Falling behind again....

Life really does move in cycles, I feel like once again I have fallen into a rut.  With my exercise, with sticking to "staying at home", and obviously with blogging.  Sorry to my fans, all 5 of you! haha!

An exceptional picture taken of Dockyard by someone on a cruise ship. Can you spot us?!

This week has been really busy with Marley getting ready for her ballet recital, everyone out sick at work at Sandys 360, and with the up coming wedding we are in next weekend. Top it all off with no money, dodge weather and two mega ships in Dockyard makes for a fairly unreasonable Jenny! Hahaha but i'm managing. Yesterday I kicked my butt in gear and did our morning walk plus a spin class while at work. Paying for it now but I am very lucky to have such a supportive partner who even when I forgot to tell him i'd be working late and nana arrived on the ferry with the kids for him to collect responds with "having to pick up the kids was the best kind of surprise!". I am one lucky lady and count my blessings everyday. Except of course when he is being hard headed and puts the new shoes that were bought for him away in the cupboard because the ones he is wearing now that have his toes sticking out through the front and the bottom "could still last a month or so".  We may be dirt poor but no need to look it buddy!!!

Love at first sandwich and loquats in between

Well what a week!  The community center (sandys 360) where I work part time had their major fundraiser on Friday (a 12 hr swimathon).  I was exhausted after a week of Mark working late after returning from his trip and was hoping for a quiet weekend.  My plans of date night and sleeping in late came to a screeching end with Saturday errands and then the time change.  How did that sneak up on me?!

Jacob's March swim 

Today was a great day though despite having to get up early so Mark could do a job east at 9 (really 8 by my clock!)  We took the kids to Spittle Pond after and had a great lunch snack on Portuguese Rock.  I then drove Marley to one of my ace girls houses who is getting married in 7 short weeks.  Marley is her flower girl and we got to try on the dress today. Adorable... there is nothing Marley loves more than being a princess.  Even though I was sure she was going to pass out on the way home as she seems to be coming down with something and was extremely tired, she got her second wind and we ended up meeting Mark and baby Jacob at Hog Bay (another nature reserve/ park) and took a great walk around "looking for loquats".  We didn't find many loquats but had lots of laughs with the low tide and Marley running into the water while Jacob fed his face with sand.  We also let daddy climb the loquat tree and pick off a branch of loquats for us.  After we all tried one Jacob wouldn't let go of the branch, boy he has a grip! So I took it from him but somehow as he turned his head in what we all took as defeat he actually took a loquat off the branch and was mashing into it behind daddys shoulder.  Mark quickly caught him and we all had a big laugh at his sneaky trick.
Once we got home we had plenty of time to unwind from the day and get ready for the week ahead.  Field trips, meetings, training and painting are all in store next week.  I love getting home early on Sundays, the time we have together is golden.
While I was cooking supper (chili) Mark took the kids up on deck to enjoy the sunshine.  Bob Marley playing through the hatch, a nice cold drink in hand I looked through the window in the hull to see my girl in her ballerina outfit (two leotards, tights, a skirt and head band) dancing on deck eating a sandwich I had just made her while a little boy not much older than her shuffled his feet while propping up his bike on the dock eating his own sandwich.  The two of them seemed to communicate through dance as they stared each-other down.  He disappeared and down she came below, time for bath.  I looked at Mark and smiled and said "Is this the beginning? was that love at first sandwich?" Love them... what a great day.

No better way to end the day <3

Needing a little motivation

I know I have been slacking.  Overall I am exhausted.  I feel like everything is happening so fast and before I know it I will be back at school teaching.  I get overwhelmed just thinking about it.  Even though I love my job, how am I ever going to manage on this boat with two babies?!
Yesterday was really fun with a visit from Auntie Lizzie and Uncle Richie.  We went loquat picking and had a ball! I am going to try and muster up the courage to make a Loquat pie this season. I taught Adam how to make them and he made the best... I haven't done one without him yet.  I already told Marley I was going to teach her to make pies like Uncle Adam so shes all excited... me too!!! Time to peel and pit :( :(
We did the Argus 5K Walk the Walk today and pledged our money to the Bermuda Sloop Foundation.  Later we had yet another princess birthday party... I had to leave early because the swim team I coach at Sandys 360 was hosting a swim meet.
Back to the work week already... where did the weekend go?

