This and that.

I am "wasting" away my free afternoon at home without Lucas on the computer. I don't know where all my time has gone lately....well that's a lie I do know....work and soccer. But you can sure tell that I haven't been home much from the state of my house. Got that situation partly remedied yesterday and today. I need a laundry fairy and housekeeper. Probably not in the budget, just a guess. Know any that will work for free??

Lately it seems like I have hardly been spending any time with Lucas, so it was nice to have a day off in the middle of the week for "Lucas and Mom day". Swimming, naps, snacks, playing. After spending almost an entire day giving him my undivided attention, I felt a little less guilty about dropping him off yesterday morning before work so I could vacuum and do a few other errands that have been nagging at me from my to do list for weeks.

I wish there were more "Lucas and Mom" days but there just aren't. I'm sure he wouldn't grow up to be very well-adjusted if I gave in to his every whim and gave him all of his mom all the time, but right now I am not getting to see him as much as I like and it just plain sucks.

Having a full time job and being able to help support your family is a privilege, one that I try not to take for granted no matter how much I don't like going some days. I enjoy being able to feel valued at my job and use what I went to school for, and also have some adult conversation. However, by working full time I am sacrificing some precious time with Lucas, one of the many compromises you have to make as a working mom. Daycare is great for him, he loves it there, and is interacting with the other kids really well. At least that is what I tell myself when I drop him off. I just feel like the balance is a bit off, and if I had the option to work 3ish days a week, I think that would be perfect. Not an option right now.

I was complaining at work that I have barely seen Lucas lately, right after our soccer team had indoor provincials all weekend (which we WON!!! - Yeaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!). A co-worker suggested to me that soon I will probably have to quit soccer so that there is time for Lucas to play soccer (or whatever else he wants to....just know Lucas there is no pressure...none at all....but if you don't play soccer you will never know ice cream or cheese again....no big deal). WHAT!?!? Quit soccer??? I have never heard a more absurd idea in my life. Honestly this did not occur to me until that moment that she is somewhat right. But sacrificing something that lets me exercise and hang out with my friends at the same time will not come easy. Hopefully not at all. Terry was sidelined from the soccer field this indoor season due to an injury, and told me the other night that surprisingly he really hasn't missed it. I am not at that point yet, and I honestly hope that I never am.


I just finished a book that my brother gave me for my birthday, called "Northern Light" set in the 1900's I believe, about a teenage girl living on a farm who's mother passed away. She was left with caring for her 3 sisters and her father, while also pursuing her high school diploma. Mattie is a very talented writer and is torn between the obligation to stay at home and care for her family, or continue with her education. So many things in the book made me grateful for the life I have. The opportunity to be BOTH a mom and work. Being able to attend school, and get a post-secondary education. The simple fact that when Lucas has a fever I give him Tylenol and take him to the doctor down the street for antibiotics. It used to be COMMON for people to die of a simple infection. People still do, I just don't see it here in my privileged place.

Vancouver 2010

Terry and I just returned from a whirlwind journey to Vancouver to take in some Olympic festivities. Good thing we scheduled this holiday because I was about to reach my breaking point in the weeks before we left. I don't know how you moms of 2,3 and more do it!! I was exhausted, run down and just all out done with work and life.

There was one night before I left in particular that I can remember falling asleep on the couch right after I put Lucas to bed when I was supposed to be washing my work clothes so I would have something to wear the next day. Needless to say, that did not get done so I was SCRAMBLING the next morning trying to wash my clothes and get Lucas and myself ready and out the door. The nap the night before was not worth all of the stress it caused the following morning and I will not be doing that again. Let's just say I had to drive Lucas to daycare in my dress coat and pyjama pants, then stop at Tim Hortons and return home to take my pants out of the dryer before I went to work. So much coordinating that it hurt my brain. But on my way to work (on time!) I felt like Superwoman because I got everything done. So moms of 2 and 3 and more, you must feel like Superwoman every time you leave the house with kids in tow and arrive at your destination on time!! I salute you.

