Vacation Phase 2

We're back from a great vacation in Cape Breton, and the second part of our vacation has started to take on it's own flavor. Here is a little glimpse into what we've been up to (yesterday's post is what happened while I was off getting my hair cut...)

At 6 am the other day, Norah and I had tea with Baby Tess and Miss Sniffy


Earlier today, Norah helped me look up where to donate some old books...

What happens when Matt is in charge

Need I say more?

Norah Orgami

Norah watching her new DVD player in the car

A true lifesaver already! Thanks Nanny and Papa!

Musical Norah

We've been enjoying our stay in Cape Breton, so much in fact, that I haven't had the time (ok actually inclination) to blog... We've had a great time, and have spent some time with a lot of people... Norah has really enjoyed her time with Nanny and Papa and is full of hugs and kisses for them!

Since I am still not particulalry in the mood to blog, here's a video of Musical Norah, with her new Glockenspiel, on Christmas morning. Enjoy!

New Header

So you may be wondering why all the changes in the header lately. Well, it all started when Norah produced what I thought was an exceptional piece of artwork. One day I sat her at the table with a giant piece of paper and a pack of markers. She spent the next 40 minutes or so trying out each and every color, forming an arc from her spot at the table. I was wondering what to do with this cool drawing when I realized the bugleonline header was over a year old! So, I subbed in the artwork.

I was informed recently by Papa that, while it was nice to see Norah's artwork, he really missed having her eyes looking out at him when he checked for news... so Papa, this is for you! Thanks for the quiet house, comfy chair, and laptop with which to blog!

What's in a ring?

Over the past 6 to 10 months or so, I've had some issues with eczema on my hands, and as a result, I often go without rings of any sort - including my wedding rings. Before this happened, I always wore my wedding and engagement rings on my left hand and my iron ring and my grandmother's wedding rings on my right. A couple things got me thinking about how these rings, in a way, define parts of my life.

My Mom asked me the other day why I wasn't wearing my iron ring - a ring that literally did not leave my right hand, my working hand, since 1996. For Canadian Engineering students, receiving the iron ring, the symbol of our profession, is the culmination of all we've worked for. It symbolizes not only our responsibility to society, but also the long road we've traveled to get there - years of calculus and physics, labs and work terms. It also symbolizes a bit of a "work-hard-play-hard" lifestyle of the slightly nerdy that seemed to transcend our individual institutions of learning.

My wedding rings, obviously identify me as part of a team, a family. When Norah and I were traveling alone last week they implied, at least in my mind, that I was a married mother, that Norah has a complete family, and that someone would be waiting for us on the other end of our journey. Even when my hands are giving me some issues, I always wear these rings when I travel - whether for work or pleasure. I hadn't really thought about why before - am I worried about being approached by strange men? Hardly. I think maybe it's just to have a piece of them with me when I am away.

My grandmother's rings carry so much meaning... they are much older than either my engineering ring or my own wedding rings. My grandmother raised a family of 8 children with a quiet grace that I hope some day I will possess. She and my grandfather, married nearly 60 years before he passed away, have left a legacy of family and love that I am certain each of the 20 cousins feels. The rings represent a love that I know many of us have waited patiently for in our own lives, and had obviously only grown fonder with time. I am honored to be the keeper of these special symbols.

As I am writing this, and I can see how these rings represent phases of my life, I think of other rings in my jewel box, some worth reminiscing over, some not, and also what rings are yet to come... family ring? anniversary ring? telephone ring? I'm not sure it matters, since really life is about the journey, and not the ring.

Beantown Vacation

The staff here at the Beantown Bugle are taking it a little easy these days... Norah and I are visiting my parents this week and getting ready for Christmas.

We travelled by plane, which was interesting on a couple of fronts. First of all, it was the first time Norah flew since she was old enough to understand what a plane was all about. I am happy too report that she did exceptionally well on the trip, especially given that we woke her up at 5 am to make the trip! She was really curious about pretty much everything, from the ground crew to the window shades and not the least bit freaked out by take off and landing.

The other thing that struck me, as I looked at all the business travellers, poking away at their blackberries, what that it was great to be on vacation! I could very easily be working this week and part of next, but instead, I'm here, with the only grandchild, having a wonderful visit with my parents.

