multitasking

Homeopathy

These products have saved my life over the last year and a half.
Safe, natural and quick working alternatives if you are tired pumping your child with antibiotics
tylonal, motrin etc.

Here it goes:

"Earache by Homeocan" - This will not only nip the ear infection in the bud but will also provide INSTANT pain reliefe.  This product has saved my life now a few times.  Kids love the blueberry taste as well.

"Teething by Homeocan" - Once again this product is saving me now as the molars are coming in! Instant pain relief. Kids love the orange taste

"Flu Buster by Homeocan" Gets rid of sniffles, fever, aches, pains. LOVE IT - Berry flavour

These products can be found at most Loblaws in the pharmacy or at alternative drug stores such as Hoopers, Smiths and Thompsons.

For those moms out there who prefer the alternatives than I HIGHLY suggest picking up this book:
"Homeopathy - a manual for mothers".
A manual for taking care of yourself and baby, nautrally.

You can buy this product on line at:  http://www.homeopathylife.com/A_Manual_for_Mothers.html

Should I be worried?

The fight for getting a good nights sleep continues...

Ok the last three days went as follows:

-Up every 20 mins from 1am-8am. Gas, hunger, gas, hunger, gas hunger.
- Up every 30min- 1.5hrs (12:00am- 6:30am)
- Last night: Asleep after fuss fuss, puke, gas, puke fuss eat, fuss by 11:00pm. Up at 2:00am and up at 5:00am.  THAT was the best night yet! I loved it! It was a pleasure to feed after 3 hrs sleep, a real pleasure.
5:00am wake up call? I can also do that. I CAN DO THAT! Hayden has been getting me up at the crack o' dawn for a year now. I CAN DO IT.

Today... basically slept all day with hardly any gas. (granted I ate bread and water all day) Is that the key as a breast feeding  mom? Deprive ourselves of the yum yums of life?

So now I sit here watching the little guy sleep. Does that mean tonight is going to be a gong show? When does this continuous guessing game no longer factor into this mom gig? WHEN?

Now I lay me down to sleep (yeah right)
I pray the lord my sleep to keep
and if i die before I wake
I pray the lord my RESTED soul to take. (but only if im rested, otherwise you will regret it)

playing in the leaves with daddy

Solutions and Thanksgiving!

There are solutions to every problem. For example...
I have a new way to deal with Haydens whine....WINE.  Wine for Whine.

Also, I have figured out a way to deal with his 9:00am "I'm bored and will rip the house apart
if we don't do something soon". - 9:00am get togethers with friends that have babies. We're all up at
6:00am and go to bed at 10:00pm so why not? So coffee and chaos is our new Sat morn routine.

This past weekend was Thanksgiving... lots of food, walks, and fresh air. The pics say everything.
I'm still waiting on pics from Franks and Claires but here are some from mom and dads.

Mirror Mirror on the wall

I just looked in the mirror for the first time in a month.  What used to be the "whites" of my eyes are now the "pinks" of my eyes from lack of sleep.

This kid does not want to sleep. On average we are up every hour and if I'm lucky he'll give me two hrs at a time. 

He's also REALLY gassy and pukes and fusses way more than Hayden.  Or have I forgotten already? I can't remember! My posts back then were way more polite than they are now.

I also noticed that during child birth this kid actually gave me a grey hair in my eye brow. He aged me in five hours!

Somewhere under my pj's, pinks of my eyes and grey eye brow hair (not to mention new wrinkles), nursing bras and thrown up on shoulders Joanna is under there.

Somewhere....

I have to say though, with no time on my hands I seem to be getting more done around the house than ever before.  I have also seemed to master the art of multi tasking. I can watch cartoons, breast feed, pat Haydens head and keep him from falling off of the couch with one leg all at the same time.  The old Joanna could not do that.  The old Joanna had no clue.

Despite the pinks of my eyes, I feel stronger than ever before.

Bring it on!

(next week I'll be putting my foot in my mouth, watch).

The Virgo Child

For those with a Virgo child, you have an energetic, talkative, analytic kid who may show maturity beyond his years starting at an early age.
THIS IS SO TRUE! Alex was alert from day one and is holding up his head like a 2 or 3 month old.

 These kids are constantly seeking out new activities, and require a constant stream of books and projects to keep them from becoming bored.
Just like Hayden, thank the lord they have each other!


 Your Virgo child will actually appreciate it when you give him household tasks to complete, and will generally do a good job with them, asking many questions along the way so he can do the best job possible.

Be sure not to criticize if his job does not turn out just right, however, as this will deflate his ego and he will not likely want to try again any time soon. It's better with a Virgo to just talk about the nuts and bolts of how you accomplish the same task.

Virgo children are somewhat shy when confronted with new situations, so providing them with opportunities to socialize with other kids is an important part of their upbringing.
Shy? that won't last long in this family.

