"An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet regardless of time, place or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle but it will never break." -Chinese Proverb



25.3.10

Drummer boy

I went to a large staff meeting on Monday and they had Drum Cafe there facilitating our meeting...they were amazing.....inspiring.....wonderful.....I want to take lessons to learn how to use a djumbe drum....so I went to 10 000 Villages tonight and found the drum....it was $400 which means it's not happening.....so I found a MUCH cheaper SET of drums....and brought them home...

24.3.10

Scared

I'm having my pacemaker and a lead replaced on April 5.......I am terrified.......Not for me but for my son.....What if something bad happens to me.....I know hubby will be with him but how will Adrien know me.....get to know me and how I will remain a presence in his life.
The surgery is pretty standard now a days, they will put me under for about 2 -4 hours, cut my existing incision open, take out the old battery, insert a new lead using an x-ray machine, flush out the pouch with antibiotic that the battery will sit in, attach a new battery, do some tests and close me up. The last time I had this done was in 1986....and I remember waking up to a very sore arm. This time, I won't be able to lift anything, including my own arm to ensure that scar tissue forms around the new place holding it securely in place. The other part that is scary for me is during my recovery, what if the battery become infected (a 4-5% chance) or worse yet, what if I forget and lift my arm jarring the lead out of place. I am 100% dependent on my pacemaker as I have a congenital heart block of the lower left chamber, which means that without the pacer, my heart can not go faster than 50 beats a minute. When I went to see another surgeon (my surgeon wanted a second opinion for a number of reasons, the main one being my age) They "turned the pacemaker off" and my heart only started kicking in at 30 beats a minute. Now, with other muscle memory in the body, it was speculated that if left like that for a few minutes, my heart would have kicked in and gone faster, but honestly, not chance I want to take.......
As for my son, I will be in hospital over night.....and I know that hubby is a great dad, but it'll be my first night with out my son....And I'm worried about how he's going to do, if he's going to cry for me, if he'll be eating enough....(WOW, that's only one night....what am I going to do when he grows up and moves away from home?) Then, there is the question of whether Adrien should be brought to the hospital to see me. But who is that going to benefit...me or him? Does he need to see me hooked up and groggy, unable to get out of bed and play with him, unable to pick him up? Plus, my surgery is at 2:00pm....even if I'm done by 4:00 pm, I'll have to be in recovery for a minimum of 2 hours depending on how quickly I come out of anesthesia......
My mom will be here for 2 weeks of my recovery period, helping me out with Adrien.....and I am thankful for that but what if he resents me for not being able to do everything I was able to for that recovery period....what if he gets angry with me because he can't understand why I can't pick him up anymore or why I can't carry him anywhere.....he's a mama's boy and this is going to be hard on all of us....I just don't want it to be too hard on him.....
I'm trying to get everything before hand, the laundry, meals, cleaning, etc.......but all I want to do is take pictures with Adrien and play with him just in case......

20.3.10

Saturday Morning Fun

Normally on Saturdays, A and I run errands and give Daddy sleep time.....today the weather is overcast and there is a lot to do at home.....A sat on his couch....asked for his three friends and his blanket and started a tradition that most kids have for their Saturday mornings.....cartoons!




19.3.10

22 months + 1 day

I can't believe my boy is already 22 months old. He has grown, both physically and cognitively. He is truly getting comfortable with us and coming into his own. He is protesting almost all requests and is testing boundaries with mama and daddy! He is a true boy in every sense of the word. He is teething again....poor kid....getting his incisors I think....He is still growing in his vocabulary....his favourite phase is "come on...." as he motions for you to come with him. He loves the outdoors ..... climbing, slides, swings......he doesn't want to be rocked to sleep anymore (excuse me, who's the baby!) but will drink his bottle on his big boy pillow, then come to me for cuddles.... He is figuring things out all the time.....I found him with a pen in the DVD player....He is doing well at daycare......and offically and legally ours!
Clean Baby Burrito
He's a big boy now!
Mr. Independent!

Life so far!

There has been a lot going on in our lives lately.......We have been planning and organizing A's baptism. Which means organzing a venue, catering, cake, gifts.etc....pictures to follow!
I will be having my pacemaker replaced on April 5th....and then I'll be out of commission for about 4 weeks while my body created scar tissue around the lead to hold it in place. Thank goodness my mom will be coming to help for a couple of weeks......