Pokey Needs Gloves

Well if Sunday was our first snow, today is our first REAL snow! It's been snowing since about 5:30 am, there is about 6 inches down, and it's showing no signs of stopping, although the weather people are calling for 6 to 9 inches in our area.

As a result of all the snow, poor Pokey is getting a little buried! We were saying good morning to him out the front window as has become our habit, and Norah said "Gloves, Gloves!" Apparently she was concerned that poor Pokey's stick-hands were getting cold in the snow!

Norah News and Plays of the Week

– Norah has been sleeping for 13 hours straight at night, for close to a month now. I’m now sure if she’s fighting something or what, but I’ll tell ya, having some time to myself in the morning sure is nice. I’m really lucky in that I’m ramping down towards the end of the year at work and I’ve been able to get her sleep in!

– Speaking of sleeping in, I was treated to a coffee delivery – to my bedside table, while I was reading a book – on Saturday morning. Not only that, I got a refill while I got thru the last couple of chapters – bliss! And speaking of coffee, I awoke this morning, a weekday, to the smell of that sweet elxir… Matt put the coffee on before he left – what a guy!

– I never did do a report on our thanksgiving travels, but we had a great trip! We went to PA, as usual, and stayed with Matt’s parents and had dinner at his brother’s. 26 people attended this year, with a total of 5 kids under 5. Norah had a great time with her cousins Brian, Megan, Natalie and Megan. She hadn’t had a nap and I was a bit worried, but as I’m sure all you experienced parents know, adrenaline and sugar kept her running around (literally!) until nearly 2 hours past her bed time. She put on a fine show for her Oma and Opa, calling them by name and full of hugs and kisses. She pretty much had us all in tears as we were leaving as she was blowing kisses and saying “I Wuv you Opa, I Wuv you Oma!”

– We had a major potty milestone this weekend. A poo! Not only a poo, but a poo that she alerted us to and held until she got there! Not only a poo that she held until she got there, but 3 bowls of fruit salad from a party the night before was not going to be pretty in a diaper! Congrats to Norah!

– When Matt’s parents visited a couple of months ago, his Mom showed Norah how to bless herself. She kinda seemed to get it, so we ran with it, and try to always remember to say grace before meals. Well this morning, even though I am certain she was quite hungry, Norah folded her hands and said “Mommy – Prayers!” I guess I’ve been told!

– Little Miss N really tests us at times. The other day we were all just finishing having snacks in the kitchen, and she was cruising around with her sippy cup. The rule is that she’s not allowed to take the cup into the living room, it must stay in the kitchen/dining room area. Her trip into the living room was abruptly halted by Matt telling her to stay in the kitchen. Well didn’t she stand with one foot in each room, inching towards the living room until she was busted again! The worst part is that she had the most mischievous look on her face… I’ve said this before, but I sense trouble ahead…

Hearts Mean I Love You

Since Norah started doodling with crayons, I've been telling her her that we have hearts because I love you. As we doodle or color, I'll say, "Norah why do we have hearts? - Because I love you!" Well it's started to pay off! She can now say "I Love You" and often does, in response to the same from us.

However, being as she is a little girl, plenty of her clothes also have hearts on them, giving Mommy many opportunities to remind her that we love her (and hear her say it!) Here she is, doing tricks with Dad, and making Mommmy smile :)

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

The first snow of the season rolled in over the weekend, and no one was more excited than Matt. He's been working outside over the past few weekends making sure everything was buttoned up tight for the winter, and fired up the snowblower to make sure it was ready to roll.

Norah, on the other hand, had no idea that snow was coming. When she looked out the windows on Sunday morning, her eyes were as wide as saucers as she took in the winter wonderland outside. She ran into the dining room to look out the patio doors and get a better look at this stuff.

But she wasn't interested in actually coming into contact with it. She wouldn't touch it in my hand, and wasn't the least bit interested in walking on her own as we went about our Sunday morning routine of church, breakfast and groceries. In fact, she was dead set against going outside to play even after her long winter's nap of nearly 3 hours that afternoon.

So, thinking she'd see what fun it was, Matt geared up and headed back outside to build a snowman, as Norah and I watched from the front window. I tried convincing her many ways, but she was not going outside - not willingly at least. Taking a cue from my dad, I was pretty sure she's like it, if I could just get her out there. I managed to get her snowpants on, but the boots were proving to be a challenge - no suprise, given the Great Sandal Saga of 2009. I was making a little headway, by convincing her that one of her stuffed animals really liked the boots and she ought to at least try them.

