How We Roll

Hello shiny baby.  Welcome to our life.

I hereby dub thee...  Lady Elantra.  

Protector, transporter and spacious gateway to carefree mobility.

Let's always be this happy, okay? At least until 2019 or so.  Deal?

But if your seat warmers ever stop working - WE'RE DONE.  Just kidding.

Yes dear readers, we finally bought a car.  After I spent waaaayyyy too many hours checking out car stuff online we booked a test drive with this bad girl and BAM! Done.  

For the record, I researched the used option and we even went to look at some.  But the deal at Hyundai made the whole BRAND SPANKING NEW option just as economically friendly.  Actually it was the 0% interest and big fat 7-year guarantee that tipped the scales.  Plus the fact that OH MY, WE HAVE A NEW CAR.  NEW NEW NEW.  ONLY OURS. Can you tell we've been sharing cars  maybe a little too long? Yeah, it was time to make the leap.

So there's that. 

Speaking of MOBILE, someone around here has been scooting around on her very own steam.  I tried to catch her in action yesterday.

Aaaanndndd... I'm tired now.  

OK so she didn't actually GO anywhere in these, you'll just have to take my word for it.  

In other news, I figured out a way to make mealtimes a little happier.  No more purée!  It's all about the finger food around here now.  I can sneak in a couple of spoonfuls of actual protein as long as she has plenty of DIY options on her tray.  As Stéphane sighed when I pointed this out: Oh great, another INDEPENDENCE OR DIE kid.  

Yeah, sorry about that.  

But look how cute she is? 

In other news, I've already skipped one of my cardio stroller workouts.  In my defense, IT WAS SNOWING.  I did go to the very first class on Monday and froze my bee-hind off because it was so crazy windy.  But I went! Props to me! 

In related news, I made this recipe for the first time last weekend.  I brought it over to our friends' house for dessert and once I tasted it, I promptly tried to give as much of it away as possible.  Otherwise HELLO - welcome to my week of eating nothing but chocolate cake! (A.k.a. PMS Daily Special).  In fact, it's very hard for me to not put it on the menu for brunch this weekend.  What!?  I'm sure it would be perfect with quiche. 

I may be a little obsessed with this cake because after much reflection (I managed to eat a lot of pieces in the end.  Sigh.) I realized that the icing reminds me of the chocolate glaze you would get on an eclair or a chocolate donut.  Wow, now my food shame is really on display.  Hi!  I'm crazy!  Man, I better get to cardio next week.

Sorry, no pictures of Liliane this week but she is good. Really really looking forward to Easter (thanks a lot, daycare! Talking it up for 4 weeks really helps with expectations!) but so are we.  She is currently on a Mary Poppins kick (Mary Pop!).  Unfortunately she learned the chorus of "I'm Sexy and I Know It" from a friend and sings it daily like "I'm Sesseek and I Know It" despite my repeated warnings to PLEASE NOT SING THAT ANYMORE.  Also, try explaining sexy to a 4 year old.  Not so successful.  For grownups! Not for you! YOU ARE NOT SEXY.   We suggested that she sing "I'm Lili and I know it" or "I'm silly and I know it" but no go.  She much prefers making my hair turn grey.  Yeah. Help.

How are YOU?

PS - I've had a few stalkers come out of the closet lately... Welcome! Thanks for reading! Once you leave a comment, you are officially no longer a stalker.  Just sayin' :)

  

Pick Up, Dust Off

Hi internet!  Remember me? Yep, still here.

All good in the Piercy Arbour house. Aaaaallll good.

Well, we have some nightime-waking-due-to-teething happening and some semi-unpleasant, very whiny bedtime behaviour going on (looking at YOU baby and 4 year old) but otherwise, we're all good.

So good that I haven't made time to document all the goodness on this here blog. A situation I would like to rectify right now.

To start, Alice asked me to share something with you:

Ahem.

DIS HOW I YOOSHALLY LOOK:
(yes, in this house, babies speak like LOLcats, my fave):

NOT LIKE DIS. FER REALZ.

And it's true.  I posted this picture on Facebook yesterday and whined about what a drag it is to spend time making wholesome and delicious baby food only to get the "WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO TO ME HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE PARENT" reaction.  But I could be reading into it.

ANYWAY in no particular order, these are all the very first-world-problem issues on my list that are keeping me busy (which you understand is a relative term when you're home with a baby all day and having a shower not to mention actually making dinner are considered achievements):

-iPhone.  My cell phone contract is up soon and I need an iPhone.  I'm doing a lot of research/shopping around at the moment because I feel like my current carrier (rhymes with CELL BANADA) is not doing it for me anymore.  Also, in order to be able to PAY for my iPhone, I've possibly gotten a little obsessed with the rest of our household budget and may or may not be thinking about getting rid of our landline. Why do we have it? Yes, I realize that if there is a zombie apocalypse, all the cell phones would go down but wouldn't phone lines go down, too?  These are the things that are ON MY MIND. I know, sad.

