I Miss My Babies

The first week of work was SO fun. It really was like a mini vacation. Talking to adults, getting things done, etc. While this week was also fun, I'm starting to find that 2 1/2 hours a night of child face-time just isn't cutting it for me. I'm starting to really miss just being with my sweeties. The kiddies are handling the fact that I'm gone all day quite well, but I am definately E.'s once I get home from work. She wants to sit on my knee and talk to me from the moment I walk in the door until she goes to bed. J. needs to get a little lap time in there too which is usually achieved when we read stories after supper. Then there's the time that DH would like. Let's face it, the guy's been around two 3 year olds all day long and he too is craving some adult interaction.

Even after only two weeks I'm starting to feel a little disconnected from my kids. I'm getting a glimpse of what it would be like to work from 8-5 all the time. It's only a glimpse of what working full time would be like because I'm still lucky enough to be able to spend almost every minute of the 2 1/2 evening hours with them since things are being handled in the house during the day. God what a gift that is. I really see now how much easier it has made our lives to have one person at home while the other is working. When I was home, DH often thanked me for everything that I did. I didn't really understand how much of an impact it had on his ability to enjoy his work, but now I see. You never have to worry about things at home. If there's an appointment, it's handled; a child isn't feeling well; it's handled; you can put your children in any kind of activity since getting them to and from the activity is so easy; groceries, laundry, cleaning, all handled so you can enjoy your evenings and your weekends to spend time as a family; you get up in the morning, you prepare for your day and you head off to work - there's no rushing a sleepy/whinning child, there's no planning and preparing the night before to be sure that everything will run on time the next morning. It is truly a gift.

Now I'm really wondering what it's going to be like in September......

J.J.J.

Our little mister went to the opthamologist last Wednesday. Things are going swimmingly with his eye. The doctor was pleasantly surprised at how well J.'s eye is responding to the glasses and the patch. His eye has gone from 60/20 vision (with no glasses), to 30/20 vision to 20/20 vision (with glasses). That means that when he has his glasses on he can see perfectly. Because his eye is now 20/20 with glasses we only have to patch him for 2 hours a day now (down from 5 hours per day). In September we have another appointment do a simple eye test and then J. will see the doctor again in January. The doc. thinks that he'll likely reduce J.'s lense prescription at the January appointment if his vision continues to improve so well. I guess J.'s brain is making the connections necessary for him to have full use of that eye. Yeah! Sometimes I find it quite surprising that J.'s brain hasn't actually exploded with everything that has be going on up there over the past four months. What an amazing organ! What an amazing kid.

Last Tuesday we had a social working in to do our 'Six Month Evaluation' for J.'s placement. It is part of the paperwork that we are required to send to our agency who then forwards it to the Chinese government. Since everything is going SO well with J. we decided to get the evaluation done before DH goes back to work rather than wait for the offical six month mark. The meeting wasn't too dramatic. She just took the info. she needed -

Adjustment? - fine

Attachment? - fine

Sleep? - fine

Eating? - fine

Growth? - a little worrying

Overall Health? - fine

Fine Motor Skills? - fine

Gross Motor Skills? - fine

Get the point? The interview was a little repetative to say the least :-)) Thank goodness.

One Week Down

Oh boy, one week of the six work weeks down. As I mentioned, it was very fun (I won't go on and on about it, but it was fun). For a few days in the middle there I thought I was going to have to quit though because my back started bothering me, alot, but I sucked back anti-inflammatories like they were smarties, went to the chiro, changed my office chair, then did most of my work standing up and voila, crisis averted.

So, I must say that the person who was training me to do this job is an absolute angel. She has had to explain EVERYTHING to me. No, I really mean everything. I didn't even know how to use the liquid paper! It's very different than what they used to have. You know, it used to be little bottles of...well...liquid (the actual liquid in the 'liquid paper' name). No it's some kind of tape thing. It's great. Doesn't take any drying time, but you have to hold it the right way or it just gets screwed up. I had to phone to get companies to fill out paperwork to create a vendor number. I didn't have a clue if I should talk to Accounts Receivable or Accounts Payable. She had to tell me, I wrote it down and then read it off the card each time I phoned someone. Hell, for the first three days I kept messing up the company name whenever I answered the phone. Finally, I figured out that there was a certificate on the wall across from the phone that had the company logo on it so now I look there whenever I answer the phone. I had a little hiccup in that strategy though. My phone had a problem for a day and I had to use a phone in a different office. Yep, no certificate meant I screwed up the name again. I'm a fast typer though! A very fast typer. :-))

DH had his own troubles for the first few days too. He found his world a little narrower than he expected. When I arrived home the first evening, I was bombarded by the kiddies, but he talked a mile a minute too. I had the impression that he may have missed adult stimulation. But, as the week has worn on, he has settled into his role and he seems to be liking it just fine. He sure is getting a nice tan anyway.

