber how she's learned to turn our living room lamp on and off... And this was apparently *so* hilarious that Briony would literally fall over giggling. I still giggle when I think about it. Briony has the best giggle - she giggles like she means it :)
Christine and Dolly joined us later and it was just a good evening of nonstop talking and friends. Love it. Evenings like that are so very good for my heart.
Labels: Amber, Briony, Christine, Dolly, Family, One Moment With Briony
Belated Friday Smile(s)
Argh.
I was fully intending to SKIP this week's Friday Smile - simply because yesterday was STRESSFUL and I did not feel like smiling. But then Amber posted one and I feel peer pressured into coming up with something HAPPY now.
Argh.
I'm being slightly dramatic. I already have a bunch of smiles in mind. Even the most stressful days always have room for smiles :)
1. Watching Briony get reacquainted with her toys yesterday and today. There were SO MANY hugs and snuggles to go around. I love watching her with her toys - and with her stuffed animals in particular - because she is just *so* friendly. She crawls around to each one, picks them up, talks to them, and then tackles them with the biggest hugs in the world. I know I'm biased, but I'm pretty sure it's the cutest thing EVER.
2. No trip to Vancouver is complete without a trip to Ikea (it's totally going to be less awesome once we have Ikea in Winnipeg). And I've had so much fun unpacking our little treasures and finding homes for them in our home. My very best find?
This gravy boat, which is totally the sexiest gravy boat in the world. That's right, I said it. I don't have one, but I find myself wanting/needing one at least once a month. And my kitchen is so small that I'm pretty picky about what is allowed in - so it couldn't just be any old gravy boat. Not only is this one sexy as hell, it's also covered and double-walled. Beautiful AND functional. What more could a girl ask for? (Other than having enough of a life that she doesn't actually blog an entire paragraph about a gravy boat...)
3. Bonus friends. I got home after spending the evening with Amber and Christine and I kept thinking about how very unexpected these girls were in my life. I used to work with Christine, and I used to work with Amber's boyfriend. And somehow, they have become incredibly important people in my life - the kinds of friends who will drop everything to help each other out. I love that. It makes my heart so happy.
4. My parents are walking around on the beach right now, enjoying warm weather and palm trees and snorkeling for the very first time. I am so very happy for them. I can't think of two people who deserve it more, and I smile every time I think about them having this time to relax. As for everyone else with a warm-weather vacation planned for this winter - I am not happy for you, not one bit :)
5. God has been blessing my socks off this month and giving me so much hope for this little business of mine. I signed a new client earlier this month that far exceeded any expectations or aspirations I had for my freelance career (and truth be told, is cooler than any client I thought I'd ever work with in the agency world either). And I have - count 'em - TWO meetings booked for Monday about two more exciting opportunities. And two other projects that I'm quoting on today. I feel *slightly* overwhelmed, but incredibly fulfilled. This whole full-time mom plus working from home situation is TOUGH. Really tough, actually. But I would not trade it for the world.
Labels: Amber, Briony, Christine, Family, Friday Smile, Going Rogue, House Stuff, My Friends
Reality Check
That's been the theme of our last 24+ hours, beginning with a baby-hating WestJet agent and then continuing on to a delayed flight and a baby who - quite inexplicably - decided that she was not going to sleep ONE WINK on the flight. We walked in our front door around 01.30 on Friday morning. Blech.
By the way, it's FREAKING COLD here. Just felt I should point that out.
I think I should win an award for having the foresight to schedule today as a Katie Day. It was so wonderful to have someone here to play with Briony while Geoff and I ran errands and stocked our fridge and cupboards with groceries again. I had hoped to accomplish much more today, but isn't that always how it goes? :)
The evening was spent at the hospital - helping out a friend who was stuck in the purgatory of the emergency department and attempting to visit my grandma (she was sleeping when I stopped by with flowers). I'm worried about both of them. The silver living was that I ended up being able to spend some unexpected time with Amber, my hospital buddy for the evening.
And now I think that Briony might *finally* be asleep, poor messed up kid. Which means that her mommy (who totally has a migraine starting) might *finally* be able to attempt some sleep of my own before I do the single parent thing for the rest of this weekend while Geoff goes back to work. Wish me luck!
Labels: Amber, Briony, Family, My Friends, My Life
Baby, I'm a Rockstar
In all my packing and cleaning and arranging and flying and catching up, I have completely neglected to inform you of a rather auspicious event that occurred last week. It seems that I am the recipient of a very exciting award (Golden Globes? SO AMATEUR).
My lovely friend Erin has bestowed on me the honour of the Blog Rockstar award.
