Above are Rachel's pics from dance class. I write more about them below...but having some technical difficulties. See how tall she is? And those are Vandewater shoulders if I ever saw any...She's the one at the back on the far left...they all kinda look the same to me.Rachel and I have spent the summer reading through the Mr. Men and Little Miss books. We had a fairly good collection, but once we reached the end of our stash, we began buying up the ones we didn't have. Each Friday I would bring home two books, and hide them for Rachel to find. It was our little summer routine, and in the meantime, our collection has grown.
As you can see, I'm at 30 weeks now, and I find the "baby brain" or "pregnancy brain" has started to kick in. Silly things like walking into a room and forgetting why I went there, or going to the store for three things, and forgetting two of them. Also, one day I was in the passenger seat clicking the lock button and getting angry at Shane because the windows weren't rolling down. Wrong button. Weird stuff like that. Rachel has noticed, anyway, and when I asked her the same question (not having remembered the answer to it the first time, she called me "Miss Forgetful". Yep, that about describes it.
Of course, in trying to find a picture of Little Miss Forgetful, I realize she doesn't exist! It's little miss scatterbrain. There is a Mr. Forgetful, incidentally.
Rachel thinks I should dress up as this Little Miss for Halloween:
It's because of the belly of course, not because I happen to be, um, greedy.
Rachel started kindergarten two weeks ago, and absolutely loves it. She loves taking the bus, her teachers, the school activities, and she seems to be making lots of friends. It is such a nice change from her last year, when we had to drag her to Montessori daycare every day. I didn't realize how much of a stress it was on me until I see how little I worry about her while I am at work, knowing that she is happy all day.
We also signed her up for the after school program, which I was worried would be a very long day for her. Instead, it also seems to be going well. The kids get a snack, then go outside to play in the playground until we pick her up, usually only about half an hour to an hour after school ends. A lot of her friends from Montessori or who are a year older are in the program, so she gets to play with a different group of kids.
We had a bit of trouble with the bus during her first week of school. The first day, she was all excited to walk to the bus stop by herself, so Shane and I watched from the deck while she walked over. We saw the bus pull up and all the kids get on except Rachel. She was struggling with her backpack, then just as she approached the bus, the driver closed the doors. I guess he didn't see her at first. Then he opened the doors again, and she climbed on. At the end of the day, Shane and I decided to meet her at the school to make sure she would know what to do for the after-school program, and it was good that we did, because as we arrived at the end of the day, Rachel was lined up with the other kids to take the bus back home! If we hadn't arrived, we would have missed her and she would have ended up at our house. We sorted that out, and met the after-school coordinators.
The next day, Rachel wouldn't take the bus. She wouldn't clearly tell us why not, but it came out that the bus doors closing in front of her scared her. I learned that a young girl who babysits and lives near us also takes the bus, so we had her watch Rachel for an hour, and tell Rachel about how fun the bus was. The next day, Rachel went to the stop, met the girl, and climbed on the bus with no problem. Now she loves heading over the bus stop every morning before 8am. How nice not to have to drag her out of bed...she is so eager to go, that I have to make sure she eats breakfast.
Work is going well for me. Very busy, and with my afore-mentioned forgetfulness, I am finding it a bit of a struggle to stay focused on work. I just feel like I have a million little things I should be doing. My contract at the Dept was extended until I go on mat leave, and I am doing a smaller number of hours at the hospital, but still getting called regularly. I have found that I am involved in quite a large project at the Dept, and taking time off to take shifts is not only disruptive to the work I am trying to do, but also exhausting. Part of me wishes I hadn't accepted BOTH jobs, but on the other hand the experience is almost worth more than the pay. Almost.
As you can see, I'm at 30 weeks now, and I find the "baby brain" or "pregnancy brain" has started to kick in. Silly things like walking into a room and forgetting why I went there, or going to the store for three things, and forgetting two of them. Also, one day I was in the passenger seat clicking the lock button and getting angry at Shane because the windows weren't rolling down. Wrong button. Weird stuff like that. Rachel has noticed, anyway, and when I asked her the same question (not having remembered the answer to it the first time, she called me "Miss Forgetful". Yep, that about describes it.
Of course, in trying to find a picture of Little Miss Forgetful, I realize she doesn't exist! It's little miss scatterbrain. There is a Mr. Forgetful, incidentally.
Rachel thinks I should dress up as this Little Miss for Halloween:
It's because of the belly of course, not because I happen to be, um, greedy.
Rachel started kindergarten two weeks ago, and absolutely loves it. She loves taking the bus, her teachers, the school activities, and she seems to be making lots of friends. It is such a nice change from her last year, when we had to drag her to Montessori daycare every day. I didn't realize how much of a stress it was on me until I see how little I worry about her while I am at work, knowing that she is happy all day.
