Potty time

It appears we may have finally had a break-through on the potty training front.  It actually happened at Dee's house this past week.  Dee has another girl there a little older than Ginny, so maybe it was a peer pressure thing, but one day Ginny came home wearing panties.  She still had some accidents in the evening, but this weekend was great.  All day Saturday and Sunday with no accidents.  We even went out for a few hours on Saturday afternoon with her in underwear.  There's a new meaning to living on the edge.  She made it through though, with flying colours.  We made her go at Walmart, and that went off without a hitch I guess.  Julie took her and Jorja to the bathroom and Ginny got to pee on top of Jorja's pee - how exciting!  Whatever works.  Julie made cupcakes in honour of the occasion, and Ginny took some to Dee's today to celebrate with a potty party.  And she came home in the same pants and underwear that she went in.  Finally, there is an end in sight.  Now we just have to conquer the number two and we'll be set.  So far the only time she has done that since the wearing of the panties has been after she is ready for bed and in her pull-up.  Oh well, everything in due time.

I was going through my itunes library the other day and just for kicks, turned on the feature that shows how often each song has been played.  It soon became obvious that in the past five years there has been a definite shift in my music listening.  All of the top songs played were by Sharon, Louis and Bram.  The top song had been played more than twice as many times as the top played adult song.  At least I still have the ride to work.  Later.

Ginny's wisdom

I was driving the girls home from daycare today (it was a much better day) and Jorja had made a paper crown in Kindergarten.  Ginny asked if she could wear it.  Jorja replied that it would be too big now and that maybe they should try when Ginny turns three (like it will still be around then).  "I'm still two now," Ginny says.  "Yes, I know," says Jorja, "we'll try when you're three."  "Great idea Jorja!" Ginny says.  Maybe you had to be there, and I'm not doing the story justice, but it was the cutest thing.  She's so supportive.

Our trip for Petland is planned for the morning - the girls are quite beside themselves actually.  As we were getting ready for bed, I told Ginny that if she wanted to go that she had to go to bed good.  She said that she would and we started up the stairs.  I mentioned again that she had to go to bed nice and that I was really looking forward to going to the pet store.  Without missing a beat, Ginny turned to me and said, "Then you have to sleep good."  Touche.  I guess if I want to go, then the same rules should apply to me.  Later.

Back to Life, Back to Reality

I hope everyone is having a good start to 2011.  Our new year has been a little less than smooth.  Julie went back to work on Monday, and that went pretty well.  She's doing all right so far - just half days this week.  The girls are not adjusting quite as well.  CeCe remembered being left at the sitter's place before Christmas and immediately voiced her displeasure with being left there again on the first day.  And on the second day.  And on the third day.  Tomorrow?  We'll see - I'm guessing more of the same.  Ginny seemed to do fairly well on the two practice runs before  Christmas, and the first day wasn't too bad.  The second was not pretty and today was even worse.  It started last night before she went to bed - she was crying  that she didn't  want to go.  Then she was up at 6:30 saying she didn't want to go.  Jorja has done remarkably well with this change - maybe her reaction is still coming.  Needless  to say, there  is going to be a bit of an adjustment period. 

I start work at 6:00 am, so Julie gets to be the drop-off person.  I get the pick-up job.  Who got the short end of that stick?  The first day I picked them up, CeCe was so excited she didn't know of she should laugh or cry.  It was kind of a mixture.  The other two gave me a greeting fit for someone  they hadn't seen  in years.  Yeah, I've definitely got the easy job.

Anyhow, one more day of work for me, and then I get the three little darlings all to myself on Friday.  We've got a trip to the pet store planned  - I had to give Ginny something to look forward to and that seemed to do.  It's a cheap and easy fix - there probably won't be many more of those as they grow up.

By the way, what the heck happened to Canada tonight?  5 goals.  Really guys?  Really?  Later.   

Merry belated Christmas and Happy New Year

It's been a busy couple of weeks here, and a while since I've written anything.  I guess I should squeeze one more post in before the new year.  I hope everyone had a merry Christmas and a safe New Year.

