Spring Hasn't Sprung (But My Mind Might Have)

I always feel like my house isn't clean enough. I have this fear of people coming over and thinking my house is dirty or feeling scared to sit on my couch in case leftover snacks come out from under the cushions to attack them. Everywhere I look I see dust, dirt, food smears and toy debris. The floors (especially in the dining room area) have a fine layer of flung food and dog spit lick marks on them. It doesn't seem to matter how much I mop, the floor never looks clean.

Lately the sun has been shining full force in the windows, especially the west facing windows in late afternoon. While it is nice to see the sun again, it's not so nice to see what those pesky and industrious spiders have been up to all winter. Those rascally critters have completely covered the corners and ceiling with dusty, stringy webs. Also? That glorious sunlight has highlighted all the dirty spots in the house.

Last week I started some spring cleaning, but today I went crazy with it. I washed walls, all the trim, the floors, doors, and everything in between. I vacuumed and dusted and scrubbed. I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. I have no idea how that much food got on the walls. Oh wait. Never mind.

I had lots of help. Whenever a small part of my lap presented itself (eg. sitting on the floor scrubbing baseboards) Cailin and Bailey would climb aboard. Believe me when I say it's difficult to clean around my two favorite sidekicks. Cailin kept stealing my rag, prompting me to get her her very own. Bailey enjoyed licking my face at random intervals while I was on hands and knees scrubbing banana bread paste out from under the table. Cailin decided the best way to help was to open the dishwasher, climb in and unload the dirty dishes for me.

I was glad for naptime. I looked around and saw... a clean house (yippee!). I put my feet up and read a book. When Cailin got up, we got right back to it. Or rather, I went back to work while Cailin and Bailey feasted on banana bread. When they were done, you couldn't tell I had even washed the floor. So I washed the floor again.

For dinner I made fettucini alfredo with chicken. Cailin sat in the dishwasher the whole time and I got to make dinner in peace. However, once it was time to clean up the dishes and start the dishwasher, I had no idea how territorial she had become over her new 'toy'. As fast as I loaded the dishwasher, she unloaded it - and yelled at Bailey if she tried to lick the dirty dishes on the floor.

I shooed her out for the 486th time, poured the soap, slammed the door shut and made a big show of running the tub for bathtime. I thought she was right behind me, but I heard the dishwasher quit. I ran out to the kitchen just in time to see her dip a finger in the soap and taste it. She scrunched up her face and cried. Apparently that soap was delicious. Of course I freaked out since it's poisonous and all, so I read the back of the bottle and washed her mouth out with a baby wipe. Which prompted her to bite my finger - hard. Annnnd off to the tub with wee biter baby. Things calmed down after that. Until it was time to wash the dishes in the sink that is; but nothing a few marshmallows and cheese couldn't fix.

I realized a few things while cleaning today:

1) That strange orangey splattered substance that was everywhere? Was ketchup. The smell of wet ketchup makes me wanna barf. Just sayin'.

2) My poor house will never be as clean as it was before having kids and a husband. Sad but true, and the sooner I come to terms with this the sooner I will have some peace. And freshly washed walls look amazing. Who knew they could get that dirty that high up?

3) Gerber baby bottle caps fit into my eye sockets and send Cailin into fits of giggles. Proof I may have lost my mind. I blame cabin fever.
4) Cleaning makes Bailey extremely tired. She fell asleep while blogging.
5) Cailin will go to extreme measures to protect her dirty dishes against evil Bailey tongues and camps out with a Nerf gun in front of the dishwasher.
We've had enough cleaning for a while I think. It makes us crazy.

Suckies and Such

Earlier this month we bought a Rhino. I forgot to mention it! We're quite happy with it and can't wait for warmer weather to start riding. Cailin loves it too, and spends a lot of time sitting in it and removing the key and hiding it for daddy to find. Ryan installed some more goodies on it after this pic, but here it is:I love that it's blue. This is now our only toy since we sold both the quad and the sled last month. We also paid off the holiday trailer and own it free and clear! What a nice feeling it is to be trailer owners. Heh.

Cailin and Bailey (and myself too, if we're being honest) have terrible cases of cabin fever that get worse every day. The weather has turned extremely cold again, with only a few degrees of relief forecasted in the long range. Like Auntie Hedder says, we need the snow to start melting (er, the ice) and for the weather to warm up so we can get outside. We have many adventures to attend to, starting in our backyard.

Of course it's not all bad. Cailin and Bailey keep each other occupied randomly throughout the day. Bailey can't wait for Cailin to have a nap so she can get some rest, but she also can't wait for Cailin to get back up so they can eat and play some more. She waits beside the crib for Cailin to be lifted out:
Which leads me to my next looming problem. I won't let Cailin out of her crib until she gives me the suckie. She does eventually of course, but only after shaking her head at me and laughing a few times first. Usually while retreating to the far corner and sucking double-time on the suckie. I hold out my hand and say, "Give me the suckie!" She shakes her head no, jumps up and down and laughs like a lunatic.
She only gets the suckie when she goes to bed (this includes naps). I haven't felt the time is right to take it away since she is actively teething her last molar and now two eyeteeth. The suckie seems to give her some relief from the evil of teething. Of course at Nana's, I relent a little bit and let her have the suckie when it's getting close to naptime or bedtime. Besides, it's hilarious watching her try to hide the fact that she has it. She feels extremely silly to have her suckie 'in public' yet she is so happy to have it she can't contain herself. There's a lot of giggling involved.

Cailin is getting so grown up. We went for a lovely brunch in Beaverlodge this morning and she was so well behaved in the restaurant. She went around the table and asked to sit with Aleka (a family friend) a couple times. She bounced between me, Papa and Nana and sat in her own chair and snacked on bacon. Bacon, as it turns out, is a new favorite food. I might actually have to buy some for her. Eww, me no likey frying bacon smell.

After brunch, Papa carried her to the car. Once Cailin realized that she was leaving, a rather loud crying fit ensued. Minutes later it was all better as we pulled into Nana and Papa's driveway and she started her happy exclamations instead.

Lucky for Cailin, I brought a suckie for naptime and it was soon lights out for her. Let's just say everyone got a nap (of varying lengths) while I filled out forms and sorted through the RRSP mess I'm dealing with. Shall we just say that if you're thinking of using Investor's Group for any reason you should give your head a shake and choose more wisely? Alright. Moving on.

Cailin's new and amazing thing today was to repeatedly say, "Mmmmmm-mommy!" at random intervals. It was hilarious. She also says "Nana" now, much to Nana's delight. After being called 'Papa' and 'Dan' for so long, Nana deserves it. Heh.

What isn't so deserving is the matching bumps that both Bailey and I are sporting on our heads. Cailin snuck up on us all stealthy like and whacked us on our heads with a flipper, stolen from the utensil drawer. The drawer has since been further emptied of potential weapons, and we have learned a valuable lesson. Cailin is good at hunting wabbits.

Matters of the Heart

Happy Valentine's Day! My special Valentine is a super helpy-helperton...

We celebrated a day early of course, so that Ryan could share in on the fun. He ended up going to work and having to stay there all day anyway.

So on Sunday morning, I made french toast for the troops as a treat. Cailin ran to sit with her daddy at the breakfast table and the two of them chatted away. She was so happy to have him home. It really melted my heart to look over the counter and see them so happy together. Cailin kind of snubbed the french toast, but ate her weight in fruit.

We were really happy to hear Papa Ray was on the way back from a doctor's appointment in Edmonton. After Cailin napped, we headed out to the farm for a spaghetti dinner and much visiting.

Papa needed to move some vehicles around in the shop and yard, so Cailin merrily put on her coat and boots to go help. She loved riding in the big truck and the motorhome. She also put in some time sitting in the new Rhino and played in the Ranger. To top off her trip to the shop, she sat in Papa's truck and honked the horn. Repeatedly. In fact, Cailin was having so much fun she refused to go back to the house. So... I did what any responsible parent would do. I grabbed a can of Coke and bribed her all the way to the house with it.

Once Papa Ray and GG got there, Cailin really had to show off for them. She was so funny, running around and yelling and teasing the crap out of them. Papa fed her chocolate, and I let her have a few sips of the coveted Coke. She took the can right out of my hands, held it up and chugged for all she was worth. She looked so grown up doing it. I took it away of course.

Because we were having so much fun, we stayed out at the farm way too late. Thankfully the roads were in good order and we had an uneventful drive back to the city. I realized that Papa had put both of Cailin's coats on her at the same time. No wonder her carseat had seemed so tight...

