Well, I'm back at work ... holidays were good - I feel like I got lots done, not everything I wanted but still it was good. I did some serious cleaning, set up our "guest room" in the basement and cleaned out my flower beds for winter! We found a day home, in a way it sucks cause I know that MIL made sure Jacob was taken care of 110%, fed well and they always had outdoor activities and at the day home I'm just not as certain that he is eating good and getting some fresh air!? But at least this way he has interaction with other kids and will hopefully pick up on "good" behavior! Yesterday was his first full day at the day home and he let me leave him there no problem, a quick hug and I left ... no tears - it was nice! Then I went to pick him up at 5pm and apparently he had just woke from a nap and was a little upset but he is always upset when he wakes for whatever reason!? He didn't seem like he was in a huge hurry to leave and he wasn't too clingy when I got there. The day home lady is from the Philippines and is sometimes hard to understand but seems like a nice lady and I've always heard good things about Philippines and that they are hard workers and family is important to them. I guess we will see how this week is, I might still try looking for a different day home - it's just so hard to trust a complete stranger!? On the diet front I am down almost 5lbs! Not too bad, could be better but at least the scale is going in the right direction! And I must say that it was hard to stay on track on my holidays so I'm hoping that now that I'm back at work I will see better results cause I can stay on track. I'm liking the new NS products and find that some of my old staples are no longer satisfying so it is nice to have new choices! I'm going to set a mini-goal that by Christmas I will loose another 15lbs! Should be do-able, that is only 5lbs a month!? Lately we have been having a hard time with Jacob and his sleeping!? It seems to be getting worse not better, like I thought it should as he gets older!? Before he was 6 months old he used to sleep straight through the night from like 8 till 6am!? Now he goes to bed around 9pm and lately has been waking every 3 hours?!!? It's very frustrating and I'm not sure why, he used to wake up and coo in his crib, now he wakes up screaming! I wish I knew why it changed and how I can correct it! I'm certain that we aren't really helping the situation cause we know that if he wakes we just change him and feed him then he will go back to sleep no problem but if we don't give him that bottle then he won't go back to sleep right away and at 3am the last thing you want to do is pace the halls!? But if we keep giving him milk at 3am then he will keep waking at 3am for the feeding!? I'm almost certain that he just has the bottle as a comfort thing and it's like a soother for him which makes me almost want to try giving him a soother instead to see if that will help him sleep but then I think it's crazy to give him a soother now!? He is 15 months old and has gone this long without one, why start a new habit!? But at least this way he won't need that feeding and it might be easier to potty train him cause he will wake up dry?! Speaking of potty training ... it's the craziest thing but Jacob is showing interest in using the potty and if we ask him if he has to use it he will go to the bathroom, grab his potty seat that is on the floor beside the toilet, put the seat on the toilet and wait for you to undress him. 80% of the time he usually pees on the potty! It amazes me that he has already connected the 2, he understands the urge to pee and where he is suppose to do it! We aren't pushing it too much but usually once a day he uses it, hopefully it will continue but I've heard a lot of people say that he will prob revert back and not use it for a while!?
Well, the weekend was quite busy and seemed to fly by. Friday night we worked at the track and Jacob had his sleepover at the in laws, I never went out after with all the staff even though I really wanted to go out and have a little fun! I was super tired and thought it would be best to catch up on a little R&R! Got to sleep in Saturday, and I probably over sleep. I had so much I wanted to get done since Jacob wasn't home but instead I slept! It was great and probably one of the last times I will be able to sleep in. After I picked him up we headed to St.Albert, which worked out perfect cause he still hadn't had his morning nap so he slept on the way! I went to Once Upon A Child and found a reusable swim diaper, some cool sandals and Jacob would not leave this lawn mower alone so I bought it as well! Dad was having a rest so I had to stall and went visiting and I wanted to take Jacob to the splash park in St.Albert but apparently they close it down after Sept. long weekend!? We went for ice cream with Dad instead, then headed home. Sunday we started swim class again, there is one other Mom we know in the class which is nice. Jacob wasn't too impressed with the cool water, I think he got spoiled with Grandma's hot tub and their neighbors warm pool all summer! After swimming we had a candle party to go to so instead of going home to nap I just drove around. I was worried that if we went home he would nap for so long that I would have to wake him. Yesterday was my birthday #32! I really don't like too much drama on my birthday but it is also nice to know that people are thinking of you. So hubby stopped by my work with Jacob and some balloons, which was a nice surprise! Then when I got home there were flowers on the counter and hubby picked up some chicken for supper. I still had my NS but at least I didn't have to cook him supper for hubby and Jacob!? Then after supper we had a few friends come over for ice cream cake and a fire. It was a really nice night, I wish it was a weekend cause I might have stayed up a little longer!? I start holidays tomorrow and I want to do so much on them. The first thing on my list is to find a day home or sitter for Jacob so that I will be able to do the rest of the things I want to do like windows, clean the office, move furniture into the basement and hopefully set up the spare room!! I also would like to plan a garage sale but I was thinking this morning that it might have to wait till hubby is also home for the weekend so that he can help watch Jacob. We will have to see how the rest of the holiday goes!? Plus we have a few doctor appointments to attend, Jacob has his tomorrow so we will get to see how much he has grown since June.
