day 3 - baking cookies

We made cookies!

Here's proof.  I apologize for the long video.... it's slightly boring in the middle, but the beginning and end are cute.

Sorry as well about the mom commentary.  I'll make sure to keep that under wraps from now on!
Forgot how close I am to the mike.

Ciao!

this is for you

After lunch Ruby climbed up onto the chair and grabbed the phone.
I caught her having a conversation with Daddy.
She's thinking about you Ryan.

day 2

Today was great!  We had fun.  Ruby decided to share her snack with Elmo, which is something she's never done before.

After supper we went outside for a walk.... up and down the street.... up and down people's driveways..... in puddles..... picking up ice rocks..... She didn't want to come in.  We were out there for 30 minutes and I had to pick her up and lug her home, kicking.

While outside, I noticed that it was still very bright after 6 p.m.  Did the time change on me?  Don't think so.... but the days certainly are getting longer.  SO happy about that.  Going outside after supper is a wonderful way to end the day.  Can't wait to ditch the stupid snow pants and mitts.  Grrr... they really do suck.

On that note, I'm off to the basement for my first in-home cardio experience.  :)  Then, it's Oscar night.  (I hope I manage to stay up for at least an hour.)

Nighty night.  :)

night 1

Greetings.  Ryan's gone to Graz and made me promise to keep him posted with daily blog posts.
We dropped him off at the airport at 3:20 p.m., made one pit-stop on the way home and then.....

The last three hours of the day seemed to last forever.  By six o'clock we were already in the bathtub!  Yes, me too.  I haven't jumped in with Ruby in a while but I needed a break.  Unfortunately, the luke warm, 4" deep water was less relaxing than I had imagined, but Ruby loved it.  She really enjoys bath time.

Cleaning the tub surround.  

Making a crazy looking face.  :)

I envision many baths this week.  Maybe I'll even get one.... after hours, with dim lights and candles.  Oh... who am I kidding?  Way too much effort for the return on investment.  I'll just lie on the couch with a heating pad under my back.  That's relaxing and as much effort as I'm able to put in these days.  This new baby is kicking my butt.  (And making my butt very fat and lazy..... which is why it's getting fat I suppose).

ANYWAY......

I wonder what tomorrow will bring?

Hope you had a safe and relaxing flight Ryan.  We miss you already.  oxoxoxoxo

is your mother home?

It was a beautiful, sunny morning so Ruby and I spent a full hour outside on the back deck!  I was breaking up ice (to make room for the 20+ cm of snow that's expected over the next couple days) and Ruby was happily following me around..... and contently amusing herself.  A whole hour went by and when I asked if she wanted to go in she still said "no".

At one point I noticed a car park beside the house.   Two very pleasant looking gentlemen with binoculars got out, smiling at me.  As they approached, walking up onto the curb and into the knee-deep snow of my yard, they seemed a little puzzled.  As did I.  

"Um.... is your mother home" he kindly asked.  Well, you can imagine my amusement at this point... and I happily said, "I am the mother".  It was so funny.  They were looking for another house... just down the road.  Apparently a yellow-breasted chat has been spotted in the area and these guys wanted to catch a glimpse.  What a gorgeous day for bird-watching.  I checked online and these birds aren't supposed to be here in the winter..... so to spot one would be somewhat of a special occasion.  I went down the street a while later and they hadn't seen him yet.  I really hope they do.

Ryan and I used to do a lot of bird watching.  Well, not bird-watching per se... more like bird-loving.  We had a plethora of birds to love at our house in Sackville.  That's one of the things I miss the most about that place... about that time in our lives.  Nowadays, I find it difficult to keep the bird feeders full and when I do, I get annoyed because it's mostly pigeons and squirrels that gobble it all up in one day!  I'de like to live in the country again someday.  But for now, I'll stick to the city life.  I'm still young after all, as the birdwatchers reminded me.  Thanks for that!  You made my day!  

I couldn't find a picture to go along with this post, so instead here's a short video of Ruby's after supper antics.

She had much fun playing in my hat.  

bla, bla, bla...

There's nothing really exciting to report today but I feel that I should write something.  

Here's a video taken last night.  She's talking a lot of gibberish lately and she's also making some sense!

Earlier this week, Ruby managed to get ahold of my wallet.  Here she is examining the contents:

Hmm.  What fun!  

These are interesting.

No Mommy!  I need them!  

Later in the week I found another card in the bottom drawer of the oven.  Maybe someday I'll find a twenty hiding in there..... to make my day during the hectic supper rush!

I'm actually sitting here right now wondering where Ryan and Ruby are!  They went for a trip on their own to visit Nana and Poppy in Sackville.  I was expecting them home 15 minutes ago!  It's so funny.... I really love these rare moments alone, but the house is so empty and quiet..... eerie almost.  I've decided that I don't like it.  And besides that, I miss them.  They're my buddies.  I spend 12 hours a day with that little girl and basically, 12 hours a day with Ryan (if you include sleep).  It's strange to be alone after all that "together" time.

Oh!  Gotta go!  They're home!

my alarm

I had a terrible sleep last night.  It's not the first time and won't be the last but nonetheless, it totally sucks.  I won't go into details but those who know me are aware of the sleep issues I've faced over the years.  This morning was different though.  After Ryan found me on the couch at 7:30 a.m. and asked what was wrong, to my response he said, "oh... sounds like your nesting alarm went off last night".

My nesting alarm went off last night!!!!!  

