As silly as it sounds, I love dodgeball! It's a new-found hobby but I became addicted in the fall when a friend invited my husband and I to play in a recreational dodgeball league! Two seasons later, hubby has picked up night school classes but I am still holding tight to my dodgeball nights.
Here's the scoop: I've been laid off a couple times in the recent years. In fact, the whole time I was pregnant I was unemployed. As an adult I have spent a good chunk of my extra-curricular time doing nothing extra OR curricular - and it shows. I've gained an unflattering amount of weight, I know far too much about TV and I suffered through a stint of post-partum depression. I attribute much of my motherly-energy and positive outlook to dodgeball!
In a life that felt jammed packed, dodgeball has opened a door to Zumba classes, ceramics, evenings out with friends, walks with my husband and countless daytime activities with Zack. We can't wait to get out each and every day! Even when the weather is bad we find something to do around the house (crafts, books, practicing our somersaults) and I have never been busier or happier! I have found strength, energy and drive within myself and I owe it all to dodgeball! Tonight is the first game of our play-offs and although we aren't even in the running to win, I'm very excited - let's go Ball Masters!!
Monday, 18 April 2011
Sunday, 10 April 2011
Our First: Walking & Walk-in
We have lift-off people! My little dude is officially walking! He's been right on the cusp for a few months now but always sunk down to his knees to crawl when he wanted to get somewhere fast. Just this past week he's taken the leap to walk on his own from point A to point B. It's adorable because he looks so incredibly proud of himself while he's doing it! It makes me look forward to all the milestones we have in the future but I am also struck by the realization that he is not a baby anymore!
We also had the misfortune of making our first trip to the walk-in today. I jinxed us by telling people we'd almost made it one year without an illness and then pow! - he got a cold just at the end of winter. We've been riding it out and he's been such a little trooper but when I got home from a mom-to-mom sale yesterday I could tell he had hit a wall. We had a puking incident earlier in the week (wherein my husband stood in the hallway holding him at arms length, looking like a deer caught in head lights while the puke from their clothes dripped onto the carpet) so we thought we had seen the worst of it.
Saturday afternoon my heart could have broken for him. My usually energetic, newly walking baby was reduced to a sad little puddle on the floor. He seemed to not even have enough energy to open his eyes, let alone do the happy dance he normally greeted me with. We decided to give him a little medicine and see how the night went. We must be the luckiest people on Earth because through his entire illness I think he's only had one poor nights sleep - we got a solid 10 hours out of him.
Still, he wasn't himself this morning and his chest was rattling when he coughed so we thought we'd feel better having him looked at. Fast forward through a couple of very stressful hours spent in a walk-in clinic - another first for us but one I had hoped to put off for longer! Poor Zack, he didn't know if he wanted to be up or down, hugged or left alone so thank goodness my husband was with me to trade off taking him for walks while we waited. We held it together until the nurse had to take his temperature. God love my husband but he can't be tough in these situations no matter how hard he tries! When we need to do eye drops, hes useless at holding Zack still and pinning down his hands. The temperature was no different; he couldn't seem to find it in himself to hold Zack's head still. I hate to hear Zack cry as much as anyone but I have no problem being tough when the moment calls for it - they can't help him if we don't hold him still! Calming him down from the experience was no easy feat - several rounds of our fail-safe song, the Golden Girls theme song.
I've seen some parents doing crazy things in public and wondered if they were embarrassed or not. I can tell you from experience - they are NOT! I found myself bouncing, jiggling & hopping down the aisles of Fortino's while singing "thank you for being a friend", loud and proud (because that's the way he likes it) this afternoon with not even a glimmer of shame! When I realized I would sacrifice my pride to keep my baby happy that's when I thought I must be growing up. And when I realized a whole half of my birthday had gone by without me even noticing because what did a birthday matter when I had a sick child? That's when I knew I was growing up!
We also had the misfortune of making our first trip to the walk-in today. I jinxed us by telling people we'd almost made it one year without an illness and then pow! - he got a cold just at the end of winter. We've been riding it out and he's been such a little trooper but when I got home from a mom-to-mom sale yesterday I could tell he had hit a wall. We had a puking incident earlier in the week (wherein my husband stood in the hallway holding him at arms length, looking like a deer caught in head lights while the puke from their clothes dripped onto the carpet) so we thought we had seen the worst of it.
Saturday afternoon my heart could have broken for him. My usually energetic, newly walking baby was reduced to a sad little puddle on the floor. He seemed to not even have enough energy to open his eyes, let alone do the happy dance he normally greeted me with. We decided to give him a little medicine and see how the night went. We must be the luckiest people on Earth because through his entire illness I think he's only had one poor nights sleep - we got a solid 10 hours out of him.
Still, he wasn't himself this morning and his chest was rattling when he coughed so we thought we'd feel better having him looked at. Fast forward through a couple of very stressful hours spent in a walk-in clinic - another first for us but one I had hoped to put off for longer! Poor Zack, he didn't know if he wanted to be up or down, hugged or left alone so thank goodness my husband was with me to trade off taking him for walks while we waited. We held it together until the nurse had to take his temperature. God love my husband but he can't be tough in these situations no matter how hard he tries! When we need to do eye drops, hes useless at holding Zack still and pinning down his hands. The temperature was no different; he couldn't seem to find it in himself to hold Zack's head still. I hate to hear Zack cry as much as anyone but I have no problem being tough when the moment calls for it - they can't help him if we don't hold him still! Calming him down from the experience was no easy feat - several rounds of our fail-safe song, the Golden Girls theme song.
