I done know my letters!

Well, okay I know my letters. T knows M for Mommy, B for Bart, D for Daddy, N is for Nana and most importantly, the letter T is for her name. We are working on G for Gryffin and P for Phenix.

We were working on our letters and numbers today and it evolved into an exchange something like this:

T: What's this?

Me: That is an E, E for Elephant.

T: Right, very good Momma.

Me: Why thank you, I have graduated from various levels of education that have required me to master my alphabet.

Sadly, more often than not, my quips are lost on the cats and the kid.

I'm hoping once we tackle the alphabet in English, she can at least learn it in French...I will leave the Spanish version for Dora as I have absolutely no proficiency in Spanish. If hard pressed, I remember the words for bathroom and beer...not too handy for a preschooler...okay maybe the word for bathroom would be handy but not the beer.

On a side note, my two worlds, my Mommy world and my kid focused worlds are coming together. Urgh.

I get to watch very little Mommy TV that isn't PVRed these days but I do try to sit down Monday nights at 9pm CST to watch my beloved No Reservations. I get to travel the world through the glory of TV, laugh along the way and see what other folks get to eat. I swear T loves meat, more specifically pork, because I watched this show when I was pregnant with her. This next one did quite the little jig when I ate a pork sausage last night...so maybe this one will be the same.

The host, Anthony Bourdain, is a fervent lover of all things porcine and a little caustic for the sensitive types and unfortunately offends some. That being said, he has mellowed a bit since having his daughter, who is about the same age as T. Apparently he has to suffer through the same programming on Nick Jr. as I do.

I was watching last week when Bourdain travelled to Ecuador. Now, for the non foodies like me, guinea pigs (or cuy as they are called locally) are a delicacy. That is one creature that wouldn't land on my plate but to each their own.

When introducing the cuy segment, Bourdain burst into singing the Wonder Pets theme song. Oh my! For those not in the know, the Wonder Pets have 3 heroes, a duck named Ming Ming, a turtle named Tuck and a Guinea Pig named Linny.

Instantly, I was reminded of the time my father decided to share at the dinner table that we were eating a former named member of our barnyard (I grew up on a farm and on occasion we butchered a cow)...it momentarily turned me off my food but not for long.

Let's just say, I haven't been able to watch Wonder Pets lately without cringing a little...

This week, Bourdain travelled to Harbin, China. There was a scene where Bourdain and one of his local Chinese guides were discussing dumplings and their significance for the Chinese New Year celebration. Bourdain piped up that he had learned all about this tradition when Kai-Lan's (of Ni Hao, Kai-Lan fame) Grandpa (YeYe) made dumplings and one of the characters (HoHo, I think, whatever, the monkey) ate them too.

Dear God, can't I have one hour of where my non T time isn't invaded by T? I love my kid but sometimes, I just need a break or maybe a set of earplugs or a cheat sheet of whose who in the Nick Jr. world.

BTW, does anyone have any suggestions on convincing a nearly 3 yr old that despite the sun not being in bed (aka being dark outside) at 7:30pm, she needs to be in bed? All I get is "I'm done waking up!" Translation: Don't you dare try to pull a fast one on me, Mommy! The sun is still out so I don't have to go to bed until the sun does. Sheesh, I wasn't born yesterday.

I swear my next career will be union negotiations. That's gotta be easier than trying to reason with a 3 yr old who has a very strong opinion on just about everything...hmm, I think I can safely say she gets that from both sides of her family...although her father would ardently dispute that fact!

I rest my case.

Our first zoo visit of 2010

Yesterday was the first nice day in what seems like months...so of course we had to make our first trip to the zoo of 2010!

T got new Hello Kitty rain boots and seeing as its been raining constantly, I figured it was a good idea for her to wear them...maybe that wasn't such a good idea.

Shortly after (like 2 seconds) this picture was taken, during T's attempt to get off the bear statue, off fell the boot...into the pond behind her.