So the email I was waiting for came through and I was so excited that she agreed to take on Jacob part time even though she just found out she is pregnant and not feeling so hot! I was suppose to call her later that evening, so I did ... we had a great talk and I was super excited that I was going to take Jacob over to her house on Sat so he could check the place out and then again next Wed when all the rest of the kiddies were there. YEAH!! We found child care with a Mom I knew and trusted and was only going to cost $25 a day!! :) Then the next day she emailed me and told me that she thought about it more and didn't think it was a good idea to take on another child, she thought it might be weird that she is telling the other Moms they need to find a new day home and then she takes on a new kid!? She was also worried that with her pregnancy she might have appointments or sick days and it wouldn't be fair to me. I see her point but BOOOOO !! I was so excited to finally find a day home where I knew the Mom and trusted her, now I have to go on kijiji and find a complete stranger that I feel comfortable with to look after Jacob! ? ((sigh)) It is so frustrating, and the thought of leaving him at a strangers makes my stomach turn. I have emailed a few day homes I found on kijiji and a couple of my Mommy friends so I guess the next step is to go see the homes and hopefully they are clean and acceptable? The worst part is that the longer it takes to find someone to take Jacob the longer my hubbies customers vehicles sit in the garage and the longer he goes without payment! Which in turn is making us go broke, so how are we going to afford a sitter when hubby can't make money cause he is looking after Jacob. It's a bad circle that I need to break soon and it's stressing me out! :( On the diet front it's going OK, I think today will be hard cause I have to work at the track tonight and won't be able to bring my NS with me. I am also out of fruits and veggies so I can't even pack snacks!? I'm thinking that I will stop at the grocery store on the way to the track to pick up a pre-made salad or a small fruit/ veggie tray. I was planning on walking to the grocery store last night with Jacob but when I got home from work he was napping and when he woke he was VERY cranky!! Instead I just took him for a wagon ride and stopped at the park for a while. I must say though that I am impressed that NS changed their system and the new items I have tried are very yummy even some of my old favorites have changed but are still very yummy! I am allowed to go on the NS American site and get my "daily clicks" to earn me $10 off and I assume I am able to get the bears again as long as I record my weigh in's on the site. However, I may not be able to afford to stay on it if we can't find a sitter right away so that hubby starts making money!! :( This weekend we start swimming lessons again (for the 4th time), I think Jacob will have more fun this time and understand more. Hopefully he will blow bubbles, apparently that is a big deal? I also want to head out to St.Albert to see my Dad and stop at "Once upon a child" to look for a reusable swim diaper (they look like the covers you put over cloth diapers). Speaking of Dad, we were going to go out there on Thursday for a quick visit but he had a bone scan done that day and was radioactive for 6-8 hours. He wasn't allowed to be around pregnant women or children so we had to cancel. The doctors think that maybe the Cancer has spread to his bones!? I don't know much but it doesn't really sound good to me!?