In between Boot Battles, we would check outside to see how the "pokey" (aka snowman) was coming along. At one point two of the neighbours came over, and called out to her - I said, "Norah there's Megan, do you want to go outside and say Hi?" To which she responded, "Yeah" I kid you not. I told her she'd have to put on her boots and coat and hat, but she was not deterred! Out we went, and she ran down the driveway to see Megan!

She still didn't have much interest in touching or standing on the snow, but the pokey that Matt made is sure a hit! We had a quick visit with him this morning and she said "Bye, School" when we were headed to daycare. I'm not sure if they were headed outside to play today or not, but there could be some interesting reports for me today!

Here's Norah and her Daddy, with the pokey

All three of us

And lastly, the Ladies of our road.... hmm maybe pokey is a girl after all!

Christmas Toys

We got Norah a play nativity scene in preparation for Christmas. So far, it's been a big hit and she's able to point out Baby Jesus, Mary (the Mommy), Joseph (the Daddy) and the Sheep. She was also able to play with it, with her Opa when we went to PA for Thanksgiving. Norah, much like her Mom, is a master multi tasker. Here she is, taking an important call while playing.


Apparently, she didn't appreciate being interrupted...


Back to full on play! She's like those people who sit at a bar with their phones out in front of them, just in case they might miss and important call..

Cute Boots

It was really really cold out this morning, so I dug around in the depths of Norah's closet to see if I could find a sweatshirt or sweater for her to wear. I did, then let her choose which pants to wear - she was very set against jeans today and opted instead for the black tights, which, as it turned out, were really cute. Then I tried to get her to wear these black boots that she had, and had refused to wear previously. Today, she thought they were the cat's meow! Boots, Boots! she said. Here's a (slightly blurry) pic just before we left this morning. Note how long her pigtails are getting too!

Life Sized Artwork

One day last week, I got home a little early and Norah and I spent about an hour playing with markers and working on this 'big' project. It's a life sized tracing of her, which I then thought we'd color. Well, we colored alright, everywhere! I think I traced her hands and feet about a dozen times each.

One kind of funny thing is that she seems to like to use the black a lot - crayon, pencil, marker - it doesn't matter. When I was about her age, apparently I showed the same preferene for purple... and to this day I still love purple! My mom, at the time, wondered if I would end up with hyper activity disorders or the likes. In my case, I wonder if we're looking at teenage years full of goth clothing and hair dyed black... I sure hope not. Maybe she'll be like me, despite the fact that I do love purple, I pretty much prefer all my shoes and pants to by black... I can hope, right?

Norah HGTV: Socket Wrench

Norah is really coming along in her HGTV training. In these videos, she is helping Matt take apart the patio furniture to store it for winter. Someone asked me this weekend whether Norah was tending to be a girly-girl or more of a Tomboy, and I think the answer is "both". She loves worms and bugs, but is also pretty choosy about her shoes and her hair pretties. Today, she insisted on keeping her dress on after church, but her tights are covered in mud. Also, just after I cut this video, she went uncovered her play credit card and went over to her play cash register... "Credit Approved"

Class Picture

Well, pictures are back and her's this fall's class photo. There are no fewer than five girls here born in the same month as Norah... can you pick out which ones?

Is that you, Cindy-Lou?

A couple of times in the past two weeks, people that we do not know have commented on Norah being Cindy Lou Who. You know, from the Grinch stole Christmas (the cartoon version, not the 1999 movie) The first time, at a wedding last weekend, she was dressed in a little pink dress, a bunch of women and I guess I get it, but the second time was this past weekend, at the grocery store, she was wearing overalls, and it was a grandfather aged man... go figure. Here's Cindy Lou - one with us and one cartoon pic for reference... what do you think?

Norah News: Taking after her Mom

Those of you who've known me for a long time may recall that I had my first 'business suit' at a young age - like 11 years old. Those of you who haven't known me that long - stop laughing. I had a greay pinstriped suit - jacket, pants and skirt - from the Sears catalogue. I loved it and I even wore it to school. Let's just say I had designs on a corner office from a young age. Well life has a way of changing your perspective and while I'm pretty happy with my career, I don't have a corner office, but I do have a wonderful balance.

