Half way there

I am glad that we are half way to reuniting as a family. It’s been 3 ½ weeks and we have 3 ½ weeks to go.  Thankfully, for me, the time has gone by very fast. It helps having a toddler and a baby to take care of every day. It leaves me no time to think about how much I miss my husband. Then, at night, when I should feel lonely, I am so tired; I just want to do nothing.  This lack of energy at the end of the day is slowing down my packing. I have no desire to do anything at night, so I don’t. Impact: nothing has been packed since Greg left.  

One of my big concerns was how Meredith was going to be without Greg around. She is a daddy’s girl. She loves spending time with him and even misses him when he is at work. Thankfully, Meredith has been doing great. Because of Skype and free calling, she can see Greg 2-3 times a day and talk to him just as many times. She sometimes does not say much on the phone, but I think it gives her a sense that He is around. With Skype, it makes her feel like Greg is in the room.  She has taken a very serious liking to my phone and will kiss and hug it when Greg is on. At the start, she would grab the phone from me, run to her room, close her door and sit on the rocking chair and just have a grin on her face and say nothing. This chair is the chair we use every day to rack her before bed and hold her when she is sad, scared, or tired. So, it holds a special place for all of us. Seeing her take Greg there was bitter sweet. I knew that they both wanted special time together and could only have it over the phone. There are times when she says: I want my daddy!! I have a hard time explaining why she can’t see him or be with him, but The Lord has been giving me wisdom about how to answer her during those times.

Even though we all miss each other and wish for the calendar to magically speed up, things are going well. Greg got a job and started last week. We are both very thankful for this. One, because it’s in his field, two because it gives us a stable salary, and three because it gives him something to do everyday besides look and apply for jobs.  Now that the main task of finding employment is done, Greg is looking for a place to live, getting us a family doctor and an OB and getting a church home to start connecting with Christians in the area.

In the weeks to come, we both have lots to do. Those tasks will make the time go by fast. I know that soon enough, we will all be together again. 

Why are you moving?

When I tell people that we are moving to Edmonton, most people ask why. This post is to give an answer to that question.

First, every single one of our actions, plans and steps were brought before the Lord and we truly believe that God has guided us every step of the way. We pray every day for wisdom, guidance and to walk in His will.

Saying that,

The journey started a few years ago when Greg was in a Job in Ottawa and had gone as far as he could go in the company he was working for without moving to Toronto. At that time, we started discussing school options.  

Fast forward to September 2010. Greg started school at Algonquin College in a one year program and would graduate with a journalism diploma.

Fast Forward to April 2011. Greg graduated from college top of his class. He spent the next 6 months unemployed to be then hired at a company for 4 months and then let go.

A week or so before Greg was let go, we found out that we were expecting baby number 2. Before finding this out, we knew that we needed to find a sustainable solution to our financial situation. A solution where Greg could work and get paid a decent salary. As thankful as we were for his previous journalism job, he worked ridiculous hours and got pad very little. We spent months living pay check to pay check and knew that we could not do this for long.

When the news of the new baby came, we knew that we had to do something. Greg had been in Ottawa for 7 years and had yet been able to find a full time permanent job that he was qualified for. We wanted a job for Greg that would pay enough so that I could stay home.  Had we been desperate, I would have gone back to work, but teaching in Ottawa is an almost impossible field to crack into and the possibility of work in Ottawa for me was bleak.

We both love Ottawa. But the more we looked at it, the more we knew that Ottawa had no employment for either of us. We knew that we would have to move. So, Greg started applying for work all over Canada. As he started to do this, he noticed that most jobs he was qualified to apply for were in Edmonton and Calgary.

As we looked at our situation, we did not know what to do. Every day, we live by faith, but we knew that we could not sit around and wait for a job. We had to put a plan in place and see if God would open the doors.

So, we looked at the calendar and set a date. We said: ok God, Greg is leaving for Edmonton May 1rst, if this is not your plan, change our hearts or close the doors. The closer we got to that date, the more we realized that God was going to move us across the country.

There is more to this journey, and I will write about it soon. But, for now, I think this post covers the question: why are you moving? 

