Left Coast Mama

Quinlan James Floyd

Anthony — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 00:27:09 +0000

Announcing Quinlan James Floyd, born at BC Women’s this afternoon at 1:10pm PST, 7lbs 5oz. Mother and baby are healthy and happy!

Menu Plan Monday

Gwen — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 04:57:00 +0000

I am not sure why I am trying to do this this particular week, but I am hoping I don’t go into labour until my mom is here. Anthony has forbiden me to go into labour and has told me to cross my legs if need be. (I know that he is only partially kidding.) So meals for this week will be very simple.

Monday: BBQ Chicken, baked potatoes, corn

Tuesday: Slow cooker meatloaf

Wednesday: breakfast for dinner

Thursday: pizza

Friday: baked cod

Saturday: TBA

All menus are moot if I go into labour.

Baby Pool

Gwen — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 16:19:47 +0000

On Monday we had our friends over for Thanksgiving. I know it seems a little silly for some one a couple of weeks from her due date to host Thanksgiving. That being said, I love dinner parties. Having the dinner at our house means that we can have a good time with our friends and still get the boy to bed close to his bedtime. He went to bed a little later than normal but he had a long nap in the afternoon.

We decided to have it buffet style with as many disposable parts as possible to make the clean up easier. There was still quite a bit that need to go in the dishwasher, but without the plates and roaster it made clean up a lot easier.

What does this have to do with a baby pool do you ask? Well, I had been joking about a baby pool with Tammy for a little while. She is the only one convinced that this baby is a girl. So we decided to start a pool. Three things were needed, the date of the birth, the gender of the child, and the weight. The one that gets closest on all three wins a bottle of wine and we get some guilt free babysitting. If we have the baby before my mom comes one of these lovely people will be taking care of Aidan while we are at the hospital.

So to keep everybody honest we are putting their predictions on the blogs. We will announce the winner when we announce the birth. If you would like to get in on the action (well with a hearty congratulations instead of the wine) put your guesses in the comments. You need to guess the date the baby will be born, the baby’s weight and whether it is a boy or a girl. The information everyone guessing had was this: My due date is the 30th October. Aidan was about 10 days early. The ultrasound technician didn’t actually say boy, but (after an hour of trying to get all the measurements that ususally take 15 minutes) she said things get in the way so I would say 80% and looked at Aidan. ( She wasn’t supposed to say anything because I was only 19 weeks 5 days instead of 20 weeks.) In the latest ultrasound there was no room to see. According to the last ultrasound the baby is short and has a solid body and a very big head. Care to guess?

Here are the friends guesses:

Tammy: 25 October, Girl, 9 lbs

Carla: 27 October, Girl, 8lbs 5 oz

Chris: 24 October, Boy, 8 lbs

Tomer: 23 October 8lbs 1 oz

Ali: 26 October, Boy, 8 lbs 14 oz

Noushin: 28 October, 8 lbs 6 oz

Anthony refuses to guess. I just want it to be soon. Good luck!

If You Like to Talk to Tomatoes

Gwen — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:15:46 +0000

At our house there is almost always some sort of music on at least in the background. We sing out loud and proud and Aidan is no different. Luckily he seems to be (so far) taking after me in the vocal department and after his father in the rhythm department.

We play all kinds of music and Aidan loves to move and sing to it all. You only have to hear him singing “Ruby” by the Kaiser Chiefs or “Somebody Told Me” by the Killers to know that he has exquisite taste. He also knows all the words to the “7,8, 9″ song by the Bare Naked Ladies. Just for his uncles he also knows most of the words to “Story of My Life” by Social Distortion, and he is our singer for Rock Band, especially “Blitzkrieg Bop” by the Ramones.

Just in case you think that this sounds like a very grown up set of songs we also love to sing “When Cats Go Wrong” by Norm Hacking and any of the Veggie Tales songs. Gotta love singing the Veggie Tales theme while going down the grocery store aisle. Sure you get a few looks but I fully expect to use it to calm the new babe as easily as it used to calm Aidan.

“If you like to talk to tomatoes,

if a squash can make you smile,

if you like to waltz with potatoes,

up and down the produce aisle;

Have we got a show for you.