Dealing with Mommy Brain on Mondays

I'm sorry I haven't been better about  more posts lately.  I feel like i'm running out of hours in the day lately.  Maybe its because now that Jacob is 6 months old he really is no longer a baby.  He sleeps less (not that he really slept as a baby), and most of all he is more active and requires my constant attention.  This means that all the things I used to get done while he either dozed or stared blankly at an activity toy can not get done!!  Either way, I would choose watching him learn to crawl over the dishes ANY DAY!
The more time goes on I am also becoming seriously concerned with my mental well-being.  Some days I really think I am going stupid.  I find myself constantly saying "I am not actually this dumb!".  Lets look at my track record so far....since on maternity (with no income coming in) I have managed to do thousands of dollars worth of damage to my car when previously I had a perfect driving record, I am constantly making trips to the grocery store (almost every day) because even with a well written list I forget an item or two or forget the list all together, I have managed to loose two cheques that could have helped me out greatly in my non-profit situation, I locked myself out of my own e-mail account that i've had for over 15 years!, i've left my daughter at her Christmas concert practise stranded with two other friends because I got the time wrong, I posted pictures of my newborn son on facebook but made the privacy settings so that only I could seem them, I have driven past Marley's school at least twice when i have been heading to pick her up.... actually the fact that I can remember all these unfortunate instances may mean there is hope!

Today was the kicker though.  After a great dinner with friends on the boat last night, we were all organised for Monday morning.  We made the ferry and got on our way.  At the ferry stop daddy and Marley found an abandoned umbrella in a bollard and took it as their own.  Marley proceeded to use the umbrella to make our walk the longest walk to school ever by insisting it was raining and walking with her umbrella! I didn't mind too much as it is still the winter ferry schedule and it was actually quite entertaining.  Since I didn't get breakfast this morning I decided to stop at my new favourite cafe "Tribe Road" on my way back to the ferry and grab one of their specialities; a yogurt fruit cup with fresh granola.  Since I didn't do my morning run I decided to sit in and eat the breakfast, I then walked myself down the the Supermarket to get Jacob more formula because i'd forgotten it on my last shopping trip, and then headed down front street to catch the 10am ferry.  Once on the ferry I read the paper and then once it arrived headed to the boat to get ready for a morning at work at Sandys 360.  I arrived at the gate and discovered I had no keys! How did this happen?! I remembered looking at where I had stashed them in the pram and thinking... hummnn they might fall out of there, but they had been fine before so I left them.  Quickly I ran back to the ferry scanning the ground as I went but I didn't catch them in time and there were no keys along the way.  I called the ferry terminal and they promised to look once it got back.  In the mean time I assessed my situation; no car keys (can't get to work), no dock keys (can't get on the boat), the next ferry leaves dockyard at 12:30 (giving me 2hours to figure it all out).  Trying not to freak out I tried to think where I had seen them last.  I thought for sure it was at Tribe Road as I left that I had had the premonition of them falling out of the pram.  I did not have a number for them so I called the ferry back and the police but no one had seen them.  I called the supermarket and another shop on front street but no one had seen them.  I went to the mini mart and asked for a spare set of keys and called the radio station as they suggested but still nothing.  I was lucky to find on the boat that although I had been cheap and refused to get a new electronic key for my car when the spare one broke I could still use it manually on the doors and at least had a car.  In the mean time the dentist called and the first dental visit we had been preparing Marley for all week would have to be cancelled as her hygienist has pink eye! What?! Who still gets pink eye?! What sand box was she playing in?! So in fact Marley could go to ballet but her gear was all on the boat and Auntie Abbie had no pram to pick her up.
I loaded up the car with ballet gear and headed to Sandys 360 to put in what time I could still waiting hopefully for the call that someone had found my keys.  With a deadline to meet it was already 12:00 and I was not going to finish the job.  My boss was understanding as he was having a similar day; the aircon had been turned off in the pool office so everything was dripping wet from the humidity from the indoor pool.  Shame, he had wanted to rearrange the office before I got in so it was all shiny and new for me!
I managed to get Marley's ballet gear to her just as my saviour called with the great news that my keys had been found.  I had left them on the counter at Tribe Road.  When I had walked into the other room to enjoy my single moment of peace for breakfast they thought I had left the cafe and took my keys aside for when I returned.  The only thing I can think to say is always have the numbers of the places you frequent often because chances are something will end up there of yours that you need!
I spent the afternoon waiting to pick up Marley googling "Foods to make your brain work better", "Mommy brain", and "Boosting your brain power".  There is a lot of research out there, plenty of blogs too... it comforts me to know I am not alone however on days like this I still feel like the dumbest person that ever lived!!