Speaking of which....Today he and the kiddies were in the backyard when I got home. Everyone is wearing sunglasses, but no hats. O.K., where they're playing is a bit shady. In my most non-judgemental manner I ask DH if the children may perhaps be wearing some sunscreen. We had had the 'sunscreen discussion' on Monday with limited success, (I didn't get the sense that he had been totally converted, but more the sense that he may slap some goop on them so I wouldn't nag him later). So, there is sunscreen sitting on a shelf right by the shoes (been there since about March), but that wasn't the sunscreen he put on them yesterday. Ah well, at least they got some that day. But not today. Why not? Exact quote from DH:

'I put some on them yesterday.'

Yep.

By the way, they had a bath yesterday after they came in from outside. Gotta love how a guy's mind works sometimes.

Work

Hi All,

Haven't posted because my dreaded back has been acting up again and I didn't want to sit at the computer once I got home from work. Work is VERY fun. Quiet office all day that stays neat and tidy, where I accomplish things that stay finished and where I have adult conversations. Wow. I haven't even missed my kiddies too much because they've been so happy at home with dad. The beautiful weather means that they go to the park every day (on Monday they went twice) where they have 'special' snacks (I guess grapes become 'special' when eaten outside) and have all kinds of adventures.

The first two days E. was very upset when I left the house, but yesterday she kept asking me when I was going to leave. When it was time for me to go she jumped up and down saying, 'Bye Mama, bye Mama. Kiss, kiss. J. come and give Mama a kiss, she's going to work' and then she frantically waved to me from the front window. During the day she played a brand new game called, 'Going to Work.' J. doesn't mind when I leave, but I've noticed he's a bit more affectionate than usual with me in the evening.

What a Weekend

I went into the weekend a happy, worry-free stay-at-home mom and I left it with two jobs. How did it happen? The truth is, I don't really know. I do know that I didn't drink enough water Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and had a dehydration buzz. That's probably why everything went down as it did.

Tomorrow (Monday) I start my secretarial job. That's the one where I'll work everyday, all day until the end of July. I was very happy with that little bit of work. I thought it was a way to put DH's parental leave to good use. I really wasn't looking for anything else and that was my BIG mistake. When you aren't looking, things come up and smack you in the back of the head.

My next-door-neighbour works at the human resources department at our local school board. She encouraged me to put my name on the teacher and EA sub. lists, but it was all a plot on her part. She sent my resume to one of the schools that offer French Immersion in our town. The principal called me and asked if I would come in to interview for a grade one teaching position that was open. I told him I didn't really want to work and that I certainly didn't want to work full time since I have two small kiddies at home. He asked me if I would come in and talk to them anyway just so he 'would know what was around in the area'. I thought, 'What the heck. I'll go in and see if my French is good enough to teach immersion, but he's never going to offer me a job.'

I went into the interview and had a rather good time. I wasn't nervous at all. I knew they didn't want me so I didn't need to impress them, but then near the end of the interview, they started throwing out the types of positions that they would like to see me in. At first I thought they were just joking around, but they were serious. As I left they asked me if I would supply them with references. Shit, I don't really have any references anymore. The principal I worked for in Quebec retired and the people I worked for in Cold Lake - a million years ago - probably don't even remember me. I told the interviewers that I'd talk to my old principal and a couple of teacher friends I had worked with to see if they would be references for me. Whatever.

Why am I doing that when I don't even want to work? God knows. It just felt right. Some of the positions they threw out sounded kind of interesting. Anyway, I talk to my 'references',

e-mail the info to the interviewers and totally forget about the whole thing.

(Oh yeah, get this. One of my 'references' is Shelley - your fellow commenter who I met while teaching in Quebec City. It turns out that in high school she was a good, good friend of the principal who is thinking of hiring me. Yes way! I couldn't have planned it any better if I'd tried! So sureal - anyway, on with the story)

Friday at 5:30 I get a phone call the principal of the school (you know, Shelley's friend).

He says, 'Hi D. this is M. speaking.'

I'm like, 'Who's speaking? I don't know any M.'

He is then forced to explain that he's the principal of the school I had interviewed with two days before. Whoops.

I figure he's calling to say that I didn't get the job (the job I wasn't really interviewing for), but no. He says he really wants me to work for his school and he'd like to offer me 1/2 days. Every day. My head is reeling (for the past 3 years I have been saying that I don't want to teach anymore; I don't like the negativity that I've experienced in and around the profession; the pay is crappy for the hours you work (ummm, later I found out that teachers are paid quite different salaries in this province); I get too stressed out, etc) yet I try to remain coherent. I tell him I need to talk with my husband about this development since this is not what we've planned for our children. I hang up. I'm just a little stunned.

