We've Moved!

We moved......from my hometown (Fort McMurray) to Mr.Loonie's hometown (Fort Saskatchewan) - close to it anyways.  It has been our plan for a few years now to move south once we were established financially and had some careless baby-less fun. So since little Pen Pen was baking in the oven, Mr.Loonie has been on the job hunt.  Our luck finally came quite a few months back but because of the lengthy big company interview and testing process, our move was only official recently.  Our house hunt started all over the place....it covered Sherwood Park, Fort Saskatchewan and NE Edmonton with anything meeting our search criteria of an older bungalow in the minor renovation category backing onto green space.  You wouldn't think this would be so hard but it was.  After a month there was nothing, we weren't in a big rush as Mr.Loonie's company would have supplied accommodations for 3 months but I did not want to live in a condo during the summer with a baby, a cat and a dog.  Then a house came up.  We were going back to what we dreamt of years ago...an acreage.  But the house is the best of both worlds....country and city living.  We are 5 minutes from the Fort, 15 from Edmonton but our front yard is a river and the backyard is a farmers field.....it's amazing.

Remember the part where I said we were willing to do minor renos....HA! Scratch that, looks like we have abit of a project on our hands and I will be chronicling every step of it for ya'll.

So a bit of history....our house is an old school! Apparently we housed the classrooms for grades 5-8.  The main room was for grades 5 and 6 and the bedroom end of the house was for the 7 and 8's.  Now as for the basement, we are unsure of.  From the little bit of information we have, the school was turned into a house sometime in the 50s and then renovated in the 90s such as the windows, insulation, shingles and garage construction.  We hope to learn more as we get to know our neighbors.

Our move has been pretty smooth since Mr.Loonie's employer covers most moving expenses including the packing and transport of our belongings, Realtor fees (our Fort McMurray house is still for sale but fortunately 3 months of our mortgage is also covered by the employer) and house hunting trips.  What hasn't been easy is poor Penny's sleeping habits, which we have finally got back on track after 3 weeks of a pretty tough time - I guess she just didn't feel comfortable with her new surroundings. Also, our trip down with the animal farm was hell.  What should take us 4 hours took 6.5 hours due to a blown trailer tire and a crying baby.  The moving company wouldn't take liquids due to their terrorist policy (?) so our tent trailer was packed full of cooking liquids, bathroom and garage liquids...I guess liquids add up because our little old tent trailer tires couldn't handle the excess weight.  The cat was meowing, the dog was pacing and whining and the baby was crying all while the parents were calm....HA!

What matters is we made it and we have been working our asses off to make this old school our own.  Lots of updates to come....stay tuned!

P.S. And for those friends at "home"...I miss you tons!!

December Via Filter

Between Instagram and My365, I filter a lot of pictures.  December is all about the holiday season which means too much junk food, rotten teeth (yes, I eat too much sugar), the fireplace channel, presents and visiting with friends and family.  We headed south this year as it was Mr.Loonie's year.  We alternate every year between our families; they were the lucky ones this year since it was Penny's first Christmas.  She was nothing short of adorable either.  She loved ripping the paper off her gifts to eat.  That's the way it went.  Rip off a big piece, put it in the mouth, mommy take it away and repeat. Pretty much everything was in the mouth this month because of the arrival of two little chicklets on the bottom. The days and nights were rough because of it but I think she is finally over the initial pain as they are half up now and so cute! I love her little toothy smile, so grown up!
Surpisingly Pen Pen didn't cry for Santa! She even smiled a little bit.  Christmas visiting was a little different.  The frequent change of location was hard on her especially since she is in the height of separation anxiety.  It took almost a whole day for her to get used to the new faces which left only a short happy visit before moving on to the next place.  I don't know who was more upset though, Aunties and Grandmas or Penny! All they wanted to do was hug her to pieces but she wasn't having it! (for very long anyway).

Penny's First Christmas

December also saw the completion of Penny's first swimming lessons.  The first picture in her little snow suit and swimming bag was right after a lesson and she was exhausted. All she wanted was a little boob and bed!   Travelling for the holidays means that we have to drive the dreaded highway 63.  Luckily the roads were dry and clear, even Penny drove for a bit (kidding!).  What else....

• I got a mom hair cut - from past the shoulders to well...short
• We finished the bathroom reno! I will dedicate a whole post to it soon.  I 'm so proud of Mr.Loonie, he did an awesome job on the wainscoting.
• We started baby-led solids which means we are skipping purees and Penny feeds herself chunks or wedges of food.
• My MIL was up visiting and I actually got to have a couple of drinks....cranberry mojitos!
• We are still in sleep hell.
• Penny is on the go....trying desperatley to crawl and pulling herself up on everything.

