We took Ava to Cosmic Adventures the other week. So much fun! I highly recommend it. She got to interact with so many kids. Also took Ava on the canal. She hated it!!! Needless to say, it was not a good time when your baby is screaming for 45 minutes. Very stressful. A woman at my work (who also has a 1 year old) told me her baby hates to be bundled up. I think that may be the issue. We took her out to play in the snow and she cried then too! oh well. Hopefully winter will be over sooner rather than later.

Our house has officially sold! YAY! No more showings, no more keeping it spotless! Now, we are so excited for the new house. I'll post a picture on the progress. I'll be going to check it out this weekend sometime so hopefully there is even more progress. We have until Feb. 19th to be informed if they are going to be delayed so keep your fingers crossed until then!

Ava is getting baptized on Feb. 25th. We have to go to church tomorrow for the welcoming mass and then a parents information night on Tuesday. I'm really dreading it. I know that sounds horrible but I can't imagine keeping her still for that long!

Oh, and I wanted to update on my kitty cat Chloe. We almost had to put her down in September because she had fatty liver disease. She is perfect now! All she needed was some TLC and some force feeding! I call her my little miracle kitty since the vet told us that our chances were slim. I am so thankful that we didn't fork out the $1200 for the operation or put her down. Sometimes positive thinking really does help I guess.

Wow. So I've been back to work for a week now. The working part isn't too bad and it would have been an OK week (as good as going back to work can be) except that Ava has been sick since Monday. She has a horrible cold which she got from daycare the week before. I don't think she has ever been this sick. My baby girl who is ALWAYS laughing and smiling and never cries (and I'm not exagerrating) was crying all week. Boy do I symapthize with parents who have a colic child. Ava never cries unless she falls and hurts herself so it's been pretty hard to come home after work and spend 3 hours with a crying child. It's hard on her and on me. Hopefully within the next couple of days she will be back to her old, happy self.

This new stage in my life is really weird. I feel like I am going from the time I wake up to the time I go to bed. I wake up and go to work. Then I come home and feed Ava and ourselves. Then I play with Ava, put her to bed, make my lunch, clean up from dinner, tidy up the house (since it's still up for sale) and go to bed. And squeeze in the gym 3x a week. It is crazy but when I put my head down on the pillow, I feel so satisfied with my life. I don't know what it is. Don't get me wrong, I would give up work in a second to be home. I joked with Fraser tonight that we need to have another baby right now so I can get another year off. I guess I feel since my time is limited with Ava that I really have serious quality time with her. I don't do anything else but spend that 2 hours with her. No laundry, no dishes, no tidying up her toys, nothing. All that stuff waits until after she goes to bed.

Mommies, enjoy your down time now because once you are back at work it doesn't exist!!!!

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY AVA!!!!

Where does the time go????? Tommorrow, at 9:51 am my baby is going to be one year old! I can't believe it! Only 4 more days off of work too. This week, Ava has been going to the babysitters for a few hours each morning. The first day was a little rough but today was much better. Although when I went to get Ava, she wouldn't let go of me and was laying her head on my shoulder. Pulls at the heart strings.....

Christmas was awesome! Ava got so spoiled! We have toys in every corner of the house. Hopefully she'll get a bunch of clothes for her birthday. I don't think I can handle having to take any more toys out of the package. They really twist tie the toys in there good.

This Saturday is Ava's birthday party. I've been stressed this week trying to get everything done. I decided to make her an Elmo cake and I am having second thoughts now. I wonder if I took on too much (party, christmas, open houses). Ah well. I'll post a picture if it turns out!

Yay! I saw this ticker on a friends blog and thought it was so cute. It took me quite a while to figure out how to put it in my blog but I finally did it! I'm very proud of myself!

I just realized that I forgot to pick up a gift certificate for someone for Christmas. Oops. I have to run out today and grab that up! I also have to make another batch of my toblerone fudge to replace the stuff I've been nibbling at the past couple of weeks. I can feel my waistline expanding already. Last but not least, I have to finish the scrapbook for my sister in law. Thank goodness we are only doing my family Christmas on the 30th so I don't feel too panicked about that.

Over the weekend we had two parties to go to. Our friend Jay turned 32 and he had a gathering at a local pub. Fraser and I both woke up Saturday morning with headaches! Needless to say it was a good night. Saturday night we went around the block to my friends Christmas party. Good night there too. She goes to her ultrasound on Thursday. I think it's a boy but she says most people think the baby is a girl. We'll see soon!

All this partying has definitely shown me that the socializing (other than sitting in my living room) is alot of fun but I don't really miss it too much. I feel like my life has slowed down alot and I'm enjoying it more. I like it.