I've seen some parents doing crazy things in public and wondered if they were embarrassed or not. I can tell you from experience - they are NOT! I found myself bouncing, jiggling & hopping down the aisles of Fortino's while singing "thank you for being a friend", loud and proud (because that's the way he likes it) this afternoon with not even a glimmer of shame! When I realized I would sacrifice my pride to keep my baby happy that's when I thought I must be growing up. And when I realized a whole half of my birthday had gone by without me even noticing because what did a birthday matter when I had a sick child? That's when I knew I was growing up!
Thursday, 7 April 2011
Vacay Revamp
In honour of our little man's one year milestone, we sort of predicted we would be ready for our first family vacation this spring. I had visions of warm sand, ocean waves, maybe even a cruise! As the year has progressed however, I find myself wanting to plan things specifically for Zack to enjoy. Sand, sure. Water, absolutely. But now I'm picturing a sandbox and a pool...maybe with a toy boat thrown in for good measure.
A big part of me wants to do an all out kiddie vacation - Disney World, Great Wolf Lodge or something of the like. The logical part of me knows that a one year old is too young to fully appreciate all that these locations have to offer. Is it a waste for us parents to go somewhere "parent-friendly" with our child? If we simply crave the beach and ocean waves maybe we should go just the two of us. But at this stage it's also silly to fully invest in a child-centered vacation that he'll never remember.
It seems that, for now, our vacation needs are little more then a new surrounding for Zack to explore, a comfy bed to rest our heads and a few "exciting-to-a-one-year-old" activities thrown in. We've come along way from our newlywed Mexico adventure but we're still a ways off from a fun-filled Disney excursion. I'll enjoy the simple things along with Zack (and save my money) in the meantime but I'm still longing for strawberry daiquiris or Mickey Mouse! Perhaps a Niagara-Falls-hotel-with-a-pool getaway is in our near future...
A big part of me wants to do an all out kiddie vacation - Disney World, Great Wolf Lodge or something of the like. The logical part of me knows that a one year old is too young to fully appreciate all that these locations have to offer. Is it a waste for us parents to go somewhere "parent-friendly" with our child? If we simply crave the beach and ocean waves maybe we should go just the two of us. But at this stage it's also silly to fully invest in a child-centered vacation that he'll never remember.
It seems that, for now, our vacation needs are little more then a new surrounding for Zack to explore, a comfy bed to rest our heads and a few "exciting-to-a-one-year-old" activities thrown in. We've come along way from our newlywed Mexico adventure but we're still a ways off from a fun-filled Disney excursion. I'll enjoy the simple things along with Zack (and save my money) in the meantime but I'm still longing for strawberry daiquiris or Mickey Mouse! Perhaps a Niagara-Falls-hotel-with-a-pool getaway is in our near future...
Friday, 1 April 2011
April Fools!
I indicated on Facebook this morning that I'm excited my little guy, Zack is going to be a big brother! Don't get me wrong, this is absolutely true - he will be a big brother ..... some day! This was the best prank I could come up with on short notice. Last year's consisted of phoning my parents under the pretense that I had gone into labour - they were not amused by that, to say the least.
Today has got me thinking about how miserable I was this time last year. Yes, I said miserable. I truly thought nothing could be worse then the uncomfortable pain I was in. Little did I know that emotional pain could be far more complicated and unbearable then anything I was currently experiencing. April 1st, 2010 had me begging to be induced but only a month later I would be struggling to understand medical jargon and how I was supposed to leave my infant at the hospital. The first few weeks of Zack's life are a bit of a blur. He was diagnosed with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome roughly 24 hours after his birth - this is a fancy way of saying "way to go Mom, you messed up". Due to a rib fracture he caused in utero, I was prescribed Tylenol 2's with Codeine and in turn Zack suffered from withdrawl so severe the doctors said it was comparable to if I had been a heroine addict. Words cannot express the guilt, fear and turmoil I went through over the next month as he was weaned off of Morphine.
Needless to say we had a rough start but here we are almost a year later and I can talk about the possibility of a future pregnancy - something I couldn't have done in those first weeks after he was born. And to think I didn't even know him this time last year! Someone who I spend all my time with, laugh with constantly and watch turn into more of a monkey every day, didn't even exist a year ago! I'm so proud to be his Mommy and am willing to take all the guilt, fear and turmoil that sometimes go with that because I now know smiles, giggles and slobbery kisses go with it too!
Today has got me thinking about how miserable I was this time last year. Yes, I said miserable. I truly thought nothing could be worse then the uncomfortable pain I was in. Little did I know that emotional pain could be far more complicated and unbearable then anything I was currently experiencing. April 1st, 2010 had me begging to be induced but only a month later I would be struggling to understand medical jargon and how I was supposed to leave my infant at the hospital. The first few weeks of Zack's life are a bit of a blur. He was diagnosed with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome roughly 24 hours after his birth - this is a fancy way of saying "way to go Mom, you messed up". Due to a rib fracture he caused in utero, I was prescribed Tylenol 2's with Codeine and in turn Zack suffered from withdrawl so severe the doctors said it was comparable to if I had been a heroine addict. Words cannot express the guilt, fear and turmoil I went through over the next month as he was weaned off of Morphine.
Needless to say we had a rough start but here we are almost a year later and I can talk about the possibility of a future pregnancy - something I couldn't have done in those first weeks after he was born. And to think I didn't even know him this time last year! Someone who I spend all my time with, laugh with constantly and watch turn into more of a monkey every day, didn't even exist a year ago! I'm so proud to be his Mommy and am willing to take all the guilt, fear and turmoil that sometimes go with that because I now know smiles, giggles and slobbery kisses go with it too!
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