Back to our much needed vacation. It was tough to leave Lucas with Grandma and Grandpa Vermeulen for four whole days, but everyone survived. Lucas had a great time with his Grandpa and Grandma (I'm sure he was spoiled rotten for the entire four days....I even have evidence...pictures of him dipping his FRIES into ketchup at MCDONALDS). Grandma and Grandpa had a great time too, but they said Lucas is a busy guy and kept them on their toes. How did they ever do it with FOUR kids???? My mom said she was much younger then. I can't even fathom having a six year old, two four year olds and a newborn.

I am not going to go through everything Terry and I did when we were in Vancouver. I'll sum it up with a few bullet points:

1. We walked.....and walked and walked and walked. All over downtown, many many times. The only way to see everything. The cauldron, Inukshuk, Robson Square, The Bay Olympic Superstore, etc, etc.

2. THE HOCKEY GAME - CANADA VS RUSSIA. An amazing sporting event that we will never forget. I will never get to see a game of that magnitude again and we knew that and made the most of it.

3. Beers at pubs with Amy and friends. The Canada vs USA game we were unfortunately watching the game in it's entirety from OUTSIDE the pub while Amy and friends were inside. Guess that's what happens when you arrive at game time.

4. Staying at Casa Tina. Thanks so much Tina for putting us up!!

5. Shopping!! Fave purchase: Mukluks!! Went on a trek all over Van to find ones I liked that didn't cost an arm and a leg.....just an arm. Even got a "nice mukluks" from an aboriginal gentleman on the bus ride home from downtown. Thanks dude.

6. Visited a few cupcake shops for inspiration. Thank you Big City Cupcakes.

It was a fantastic trip and in our opinion Vancouver did a great job hosting. Transit was easy, police were visible everywhere so we felt very safe, and everything was very clean despite the throngs of people passing through downtown everyday.

THANKS VANCOUVER!!! See you again soon!

Trouble!

Lucas is getting older. Newsflash I know. But this means he is more adept at getting into things, mostly getting into trouble.

I tried to get myself ready for my afternoon shift this morning and never again will I try to shower while keeping Lucas entertained at the same time. He rips open the shower curtain, and then gets himself and the bathroom floor soaking wet. When he gets bored of that, he then takes his wet hands and plays with the toilet paper roll, getting wet TP all over his hands. The water must make it look appetizing, because at this point he tries to eat it.

After my very interrupted shower I had the brilliant idea of putting Lucas in the bathtub while I dry my hair and what-not because usually he can keep himself occupied in there for at least 10 minutes. I found out that Lucas' new favorite drink is bathwater. He sticks his face in the water and sluuuuuuuuuuuurps some into his mouth, chokes on it, and then smiles at me like "That was funny!". I tell him "No Lucas, yucky!" so then he tries to do it when I'm not looking. Good try Lucas, I see you and then I hear you choke. Gross.

Exercise....or lack thereof.

I was so much looking forward to today. I had a soccer game this morning, and I have not played in WEEKS. We were actually playing a good team today which is a rare occurrence....which makes it even more sad that I got called into work and then couldn't go to my game. Arrrrrrrgggghhhh!!!

Which leads me to my point. I have not had a significant stint of exercise in way too long. And it is starting to drive me crazy. It worries me that I will never find the time to do it and it is something that I actually enjoy. I thought maybe if I was dedicated enough I could maybe do a few morning spin or power classes every so often. But if I get home at 7:15 from a 6 am class, that is nowhere near enough time to get both Lucas and myself out the door by 8:30.

After work, I pick up Lucas at 5:15 and I only have a few hours to see him before he goes to sleep at 8. I need those hours with him, that's the only time I see him all day. So working out after work is out too. By the time Lucas is in bed I am beat from the day's activities and all I want to do is collapse on the couch. This is the only foreseeable time that I could possibly exercise. And that does not leave me with many options as to what to do. No classes at the gym start after that time. I am no longer a weights-and-treadmill gymgoer. I like classes and playing soccer and running outside. Working out at home is OK I guess. I just find that I don't work hard enough and am way less motivated when I'm at home.

