LOUD!

I was trying to get a video of Sam's latest dancing - head banging and starting her own mini mosh pit and got this instead:


First time she's ever done that and totally a fluke but hilarious! It's not often that I capture something like that on video.

Here's the sweet dancing...we may have our hands full with this little rocker!

22 weeks

This week I really want a Big Mac followed by a Blizzard. I'll hold out a bit longer but I might as well because this is my last pregnancy and my last chance to indulge in disgusting cravings guilt free!

Horrendous picture warning. Why do I look so tired and wilted? Well, with the humidity today, it was +33. And we don't have air conditioning in the house. Neither does my van.

Follow Up

You'll all be happy to learn that I woke up this morning to no bugs in my bed. Of course I feel like an idiot now for assuming we had bed bugs...but that's pretty typical for me to overreact like that.

When I was remaking the bed after sanitizing all the bedding, I got to thinking about what parts of housework I absolutely despise. Although I clean a lot and actually enjoy it, there are some things I detest.

Like:
-putting the duvet back in the duvet cover...loathe it!
-folding socks...not sure why because I really don't mind doing laundry (not the sorting, washing, transferring or general folding)
-cleaning the kitty litter (something I don't have to do because I'm pregnant but a long time ago Shawn and I made a deal...he would always do the kitty litter and I would always do the laundry)

How about you? What part of housework do you hate the most?

FREAK OUT!

Let me preface this story by reminding you all how OCD I am about having a clean house. I clean more than anyone I know (except my mom who taught me well).

I woke up this morning and did what I always do the second I wake up...make the bed. As I'm tightening the fitted sheet around the mattress, I see a little, teeny, tiny little bug. EEEKK!! Super tiny. I couldn't even tell what it was. I grab a tissue and kill it and inspect it. I still can't tell what it is. I try to dismiss the thought of having an insect in my bed and continue making it. I brush the fitted sheet clear of wrinkles and my hand kills another bug. OKAY. NO. JUST NO. I inspect basically every sheet, pillow, duvet and mattress and don't find another bug. But just the same, I'm convinced we have bed bugs. It never occurs to me HOW that could possibly happen when I wash our bedding every single week. I storm downstairs with all the infected bedding and start washing it all on the "sanitary" cycle which is a 2 full hours of heavy duty cleaning on extra hot. Shawn talks me off a ledge which includes taking all the mattresses in the house to the dump, as well as everything with any absorbable material like couches and covered chairs. I vacuum every single inch of the mattress, flip it and repeat. I check my hair repeatedly for lice and take the hottest shower I can stand. I finally go downstairs and start my day with a nice google search for bed bugs. OH. MY. GOD. They are quite possibly the sickest things I've ever seen. However, it is NOT what I found in our bed. We've had the windows open all week due to the extreme temperatures we've been getting and this bug must've been small enough to get through the tiny holes in the screen. Crisis averted. I will sleep in our bed tonight knowing it is quite possibly the cleanest it has ever been.

Wordless Wednesday

Sammy vs. Corn

Music!

With Shawn and I being such music lovers, it's really no big surprise that Samara loves it too. I'm really, really pleased because I think a love of music is such a great thing. She loves it any way she can get it...a doll that plays music, the stereo, live, it doesn't matter! We almost always have music playing in the background and she'll dance whenever the music moves her. Her latest dance move is a foot stomp. She has added that to her current repertoire of squats, deep knee bends, clapping, raising her hands in the air, Stevie Wonder head shake and a little booty shake!

21 weeks

I'm down to 3 pairs of pre-pregnancy jeans that do up. Even though my belly is way bigger than it was with Samara at this point, I've gained less weight (11 pounds now) and it's all concentrated in my belly. I was NOT wearing regular pants at this point last time. Old wives tale would say this means I'm carrying a boy...we'll see!I just washed and straightened my hair this morning...no idea why it looks so ratty. EW. I think I need a haircut!

I am looking forward to my dessert when Samara goes to bed...strawberry rhubarb crisp with maple ice cream. Yum. So far this baby is no different than Samara was...all about the sweets, the grease, everything bad!

