Long time.... no blog....

It was recently brought to my attention that I had not paid any attention to this blog in quite a while. And it wasn't until I read it, that in fact it has been a while..... almost 5 months to be exact. Where has the time gone????? In a nutshell, it has gone to spending every spare minute of my day with the most handsome, charming little boy ever..... Linden. It's been a very busy and interesting couple of months and here is a brief recap, (considering I can't remember what I did last week, we'll see what I can remember from 5 months ago).

August

The first weekend of August was like every other August long weekend in Gimli. Icelandic Festival weekend. Which at work we call, well I'm pretty sure this is a family site so I can't say it. But I'm sure you can figure it out. What with an influx of up to 50,000 people, bars open until 3:00am, and packs of roving teenagers and adults who feel that the laws go out the window for the festival weekend. This is the one weekend of the year that it is MANDATORY that the office staff work (fyi: I work in a police station). Being that I was on Maternity leave, the office was automatically down one person. Usually this would be bad enough but no, it got worse. There happened to be major staffing changes while I was on leave and that left only one clerk to work in the office and she only had 2 weeks experience. So I, being the dutiful employee that I am, volunteered to come in and work the night shifts for that weekend. And work I did, I believe I ended up working over 22 hours between 7:00PM Saturday and 3:00 AM Monday morning. Add to this a baby that still wasn't sleeping through the night and a husband who needed to be at his job in the mornings. It was a long weekend, but it was nice to get back to work, if even for a short and STRESSFUL time and who doesn't like to feel appreciated.

The rest of August consisted of Folklorama where my dance students were performing, a couple of weddings and spending time with friends and family. The rest of the month pretty much paled in comparision to going to work for that one weekend. (Those who know me, and know what happened this August in Gimli will know what I'm talking about).

September and October

Nothing really happened in September or October worth writing home about. Linden got bigger, and so did his personality. Man is that kid a character and a flirt. Give him a room full of people and he's bound to put on a show.

November

What an interesting month. I went back to work full-time and my hubby took some parental leave and stayed home with Linden. While it felt really good to get back to work, a part of me really missed being at home with my baby. But, the smiles I got everyday when I got home from work made it all worth it. I'm one of those people that needs to be doing something, I need a routine and to feel productive and with the weather turning colder out, getting out of the house was becoming less and less and cabin fever was starting to set in. I had absolutely no reservations about Garrett staying home with Linden everyday, he is absolutely wonderful and Linden is a true Daddy's boy.

So back to work..... It probably took me a good two weeks to get back into the swing of things and remember how to do everything. It did take me at least three weeks to get my desk back in order and find all of the desk supplies that had been pilfered off my desk while I was gone. But man does it feel good to be back and to feel needed. At the risk of sounding conceted, I really don't know how they survived without me, I mean half of them can't even send a fax without screwing something up. As the boss said on my first day back, "The techno geek is back". And by no means am I a techno geek, I'm just not a techno tard and know my way around a computer.

Linden was teething something terrible and finally on November 30th he started cutting his first tooth. Now he has his bottom front two teeth and must chew on everything, but his favorite things to chew on are our fingers and noses.

December was a big month for us and I do believe that the two big events that happened deserve their own entries, which I promise to get to before summer.

A Reunion of sorts......

but not really........

When I was growing up and in high school, I had a really close group of friends. I mean a couple of the girls and I went as far back as going to daycare together. We were the group of friends that did everything together, on any given night we could be found at Chicken Chef having coffee or all having a sleepover at someones house on the weekends. But, as time went on, as it has an annoying habit of doing, and we all grew up, we all seemed to go out different ways. Yes we'd talk on the phone occassionally, always with the intentions of getting together more, or talking more, but again, the road is paved with good intentions. In the past five years or so the only time we really all get together is when one of our friends is getting married. This past weekend was no exception.

Our friend Kristen was having her wedding reception this weekend. Note, it wasn't her wedding, but just the reception. One must know something about Kristen before I can continue. Every since we were young girls, Kristen always did things her own way, she never felt she had to conform, so why should her wedding be any different. They had a small, and I mean small, family only small, wedding in the spring, then the Bridal shower at the end of April, the social at the end of May and then the reception in July. It was totally Kristen and it was still beautiful and she looked absolutely gorgeous in her dress.