DH is THRILLED. He pulls out the Honda Civic catalogue he's been making love to for the past 2 months. We discuss (he's obviously pulling up a lot of pros in the 'discussion') and I finally truly realize how much of a weight it's been on him to be the only breadwinner in the family for the past 3 years. I phone Shelley's friend back and say yes (even though I'm not 100% sure of what they'll be having me do for this new job. The teaching team will be deciding what to do with me).

When I get off the phone DH has tears, dollar signs and small golden hybrid cars in his eyes.

What have I done?

This and That. That and This

Of Cows and Camping

There is a cattle farm across the ravine behind our house. The driveway to the farm runs behind our house and so, much to J.'s delight, we see all the cars, trucks, tractors and trailers that go to and fro. We don't actually see the cows unless we go for a walk down the bike path, but we hear and smell them sometimes. This afternoon they were especially noisy. While eating our roast beef supper this evening we saw a couple of stock trailers full of cows leaving the farm. J. asked what 'those' were called and we told him they were trailers. 'Trailers?' he asked and I knew where he was going with that question.

The other day we were out at Mom and Dad's place and J. got to look inside their camping trailer. He thought it was very cool and very impressive that Gong-Gong and Lao-Lao go 'camping' (even though he doesn't have a sweet clue as to what 'camping' might entail).

Anyway, I knew that when he asked, 'Trailer?' he was thinking about Gong-Gong and Lao-Lao's rig so I said, 'Yes, a trailer like Gong-Gong and Lao-Lao use for camping.' So then E. makes a very impressive cognitive leap and asks, 'Cows going camping?'. We told her that the cows were indeed going camping.

Of Teeth and Brushing

J. & E. took their first trip to the dentist today. It wasn't actually a full fledged dentist. It was a dental hygenist at the Heath Unit. She counted, brushed and painted their teeth (with floride, not paint). Both kids got two thumbs up way up for the condition of their teeth and their positive attitude toward having someone poke around in their mouths. I have to say that I was very proud of them.

Here are their post-dentist interviews:

Sticker Head Strikes Again

No, Sticker Head was not the one-time thing I thought it was going to be. She's back.....

This time the sticker came from The Home Depot and, like last time, the sticker struck without Mama's full knowledge. Yes, I knew she had a sticker and yes, I knew that it was going to get stuck somewhere while the child was sitting in the backseat as I drove, but NO, I didn't think to forbid head placement. Yes, like last time, we toured Walmart directly after the sticker was placed and so Mama was forced to endure many stares, snickers and giggles while shopping. Child was completely oblivious to extra attention. Unlike last time however, the sticker was not removed right after naptime. No, it remained in its location right up until it was time to prepare for bed at which time Mama had to soak the sticker with a hot face cloth to try and melt some of the glue and then cut fine, baby hairs at the forehead level in order to completely remove the sticker from its stucker. Unfortunately there is no video of the last manouver. By the way, she NEVER puts SMALL stickers on her head. NEVER!

Locked In

I CAN NOT believe what just happened to us. E. wasn't going to sleep and then it started pouring rain so she had a good reason to freak out and cry her head off hoping that Mama would come upstairs and comfort her. It worked. I went upstairs and spend 10 minutes on her bed as she 'fell alseep'. At one point during the 10 minutes DH was making noise in the kitchen so I closed E.'s door. She absolutely HATES that. She usually freaks out, bangs on it and then trashes her room (O.K., she pulled some clothes off of some hangers once or twice, but still....). Since I was there with her though she accepted a closed door.

At 9:20 pm I go to leave her room. Of course she's not asleep so she starts freaking and crying, but I headed for the door anyway. That's where the trouble started. Since the door is never closed, we didn't know that the inside part of the door handle is B.R.O.K.E.N. Oh yah, now I can't get out while E. is freaking and crying behind me.

DH is downstairs so I bang on the door. Of course he thinks that it's E. having a tantrum so he doesn't come. Now, do I yell and make more noise in the hope that DH will come taking the chance that the little boy in the next room may also wake up? I take the chance and yell for DH. He finally comes.

As he opens the door I'm over by E.'s bed (dumping her back into it actually). E. is still screaming as I tell DH, 'Don't close the door, the handle is broken'. So, what does he do?.........He fiddles around with the handle and in the process.......of course he closes the door! The three of us are now stuck in E.'s bedroom and the only other person in the house is obviously able to sleep through anything!