Also, the cold snap finally broke in December after months of consistent below -20°C weather.  We set anything colder than -20°C as too cold for Penny and her sensitive baby skin so on days Mr.Loonie was working, Stryker was stuck moping around the house.  When the milder weather finally came, we broke out our second hand 80's coloured chariot and hit the Hangingstone river.  I was amazed at how well the big tires rolled on the path marked by snowmobiles on the river.  I even bushwhacked with it through some treed side paths, surprisingly it can plow through shin deep snow pretty damn good. Good thing there is a seat belt and a plastic windshield which snaps down and protects Penny from the wind and any branches...oh and Stryker licks too.  She usually falls asleep in the little cocoon pretty quick probably because she is so warm with 2 layers of clothes underneath her snow suit and 2 blankets.

Hope everyone had a great holiday season! From the Loonie family with love. :)

Not a Sleep-Training Mommy

That's it! My mind is made, I am an anti-sleep training mama.  After endless research and opinions, I keep going back to my gut feeling.  I want to be there for my babes, I am not the type to let her cry it out in her crib alone waiting for me to help her.  She doesn't understand why she is being left alone to "learn" how to sleep, she does know how to sleep! And it's with the comfort of me, her mom, right next to us in OUR bed.  Yup, the truth is out we are a bed sharing, breastfeeding, non-sleep training family.  Call me hippy if ya will but that's just the type of parent I am. I am not alone in these decisions, apparently Mr.Loonie is a bit hippy dippy himself.  I found this letter written from the point of a sleep trained baby and I had a long cry, it was heartbreaking.  I know this topic is highly controversial because you either strongly agree or disagree with sleep training but we are doing what feels right for our family.

 

Taken from: Alternative Mama - Letter from a Sleep Training Baby

Dear Mommy,

I am confused.

I am used to falling asleep in your soft, warm arms. Each night I lay snuggled close to you; close enough to hear your heartbeat, close enough to smell your sweet fragrance. I gaze at your beautiful face as I gently drift off to sleep, safe and secure in your loving embrace. When I awaken with a growling stomach, cold feet or because I need a cuddle, you attend to me quickly and before long I am sound asleep once again.

But this last week has been different.

Each night this week has gone like this. You tucked me up into my cot and kissed me goodnight, turned out the light and left. At first I was confused, wondering where you’d gone. Soon I became scared, and called for you. I called and called for you mummy, but you wouldn’t come! I was so sad, mummy. I wanted you so badly. I’ve never felt feelings that strong before. Where did you go?

Eventually you came back! Oh, how happy and relieved I was that you came back! I thought you had left me forever! I reached up to you but you wouldn’t pick me up. You wouldn’t even look me in the eye. You lay me back down with those soft warm arms, said “shh, it’s night time now” and left again.

This happened again, over and over. I screamed for you and after a while, longer each time, you would return but you wouldn’t hold me.

After I had screamed a while, I had to stop. My throat hurt so badly. My head was pounding and my tiny tummy was growling. My heart hurt the most, though. I just couldn’t understand why you wouldn’t come.

After what felt like a lifetime of nights like this, I gave up. You don’t come when I scream, and when you do finally come you won’t even look me in the eye, let alone hold my shaking, sobbing little body. The screaming hurt too much to carry on for very long.

I just don’t understand, mummy. In the daytime when I fall and bump my head, you pick me up and kiss it better. If I am hungry, you feed me. If I crawl over to you for a cuddle, you read my mind and scoop me up, covering my tiny face with kisses and telling me how special I am and how much you love me. If I need you, you respond to me straight away.

But at night time, when it’s dark and quiet and my night-light casts strange shadows on my wall, you disappear. I can see that you’re tired, mummy, but I love you so much. I just want to be near to you, that’s all.

Now, at night time, I am quiet. But I still miss you.

 Waaaa! Gawd! That is awful, some may think the letter is a little dramatic but how else could the baby comprehend what is happening?  Since we are still in the thick of sleep regression, our methods are making this stage as calm and manageable. I feel that Penny will move to her own bed and learn to fall asleep on her own when she is ready.  I think of it as another milestone like rolling over (which Penny is finally doing!!) or walking.  With continuing with our style of "attachment" parenting, Penny will only learn to feel more comfortable and secure as she ages, aiding in the natural progression of her independence.  Another post worth reading : Alternative Mama - 8 Reasons to Avoid Sleep Training

My Social Life...a thing of the past?

