I suppose it's to be expected

Since I weaned him, Bad has been having a lot of temper tantrums. Truly alarming temper tantrums. A LOT of truly alarming temper tantrums. I guess he's realized that he's got a good 14 or 15 years before he can get in any quality boob time again. I think that would hit any man hard.

On the flip side, Hubs is grinning like a teenager who just copped his first feel.

Ok, so maybe I've still got a LITTLE phobia about scales....

Hubs: "So how's the diet going? You look great...how much have you lost now?"

Me: "I'm not sure....I haven't weighed myself in a bit."

Hubs: "So hop on the scale now, I want to know."

Me: "I'm too lazy to do it now."

Hubs: "Too lazy? The scale's right there!"

Me: "I know, but I'm already dressed, and I only weigh myself butt naked."

Hubs snorts

Me: "It's too late today anyway."

Hubs: "How can it be too late?"

Me: "I only weigh myself first thing in the morning....right after I've been to the bathroom, and before I've had anything to eat or drink."

Hubs: "Lady, you've got a problem. You need help."

Hmmm....glad I didn't tell him that I also make sure that Bad has just nursed, just in case an excess supply of breast milk should skew my results....maybe I could use some therapy....
However, to end the suspense for all of us, this morning I got on the scale. I'm down 16 pounds from when I started - that's halfway to my goal!

The good, the bad, and the ugly....but not in that order

It was a long weekend. The boy was up coughing again, and my husband has a cold. He didn't drag himself out of bed until 11:30 yesterday. I don't seem to recall being allowed to sleep in when I was sick....and he was on holidays. Apparently he has a Man cold, and that's different.

I didn't get out to run either. I walked a couple times. But! I ate really well and I lost 6 pounds! I posted on the weekend about losing 5, and then I got on the scale before posting this morning...just in case...and I'd lost one more! If I keep this up I may just get over my phobia of scales.....

And Bad! Drank out of a bottle yesterday! 5 ounces! I may actually be able to wean him before he starts Kindergarten! Woohoo!

Girl's gone a wee OCD....Weekly Winners!

Here are my pics for Lotus's weekly winners meme - I'm afraid that they're only exciting to me.

The annual pre-Christmas fridge clean-out -

and then we went shopping.

Our dream home....and Christmas dinner centerpiece. Great job Princess!

I was thinking of posting the photo of the interior of the fridge, ON the fridge, so that Hubs could put everything back where I want it....but that struck me as a little TOO crazy and controlling....even for me.

Better than a Lump of Coal

Everyone is making their lists for Santa now, but there is a very good chance that there will be nothing under the tree with my name on it. Hubs hates to shop. I'm almost convinced that he married me for my shopping prowess. I buy and wrap for the kids, his family, my family, our friend's kids, the Princess's teachers, the next door neighbours.....am I forgetting anyone?

Hubs just has to buy for me, and, at his request, I make him a list complete with the store addresses and websites. He leaves it to the last minute and I either get handed the gift still in the store's carrier bag, or get nothing at all.

However, on the rare occasions that Hubs decides to put his heart into giving.....wow. The first year that we were together Hubs went to Tremblant skiing with his friends on Valentine's Day. He offered to cancel his trip when he realized what he'd done, but I told him not to be stupid. I could handle Valentine's Day alone. The day he got back he called me and asked me to come to his house for dinner....and to bring a swimsuit. (I was like, wtf?) When I got there he'd taken a big roll of paper and covered the walls, and drawn palm trees all over them. He'd made a beach (with sand!!) on the floor, and a fire so that it was toasty warm. He was playing island music and he had the yummiest picnic for me....with champagne! How fast can you say "forgiven"?