In any case this post isn't about me, it's about Norah. (go figure) She's like me in many ways, both good and bad. She likes to tinker, and figure things out, but she also gets frustrated at times when she can't do something. She also has a flair for the dramatic, which my Mom and husband claim she gets from me (I don't see it myself, but I'm just reporting) I passed by the bathroom the other morning and look what I found! A bit early to be worried about what's going on in the business world don't you think? She looks a bit concerned too...

Neighbourhood News: New Playground

There is an awesome new playground just around the corner from our house. It's a special playground, in memory of a Little Boy who died at 6 months old of something called Leigh's disease. He has a big sister, and his Mom recently gave birth to twins. His Mom built this special playground in his memory, and for all kinds of kids - normal kids like Norah, kids in wheelchairs, kids with sensory disorders, and kids with other kids of issues that we can't even think of.

The Little Boy's Mom raised money and co-ordinated volunteers to build this wonderful playground. As we've been watching it grow out of the corner of a parking lot over the past few months, I've come to appreciate what this must mean for the Little Boy's Mom. I've never met her, but it makes my heart heavy to think how it must feel to lose a child at 6 months old. I wish I had paid more attention to the fundraisers and calls for volunteers - I know we'll certainly be regular visitors in the years to come, and if this weekend is any indication, I expect we'll meet a lot of our neighbours there too. I wish I could thank this little boy's Mom. If you'd like more information about this playground, drop me an email, and if we know each other, I'll send you a link - this is the internet after all.

In any case, Norah and I took advantage of the nice weather to check it out for the first time. Here are some pics!

Meet Mr. Stinky and Mr. Baggy

As you can see in the pictures that follow, Norah has become a bit averse to having her picture taken… She used to respond to a request “picture smile” with an adorable toothy grin - now all I get is a sour expression, and sometimes, she runs away or hides! So, to my dear sisters, who are asking for more pictures, more pictures… here you go!





I do, however, have a cute story to share. Norah has a couple of new friends - meet Mr. Baggy and Mr. Stinky.
Original, I know… it all started on a weekend afternoon a couple of weeks ago, with a paper bag and some coloring pencils… Matt cane in and joined the fun with Stinky and the legend was born. Norah will actually ask for Stinky or Baggie by name, and loves to give them hugs and kisses. Tonight, I was working Baggy, and Norah opened her arms and said “hug, hug“ so she gave Mr. B a big hug. Then, we started looking all over for Mr. Stinky … who was no where to be found, despite the fact he was in Norah ‘s arms with a bunch of other random stuff. Finally, she dropped him, and he was found. I offered to operate him for her, but alas, she wanted to do it herself… she put the big sock, er, I mean Mr. Stinky, on her little hand and said “hug, hug” so Mr. Baggie and Mr. Stinky had to hug each other. Then, she obviously wanted to hug Mr. Stinky herself, so I showed her how she could….

So cute, my kid hugging and old, holey sock!

Helping Mom make breakfast

Airplanes!

Norah has been pointing out airplanes overhead all summer... Imagine how excited she was to see them (kind of) up close!

Sunday Photos

This weekend has just been beautiful, weather wise! This morning when we got home from church, we took a few minutes to stroll around the yard, and take a few pictures.

Bachin' it!

I'm heading to Chicago later today, and this time, there is no back-up. Matt and Norah are on their own - Bach'in it, if you will. I'm not worried, Matt's a great Dad, and he'll figure out whatever he needs to. Norah and I have a certain rhythm to our days, and I expect theirs will be totally different, and that's ok. Matt's not me, and I'm not him! It's always hard to leave Norah, (and Matt) but my schedule is so packed while I'm there that I won't really have time to pine for them... much!

Anyway, in honor of Matt going it alone, here are a few shots of him and his girl from the past week or so

Norahs Knowledge Demo

I took a couple of videos of Norah earlier this week, demonstrating a few of her new skills... she knows EXACTLY who she is.... as can be seen in the first video. In the second video, she demonstrates her vast knowledge of her body parts, stopping on occasion to pose for the camera, of course.

A Scary Halloween Tale...

You may wonder why you haven’t seen any pictures of Norah on Halloween.. I mean I post pictures of pretty much everything else, why not Halloween? Well, it’s because we missed it! Not the whole day, just the trick or treat part. Where were we, you might ask? Sadly, we spent it I the ER – yup, as in Emergency Room.