Pre boot pond baptism


Post boot pond baptism (in a much faster, less wetter posed shot)

Thankfully our fellow zoo companions, M and her three kids (D, B and 6 week old G who slept the whole trip in her carseat) saved the day. M is about 5 inches taller than me, has longer arms and isn't 6.5 months pregnant so she was able to fish out the boot.

T wasn't impressed to have to wear a wet boot but seeing as brainiac Mommy didn't bring any shoes, that's all we had if T wanted to walk (which she did).

We continued on, visiting the bears, otters, eagles and eventually the tiger exhibit. B and T had quite the time while D, B's brother tried to keep up with the little ladies who squealed and loved nothing more than to run a mile ahead of the rest of us.

B, T and D

T and B

Ms. T has a secret...

Sorry for the delay in posts but its been quite a bit of a start to 2010. Shortly after the calendars changed, my family experienced the loss of a family member very unexpectedly back home in Canada. It has been a bit of a trying time but we are making slow progress getting back to normal.

One thing I've noticed that nevers stops despite the rest of the world turning upside down is the laundry pile...it just never stops growing.

Anyways, back to the entry.

When I was a little kid, my paternal grandmother (her name was Millicent; you'll get the connection in a minute) gave me a book. It was called Millicent Has A Secret. (I think she was secretly excited to have found a book with her name in the title, who wouldn't?)

In the book, Millie went through her neighbourhood like a pied piper, telling every child she met that she had a secret. And if they wanted to know what the secret was, they had to follow Millie. So that's what all the kids did. What kid doesn't want to know a secret right?

The secret turned out to be that Millie's cat was having kittens. Isn't that a nice surprise?

Ms. T has a surprise too! Can you guess what it is?

Sorry, no we aren't moving back to Canada despite folks' comments that it was time for us to move home.

No, we didn't get another new car and are not moving.

And no, S is still employed and working crazy hours at work.

No, no, we aren't being transferred to France, although that would be nice too!

Scroll down to see Ms. T's news.....

Keep scrolling!

I'm going to have to change the name of this blog to be Canuck Kittenz in Kansas! Yes, Ms. T will be joined sometime in June by a new sibling who is currently kicking its mother!

Our due date is June 23rd, but we will likely have this one a little earlier by the same method as T. Seeing as we have to import grandparental assistance, it makes easier to know ahead of time when we need the help to arrive. Its also safer given we've already been down that path with T because of her short cord/breech presentation. And well, we know what to expect from that method of delivery in terms of recovery.

True to toddler/preschooler behaviour, the nice picture (above) is blurred but the 'yo, yo I'm kicking it old school' picture (below) is focused and clear. Go figure!

While T hasn't completely come around to the whole idea of what a new sibling means, she will get there. At least once a day, she asks me if there is a baby in my tummy. When she gets the affirmative answer, she gets all pouty and says the baby needs to go home. When I remind her that the baby will come live with us, she gets kinda excited then all needy/whiny. June should prove interesting!

The cats have been uber lovely dovey with me like last time and I think they have a pretty good idea of what is about to befall them again. Time will tell if Gryffin does his 'ignore the small screaming creature and sulk in the bedroom routine' until its 2 years old and if Phenix will be a furry little walking baby monitor that she was with T.

So that was Christmas..

Maybe its me but Christmas came way too fast and went by way too fast too. I feel like I blinked and I missed it.

For those of you sent Christmas cards, most of them will be in the mail today...so its more so a Happy New Year card and not so much a Christmas card...Also, I haven't mailed off any packages yet, I'm awaiting the USPS to deliver one final item and then they go out too.

Talia had a busy Christmas with her parental grandparents visiting. She thoroughly enjoyed all her gifts and had several tea parties after to celebrate the day. She got tonnes of clothes, books, 'big' girl stuff like a tea set, stove, sink, pots/pans and dishes so we will be having lots of 'cooking' sessions in the weeks and months to come.