A long story
We got our adoption order on February 16.......I was told that I would need to wait about 4-6 weeks before I could apply for a birth certificate (BC). I have no patience and decided to apply on line three days later....to see what happens. The gov't guarantees that the BC will be delivered within 15 business days from the time you apply if there are NO issues......So I kept checking the status of the BC. Two weeks later I noticed that my application had been flagged and that a form had been sent to us on March 1....We still hadn't received it via snail mail so I call the Registrars office and explained the situation....she suggested that I send a copy of the adoption order and the details around our adoption. I sent this out registered mail on March 8...requesting a signature of receipt. On March 10 I came home to a Purolator notice on our door. I thought it was the signature sheet and was planning to pick it up on the 11. On March 11, Purolator showed up again....this time hubby was home to sign for the package.....it was our registration of birth of adoption!!! So I assumed that was what the guy tried to deliver the day before. March 16, I received a call from Purolator stating that there was a package for me to pick up by March 17 or it would be returned to sender. I still thought it was the sign back sheet. IT WAS HIS BIRTH CERTIFICATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So on Thursday I headed to the passport office and our passports will be mailed out April 1!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!!!

Other stuff
With the warmer weather here now, my son only wants to be outdoors.....and we struggle EVERYDAY to get things done in the home, like meals, bath times, cleaning....etc.....because we believe it's really good for him to be outdoors....
Our street has a park....and I know we'll be spending a lot of time there!
He like to climb the stairs and says "stair" with each step!
TUNNEL.....he loves hiding in it!
Boo....I see you baby blue!
Playing with the steering wheel.
There are three different sized slides at this park.....my kid goes to the big one!

15.3.10

Welcome to my Hair Boutique



Growing up I used to LOVE cutting my dolls hair....then later, my brothers and sister's hair.....then I got a job as a shampoo girl at a hair salon.......In fact, I fancy myself something of a stylist. When I lived in Edmonton and worked at the homeless shelter, I would cut all the guys hair when they were getting ready for job interviews.....I cut, perm and colour anyone's hair who asks......including Rob....but that's another post, just don't ask him about streaking caps and platinum blond.
Enter Adrien into the picture....my sweet little beautiful boy. Little did he know that he entered the house of DeeDee Boutique, sponsered by Remmington Clippers.....lol.

This young child came to us at one year of age.....his beautiful strawberry blond hair had NEVER been touched by man to sculpt it or cut it......
In walks Mama.......who is just itching....and I mean ITCHING....to cut it.....out came the scissors...and his beautiful locks were trimmed.....(the hair is kept)....in a straight line....and around the ears....
Mama had enough of the straight line look and purchased a Remmington clipper set at Wal-Mart for $17.....then came the fauxhawk.....such a cute look on my little man....we would paste it to stay up and he would walk around so proud of how he looked!
One night, a neighbour came out with his two daughters.....all three of them had streaks of pink in their hair.....so again...Mama, with her bright ideas throws some pink coloured spray in her baby's fauxhawk!
Then the fauxhawk got too long or maybe Mama got over zealous with the clippers.....it is a little stressful to clip his hair....he HATES it! He tells me all done, finished....you would think I was torturing him, but once you start, you have to finish....otherwise you'll have a funny looking kid.
Another one of Mama's bright ideas......let's grow out baby's hair as long as we can over the winter and see how cute he looks....
The hair started getting out of control quickly....something had to be done, Mama was using almost a whole bottle of shampoo with each washing......
So out came Remmington and snip snip....maybe we'll try again next winter for the shaggy look!

I'm already preparing for the day when Adrien comes home from school talking about how his friends go to barbers and hairdressers and wanting to know what those are!......

13.3.10

Puke

Note to self: as tempting as it may seem and as beautiful as his laughter sounds, tickling your son senseless after his night snack and bottle can equal puke. And the chunks need to be rinsed before laundering though I am getting better at catching most of it.
Please note: you may need to stop tickling when he starts pleading for you to stop no matter how much fun you are both having.

1.3.10

Picture time


Adrien enjoying a walk in the snow

Mama and Baby......

Nor hubby and I drink but it appears the boy might enjoy the beer

Don't worry, he's not really drinking it