I'm not entirely sure that it means. But I'll take it. Along with displaying this nifty little image, I am apparently required to share with all of you the reasons why I am in fact a rockstar.
So without further ado...
1. I'm friends with Erin. She's pretty cool.
2. I'm quite possibly the world's most awesome car-based singer and dancer.
3. I am at least 50% responsible for creating a baby with the coolest dance moves EVER. Seriously. That girl is pretty amazing. Just ask to see her zombie cat dance.
4. I think I could do a decent job of being rich, if ever given the chance.
5. I would have the most amazing entourage of friends :)
And now, I must pass along this honour to other deserving bloggers. Congratulations to
Amber (maybe this will encourage you to post a little more often... hehe) and
Lindsay (now THAT's a rockstar name)! You've officially been pimped ;)
Labels: Amber, My Friends, Nothing Important
Exhale
It's five o'clock on a Friday. And I sense there's a country song that starts with precisely those words... I don't listen to country music. But that sounds about right :)
Anyway.
What's significant about this particular hour on this particular Friday is that it marks the official end to this particular week, a week that was - in a word - PURE INSANITY. Wait, that was two words. Oh well. What can I say... I'm a writer.
I worked away all day today, and Briony had a great time with Amber (to whom I owe A LOT for making time to hang out with B so that B's mommy could go to work today). I have more client stuff that's due over the weekend, and a Monday morning meeting to prep for. Geoff is still at work until at least 8 pm tonight, and back again for a twelve-hour shift tomorrow.
But for right now, it's five o'clock. Briony is napping upstairs. I successfully turned last night's mediocre chicken leftovers into a freaking amazing first attempt at avgolemono soup.
I am tired, and I am happy. I got to spend the last two days trying my hand at magazine editing, something that I always thought I'd enjoy and be good at - and both hypotheses turned out to be true. And it went well enough that I *hope* I'll be getting future calls about future issues.
And after all my panic about business and money, December is turning out to be an amazing month. Amazing enough that we were able to book tickets for our next Vancouver trip with confidence this week. Amazing enough that I finally feel like I'M REALLY DOING THIS. Amazing enough that - this month - I managed to top the full-time monthly salary I was making pre-maternity leave. And I got to do it (almost) all while hanging out with Briony. AMAZING.
I feel like I've finished a marathon. But in that really, really good-tired way, where you're so proud of yourself in the moment that you hardly notice the pain.
Labels: Amber, Going Rogue
Holiday Card Spoiler
Coming soon to a mailbox near you...
With all kinds of thanks to the lovely and talented Miss Amber Olson who turned the beautiful family photos that my sister took this fall into a perfect holiday card from our crazy little family :)
They're all addressed and ready to go. It was quick, easy, and painless - and for a surprisingly small budget. AMAZING.
Oh, and I'm totally over the guilt of 'cheating' and opting out of cards that I would actually need to write something meaningful in. It's simply not happening this year. That seems to be the theme of this Christmas, actually - not cheating, but choosing to do things simply. And it's making me feel *so* happy and Christmassy.
Labels: Amber, Briony, Christmas, Family, Jessimica, The Boy
What A Way To End A Week
I'm drinking tea and invoicing, my responsible but seriously DULL afternoon activity every other Friday. Not my favourite thing to do because of all the math involved, but something I do anyway because emailing out invoices = getting paid soon. And it was a solid two-week period for my little freelance writing business. YAY.
Went to yoga this morning. A 09.30-10.30 yoga class is pretty much the perfect way to kick of a Friday as far as I'm concerned. Awesomeness. I don't know why I waited this long to start going again. I am really, really liking this new instructor. And I switched from my former yoga studio which means (a) it's significantly cheaper, and (b) I can walk to class. Cool.
Geoff, Briony, and I hit up a dollar store to finish off our
Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes today and followed it up with lunch at Nikos. How can I *not* be happy?
Well, I have one reason: I totally broke even on weight loss this week. Nothing lost. (But nothing gained, either). Ordinarily, it wouldn't bother me this much except that I checked on Wednesday and I was down three whole pounds. I blame last night's celebration of Christine's birthday - and Dolly's calorie-laden attempt at making some sort of whipped cream-inspired substance :)
I'm over it.
Still on the agenda for tonight:
- Ordering our next book club selection!
- Family pumpkin carving!
- Last night's episode of The Office!
- Bubble bath for Lindsay!
- More Christmas shopping brainstorming!
Oh, and finishing these darn invoices.