New Direction

I want to thank all the people who read my mom points blog. It was a way that I could express myself and use my creative mind. As many of you may have noticed, I have not posted a blog in a while. One such reason is that I found the my days were not as diverse as I thought and my failures and triumphs were the same as well.

So, on to bigger and better things. I have renamed my blag to Markey Adventures. I will write about all the stuff going on in our lives. All of it, or most of it will be new for the next few months as we are moving to Edmonton Alberta and soon after enjoying the arrival of a new daughter. This blog is also a way to remember the cute and funny stuff Meredith says and does, all the ups and downs of motherhood and the way we live our lives. 

Cottage week

For the past 7 days, I have been at a family cottage with my husband and daughter. I would like to say that in that time I accumulated LOTS of points. For the first 4 days, my husband and I hosted friends of ours with their son. So we were 6 people. Then for the last 3 days, it was just the three of us. Before going, I was afraid of how the kids would get along. They are 7 months apart and at this age, it’s hard to know how it’s going to go. I am happy to say that the kids loved each other. Well, Meredith had lots of love for her friend. I am not sure of the other way around, but he put up with her. They balanced each other well. I think we only had one occurrence when both kids had a meltdown together. I think that’s pretty impressive. Usually, when one was crying, the other comforted with hugs and kisses or was out of the way.

The only down part of the whole weekend was Meredith’s sleep habit. For some reason, she decided that it would be a good idea to wake up at 5 or 5:30 in the morning and be up for the day. Because we had guests and did not want to wake everybody up, we had to try to keep her quiet for a few hours. We took her to our bed for the first 40 minutes where she lay with us and then took her downstairs. Meredith soon figured out that she could open doors. So, in her excitement to play and love for her friend, she would run into him room and wake him up. I would stop her, but the whole exchange would end with her in a time out.

Meredith also discovered that she can climb out of her pack and play. So, in the morning, she would get out of her crib and come find us. She would also do this at night when putting her down for bed. She quickly learned that we were serious about bed time. She would get out of her crib, and climb down the stairs to where we were. When she saw us, she would run the other way. You could tell that she knew she was doing wrong.

Days were filled with fun times at the beach, watching the kids dance while listening to music,  lots and lots of food, games with friends and lots of relaxation. The kids were entertaining and the weather was perfect. All in all it was a fantastic time.

Points for the week:

300 points for packing for the cottage while Meredith “helped” (taking things out of a bag after I had put them in, sitting in our suitcase unwilling to move)

500 points for keeping her safe at the beach and not letting her get hurt (it helped that she was afraid of the water and would not go in further then water at her ankles)

200 points for taking Meredith on a kayak adventure (these points should rely belong to Greg because he was the one paddling while Meredith and I sat in the front and enjoyed the view)

600 points for getting up with Meredith at ungodly hours

-200 points for keeping her quiet with Disney movies

400 points for putting her to bed and making sure she stayed in

300 points for making Meredith my helper with setting the table (I would give her a plate and she would place it on the table)

500 points for cleaning the cottage and packing up with Meredith’s “help”. She loves the broom and feels it her responsibility to use it every time it makes an appearance. I was hoping that her fear of vacuums would extend to the vacuum at the cottage, but sadly this was not the case and she felt the need to “help” with that as well.

I am sure there are other points I accumulated, but I can’t remember them right now.

Total points for the week: 2600!!!! 

I think we should spend more time at the cottage!!!

Napping fights

Meredith is very independent and strong willed. I know that these are good qualities to have (one day), but I don’t enjoy fighting her about things. Yesterday, the fight was about taking a nap.

Meredith and I went and spent the day at my parents. My sister and her kids were there, so were my grandparents. We had a good time, but when it came to taking a nap, Meredith would have nothing to do with it.

Meredith usually takes a 2-3 hour nap every day. Yesterday, she slept in so I knew that going down at the regular time was wishful thinking. So, I tried putting her down an hour later than usual.  