The next year I was stressed out at college, with projects piled on every surface in my apartment, and a full-time job besides. Hubs waited until I finished school for Christmas break, and then he arranged with my employer for me to get the time off so he could surprise me with a trip to the Bahamas! His plan was to pack my bags for me and just drive us to the airport, but (thankfully!) he lost his nerve when confronted with my wardrobe and he gave me 24 hours notice to pack. In my panic to get ready and look stunning, I purchased a gorgeous pair of Armani sunglasses for almost $400. I really couldn't afford them...but they're still in my glovebox and I smile everytime I see them.

When I found out that I was expecting the Princess I was driving a little two-seater Honda CRX. Hubs had a Civic that he hated because it was too boring. Hubs is a car guy. I was more than happy to take the Civic and let him buy a new car, all I wanted was a back seat, a cup holder, and power steering! Hubs started shopping. Car shopping, he likes. He must have test driven 25 cars. One day he called me at work and told me to stop at the Mazda dealership on the way home....he's bought me the brand new car I liked. He drove the car he hated for three more years.

I spent the last month of my pregnancy with the Princess dropping hints about jewellery. I really wanted something from Tiffany's. There was no way Hubs was going to go to Tiffany's, I mean, it's downtown for one! He did buy me a very pretty silver locket. I guess I could moan and complain about the gifts I won't get this year, but I choose to be grateful instead. For the very precious gifts I've already been given.

2:51 AM

I'm lying in bed, nursing Badness. It is late. I can hear the Princess singing in her bed - I don't know if she's awake or singing in her sleep. I want to go to the bathroom. I really want to go to the bathroom, I have my period for the first time since Badness was born and I feel like I am bleeding out. Badness will not relinquish 'his' breast and let me go. I see a faint glow of light from the hallway. I hear the distant murmur of the television set. I glance at the clock. 2:51. Hubs is still watching tv at 2%$#*!!!:51 AM.

Which means he won't be getting out of bed with the children, or even at anytime remotely approximating morning. I seethe with rage. I pop Badness off my nipple, plunk him in his crib to scream and march down the stairs to do a little screaming of my own. I give Hubs the 'Death Stare', and proceed to march around the room banging off the tv and all of the lights. "What the hell are you doing!! Do you know that you woke the Princess up?! Me up?! We have 5 people and a dog coming this afternoon for dinner and the night!! I have to wash all the sheets, make up beds, clean the kitchen, 3 bathrooms, vacuum the house and wash the floors. And if you think you're staying in bed while I do it then you've got another think coming Mister!!! I may not have said 'mister'.

I march back upstairs and go to the bathroom first. It won't kill Badness to cry a little, and sometimes there are things a girl has to do, and who knows when I'll get another chance tonight. Man, I'd give anything since having children to just change a tampon in peace.

Hubs came upstairs and lifted the boy out of Bed, but he didn't walk him, or cradle him. He went to bed and sat Badness on my pillow to await me. As soon as I got in bed, the boy stopped crying. But he wasn't asleep. And neither was the princess. It was 4:20 before I got them both asleep again. And where was Hubs during this heartfelt parenting interlude? Snoring happily all alone in the Queen-sized bed. (No King yet, but keep those fingers crossed.)

And snoring happily is where he is now. The kids are up and waiting for breakfast...but I'm not doing anything else until the coffee is brewed.

A Tavern of Treats

Badness and I spent the night here at my mom's, and Hubs picked the princess up and took her out on a special date. He was going to take her for pizza, but she insisted that she wanted to go to "the place I went with mommy and Grama and Grampa pampa."

"I don't know where that is...."

"Don't worry Daddy. Just follow me."

She led him to the Muddy Waters, the local tavern. I did indeed take her there this summer, they have a family dining room that is open on the weekend. But not on Wednesday evenings, so Hubs and Princess sat down at the bar with four old guys drinking beer. Apparently, she thought it was great - there were christmas lights hanging over the bar, and FOUR tvs.

So they had their dinner, and then the Princess wanted dessert - the Muddy doesn't do dessert. As Hubs related the tale later I could see the resulting meltdown in my mind. But, showing superior presence of mind, Hubs expertly averted disaster by promising a treat at the corner store on the way home instead.

