Wonderful and Exhausting

We have returned home from a wonderful and exhausting 10 days in Winnipeg over the holidays. We saw many people, but not as many as we would have liked and not for as much time as we would have preferred. Such is the way when you return home for a short visit during a busy season.
Most of my photos and videos are still in Winnipeg after I downloaded them on to Corey's computer to make space on the camera (we should really get a bigger memory card...) and did not get an opportunity to send them to myself. I did post some directly to FB if you're there.
Here's a small sampling:
Abi with her new doll and doll sling.


Abi with her cousins.


Abi modelling DoDo's new fish hat for me.


Robin's back to work today. Abi's sleeping in and home for the day because it's the stat holiday alternate. We'll be unpacking some more I imagine - her tossing clothes, me trying to put them away. I have no idea where I'm fitting all this stuff we brought back. Abi received all sorts of wonderful new things, like a wooden xylophone, dolls, doll sling, doll stroller, bath toys, clothes, movies, CDs, books... You know what it's like. I had serious doubts that I would fit it all (plus our gifts) into the luggage - but I did!

Unfortunately, a stomach flu was making its rounds. Abi was throwing up the two days before Christmas, but playing between up-chucks. So, aside from the mess and not liking the actual throwing-up part, she was in pretty good humour if a little clingy. She was most tired/clingy on Christmas eve and day after she finished with the flu and was hungry from not eating/keeping food down and tired from poor sleep (as were we!). As far as flues go, however, I think we had it pretty easy - no fever, relatively short lived (but poorly timed), no other symptoms.

I was pleased by how well all my hand-knit sock gifts were received. You know, being socks and all. I finished the last pair on Boxing Day. I think I could have finished before Christmas if Abi hadn't gotten sick. ;)

We hope your holidays were enjoyable.
GTG, Abi sounds like she is waking...

Gifts

Yule/Christmas is going to be FUN this year.
Abi has figured out that opening the boxes and playing with the contents is at least as fun as playing with the box. Last year it was all about the box.

We hosted an early Yule party last night with a houseful of friends and kids. There was delicious food, tasty wine, rum-raisin brownies... enough said. There were also gifts. When Abi was handed her first gift she knew exactly what to do - open it! Inside were large, stacking, circus cardboard blocks and she immediately had to open the package to start stacking them. Then she opened another gift to find a stuffed cow. "A Moo!" She was happy. So was I. Last year was fun, but this year we will see much more excitement in Abi as she opens gifts.

Already she's playing with one of her Yule gifts because I can't seem to keep it hidden. I knit her a baby doll and she adores it. I'd taken it out of hiding to show a friend last night, then I forgot to put it away. She found it on the table this morning and insisted on bringing it to daycare. The doll still needs clothes (and a name, but I've been avoiding naming any of her dolls for her).

First, Halloween - where people put things in her bag - and now Yule - where she doesn't even have to go door to door (not that she minded - that was half the fun!). It's all so exciting. I'd forgotten how exciting Yule/Christmas can be. So many new things to explore for Abi. I just hope my mother is reasonable in her shopping this year and we can fit all of Abi's gifts in the luggage... Last year's box set of Fraggle Rock was a squeeze. I'm still debating which of Abi's gifts I will bring with us to give at Yule and which can stay here.

As for gifts I have to bring to give to family - I've kept things easy to transport. Some items still need to be finished, but I am hoping I will have a little extra time once we arrive.

Where's _____?

Lately Abi has been asking where everyone is? Not just the basics such as "where's mum" or "where's dad"?
No, when she wakes from a nap at daycare and the other kids are off at school she asks where's [Rob]? They don't even have simple names like "Rob" at daycare.
After we dropped a friend's son at home she asked where he was. Out of the blue she pent today asking where Mo was - which was quite funny given that Mo was coming to our Yule party this evening.
She asks where Coco and Nana are all the time ("in Winnipeg" we reply) and then fetches her scrapbook to find their pictures. Although, she doesn't point out Corey. She knows she's in the book, but hasn't quite associated a face with her favourite name.

A couple days ago she was looking at a book with an exclamation mark in the title. She was holding it upside down and pointed out an "i". "i" she says enthusiastically about the upside down "!" I was mighty pleased :)

This morning we had breakfast with the local Pagan gaggle (haha I called us a gaggle) and A, a friends child, and Abi were playing photographer and model - or so I would describe it. A was getting Abi to pose and Abi was quite happy to oblige. I look forward to seeing pictures!! We tried to get Abi to perform Santa's Reindeer, but she was less obliging :( She clearly needs to practice performing her dance for other people. ;)

It's been a crazy weekend. Breakfast and party plans today. Yesterday I spent the day at the annual GRAB Animal Rescue fundraiser (drinking way too much delicious hot chocolate). During the previous week or so I completed several more research interviews (= more transcripts...). And we're outta here in a few days. Tomorrow I have a bunch of errands to run for the Rescue. I have no idea when I'm going to finish this Yule knitting... in Winnipeg I guess.