Trip Update

The trip went...well, we had some ups and downs. We're home now, Sam is sleeping and I should be too but instead am drawn to the internet where I haven't been for a few days (GASP!).

Trip summary (I can only handle bullets for now, brain too tired to form complete paragraphs):

* After the worst morning I've ever had since Samara was born, the drive was super easy. She slept the entire way and didn't wake up until I stopped the van. I listened to an audio book I got from the library which I highly recommend for passing the time. I was still traumatized from the morning from hell and spent most of the day shell shocked.

* Samara enjoyed terrorizing a new cat (poor Cinnamon, she's 18 and hasn't been around kids). I can't say she was sad to see us leave. Samara also enjoyed a non-baby proofed house.

* Got to go out for dinner (which I never do!) with Sheena. It was the most "active" dinner I've had with Samara and by the time we left, I had heartburn from eating so fast and had worked up a sweat trying to wrestle her into submission.

* Samara slept like an angel the first night. I, however, did not. I woke up every 2 hours and was awake for a good 2 hours straight listening to the noise of the city. Samara woke up with her 2nd cold ever...and first cough ever.

* We spent the day at Janice's house with her and the boys. Super great day just hanging out. Samara chose not to nap which I thought would guarantee a quiet drive back to where we were staying. I was wrong. I also got stuck in construction traffic so got to listen to Samara whine and scream for 1.25 hours.

* Had the worst night we've had in months. Sam fussed about every 15-30 minutes. She kept going back to sleep so I figured her runny nose was bothering her. By midnight, I went and got her and she was so hot and sweaty. I worried she had a fever but didn't bring a thermometer or Tylenol with me (will NOT be doing that again). After some cuddling, she went back to sleep easily and was very quiet. I tossed and turned in bed envisioning her fever giving her febrile seizures and finally decided there was no way she was sleeping in a different room than me. I went and got her and tried to hold her, not wake her completely and shove the play pen through the doorway. Not happening. I tried to take it apart one handed and that too was not happening. So she went into bed with me. She didn't seem to mind but wow, does she ever move around a lot. I couldn't sleep for fear she would fall off the bed. So I laid there while she performed her nightly acrobatics with a nose whistle. Eventually at 4am I couldn't take it anymore and she felt cooler to the touch so back to her own room she went. Until 6am. She was crying and I was a zombie. I got her milk and brought her back to bed with me and she slept while I dozed until 8am.

* Due to her fever, we cancelled the remainder of our plans. I tidied up and we left for home. She slept on and off on the way home.

So, all in all, it wasn't a complete disaster...she got sick, I slept hardly at all but let's look at the positives! She didn't cry on the road trip!!! She is able to sleep somewhere besides her crib!!!

Big SIGH.....

If Samara were Prime Minister, we just might have more than 1 Daylight Savings Time...lately she has been getting up at 6:30am. I thought that was bad (although I did get up earlier when I worked an "actual" job) until this morning when it was 5:30am. Of course today is the day I drive to Calgary with her...on my own. I don't need to remind myself what happened the last time she got up ridiculously early and we decided to drive somewhere during her usual naptime. In case you all forgot, she cried. The entire time. Until I jumped in the back with her. Which will be impossible this time.

Wish me luck. I'm going to need it.

1 year

What a difference a year makes! These pictures were taken just over a year apart...same shirt!

I forget how chubby Sam was! Right after the first picture (2 months), she stopped being in the 75th percentile for weight and started sliding to where she is now...around 15th.

20 weeks

Halfway! Time is going by too quickly...as much as I can't wait to meet the baby, I'm really trying to soak up these last few months that Samara and I get on our own. I think it will be a major adjustment for her having to share my attention. I think the last time Shawn and I went out without her was back in January or February. Today I'm craving carnival food...cotton candy, candy apples, mini donuts and such...I blame my sister for that since she is running a booth at a local festival where she lives this weekend and was telling me about all the treats!

Future Artist?

Crayola has these neat crayons for little chubby hands to easily grasp. But...Samara doesn't quite "get" it yet. She really liked bashing them together and then took a chunk out of the green one and found it quite tasty. Her back molar was green until I brushed it later in the day.