Christmas is so close. Does anyone else feel strangely detached from Christmas because of the weather we've been having? I heard on the news that this day last year was -25. Don't get me wrong. I've been loving these warm temperatures. Especially when it is so time consuming to dress a baby to go out in cold weather. But on the other hand, I do hope there is at least a little bit of white stuff on the ground for the 25th. My in laws, who are in Muskoka, have already plowed their driveway multiple times. It's funny how close we are yet the weather varies so much between the two cities.

Spoke to my boss today. I'm officially going to be back at work January 8th. Everyday I have been looking at Ava and almost been in tears knowing that once I'm back at work I will only have a precious 2 hours a day with her. It's heartbreaking. But, my last name isn't Rockafeller so I gotta do what needs to be done to give Ava a good life.

Oops. I guess I already wrote about Ava taking her first steps and I even got the date wrong! It was November 18th.

Totally jinxed myself. The house deal fell through. It was a young couple who needed their parents to co-sign for their mortgage and her dad thought they were spreading themselves too thin (we have an old furnace that will need replacing in the next few years). Apparently even their $1000 deposit cheque bounced! Anyway, as of Thursday it was back on the market and we've already got someone coming tomorrow for a second viewing. Think good thoughts everyone! I want this house sold before I go back to work!

On another note, I am pissed with doctors. My friend with the uterine pains had an ultrasound a month ago. They JUST called her to tell her there is a problem. Can you believe that? And my friend even called about 2 1/2 weeks after the ultrasound (since she hadn't heard anything) and was told that they don't call you if everything is fine. So all this time she is thinking she is OK! And the nurse on the phone says that she can't control when the doctors review the results. As if!!! Maybe that doctor has too many patients then and is not concerned about quality care.

Ava took her 1st steps on Nov 27th! I'm so excited that she took them before I went back to work and I didn't miss them.

More bad news.....they haven't even started digging for our new house yet. Looks like our closing date of April 30th isn't going to be happening.

For everyone that has young kids

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azgBhZfcqaQ

Our house finally sold. Well, as of this Saturday. It's conditional upon financing and house inspection. I am not going to clean for the next month. I'm ready to throw my vacuum cleaner out the window! I've probably cleaned more in the past two months than i have all year!

Another wonderful thing has happend. Ava has taken her first steps! It's so exciting yet at the same time, it makes her more of a little person and the "baby" is slowly disappearing. She waves and says hi and bye, she has 4 teeth, she goes up and down stairs. Sigh.......my little girl is growing up.

6.5 weeks of maternity leave left. I would never have thought that a year could fly by but it really can. I am sad that I have to leave my daughter but I have accepted it and am thoroughly enjoying every last minute of being at home. I don't know my exact date of returning to work (as I'm holding off as long as possible talking to my boss) but at least I'll have the holidays off.

My pregnant friend is doing great. She actually went with a midwife (but to deliver in a hospital). We chatted yesterday at lunch about names and all the pregnancy symptoms. She's going with more traditional names like Patrick, Lauren, Danielle, Nathan. I'm excited that one of my friends is finally having a baby and I won't be the only one.

My Future Home

My little girl who's crawling around like crazy now. Sniff, sniff. They grow so fast!

I guess it's never a good thing to start a post with not too much to say. We went back to Phoenix last night to sign for our upgrades ($2,500!!!) and review all of our colours. I have to say that after reviewing things, I am very happy with my choices. I was really nervous the first time we went because it was all just so much.

My best friend and her hubby are buying in the same development as us which will be nice. They were eyeing the lot next to us, for 3 months I might add, but because they had procrastinated so much the lot was taken. I have to say I am a little glad. It would have been great in some aspects. Like when they had little ones we could sit outside on a Friday night and just bring our monitors out with us. But I think it just would have been a little much. I think we might have felt obligated to do things with them ALL the time. Now they are about 10 houses away which is just perfect!

I'm considering getting a puppy. Am I crazy? The way I figure it, the puppy would be housetrained (in my main floor hardwood house) and would be good to go in our new house which is all carpet. Also, I am off now so I could dedicate more time to that training. Ava takes enough naps throughout the day that neither my daughter nor my dog would feel neglected. We'll see how things go after i talk to the breeder!

Long time no blog

Whew. I know it's been a long time. Sorry!

Update on my cat. She has something called fatty liver. It means that for some reason or another (stress due to all the furniture removal or work being done at the house or my other kitty Phoebe eating all the food) Chloe did not eat for a couple of days. After a couple of days, her body started living off the fat in her body and liver problems started. Apparently when they have this condition, they no longer have an appetite and slowly starve to death. It would have cost $1000 for an ultrasound, biopsy (to confirm diagnosis) and then a stomach tube inserted. Fraser and I opted not to pay that amount as we just bought a new house and have a child to think of. Our only option was to try and force feed her until her liver started working again and then she'd hopefully start eating on her own eventually. Well, I am happy to say that as of Saturday, Chloe started eating on her own! She has her spunk back as well. Although I am waiting for a "I told you so" from Fraser (who really was the one rejecting the treatment) I am just so thrilled that my kitty is on the mend.