I don't know how other Moms do it. When do you find the time??? This is yet another adjustment I have to make in my life in order to fit in work and family, which I am happy happy happy to have to do, I just don't know how to adjust this one.

I was so desperate for exercise this weekend that I offered to do Terry's job of shoveling our walk and driveway (twice!).

Long time no post

Photo: Lucas ASLEEP in his sled. How do you fall asleep while being dragged across a bumpy, snowy road I have no idea.

Hi blog. It's been a while and it's not entirely my fault. My computer completely shut down on me and has been in and out of the shop (Future Shop that is....) for the past 2 months. That's no excuse you say? You're right.

I missed blogging about a lot of things, namely Christmas. And Amy's visit. To sum it up, Amy's visit and Christmas were great, and I really really missed not having her around when she left. Not only because she was a super huge help with Lucas and they got to be great buddies while she was here, but I missed just having her around to hang out with. Amy you can come back and stay annnytime.

After Christmas came Boxing Day. Boxing Day shinny to be exact. For the past 4 years, all of the soccer girls get together for a Boxing Day shinny game. The usual soccer girl-hijinx ensues and it is always, always a great time. This year was especially great because our team won!! (For the first time in four years, but that's a minor detail). A little bit of insight into the craziness that goes on before, during and after the game:

Before: The draft is held. This is serious business. Team captains (Amy and I on one team and Jenine and usually Parker on the other) compete for first round draft pick. Then the secret draft is held and only the first round draft pick is revealed, the rest of the draft is top secret.

During: This is no "let's just go have fun and not worry about the score" kind of shinny game. Everyone's competitive edge comes out and it can get a little rough.

After: Win or lose we hit the booze. Enough said. I would post pictures of our Boxing Day madness but I feel they are not blog-appropriate.

Enough about Boxing Day. Onto what Lucas has been up to. I SWEAR that his first words are:

1. Dad (My feelings are a little hurt Lucas. Whatever. I just carried you around in me for 9 months and then gave birth to you and then nursed you for months and months no big deal...what has Dad done that is so special??!? Huh?)

2. Cheese. OK so not really the full word. But he threw a tantrum the other day in his highchair when he saw me cutting cheese for my sandwich until I gave him some. He makes this "chussss chusss" sound whenever he sees cheese.

3. Hi. Clear as day this morning.

Ahhhhhhhh. Best thing ever.

NA NA NA NA NA

Pretty sure I am going to win the $20 million LottoMax Jackpot on Friday....just throwing it out there.

Went for Lucas' 1 year checkup yesterday. After waiting for almost an hour (when I clearly had an appointment) we finally saw the doctor. Poor guy had to get 4, yes 4, needles. 3 of the normal 1 year immunizations and a seasonal flu shot. That is one needle per limb. After the second needle Lucas was screaming "NA NA NA NA NA NA" at the top of his lungs, which was kind of a funny cry, but I still felt so bad for him. Don't think he was traumatized by the whole ordeal. After lunch and a solid nap, good as new.

We may or may not have stopped at McDonalds when we were at Walmart that afternoon for some ice cream, just in case he was still feeling bad because of his needles. McDonalds inside Walmart is a hilarious place. I mean the people that eat there are pretty hilarious. I won't go into detail, but lets just say that I am pretty sure the people that eat there do so on a regular basis, like every time they go to Walmart to pick up a new wardrobe. Geez Amber so judgmental. Yes, yes I am. I am allowed to judge because I was looking super glam in my jeans and bunnyhug.