Diapers no more

ETA: How do I keep forgetting to mention that Abi has all her teeth in now? Well, she does.

It's official. Childcare provider has confirmed - we no longer need to use diapers.
OMG, that seems crazy to me. No more wool soakers or longies or skirties :( Damn, I knit one she hasn't even grown into yet!
Good thing I picked up those new underwear today.
Abi's been without diapers at home for a long time now, but I've always sent her to daycare with diapers because I didn't imagine the childcare provider would want to deal with the accidents that might happen. Really, I should have known earlier and talked with her childcare provider about this long ago when I noticed she would only have to change the diaper once (maybe twice, but that was probably days Abi refused to pee before we left in the morning). The rest of the time Abi was using the potty at daycare.
Today she refused a diaper and rather than be late I brought her to daycare with underwear on and extra diapers in the bag, as well as extra pants, socks, leggings, slippers - just in case.
When I picked her up, CP said she'd been in underwear (and pants of course) all day and that I needn't send diapers any more. It's easier to use the potty/toilet when you don't have a diaper to get off!

I knew this day would come eventually... but wow. Not sure I'm done with those cute wool soakers. She's still wearing a diaper to bed for now - with a wool soaker. Lately she's been a heavy wetter early in the morning hours before anyone (including her) is awake. Once we move her to her own bed (and she seems to be ready for her own space), it will be easier to have her on the soaker pad in case of accident. I know from experience that she can sleep through the night without wetting her diaper, we just don't want her wetting our bed accidentally.

The other problem is that some of her pants won't fit without a diaper on! Baby clothes are designed for diapered bums and she's petite, so toddler clothes (some of which are sized for potty-using kids) are too big/long. So if she looks to be swimming in her pants and you're wondering where her bum went... now you know.

December? Seriously?

Less than two weeks and we'll be greeting Nana and Papa and Coco and Papa and Ro and Do and Sca and Ed. If Abi knew to expect something, I think she would be very excited. We often tell her that we're going to Winnipeg and who we will see. So now, when we ask her who she will see in Winnipeg, she tells us. Corey's in for a real treat because "Co-Co" is currently one of her favourite words. And she gets excited when she sees a picture of Nana.

As people have started asking about gifts, all I'll say is that there is an updated list (and I'll try to keep it updated) linked on the side of the blog. It's http://abi.wouldlovethis.com/

Today I got the car back with its shiny new bumper. Yippee. Unfortunately, it smelled like a garage inside, so I took it out for some fresh air. We (car and I) drove down to Walmart because another friend who practices Elimination Communication had recommended a fold up toilet seat for kids she found there. Abi likes to use the toilet more than her potties now, so it made sense to us to bring a foldable seat to Winnipeg and it will help while we are out. At home we just hold her on the seat, but soon enough she'll want to do it herself. Abi has been wearing underwear a lot lately - at her insistence - so I picked up a few pairs of cloth training pants too. It's difficult to find underwear her size! It turns out, also, that all the ones her size are a bikini style rather than a full brief. I didn't realize this when I bought her first package, but I've shopped around and that's all I can find in a 2. I can find briefs in a 2/3, but those are far too big for Abi. I'm not surprised that there are few underwear options for a child Abi's age/size. I'm sure I could find some online from specialty suppliers (EC stores and whatnot), but for now we have enough.

Reduced to a syllable

Abi is looking forward to seeing
Do
Ra
Sca
Co-co (or is that cocoa)
Ed
Nana
Papa
and Papa

Those would be
Dorion
Veronica
Scott
Corey
Ed
Nana
Pa-Pere
and Grandpa.

We've been looking at her scrapbook together and talking about family. She remembers Nana easily - since she was recently visiting. She recognizes her papas, but hasn't had the same amount of time with them. When grandpa was here, he didn't consistently refer to himself as Papa/Grandpa the way my mom called herself Nana. However, with pictures in front of her, she enjoys pointing out all these people (sometimes with prompting, sometimes on her own) along with mom and dad and Abi/baby (depending on how old she was in the photo).
If I mention any of these people, she fetches her scrapbook and opens to the family page to point them out.
I'm excited to see her reaction when she gets to see all these people in person again.
It's also made me realize we don't have enough pictures around of them. I aim to fix that with the next scrapbook - which I've started sorting through/uploading to print digital photos for.

