Bad Monkey!

I just had to put a stuffed monkey on time-out downstairs because my four year old is certain that it will climb out of the toy box in his room and get him. I live a surreal life...and I wish that I still had an imagination the size of his!

It's Snowing!!

It's true...I am a freak...I like snow. The first snowfall is my favorite weather of the year, especially when it takes until the end of November to arrive! It's so magical and beautiful. The whole world gets covered in white. I took LilyMab out today (in full-on snowsuit, naturally) to celebrate it. Her response was basically: what is this and why am I so cold? She blinked a lot when the snowflakes caught in her eyelashes. I may not enjoy the weather so much in three weeks when I have been slogging through dirty brownish freezing cold ankle-deep slush for the millionth time, but for now, let it snow! Hopefully, it will get deep enough out there for me to teach Darius about snow-angels this weekend.

Reader poll: what's your favorite weather experience?

Living in the Moment

Thought-wise, I am a time traveller. I am either living in the past or thinking about the future. It is rare for me to completely focus on the present moment. It drives me a little crazy because I know that I should be savouring what I am doing. Instead, I find that I have entire days when I cannot think of a single thing that I did. I just fall into bed at the end of the day, completely exhausted and my mind racing, with absolutely no time spent living that day. How frustrating. Yesterday morning, I took some mommy/baby time with LilyMab. The whole point of mommy/baby time is to focus on spending time with the baby. Basically, I spend the whole morning in bed, ignore the household chores, and play with LilyMab, and feed her, and nap together. After all, she won't be this tiny forever. Now, if only I could infuse all of my daily activities with this level of concentration...think how much pleasure could be involved in solely concentrating on the feel of water against you in the shower instead of reviewing everything you need to get done that day. I really need to do more of this, experience pleasure in each moment of the day. Maybe it's time to start meditating again.

Better than Expected...

I was so nervous yesterday. Today was my first day of work - a professional development day for all staff because the library will eventually be implementing a new computer system (SirsiDynix Horizon). So, we all went to see a demo of this new system. I was freaking out all last night and this morning because it was my first full day away from the baby. Compounding my stress was the fact that baby did not do well on our first night out and basically screamed for four hours at her grandma while we went to NIN. She didn't eat or anything. So, I was totally worried that she'd do the same thing today and starve herself while screaming at Daddy. Also, today was her first immunizations - so a day without Mommy plus needles. Not good. But it actually tunred out okay.

I enjoyed my day out as much as possible - I mean it was basically three hours of power point slides (oh how I miss school and power point slides - um, yeah) followed by a three hour tour. Woohoo. Luckily, my coworkers are really cool. I even met a potential friend! Yay me! One of the library assistants just moved from Victoria and doesn't really know anyone in town yet so I asked if she'd like to go for coffee. Hurrah! I was proactive and got to know someone! We have a few similar interests so it was pretty easy to talk to her. An even bigger bonus - LilyMab actually had a good day while I was gone. She drank from the bottle and slept lots, so I didn't even have to feel too guilty for leaving her today.

Isn't it nice when you actually have a good day and things turn out better than you expected?

And today's fun link: http://www.fborfw.com - I don't know about you guys, but I read this comic every day in the newspaper when I was growing up. It's a nostalgia kick - so I love that I can get it online now. :)

Odds and Ends

I'm feeling a little scattered today, so this post will be full of randomness:

Random thought #1: Nine Inch Nails rock. We saw the concert last night - my first major 'go out without baby' night and they were fabulous. If only their opening acts had been more than 'walls of sound'...still, I think it's the best concert I've been to. We also saw Corpse Bride - the first time we've ever taken the kids to a movie. It's a beautiful film. I am biased because I love Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, but still...go see it if you haven't already seen it because it is magnificent.