So being that Kristen was pretty much the last of our "circle" to get married, everyone made the effort to be there. And really, it was very much like a high school reunion, and like high school, somethings (and people) just never change. To make a long story (and night) short, it was wonderful to get together with the girls (and the guys too I guess, but mostly the girls) and visit and catch up and drink like we were 18 again. At this point I must mention that I really couldn't drink then either. There were alot of good pictures taken, but of course the batteries in my camera died and I didn't bring replacements, so I only managed to get a couple of pictures taken, so I'll have to wait for the girls to email them to me.

What else can I say? We were friends then and we're friends now. No matter what the distance, or the number of times we talk or get together in a year, I know that these girls and our friendships have shaped us into the people we are today. And for that, I wouldn't change any of them for the world. Well.... maybe just one or two..... just kidding.

I found this quote and it sums up our friendships so perfectly that I felt I needed to share it:

The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart. ~Elisabeth Foley

Two Month Update

I was recently reminded that this blog did not contain any new content. So here it is, a rundown of my life in the past couple of weeks.


Lately I've been really missing work, not that they really ever give me a chance to miss them since usually once a week I'm being called in to fix something. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love being a mom and being home with Linden, but my job is such a big part of what makes me, me that I'm starting to miss it. That and I hate not knowing what's going on in town.


Linden wasn't feeling the greatest last week, so we pretty much stayed close to home. And after a talk with a friend of the family who happens to be a doctor, we decided that a change in formula was needed. Within 24 hours my baby was back to being himself. I really HATE the helpless feeling that comes along with not knowing what is wrong with your baby because they can't tell you, but you know something is wrong. And to add insult to injury, just as he was starting to feel better with the formula change, BLAM!!!! it's time to go see the doctor and get his two month needles. But he's a trooper and only cried for a few minutes.

I made the decision that every month we are going to take a picture of Linden beside the same giant teddy bear, aka BOB, so that we can look back and see the changes in him. And change he has. We have really noticed in the last couple of weeks that he is way more alert and interactive. When I go into his room in the mornings and say "good morning" I always get the biggest smile, and that makes the early mornings totally worth it. Sometimes I forget that he's only 2 months old because he looks like such a little man.

It was a big month for Linden, Canada Day brought his first fireworks, which he slept through and he first parade. He's totally my child, he loved the bag pipe music. It's that Scottish DNA coming out. And as he grows older, he will also learn to love plaid. I wonder what Garrett would think if I got one of my family members in Scotland to send me a little kilt for Linden? That could be interesting.



Also this month, our close friends welcomed their little baby girl into the world after 36 hours of labor and a c-section. (Side note: Suddenly my 10 hours doesn't seem so bad). You will notice that there is no name for the baby in this post, that is because there is some debate as to what the name is. Garrett, Linden and I went to visit the new family in the hospital on Friday and they had not decided on a name yet but were leaning towards Kayla. Now flash forward to Sunday morning and talking to the proud grandfather. We ask, "So did they decide on a name yet?" To which he replies that they named their little girl Kyla. Now hopefully you see where the debate is. I have't actually called my friend yet to find out for sure, I thought I would give them some time at home to get some rest and settle in.


So, that's about it for the last couple of weeks in our house. Well, there was our quasi grad class reunion, but I think that deserves it's own post.

Routines, and lists and going green

So in my ever evolving escapade of trying to get my life organized and get myself into somewhat of a routine, I do believe I opened a can of worms today. I sat down at my computer this afternoon and was researching household cleaning routines that wouldn't take a whole day but would help me keep my need for a clean house in check while still allowing me time with Linden. From there, it developed into researching and developing a workout routine for myself that will help me get back to my pre-pregnancy self, physically. And that again branched off into looking at different ways I can make our home more Linden and environmentally friendly. I've always tried to recycle when I would remember, but I recently placed a rubber tub right beside my garbage can to put the recyclables in, as opposed to putting them in the garbage.