Chipped Bowl

My bowls are chipped. Some of the saucers are broken, maybe a small plate or two as well.
I remember when I got my dishes. I was about 14 and I had asked for these for a gift. I wanted to be ready to move out when it was time (many years later...) I imagined how great it would be to move out and have a complete matching set of dishes. Over the years I also collected my cutlery, knives, cups, towels, etc - all in preparation of THE DAY when I moved out.
Then I moved out (and by out I mean far from the Prairies, out to Newfoundland) and I was so proud to have my dishes (along with the rest of my household items).
Here I am 7.5 years later and I'm ready to part with the broken set of dishes. It's not simply that some of the bowls are chipped and some plates are broken. It's not simply that I'd rather nicer dishes (I'm thinking handmade pottery that doesn't have to match perfectly). I realize that these dishes represent moving out on my own, my first steps out into the world, and that period of limbo as a graduate student.
I am ready to be done with all that! I'm ready to finish my PhD. I'm ready to move on from "first steps" to...
and that's where I draw a blank.
What exactly is it I imagine moving on to?
"real life"? What's more real than my life right now?
Is my life going to change drastically when I have a document that says PhD on it?
Oh, one dreams it will, but I know it won't. I'll simply be entering a new state of limbo - she who waits for tenure. Assuming I can even find an institution that still offers tenure in my field...
I'd be happy just to have full time employment. Or maybe I don't even want full time employment any more... I don't know now. Maybe I want to balance my life at home with my career in academia better. Maybe I don't want all parts of my life tied to the university. Some parts, certainly, but I also highly value and enjoy raising a family. I don't know what that would look like or how that works exactly? I know some of my peers would look down upon it. And others will value those choices. Is it feasible in practice? I don't know.

That's the future. Right now I've got to deal with these chipped bowls and this dissertation that hangs over me. I'll look into the pottery and other changes when this is all done.

Collision Inconveniences

The inconveniences incurred by the recent collision continue to waste my time. (And so I thought I'd spend some more time writing about them...). I also thought some of my friends who may be in the same boat I was a few simple days ago - sans accident - would benefit from sharing what I have learned. So let me tell the story again from a slightly different perspective.

Firstly, I should say that while I am still annoyed by the inconvenience of the accident caused by the young man who was in too much of a hurry to wait behind the bus (and subsequently wasn't paying proper attention to the traffic he was merging into), he was polite and I was impressed that he actually picked up his "litter" (bumper pieces). I doubt he thought he could just glue them back on. When we spoke on the phone to exchange further information, he continued to be polite, despite the fact that while I was also trying to be polite, I'm certain I had a "tone" to my voice that could easily have fed rude behaviour on his part. Hey, I was annoyed and rightfully so IMNSHO.

The reason we had to talk further on the phone was because we failed to gather all the information we needed on the scene. I knew enough to check the damage, get his license and registration info, and make sure the car was his. I also tried to get witnesses (but none came forth at the scene.) There were things I missed, however, that I didn't know to get or forgot. I realized after that I DO have a collision reporting sheet in the glove box with MY car registration info, but since the other driver never asked to see it I didn't pull it out. He chose to get my phone number and call me (after class I presume). If I were ever involved in an accident again, I'd be sure to pull out that sheet and fill in the details. So, dear readers, if you don't have a collision reporting sheet in your vehicle already, get one! You never know when you might need it - even if it's as a witness. Maybe the other drivers don't have one. Here's an example.

After the original inconvenience of the collision (good thing I was running early for my meeting), comes the myriad other inconveniences (not necessarily in this order).
1) Reporting it to my insurance agency and making multiple phone calls (in part because I didn't have all the necessary information about the other driver's insurance and car, but also because I should have gone to the police first).
2) Driving to the middle of nowhere (by city standards) to make my report at the regional collision reporting center. (Notably, the information given to me by the police officer did not include his badge number which the insurance company wanted. Fortunately, I'd written that information down before he handed me his card.)
3) Shopping for a new car seat for Abi. It seems such a waste to throw out the otherwise almost-new car seat! Let's be realistic - it wasn't damaged. My car car was barely damaged. I could have damaged the car seat more by putting it in and out of cars.
4) Installing the new car seat. You know, opening it all up, getting the straps in order, sizing it. Then I stripped the original car seat down so we could keep the cover. Now when the cover needs to be washed, I can slip cover 2 on immediately. (The only benefit to this whole ordeal that I can see.)
5) Bringing the original car seat and its receipt to my insurance agent so they can write me a cheque (to be sent...) for my new car seat and properly dispose of the original car seat.
6) Visiting the autobody shop so they can inspect the car, give the estimate to the insurance company, order the new bumper, take pictures, etc. (At least none of this part comes out of my pocket.)
7) I still have to get an appointment to replace the bumper, bring the car in, get a rental if needed (although how long does it take to switch-out bumpers?) or wait around the autobody shop.
8) Will likely have to get some massage therapy (oh, darn). I'm hesitant to attribute any of my current aches to the accident since I was feeling achy already. My wrists hurt the first day, but they seem fine now.