We actually got a white Christmas...unfortunately for those traveling to visit family in Kansas, it meant a few anxious moments as to whether their plane was going to actually take off and/or arrive on time.

Unfortunately, my ILs luggage was delayed but they got it the night they arrived. We have been very fortunate to most of our previous guests' luggage arrive with them, so this was a first. Something worth mentioning in light this, its always best to pack pjs and extra undies in your carry on...that is if you can afford the space that is given carry on restrictions now when you travel to the US.

Potty training has been going okay. Some days are better than others but we are slowly but surely getting there. Some days we just don't get there in time or don't want to take time away from playing to hit the potty. T is enrolled for preschool in the fall, so hopefully by then we will have our timing down right.

I will try to post some Christmas pictures when I get a chance...my to do list just gets longer and longer so posting isn't always a priority, unfortunately.

Robots, monsters and worms, oh my!

When I dreamt of what life would be like with T, I never could have imagined the conversations that we would have. Of recent, T has become even more of a chatterbox. She was already decent at trying to converse, just not as clearly as she does now. Some days I can completely understand her and then others, not so much.

People in the grocery store line are so kind, they just smile, nod and say she's talking so much for a 1.5 yr old...umm, yeah try 2.5 yr old. I guess we are behind in her high fructose corn syrup supplements to help her grow...

Lately, our conversations have often involved three topics -- robots, monsters and worms (oh my!) and not necessarily in that order.

T watched briefly part of I, Robot with S about 3 months ago. Ever since then, she has become obsessed with robots. She sees a crane, and she tells me "That's a roooobot arm!""...complete with a robotic arm gestures and noises. Our truck has a lift gate (a wonderful invention I must say) for the back hatch so it has a "roooobot arm". She's going to be an engineer I swear.

Next, here come the monsters.

Lately, out of nowhere, T will coming running to me and tell me she's scared.

Me: What are you scared of?
T: Monsters.
Me: Monsters?
T: Yeah, monsters. Me scared Mommy.
Me: And what do we say to monsters?
T: Monsters no scaring, monsters no scaring.

T does this with her hand firmly up in the air as if to say STOP! Sometimes for added effect, she puts her other hand on her hip. My little Xena, warrior-preschooler! Hopefully Dora the Explorer people won't mind us borrowing her 'Swiper, no swiping line' and modifying it for our own needs.

I've save the best for last.

Everything it seems is a worm to T. Pine cones are worms, carpet tassles from the scratching post are worms, and of course, the dead worms on the driveway are worms. However, this rampant worms everywhere problem has gotten worse.

Recently, my lovely daughter informed me that I have worms. Not just worms, no that wouldn't be bad enough....I have WOOOORMS. And I was under the foolish impression that I bathed regularly and was in good health. Hmmm.

Me: Really? Mommy has worms?
T: Yeah, woooorms. Look Mommy, wooooorms. (she says this as she points to my legs)
Me: Hmph. Do you know who gave me those worms?
T: No. Who?
Me: YOU! (that just opens her eyes really wide and she shuts up really fast...ahh yes the guilt trips have started already and they are quite effective!)

God love her, a biologist she ain't. Apparently my daughter thinks my varicose veins are worms. Charming. I can't wait for that pleasant little nugget to come up in the grocery store line conversations T strikes up with anyone who will listen. My mommy has woooorms! I don't look forward explaining that one to a 80 yr old man. Can you say, awkward?

Now that you've all had a good chuckle at my expense, may I wish you all a wonderful Christmas 2009 and a safe/healthy 2010.

To all of you who have been kind enough to send us a Christmas card, thank you - they are all lovely. I'm a bit behind this year, so yours will be coming in 2010 once I find a decent enough photo to use. And if Walgreens stops selling them, I'll just have do a mass email.

An email is more environmentally friendly...I won't want to harm any woooorms after all!

Someone got caught kissing Santa Claus...

I just realized how long its been since I updated T's blog. My apologies.