Before having kids I didn't understand how hard it would be to have a social life.  You just dump them at Grandma's and go right?  Yah....not so. When I was pregnant, I said I would always keep my social life on top of the priorities list because everyone knows it is healthy to have a life outside of the home.  What I have learned is that this is easier said than done.  It's been four months and I have yet to leave Penny for more than 3 hours which was on a double header volleyball night.  Three hours was stretching it too, Mr.Loonie had to take Penny on a walk and give her a bath to keep her calm. The biggest reason for not being able to leave her is Penny's resistance for the bottle.  This was maybe a mistake I made from not trying the bottle at an earlier age and my belief of not using a soother.  We have had some luck as of late though with a new type of bottle my mother in law picked up that looks like a mother's breast. The nipple is shorter (Penny was gagging on the long nipples of the standard bottle type) and the base or "the breast" is softer and larger so that baby can latch on like she would the mother's boob.  So with a bit more practice, I may feel more comfortable leaving Penny for more than a couple hours! Maybe even an evening out with my hubby and a few vodka tonics (mmm....vodka tonics with a lime). 

http://mimijumi.com/veryhungry

I have to admit, it is not only the bottle issue. I think I am using it as a crutch.  If she doesn't take it then I don't have to go out.  I don't have to spend an hour doing my hair, squeezing into my pre-preggo jeans or pushing up these stretched out utters of mine.  I also don't have to worry about leaving her with someone and trying to push the worry out of my mind all night.  Is she okay? Is she playing shy and screaming her lungs out? Did she eat enough? Did she get to sleep? Ahhhh! But I would never leave her with someone who is completely stupid so if there was something wrong they would call or just take care of the problem. So who cares if I have to cut the night short at least I tried right? Wouldn't it be easier to just stay home though? To lie on the couch, eat some chips and cuddle with my babe? Yes, yes it would be. But Penny would be a 30 year old woman living at home and collecting cats. I would become a fat and lazy parent depending on Penny for companionship.  And Mr. Loonie's and I's relationship and sex life would go down the toilet.  So in conclusion:  it would be best for all of us for a night on the town even if it only lasts a couple of hours.  I could get pretty buzzed in that time and a quickie in the car doesn't take that long especially due to the recent drought.  So to those friends who may not understand how hard it is to break free of the baby and call four hours before a party....please remember that we are parents now.  Four hours won't work, we probably need at least four days!  It's sad but true, that's our life now.  It's not and we're not as easy and carefree as we used to be.  And another thing....save your judgement until you pop a little one out and she turns your world upside down.

Weekend at the Lake in Instagram

In such a short amount of time, we have done more travelling since Penny came along than we were ever able to do before mostly in part to me not working.  Yay to summer's off! Mr. Loonie's work schedule is a 7 days/nights and 7 off cycle so in the past when I was working a 4 days and 3 off shift we would only have every second weekend off together, and only three days to do anything.  All of you who live in Fort McMurray know you need more time than that, since it takes five hours just to travel to the starting point (Edmonton) of most road trips.  So with seven days off together our destinations are endless...sort of.
The in-laws lake lot has been out prime location of vacation this year, if it wasn't Grandma Loonie would be in serious withdrawals from little miss Penny.  It works out for me too because I can have a little bit of freedom (except when Penny is hungry) to head out on the boat, sleep in and just relax!
I used my iPhone to snap away this past weekend to share this beautiful spot that Mr. Loonie has been lucky enough to spend his summers since he was a teenager.

 

True Story

1. The other night I went to breastfeed Penny and started to undo my pants rather than my bra.

2. I am addicted to sugar and the spoons I leave on the counter prove it.  First I dip in the peanut butter jar than the honey pot.

3. Coffee is my new best friend.  Stronger the better with a shit load of french vanilla creamer.

4. I now inhale my food because who has time to chew?? 

5. My armpits ALWAYS smell like they belong to a pubescent boy who just ran a marathon...damn hormones.

6. I wrote this post with one hand while nursing....go me!

It's Spring!!!!

It's everyone's favorite time of year.....the sun is shining, daily temperatures are no longer negative, the sun hangs around for the evening and people just feel good! I look forward to walks with Stryker in our little neighborhood, people are smiling while walking with a friend, working in their yard, washing their car or playing street hockey (those boys have been waiting all winter for this)! Whatever we are all doing, we are just happy to be outside!! All the photos below are taken within a kilometer from our house and I couldn't ask for a more beautiful setting.

Tulips in the window

Bella planning her escape after a long cooped up winter.

Best buds watching the snow melt.

It was a LOOOOOONG winter....we swear he didn't have gray hair in the fall!

28 week baby bump.

Surfing the icebergs on the Hangingstone River.

Hangingstone River melt.

Boys and their street hockey........"CAR!!!"

The park is melting....

Green grass and blue skies.