Crazy days

I am the worst blogger out there. I know that it would be best to have a new post every day or every other day. Unfortunately, as much as I like to write, I am either too busy to sit down and do it or nothing interesting happens at all. This past weekend was one of those weekends that you go from one event to another. My sister, husband and their 2 children were up for a visit so the weekend was full of family time. We had a goodbye party, 2 family lunches and dinner, a bachelor party and bachelorette to attend (and a few other things). In amongst all the activity, I would like to say that Meredith got all her regular naps and went to bed on time expect for Sunday were she only slept for an hour. I would take all the credit, but if it were not for my husband and mother, Meredith would have either never slept or I would have had to stay home all weekend.

Weekend Points:

100 points for booking every minute of the weekend

100 points for not dropping dead from all the activity

300 points for putting Meredith down for naps and bed times

200 points for taking the time to spend with family and friends and making it all work

Total points: 700

Missed Opportunity

As I have written before, I have a tremendously supportive husband. So, you would think that in return, I would be a supportive wife. Well, most times I am, but last night I was not. For the past year, my husband has been going to school to be a journalist. He has worked hard and got the highest GPA in his class and graduated with honors. Last night was his graduation. Instead of attending, I worked. Just to be clear, Greg totally supported the idea of me working. We both agreed that sitting in an auditorium for three hours and being bored would be worst then going and making some money for three hours.  Still, I still feel like I let him down.

Points for the day:

-100 points for missing my husband’s graduation

-400 points for not being able to clone myself to be in two places at once

Total points: -500 (ouch!!)

Dragon Boats!

I have lived in Ottawa for almost 20 years. Over the years, there are lots of things that I did not know went on or things that I never went to check out. Since having a child, I am always looking for interesting things to bring my daughter to. She likes to explore and I seeing new things. Yesterday, my husband and I took Meredith to the International Dragon boat festival. It was awesome! They had kid shows going on all day, live music, and boat races!! Meredith got to touch a snake and see a crocodile!! I could not take pictures because I needed to make sure she would not give these animals hugs! She is the type to do such things! The weather was perfect, the atmosphere was fun, and best of all, it was time spent just the 3 of us!

Points for the day:

100 points for covering my daughter in sunscreen and keeping her from getting a burn

200 points for letting her touch animals I am afraid of

300 points for letting her out of her stroller to run around and not losing her!

Total points: 600 points!

Same old, same old

My goal for this blog was to write something every day or every other day. What I did not count on was the fact that interesting things don’t happen every day. Yes, I have a toddler, and she is cure every day, and everyday there are small adventures. But all in all, it’s the same. For a few weeks now, my husband has been taking the car to work. Before this, I would take Meredith to a play group every morning of the week. Now that I can’t drive there and the buss there would be too complicated, I am left to fend for myself. So, I use two bus tickets a day. I get a transfer and it gives me an hour and a half to go where I want and come back without spending more tickets. I usually take Meredith to a mall with a Chapters store. There, they have a kids zone. She plays with the other kids and I can get a chance to meet new people as well.

Points for the day:

100 points for keeping Meredith safe on the bus ride (some bus riders ride the breaks pretty hard)

100 points for using Chapters as a place for my child to play without spending any money!

200 points for only using 2 bus tickets a day and saving money while also keeping my sanity

Total points: 400

Dad Points

I have the most supportive and amazing husband ever! He is also an amazing father.  Greg and I have been married for four years. In that time, he has worked hard to support me and now Meredith as well. This means that while I stay home with Meredith full time, Greg is away during the day.  He loves Meredith so much and it kills him to be away at work. Although he enjoys being the provider, he does feel like he misses out many special moments. As many parents know, kids seem to prefer the parent they spend the day with. So, when Greg gets home, Meredith is still very attached to me. Greg and I believe that although this is normal, it’s also important for Meredith to form a close bond with him and have some one on one time. This is why we institute daddy/daughter dates. Once a month (or so), Greg uses a Saturday morning and takes Meredith on a special adventure. He usually takes her to museums and has just as much fun as she does. Today, Greg toke Meredith to the Museum of Science and Technology.  The museum has real trains to check out, a crazy kitchen, a kids play zone and many buttons to push. It’s no wonder Meredith had so much fun!

Points for the day:

One bazillion points: to Greg for all he does for me and Meredith

100 points: for staying home and missing out on all the fun and giving them a special time together

books, books, and more books!

I am not sure I can take credit for this, but since I am the mom, I think I will. Every morning and after every nap, Meredith wants her books in the crib to read. We have tried to pick her up and all she does is points to her books. So, I gladly give them to her. She can read her 8 books for up to 45 minutes! This is perfect for me because I get that extra time in the morning to relax in bed and that extra time in the afternoon as well. I have no clue how we got her to do this. I think it helps that she loves reading to begin with. The first thing she does when she gets home is go for her books. But, this also has a drawback. She is so attached to her books that she needs us to read her 8 books before bed and she sometimes will not let go of a book and take it with her in the car, in the stroller and so on. Thankfully I am pro reading and this is not really a problem.

Points:

Unlimited: having a child hooked on books!!!!!!!

                  Who knows what her love of reading will do for her!

Tourists in our own city

One of the things I love most about Ottawa in the summer is that every weekend we can find something to do.  Meredith loves exploring, and so do I. So, what better then to be tourists in our own city? This weekend it was Open Doors Ottawa. This is when people can go and look at embassies, museums, houses est. that are not normally open to the general public. The best part of it: It’s free!!!!!!

Meredith LOVES buses!! Every time she sees a bus, she yells: ABUS! She gets so exited. So, I thought the best place to take her would be to the OC Transpo Industrial Garage. We got to see old buses and new ones. We got to go up the stairs of a double decker bus. We also took the garage tour that included a bus wash! It was lots of fun. Meredith loved it!

Point for the day:

50 points for taking her to the industrial garage

50 points for keeping her safe from the owl mascot that she was afraid of

100 points: 20 points for every bus we went on and checked out

50 points for coming home and putting her down for a nap before a total breakdown (I had originally wanted to take her to see the O-train but thought it might take too long since she had been up since 6:30)

Point total: 250

http://www.ottawa.ca/residents/heritage/doorsopen/