We also signed her up for the after school program, which I was worried would be a very long day for her. Instead, it also seems to be going well. The kids get a snack, then go outside to play in the playground until we pick her up, usually only about half an hour to an hour after school ends. A lot of her friends from Montessori or who are a year older are in the program, so she gets to play with a different group of kids.
We had a bit of trouble with the bus during her first week of school. The first day, she was all excited to walk to the bus stop by herself, so Shane and I watched from the deck while she walked over. We saw the bus pull up and all the kids get on except Rachel. She was struggling with her backpack, then just as she approached the bus, the driver closed the doors. I guess he didn't see her at first. Then he opened the doors again, and she climbed on. At the end of the day, Shane and I decided to meet her at the school to make sure she would know what to do for the after-school program, and it was good that we did, because as we arrived at the end of the day, Rachel was lined up with the other kids to take the bus back home! If we hadn't arrived, we would have missed her and she would have ended up at our house. We sorted that out, and met the after-school coordinators.
The next day, Rachel wouldn't take the bus. She wouldn't clearly tell us why not, but it came out that the bus doors closing in front of her scared her. I learned that a young girl who babysits and lives near us also takes the bus, so we had her watch Rachel for an hour, and tell Rachel about how fun the bus was. The next day, Rachel went to the stop, met the girl, and climbed on the bus with no problem. Now she loves heading over the bus stop every morning before 8am. How nice not to have to drag her out of bed...she is so eager to go, that I have to make sure she eats breakfast.
Work is going well for me. Very busy, and with my afore-mentioned forgetfulness, I am finding it a bit of a struggle to stay focused on work. I just feel like I have a million little things I should be doing. My contract at the Dept was extended until I go on mat leave, and I am doing a smaller number of hours at the hospital, but still getting called regularly. I have found that I am involved in quite a large project at the Dept, and taking time off to take shifts is not only disruptive to the work I am trying to do, but also exhausting. Part of me wishes I hadn't accepted BOTH jobs, but on the other hand the experience is almost worth more than the pay. Almost.
The pregnancy has been going well too. The baby, our little guy, kicks tons, and keeps me up most nights. I've gained about 25 lbs, not too bad. My ankles are cankles by the end of the day, and my hands feel a bit puffy, but so far not too bad. My hair is wild, curly, and super-thick, and I hate it. I am getting it cut next week, and I definitely need some colour too. Sleeping hasn't been fun, as I can't seem to get comfortable, and I have wicked heartburn this time around. It is hard to think that I still have another two months to go, and be getting bigger all the time. I have been starting to think about when I will stop working...I know lots of moms-to-be who work until the day before, but I don't know if I can push myself to do that. Certainly I will try, but I have to remember that this pregnancy is six years later, and I am that much older. On the other hand, I didn't work the last 12 weeks with the last pregnancy, and I was bored. I may as well be earning some money and experience while we wait for the new arrival.
I've been really lax with organizing baby things as well. We haven't set up the crib, I have no bassinett, no swing, no change table. I was hoping to borrow or buy second-hand, but I haven't had a chance to start emailing. The baby room is not yet a baby room, as we have nowhere to put anything. I think we will really start noticing the size of the house once the baby arrives. If I can at least get a bassinett, then the baby will likely stay with us for a few months, and we can sort out the spare room in time. Forget painting and decorating...I'll have to spruce up the grey walls with some pictures or something.
We have been doing some fall cleaning of the house, which is so satisfying. Today we had the carpets professionally cleaned (although that red-coloured pop I let Rachel have ONE time, that spilled all over the middle of the living room floor...didn't come out. Guess the coffee table will have to cover that one). I also spent a good portion of the morning (while the carpets were drying) washing windows and screens. Even though our road is paved now, there is still a lot of construction, and I was amazed at how much better I can see through the windows now that they have all the buildup of dust removed. It's like I rubbed my eyes or something. But it was tiring, and I feel a bit sore now. I find my stamina is not quite as good, and by the end of the day I am heaving myself around. Another reason why it is nice to have my office job.
The weather has been fantastic, for September. We've just finished a warm sunny week, which by this time of year, is usually around 10 degrees C and rainy. I think it was 18 C today.
I have some pics of Rachel from her dance class, but I'm having some trouble adding them to the blog...we'll try again. Considering I paid $35 for them, I am pretty disappointed. The colour is off (even on the scan you can tell) and take a look at the group photo. The kids are all shifting around. But I guess that's five-year-olds for you. (okay, they posted at the top). And now I can't even cut and paste this paragraph to go up there, and I can't get the photos down here. Ugh.
Shane is ending an era of his life by leaving Northwestel and joining a large engineering and construction firm that has offices worldwide. He is looking forward to the change, but has been with telecommunications for over 10 years, so this is a big step.
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