-Car. We are shopping around for a car.  I have also researched this to DEATH and we're buying a new car (not used, not leasing) and if you have an opinion about this, please don't share it because I CAN'T TAKE TALKING ABOUT IT ANYMORE. Going on a test drive tomorrow and if I can negotiate it down to the monthly payment I have in mind, SOLD! I'll keep you posted.

-Daycare. So far no confirmation about where Alice will go to daycare so I can go back to work.  Yeah, that.  And it's happening soon!  Soonish.  June.  I have a few options so I will be dialing up the charm/attempting to bribe my shortlist of options and hope that something works out. Fingers crossed.

-Cookware. Did you know that there is a special cleaner for your stainless steel cookware? I know, seriously. The things you learn when you have time to a) care about how your pots and pans look and b) go through the cupboard and find the cleaner that you bought 7 years ago.  OK moving on.

-Writing. Ironically, writing other stuff has been keeping me busy. As some of you know, my Dad is in the industry as well and he asked me to help get his company's social media up and running. So I made them a Facebook page and a Twitter account and I'm working on keeping those things up to date as well as updating their newly designed website which will launch in 2015 at the rate I'm going.  Also:

-Story Editing.  This is a new thing for me but Infinity is super busy with a project right now, part of which requires the delivery of a bunch of 2 minute interview clips. After a little instruction from my Dad (aka KING OF THIS KIND OF WRITING) I've been reviewing the transcripts, stringing the juicy bits together to make a story, writing narration and generally feeling like hey!  I HAZ A SKILL.

-Birthday Parties. Liliane had two back to back birthday parties last weekend which was totally fun for her but HELLO! When did the 4 year old develop a better social life than me?  That costs more money?  Nothing planned for this weekend but I'd like to make plans with another one of her friends (Manon!  Call me!) because the following weekend is booked up already.

So there you have it. That's what we're up to. Aren't you glad you asked?

Alright, here are some adorable sister pictures to make up for my rambling:

See you soon!

Snow Day

When the subject of Montreal parks comes up, iconic Parc Mont-Royal (a.k.a. the Mountain - ha) is always at the top of the list. Then probably fancy Parc Lafontaine deep in the Plateau. But our neighbourhood happens to have one of the greatest parks in the city and it's only about a 15 minute walk from our house.

Parc Jarry is the original home of the Expos, it's where the Rogers Tennis Tournament happens, it's where I do my Cardio-Poussette workouts and it's where they have recently constructed a perfect-for-big-and-little-kids toboggan slope.  It was perfect outdoor winter weather yesterday, so we bundled up the kiddos, loaded up the stroller, grabbed the sled and strolled on over to my favourite place to sweat.  

The intrepid mountaineers

OK it's hard to see but the hill was really slippery.  Liliane's enthusiasm was not dampened. 

Surprise surprise.

I jumped out of the way of the speeding sled after snapping this. 

Not pictured: Gales and gales of laughter immediately followed by "AGAIN!"

It looks like it's crazy cold outside but it was maybe minus 3 or so. Stunning winter day. 

The tandem slide. Husband later admitted to me that he had his hands on the brakes the whole time.  I'm telling you, it was icy man. 

The future's so bright, etc, etc.

After the sliding was done we wandered over to the frozen pond where Alice and I watched the skaters while Stéphane and Liliane hiked the peaks of piled up snow.  It was pretty much a perfect outing. We all got fresh air and exercise, cabin fever was banished and I got a blog post out of it.

Awesome.

I do have one more thing on my mind that I will share. Due to my newfound addiction to Oprah's Behind the Scenes show (and subsequent addition of the Oprah Network to our cable lineup) I am paying more attention to The Mighty Opes (as Lainey would say). Hello, welcome to the party 25 years later! 

I watched her interview with Whitney Houston and I have to say they both inspired me. Not with their success or ambition or lovely outfits, but with their spirituality. Yep, Whitney and Oprah talking about prayer really made an impression. Mainly it made me think, why am I not spending more time in prayer? I haven't found the answer yet but I'm working on it. 

In the meantime, I will take a page from Oprah's book (or magazine or whatever other empire she currently runs) and tell the people I love that I appreciate them now and not save it for their eulogy.  Example: if I had actually met Whitney Houston, I would have thanked her for being the soundtrack of the year I got a bra. For articulating so perfectly that adolescent longing to be With Somebody Who Loves Me. For being a part of that time in my life.  Voilà.

Now I have to go do something nice for my husband because he's next on my list.

Funny Valentines

Cute baby outfit: check 

Sugar cookies with icing and sprinkles: check.

Preschoolers hopped up on sugar: check.

Goofy decorations: check.

Check.

Aaaand check.

Fancy colour-changing candle: check.
(We seriously stared at this thing changing colours for like 20 minutes en famille. Excellent entertainment, and only $10!)

Homemade cards from daycare (awwwww): check.

Poopy diapers: check (what!?)

I made this for dinner but threw in some pancetta, used bowtie pasta and swapped out the chives for cilantro and it was delish. With salad of course. 

