Disco Derail! - TTCAL/PAL Discussion and Support!

[msarkozi]

awe that sucks Gibs! The girls do a lotto group here, but I don't participate with them. I just buy my own tickets, and that way when I win, I don't have to share with them! lol!

Hoping, he just loves to go swimming. I am glad, because then he will be a good swimmer. I only took swimming lessons for the first few levels and didn't go further. I am hoping he will go further with them. OMG would that money ever be handy right now. I could pay off the rest of my debt and not worry about spending too much money, especially with going on mat leave again in a few more months.

I laugh about your driving time, only because I know what it's like to be driving all the time. When we go for Easter, we have to go to Edmonton first, and then Cold Lake to my parent's place. Edmonton is about 9 hours, and Cold Lake is 3-4 hours from there. And when we drive home, it will be about 12-14 hours

 

[Allie84]

Hi girls quick post from Scotland.....meetup was amazing! Nato and Lucy are so great and it was just like friends meeting up that i saw recently, so surreal! All very familiar. Alex and John got on so well ( we missed Steve) and the babies looked adorable together! Alistair was def. not his usual self....sick and jet lagged but a trooper.. happy to report he's well now and back to chatty gleeful self. Did soft play today, loved it. I loved benjamin and Eloise. Will post more later. PS NATO posted pics

 

[Allie84]

Pps on tablet, sorry for shoddy post....also not read back yet

 

[VGibs]

Hey ladies, I need some advice. So I have an awesome midwife. She knows that my job is very physically demanding and very drawing emotionally. A lot of times I cry my eyes out on my way to work every morning because I dislike it that much. She told me that she would write me off on "sick" leave whenever I wanted to be done so I could actually stay home and keep healthy. *And a random barfing attack hits violently as I am typing this* Some people loose their mat leave weeks when they do this, but Ian and I have decided that I am not going back to work and I am going to start my own little daycare after this baby comes. So should I go off as soon as possible? Like when 2 tri rolls around or should I keep going until I physically can not work anymore. With Meme I had a severe back injury at 25 weeks and I am still suffering from that. I know no matter what I do, the men I work with *I work with all guys* will give me a hard time about it. With MeMe they called me "weak" and a "wimp" and the one guy I used to work with was especially cruel, he would always tell me that I was going on vacation and being lazy is so easy when your pregnant. Thank god I don't work with him anymore.

 

[hoping:)]

Mel- Yeah it sounds like he will develop into a good swimmer since he already loves the water so much. I’m hoping Penny will be the same. During high school I was on the varsity dive team and I also had a job as a life guard and swim instructor. Jeez. I definitely shouldn’t complain about our 6 hour drive when you are driving 12+ hours while pregnant! You are a trooper How often do you guys travel to see your family?

Allie- it is so great to hear from you and I am glad Alistair is better and you guys are enjoying your trip. I don’t have my ipad with me today so I will have to wait until I get home to look at the pictures.

vGibs- I think it is disgusting the way your co-workers are treating you during pregnancy. They are a bunch of pigheaded little boys. I feel bad for their wives. Pregnancy IS physically and emotionally exhausting. I once read in an article that being pregnant is like running a marathon every day. It is that taxing on your body. I would put in leave as soon as you can especially since your job is physically demanding and you don’t need the mental stress. The daycare sounds like a wonderful idea.

 

[msarkozi]

Hoping - I am so used to doing the traveling with living up north all my life. It just seems so natural lol. My parents and I alternate going to each other's places, or we meet in Red Deer with the rest of the family. We try for every few months. Sometimes we fly and just rent a car, but I prefer driving so I am not limited with what I can bring.

Gibs - I would say it depends on what you feel like doing. With Kash, I got so stressed out at work because of the situation (another girl went on mat leave and I was asked to cover for her until she was replaced, then train for her position, train someone for my position, as well as another co-worker, and then still do my job and all my how to notes), that I ended up having early contractions. The doctor wrote me off of work the next day when I seen him about it. I ended up being off a month early. This time, I put in my notice for June 21st, but I plan on taking sick leave again at some point before that. I am just playing it out and seeing how it goes. If you aren't going back to work at all, then it shouldn't really matter when you go. If you are going for mat leave pay though, I would check from the gov't to see how early they will start paying it. But do what you feel is right

 

[msarkozi]

ok, where does Nato have these pictures?

 

[hoping:)]

Mel- its good your family drives to visit you half the time. My family does the same. I know what your mean about flying and right now Penny is at the age where she will not sit still so driving is best if we drive through the night. You are taking mat leave on my birthday!

not much going on today for me. I’m at work and Tim is at home with Penny getting her ready for toddler group. He is always the only dad and feels a little out of place so he is planning to create his own play group very soon. Another thing on his to do list- learn to do Penny’s hair. The poor guy is hopeless when it comes to styling a little girl’s hair but I’m guessing most men are. When I get home I always have to giggle about how her daddy has dressed her. She usually has wild hair (he says he likes it best this way but I know its because he has failed miserably at trying to tame it) and is wearing all sorts of patterns and colors. The other day I came home and she was wearing her jeans backwards. He lets her pick out her own clothes which I think is cute and gives her a little independence he tells me it is character building.

 

[Round2]

VGibs, I would wait and see how this pregnancy goes. My tolerance for work definately varied for each pregnancy. You never know, you may not mind working this time.

Allie, glad to hear you are having fun and that Allister is on the mend. Poor kid, it never fails - they always get sick on vacation. I now know to never leave home without a thermometer and baby tylenol.

Hoping, I think you'll have a tough time training Tim to style Penny's hair. I've been working on my hubby for 5 years now. The best I get it is a shoddy attempt at combing Maddy's hair.