All this because of an accident caused by someone else. A great inconvenience.

I complain, and yet I am well aware that it is ONLY an inconvenience. It could be much worse. There could have been a serious injury. Abi could have been in the car. I could have been smashed into the car ahead of me or some student fresh off the bus running across the street. A million things could have made it more than an inconvenience.
But hey, it IS a bunch of inconveniences, none of which I would have to endure and waste time on if the other driver had been paying attention to traffic. Insurance companies don't pay for my time, gas, lunches bought on the go, etc running around town taking care of all these things. So I'm bitter. :P

That's life. There are often inconveniences. We deal with them and move on.

Moving on... I will soon upload THE CUTEST EVER video of Abi. Wait until you see what she's been practicing for Yule... My family should recognize it... Hmm, I should send the video to Mrs. Brown too...
There will be a part 2 Yule video to follow. But you'll have to wait at least 6 more weeks for that!

Not a good week.

First Abi was sick, then Robin, then me. We're all at the last stages of recovery. Maybe it was H1N1... hmmm.... or just the regular ol' flu. Mostly it was congestion and aches and fever on my part (as is my usual MO when I'm sick). It was pretty short lived thankfully - over the weekend for me.

So we recover from that and what happens today? I drop Abi at daycare, head to a meeting near the university and get rear-ended by a student rushing to get out of the lane with a bus stopped. Incidentally, he needed the left lane anyhow to turn in half a block, but that's not why he was changing lanes. Really, he should have already been in the left lane if he knew he was going to turn at the end of the block. I hate when people leave changing lanes to the last minute. But changing lanes at the very last minute to avoid being behind a bus just so you don't have to slow down, and not cluing into the fact that all the cars in front of you are also changing out of that lane and thus causing everyone in the left to slow down and stop - well that's plain stupid driving.
Fortunately I'm not a stupid driver and I wasn't riding the rear-end of the car stopping in front of me, so I was not pushed into that car.
The cars behind him drove off and no one on the street was paying attention to be a witness. Oh well, the evidence is in my bumper (literally) and it was a pretty simple situation to describe.

Fortunately Abi was not in the car or I would have been freaking out at the driver. Nobody was injured - except poor Matilda's bumper. And his car's bumper, but I don't care about his car. Matilda received a souvenir piece of his bumper lodged in the cracks he made. I'm leaving it there until the collision center sees the car later today.

What a pain in the arse! Now I have to make reports, go to the collision center, yadda yadda, all because of some other idiot.

The important part is that everyone is okay.

Montreal

We're back home following a whirlwind trip to Montreal where I attended the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion and we visited with family in Montreal. Plus we added a special stop just north of Kingston to see family friends and deliver a blanket I made with the help of some friends.

Mom joined us in Montreal, so we picked her up on the way past Toronto airport. Visited friends at the old schoolhouse. Made it into Montreal that evening after a long day on the road. Abi was kept occupied with a new sticker book and her dolls when she wasn't sleeping. While in Montreal we saw the sights and ate a lot of good food. We visited with my aunt and cousins, Robin's cousins, and of course my colleagues at the conference. Rounded it out with some shopping, which also required getting lost trying to find a local yarn shop. Robin wanted to give up, but we insisted that the time lost so far would only have been in vain if we didn't find the yarn shop!

Speaking of driving in Montreal - never again! OMGs, I have seen some bad driving habits, and every region seems to have its own quirks shared by residents - but Montreal is the worst I've encountered so far. First of all, the roads are nearly impossible to navigate, the signs are poorly marked, the construction is horrendous and there are no marked detours, most roads are one-way and may randomly change directions - but the worst part was the rampant double parking - people randomly stopped in the middle of a busy road all over the place. Don't even bother driving in the right hand lane beside the parking lane. Add to that the fact that the coordinates for our destinations were almost all wrong in the GPS and we wasted a lot of time on the roads.

For photos see the flickr account, which will hopefully finish uploading soon...