We actually had a great day up until that point, we went to a touch the truck event, spent some time playing the leaves, and I was relieved that Norah went down for a LONG nap, and was ready for the fun to come that evening. After she woke up, she caught sight of Matt working on something in the yard, and insisted on going outside, to see what was up.

After a couple of minutes chatting over the fence with one of the neighbors, we came back to inspect the work Matt had been doing on the shed, and talk about our plan for the rest of the day. It was a really windy day, and the leaves were falling off the trees at an incredible rate! That wind also caught the door that Matt had been working on, and blew it over – and it landed on Norah! All three of us screamed, we picked Norah up, and I tried to calm her while Matt made sure she was OK – it had hit her on the back and we were concerned about her neck and head. After a few minutes, she seemed to return to her usual self and we counted our blessings that she seemed to have escaped unscathed.

Unfortunately, a few minutes later, when I took her inside, I realized she wasn’t putting any weight on her right leg – first I thought it was rocks in her shoes, then that she was just clingy, but I soon realized that she must have hurt her leg when the door fell over. Matt and I immediately took her to the hospital, where they took X-rays and generally checked her out. While I’d say she’s not crazy about any of the folks in white coats, she was brave and did very well. The overall result, however, was inconclusive – it seems she may have a growth plate fracture… whatever that was! We were instructed to keep her off her foot and see an orthopedist on Monday.

We got home, and of course the first thing I did was get on the internet and try to figure out what a growth plate fracture was all about. I could see that Matt was really beating himself up about what had happened, thinking that it was his fault. It wasn’t, of course, it was an accident, but I could understand where he was coming from. We ad no choice but to wait until Monday to get her in to see an orthopedist, so Sunday was spent explaining, and trying to keep Norah occupied, while sitting down. Thank goodness for strollers, shopping carts and the Veggie Tales DVD we had just picked up on Friday!

Getting to the point of it all, Norah is going to be fine… we didn’t get in to see the doc until Monday afternoon. Matt stayed home with Norah and I went to the office, but, after Friday and the silly parade, I knew I wanted to go to the doc with them – Matt is more than capable, but I know myself, and I wanted to be there. He looked at her Xrays and her leg, then asked her to talk, without the splint… to our relief, she did! She limped a little, and even today, is still limping a little, but she walked on it and didn’t cry out in pain! Hooray! It’s likely just a bruise of some sort and as long as she continues to improve, we’re to assume she is A-OK! She has a follow up scheduled for next week, but if we’re not concerned, he said to just cancel it.

So, that was our sordid Halloween story… it was by far the scariest Halloween ever for us!

Music Class Photos

Norah's daycare has a shared photo site, where they post pictures periodically of the kids, doing their thing. Recently, they posted some pictures of her class with their music instructor. I'm honestly not sure if she comes in weekly, or if she was a special guest! In any case, it looks like they were having fun.

Sometimes I am my own worse enemy

It's true, sometimes I make things harder than they need to be... I over think things, which stresses me out, and by which time I've ultimately made things harder on myself. Take Halloween for instance - what could be hard about Halloween? Nothing really. If I did what I should have done, which was buy some cut and bake cookies with pumpkins on them, toss then in the oven, and then work at home this morning so I could easily run over to daycare for the annual parade around the parking lot.

But what did I do?

I made home made oatmeal cookies in the shapes of ghosts and witch hats and pumpkins, and then I spent the morning fretting over whether or not to attend the parade, only to decide not to, too much to do, get into the office, spend a very focused 90 minutes getting a jump on things, speed across town to miss the outside portion of the festivities, but I did get to see her trick or treating inside and grab a bunch of pics with my cell phone, because, of course, I didn't have the camera either. Jack's Mom sent me this... she was smiling at me and my stupid cell phone...



So what did I learn from this? I'm not sure. I'm good at juggling a lot of stuff, and I'm most effective at work when I'm busy, so maybe I should have just planned my day, knowing I was going to want to go to the silly parade. Even with driving across town and back, it only took me an hour, and it's not like I don't work at home at least a day each week anyway... It's hard, being a working mom, but sometimes, you just have to suck it up - you'll be glad you did, I am.

Ready for School

On the day before Halloween!