Why this change in my train of thought. Well, I really do believe that having a child has really made me want to be a better person, and I want him to learn that there are simple things that he can do that will help the environment and make all of our lives healthier.

I know that getting my house cleaning routine, fitness routine and the other lifestyle changes I would like to make won't happen over night (much to the dismay of my inner perfectionist who likes results immediately) I'm committed for the long-haul. Now only if I could train my hubby that it's easier to spend 10 minutes a day tidying up than to have me nag at him because I have to spend an entire day cleaning the house. Really, is it so hard to put your socks in the hamper when you take them off for the day? But I digress. I'm not perfect (again, much to the dismay of my inner perfectionist) I can put things off just as good as the next person, but I really do believe that organization and routine is good for everyone's well-being.

Saying good-bye....

In the last three weeks I've had to say goodbye to two amazing people. Two of my favorite people from work have been transferred to other RCMP detachments and work just isn't going to be the same without them when I go back in November. One of them got an amazing opportunity to work in the Forensic Ident section in The Pas and we all couldn't be happier for him because this is where he excels and the other on is moving up to the Northwest Territories to a small (and I mean small, the last census had the population at 850) town, where the nearest town is 250 kilometers away.

While saying goodbye to the officer going to The Pas was tough, he is a really sweet man who would do anything for anyone without giving it a second thought (he has the broken nose to prove it), it was even tougher to say goodbye to the other officer. You see, I would like to think that me and him were more than just co-workers, we were friends, with each other as well as with eachother's spouse. When I found out I was pregnant, he was one of the first people at work I told and the excitement he had was unbelievable. You always hear how the RCMP is a family, well they really are and for this reason I had a really hard time saying goodbye. But I did and managed to do it without crying. I will admit though, I got a little teary eyed while the S/SGT was giving his farewell speech, but I managed to keep it in check.

I wish both officers and their families the best of luck in their new postings and truly hope they enjoy the adventures that come along with moving to a new place. I know that somewhere, sometime we will all meet again and while they are hundreds or thousands of kilometers away, they are always in my thoughts.

Organization, routines, and other sanity boosters.....

I admit it, I'm a sucker for routines, lists, schedules, well really anything that will keep me organized and sane. It's now been six weeks since Linden was born, and I'd like to think we're getting into a routine. Well, maybe not a routine, but things are definitely becoming less chaotic. Linden is only waking up twice a night now, and really the second time is usually between 4:30 and 6:00, and in my opinion (which has changed greatly in the last six months) if the sun is up, it's no longer night. And since I've been feeling better and more like my old self again, we've started exercising more. Pretty much every morning after Linden and I both have breakfast and are dressed for the day, we go for a walk up town. Sometimes we'll just walk and get the mail and others we'll go into a couple of stores. It all depends on what needs to be done and when.

The other plus of me feeling better is the joy of cleaning has once again returned to my life after a brief break. And now I actually have the energy to clean. So whenever Linden is sleeping, or in his swing (which he loves) I'll putter around and clean. It may take me all day to clean a couple of rooms but it gets done. I must take a moment to mention that Ido believe Garrett has caught a bit of my cleaning bug. Since Linden's been born, he has been a big help around the house. Granted he didn't really have a choice the first couple of weeks since having a C-section left me pretty well useless and he had to take on the chore of laundry since the washer and dryer are in our basement. But even since then I'll catch him cleaning up the kitchen or sorting the dirty laundry, all stuff that he would do before, but only after I had a temper tantrum.

But, long story short, since all this talk of cleaning is making me want to go clean or organize something, I must say that I'm feeling more like my old self, just new and improved with even better multitasking abilites, and while life is definitely different with Linden around, it's so much better and I couldn't imagine him not being here.

And I said........

I feel the need to organize!!!!!!