Virgos will do well in school due to their industrious nature and determination. This is a willing little worker who should be supported fully in any direction in which he shows interest, such as music or science.

The Virgo child should do well as far as relationships within the family, unless there is a sibling with traits that he just cannot abide, such as a critical, pushy, or messy brother or sister.
Hmmmmmm, this could get interesting.


In cases like this, giving the Virgo child a place of his own that he can retreat to is always a good idea.

Culinary Creations by Cous - Recipe

Marcus has always loved to cook but his launch into daddy-hood uped the anti.  I am happy to have scrambled eggs or cereal for dinner so me taking over the kitchen was just not an option for him.

Marcus is one of the best cooks I know (don't tell him I said that).  He will take something simple and make it beautiful.  As I'm slathering on the old stand bys of  ketchup and mustard to my hotdog and eating it standing up, Marcus is layering in avacado and aged cheddar before sitting down with a glass of wine.

In the cooking world, Marcus is the ying to my yang and I could learn a lot! So this page is now dedicated to the "Culinary Creations by Cous" if anyone is interested in some yummy ideas to mix up your daily spread.

mmm sticky ice cream in Paris..

Feast in Sorrento

Annual Wine tasting trip, Niagara (ok well maybe not anual anymore!)

Unexpected Wine tasting in Napa

Feast in Florence

Gormet Burgers and Wine - Quebec City

Mexican style pulled pork

Tuna steaks and wasabi

Between dirty diapers and snotty noses, I will get him to resight his favorties to me to get this portion of our blog going.  Ideas inspired from his mothers kitchen, worldly travels and a little imagination, trust me you will not be disapointed!

1 month into the eye of the storm

and he sleeps.....

Baby in one arm so this will be brief but bold. :)

Alex....
Has a cold
eats every 1.5hrs
Will only sleep ON ME
is gaining weight
smiled today
hates the soother
not a fan of the bottle
cries more than hayden did
is a gentle soul
Looks like a biafore

Hayden...
Has a cold
likes to wrestle
likes to protest
needs constant stimulation
starting to talk and really communicate
likes to run
climbs the stairs
enjoys his books
eats like a pig
likes to dance
sleeps 11 hrs

Joanna...
Has a cold
doesnt know what day it is


Marcus...
No cold..
Also not sure what day it is.

Lui...
No cold..
Knows hes not the baby anymore and has joined forces with Hayden (go figure - after
ignoring him for a year).

I heard a line yesterday which made me smile. In the midst of the chaos you have to exercise the utmost patience and understanding. "Children make you a better you".

these crack me up

check out my new hair cut!

My boys

Lots of poopie bums to change!!!

Going on week three and we're learning probably one of many grooves. I'm still enjoying that calm before the storm!

I have but one question though... why does Alex have a better tan than I do?

vini vidi vici

Sept 8th, 2009.... didn't we just do this?

At 3:06am little Alex, Alexander, Alejandro (depending on your mood) came into this world, sorry sauntered into this world like he was making a cool calm and collected entrance to a party.

When the Dr. said to me in a tone similar to asking a stranger for directions "do you want to push now or later" you know you're going to have an easy delivery.

However, let's rewind five hrs....

4:30pm walking down the boardwalk "Marcus I'm having falsies again"

7:00pm "Marcus I'm having falsies that are not consistent and seem stronger"

10:00pm "Marcus I think I'm having a contraction, let's call my mom

10:45pm : "Marcus driver FASTER"

11:00pm: "Where is my Epidural"

12:00am: (head spinning like the little girl in the exorcist"

1:00am: "I love drugs"

2:30am "Joanna we have to break your water, it will be a few hrs to go from here"

2:50am (20 min later) "Do you want to push now or later"

3:00am (Push)

3:06am (I sit up and ask) "can you see him?" and out he came.

Once again ladies.... drugs is all I have to say. Another enjoyable delivery even easier than the first go around.

Day one I sit here enjoying a plate of pasta as the prince sleeps. The king Hayden is also in bed and doesn't seem to have a thought either way about his new little brother. Suddenly he looks like a giant to me!

I'll check back soon with I'm sure a very different kind of post. We all know what happens to these perfect little creatures come oh let's say... six weeks from now!

Today I'll enjoy the calm before the storm.

Thank you Marcus for another little gift.

An evening with Trifle

There really is no point for this entry. This whole event made me laugh and is just so typical of a couple that's expecting. She eats more than usual and he capitalizes on 9 months of not hearing her wine about he guilt because the importance of feeding the craving is stronger than surrendering to the guilt.

Here is my story....

Trifle...oh trifle. I begin the process of putting out dessert one evening. Scoop for cous, scoop for me, scoop for cous, scoop for me, lick my hand...mmmm scoop for cous, mouthful for me, scoop for me. So Marcus see this and its scoop for cous, mouthful for cous, lick my hand scoop for me.