Speaking of molars, we've been having a heck of a time with them. They are HIDEOUS. We had one mostly up and I was watching the other side as it was red and swollen. Then yesterday I noticed the top one on the other side is out too. So, only 1.5 to go. We can make it!

19 weeks

19 weeks, almost halfway there! I can tell you I wouldn't choose to be pregnant in the summer again! Makes it feel much hotter. I'm feeling the baby daily now which is super nice. I've gained 8 pounds which is not so super nice but necessary!

Friday Night Leftovers

Join the host of Friday Night Leftovers here.

*Most days I like grocery shopping. Today was not one of those days. Samara clearly did not want to be there as proven by her trying to jump out of the cart repeatedly. This store does NOT have the helpful seatbelts so don't even think of turning your back to pick out apples. A snack helped but unfortunately I can only shop so fast and then the crying started. I used to be absolutely terrified to take Samara anywhere when she was a colicky baby because I didn't want her to cry in public and for people to look at me. Now, I'm one of those people that seem oblivious to it. Sorry. I get that it's annoying but my family needs to eat and I refuse to walk around from my cart when I'm THIS CLOSE to being done! Anyway, I open a box of crackers (NEVER though I'd be one of those people that crack open packages before paying!) and it seems to work. In my haste to get the heck out of there so quickly, I end up buying about $50 more than I wanted to but such is life. I lose a package of salad and a bunch of bananas that come tumbling out of the cart in the parking lot and almost run over the bananas. The salad is salvageable but the bananas might have to be banana bread since they are so bruised now. I get to the van and someone has parked so closely that I can't squeeze the cart in. So, I have to make loads from the road. SO ANNOYING. At this point, I consider leaving the entire cart full of $200 of groceries, driving home and pretending we never came at all. I push through because there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I get to open Samara's door into the vehicle that blocked us in. YYYYESSSSS!!! I would be lying if I said I opened it with much care and attention and didn't act like a savage maniac and almost take our door off its hinges by throwing it open so hard. Sigh...it's really the little things in life that give me so much pleasure. Anyways, we survived. And we get to do it all over again in a week!!!!
*That story probably could've had its own post, congrats if you finished it and didn't give up halfway through.
*It's stinkin' hot today...+30. Getting groceries might be the only time we venture outside today.
*Have I mentioned my hatred for Samara's leaky cloth diapers lately? Oh, I have? Sigh...my bad...
*Visit my Etsy shop here and buy a tutu or 2!

FREE!

If you're on Facebook, look up Neat Nat Style. Once the "likes" reach 150, I'm going to give away a free tutu!

A Morning In The Life Of The Tompkins Family...

I usually only post really great pictures of Samara smiling and happy. In fact, people have commented to me that she seems like the happiest kid. Usually that's the case. But not always. Here lies the tale of the cranky child...

Sunday morning, I hear Sammy starting to wake up. I look over at the clock and it's 5:47am. F*ck, is my first thought. There is no way she has slept enough and that means she'll be cranky until she has her morning nap. She really gets going around 6:05am and Shawn, admitting defeat at another failed morning of sleeping in, goes and gets her sippy cup of milk. We have a nice breakfast of waffles and by the time we're done breakfast, it's about 7:15am. Sam is already proving that I was right about not getting enough sleep, walking around the house whining and crying, unsatisfied with anything. We decide that there is no way we'll survive in the house all day so decide on a little road trip to Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, about 90 minutes away. I figure this will be great because if Sam is really tired, she sleeps in the vehicle no problem.

You can see where this is going, right? She doesn't sleep. In fact, she screams harder than I've heard since she was a baby. We finally pull over and I get in the back for the rest of the trip and she scoffs at all my attempts to distract her. We get to the park around 9:30am. I look wistfully over at the campsites and the campers are just getting going with their mornings. We make the hike through the sandstone cliffs and Samara disrupts the peace for everyone by whining and crying through the hike. We take a break so she can walk around and that helps. Until we start hiking again. Admitting defeat, we turn around and head back. About 2 minutes from the truck, she falls asleep which is of course the worst possible timing. She will be energized after her miniscule little nap and think it counts as decent sleep. So, we take out the cooler where we had the best intentions of a lovely day and packed a lunch and have a little snack instead and let her run around for awhile. We call it a day by 10:30am and are home by noon. She does, in fact, sleep most of the way home.

