The wind in my hair and fatigue is...

There is noting like the wind in your hair. Whether you are down at the beach, on a boat or driving with the top down on a warm afternoon.  However it is quite another story when youre changing your sons diapers and he passes gas with such force that your bangs actually blow in the wind... thats right, you heard me.

Fatigue is:
not being able to open a jar of baby food
not glancing at yourself in the mirror before leaving the house
forgetting to button up after breast feeding and sitting down to thanksgiving dinner
deciding to brush your teeth depending on the company you keep
watching a sport you hate on tv in another language because the remote is on the other side of the room
eating lunch without washing your hands after changing a poopie bum
considering staying in your mat wear forever because you can sleep in them

ps hayden is now sick with the croup. (fatigue is not caring if you catch it)

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD day

#($*%($%()#$(@(#$*(#%$*(%$*(^(%)(#$)%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

that feels better.

A night with Alex

This post needs no explanation:

5:15pm - Sleep
5:35pm - Eat
6:45pm - Eat
7:35pm- Sleep
8:00pm - Eat
9:00pm - Sleep
10:00pm - up from gas
10:20pm - Sleep
11:48pm - up from gas
12:02am - Eat
12:14am- Sleep
12:17am-up from gas
12:24am - Sleep
2:00am - Eat
2:15am - Sleep
3:10am- up from gas
3:20am- Sleep
3:50am - up from gas
3:51am - Sleep
4:15am - Eat
4:28am - Sleep
5:27am - up from gas
5:38am - Sleep
5:58am - up for the day

How to heal them...

This section of the blog is to talk about the many colds and issues our little petri dishes encounter as they grow.  Everyone is asking me if things are ok with my little one Alex (now 6 weeks old).  Honestly, besides the lack of sleep we are fantastic and now I know why.  The trail has been blazed by Hayden (now 16 months) so everything is coming as second nature.  My continuous challenges are with the "Trail blazer" himself.  From colds to separation anxiety, we continue to learn.

This is what Marcus and I learned about diaper rashes and diareah this week... (yup, im talking about poop so proceed with caution).

Here it goes....
Hayden had REALLY strange poops for about three weeks but they got progressively worse as time went on.  Not runny but a little too soft serve to be normal (I warned you).

Anyway, we finally figured out that his poops were terrible because he was either teething or caught a virus, or both! Monster awful molars are coming in and are a bitch to work through.  Now.... dealing with the pain of teething is under control as you may know (from my post talking about the homeopathic treatment).

We learned that there is increased acid in a babies mouth during teething which can burn and cause a diaper rash when coming out the other end.  Up until this last week Hayden never had a diaper rash to this was all very new.

Well... we did what any good parent would do and we made sure we wiped down the area nice and clean with our baby wipes, mistake number 1. Apparantly baby wipes are a no no as are soap on the rashy area because the chemicals can irritate the rash or leave a film of bacteria. (side thought... WHY WOULD BABY WIPES BE PUT OUT ON THE MARKET THAT CAN IRRITATE A BABIES BUM???? #)@(#)$*#&@)

We also lathered the area in Penaten cream and tried to keep the area as dry as possible by airing it out as often as we can.  You are pretty much playing with fire to let a toddler run around bare bumed though.

Anyway, long story short the poops were not getting better and the rash was not healing, if anything it was getting worse.  So after some research I learned that Hayden did not have diaper rash but a yeast infection caused by bacteria (caused by his many bad poops mixed with BABY WIPES). Apparantly it's a common mistake because diaper rash and yeast infections look very similar.  The major clue was no matter our efforts with the bum creams, nothing seems to heal it.

SO, here is the key.  We were instructed to pick up a yeast and anti fungal cream and the highest concentration of zinc to use together on the area.  The yeast cream twice a day (morn and night) and the zinc to be used as a protective barrier after every bum change.  We are also cleaning the area with just a cloth and water and it seems to be letting up.

We also kept his diet bland with lots of bread and yogurt and that seems to be helping his tummy.

So my long drawn out point here is....

Now when Alex gets a diaper rash, soft serve poops or a yeast infection I'll know exactly what do.

and we continue to learn...

Pumkin Patch

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?