Manic Thursday

So really this should have been posted before my last post but I was so inspired by the weekend I didn't want to add one of my rants last night but I do have to write about Thursday.
I had planned meetings for Thursday with Sandys 360 as that is where I am hopefully going to be doing some part time work while I am off with Jacob to bring in a little extra cash.  I was all organized Wed. night and planned to get one or two things done in town on my way back t the ferry from walking Marley to school in the morning- like my insurance for my car.  It wasn't until Thurs. morning that I was reminded that Friday was the holiday! Woops, you really do loose your mind once you've had children!
I had to rearrange all my plans, cancel my meetings as the new number one task was getting my car licensed and insured before the weekend.  So already in a panic on my way to the ferry, I forgot my phone on the boat, no time to go back because we are already late and its still blustery.  I get going on the walk and as we approached the Reid St. Burnaby Hill intersection Jacob's pacifier blows right out from the baby bijorn!  I mean really what are the chances?! Just right up in the air and into the street.  I stood on the crosswalk in shock watching the pacci get run over by an endless stream of jeeps and cars.  I really couldn't believe it!
I continued on in awe and managed to get Marley to school without much fuss from Jacob.  Luckily he's more of a thumb sucker.  However as we left the ferry (before the pacci incident) I was informed by what I thought was a reliable source (a deck hand on the ferry!) that there were no more ferries to Dockyard today because of the weather.  Just how was I supposed to get back to get my car to do the one and only item on my list foe the day?!! Oh boy!
I called my savior nana and she had agreed to come pick me up and then messaged Mark and let him know my predicament.  Mark messaged Kareem who was in town and instead kindly offered to be my chauffeur. With time to kill before his hair cut finished I caught up with another mommy who lives near Marley's school and vented about the morning shenanigans.
The rest of the day ran fairly smoothly, car passed and insured.  Although I had a good laugh with the tester.  When he was checking the undercarriage of my car he needed to drive it onto the ramp.  When he got into my little sporty number he looked around at the two car seats in the back and pram in the front seat and commented "Lady, you need a bigger car".  I replied with the standard "You gonna buy me one? I can't afford one"  He then asked "where does the passenger sit?" I played dumb and said "passenger?" he said, "yeah you know passenger?!" I told him "Mate, I have kids to drive around, I don't have time or room for passengers!" LOL At least I put a smile on his face for the day.

Children are like sponges

Yesterday we attempted the ferry ride again even with these gales and we were fine until we arrived in Hamilton and I was told there would be no more ferries to Dockyard.  But in fact after I flagged down a ride back and we arrived at the boat sure enough there was one but anyway....
On the ferry ride Marley and I discussed the rising sun.  Feeling like I should siese the moment I also explained to her what 'white caps' were.  She got it one time and once her new little ferry buddy arrived at Rockaway she proceeded to explain them to him too!
Later that day I had a play date with two girls from my new mommy group.  One of them has a little boy a week younger than Jacob and the other a girl about 9 months.  Wow how quickly you forget the stages! She was so cute moving herself all around and very interested in the babies.  Jacob wasn't fazed much having his big sister always in his face probably helped.  Now today after seeing his little friend scoot about he is so frustrated trying to move himself.  He managed to flip himself over the day before for the first time but now I think his goal is probably to crawl! He is kicking his legs and screaching away, he even almost pushed himself out of his chair where he usually sits taking in the view.  Oh boy i'm going to have my hands full with this one!
We are now off to Jacob's first swim at Sandys 360 pool.  I would have liked it to be in the ocean but its a little cool for that and the pool is indoor and heated.  It is so important for our kids to learn how to swim living on the boat.  A lot of people wait until their kids are older to teach them but they really are sponges and pick it up very quick when given the opportunity.  Sometimes it is our own fears that hold our children back. Will post on how it goes :)