Mel, that's great that Kash loves swimming. It's such a nice activitity to do with kids year round. It sucks how far you have to drive....I guess it just becomes a way of life after awhile though.

Nato, get your ass back her and post some pics (my pitifull attempt at bullying)!

AFM, we've got a busy week planned. It's spring break so both kiddies are home all day. On Thursday I'm going to attempt my first solo road trip with both kids. We're driving 3 hours to visit some friends for a few days. I'm a little nervous that Bryce will sleep worse than he does now in a strange place. But I figure, I haven't got much to loose. Last night he woke 3 times and was up for 2 hours between 1am and 3am. How much less sleep can I possibly get???

 

[msarkozi]

lol, hoping. Hopefully Tim learns in no time at all for Penny's hair. I like that he is going to start his own playgroup soon; I bet he will feel more comfortable. It's so great to see a SAHD.

I allow Kash to pick out his own clothes as well, but sometimes I have to encourage him to pick a different shirt or pants. I think I am too much of a matching freak lol. Sometimes he still allows me to pick his clothes for him, but for the most part, he picks them.

I hope Bryce sleeps ok in a new place so you can get some rest. and hopefully he gets on a sleep schedule for you soon!

We have a winter carnival happening in Town this weekend, so I am quite excited about that. Last year Kash was too small to do anything, but this year will be different. We are going to watch the fireworks Friday night while at the bon fire. Then pancake breakfast Saturday morning, and fun and games all afternoon. I think he is going to have a blast.

 

[hoping:)]

Round- so hair styling may be a lost cause for Tim? Good luck on the road trip! I hope Maddy can help you keep the little guy entertained or hopefully he sleeps.

Mel- I let Penny pick her clothes too but I usually pick two outfits and let her choose between them. We went shopping for her Easter dress and I picked two I really liked and then let her decide. I am very indecisive so I love that I can now let Penny make the choice. I didn't know what to make for dinner the other night so I put my two options in front of her and let her pick

 

[msarkozi]

LOL! If I let Kash pick out our supper, we would be eating toast, grilled cheese, or kraft dinner all the time lol! I like allowing them to pick though. I think it helps make them feel important and part of a decision

I can't wait to see a picture of Penny in her Easter dress. She is just a beautiful little girl

 

[LucyJ]

Thats great Tims going to start a playgroup and hope he gets to grips with pennys hair my dad was useless he could manage a ponytail but thats it.

I think a 3 hr drive to my parents is bad but compared to how far you all have to travel its nothing.

Round good luck with the journey hope Bryce is sleep is ok you never know you may find he sleeps brillantly somewhere different.

V thats shocking about your work colleagues sorry they have that attitude I over heard a women talking about her hubby who wasnt understanding at all about how hard pregnancy was and she said well its lucky they cant carry the babies as the human race would of ceased to exist by now it made me chuckle. Id see how you go with this pregnancy.

Allie thats great news about your mum and that Alistair is feeling better. Enjoy the rest of your vacation.

Nato posted some pics on fb. I've posted some pics too couldnt post any on here as the files were to large.

 

[hoping:)]

If I let Penny have a free for all and pick the whole dinner she would have us living off of cheese, pretzels, yogurt and blackberries. I gave her two healthy choices- vegetable stirfry or veggie lasagna She loves to help in the kitchen... mostly stirring or adding ingredients like fresh herbs.

Your weekend plans sound awessome! What little boy wouldn't love a winter carnival complete with fireworks and a pancake breakfast?! I want to go too!

 

[msarkozi]

lol, I think it's a good thing we don't let toddlers pick everything, or we could have some pretty interesting things going on. Sometimes I think it would be neat to see what is actually going on in their heads and what they are thinking....other times I think that is a scary thought and better left unknown lol!

I just seen your pics Luce. Love them!!! I don't see Nato's though, so maybe she has them so only certain people can see them?!

 

[hoping:)]

Lucy- I guess we posted at the same time. I'm assuming my dad was useless with hair styling... I can't recall a time where he attempted to do it though. My mom never let us leave the house without having our hair curled or braided. She loved getting us all dressed up.

I go check out FB when I get home

Mel- I'd be curious to know what Penny is thinking too!

 

[VGibs]

Amber - just a quick note...when we were little, my sister and I, my dad would dress us in our pretty little dresses to go to my grandmas and then would bring us to my moms work so she could do our hair and put on our pantyhose lol so in we would come with our beautiful dresses and our hair all wild and crazy

 

[VGibs]

Mel - I'm kind of freaking out about the work thing for the same reason. They refuse to hire me help and I think the only way I'd get a new assistant is if I told them I'm pregnant. So I'd be training someone, I think I might wait until the new person is trained properly before I went off.

 

[msarkozi]

Does your company hire a new person before you leave? I think it is stupid, because this company doesn't! They always say "there has to be a box available before you can hire someone else". Luckily, our admin assistant is going to take over my mat leave this time for the year, and they are going to hire for her position once i am gone. So at least this time, there will be proper training and what not. When I came back to work last year, it was kind of a nightmare for me to return to, with all the mistakes I had to correct.

I can't believe you are almost 10 weeks already! Man the weeks seem to go quick!

 

[VGibs]

They only hire if it is a dire necessity. The owner is a cheap skate. Yup 10 weeks on Friday. 10 weeks makes me nervous because my friend Jen lost her baby at 10 weeks. It's irrational but I have all these dates in my head that make me nervous. Like I had 8 weeks in my head because of a random post Allie wrote, and 10 weeks because Megg lost Ixy at 10, and Jen. And I'm nervous about 12+6 because of Sparks baby. It's just me being paranoid.