December Daily 12

There are no two ways about it, today was crazy. It wasn't supposed to be but it just seemed like I went from one thing to another without a chance to stake a break at all. It wasn't a bad day exactly but I can certainly say that I am ready for bed.

It began with a very early start. Baby Bean is teething BIG TIME and that means very little sleep. I have tried everything you can think of but my kids just have a hard time with teeth. With Pk, it was even worse than with Baby Bean - she cried and whined and didn't feed and didn't sleep. Baby Bean just doesn't sleep. Much. At. All. Mummy is not so happy - he was up every hour and then up for good at 5 a.m. Then, just as I got him down for an early-ish morning nap, the phone rang. It was a friend of my s.i.l. who wanted to come and see our dogs. She is thinking of getting a brittany for her family and wanted to see ours to get a better idea of whether they are what she wants. While I was on the phone with her, my friend who borrows my older dog for competitive obedience came to pick the dog up - as you can imagine, by this point, poor Baby Bean was awake. Then, the phone rang again, I had to get both kids bundled up and we had to get out the door to head up to Pk's daycare provider to pick up the snowpants that went a.w.o.l. yesterday.

At that point, things eased up a teeny bit. Normally, Baby Bean's library day is Wednesday and Pk's is Thursday but this week, they weren't doing a formal programme, just a drop in for whoever arrived and it ended up just being us and another family, a very nice mother with two daughters who we have met before at programmes and who I really like. The babies had fun rolling around on the carpet and being sung to while Pk and V got to sing songs and hear stories. It was nice for them.
The mother had obviously not been around adults enough this week and wanted to talk about EVERYTHING so we didn't even get out of the programme room to get new books for the week until 11:30.

That's when the pace really picked up again. We were going down to the city, an hour-long drive provided that traffic wasn't too bad, to see Gran and Uncle J. (Momis, my father, was at work so he couldn't be there to see the kids). On the way, we had to 1. drop off a card and cookies for Pk's swim instructor, 2. put gas in the car and 3. eat a snack. We didn't get down to the city until much after 1, which meant we were really pushing on lunch. (And, to whine for just a second, I hate having to put gas in the car when it is -16 degrees celsius!)

When we got there, as usual, Gran had to shower the kids with gifts. I have instituted a rule that seems to be really working well. I was feeling like the kids had too much stuff and Pk in particular wasn't being very grateful for what she has. I don't think we need every toy ever made and I find that the more there is, the more difficulty they have deciding what to play. On the other had, my mother is incredibly generous but ridiculous in the amount of gifts. Our compromise has been that from now on, unless it's Christmas or a birthday, she can buy what she wants to for them but those toys stay at her place as special Gran toys. Of course, today's visit started with some gift opening (and I was saddened by how much Pk has come to just expect it). Baby Bean loved his books - he is at the stage where he loves the books with textures to feel. He also was having fun trying to eat the book.

By this point, we were all very hungry so we decided to head out to the family favourite greasy spoon for lunch. It's funny, the neighbourhood my parents live in is undergoing a gentrification and the clientele at places like this restaurant has really changed. It was pretty grubby and working class when I was little but now, while you still get some of the old-time locals, there are more and more yuppie types around. It's strange to see. I had my favourite - the greek omelet. I discovered it about a month ago and now, whenever I go, I try that. Compared to the burgers and fries, it's a healthier option (but I just don't think about the fat and calories in the mound of feta in the middle). Yum!
After a spot of Christmas gift buying a good toystore that is local to my parents, we went back to mum's house. It was the usual chaos. My brother tries to make things very exciting for Pk and today was no exception. I debated whether to post the following photo since it seems a bit... well... grubby but if I am going to show you what life is like, I might as well go all the way. Uncle J was teaching Pk about the "belly drum". Needless to say, she was entranced and we will probably be combating demonstrations of the belly drum up at the front of the church during children's worship.
What can I say? The dogs are always part of things in our family.
Before we left, Uncle J felt that Pk had to be exposed to a local institution - the chronically losing Toronto Maple Leafs. In all honesty, I would have to say that I have no interest in hockey at all (I am a failure as a Canadian) and he feels that it is his mission to give our children a chance to experience something other than English Premier League Soccer. Fine with me, as long as he doesn't expect me to watch.
By the time I drove home, I was dropping with exhaustion. Please, cross your fingers that it is an easier night. I could use some sleep.