Introducing.....

Princess Fussy Fuss and Captain Destruction!

 

(Doesn't that sound like a great kid's book?)

Captain Destruction, I mean Sawyer, succeed in breaking one of our kitchen cupboard doors off last week.  The door actually split.  Fortunately a little glue and all is well.  He has also learned that chairs can be pushed around so he can now reach things like light switches and the tops of counters.   

NOTHING IS SAFE unless it is also out of my reach!!!!

Sierra, A.K.A. Princess Fussy Fuss, needs her blankets arrange very specifically each night.  Last night she woke me up because her toenail was breaking off and required clipping IMMEDIATELY at 3:13 A.M.  The crusts of her morning toast must be cut off very precisely, the Nutella spread on very thickly, and then cut into bite sized pieces.  She simply cannot eat unless her place mat is clean, she has her milk and a napkin.

Yesterday I went to Superstore to get out of the house and get a few groceries.  I spent some time browsing, located what I needed and went through the self checkout.  I reached in my purse for my wallet to pay.....and discovered that it was at home.

It's no wonder with Captain Destruction and Princess Fussy Fuss in my care!  I can barely keep those two in line so to remember other important things - like wallets - is an incredible feat. 

 

Those two descriptions above?  That doesn't even touch the surface of it.

 

But I love them to bits.

Sugar Free

It was triggered by my neck strain that occurred nearly two weeks ago.  

Couple that with being woken up in the wee hours of morning by a little girl every few nights and you get a Carla that hasn't been feeling so well.

I've been tired, unmotivated and my heartburn is being rather problematic. 

For some reason it often flares up this time of year.  I also have acid reflux due to a weak valve.

I'm tired of being tired and sick of feeling sick and motivated to be motivated. 

I have decided to try and eliminate two two components of my diet: sugar and caffeine.

I've known for a long time that caffeine is not good for heartburn .  My main source of it - coffee- is acidic in itself so that makes it doubly bad.  I only really started drinking it daily after Christmas last year and I have two-three cups every morning.  Prior to that it was only a couple of times a week.  When I was nursing or pregnant I abstained completely.  I won't go cold turkey, I'll drop down to one cup a day for the first week and go from there.  This will likely be the harder of the two to go without because I really like the taste and warmth and have been using it as my energy boost each morning.

As for sugar - I've been reading and hearing of people who forgo the stuff and result in feeling and looking better.  I don't believe I eat that much sugar but it is present in a lot of food, often in things you don't think would have it.   Subtracting sugar from my diet will mean no deserts or other obviously sugary delights, and cooking with as little sugar as possible (i.e, sauces).  I do pretty well at eating only whole wheat bread, noodles etc so that won't be an issue.  Fruit will be okay since it's natural sugars and I don't eat copious amounts anyway.   Oh, and artificial substitutes will be used minimally if at all.  I think my eyes will be opened to how much I actually ingest without realizing.

I'm going to do my best at this endeavor for one month and then evaluate how I feel.  It won't be easy but I believe it will be worth it. 

Crazy - eh?

White flakes were falling softly.

Snow crunched under our booted feet while we walked.

Our breath created wispy smoky-like puffs.

Cheeks and noses were a rosy red.

The downtown city park was illuminated by trees decked out in colourful Christmas lights and bonfires cheerfully crackling.  Two horse-drawn wagons were providing rides around the park and hot chocolate was being passed out by people wearing large box-trays around their necks.  People in large puffy parkas milled about laughing and enjoying the festive atmosphere.

We went with the kids.   

It was a fun outing.

As we stomped our feet and clapped our mitt-clad hands hands in front of one of the fires I couldn't help but wondering if only Canadians were this crazy.

You see, it was -17 degrees!

 It was COLD.

Random Ramblings

We bought a new computer.

Our internet is now operating at the speed it should thanks to the internet-provider repair man.(2.7 instead of 0.35! - if these numbers mean anything to you)

My kids are actually leaving me mostly alone for a bit - even with no TV (see below).

So there is no excuse.

Well, there's always an excuse.....

Life just plugs along.  

It's November already.  Christmas is popping up everywhere and it feels like people are getting into it super early this year.   My Christmas cacti are also jumping the gun -they are in full bloom already!

I pulled a neck muscle doing chin-ups the other day.  I know, I know - what in tarnation was I doing chin-ups for?  P90X.  I can actually perform some.  What annoys me is that I've been doing them for three months only to injure myself now?  Oh well, as I tell Sierra with her daily 4028 cuts/bruises/sores/aches/pains is that 

"It'll get better."

After attempting numerous 'nice' tactics of dealing with Sierra and her "bad dreams" I finally reached my limit.  I felt like I had a newborn again and was walking around in a sleep deprived haze and couldn't function well. The last straw occurred when I got woken up three times Saturday night by Sierra for "bad dreams" and was consequently was awake for three hours.  I put my foot down.  I told Sierra she had to learn to fall back to sleep by herself or there would be no TV the following day.   I've had three uninterrupted nights in a row.  She knows I'll follow through with it because we had this issue last year over "messy blankets." (don't ask)  I genuinely believe this started with a bad dream but it developed into Sierra's way of getting my attention at 3A.M.!!  Anyway, I got three uninterrupted nights and then an interrupted one - so we're a no TV zone this morning.  It's so nice and quiet.  'Quiet' being a relative term with kids!

Sawyer is definitely approaching the big #2.  He has taken to laying on the ground and wailing when he doesn't get what he wants.  Yesterday he ran over to our fireplace and pounded on the glass while screeching.
Nice.
This is going to be fun. 


I hate time change.  I feel like I'm in a fog for a week after.

I've been questioning whether to continue to blog for some time now.  Truthfully, it has felt like a chore more than I'd like and I've enjoyed expressing myself through writing for as long as I can remember.
  I had hoped that NaBloWriMo would inspire me and generate some more readers.  I know I have some very loyal readers but you are all just very quiet lately.  The comments have been few and far between.  Comments, even if they are sporadic are what keep me going.  Perhaps I'm not a very inspiring or interested writer.  Perhaps it's the content. Perhaps you all are just shy.  Perhaps none of the above. 
Perhaps I need to re-analyze why I blog and decide if I do in fact still enjoy it.
Maybe I need to have a contest and bring you all out of the woodwork!?

About A Ceiling Fan

I finally got mad at the ceiling fan in our bedroom. 

Nothing against it personally, we actually quite appreciate its air moving abilities during the warm summer month. (no, missing the 's' on the end of 'month' is not a typo) 

 It was anger towards what was on it.'

You see, every night for the past couple of months I would lay down, look up and see the dust collecting on the blades.  

I would think that it was obviously high time I dusted up there.  Laying in bed about to go to sleep was not that time.

Over the last couple of weeks the dust grew tails, both long skinny ones and soft puffy ones.  The deep brown blades began to turn kind of grey.

I would think that it was really getting rather disgusting and that I really should clean the fixture.  Once again, laying in bed about to go to sleep was really not that time.

                                                              Well, today was that time.

 Trevor actually did it because I can't reach it, even when standing on our bed.

I then got inspired and dusted all the bathroom light fixtures, fan, tops of the doors and so on.  Our bathroom and room are now as clean and dust free as they can be for now.  

Tonight I will lay in bed, look up and not think about cleaning the ceiling fan as I am about to go to sleep.

Recap

Well, NaBloWriMo is over and I didn't do so well.

We've had computer and internet issues and I've had a child who keeps waking me up at night so I've been tired which makes it hard to post and with the 'net not being readily available....

That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

Anway, it was fun.  I hope to keep up with fairly regular posting.

We'll see.