Monday, March 25, 2013

Almost Easter

A four day weekend is quickly approaching. It will no doubt pass just as quickly and then be back to the grind.  But I am hoping to enjoy the few days at my parent's place.  My mom has said she'll get up with Jackson if he wakes up.  He sometimes does still, usually to pee, but some nights he doesn't.  Then there are nights like last night when he woke up but refused to go to the potty and I couldn't get him up from the bed without a fight, which led to an accident.  That takes a bit longer but so far I think he's had 3 accidents since he gave up the bottles.

I am a little annoyed that he still gets a nap everyday at daycare, he doesn't need them.  It leads to bedtimes like tonight where it took almost 2 hours for him to finally go to sleep.  And is a big fight between us.  Last night he was in bed and asleep within about 20 minutes, no fighting.  It was because there was no nap, and a nice walk outside to get some fresh air.  He plays outside at daycare, and he plays pretty hard, so he should be tired, but that nap, it kills bedtime!

Jackson is pretty excited about Easter this year, he wants chocolate. I hope he also enjoys the finding the eggs, and decorating the eggs.  I also hope he doesn't want to eat all the chocolate at once!  I am trying to get us both eating healthier. Yesterday I made a nice roast chicken and vegetables. I made him try the Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes, as well as the things he likes, before I'd let him fill up on the rest. He was good and tried, but the gagging faces said quite a bit.  Funny because he loved sweet potatoes as a baby.  Tonight I did leftovers, which he wouldn't eat because it had "black things" in it, no idea what he saw but he refused to eat it so... he had a hot dog instead (all natural but still...)

Funny how you can learn things from watching sitcoms.  They are talking about the choice between working to make money, and provide everything, and being there for the special things.  It's something I've really been thinking about lately.  I am wondering what is the least I can work, and still be able to afford the life we want, but maybe be able to do things like put Jackson on the bus and get him off it at the end of the day, spend the summer with him.  I believe I can afford to do these things, but it will be a tight budget, so I should be practising now, and that is part of what I want to do now.  I want to live well below what I am making and save the difference. The problem of course is daycare, so if the difference is only the daycare then I'm stuck.  Need to work the math a little more I guess. 

I am really looking forward to the weekend, 3 more working days, 4 sleeps.  Great.  Can't wait.  I will of course worry about the cats but my sister will come check at them.  It will be nice to have some help, and for Jackson to spend time with my parents.  I hope to really enjoy the mini break.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Winter, winter... go away!!

It seems another snow storm is on the way.  There are supposed to be up to 20 cm falling starting tonight, and I am not happy.  Because my garage is full of stuff, I can't park in there so will have to clean the car off in the morning, and if I'm home when the drive way is cleared it'll be not done very well.  So I'm not happy. I want spring!!  I want warm weather and the snow to go away. I want to plant a garden, I want to go for walks, re-learn to ride a bike, get Jackson out on his bike.  I am so done with winter.

The move has been expensive, and I need to really buckle down or things are not going to go well.  The new place is costing more than the old one did, plus I have two places to pay utilities for this month. I also still owe my parents money, and my credit card is maxed out.  Stupid really, I know better.  I just can't say no to my kid, that would be the biggest part, I spend more on the boy and his toys than I should.  I am so not the parent I had planned to be. I was going to be one of those funky green mama's with wooden toys and a kid who had to learn to make believe without anything mechanical or electrical.  Now I'm the mom whose kid has pretty much every Mighty Machines movie, 100+ Hot Wheels cars, and gets a new something every time we go to Walmart.  It's terrible and so not what I had planned.  I hope that I can change it, but I have my doubts. 

Yesterday was a normal Sunday for us, nice breakfast, quick trip to the pet food store to pick up cat & dog food.  Then play time.  A couple friends came to see the new place, and gave me a nice house warming gift.  Then they left and I went in to the kitchen to make Jackson some scrambled eggs for dinner, I came back to find him asleep on the floor... child hasn't had a nap for me since December I think.  And there he was, passed out. 

Sleepy boy
If only he would fall asleep like that at bedtime.  He is just too busy, mind racing, the things he comes out with and says while he's supposed to be falling asleep.  He just wants to play and not stop.  He uses every excuse, has to pee, has to have a drink, needs something to eat, wants another toy.  It's very funny.  Very frustrating, and thank goodness for being able to tape shows! 

The potty training is going very well though, he has started to do all his business on there, and even stops to go pee when he has to. We have had one over night accident, not bad for about a month of no bottles!  And part of it is he wants to make me happy.  He knows I like it when he pees on the potty, and of course he wants to make me happy.  He also likes to show me when he has done his other business in there, which I much prefer to having to clean underpants or pjs. 

Being a mom is the most amazing thing. Sometimes I think I'm good at it, sometimes it's a real trial.  I know I make mistakes, I know there are some issues with our diet, not eating well enough, not getting out enough.  But I think my little boy loves me, and I know that I love him very much.  I am working on being a better mom, and hope that I can improve as life goes on.  I think my next step is to really make better choices for myself, to live a healthier way.