Since we aren't in the habit of leaving a hammer nor a screwdriver in a 3 year old's bedroom (I think the Child Safety Council would agree with us on this one), we have no way to remove the door. So, I take the screen off E.'s window, open it and begin pelting our nieghbours' house with shoes and clothes hangers. Our nieghbour (the wife) comes to her window (obviously wondering what the living hell is going on) and looks out. I call her name, she opens her window (remember it's raining) and explain our situation to her. She literally cannot stop laughing (well, neither can I to be quite frank). Luckily DH (who has a small tendency to never quite finish things off that he's started) has left the patio door to the family room unlocked. This is a door that we NEVER use, but he was doing something out there today and left it open. The rest of the house is locked up tight (because I have a tendency to lock an outside door after I've used it). We hear both nieghbours (the husband and the wife) now enter the house, come upstairs and they let us out. E. had stopped fussing by then. Actually, she stopped fussing the minute Mama climbed up on her bed and started throwing hangers at the nieghbours' house.

All I can say is.....thank god we're so good looking because it appears that we've barely got one brain between us. Can you believe two different social workers approved us to have children. Go figure.

Oh yah....in case you were wondering......J. slept through the entire event and is still asleep as I write this post.

Oh Dear, Jobs!

Oh my, it seems that I got myself a job. No, I don't really want to work and certainly not full time, but while DH is home I thought I'd try for a few little day jobs here and there. I've had my paperwork in for the substitute teaching list for almost a month now, but this board interviews it's subs. (something I've never heard of before) and I haven't been called in for that interview yet so I'm not on the list. I put my paperwork in for the EA (Educational Assistant) sub. list too, but hadn't had any calls.

Anyway, since it didn't look like anything was going to happen in the education field anytime soon (not really breaking my heart), I got in touch with an old friend of one of my sister's. The friend, named Colleen, is not that old, they've just been friends for a long time. Anyhoo, Colleen has an office personnel recruiting company (http://choice.ab.ca/) so Tuesday I gave her a call, went into the office, took a little test, found out I can type 56 words-a-minute but that I don't have any other office skills, left my totally inadequate for this environment resume and came home. Yesterday she called me with a full time job for an oil company starting mid-June until the end of July. Since DH doesn't go back to work July 24th, I took the job. On top of that, I got a call today to go sub for an EA this Tuesday. As is usual with my life, when it rains it pours!

The best thing about all this is that although I'll miss my kiddies, I won't have to worry about them having to make a transition to a childcare provider or any of that other crap. I can go to work, enjoy it and then come home to a home-cooked meal, a clean house and happy kiddies ;-).

It sure is going to be interesting to switch roles with DH. I know that he can totally handle it and since it will only be for six weeks I imagine he'll do a 'better' job than I did on the homefront.

The Kid Never Stops Talking

J. really just never stops talking. It's incredible. We're coming home from the park and he's alone in the bike trailer behind the bike and I hear, 'Mama, blah, blah, blah.' The wind is whistling past my ears (yes, I go very, very fast on my bike O.K.), he's 10 feet behind me and there's a wall of plastic between us. Does that stop him? Oh ka no. He keeps on talking and talking to me.

The other day after supper I filmed him at the kitchen table. He talked non-stop for almost 6 minutes. No one was even answering him. He was talking to his cookies, he was talking to the table and he was talking to himself.

He talks from the moment he wakes up. E. sleeps with a stuffed elephant (Eli from the video post) that has a bell in it. This is so great because when we hear the bell we know that E. is awake or at least waking up. We got J. a dog that has a bell in it, but he doesn't care to sleep with it. A problem you ask. No. We always know J. is awake even without the bell. Yep, he starts talking.....to us, to himself to his sister. What a guy.

Here's a typical morning conversation between the kiddies. Remember they are in different rooms, but the rooms are beside each other.

J: Baba?........Baba?!

E: Baba?

J: Aaayaa Baba. (Don't say Baba Mei-Mei)

E: Baba?

J: Aaayaaa Baba Mei-Mei! Mama.

E: Aaayaaa Mama! Baba

J: (in a very sweet voice) J. loves Baba. Mei-Mei loves Mama?

E: Aaayaaa Mama. Mei-Mei Baba.

J: Aaayaaa. Mei-Mei Mama. Mei-Mei aime Mama.

When the clock reads 7:00, E. gets out of bed, goes to her brother's room and says,

'Come J. come. 7... 7 come on.' Then they both come running into the bedroom yelling, 'Baba, baba!' and jump up on DH's side of the bed.

Ahhh, sweet bliss......

Laughs

One of my nieces told me about a comedian named Demetri Martin. I think he's so hilarious.
Here's a link to a YouTube site of some of his jokes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiFrfeJ8dKM

I laugh out loud each time I listen to his routine. Where does he come up with this stuff 'Ladies'? Naming oranges and naming vitamins - cracks me up. Oh, cracks my niece up too.