He's right.  I woke up at 3 a.m. and everything under the sun went through my head that I have to do in order to get this house in shape for baby #2.  The list is miles long and I have to start today because baby will be here in less than 5 months!  That's not a lot of time.  Holy shit.

In other news...... we had our second snow storm of the season on the weekend.  I convinced Ryan to let me shovel a little bit.  He's pretty chivalrous when it comes to pregnant wives doing any sort of manual labour (which is very sweet and annoying at the same time), so I put on my long underwear (which still fit over my belly) and my ski pants (which don't) and headed out the front door.  The sun was out, the sky was blue and the snow was light and fluffy.  It was a most gorgeous day.  All I could think about was what a perfect ski day it would have been.   I got caught in a daydream of going up the Peak Chair on Whistler and spending the morning on the slopes.  It actually brought tears to my eyes.  For the two years I lived in Whistler I had a season's pass so I went skiing on nice days and not-so-nice days.  During my second season I skied 52 days!  (BIG smile).  Yesterday would have been one of the nice days, where you can see for miles and miles over the mountain tops.  One of those days where you're completely in awe of the sheer beauty.... a truly magical, magnificent day.  I'm lucky to have experienced days like that and I really hope I make it back to Whistler some day... for a family ski trip.  We've been back in the summer but it's just not the same.  I really miss skiing.  I really, really, really do.   I'm crying right now.  Boo, hoo.

Anyway.... better change the subject.

We got Ruby geared up and the three of us went outside to finish shoveling the driveway.  She actually had a great time.  Without any coaxing, she started carrying handfuls of snow to where Ryan was piling it up.  She was helping!   Here are some pics:

The snow at the end of the driveway was over Ruby's head.

Handful of snow.... 

... carrying the snow back to Daddy.  

It's a frigid -30 today so I think we'll be inside until it warms up.  

Fingers crossed that it does, because it's another sunny, blue-sky day and I have some more daydreaming to do.  

oh no!

It was silent for a while so I went to check on Ruby.  She was in my drawer.... and got into the mascara.

Look Mommy.  

It tastes funny....

Enough said.  

We had a shower.  

we made a cake

Ruby and I made a cake together yesterday!  It was our first one.  I tried to have her assist me on other baking occasions, but she just didn't quite get it.  Yesterday, she had her own apron, spoons, cup with flour, and even some batter.  It was fun!  Twenty minutes to prepare and she even stayed up on her chair while I washed up!  Can't get any better than that.

Here are some shots!
Thanks to Nan Lynn for the apron.  It's adorable and actually fits!

fast and furious

Things are moving fast these days.  Ruby included.  She's running around the house like a mad girl and luckily she hasn't taken a spill yet.  (I hate this saying but a quiet, "knock on wood" is in order.)

Every morning at breakfast I find it amazing how much bigger and older she seems.  I feel like a broken record here because I know I've said this before.... but I'm surprized every day by the changes.  She's been saying "snack time" for a while now.  When she's hungry, she sits down on the mat in the kitchen and announces "snack time".  Today she actually said, "nap time".  Seriously.  I'm not making it up!  Ryan was there and can back me up.   We were changing her diaper and it was nap time technically, but she was so energetic that I was planning to wait another 15 minutes or so before putting her down.  She rubbed her eyes and said, "nap time", so down she went.  Wow.  Oh.  And that's another thing.  Whenever I say "wow" about anything, she says it too!  Funny as hell.

After her nap we went to our friend Kate's birthday party.  Kate turned three and is the big sister of Elliott, who's Ruby's age.  It was a great little party and everyone had a blast.  As usual, it was interesting to watch Ruby interact with the other kids.  She didn't seem to be interested in the crowds at all.  When everyone was together in one room, Ruby left with the balloon she captured the instant we walked in the front door.  Her and Elliott played together mostly..... I guess they're pretty familiar with one another by now and the other kids were older and just not as interesting.

Ruby and her balloon.

Ruby and Elliott.

Kate, Ruby, Elliott and Barbie.

In other news, Ryan and I enjoyed a night out on the town with our friends Aimee and Cody this weekend.  We went out to Japanese for dinner and then a show at the Capitol Theatre.  Ron Sexsmith was the headliner, but the opening act is who blew me away.  Her name is Mo Kenney and she's worth a listen.  The highlight of my night was the dinner.  It's so nice to get out and enjoy some adult time with friends.  Play dates are fine, but it's hard to have a real conversation when you're running after kids; trying to keep sippy cups in the mouths of their rightful owners; making sure snacks don't get stolen and various other mom duties.

Until next time.

i love hats

For her entire life, it's been impossible to put a hat on Ruby's head without her instantly pulling it off.  Now all of a sudden, she's in love with hats.  Puts them on and runs around the house all giddy.  Go figure!

Getting ready to go outside.
I put one hat on, walked away for a second and she put a second one on top!  

Hello!  This is me in mommy's hat.  

Running.  Running.  Running. 

Valentine Hat!  

CHEESE!

She's looking like such a big girl these days.  Acting like one too!  In the morning she rattles off all the words she knows.  Like she was thinking about it all night and couldn't wait to wake up to tell us.  "Arm". "Foot".  "Snack time".  "Choo Choo".  "Hat".  "Mama, Dada".  She actually calls us Mommy and Daddy now.  I love it.  :)

The other day we were coming in from the car in the late afternoon.  She looked up at the sky and said "moon".  There are moons in some of her story books.... so I guess she IS listening.  Time to sensor what I say in her presence.  Oh dear....