Labels: Amber, Book Club, Briony, Christine, Christmas, Dolly, Going Rogue, My Life, The Boy, Yoga
Blame Amber
If anything in my life is not getting done right now (making dinner, doing laundry, packing for the lake, diving into my shiny new stack of books... I'm just getting warmed up, people), it's Amber's fault. She introduced me to
Dooce.com this week, and I can't figure out why I haven't been reading this amazing blog for a long, long time. I vaguely remember hearing about it, and then dismissing it because the idea of reading a personal blog about family life and kids was incredibly uninteresting to me (gasp! hypocrite!). Anyway. It's not incredibly uninteresting. It's incredibly hilarious, and the new highlight of my day.
Now I'm all sad about my own blog. I *wish* I had the time and energy to make my blog writing as interesting as Heather manages to do... Granted, it's her full-time job to write one post a day. But STILL.
Someday, I'll have time to do more than just flop down in front of my laptop, type frantically for a minute or two, and then click 'publish post.' Like maybe when Briony is 20 :)
Labels: Amber, Stuff I Found Online
Friday Smile(s)
It's been a tough week. This flare-up has been really rotten, and Geoff is working 6 out of 7 nights in a row. Briony's been working on teeth (two so far!). And I just feel like I'm behind on life in general, with a to-do list that is miles long and unnervingly stagnant. It is Friday, however, and I'm determined to come up with a list of smiles - because even on a tough day, life is so good.
1. Briony woke up happy today. It's been a few days since I've been greeted to happy chatter vs crying in the morning. I'm scared to hope, but maybe we're getting a little break from teeth. I miss my baby.
2. Geoff was home sleeping yesterday, but he totally rearranged his schedule so that he could help me get groceries and get to a meeting in my nasty, flared-up state. And then he watched Briony so that I could get out of the house for a much-needed girls night. Awesomeness.
3. I got to spend yesterday evening checking out Amber's cute new condo and then just hanging out and talking (and talking and talking) with the girls. It was exactly what I'd been needing. And to top it off, they surprised me with gorgeous birthday flowers, which are now sitting on my table and making me happy every time I shuffle through :)
4. My new computer has apparently made appearances in New York and Ontario, and is now officially in Winnipeg. I am *so* hoping that today might be MacBook Day here...
5. For some reason,
this cake wreck of Thomas the Train has been making me giggle. A lot.
Happy Friday!
Labels: Amber, Briony, Friday Smile, Going Rogue, My Friends, Stuff I Found Online, The Boy
SOS
Please read
Amber's post and spread the word...
Labels: Amber
Happy Birthday, Amber!
Okay, so it's not *actually* Amber's birthday until Saturday. But we celebrated early at Girls Night last night :)
Labels: Amber, Briony, Christine, Dolly, Photos, The Cocoonettes
The Plan
So my friend Amber and I had a good laugh yesterday when we realized that we'd both decided - completely independently - to start Jillian Michaels workout programs within 24 hours of each other. What can I say... Great minds *obviously* think alike :)
I checked out the one Amber had started (30 Day Shred) and I tried it this morning. I like both DVDs for different reasons - but I think that the 30 Day Shred will be more easily maintained for right now, and I'll add in the Banish Fat Boost Metabolism every once in a while to mix things up. The 30 Day Shred is the *perfect* length - around 20 minutes total - and it was pretty awesome to get in everything important in a short enough time that Briony was happy to play in her 'gym' and watch me.
Amber jumped on the chance to be my email workout buddy and hold me accountable this month. And I'm feeling so much better about not tackling this challenge on my own.
And so it begins. I just finished for today: Day 2 of 30. I can't believe how much better I feel about myself this afternoon after the workout compared to this morning before it.
(If anyone else is interested, all the Chapters and Indigo locations in Winnipeg have it in stock as of yesterday...)
While I was jumping around and looking goofy, Briony had a little workout of her own... Just as I was completing the final cool down stretch, she rolled from her front to her back for the first time :)
Labels: Amber, Briony, Exercise, Lindsay v Jillian
Tea Party
Briony and I had our first tea party today - and invited all the Cocoon girls to join us. We had a *lovely* afternoon, and my baby girl charmed all our guests with her cuddliness and big gummy smiles :)
I'm not sure, but this *may* be the only picture of Dolly holding a baby. EVER. But she's been bonding with Briony since she was a fetus (hehe).
Briony was full of giggles and smiles for 'Auntie' Amber, who was more than willing to play with her.
I'm still kind of a little bit in shock that Christine held a baby - more than once! Briony's pretty hard to resist :)
This baby is all tea-partied out...
(Briony, not me - although I look pretty tired too :)
Labels: Amber, Briony, Christine, Cocoon, Dolly, Photos, The Cocoonettes
Snuggle Bug
Amber sent my this 'improvement' to the photo of Briony that I posted last week. Way to put all your graphic design education to good use, Amber (hehe).
Labels: Amber, Briony, Photos