Anyways, T is relaxing on the couch watching Franklin the Turtle, so I have a few minutes. She was has had a bought of stomach flu as of last night. She projectiled vomitted all over me three times last night in the span of a minute. We aren't sure what caused the tummy bug but she had a fever and was rather clingy. She was in bed by 6:15pm, I have forgotten how long its been since she was in bed that early. She woke up at 330am and talked to herself for a good 1/2 hour about what I can't remember as I was half comatose myself at that hour. It didn't help that Gryffin decided that was a good time to snuggle and purr really loud near my ear.

So far today, her Cherrios and milk have stayed down. Let's hope I've seen the last of that for a while.

Anyways, we have been in full Christmas mode for a few weeks now. The house is decorated, the tree is up/decorated and the lights are on the roof line of the house. The Christmas cards and packages to be mailed aren't done but they are in progress.

Decorating the outside of the house is a tough one as we don't have any electrical outlets near the front porch/lawn. I have to get creative if we are going to acknowledge the season anywhere but in the house. S put up the lights on the roof line, only to discover that we had a short circuit somewhere. Its been bitterly cold so he hasn't had too much of a chance to fix them. When he does go out, T must go too. She has taken to digging up my front garden, thankfully there aren't any live plants out there and the evergreen is pretty hardy (I haven't manage to kill it yet so T won't be able to either).

Many of our neighbours have those blow up Santas, reindeers etc. and honestly I can't stand them, so its not a terrible shame that we have not hydro outlets. I still wanted to do some form of decoration so we had to investigate our options. It required a little bit of field work by T and I. I want her to enjoy the holidays and help me with decorating so a couple of weeks ago after one of T's Kids Day Out, we popped by the better mall (on the east side) and hit up Kirkland's (its a decor store).

I wanted to get another Santa for my indoor collection and something for the porch. T helped me pick out a Santa for the indoors and then we proceeded to find some outdoor decor.

We spied these wooden/metal figures about 3.5 feet high that go out on your porch/display. There's a pole in the back that steadies the figure so it can be sat up at different heights (see the photos below). There was a Santa and a Snowman. They were about 20$ so it wouldn't break the bank to get one...unlike the huge metal snowman she also spied (he had a nose on a spring that she could make go boing, she loved that and it kept her occupied while I was at the checkout) that was 125$.

I asked T which one she wanted, the Santa or the Snowman. Santa, she very quickly replied. I asked again just so we were clear. Santa. Well, Santa it was.

We bought our purchases and proceeded to go past the Santa's Workshop (she wasn't too keen on the idea of sitting on Santa's lap, maybe next year) but she was quite enthralled with the tree displays and fake snow. After I dragged her, the 3.5 foot Santa and my indoor Santa away from the Christmas display, we had to go for a ride on the moving staircase (read escalator) at Sears before leaving for good.

I should say here that T is obsessed with the Christmas tree at our house. When she gets up in the morning, the first thing she does after turning on the TV, is to plug in the tree lights (under supervision of course). They must stay on whenever she is in the room. We are going to burn out the lights for sure.

Back to the Santa story. So I get the outdoor Santa all unwrapped and placed outside. My grand plan was to put up presents behind him to add to the display. I forgot how windy it can be so I've since added some tinsel to help down the presents, although I think I might have to rejig how its attached as its currently looks kinda dumb.

Santa has been adjorning our porch for about 2 weeks now. Whenever we come in through the front door, someone stops to say hello to Santa and more often then not, he gets a big smackeroo. I'm sure the Santa is covered in lead infested paint but a little peck isn't going to cause any grave health issues.

Santa!

Ms T. kissing Santa

I bought this jacket at a yard sale for $3 when T was about 3 months old...it finally fits her. The hood makes her looks like a little elf, too cute!

The much loved tree..between T and the cats 'playing', the ribbon needs adjusting hourly...

This is what T does while Daddy is on the roof..its a good thing I bought a cheap coat for her to wear outside, she was very dirty after digging to China.