Success? Not so much. Great views and some great pictures though...which as you know now don't always tell the true story!

Cloth Diaper Update #?

WARNING: This post will be incredibly boring for those with no kids or those with kids and have no interest in cloth diapers!

Okay, I have b!tched and complained about the cloth diapers so much that I've lost track of what update this is. To recap, I bought the Fuzz Bunz One Size cloth diapers when Sam was around 8 months or so. Cloth was always something I wanted to do but got overwhelmed researching the options when I was pregnant and then let it slide.
From the beginning, I have had issues with leaks. Always on the inside of her thighs. It's not a build up problem, which I know can be common. The cloth is clearly absorbing the liquid. I've tried making the diapers smaller around her thighs and bigger. My latest attempts had me spending even more money...which was really a last ditch effort because the diapers are already around $20 each. I bought a different kind of insert (a combo of cotton and hemp) and while it seems that it absorbs way better than the plain cotton inserts, it leaks WAY WAY worse than before. I think it's because the inserts aren't actually made by Fuzzi Bunz so they don't fit in the diaper that well. I could be wrong but that's my guess. I also bought some bamboo doublers which are meant to be added to the original diapering system but haven't tried that yet.

I also bought a couple of Thirsties diapers with covers and they work well but I don't enjoy having to put 2 parts (a cloth diaper and then a waterproof cover) on at every change when I'm already battling Sam to stay still for as short of time as possible. Also, that doesn't help me with the fact I have about 15 Fuzzi Bunz that I paid good money for.
I contacted Fuzzi Bunz and they sent me 4 larger inserts to try. So far they seem okay, although bulky.

So now what? I have no idea. I took Samara to the store this morning and had a Fuzzi Bunz diaper with a Thirsties hemp insert in it and her legs were soaking wet by the time we got home. So the Thirsties inserts...well, I think they work but I don't know what I'm going to do with the 8 I bought.

It's incredibly, incredibly frustrating to have so many leaks. I'm constantly changing outfits and if we're going somewhere where she won't be changed for a bit, I don't trust them and fall back on disposables. This has been about 6 months of this. Am I crazy for pushing through? What else can I do?!

Etsy

Check out my new Etsy shop here. Until July 30th, as a special promotion, you can get 2 tutus for $30. That's a savings of $10! Mix and match colours, add embellishments, have a super short tutu or a longer one...it's up to you! Or, if you're creatively challenged, tell me the size and leave the rest up to me!

As a special opening promotion for blog friends only, free shipping on the first 10 orders!

18 weeks

The baby's hearing is now fully developed and is listening to my heartbeat for comfort.

I am feeling blah. I know there's a reason for the weight gain but I still feel gross about it. My regular clothes are getting too tight now but I don't want to give up and switch to maternity ones yet because I know I'll be sick to death of them in a short time. In the meantime, I'm eating like a pig but still working out 5 days a week.

Speaking of eating like a pig, right now I could go for some hot wings and a milkshake.

14 months!!

This past month, Samara:
-really perfected her running skills. Also started doing this weird limp thing when pushing her walker which could be the start of skipping? Or just a really funny walk.
-will now hold her hands up to the ceiling and put her head to the side when you ask her where something is or when something is gone.
-is sleeping later in the morning. I'm not saying what time (it's not that late) but it's better than last month and I don't want to jinx it.
-now says mama, dada, up, hi, nana (banana), ba (ball), Ahlie (Charlie), Obbie (Robbie), peas (please).
-now signs more, all done, bath, poop, music, book.
-can drink from a straw
-can throws things
-blows kisses
-rolls a ball
-kicks a ball
-points at things

Things I never want to forget:
-that she spontaneously blows kisses or gives regular kisses without us asking for them.
-that she claps for herself when she does something good/hard/neat/funny.

Happy Canada Day!

Canadians are known for being super polite. We like to start that kind of thing pretty early...Sam's latest word: