Packing up the house

I am taking on a very large project. Nik and I want to put our condo on the market because we are outgrowing it. With Christina and all of the stuff that comes along with her, I am getting claustrophobic in this condo. Unfortunately, the reason we need to move is going to cause a problem trying to sell. There is too much stuff everywhere!

So, my project is packing up and storing everything and anything that we can live without. We need to seriously clear out the condo so that we can put it on the market. We already have a few rooms worth of stuff in our storage space, so we are maxed out there. This means that we have to rent a storage unit. It sucks to have to add onto our expenses, but there really is no other option.

I've also had a handyman here to get an estimate on fixing all of the little things that are broken around here. Lots of thanks to my friend Marissa who recommended an awesome handyman! I can't wait to get everything fixed. There are things that have been broken since we moved in three years ago! Can you say procrastinator?

For now I’m gathering boxes and packing as much as possible. It isn’t easy with a baby in the house, but I’m doing as much as I can. I could really use someone to watch her while I pack . . . any volunteers? :-)

I gave myself a deadline of March 1st. That is, March 1st I'm going to call a real estate agent and get the ball rolling. I still need some recommendations in that department too, so if anyone knows of a great Real Estate Agent in my area, please let me know.

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Picture Post

This is what daycare does to Christina . . . .















Christina likes her exersaucer . . .














And her hand . . .

















I think the days of her smiling on camera are over. Now when we pull out the camera, she gives us this look:



















Here is the evil Nebulizer:















And this is what she thinks of it:

Cranky Christina

After an entire week of antibiotics, and the nebulizer with Abuterol and steriods, Christina is doing much better. She has been very cranky the last couple of days though, which is due to lack of sleep. She can't sleep during the day, because the Abuterol and the steriods keep her wired. She does sleep at night though, thank goodness.

We have to continue the nebulizer treatments for another week after all of her symptoms are completely gone. So, even though Christina will be going back to daycare on Monday, I'm still going to have to figure out how to do the nebulizer three times a day. I think by tomorrow all of her symptoms will be gone. Today she doesn’t even seem sick, although this morning I heard a little bit of wheezing.

Thank goodness I found a way to do the nebulizer at home without Christina crying the entire time. I put her in her swing, with Baby Einstein on the TV, and then I put the mask on her. She does pretty well. Most of the time she goes into a little trance and doesn't even move. Sometimes she keeps moving her head around, trying to get the mask to move so that she can get part of it in her mouth. It is quite funny actually. Occasionally she will cry through the treatment. I feel so bad for her when she does that. I will be happy when this is all over.

Sick baby

Do you remember when I said that Christina is sick again but it is no big deal? Well, I guess I was wrong again. She has double Pneumonia. I can't believe it. Yesterday was like déjà vu going from the doctor's office to radiology to the pharmacy and then finally home.

We now have Christina on antibiotics, Tylenol and we also have a handy nebulizer at home. Some type of liquid medication goes into the nebulizer to produce this mist that Christina needs to inhale 3-4 times a day. Every time we turn it on, we have to fight to get her to inhale the stuff. She keeps turning her head back and forth to escape the evil vapor. Not to mention, I think I am inhaling more of the stuff than she is. Last night I'm pretty sure it made me dizzy and just gave me an overall icky feeling. Plus it makes an incredibly loud noise and it is impossible not to get the mist in your eyes while using it. No wonder Christina doesn't like it.

Other than the dislike for the vapor producing machine, Christina seems to be handling her sickness very well. Just like last time, she likes to charm the doctor's into thinking that she isn't sick. But, her smiles do not hide her runny nose, sneezing and coughing fits, fever, or the horrible sound that comes from her every time she breathes.

I bet daycare doesn't mind that she is going to be out all week. They get paid whether she is there or not. Work, on the other hand . . . not so happy that Christina is sick again. That means that Mommy has to stay home all week. So on top of caring for a sick baby and trying to get myself healthy, I get the added guilt of not being at work. It's just great.

