First Day Back

I haven't  posted anything about my little man's ordeal over the last few weeks/months. Today I have decided to share.
Back in July at his 4 year check up the doctor detected a murmur.(a very diligent and skilled doctor I might add- not his usually pediatrician but a replacement who was only at that office for 2 weeks!)  He decided to send my little man for a chest x-ray, an ECG and later an ECHO. After those results came in we were referred to a pediatric cardiologist. We finally got in to see him late September (in true Ontario Medical system style). It was strongly  recommended he go for surgery to have the defect/hole closed. As this wasn't an urgent case we requested the procedure be done in January as we had a vacation booked for December, something we'd been planning since August-before we even knew he'd need surgery.
During this whole waiting period between finding out he'd need to have surgery to the actual date of the operation I was calm and confident things would go well. Other members of my family were freaking out to the point that I was getting almost angry with them. There was crying, praying and a whole sense of gloom around here for quite some time. Closer to the date of the surgery I was starting to feel guilty for NOT being all freaked out and crying.
Once the time came for him to go to the hospital we tried to prepare him and spoke to him about what was going to happen to him. A child life specialist at Sick Kids also showed him how the tubes would be put in him and how he would be given medicine for sleeping. She was really awesome with him and he took to her very quickly! We tried to reassure him things would be okay and he had nothing to worry about. Unfortunately I had a very bad cough/cold- (the doc said it was a respiratory infection but not pneumonia) Either way this illness prevented me from going to the hospital for several days, while he was recovering in the ICU. That was the hardest part of this whole thing. I wanted to be there for him and I wanted him to know I really wanted to be there. He was in no condition post-op for talking on the phone but we explained to him that I was really sick and couldn't come but would come as soon as I could. He spent three nights in hospital (we were told he`d be there 5 but they felt he was ready to come home earlier!) and enjoyed the playroom there quite a lot. The giant Hummer toy and Pirate Ship were well used during his stay.
Once we got him he was very clingy and would not let me out of his site. He followed me everywhere-if I got  up to get a glass of water from the kitchen, he`d be right behind me, If I needed to go to the washroom, there he was. He slept in my bed with me for the first 3 nights and has been waking in the middle of the night to come to our bedroom every night since. We wonder how long this will last!
Lots of people came by to visit while he was there. He was showered with attention (naturally!!) by all his family and friends. Everyone was so  wonderful during the whole ordeal. He received more Spiderman colouring books and action figures than one kid could ever possibly need or use!
Today after 2 weeks he is back at school for the first time. He was very upset and nervous about going back and leaving me. His teacher asked him to be her special helper today. I do hope that he is happier and more comfortable before the end of the day!
Tonight at bath time we are going to try to get off more the bandage goo that is still stuck to his neck, tummy and arms! Not sure what to use for that but am going to look for some tips soon!

A night out

We went to a wedding last night. It was FREEZING out but we still managed to get all dressed up and look pretty darn good-IMO!!
My baby cousin got married to her high school sweet heart. I mean really, she is 15 years younger than me-and I am pretty sure I babysat her once or twice!! The wedding was beautiful, the flowers and decor were top notch and the food was yummy too.
I bought a new dress for the occassion and I was really happy with my choice. The dress is made of stretchy material and fit really well. The only issue I had was the under garmet I wore. It was the same one from my own wedding 6+ years ago and it was way too big on me. I will have to look for a proper strapless bra for any upcoming occassions I may have as I can't wear that corset thing again...very uncomfortable!
Also got fab new shoes !! I am no longer a Browns Virgin. That store used to scare me as it's so expensive and the people one normally sees shopping there are not the ones I normally hobnob with but since it was sale season I thought I'd give it a try. Glad I did!
anyway here are some pics of the evening. Enjoy :)

thank you

thank you dear neighbour who took an extra 5 minutes to snow blow my driveway the other day. It is due to good people like you I don't have complete doubt about mankind! When I thanked you over and over again you just said, Of course, we're neighbors!!!

dear jerk who decided to pass me in the oncoming traffic lane because you decided the speed limit wasn't fast enough...I really hope you arrived alive because you  acted like a maniac and gave myself and others on the road a real scare. There is no reason to drive that aggressively on a side road, in poor weather conditions!

Who Knew ???

This post deals with girlie stuff. If you are male or related to me and don't want to know details than stop reading now!

A conversation with some friends recently made me realize my desperate need for new bras.  My old standby was feeling really wrong in fit and left very large red gouges around my bust line each and every time I wore it. I decided to go for a professional bra fitting at CHANGE. This store is fairly new to Canada and one opened up a little while ago at the Promenade Mall. I had bought a nursing bra from this brand once at a speciality bra boutique and loved it. The woman working at the store measured me and I discovered (as is so often the case) that my bras were all completely the wrong size. I was wearing 34 or 36 C cups while I am really a 32 F!!!! I honestly had no idea that my bras were so off size! I had assumed I would likely be a B cup but an F cup??? I was flabbergasted! After trying on several I found 3 I loved and bought- yeah for me they were all on %70 off sale!!! If you need bras and want a professional fitting, I honestly recommend this store! The selection is also amazing there, so you don't have to get "functional only" colors and styles, they have lots of pretty ones to fit every body type too!

To Discipline or not...that is the question

What does one do when one is with another person's kid and that kid throws the biggest fit one has ever seen? EVER???
We took the boy to see Disney on Ice today. We also took another child-whom I will call guest. They both really really enjoyed the show. They were completely mesmerized and impossible to distract while the show was happening. It was lovely. They were enjoying their $7 popcorn each, they had juice and cheese strings. All was going really well. Guest asked me if we could go look at the toys for sale. I said fine we could LOOK but not buy.
Then the trouble started. Guest decided she wanted to buy one of  the toys for sale.  We said no way. The items were all stupidly over priced and if she got something then we would have to buy a piece of junk for our son. That was not going to happen. Her lip started to pout, her eyes started to swell and the tears began, quietly at first, then when we just ignored her she started wailing. I mean screaming and crying to the point that she looked like a crazed lunatic. She was kicking and hitting and it looked like she might almost throw up. This lasted an entire hour.
Now my kids can give it a go. But I have never honestly seen anything like this in my entire life. I don't work with kids and after this episode- frankly I'm glad I work with seniors! and if this had happened pre-kids...not sure I would have had any!
What would you have done in this situation? We absolutely were not going to give in and buy a toy for her- especially after this display of completely spoiled, very unattractive behaviour. We didn't want to show our son (who was actually an angel today, after a previous evening of slightly dubious behaviour!) that this type of behaviour warrants a reward of any kind, as she was our guest we really weren't sure of the limits set for her by her parents or grandparents. Time outs, ignoring her or walking away were not options, what on earth to do?!?! Threatening to call her mother wasn't working, actually calling but not reaching her was problematic - we were really at a complete loss. Once getting past the embarrassment of stares and snickers of passers-by we (I should say my husband, I was in too much shock to actually get past her crazed behaviour) eventually managed to calm her down to point where she could walk on her own and not be dragged along the Skywalk on her knees to the subway! Once this tantrum of epic proportions was over she reverted back to her usual sweet self-very much like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
We then enjoyed a nice lunch at Mr Greenjeans- but did not give in to requests for dessert!