My poor overtired and sugared up baby had a bit of a rough night. She was up from 3am until 4am. At some point in the last while, she popped another top molar out, and I assumed it was bothering her. At any rate, she slept in and then had an early (and long) nap today.

Of course, Valentine's Day itself was kind of a long day. Cailin was cranky. The weather wasn't all that great. I spent most of the day cleaning while getting "help" from my two sidekicks. They think they're helping, but not so much.

Then I dared to trim Cailin's and Bailey's respective nails. 28 toenails and 10 tiny fingernails later, my popularity level was officially 'Fart in a Spacesuit' level (an all time low). Neither of them would talk to me for a while. I used that time to clean the bathroom without having to constantly pull little hands out of the toilet bowl. That kid seriously has a toilet fetish.

For dinner, I had grand aspirations to make something deliciously heart-shaped. These grand plans were rather ruined by lack of suitable foodstuffs on hand. I settled for a family favorite - hamburgers. I wasn't intimidated by the fact that I would have to cook those suckers inside on the stove. I should have been.

I can't say I've ever cooked burgers inside before. They have always been done outside on the grill. And sweet mercy, now I know why. There was grease spitting and flying everywhere. The smell of frying beef has permeated every nook and cranny (and fabric) in the entire house. The cloud of blue smoke wafting about the house was so thick you almost couldn't see through it. I had to light a stinky candle to help get rid of the smell.

But they were tasty and a nice Valentine treat, regardless of the lack of heart shaped-ness. And Ryan offered to clean up while I gave Cailin a bath. Moohahahahaha! Win-win!

Introducing...

What a whirlwind week it has been again.

It was far too cold to drag Cailin out to her gymnastics class on Monday, so we skipped it. From Monday night to Wednesday morning, the temperature shot up an amazing 35 degrees. From too cold to nice and balmy. The snow is melting, ice is growing everywhere and the water is running.

Speaking of water. I discovered (much to my amusement) that the hot water tank's slow drip had evolved into an official leak. There was water on the floor of the laundry room, and more than I could ignore this time. I soaked it up with a towel, tinkered around with the plastic drain valve and called a plumber. He agreed it was probably just the valve leaking, but with my luck we'd have to replace the whole darn tank. It was a good thing I had the plumber come in to remove the old plastic valve as it snapped in half once he tried to remove it. He had the tools to get the broken pieces out and I didn't - so I'm glad I didn't rush in there and try to fix it myself. Total damage? Some water on the floor and $100 for parts and labor. Hot water? Priceless.

Cailin learned some pretty amazing skills this week too. She figured out how to open the dishwasher all by herself. And... unload dirty dishes onto the floor in the blink of an eye. Fun for mommy (and Bailey!). Then she figured out how to flush the toilet all by herself. Approximately 432 times a day. When I told her not to flush anymore, she cried. Mommy takes away all the fun! Then there's the climbing. She's pretty much unstoppable. That kid is part mountain goat and can climb anything.

Nana bought Cailin a sled at the little hardware store close to the farm. At first, she wasn't sure what to think of it, then started to enjoy it a lot. Papa brought it in the house for her to play with and she had a great time pulling her bunny and The Blanket around in it. We also found another The Blanket in the hardware store! It's not the same print, but it's the same fabric. At some point I'd like to retire The Blanket and give her Blanket the 2nd.

We also made a quick trip into the quilting store where Cailin fell in love a thousand times with different fabrics and quilts. Then she proceeded to amaze one customer with her language skills as she pointed to the potty through the open bathroom door and announced, "Poop!" a few times. I'm sure it's her 19 month old version of potty humor. I shut the washroom door and hurried her away. Wouldn't want her flushing the store's potty a bunch of times or anything.

Poor Ryan has been super busy at work and has been home late every night. Cailin and I surprised him at the office one night with dinner so he wouldn't go hungry as he worked late. Then we distracted him as I chased after Cailin all over the office. She loves to run and explore. We decided to leave daddy alone so he could get his work done.

Cailin and I had a couple of perfect days together this week. I can't believe how much I love her. And of course, we're all getting excited about this:

Introducing Jellybean! Due middle of August, on my parents' 30th anniversary. They can't think of a better anniversary present. We can't either.

Life is so, so sweet.