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.

Just Because I Didn't Blog As Much, Doesn't Mean I Don't Love You Just as Much

Good Times With Isla

At the beginning of my mat leave this year, someone, somewhat condescendingly said to me, "You have no idea what it's like to take care of two kids"... you know, in that same way that people with even one kid, tell people with no kids, "You have no idea what it's like with kids"?

It's so freakin' annoying. And I do my darndest never to pull this card.

I remember also at the beginning of my mat leave, when it was really, really hard - when Isla didn't sleep, and Archer didn't sleep and Isla nursed ever 10 seconds (pretty much) and Archer was...well...a 2 1/2 year old... another parent of two telling me, "yeah, it gets better after 2 or 3 years...".

Wha?!?

Safe and Sound

Was this one of those other unspoken rules amongst parents that they don't tell you facts like this in advance of baby #2  -- in the same way that moms don't as a rule share the dirty details of physically having a baby (if you don't know, don't ask... you don't need to know...well, you do... but it's too fresh for me still so ask someone else)?

But it was really, really hard. In a way that I didn't experience with Archer alone. There were literally days (still are sometimes) where I would sit in one room in our house, for what seemed like hours on end, just like making sure one of the kids wasn't going to hurt themselves or the other, with Toopy and Binoo blaring on tv in the background and forgoing basic bodily functions like feeding myself or going to the bathroom.

This was not the Downtown Mama of a few years back where I'd hang out at cafes, have hours to make great food, wardrobe plan, hang with other cool mamas. This was akin to the hardest boot camp ever - like that crazy military-style boot camp they just did in Barrie (why do people voluntarily do those things by the way?). I was one Tough Mudder.

BFFs

On top of this all I was stressed about work, I was stressed about some stuff we're going through personally... it was tough y'all. And as such, I didn't feel much like blogging - never mind the fact that any time I now pull out a computer in front of Archer he grabs it from me so he can surf the Treehouse and Nick Jr websites.

But in the last few weeks the cloud has been lifting - and things haven't been so hard. Isla sleeps really well - has been for a while. The work stuff is sorted and I start something really great in a couple weeks. I have even learned to love those crazy little guys Toopy and Binoo (they keep Archer happy and therefore mama happy).

So I wanted to write this for you Isla, to let you know that just because I didn't blog like I did when I was on mat leave with Archer, doesn't mean that in actual fact my time alone with you has been amazing.

And even though I didn't write about it, we did a *lot of fun things.

Fine, I want this outfit too.

We did a crazy trip to Winnipeg with Archer in March (just the 3 of us which will demonstrate just how insane I was at the beginning of my mat leave), we rocked out at Rainbow Songs, we found super cool new baby hang out places like Smock Cafe in Roncesvalles, we hung out with other friends on mat leave, we made 24 meals in an hour and a half at Supperworks with Gigi (must write a separate post about this later) and just today, we bought *the cutest back to school... (well, not "back to school"... just "to school")... outfits for you at Joe Fresh (babies need motorcycle booties, right?).

And even though things were sometimes hard - and maybe they will be for a while for other reasons -- your smile lights up my life and I look forward to all of the other great things we're going to do together  in the years to come.

Birthday Party Pooper

Where we're not having Archer's birthday....this year

This is a big birthday year for Archer. He's turning 3.

Or is it a big year? I mean, in the big scheme of life, is 3 a year we celebrate as a major milestone? Trying as hard as I can, I have *no idea what I did for my 3rd birthday. Was this the year my parents brought a pony to my backyard for pony rides - for realz - Fyi, not a good idea: I thought that the pony was my birthday present and the day DID NOT END WELL. Or was the 3rd birthday the year we went to McDonald's (hands up if you all had a McDonald's birthday but for the life of you, can't recall a recent birthday at McDonald's).

As I am about to turn 40, universally regarded to be a milestone birthday, I've been thinking a lot about how we celebrate our children's birthdays and whether they really are for them or for us?

We've recently started the birthday party circuit. Those with older kids will tell you that at a certain point in their child's life, almost every weekend has one or more birthday parties in the schedule.

And I'm not complaining. I'm really not. It's actually pretty fun to watch the little ones run around, having fun, stuffing themselves with delivery pizza and cake. I'm not even judging parties at those indoor play centres  - you know the ones with the indoor gyms and parachute games, etc.. At some point, I have decided that if you really love your child, you need to be prepared to park your cool at the door.

But thinking that I found the perfect compromise of fun and cool this year, I planned and just today cancelled plans for a birthday party brunch at the Gladstone Hotel. The Gladstone has this great Family Brunch on Sundays. The food is yummy, fast and cheap and there is good Bluegrass Music for the little ones to groove to. It's like the Dakota Brunch but brighter and with more crazy hipster kids running around. We went about a month ago and we were set -- this is where we'd have Archer's birthday. Our friends would love it, we could afford it and Archer would think we were awesome.

Or would he? I started to have my doubts the second time we went to the Gladstone brunch. This time, for whatever reason, the music seemed a little louder and Archer seemed to be a little less interested in the band and the food and more interested in the cool old elevator at the hotel. But I ignored my sneaking suspicion.

Until today when I realized that he is *only turning 3. It's a big year for sure but I think it's because it's a  big year for us, the parents. It's another year to remember how happy we are about being Archer's parents and to celebrate having Archer in our life, but this day ain't about us. And sometimes it's hard to remember that and so, when I focus on what Archer would really really want for his birthday, I'm pretty sure it would be a fun day with his family, full of a trip to the park, a ride in the car, a guitar song from his dad and maybe a piece of cake. When he gets a wee bit older, it might be a indoor playground or the Gladstone Brunch but so far, he hasn't mentioned either of those options...