Veggie Tales, Veggie Tales,

Veggie Tales, Veggies Tales,

Veggie Tales.”

Come on and sing it with me now. Don’t be afraid, let your inner vegetarian out and join the song. “You Rock!”

This post was written for Parent Bloggers Network as an entry for a contest sponsored by Bush’s Beans. Join in the fun! You could win one of two $500 Best Buy gift cards. Can you say my husband’s and FIL’s Christmas taken care of?

© 2008 Left Coast Mama | Permalink | One comment
Related: Aidan, Blog Blast, Parent Bloggers Network, Singing, VeggieTales.

mo’ babies? Why yes!

Gwen — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 01:41:34 +0000

As of now I am 6 weeks away from a new baby of my own and I have been remembering all the wonderful (and not so wonderful) aspects of being the parent of a newborn. As part of the virtual shower for Kristen of Motherhood Uncensored and Rebecca of Girl’s Gone Child the hosts are asking for posts of remembrances of the wonderful things about being the parent of a newborn.

When Aidan was born on the Friday of Easter weekend he had disrupted my plans of “one last” quiet weekend with video games and chocolate. He did have exquisite timing for giving his dad a few days off already so he didn’t need to take as many vacation days. Despite a bit of a rocky start on the breast feeding front and a bit of jaundice we happily got home on Easter Sunday and had a few days on our own before my mom flew in from across the country.

: Anthony and 2 Day Old Aidan

My earliest memories of my son are sweet, the skin to skin contact, the small boy cuddling into his father’s chest and the indescribable joy of having our baby boy in our arms. The sweet smell of a newborn baby that no one can recreate, and the look in your baby’s eyes when you cuddle them close are things I can’t wait to experience again.

Congratulations to Kristen and Rebecca and all the other internet ladies expecting in the next few weeks. I wish us all a wonderful experience with as much sleep as possible.

Menu Plan Monday

Gwen — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 04:00:17 +0000

What to do? What to do? I have no idea what on earth to put on this weeks menu. It should be easy enough, pick a meat, a vegetable and a starch, but I am running out of steam. All I want is baked goods that I can’t have at the moment. I am watching the carbs and sugars, and I have planned out how much and what types of food I can have during the day. You would think this would be easier. Damn gestational diabetes.

Does anyone have a recipe for a good low sugar cheese cake? I can have the cheese and the fat but not the sugar.

Ok onto the menu plan:

Monday: Shepherds Pie, sugar free Jello for desert

Tuesday: Chicken fingers, potatoes, salad

Wednesday: Meat Loaf (slow cooker recipe)

Thursday: Baked Tailipia in garlic and spicy butter

Friday: Lasagne

Saturday: Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Sunday: open

© 2008 Left Coast Mama | Permalink | 3 comments
Related: 2nd Pregnancy, Gwen, Healthy Choices, Healthy Eating, Menu Plan Monday, organization.

Money, Money, Money, Money!

Gwen — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 15:42:26 +0000

How do you teach kids about such an abstract concept as money? Aidan loves money and realizes that it is used to buy things, but he doesn’t understand that money is something you earn. He still loves finding coins and putting them in his piggy bank, though he still calls everything pennies. Anthony and I have still not decided if an allowance is something we are going to do with Aidan, and what that might entail. Do you tie it to chores, or do you get it no matter what?

As Aidan is only three he is still a little fuzzy on the concepts of delayed gratification and what he can get at the store. He wants all kinds of things when we go to Toys R Us, but I have always tried to do a walk through fairly often without getting anything. He is learning that while he wants he may not necessarily get. I am glad he is this way because when we were back home in May we went shopping with his grandmother for a dump truck. We went through the TRU and looked at all kinds of things and once we picked out his (reasonable priced) Tonka dump truck and grader he didn’t want anything else. As much as his grandmother tried he didn’t want anything else.

