Ermahgerd...First Day of (real) School

A wise little dude

A lot has happened since I last blogged... like, A LOT.

Isla is walking, like non-stop, all the time, really more like running... all.the.time.. She has a handful of words that she is regularly using. Important words like hi, mommy, daddy, archie, more, dog (which sounds more like daw) and horsey (which can only be said as hOR(first part in a super high pitch tone)seeeee)....

I have a (great) new but crazy busy job (hence lack of time to blog), people are binging on Netflix series (that would have been super helpful during my mat leaves, Netflix... thanks A LOT), Miley went from Hannah Montana to twerking... twerking became a word we use -  and oh yeah, little dude Archer TOTALLY grew up. Tomorrow is his first day of kindergarten.

Coming from Manitoba, where junior kindergarten doesn't exist, I sort of wonder if this is like fake first day of school... and really, Archer has been in daycare since he was 18 months old. He has a routine, he has been learning stuff - you know, to take off the pressure of that whole "everything you learn, you learn in kindergarten"-thing....so it shouldn't be that much of a difference tomorrow, right?

So why am I having little heart palpitations? Why does this feel like such a moment to mark?

Is it the fact that he will be starting at a new school, surrounded by a bunch of bigger kids? Or the fact that we can't walk him in the school to help him get him settled like we did for daycare? Or the fact that there will be no nap mid-day?

OH MY GAWD THERE WILL BE NO NAP MID-DAY.... who thought *that was a good idea for 4 year-olds? Good luck with that new teachers.

Anyway, with a long weekend leading up to this momentous occasion, there's been extra time to reflect about how big my little dude has become and to think (and yeah, worry) about what lies ahead.

In the height of all the tired and the crazy of life with 2 little ones under 5, in the times when it seems like all I talk about is how little I sleep or how I have no time for myself, this time has gone by faster than I can ever have imagined. I am extra aware of that after this weekend. And even as I put Archer's little sister Isla to sleep tonight, in my arms, with a bottle - both of which I totally realize I need more than she does at this  point - I am reminded of how lucky I am and how amazing this journey has and no doubt, will, continue to be....

I just wish now, it would start moving just a wee bit more slowly. :(

That moment...

...when you get your first post-mat leave invite to a mandatory evening work event and you realize you won't see your little one to bed that night.

:(

My Week Off

This was totally going to be my outfit this week...

What would you do if you had a real week off?

I'm not talking a family vacation. I'm talking a week off where you have the days to yourself, without kids, without spouse, with the comfort of knowing your kids are in good hands. Where you know you'll get cuddle time at the end of the day and you have the security of knowing you have a (good) job to go to at the beginning of next week.

The possibilities are endless, really -- which is why I chose to have such a week off when I set Isla's first day of daycare date (this week) and my back to work date (next week). In my head, the week would be full of "me time". And really, mamas, deserve a little "me time" after mat leave. We really should be at a spa for 24/7 with a martini in one hand (ok, I would like a beer) and a good book in the other, while someone is, like, rubbing our feet and giving us pedicure or some such.

We deserve it.

My week off? All I really wanted was a little nap time and some yoga classes (and hey, did you hear Track Fitness is having free yoga classes all week to celebrate its re-opening). At the end of the week, I wanted to see a few movies at TIFF. Daytime movies (with popcorn) are my idea of decadence.

SO WHY IS MY DAYTIMER SLAMMED FULL OF APPOINTMENTS THIS WEEK?! (and bigger question, why do I still use a daytime?!)

Today was insane. In addition to a late toddler wake-up, we waited at home for an hour for him to go to the potty (potty training time...weeee!). I checked Isla's going to school bag a hundred times, constantly adding another little thing that would remind her of home (Sophie La Giraffe) or me (family pics). And then we had the Isla drop off (took longer than expected), an Archer appointment (for over 2 hours), then an overdue lunch with a friend/colleague (which was nice, don't get me wrong), then rushed home to pump because, remember, I didn't wean?!, then I answered like 300 emails that came from all over the place, and then I ran to Loblaws to make sure my children don't starve to death and then I had to pick up Isla from daycare.

And you know what? Tomorrow looks about the same. More appointments, paperwork, more commitments.

Bah.

But such is life and the reality is that I had to jam in a bunch of these appointments this week because who knows what madness awaits me when I am faced with the reality of 2 full-time working parents and 2 kids next week. Will I ever get a workout in? Will I turn grey because I have no time to get my hair coloured? Will I turn into one of those crazy people with super long curly nails because I can never fit in a manicure?

Or will I realize that NONE OF THIS IS IMPORTANT in the big scheme of life, these are not real problems and by all accounts, this phase will end faster than we could ever imagine.

Besides... right now? I'm blogging (fun), watching Mission Impossible 3 (kinda lame) and eating popcorn (delicious). Life ain't that bad on my week off after all.

How to be super duper prepared for daycare...and other lies

Nobody asked Isla what she thought about this whole daycare business

Today was sorta Isla's first day of daycare. Well, it was her first 3 hours of daycare, while I had a relaxing lunch with a colleague (I feel you judging me...).