In other news, I took the ladies to see the ophthalmologist and their peepers are all good.  TRIVIA: 

I was actually born with a cataract in my right eye and had to have surgery on it in 2006 so EXCUUUUSE ME if I'm a little paranoid about my kids.  (Because can I tell you something? Having surgery on your EYE pretty much blows. Like, I would happily give birth without drugs ten times over than do that again. Three words: STITCHES IN PUPIL. Amirite?

Anyway,  I didn't pass it on so we're in the clear. (ha ha, get it? CLEAR? Like, my vision is CLEAR? I can see CLEARLY now? Forget it.)

It took about 3 days for Liliane's pupils to go back to normal. Not sure why she looks so traumatized. Probably because her parents kept asking her to "look at me, look at me, hey, what's wrong with her eyes?" 

Oh, how is the sleep going?  Notice how I didn't lead with that? 

We've had a few, um, setbacks. Alice likes to wake up at 2:30 or so for a little snack and while I've let her protest for about 45 minutes or so, Liliane tends to wake up then we have TWO whiny babies to put back to sleep. Sigh. I've pretty much given in and just fed her already at that point (usually around 3:30) and she goes right back to sleep until about 7:30. Whatever.  The other night she didn't wake up at all so I'm taking that as a good sign for things to come. 

What  IS working is having both kids in their beds asleep and us actually having time in the evening to HAVE A LIFE. Which right now means watching Walking Dead and/or Downton Abbey before falling asleep but still. It's heavenly.

Did you all get spoiled and/or spoil yourselves on Valentine's Day? I hope so! 

Speaking of chocolate: I signed up for the spring session of cardio-poussette. Get ready for embarrassing fitness related anecdotes!

Pillow Talk

Hi Maman!

Alice, we need to talk.  This waking up all night thing has got to GO. 

*blank stare*

Oh phewf! For a minute there I thought you were serious! Good one, milk lady.

Wait, why aren't you laughing?

Sweetheart, it's time for you to go back to sleeping through the night. In your own bed.

Let me reflect on how I feel about that idea...  

I think my opinion of your plan is best expressed like THIS!

--- 4 nights later ---

Well kiddo, you're doing 12 hours a night (with a quick 7AM feed), sharing a room with your big sister, sleeping in your cozy crib. How do you feel now?

Yeah, I thought so.  Me too.

THE END.*

*Until more teeth start in or who knows whatever other baby-foolery comes along. But you get the idea.

Since My Last Post...

Number of:

Crappy sleeps: 158493
Espressos consumed thanks to Alejandro: 158493

Parental discussions regarding sleep: NOT ENOUGH (update: we are now formulating a plan)

Dinner parties: 4

Recipes made for guests:
Chicken Spaghetti
Perfect Pot Roast
Grapefruit Yogurt Cake  
Roasted Mushrooms 
Almond Biscotti 
Pavlova with Lemon Curd


New wines tasted: 1 (delish BTW)
Bottles consumed: 2

:

Visits to Ikea: 1
Disagreements at Ikea: 1
Cranky wives: 1
Furniture assembled: 1



















Visits to Home Depot: 1
New chandeliers installed:1
Incredibly happy wives: 1

Times we thought we might have to call the fire dept: 1 (don't ask)

Dollars spent: STOPPED COUNTING

Inches of snow: 12+
Inches of ice rain: TOO MANY

Dance classes: 3
Playdates: 3
Sickness after playdates: 1
First attempts at ice-skating: 1 (yay Liliane!)

Babies that turned 6 months old: 1

Days at home with both kids because it's crappy outside: 3 

Days I thought I might just have to throw in the towel: 3 (SAHMoms, HOW DO YOU DO IT?)

Times I desperately wanted to blog but was too tizzzrrrrffffarg: STOPPED COUNTING

Also - fridge is now repaired (nothing $139 couldn't fix!) and we have now watched ALL the episodes of The Walking Dead that are available and are dying for the rest of the season to start later this month. Ha ha, get it? DYING. Like ZOMBIES.  Never mind. 

Trying to keep my head above water these days (translation: trying not to go crazy and take the rest of the family with me) so sadly I don't get to blog the 3 days/week I badly wanted to. 

But check back for more news about how the whole sleep thing is going! In short, Alice has discovered the joy of waking up at night and Hey! Look! Boobs! I'll just get me a quick milky snack before going back to sleep. Rinse, repeat EVERY TWO OR SO HOURS. HELP.

In the last 4.5 years we have discovered that so much of parenting is about what you are willing to put up with. What your own personal limits are and which hills you are willing to die on.  So while I admire those hippies Moms who can tough out this not-sleeping phase, it turns out I'm not so good at it.  Aside from the sleep deprivation, there is the whole specter of PPD hanging over my head, (for the record: I AM OK - no need to worry) so sleep training begins this weekend. I think we'll set up Liliane in the sofa bed (Look! Just like a sleepover! Only with more crying babies!) and just go for it. 

Thanks to Facebook friends,  we have lots of suggestions and encouragement. And yes, I will make sure she has been well fed (3 meals a day now thank you very much plus an extra cereal before bed if Maman is organized) and dosed with Tylenol if I think her teeth are acting up. 

More suggestions are welcome!

Back (and hopefully rested) soon.