Trick or Treat

Yesterday I began the thought of where this post would go, I couldn't have been more wrong.
It started like this
Trick #1: Being up all night with first Marley who scrambled into our bed and then Jacob who was an early morning riser... thought I was going to lie in after that (see last post) but since Jacob didn't fall back asleep until 7:30am I convinced myself that since I was already up I would go to a spinning class at Sandys 360.
Trick #2: Get to Sandys 360 and the spinning class is canceled, the instructor is sick.  Still motivated I decide to workout on my own in the gym.... note to self ALWAYS have a charged i-pod in the car for moments like these! 50min. or self inflicted cardio without music is more like torture than a spinning class.
Trick #3: Always remember that if you run out of water on the boat don't then leave the water pump on! Yikes! Came back to a grumpy Mark having to do unnecessary work on the boat because I forgot the boat rules! Luckily he fixed it and I was able to shower after my work out.
Treat #1: Lazy boat day watching movies and carving pumpkins for tomorrow
Treat #2: Excited about the potential of support our fellow boaters have pledged to have candy aboard their boats so we can Trick or Treat tomorrow right in the marina! :) Boat people are such nice people!

Marley on any given day dressing up!

Well today couldn't have gone any further from those hopes!  Started off with Marley refusing to wear her costume (one of 4!) to school.  This is very unlike her, she LOVES to dress up all the time... apparently except on days when the rest of the world will be LOL I attempted that battle then quickly gave up.  Once we got to school as I predicted she saw the other kids in their costumes so she wanted hers, luckily prepared and she wore it for 5 min before I left!
Pick up went smoothly and it seemed on our drive home that the weather was going to cooperate and we would have a wonderful evening of Dockyard trick or treating.
However at 6pm all hell broke loose! I needed to run to the mini mart to get batteries for my camera and of-course that means taking everyone with me for the run.  I announced this to Marley earlier and she was fine with it but then when the time rolled round she threw a wobbly because she "didn't want Auntie Jacqui to see her without her costume on!" I tried to convince her that it was fine and she really needed a bath before we put her costume on but we didn't have time because the mini mart was closing but there was no rationalizing today.  I gave up on the batteries and settled for bath and an early dinner.  Marley screamed and cried through the whole routine! She rarely does this so my second reaction after frustration (which I realize gets us no where!) is humor.  I asked her if she could scream louder and promptly Jacob decided he was hungry NOW and chimed in with a challenging scream and attempted to keep up with his sisters crying while I prepared his formula.
Daddy came home and my girl was still at it.  By 7pm she had climbed into our bunk and was attempting sleep but still sobbing.  I tried cough medicine but that didn't work and after a bout of musical chairs opted for the children's pain relief as I think her sore throat was giving her a rough time, plus she kept grabbing her ear poor baby.  That knocked her down for about 20min.  In the mean time the heavens had opened and although Jacob was ready to go in his giraffe suit there was no way we were getting Marley out for trick or treating!

Jacob ready for his first Halloween

After a quiet 20 min at around 8:15 my girl is bouncing off the walls, feeling 90% better! Laughing cracking her usual jokes the whole nine.  Where did all this come from?!!
It didn't last too long especially once bed time was suggested and attempted. :( Not a peaceful sleep for anyone tonight.  Jacob just finished his feed and is about to doze which means I better catch it while its available myself! SLEEP!!!!!!
No treats tonight, only tricks from the rain gods and the sand man :(