Now, you would think that I could just put Meredith in her crib and leave her there and cry it out. If only that were the case!! If Meredith is not tired, she climbs out of her crib, opens the door and will come find me downstairs.

So, yesterday, I spent 2 hours putting Meredith back in the crib. In that time I spanked her a whole bunch of times, changed 3 diapers and tried everything I could. Nothing deters her.

Finally, when my nephew got up from his nap, I gave up and decided that today was not a nap day.

So, a day that I wanted to use visiting my family was used fighting.

Points for the day:

600 points for fighting Meredith for 2 hours

500 points for not losing it on Meredith or my family

300 points for still being able to finish my laundry and get my nails done

Total points: 1400 – no, the large points does not make me want these events to happen on a regular basis.

Ps: we stayed for dinner and left soon after. Meredith fell asleep in the car and slept for 13 hours.

Busker fun!

This weekend, my husband and some of our friends took our kids downtown to the busker festival. We drove downtown (because most parking downtown is free on weekends) and walked to Sparks Street. We then were able to go from site to site and see some cool street performers (Buskers).  

Taking a toddler anywhere can be a gamble because you never know how they will react to things. Being that it was 6pm when we left, there was a greater chance that things could go wrong as the evening went on due to being tired. So, with all that said, Meredith did not do to badly.

The first show we saw was a single act that skateboarded and juggled fire! It was cool. Meredith was not a huge fan because she is afraid of announcer voices. Anytime we are at the mall and she hears an announcement, she gets scared. So, going to a show where the guy uses a microphone was not the greatest idea. She likes knowing where noise comes from and with this sort of thing; it’s hard to grasp at a young age.

The second act we saw was awesome!! They were a group a five that put on a fire show! This was great. Not only did I like it, but Meredith loved it! They did not use microphones. They had music going and would do their act to the music. It worked out much better. Meredith was mesmerised.

We tried watching a third act, but I made the mistake of sitting her on my lap near the performer’s bikes. She kept saying: mine, mine, mine!! She was very insistent and was not happy when I pulled her away letting her know it was not hers and she could not touch it. At that point it was late and, since she was not impressed, started to cry. Because of the hour, and in consideration to the performers and the audience, we left.

I was sad to leave because the Busker Festival is my favourite event of the year. If I had it my way, I would stay for all the shows. But, sometimes you can’t do what you want as a parent. So, we will try again next year and see how she does. But, I think when she gets to be 5 and up, she will really love it.

http://www.sparksstreetmall.com/Schedule_from_Buskerfest_2011_brochure.pdf

Points for the day:

400 points for not losing her in the crowd

300 points for keeping her entertained between acts

200 points for leaving at the right time

Total points: 900!!

My “subtle” daughter

I have not written a blog post in a while because our every day is much of the same without much change. So, today I thought I would write about Meredith and some of the things she does that make me laugh and make her unique.

            The title of the blog is: my “subtle” daughter. “subtle” is in quotations because when I say subtle, I really mean obvious.

            Meredith is much like her father in the fact that she loves going out. She is not a homebody. She loves adventures. When she wants to go somewhere, she will make sure I know she wants to go. First, she will bring me my shoes and say: shoe!!! Then, a few minutes later she will bring me her shoes and says: shoes!! She will then proceed to climb in my lap and stay there until I put her shoes on. Finally, when shoes are in place, she will run to the front door and try to open in while saying: go, go, go!!!! This process makes me laugh on a daily basis. It’s just too cute.

            Another thing that Meredith loves to do is go swimming. We have a pool in our apartment building and take her on a regular basis. In the past few weeks, she has figured out that her bathing suit and swim diaper are essential elements to the pool experience. Because I keep an immaculate house (please know then when I say immaculate, I really mean the opposite), Meredith’s swim suit is usually within her reach. So, when she wants to go swimming, she will find her bathing suit and run into the room saying: poo! poo! (pool). She will then proceed to try and put her bathing suit on herself (always over her cloths).

            So, even though things are the same on a regular basis, at least I have a toddler who is hysterical and cute when she communicates what she wants.

Points for the day:

500 points for translating toddler talk and actions (something I never thought possible before I had kids)