And believe me it really is needed this time, not just me in all my craziness being crazy. Our house has slightly resembled a war zone for the past week. But finally, two years after buying the ceramic tile, it's been put down in our entry way and if I do say so myself, it looks awesome. The journey to getting it put down has been a long one. When we bought the house, the previous owners had installed carpet in the entry way, which is the dumbest idea ever. I purchased the tile two years ago with the intentions of redoing the entryway that year, however, my ever loving hubby had other plans. Long story short, two years later, as a late Christmas present from my parents, the tiles were installed. The rush to get my house put back together is on because this coming Friday, the grandmothers are having a baby shower for me and Linden and we are having it here at our place.

But it will all be worth it in the end and I get to do what I love most, clean and organize!!!!!

Time flies when you're having fun!!!!!

I have a hard time believing that my baby is one week old already. And yet, part of me feels like he's been a part of our family forever. I really can't complain tough, Linden is a darn good baby. I took two weeks off before my due date from work just to relax and get some stuff done around the house. I took to watching Bringing Home Baby on TLC almost everyday and the stories from this show really kinda made me a little nervous about bringing Linden home, but it's been nothing like you see on tv. Yeah he wakes me up in the middle of the night, but I knew that would happen going in. And really he only wakes up once, maybe twice a night. He gets his bottle, I change his diaper and he goes back to sleep.

The one thing I've never understood is people who have a baby and then decide that you can't have a social life and must stay home at all time with the baby. Neither me nor Garrett believe that train of thought. We truly believe that while your life does change with a baby, it only changes as much as you let it. My case in point. Garrett and I have always been very social, active people, we are not the type of people to sit at home all the time in front of the tv. So why would this change just because of Linden? The day after we brought him home from the hospital we took him to visit Garrett's Grandma who doesn't get around very well and then we stopped by the bowling alley for our friends son's birthday party. Granted, we didn't stay very long, just long enough for everyone to see Linden and for us to get out for a bit and then it was time to go home to feed Linden.

Since then Linden has been out somewhere everyday. Saturday night we went out to dinner with my parent's to their friends house and Linden was quite content to either sleep in his car seat or to be passed around between Grandma and Grandpa.

So all in all its been a really good week and we're all starting to get into a routine. Well actually, Linden has done a really good job of getting me and Garrett into his routine.

I can't wait to see what week two brings our way.

~C

Home Sweet Home

Wednesday, May 14th, 2008

After what felt like an eternity in the hospital, we finally got to come home. In reality we were only there for three days, but when all you want to do is be at home, it feels like forever. The ride home from Winnipeg has never felt so long but the end result was worth the wait. Linden would finally be at home where he belonged and the nursery that has been waiting for him since January would finally have an occupant.

So the first day home was pretty mellow. My parent's came for a bit, Garrett's sister and his parent's came for a bit but no one stayed long and by 8:00 the three of us were just hanging out watching tv.

You always hear the horror stories of people and their first nights at home with baby. Well, I've got to tell you, I didn't find it that rough. Yes I had to get up every two and a half hours to feed and change Linden, but I knew that going in. The first night went by and then it was morning of day two. Or maybe it should be day one, since today is the first full day of having Linden at home. Garrett had to go to work for the day so it was just me and Linden. In between feedings and while he was sleeping I would either putter and tidy up or sort laundry for Garrett to do when he got home, or I would just chillax on the couch and watch TV.

Garrett came home for lunch and while he was there I got him to feed Linden while I went and had a shower. There is something about the effects of hot water that can make EVERYTHING better. We had some lunch and Garrett headed back to work. Come to think of it, I don't think he ever said goodbye to me, just Linden. The Public Health Nurse stopped by this afternoon and we talked about how things were going and she checked Linden over. His lungs have totally cleared of any leftover mucus from birth, his legs are slowly straightening out (they were a little scrunched up from being breach) and he is gaining about an ounce a day. He was 7 pounds 10 ounces when we left the hospital and he's now 7 pounds 11 ounces.

The highlight of the day was when Garrett's sister stopped by for a visit. Linden needed to have his diaper changed so I was able to convince Tanya to give it a try. She was doing really good until she saw what was in the diaper and then she bailed faster than you could ever imagine. I laughed. It really truly made my day.