And in my usual planny-ways, I was set. Isla was set. Two weeks ago I put together everything she needed to have at daycare: diapers, wipes, hats, change of clothes, etc.. I put together a little "chore list" of what I would do (me: drop off, kids' breakfasts) and what my husband would do (him: pick up, coffee the night before) once the reality of getting 2 kids in daycare was in full swing. I cooked 24 meals in an hour and a half at Supperworks so our first month would go smoothly and we wouldn't revert to pizza and Swiss Chalet (unless we wanted to, of course). I begged and successfully convinced in-laws to visit to help out for the first couple weeks while we settled in to our new routine.

We. Were. Set.

Except this. Isla is not even close, not even a little bit, to being weaned. Heck, she's maybe had 6 oz of formula in her whole life. And sleep? Although she has a regular(ish) nap at 9 and 4, the mid-day nap is elusive. If it happens, I don't know how it does. Usually we're in the car on the way home from something or out strolling.

And that reality hit home when I arrived back at the daycare today to a SCREAMING Isla in the arms of Sarah, an experienced daycare worker, who was trying, in vain, to give her a bottle. Isla was not happy.

I immediately swooped up Isla and started nursing her in a chair close to a sign on the door of the sleep room that explained how each baby should be put to sleep. It was very specific. For Sophie (names changed to protect the innocent), she should be rocked for a few minutes, and laid down in the crib with her soother. Jenny (side note: no one names their child Jenny anymore do they) could be given a bit of a bottle and a tummy rub. Rachel liked to sleep on her tummy with her stuffed bunny near by.

Isla's card was blank and that's when Sarah asked how we put Isla down for a nap.

Awkward silence ensued. I don't really know what I said. But if couldn't have been helpful in the least. Were other parents this together? Shame on me.

But Sarah, who I'm sure has seen at all, put me at ease. She talked about working together to figure out a routine; that it would be ok and Isla could still learn how to nap. And as she made some suggestions, Isla finished nursing and looked up at me and smiled in the way she usually does and her eyes closed for a little nap. She was on board with plan too.

Or at least that's how I like to interpret it. If she could talk, what she probably would have said, is "yeah mommy, I'll nap here just fine if you come about this time and nurse me to sleep."

The most brilliant clothing invention...EVER

NASA may have designed this tank it's so brilliant

Ok, am I the last person to know about this?

Today when I went to meet another lovely mama for lunch at Sherway Gardents, I decided to take a little stroll through Aritzia.

Next thing you know, I'm trying on pants (whatever, it happens). And a ridiculously stylish young sales girl brings me a silk tank to try on with said pants -- you know, that Aritzia-silk that is *so compatible with infants and toddlers? Yeaah... anyway, I had to try it on because super stylish sales girl thought it would look brilliant with the pants. And I want super stylish sales girl to think I'm super stylish too.

Then as I'm standing in the mirror, holding everything in as much as I can as one usually does in front of a full length mirror, she starts fiddling with my bra strap and the tank. Awkward moment ensues until she declares "Oh, this tank has hidden loops that hold your bra straps in place."

DID YOU READ THAT PEOPLE?!

The most annoying clothing problem ever (apart from the button down shirt gap) solved! Just like that.

Check out the T. Babaton Silk Tank for $85 in all sorts of gorgeous fall colours.

Do you see her bra strap? I didn't think so

Downtown Baby

It's ok to buy this even if your baby has never been to T-B Park

While the National Post may have beat me to it, it's still worth bringing your attention to the must-have baby fashion item of the season before they're gone...ok, there's no such thing as a "must-have" baby fashion item (well, other than like onesies and stretchy leggings), but these are super cute and you should get one for the baby or toddler in your life.

Side note: I want you to know that keep starting blog-posts on important topics like motherhood and work and what I'm going to tell Isla about people like Todd Akin but truth is, I'm not a very good writer and have pretty much decided to leave it to folks like Nadine Silverthorne and Adina Goldman to  handle such topics as they do (read: Nadine and Adina, please write a story on how to talk to Isla about people like Todd Akin)

I'm a BIG fan of all things of the Toronto children's line, Mini Mioche and they do it again with their hipster baby and toddler statement shirts and bundler (and also be happy that you, like me, just learned a new fun term, bundler). Get 'em while you can!

Isla was "technically" from Parkdale, if you know what I mean

Friends don't let friends buy platform sneakers...

Hot or not?

In the next few weeks, I may be out shopping with you. It's an exciting time of the year for shopping -- fall fashion is in the air (thankfully, fall is not...).

Eluxe model. She looks hot. I will not.

When we are out shopping, I may raise the conversation about platform sneakers and whether I should buy a pair. They are, after all, all the rage right now... and when I look at sites like eluxe, I see pictures of cute models wearing said platform sneakers and think I can pull this look off - I mean, how practical, right? The comfort of a sneaker with the elongating elegance of a heel... 

DON'T LET ME DO IT!! 

I am not an eluxe model. And I am not 25. And I have calves that only a Ukranian baba could appreciate. It would be all sorts of wrong. And I will blame you if you let me do it.

You have been warned. As you were.