Speaking of looks, I look extra fab today with my quasimodo eye. My skin has been breaking out lately (must be all of the stress of staying home and trying to enjoy my last few weeks of mat leave) so I used this benzoyl peroxide lotion on my face. It has been forever since I have used something like that and I seem to have forgotten that I am allergic to benzoyl peroxide. Woke up with my right eye swollen almost shut. Yep, just the one eye. Looks hot. Every time I blink it is a struggle to open my eye again because my eyelid is all huge. Awesome.

Christmas baking I want to do:

Peppermint Chocolate Cupcakes
Gingerbread Cupcakes
Vanilla Cupcakes with Eggnog Buttercream
Snowflake Cupcakes
Gingersnaps
Biscotti (so excited to try this one, biscotti is my new favourite food)
Peppermint Brownies
Sugar Cookies
Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies (you know, the peanut butter cookies with a chocolate kiss on top? mmmmmmm)
Peppermint Marshmallows

That is a lot of baking. Two problems: 1) Going back to work is definitely going to cut into my baking time. 2) Avoiding temptation after all of the baking is done and my freezer is filled with sweets.

Back to work so soon?

Totally slacking on my blog. My maternity leave with Lucas is slowly coming to an end. A friend on my soccer team asked me when I am going back to work and I replied with "The end of the month....booooooo...." Her: "Oh are you not ready to go back to work or are you just sad to leave Lucas at daycare". Which got me thinking that it is actually neither. I am ready to go back to work, strangely enough I miss it. I never thought in a million years I would say that but then again I have never gone this long without working or being in school. In a perfect world I would probably only work 3 days a week, but that is just not reality. As for daycare, I think it will be great for Lucas to go and play with some other kids and get some time away from me. He is a pretty clingy baby, which I am not sorry to say I have totally enabled up until now. Daycare for 5 days a week is a little much, but again, not living in a perfect world. He'll do great, I know it.

Again, I can't sleep because I am thinking about cupcakes. Lucas' birthday cupcakes to be exact. I am not doing anything extravagant or over the top, but I am stressing about them because they are for Lucas. I make so many cupcakes for no reason at all, and this time they are for a very special reason so I want them to be right. Not that he will notice!! But I want them to be great. I may or may not have spent the last hour scouring Flickr for cupcake inspiration. There are some amazing cupcakeries out there. But they have a whole bakery at their disposal!! I just have me and my oven.

I hit a little personal bump in the road last week, nothing major, just something I had my heart set on didn't quite work out. I was so so so disappointed for about a day. I had to remind myself that I have many, many amazing people and things going on in my life and I am extremely fortunate. A job I want to go back to, a healthy and happy baby, an amazing husband and wonderful family and friends, just to mention a few. Picture: What I am most grateful for.

H1N1

This morning Lucas and I braved the madness and joined the caravan of MV's (minivans....duh....) and headed out to Prarieland to get his H1N1 immunization. Picture is the line ahead of me when I got there and the line behind me that formed was even worse. I knew it was going to be a crazy madhouse, but I was pleasantly surprised that it went so smoothly. I mean as smoothy as a 3 hour process to get a needle can go. We got there around 830ish and there was already a line about 200 people long. THERE WERE PEOPLE THERE AT 4:30 AM!!! Seriously....don't people work? I don't right now but I'm pretty sure not all of those people are on mat leave.