So, still no photos to post!!? BOOOO !! I tried emailing pics from home to my work computer so I could add them on here but apparently we don't have the right program to make the pics small so when I tried emailing them they were too big and it wouldn't go through!? By next week for sure I will have pics to post!!! Yesterday I started NS again and I must say that I am very happy that I was able to order everything off the American site so there are lots of yummy choices!! I have already tried a few new things and I must say they are really good!! I need to get better at my water intake but I am determined to get the weight off this time and keep it off!! Jacob amazes me everyday, I wanted to share a few stories that I think are great! The other day he picked up a wrapper and I told him it was garbage so off he went ... opened the garbage can and placed the wrapper in there!! Then last night, hubby was having popcorn as a late night snack and Jacob went up to him and asked for some. So hubby gave him one to try, after Jacob ate it he ran over to the end table where his snack bowl was, grabbed it and headed back to hubby shaking it at him! It was like he was thinking ... hmm - that was good, I would like a bowl full please! he he Jacobs new thing is learning how to jump, it's the cutest thing to watch! He stands there and bends his knees up and down but doesn't get his feet off the ground, then he gets frustrated and will stomp his one foot while bending his knees up and down. He can now reach the tops of counters so we have to push things away from the edge and I can no longer close the fridge with him under the door (we have a bottom freezer fridge). I go on holidays in a week, starting on a Wed and come back on a Wed. We have lots of appointments to attend and I'm hoping to get some stuff done around the house. I am waiting for a email from a day home to confirm our acceptance, it's like waiting for the phone call from the job you really want! The anticipation is killin me! Our regular plan with Jacob isn't working out very well and the sitter we were hoping to use (MIL) keeps cancelling making it very hard for hubby to get any work done and make any money!? I am hoping to get in this day home so that we can have more of a schedule that is predictable without causing any tension in the family. The only crappy part is that all the extra money I am making now that I'm back at work is going to go towards daycare instead of bills so we are no farther ahead then when I was on mat. leave!? Some of the day homes I called were as much as $45 a day, which is simply ridiculous! The one I am trying to get in is a friend and is only going to charge us $25 a day, which still sucks cause that money could pay off bills but we really have no choice.
Well, I've been pretty busy ... between work, my Dad, taking care of the house and trying to spend time with Jacob it has been a little hectic. Dad has been doing OK, he isn't eating half as much as he should and is all skin and bones now but I think he is in good spirits. He has his last treatment of radiation today and then starts chemo on Sept.11th. He still needs to decide if he wants to take it by pill or by injection, not sure which way he is leaning towards. I'm a little worried that when he starts chemo he will get really sick and I'm hoping that he gets admitted to the hospital so that the nurses can look after him. My nephew has his birthday party this weekend, he is turning 8!! We will probably be showing up late which really won't be late cause that is just the way my brothers parties go. He tells you 2 but they don't start doing anything till long after everyone gets there. It kinda bugs us that we show up on time and then just sit around waiting for something!? Jacob is doing great, I love that little guy so much! I love when he gives kisses without even asking for them, makes me feel like he loves me just as much as I love him! :) Well, it looks like my MIL is going to watch Jacob for us during the week, Tues, Wed and Fridays so I can stop looking for sitters or day homes. My hubby says he told me about it but I know for a fact that he never mentioned any such news to me!! I hate when he tells me he told me stuff but I know he never and he blames my bad memory on not remembering. FINALLY .... Jacob claps!! It's the cutest thing to see, he was trying to stand on his little stool without the help of anything around him and finally he got on it and stood up tall and clapped! We start swimming lessons on the 13th, I'm looking forward to getting back in the pool and I think Jacob will understand a bit more now. Work is kinda confusing.... they hired a new guy, and I thought were suppose to tell the old guy that his days were numbered but then on Monday they brought in another computer!? So now we have 4 people answering the phone and really aren't busy enough to warrant having 4 counter people so ... I'm wondering WTH is going on!? Someone has to leave, there is no way we need all these people here!? Now I'm wondering if it might be me, I don't think so but you just never know, what if they backdoor me!? Hopefully they tell us soon what is going on! I think I will be getting my NS order this week so that means I am back on the diet wagon! 100% this time!!! No ifs, ands OR butt's !! he he I just need to be strong, find my willpower and listen to my gut! I remember how long it took me to loose the weight last time and I'm not looking forward to a lifetime of dieting but I'm so sick of being the fat Mom that looks like I have a spare tire around my waist! I feel like I'm in the right mind set this time to loose the weight and I'm hoping that by Christmas I will be half way to my goal, by Jacobs 2nd birthday I want to be back in my skinny pants!!
Well, I'm back at work ... holidays were good - I feel like I got lots done, not everything I wanted but still it was good. I did some serious cleaning, set up our "guest room" in the basement and cleaned out my flower beds for winter! 