At this point the bowls are almost full and marcus looks at me and says "do it" so we cut the entire trifle in half (yes half each) and we eat the whole thing in one sitting. To add insult to injury, before we sit we fight over who's going to lick the bowl clean because we are gross, shameless gluttons.

The end.

The baby is due Sept 8th

The David was also unveiled for the first time in Florence on Sept 8th.
See the parallel between the works of art?

Just saying.

Does this disturb anyone else?

So I'm sitting in the Dr.s office the other day for my weekly check up. I get to chatting with the nurse who tells me about her son in med school. Digging deeper into the conversation I learn that he's studding overseas and of course this tweaks my curiosity as to why he decided to study outside of Canada. Her response? "The admission standards are not as strict". Long drawn out pause and hopefully a convincing poker face. Should the standards for admission not be equal across the board? Does this sit funny with anyone else? How do we know if our Dr. was the A+ graduate or the C- guy? I don't want the C- guy messing around with my charts. I need to find out where my Dr. went to school STAT!
(3.5 weeks from giving birth and just a liiiiiiittle nervous, can ya tell?)

The zoo and some cute pics

Our first visit to the zoo...
A bit of a gong show but some fun moments. (Teething won over the day!)
ahhhhhhhhh.

Marcus stands the same way! LOL So dainty



Baby on the move!

8 month Craving gone wrong

So all I want are sour patch kids. craving, dying for them and cant get my mind off of them

So dig into my wallet, count my change and i have exactly $1 in change to get my sour patch... yesssss

So I go to the machine and see there are no sour patch kids but there are mike and ikes, that will do.

I punch in the code and down drops a Turkish delight. Ahhhh i put in the wrong code! Not a kit kat or crispy crunch but a TURKISH DELIGHT.

So I'm standing there almost about to cry (thats right, cry) because now im out my last $1 on me and no mike and ikes. Then i scan the room and notice a change bowl for coffee so i run over, throw the Turkish delight in the change bowl and grab $1.

I go back to the vending machine, grab my mike and ikes and shovel them in like I haven't eaten in days.

Now I sit here feeling unsatisfied because at the end of the day all I wanted was sour patch and now I can't stop thinking about the turkish delight in the kitchen that I don't even like.

the end

Professional Decision Maker

I've decided that I want to hire a professional decision maker. I'm tired of making any decisions for me, Hayden, our family, etc and wondering if I made the right choice. I think I would like to put the responsibility of wondering and researching on someone elses shoulders. How nice would that be? You would never ho and hum between vitamin brands, job opportunities, what to wear in the morning, what to eat etc etc etc.
Love it! I wonder if I can find one on craigslist.

Walking Baby!

Ok... I only was able to catch the last few steps on tape but at least it's something!

He was so proud of himself, cheering and waving his arms.  He could hardly believe he was doing it as well,  walking slowing and looking down at his feet.  Must be so exciting to learn something new every day.

Little Old Ladies

I just have to say that I love little old ladies. More importantly... Little Old ladies with accents. It doesn't matter what kind of accent, but an accent none the less. Reason being? They are the only people that a) can predict just by looking at me that I'm having a boy and b) are actually thrilled when they find out how close in age the two boys will be. "Oh how wonderful sweetheart" was the line I received this morning. "I see you are having another boy" As I carried Hayden into day care I was stopped on the street by these two little ladies walking arm in arm, probably just going for a morning stroll.
There is a wisdom about these little old ladies (with accents) and why wouldn't there be? Years of experience hidden behind those eyes.

A few simple and kind comments from a stranger can do wonders! Maybe I'll take the day off of work and track those two ladies down. I'm sure they have a thing or two they could teach me and god knows I'm willing to learn!

Random Deep thought

OK,
I have come to the conclusion that our soul purpose of parenting (besides food, shelter and love) is to stop our children from making a series of stupid decisions in life which could lead to them hurting themselves in the end.

For example:
Putting your finger in a light socket... stupid decision
Eating dog poop... stupid decision
Setting your hair on fire... stupid decision
Marrying a hooker... stupid decision.

I guess it becomes tricky as the babies grow and options become more complicated. My question being... how long is it acceptable for me to assume I know what's best?

Until I die? That's what I thought!

These words sum it up!

To both of my babies...

May the good lord be with you
Down every road you roam
And may sunshine and happiness
Surround you when youre far from home

And may you grow to be proud
Dignified and true
And do unto others
As youd have done to you
Be courageous and be brave
And in my heart youll always stay
Forever young.

May good fortune be with you

May your guiding light be strong
Build a stairway to heaven
With a prince or a vagabond

And may you never love in vain
And in my heart you will remain
Forever young.

And when you finally fly away
Ill be hoping that I served you well
For all the wisdom of a lifetime
No one can ever tell

But whatever road you choose
Im right behind you, win or lose
Forever young.