And now, the evening is upon us. Garrett and Linden are watching the Stanley Cup playoffs. Well, Garrett is watching the game, Linden is sleeping and I am taking advantage of this time to reconnect with the world through the internet. Only 72 new emails to read, luckily most of them were junk. But as I sit here and type I realize that it is time again for Linden to eat. Time sure does fly when you're having fun.

More than we bargained for

Saturday May 10th, 2008 started like any other Saturday morning, except I was one day past my due date and axiously awaiting (actually more like fearing) the onset of labor. May seemed so far away when we found out I was expecting back in September and if you asked any one around me, I had been declaring for weeks that I was done playing this game and was ready to be a mom, but as my due date came and went I actually realized that I was totally petrified of the future, not that I would let anyone in on that secret, least of all my husband Garrett. Anyway, it was Saturday morning, Garrett was at work and I was basking in being able to relax in bed as long as I could. But, that would not be the case, I decided I should probably get out of bed and do something with the morning because we were supposed to go to a dance concert in the evening. I got out of bed and as soon as I stood up, my water broke. I thought to myself, well, your plans for the day just changed in a big way. I was about to call Garrett at work and tell him what was going on, but I think he must have sensed something because before I could get to the phone, it started ringing and it was Garrett just calling to check in. So before I knew it, Garrett was home from work, I called the hospital and they advised me to come in after lunch if contractions hadn't started, which at that point they hadn't. I was feeling amazingly energetic so we quickly tidied up the house and then headed for the hospital over an hour away. While enroute we called everyone we had to and let them know what was going on and I guess about half was to the hospital I started having mild contractions. No more than a little discomfort ten minutes apart.

We arrived at the hospital at around 1 in the afternoon, checked in and waited to get examined. So, I get examined by two nurses and a resident, one of the nurses thought that the baby may be breach but the other nurse and resident dismissed that and assured her that everything was fine, the baby was right where he needed to be. I was convinced that everything was fine too, my last prenatal was three days before and my OB was sure he was head down. So, off to the low risk delivery suite for me. The room was awesome, private room, bathroom, nice view, Garrett would get to stay the night and best of all everything would happen in that room and I wouldn't have to leave it until it was time to go home. Everything was going good, contractions were now 5 minutes apart and intensifying greatly. Whoever said labor was easy is lying.

Fast forward to approximately 8:00 PM, contractions are now 2 to 3 minutes apart and hurt like a bugger, the anethisiologist is in doing a c-section and will get to my epidural when he gets to it. Okay, I can handle this, just breath through the pain and then BAM! the urge to push. Garrett calls the nurses and tells them that I feel the need to push, only they say I can't push yet. What do you mean? But I need to. Out comes the happy gas, let's just say I love the person who discovered nitrous oxide, they are my hero. Within five minutes of that, here comes my epidural. All is good in the world. I'm numb, I'm high, and I'm going to have a baby. No such luck. My nurse decides to check how dialated I am and is kind of perplexed at what she feels, so she gets the doctor to check. The next 15 minutes seemed to blur by in a matter of seconds. The nurse that examined me first at 1 in the afternoon was right, my baby was breach and he was coming soon. Quick decisions had to be made as to whether we attempted a normal delivery with increased risks to the baby or do we go with the C-section and reduce the risk to the baby. I took one look at Garrett, looked at the doctor and said, "C-section", do whatever is best for the baby.

And off we went to the Labor and Delivery ward. Goodbye nice room, hello Operating Room.

Fast forward again. This time to 00:41 on Sunday, May 11th, Mother's Day and the moment my son Linden Alexander Gottfried was born. As numb as I was from the epidural and probably still feeling the effects of some of the happy gas, that is a moment I will never forget. It was the moment that me and Garrett went from a couple to a family. I always thought when people said hearing your baby cry for the first time was the greatest moment ever were exaggerating but now I know that every word of that is the truth.

So even though the labor and delivery weren't exactly what we had signed up for. Okay, they were nothing like what we had signed up for. The outcome was totally worth it. And if you asked me if I'd do it again I'd have to say, maybe in a couple years but right now I just want to enjoy my beautiful and perfect baby boy.