I think I am going to need more patience this summer, I plan to have a garden and I know Jackson will want to help with it, he always wants to help, take the garbage out, clean the house, do the dishes.  He is my little helper and he enjoys it, so I need to take advantage of that and make sure not to squash it even though doing it myself would be a lot easier.  Stepping back and letting him do it, help or try will be a key thing this summer.  Hopefully my patience holds out. 

Friday, March 15, 2013

Junk and other stuff

 Well we've been here just over a week, and I like the new house.  Now that the sink has been fixed (I think) there doesn't seem to be any more issues.  We'll see I guess.  I still have to go back to the old house and get my patio furniture, and clean it.  The cleaning part I'm not so keen on and have no desire to help them out really in that respect. It's different when you are selling, then you have an obligation to whoever you are selling to.  In this case I don't really feel that.  In fact I feel a little irritated that they are putting so much effort into fixing it up when they did nothing before I moved in, and didn't even fix the leak in the basement while I was there.  Now I'm paying for them to use hydro and heat, and I'm not happy about it.

I do think I've figured out how to get the patio furniture, and will see tomorrow I guess.  Hopefully it works so I can get that done and over with, move on.  I want to go through everything and make sure I have everything I want/need out.  I'm supposed to leave all the garbage in the garage, but I'm not sure that is going to happen either.  Honestly I just want to move on and be done with it.  It is hard on Jackson to have this tie to the old place, he is confused and still calls our new home the "new house" instead of home.  He is still having a hard time sleeping too. 

I really do like this new house, but I cannot wait for spring.  I am anxious for the snow to be gone. I want to enjoy the back yard, go for walks.  I want Jackson to learn to ride his balance bike, and to get active again.  I even want to start getting organic produce delivered weekly, or biweekly, we'll see how much it really amounts to in the box. 

I chose this place partly because of the school that is nearby, my sister's kids went there and I know it's a good school.  But Jackson isn't 4 until December and I just think it's too early for him to be going.  Add in the fact this school won't be full days until 2014, and I don't want to figure out a new daycare situation.  I think I am going to leave him at the daycare for another year.  I will keep the subsidy, he likes the place, it's an ok schedule, and I won't have to worry about summer or spring break, or even Christmas if I don't want to.  I think it's a good solution for us, though I feel a little bad about keeping him out of school an extra year. He is learning a lot at daycare.  So that's not an issue.  And of course, meals are provided.  

Monday, March 11, 2013

Moved. Settled?

We are moved.  The movers were awesome and everything was done in 7 hours as promised.  I have a lot of stuff!  I didn't get to go through as much as I had wanted to because I moved the move up by two months, so I also didn't have vacation to use.  I had Thursday and Friday off to get moved and start unpacking.  I did pretty well on Friday, I got through most of the kitchen stuff, living room and bedrooms.  On the weekend, my parents came down and helped with the unpacking and hanging things up.  It was a good weekend, busy but a lot got done. Including finding a leak. 

On Thursday I saw some water dripping in the basement, I let the landlord know and his dad was going to come and check it out on Saturday.  Friday night I had no hot water.  The leak was right over the hot water tank's controls and I think shorted it out.  So I had to call the hot water tank rental people (at 6:30pm) and also the landlord.  The dad came over to check it out, told me it was just condensation, and left.  The hot water tank guy replaced the controls, no charge because it's a rental.  Saturday when my mom was washing dishes in the kitchen, my dad was down there turning the fuse back on from putting up a light fixture for me, and he yells there's water coming down... yeah so it wasn't condensation. Uh huh.  I called the landlord again, the dad came over again, and this time my dad was here so the two of them figured it out.  He called a plumber, but then it got a little confusing.  I got a call late Saturday night from the plumber who said he'd either come Sunday or Monday after I got home from work.  Today at work I got a call from someone else who seemed to think I should be home during the day to meet him.  So I was confused.  Turns out the usual plumber was hard to reach on Saturday so the dad called a backup.  Usual guy is not coming tomorrow instead.  Someday I'll be able to wash dishes again.

The animals are doing ok.  Joshua is fine, he could care less about any of it.  He's happy and enjoying the sunny spots.  Snickers (other cat) is hiding and tentative about it all, sleeps with me and is not too sure what's going on or where he can hide.  Riley (dog) is guarding the house.  He sleeps by the front door, it's two steps up from the foyer and he sleeps right at the top, barking at every little noise. I hope he gets over it soon or the neighbours are going to complain. 

Jackson is doing ok, but he still asks to go "home" though I think he gets that this new house is home, he's still a little unsure.  He doesn't really seem to like the basement too much yet but I think it will come with time, he's only 3 so playing alone in the basement isn't something he's used to yet.  It will be great when he's a little older, and when he has friends over.

Next steps.  I want to hire a maid.  How terrible but I really think having someone come in every two weeks or so to clean would be so crazy helpful. I hate cleaning.  HATE it.  I don't like it at all and I'm not very good at doing it, but I do like it when it's clean.  I hope to continue with some purging and getting rid of things as we live here, but right now I am too tired of it all.

