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I forgot what day it was and then I walked to the Beer Store. True story.

It’s Saturday! Who ever posts anything on a Saturday? Well, apparently I do now because this blog is the one thing in my life I can make work according to my own warped sense of time.

I’d like to put the garbage out but, oh wait, that was yesterday. I forgot. And now I get to wait another two weeks before I have the chance to put out the garbage. This every-other-week garbage and recycling pick up is all fine and dandy until you miss a day and then, BAM, you’ve got a month’s worth of garbage festering in the July heat, piled up above the rim as you make a sport out of doing handstands on top of it in order to please fit just one more bag of assorted landfill.

I’d also like to bring the two older kids to the arts and crafts class I registered them for at Michael’s. But that was yesterday too. They sat around watching TV instead while I spent the morning opening emails and then peeling a two-year-old off my lap every three minutes. The class is only $2 a piece and they’re offering them all summer but I just feel so defeated. I’d have to go back there in person and figure out another day that works and then — let’s be real — I’ll probably forget about it again.

The girls taking a dip in our pool.
The girls taking a dip in our pool.

I blame the summer. I do. When the kids aren’t in school or camp, there’s really no discernible difference between the days around here. I mean, usually I can keep track because I know that Cosmo TV is rerunning Girls on Tuesday nights and Last Comic Standing is on Thursdays, but I haven’t even been watching TV this week. You guessed it, because of summer.

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Skipping or Something Like It

So, yeah, I’ve been working out. And by working out, I mean skipping. True story.

I’m not naturally a huge fitness freak, believe it or not. There’s my signature blend of laziness and procrastination, for one. And my incredible powers of justification, for another. (Like, why bother working out at all when there’s a small chance the baby weight will just melt off of its own accord when you wean in 18 short months?) I also know that what others call a “runner’s high” or “feeling good,” is actually the experience of your muscles seizing up, your heart pounding out a speed metal solo, your lungs being set on fire and the taste of blood in your mouth.

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February 2012. Pictured.

Hey guys, remember February? No? Well, let’s take a stroll down memory lane. It’s time for the monthly photo recap. Now two weeks late!

Irene was taking her first-ever dance lesson, a creative movement class, at a local community centre. Oddly (since there’s nothing but kids where we live) there was only one other little girl enrolled in this session. And if that little girl isn’t there?

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Irene also went skating on real skates (as opposed to bob skates) for the first time last month. I’m actually pretty bummed that we only got out on the ice with her once this year. I’m sticking to the new baby excuse … That’s good for a few months, right?

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We had a lovely visit with my grandmother. You see that kitchen table? It’s over 50 years old and my dad and his five siblings were all bathed on it every morning as babies. God, I love that table.

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And sometimes even a Scarborough strip mall can look kind of beautiful.

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Story time!

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There was even snow one day this winter! Seriously, it was the least winter-y Toronto winter I can remember. We only got to use the new Christmas sled once, but at least both my chins were there for it. Gah! Don’t look!

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I borrowed a Bumbo chair from a friend (thanks Elle!) and Mary is enjoying the new perspective.

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Mary and I went to the mall one Friday afternoon and enjoyed some quality time together. It was wonderful.

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Dinner out with three young kids is usually burgers, but sometimes pizza. This was burgers.

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Peer interaction is so important. Mary with Emma Willer’s little Charlie.

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Irene continues to push the frontiers of fashion.

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I’m trying to get Mary acclimatized to her playpen so I’ll be able to keep her safe from her big sibs. Hey! Wait a minute!

This is Colum’s first published photo and my only real workout these days.

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Pizza Day at Colum’s school means pizza lunch for us girls, too. Mmmm. Vesuvios.

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My baby brother with two of my babies. Aw.

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We got hit with a nasty gastro bug at the very end of the month. Colum and Ed were the first victims and Irene followed suit a week later, missing The Lorax premiere. Poor thing.

The days of Mary lying on her back and playing in her baby gym for twenty minutes at a time are over. Alas. She’s been able to roll over for a couple months, but only just started doing it every single time you put her down. Then she gets stuck, of course, and starts crying. So we tried something new.

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Fancy shoes out for a walk.

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Check me out, Mom! I might even give you two minutes before I start screaming today.

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Nah.

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Pencil This In

Routine. The word has connotations of rigid time lines and endless drudgery. But that’s just me, I know. For many people routine means order and predictability. It means comfort and stability. And for kids it is absolutely necessary.

It’s true. Even as a newborn Colum ate and slept at regular intervals; he was active and alert and fussy and cranky at the same time each day. I didn’t fully realize this, though, until he was nearly four months old and I began leaving him with my husband one evening a week. Forced to make careful note of his schedule, I was shocked to discover he was set in a predictable routine. Even more surprising was how liberating that was for me! No longer did I have the luxury of, everything-else-be-damned, spending the whole day catching up on housework, or writing, or reading, or watching T.V. I began scheduling bits of housework into Colum’s nap time and soon wound up scheduling everything! I don’t always actually follow my schedule, but I don’t fall into a state of anxiety-induced paralysis whenever I want to get something done either. Rather than consulting an ever growing “To Do” list, I simply work at whatever it is I set down for any given time slot.

But enough about me. Every parenting book and parenting expert will tell you that children thrive on routine. Infants do well on a steady feeding and sleeping routine, but don’t need much else. Certainly they need stimulation, but their other activities don’t have to be as predictable. As toddler-dom approaches and the number of naps falls to two and then one, you’ll want to add some familiar activities to the daily routine. Here in Canada, where we have a 12 month maternity leave, many tots enter daycare around one year and will have ample routine built into their days. For those of us who do not return to a regular full-time job, however, it can be hard finding the right balance.

Here’s what I do. I aim for two outings a day. Community resources are indispensable for this. Every other Monday evening there is a drop-in at the Early Years Centre, Tuesday mornings are Kindertots, Wednesdays are Family Time at the library, and we’re back at the Early Years Centre Thursday evenings. We also go to a park most days. (In extreme weather we might forgo this for a trip to the grocery store or simply stay in, but kids need to run around outdoors in all seasons.) We fill in the rest of the week with social outings and errands. This still leaves a goodly amount of time for unstructured play in the home. “Colum, Mommy’s working/cooking/cleaning/folding. Go play with your blocks/cars/balls/puzzle.”

One final warning. Don’t overdo it. While kids do need routine, there is a certain parental type that takes that to mean they can go ahead and schedule every waking moment of their children’s lives. Kids grow older and their needs change and we all need to learn how to be flexible. Sometimes that means being able to be spontaneous and creative and adventurous.