As for my friend, she did end up getting her period (which was 3 weeks late), the doctor had scheduled an ultrasound for her and she is going to be keeping that appointment. She says she still has cramping and is wondering if maybe she has cysts or something like that. Her appontment is in the next 2 weeks so hopefully all goes well.

Our house still has not sold!

http://www.mls.ca/PropertyDetails.aspx?vd=&SearchURL=%3fPage%3d2%26Mode%3d0%26vs%3d1%26rlt%3d%26cp%3d%26pt%3d0%26mp%3d225000-250000-0%26mrt%3d-1-0-0%26Beds%3d0-0%26Baths%3d0-0%26f%3d%26ft%3dall%26o%3dA%26of%3d1%26ps%3d10%26ptgid%3d1%26aid%3d3050%26MapURL%3d%253fAreaID%253d3050&Mode=0&PropertyID=5064741

There is my house if anyone wants to see it! I don't think the pictures make the house look as good as it really is. We've had lots of walkthoughs though so I'm hoping we can sell within the next month.

My poor kitty

My cat, Chloe, is very sick. We noticed on the weekend that Chloe had lost a lot of weight. This morning I started to get worried because she seemed very lethargic. I took her to the vet this afternoon and the vet said it was very serious. Apparently she has jaundice which indicates a problem with her liver. They took a blood and urine sample and I should find out more on Tuesday. I hate this. I love my cats to death. Not to mention she is only 4 years old. I called my husband from my cell while they were taking her blood. I couldn't stop bawling my eyes out. The thing with animals is, how much are you going to spend? I hate, hate, hate that it comes down to money especially when this person is a family member. But, just for the tests and some antibiotics it cost me $300 today.

Please, please pray for my kitty......

I'll update tomorrow when I know more.

AHHHHH!!!!

My husband called me today and said our real estate agent is coming on Tuesday to do a final walk through and sign the papers to put our house up for sale. Funny enough, after that conversation my left eye started twitching and hasn't stopped. I'm guessing my body is telling me I am stressed?!?!?!?!?

On another note, I am very concerned for my best friend. Her period is 2 weeks late, she took a test and it was negative. She went to the doctors and they are doing a blood test. She is so sure that she is not pregnant (due to the fact that they use condoms and I truthfully don't know anyone who has got pregnant while using condoms properly), and she thinks she would know if she was preggo. She told me she has had nausea, fatigue and cramping. I think she is in very bad denial. Buuutttt, there is a part of me that believes she isn't either and that makes me worried that there is a problem. I'm going to be so nervous until I hear the verdict.

I just have to say, I love TV. It is so sad, but I don't know what I would do without it! I got so excited about Survivor tonight and then I saw a commercial that Amazing Race starts on Sunday! WooHoo! No wonder I'm fat! I'm a total couch potatoe!

Jiggly Jelly

That would refer to my stomach. I'm telling you, I got such horrible stretch marks. As you can see from the picture (4 days before baby was born) I was so huge that I think my stomach actually looks fake. So now my stomach is a stretch mark jiggly mess. And as I lose weight, it seems like it just looks worse instead of better. My dear husband, bless his heart, told me last night that my stomach shows what a proud mom I am. I was almost in tears. Sometimes I need to hear something like that to remind me that my daughter is so much more important than having a flat, smooth stomach. It's really so insignificant but I guess as a woman, it's just one of those things we cry about.

Weight loss is actually going really well for me. I am 17lbs down as of today. I'm actually 7 lbs lighter than I was pre pregnancy. Still about 28lbs to go, but I'm slowly making my way to the half way mark.

I'm also starting to get that baby itch again. Seeing all my pregnant friends makes me really miss being pregnant. I'd love to have another one soon but then I think of the cost of two babies in daycare full time and it snaps me back to reality!

Well, I'm off to the cottage this weekend. Hopefully the weather holds out!

Blah

So my weekend was great. We went to Muskoka for Friday to Monday. It was hubby's grandparents 50th anniversary party. What an accomplishment. Although I know I will be with hubby forever, 50 years married seems like a heck of a long time! Overall the weekend was so much fun. I got a pair of those Crocs. They are kinda ugly but SO comfortable. I tell you, I wish I had a pair when I was pregnant. I would have lived in them!

The baby was so cranky this weekend. Friday night it took me until 2am to get her to sleep. I guess she is now old enough to realize she is in a place that isn't home. At the party, there were so many people (strangers to her) that were in her face talking to her that she spent the whole time screaming. It was so stressful.

And now I have a cold. Yuck. I feel pretty crummy and having to take care of a child while I'm sick isn't too great either. All I want to do is curl up on the couch and watch TV, but Daughter won't allow that of course! She wants to play!

Well, I'm off to see if I can nap while she is!