I think at this age the main thing I want to teach Aidan about money is that some people don’t have as much and that he can’t get everything he wants. With this in mind I am going to get one of those Spend, Save , Give banks and find a good charity to use the give money for. I am also planning to live by example a little more. We got Aidan a Social Insurance Card and when the new baby is born we will get one as part of all the other paperwork we need to do. This is important because we need this identification to get a RESP started for their education. As much as I want Aidan and little sibling to understand saving for something, if we can possibly get them to university or trade school without a student loan we will. So the save portion will go into their education funds, the give to charity and the spend to something they really want.

Piggy from the Aidan Cam

If you want more tips or questions about how other parents plan to teach or have taught their children about money check out the Parent Bloggers Network blog blast sponsered by Capital One. Write your own post about this topic linking both and you could win an iPhone.

Preschool and the First Day

Gwen — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:35:47 +0000

So today was the big day. Aidan (and Mommy) went to preschool for the first time. We took some pictures before school some early and some just before. Since I had an appointment with the Diabetic Clinic at BC Women’s Hospital, Anthony stayed home with the boy and took some pictures. I took some after lunch on our way to Douglas park Community Centre where his preschool is located.

Once we were in the classroom (we went to the wrong door) we were asked to sit on the carpet and get a name tag. Aidan preferred to go and explore the classroom. I finally got him to the circle where the teachers were singing a name song and he last a few seconds. After the name song the kids were allowed to roam the classroom and check out the toys.

I had a chance to talk with the head teacher a little but and let her know that I would be happy to help out in the classroom but that it would have to be soon because of their rules. (They don’t want younger siblings even babies in the classroom because they think it is a disturbance. I am not sure if I agree, but I will abide by them.) Though the teachers seem really young, they interact well with the kids and I was able to watch one of them play with a few of the boys. It was nice to see how they dealt with the kids.

I don’t think that Aidan will have any problems adjusting to being in the preschool setting. He may have some troubles sticking with the routine in the beginning, but in a few weeks I expect he will be happy for it. I didn’t see a calendar or weather chart, so that is something I will try to start at home. Aidan is so interested to know what day it is, and especially today he was very excited to know it was the 9th. He told me in the car that tomorrow would be the 10th. I know it is just the teacher in me that is doing an inward squee. It takes a long time for kids to understand dates and how they work.

I know that some people were wondering how I would be about sending Aidan to preschool and if I would be at all upset that my baby is growing up too fast. I will tell you honestly that I am very ok with it. In fact when I have a couple of hours to myself for a few weeks, I am pretty sure I will be getting a good book and a tea and making the most of this time. (I know that this may change Thursday whe I leave him for the first time, but I don’t think so.)

I will leave you with a few pictures. (If you want to see some from this morning check out Left Coast Floyds.)

Aidan Looking Cute with Backpack

Aidan on his way.

Aidan playing for a few minutes before class.

Aidan on the slide before school.

The New Bedroom

Gwen — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 00:27:56 +0000

As most of you know we are trying to make room for another person to come into the house sometime this fall. In preparation for this we have made room in Aidan’s bedroom and our bedroom for the new baby. Since the closet was really being under (and badly) used, we took off the doors and put them under the stairs. Anthony was a little sceptical about the dresser and freezer going in the closet but it really opens up the room enough to put in the crib and still have enough some room for the rocking chair. The room is still a little crowded but much better than I imagined. Let me know what you think.

The new big blue bed.

He has more room than we do.

The library side under his bed.

The toy and play area under the bed.

The crib is by the window so far.

A better view of the chair and crib side.

Aidan’s side of the room. It is amazing how much the doors on the closet closed off the room.

Menu Plan Monday on Tuesday

Gwen — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 21:46:17 +0000

Ok, I bought some meats today and I asked Anthony what he wanted for dinner tonight. He went to Random.org with my suggestions and now we have a plan for the rest of the week.

Tuesday: Tailipia oven baked with a light spicy breading. Salad, rice.

Wednesday: Pasta and meat sauce. Salad, crunchy bread.

Thursday: BBQ Steak, baked potato, steamed broccoli, BBQ corn on the cob.

Friday: BBQ Chicken, mashed potatoes, vegetable of some kind.

If you want more recipes check out the Organizing Junkie.

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Related: Gwen, Healthy Choices, Healthy Eating, Menu Plan Monday, organization.