Our Christmas celebrations started on Christmas Eve.  We went to the evening service at church which started at 6:30.  It's a tradition that the last song (Silent Night) is sung by candle light.  Everyone gets a candle and the lights are turned off and the flame is passed from one person to another starting with the Christ candle.  We decided this year that the girls could each hold a candle.  Ginny did fine (surprisingly), but Jorja had a bit of a mishap.  She was getting into things and decided to hold the candle above her head.  The only problem with that was that she didn't keep it very level and dripped hot wax onto her head.  Ouch!  It wasn't a very silent night after that, but we made it through and combed some wax out of her hair when we got home. 

We then opened presents Christmas eve when we got home from church.  (Except for CeCe - she had had enough and was ready for bed)  The girls were pretty excited and had a lot of fun.  We got them a doll house this year.  It's funny, one doesn't realize the scale of a doll house when it is set up in Toys R Us.  It didn't look that big, but once it was home and set up, it is a real presence in the room.  Oh well, it will only be around for a few more years, and the shade of hot pink looks great in the family room.

Christmas toes

Jorja and Ginny in their new PJs opening presents

CeCe in front of the aftermath

Christmas day the weather was beautiful and I took the older two girls to the park to go sledding.  Jorja had mentioned once that a friend of hers brought a sled to school one day and they went sliding down the 'biggest hill ever'.  I've seen the playground and I wasn't exactly sure what she was talking about, but I thought we'd see.  Her 'hill' was basically a large trench through the park - pretty lame.  Across the field at the public school, there is a bit of an actual hill, so that's where we went.  We had a lot of fun.  The hill wasn't too big, and for the first few runs, I ended up being the chair lift and pulled the two of them in the sled up the hill.  I came to my senses and made them walk up.  Then we all piled in and went down a few times.  Here's the view heading down.

Not the biggest hill, but we had fun.

On boxing day, we set out for Julie's parent's place where we feasted that evening.  We had another Christmas and the girls had fun again.  CeCe wasn't too into the presents yet this year, but she did have fun with a bow for a while.  The weather there was nice, and we went sledding in some hills in the field.  This was considerably bigger than the school hill, and I think the adults had more fun than the kids.  The girls had fun playing with their aunt and uncle and Nanny and Poppa.  They also got to spend some time with both great-grannies, so that was nice. 

Jorja must have been hearing some politically correct greeting this year, because one afternoon out of the blue she said to me, "Seasons ingredients!"  I smiled and said "Seasons ingredients" back to her.  (Yes, I did correct her after a while.)  Another afternoon she was helping Poppa in his office punching some holes in some papers.  She proudly came up afterward and declared she was his 'secondtary'.  So close on both occasions.

We came home on the 29th, and now it seems like the crunch is really on.  Julie goes back to work on Monday, the girls start at the sitter full time and Jorja goes back to school.  I'm back at work too.  It seems like this January back-to-work date for Julie has just sort of been looming in the distance, but now it's here and there seems like there is so much to do.  We went on a big shopping excursion yesterday to buy all the supplies for the sitter - diapers, wipes, zinc cream.  Plus we needed all that stuff for ourselves.  Julie needed some new shoes and uniforms for work, so we got that taken care of as well.  It was rather draining by the time we were done - physically, mentally and financially.  But we're getting there.

Now we are having some friends over tonight, my parents tomorrow for one last Christmas and then it's back to reality.  Have a good New Year's and try to stay warm.  Later.

Potatoes

Growing up on a farm, potatoes were a staple.  They were served with almost every meal and they were good.  Everyone liked them.  Julie grew up pretty much the same way.  What's not to love - mashed, baked, boiled, roasted, fried, barbecued - the possibilities are endless.  I guess we just assumed that when we had kids, they would like potatoes.  Wrong.  With Jorja, it doesn't matter how they are done, she has never liked them.  Ginny has turned out to like the deep-fried variety (naturally) as well as the occasional hash brown.  The jury is still out on CeCe.  This is a fairly long preamble, but it is leading somewhere.  We had the kids at the new sitter two days this week.  After the second day, we asked them what they had for lunch.  They replied that they had potatoes.  A look of shock and awe crossed our faces.  "What kind of potatoes?" we asked.  Ginny said, "White ones."  That narrows it down anyway.  "Did you like them?"  Both girls said that yes, they did like them.  Again, shock and awe.  This was going to require a little more digging.  Julie called and asked what kind of miracle potato was served that the girls ate.  It turns out they were No-Name frozen hash browns done up with some dill and seasoning salt.  I guess Jorja looked at her plate and said that she didn't like potatoes.  The sitter said that she should at least try them, so she did.  Her response: "I like these.  They're better than the potatoes my Mom makes."  I guess that's what we get for trying the unprocessed variety of the food.  Later.