The Princess walked up and down all the aisles of the store examining all her choices before finally selecting......a candy cane. Which she refused to eat.

"I have to hang it on the tree Daddy. I'll eat if AFTER Christmas."

God, I miss her.

Musical Beds

No, this isn't going to be an interesting post about promiscuity and infidelity. Maybe soon. Just a boring bit about the nighttime adventures of the Princess and Badness.

5 years ago when we were newly married, Hubs and I bought a bed. I was lucky enough to be working in a chi-chi kids store that sold Marshall mattresses, and I could order what I wanted at a fabulous price. I begged and pleaded with Hubs to let me go ahead and order a king, but he argued, rightly, that it would almost fill our whole bedroom. I countered "but this isn't our 'forever house'.....and we'll never be able to get it this cheap again!"

It turns out that I was right. It wasn't our forever house. It was barely our house for another year. The Princess made her surprise appearance, and sleep in our lives was never taken for granted again. The ongoing game of Musical Beds had begun.

The house we live in now has three bedrooms. Huge bedrooms. Each one could easily fit two double beds, plus dressers and toys, and still have space to walk around and sit on the floor and play. Obviously, a king size bed no longer posed a problem. Except....for hubs. "We can't afford a king bed now. I like this bed, I don't want to just buy a cheap mattress." Hadn't I foreseen this?

It wasn't that big a deal, the Princess sleeps quite nicely all through the night in her own room, only coming in for morning cuddles.

Enter Badness.

For the first five months of his life, the boy slept only in my bed. This is not because I wanted to co-sleep, or because I believe it is better for bonding or child development. It was because I was physically incapable of making myself sit up to feed him. I couldn't have walked him in the middle of the night like I did the Princess. And if he stayed in my bed, he would nurse, and go right back to sleep. It was the only way that I could survive those first months.

As he got a little older, he started spending more time in his crib. But at a certain point I'm too tired to sit up, and he ends up back in my bed. Hubs will sometimes sleep in the bed in the boy's room, but it's a futon, and pretty uncomfortable; or sleep with the Princess. But most of the time he just clings to the edge of the mattress as his son takes up more and more of the bed.

Last night, as he crawled into bed past midnight, and found the warm sleeping body of the boy filling more space than you'd think a child his size could occupy, Hubs sighed and whispered "How much is a king-sized bed?"

Cross your fingers for me!

Step away from the shower, and nobody has to get hurt....

Badness was up at 5:00 am today. And he was foul. All the noise he made woke his sister up. At 5:42 am. Neither of them was going back to sleep. Hubby, as per usual, slept through everything.

So, I stagger downstairs with my children and after a first bleary-eyed cup of coffee, get everyone fed. And dressed. Get the princess's lunch ready for school. Around 8:00 they are miraculously playing nicely and I sneak upstairs to wash my face and get dressed. Inevitably, the peace doesn't last and I am forced to run back downstairs to screaming and cries of "Mommy! Mommy! He's touching my toys! ". Because hubby is still sleeping. Once everyone is calm and happy again, I look at the clock. 8:24. I really have to finish getting ready. I run back upstairs, but the bathroom door is closed and I can hear the sound of water running. WTF?! I stand there, in jeans and a bra, slack-jawed, silently cursing the man I married.

How DARE he get in the shower now?!

I threw on a t-shirt and grabbed my make-up to put on downstairs under the crummy, unflattering light in the powder room. But I feel I was completely justified in turning on the dishwasher and flushing an empty toilet 4 times.

And he was STILL in the shower at 8:48 when we finally got out the door to run to school. He didn't even say good-morning to the princess, let alone good-bye, or have a nice day.

And when I got back from dropping her off, there he was - enjoying his breakfast and paper - and with the gall to say to me "Hi sweetie, are you okay? You don't look so hot."

AARGH!!!