I am also trying to eat better, lose some weight, all that.  The time change made for a difficult morning today, so not the best to start a new wake up routine.  I think yoga in the morning, or a walking DVD, will be in order.  I needs to do something to help with the stress and weight.  Now that we have a nicer kitchen too I can actually cook, well once I can wash the dishes involved :-)

The only things left at the old house are really the patio furniture, I am hoping to get that this weekend, it will depend on when the snow melts enough.  I will be going to check Wednesday after work, if I can get some of it out that would be great, the sandbox can wait, or stay there, worst case I can get a new one, they aren't that expensive really.  I'll need new sand for it any way. 

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

I have too much stuff

Way too much.  I could probably get rid of a lot of it but I'm out of time, so now stuff is being shoved in boxes and will get moved and so be it.  I hope I have enough of the smaller boxes for what still needs to be packed, that's why I'm on here instead of packing, I'm afraid I'll run out of space and be stuck.  I know, suck it up and just pack them.  Get it done. 

I got quite a bit done today, but am hoping it was enough and know tomorrow is going to be hectic.  I need to get some stuff packed up to take over to the new place, and then finish the packing. I was hoping it would just be toys but at this rate it's going to be more.  At least the upstairs is done. I think I have a few things to put in boxes, like alarm clocks and night lights, but that will have to wait for the last day and all get piled in one big box.  I am pretty impressed that I've done this much already, I know another week would have been better but I don't want to expose us to any more illness in this house than I have to.  Sadly it means the patio stuff is probably not going to be able to go... but I am still hopeful that the movers will have an idea of how to get the stuff out of there.  I can say goodbye to the sandbox, get him a new one, and even the bbq, though I'll be sad about the propane tank on there.  But the patio furniture and his patio toys, those need to go!  I'd like to get the hose reel too. 

The animals know something is up.  Even Snickers is acting a little oddly.  None of them have ever gone through a move before, so the boxes and things are new. Well my ex moved out at one point so perhaps there was that but he didn't really have any boxes or anything. 

I am excited though, and cannot wait to get to the new place, and settled and the furniture there and just LIVE there.  I know there will be an adjustment, especially when it comes to unpacking.  But I think it will be less stressful than packing has been.  I really hope I don't forget anything important, but I suspect we'll be back a few times to take garbage out and just make sure we have everything. 

I hope that Jackson doesn't worry too much about this move. He has been a little confused but is enjoying being at the new house, and I think he will like it even more when we live there full time.  I know he has been unsure of what is going on, he has said this house will miss us and be sad.  He has been concerned that we will leave the pets behind, and his toys.  But I think he is starting to understand now.  Hopefully once we get settled the bed time parade will diminish.  Lately at bed time he runs through a procrastination list, needs a drink, to pee, a snack, his pillow is too hot, he needs a hug, it's too dark, there are monsters... and repeat.  Once we are settled it will be a lot easier to deal with, right now he does this while I'm trying to pack, and so I can't make much noise because it distracts him even more. 

He's asleep now though, so I'm off to pack some more.  It really sucks that moving requires packing and then unpacking... there should be a transporter to just zap everything over to the new location :-)

Monday, March 4, 2013

Time... never enough

We move on Thursday.  And there is so much to do and I don't have enough time. I need at least one full day.  Tomorrow seems like it may be it.  It is also my last day of sick leave until I accrue another day and a bit some time next week.  I am so stressed out, and totally unprepared.  I have a lot to pack, and some stuff I still want to move over there. I got the keys on Friday and moved some stuff, bought some things and packed some of the basement.  There is still a lot to do though.  Saturday my sister helped me move a lot of stuff, and then the couch was delivered.  And it is so nice, oh my goodness, it is great and comfy, totally worth it.  They also delivered the freezer and put it in the basement for me.  It is also great. 

I had a plan but I don't think it's realistic, so tomorrow I am calling in sick and just going to pack and move stuff.  I will only make one or two trips over there, the rest of the time is for packing.  I have kitchen to pack, basement to finish, bedrooms to finish and bathrooms to pack, as well as one box of decorative knick knack things.  I should also try and make sure I have all the toys out from under the couch, chair and ready to go.  I don't want to pack them all up because he still needs to be able to play. 

I think I'll get some TV dinners for the week as well, they are on sale this week which makes them a good deal, cheap dinners for a few days.  Then we can worry about the rest later. 

My parent's are coming to help on Saturday, staying over to Sunday. And we got invited to a birthday party Saturday, which I'd like to take him to, but I'll have to get a present, and should be unpacking.  It sucks that I have to pack everything up tomorrow and unpack it 3 days later... crazy. 

I am really looking forward to Friday, to being in the new house, somewhat settled, and the move part done.  There is probably still going to be stuff left behind, but I will deal with it later, I have the whole month to make sure I have it all, and take care of the rest.  I just want to be in the new space, enjoying it and hopefully it will be a happy time for us.  And hopefully my stomach issues will get better because I am so tired of feeling like this.