Christmas concerts

It appears that at the ripe old age of five, our daughter is ready to become a snowbird.  Jorja has decided that she has had enough of winter.  The other day after piano lessons we were walking back to the car, and it was a bit windy and quite cold.  She said that this cold weather made it hard to walk and hard to breathe.  We made it all the way back to the car (less than a block) and she flopped down into her seat and exclaimed, "I'm exhausted!"  Life is rough.  She has now decided that she has had enough and we should move to Mexico.  Just wait until January.

We took the girls to the new sitter today for a test run.  Things went pretty good, considering it was the first time and they stayed there all day.  Jorja walked to school with the sitter's son who is in grade six (it's a good thing it wasn't too cold today) and that went well.  CeCe had a few issues, but nothing too serious.  Ginny seemed to do the best of all, surprisingly.  Except for the fact that we were barely home, and she asked if she could poop.  Apparently she didn't feel comfortable enough to let go at the sitter's house yet.  A bit of holiday lockdown.  I'm sure that will go away.  As it is now, Julie will have to deal with a day of 'cleansing' tomorrow.  Too bad I have to work.

It's the season of the Christmas concerts and recitals.  Sunday was a marathon session for us.  The girls both performed during church as part of their Sunday School program.  They sang some songs, jingled some bells and Jorja had some lines to say this year.  For as much of a performer Ginny is at home, she was pretty reserved in front of the church.  Jorja was at first too, but she made it through her lines.  She looked a bit like a deer in the headlights when she first spoke into the mic, but she did it.  We were barely home and had a bite to eat and we were back on the road for piano recitals.  The girls are far enough apart  in age that we had to attend two - Ginny's started at 1:00 and Jorja's at 2:30.  Ginny sang a couple of songs and Jorja played the piano.

'Love may come and tap you on the shoulder, some starless night...'

'Ring those bells and turn around...'

It was a long day, but one that made me feel pretty proud, not only because of their performances, but because of how well behaved they were all afternoon.  There was a lot to sit through, and they did awesome, listening to everyone and clapping enthusiastically right to the end.

On another note, we are officially back into the 'gate stage' at our house.  CeCe is going to be walking soon enough, I'm sure.  She pulls herself up on everything and is starting to scooch along holding on.  She has also decided that she can climb stairs.  I turned my back for a minute and she was up two step already.  That's not good for the blood pressure.

Tomorrow night we are off to the final concert - the school one.  Now it's time for bed.  Later.

Clean air

This going to work business is cutting in to my writing time.  Getting up at 5:30 makes the evening a little shorter too.  Not to mention the lack of inspiration and writing material when I'm not here all day.  Oh well, what can you do?

We all got over  our flu issues, so that is a relief.  It didn't last all that long, but we sure felt rough while we had it.  Speaking of health, we had our furnace ducts cleaned this week.  What a difference that makes.  We kept meaning to and kept meaning to and never got it done.  We've lived here three and a half years and never had it done.  The previous owners had dogs - they were dog breeders actually.  Yeah I know - gross.  Jorja's asthma had been good for so long, we hadn't had to use puffers in ages.  Then this fall she caught a cold and it just hung on and hung on and she would cough and cough and cough at night.  Then we went to Calgary for the weekend and no coughing.  So when we got home, I called, we had it done, and the past two nights, no coughing.  I feel like such a schmuck.  At least it's better now.

We are now in the process of looking for daycare.  It is really tough to find someone good in the area.  After an interesting experience, we found out it's easy to find someone not good.  Who needs references when there's facebook.  Later.