Lady-In-...what now?

In the car today, as I pulled out of the Walmart parking lot in a gentle wet snow, Cole observed the wipers carefully then said, "If the wipers need to be fixed, Daddy can take the car to Lady-In-Tire."

Mommy Olympics: Event - Runny Eggs Race



I had just dropped Cole off at daycare and returned home with Amelia. It was time to make my breakfast and as I waited for the water to come to a boil so I could start the timer for my eggs, I saw Amelia squat and go silent.  This stance is unmistakable and the smell is undeniable.

She's been having diaper rash issues, so I had to act fast.  No waiting around for my eggs to be done.  But this caused a dilemna because, truly one of my favourite things in the world is a perfectly cooked boiled egg.  The whites firm but a runny yolk.  I almost always over-cook them. But on the rare occasion that my egg IS perfectly cooked, it is one of my life's simple pleasures.

So I made a game-time decision.  I set the timer for the requisite four minutes, scooped up Amelia and raced upstairs, not knowing how long I take to change a diaper but knowing that I come from very efficient roots (even facing a five-sheeter morning poop). 

Well, it ended up being  SIX sheeter and I'll have you know I didn't cut corners, but I STILL had two more minutes left on the clock when I came back downstairs to the kitchen!  BOOO-YAH!

Mysterious Squeal

Last night, I went downstairs to watch some tv but as I leaned over the couch to pick up the remote controller, I heard this high pitched sound. I listened and I thought it was coming from the speaker, but then as I went out into the hall, it seemed to get louder. I listened at the basement door but it wasn't coming from there. Then I was surprised to also hear it in the downstairs bathroom and also in the guest bedroom. Strangely enough, it was upstairs too and I thought it might be the thermostat, but it wasn't when I pressed my ear there.

Up in the bedroom, I said to Mark, "Do you hear that?" and he looked at me with surprise. It was loud up there too but he hadn't noticed and then I looked down and I was still holding the downstairs remote controller, which was out of batteries and emanating a high pitched squeal.

Innocent

I was in the dining room and Cole was just slightly out of my field of view for a moment and then he ran back to me and said innocently, "I didn't hit her!"
Then his sister began to cry.
He looked at me then up at the sky with a ponderous head tilt and reflected aloud, "Oopsy.  Maybe I did hit her."

baby steps

Amelia's been flirting with it for a few days now but today was the first time I was 100% certain...she took her first step today. (9 1/2 months old)

Cole reading his flash cards

January 2012

J is for Uncle Jay

 In no particular order, I scrounged up a few of my favourite pictures of my kids enjoying the company of their wonderful Uncle Jay and Aunt Michelle.

 At Christmas, they announced they're going to have a baby, the first LOFTUS baby, in June and everyone is over the moon with excitement!

I was so excited, I even cried a bit. Okay - a lot. My little brother was an easy awesome Uncle.  I always knew he would be.  He plays airplanes with Cole and fire fighters and he will sit and dig holes in the sandbox for hours on end.  And Michelle and Jay make room in their busy lives for family dinners at our place on a very regular basis. But now my little brother is going to have a little family of his own. And being a dad is a totally different business than being an uncle.

Birth order has dictated that I always took care of my siblings.  I was older and I SO mature for my age, and also very bossy. So I thought I'd be a shoe-in for being a parent, but still the transition was tough for me.  So then I wondered about my little brother.  Who has he taken care of? And then I thought back to each and every time he got up early at my mother's to mow the lawn, or trim the shrubs, or put up Christmas tree lights so we wouldn't go up on the roof, or push a car out of the driveway or get it unstuck from a ditch because someone coasted down the Sherbrooke hill in bad weather. I think of how he fixes all our electronic gadgets, how he calls to check in, how he blocks the dogs from jumping up on Michelle. And it hit me - Jay takes care of everyone!

But most of all, I think of how Jay took care of poor, decrepit old Sylvie.  The dog who wouldn't quit.  The one who jumped out of the window of our sun porch. The one who's breath could stop a train and who's gas could probably melt the ice caps. I thought about how many times she threw up and he cleaned it up (a few thousand). I thought of how she had accidents all over the house and how he protected her and cared for her and loved her despite it all. And that's kind of what is going to make him a great dad.

How is this like parenting? To be quite frank, in the first few months, parenting can be quite gross. It's a lot of give and not a lot of immediate reward. (I know some might disagree, but this is MY blog so you get MY perspective!) And Jay is going to be an incredible Dad for so many, many reasons, but especially in those early months because he is good at doing the yucky jobs, the really awful jobs, the ones that need to be done but no one wants to do. He will do them simply because someone's got to do them and because he's got a big heart and he loves people in a big way too. So when barf and snot and drool and crying and screaming and other unspeakables happen, Jay is going to get 'er done out of love for his baby and also for his tired wife and that is what being a father of a newborn is all about.

Coke Casualty

This morning, I left my can of coke on the coffee table and Amelia spilled it. I immediatley said, "That was my fault. I shouldn't have left it there." And Cole looked at me and said, "See Mom. I TOLD you we shouldn't had a baby."

Credit

Last night I was in the kitchen doing dishes and Mark was in the living room trying to keep Amelia from destroying the lego building Cole was making.  Then Cole ran into the kitchen and exclaimed, "Mom, Come quick! Come see my amazing....discovery!"

Then he pointed to his lego creation and yelled, "TA-DAH!"

And I said appropriately, "Wow! That's great Cole."

To which he responded, "And I couldn't have done it without Daddy and Amelia...and Mommy."

Happy Holidays 2011

 Aunt Sheena shaking Cole's brains out

 Mark, Sheena and Mary Elaine

 Isaac Jay

 Jay and Michelle just announced there will be one more Loftus next Christmas!

 Isaac kissing Amelia

 Amelia and Grandpa

 Kokum traded a VCR for this little chair at her garage sale this summer and it's a HUGE hit!

 Someone loves her Auntie

 History repeats itself.... the Peron, Duffy and Mulaisho progeny enjoying each other's company

(Ava, Cole and Naomi)

 Callum and Cole ringin' in the new year

Mom and Cole baking dinner rolls.  Cole is making his own little bun.

Amelia loves to clap - 9 months old