I'm sure it isn't a coincidence that Christina started daycare two weeks ago and now she is sick. Did I tell you that all of the babies at daycare have runny noses? They are all coughing and sneezing and generally spreading all of their lovely germs around. It's great (sense the sarcasm).

People tell me that Christina's immune system will be stronger when she is older because of all of this. I certainly hope they are right.

Good girl Daisy

Our family dog passed away a couple of weeks ago. I want to share with all of you what my step Dad wrote in her memory:

Friday, January 23, 2009

Good Girl Daisy

A Shetland Sheepdog like no other, our beloved Daisy has been called into service by The Shepherd in Heaven. We know that Heaven is a happier place because of Daisy - she makes friends where ever she goes - but it hurts so much to be without her.

Daisy came to us at a time when we were all still settling in together, she helped us become a family and turned our house into a home. The cats seemed none too thrilled, but that didn’t faze her; she went on to tease and torment them for the rest of their lives. After ‘Precious’ then ‘Jane’ each passed away, Daisy noticed that one of her roommates didn’t make it back from the vet, looked inside the empty cat box, then pined in that sorrowful way that doggies do.

Now, we are all pining for Daisy.

We all loved her and she returned that love to us tenfold.

No-one loved Daisy more, nor showed their love better than Scott. After he moved into the house three years ago, Daisy became rejuvenated; we know that she lived a much longer and happier life because of him. He bought her toys and treats, played with her, bathed her and made sure that she stayed active. One other (perhaps minor?) thing that happened when Scott moved in: he ‘liberated’ Daisy from being forced to sleep in the laundry room. She really seemed to appreciate the new sleeping arrangements, whereby she got to sleep on her very own pillow on the floor of his room. Who’d a thunk it??

She did have a few quirks. You could never really take her for a walk, she would take you. She’d twirl around so much that it was hard to hold on to the leash. But, she was a sheepdog and as far as she was concerned, you were her sheep.

She had a huge problem with my guitar playing. Whenever I reached into the kitchen ‘junk drawer’ to pull out a guitar pick, she knew what was about to happen and would run over to the guitar and bark her little head off. She was probably just speaking up on behalf of music lovers everywhere.

She hated vacuum cleaners, brooms and the electric carving knife – she’d go ballistic at the very sight of them; we never did get to the bottom of that issue. She didn’t think too highly of power washers either, but, I was right with her on that one.

She was obsessed with balls – soccer balls, footballs, baseballs – anything spherical and/or an object thrown or kicked between parties of two or more. She always wanted in on the game, running back and forth, panting almost to the point of exhaustion. On one steamy summer’s day, she almost did pass out; we had to sit her in a tub of water to cool down.

With soccer, she could read body language as well as any defender in the English Premier League. Based on stance, ball-to-kicker angle differential and a keen sense of vector projection, she always knew exactly where to stand in order to receive the ball. She would even kick the ball when you told her to; she was usually more responsive to an English accent.

Fetching a ball never really caught on with Daisy, her take on it was more like: OK, I am now standing over the ball, go on and try to take it away from me. She made up her own rules.

Thankfully, Daisy was barely aware of the tumor that kept growing inside her; she just went about her business. She did seem to sleep a little more as the years went on, but that sort of thing happens after a lifetime dedicated to counting sheep.

Last weekend, things took a turn for the worse and by Wednesday night, she was in very bad shape. I called Scott on his cell then he rushed home; we both knew that the dreaded day had come. We would not let her suffer. As much as we had tried to prepare ourselves for this day, it was no less painful. Unfortunately, Mary was away on business and would not be able to say her final goodbye.

Daisy passed away peacefully in the loving arms of Scott, as we both stroked her and told her how much we loved her.

Our home feels so empty. I’d give almost anything to hear the sound of those paws scrambling towards the front door to welcome me home.

Daisy, thank-you for coming into our lives, it was an honor and a privilege to be among your sheep.

We will always miss you and will never forget you.

Good girl Daisy, good girl.