Random thought #2: Baby speak is an interesting thing. LilyMab is already trying to talk at two months old. Nothing she says is intelligible, but she makes an effort. So far, I have managed to decipher a couple of her gurgles. When she screws up her face, sticks out her lower lip, and yells "Meh!" right into your face it roughly means "RAGE!" (and whenever I think of the word rage now, I think of Sonya - go figure). Also, when I leave the room, she tends to call out "Ee-yar-arg!" I think this means "Mom" or possibly, "Hey Milk Wench, you left me in the playpen again!"

Random thought #3: I suck at making friends. I'm feeling a little frustrated because I'm lonely. My parents live here and I have Jake and the kids - heck, there are even Jake's friends and family - but I don't have friends of my own here. I am extremely shy and self-conscious, so I find it difficult to make conversation with people...until I know them and then no-one can ever shut me up (rolls eyes). Bleah. Doesn't it just seem like people are already friends with their own little group? And that try as you might you always end up as a fringe friend? This is the story of my life - the fringe friend. Oh the pity party, oh the humanity. Anybody got tips on how to get to know people? Something nice and easy where I don't have to talk a lot until I'm comfortable? I swear, library school was half-over before I managed to make friends with a few people (as in, talk to them outside of class)! I can't even deal with the "what a beautiful baby girl" opener - I mumble "thank you", blush, and then slink away. I need to be able to invite somebody over for a cup of tea. Helpful suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Random thought #4: I have too many random thoughts. This is what happens when you don't get enough sleep. :)

As Requested...The Details

Q. When did Jake propose?

A. He proposed on November 3, 2005 - it was our anniversary (we had been dating 22 months), but I don't think he knew that and truthfully, I didn't realize it until a couple of days later. We aren't exactly slavish to anniversary dates around here.

Q. Why did he choose that day?

A. Actually, he intended to propose on Halloween but it didn't work out. Halloween is a big day for us and this was the first time in five years that we could have celebrated together, but everything kind of went to hell and he had to work that night. So, in his own words, "[the 3rd] was the first time since Halloween that I was actually able to do it."

Q. Did anyone know he would propose?

A. Actually, he did tell Darius who amazingly kept it a secret for three days...he also told Carrie, his boss, because he had the ring in his coat and really wanted to show it off to somebody.

Q. How did Jake propose?

A. Well, I'd had a really frustrating day and kind of broke down by suppertime. After supper, my parents called and offered to take Darius shopping for snowboots. So, they took Darius and Jake and I started cleaning up the kitchen and doing laundry. Partway through the household chores, Jake pulled me onto the couch to chat and cuddle (I figured it was because I was having a crap day and he was being nice to me...I didn't realize he had an agenda!). He started talking about how disappointed he was that our Halloween plans got cancelled and how he'd really wanted to give thanks (his usual Halloween ritual) for everything good in his life because he had so many things to be thankful for this year...and then he pulled out the ring.

Q. What was my reaction?

A. I'm pretty sure I said yes. If not, I should give back the ring.

Q. When's the big day?

A. We don't know.

Q. Where are you getting married?

A. We don't know.

Q. Where are you honeymooning?

A. We don't know.

Q. Who are your attendants?

A. We don't know.

Q. What do you know?

A. We do know that we are happy to be engaged. We'll keep everybody posted when we actually do know the answers to the wedding questinos. :) (That's questions in Spanish...or maybe it was a typo).

Oops...

Thanks to Jenny and Kendra for making me realize that only blogger users were able to post...I've fixed it now so that everyone can leave comments! Thanks, girls!

:)

I'm engaged! I'm engaged! I'm engaged! I'm engaged!

It Burns!

I have just been kissed on the lips by someone wearing Blistex (it's okay, it was Jake) and I have to say: "Oh, the humanity!" I have never worn Blistex...I am a Chapstick girl or, if I am lucky, a Body Shop mango lipgloss girl. Blistex is painful...it has that medicinal burning like VapoRub. The pain! The horror!

On the plus side, I just overheard Dar saying "Daddy is evil. His lipstick burns." So, that cheered me up. :) It still hurts though...what a horrible torture device.