I thought I was so organized, had everything ready the night before, had my little guy bundled up and ready to wait in the cold, stroller loaded up and ready to go. Get to the back of the line and strike up a conversation with the guy behind me, who is waiting by himself so his wife can bring his kids later. I see his Tim Horton's cup and suddenly realize......I LEFT MY STEAMING PERFECT TIM HORTONS COFFEE IN THE VAN. Uggggggggggghhhhhh. I tell him this and he offers to hold my spot in line while I go grab my coffee. He clearly understands what a huge deal it is not to have your morning coffee while standing in the cold. I asked him if he minded watching Lucas while I SPRINTED to the van to get my coffee. That's right.....I left my son with a perfect stranger. Mom I hope you're not horrified right now. Dudes he was a Dad, and there were nothing but parents around. Gone for 2 seconds and back in a flash, no harm done. Not something I am going to make a habit of don't worry. I got to repay the favour when his wife came, holding his spot in line while he went to meet her and park the car. Just an example of the camaraderie (had to spell check that one) you develop with other parents while waiting in line for something like this. We waited about 45 minutes outside and then I don't know how long inside, but it didn't seem that long. Lucas was such a brave little guy and only cried a little. And he didn't even fuss the whole time we were waiting which was surprising since he was falling asleep when we pulled in. Ahhhh glad to have it done. Got some groceries this afternoon and picked up some ice cream for Lucas for being such a brave guy. Just for Lucas of course....I think his favourite flavour is mint chocolate chip....

If I was 12 I would totally have a crush on Justin Bieber. I bet he is OWNING those Tiger Beat and Bop magazines. Does Tiger Beat even exist anymore?

Daba Daba

Lucas and I took a walk to the mall (maybe to buy some cupcake related items...more on that later...) and to Tim Hortons (obviously....I don't even go out anymore without going there....How do moms who don't drink coffee survive?) this morning.

This has become a regular event, and since Lucas is such a good shopper most of the time, I treat him to a Timbit on our way home. Terry found out about this little habit and asked me if I buy Lucas a Timbit every time I stop at Tim Hortons. Pffftttt not every time Terry that would be ridiculous.....it's more like every second time. Whatever, it's more like 1/2 a Timbit anyway because he never eats the whole thing. Terry was concerned I am pushing my Tims habit onto Lucas. Nothing to worry about Terry, we met a baby today who must spend waaay more time there than we do. This mom and her kid (who was 2 at the most) came up behind me at the till and all the kid said the whole time they were there is 'daba daba'. DOUBLE DOUBLE!!! I asked his mom if that's what he was saying and sure enough that is what she orders all the time so he picked it up. Hilarious.....Now I just have to teach Lucas '1/2 hot chocolate'.

Stopped at the park on the way home....figured the swings were a much better treat for Lucas than a Timbit. One of the last days for the swings I think. Video taken with my phone....unbelievable that you can take videos like that with a phone. Please ignore my baby voice/noises.




Dudes I am obsessed with cupcakes. I have cupcake insomnia. I think about cupcake ideas before I go to bed. A friend of mine asked me if I would like to make cupcakes for her daughter's first birthday, my first paying cupcake job! So now I constantly think of things to do for her cupcakes, and what I am going to do for Lucas' birthday cupcakes, and I still want to make maple fall cupcakes but I am running out of fall-time, and then Christmas is coming up so I want to make some winter/Christmas ones......you can see how this might get out of control and keep me up at night.

I made my own fondant the other night. I have never worked with fondant before so I thought I would give it a try, but it is so expensive to buy. It turned out great, wasn't that hard really, and I am so excited to make fondant tops for my cupcakes and little things to put on them.

I ordered cupcake liners and other awesome things from etsy yesterday. I had to use an extreme amount of self control to not order everything I saw from this cupcake shop..... or this could turn into a semi-expensive hobby. I think Terry would rather me develop hobbies that make money rather than cost money....just a guess.

Items I covet at this moment:

Just in case you wanted to get me a super expensive gift for no reason.....

How cute would this dress look with black tights and black heels?? CUTE.
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=28989964

Some black heels to go with said dress:
http://www.aldoshoes.com/ca-eng/women/pumps/platform/75464846-ledec/95

New Uggs...almost a necessity for Saskatchewan winters:
http://www.uggaustralia.com/ProductDetails.aspx?gID=w&productID=5825&model=Classic+Short

I want these!!!
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=32942968&ref=cat3_list_14

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33106723&ref=sr_list_3&&ga_search_query=teapot&ga_search_type=category&category=vintage.housewares.ceramic&ga_page=&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title