Addison's Yearly Interview: 2014

What is your name? Addison. Addison Gambeta. Addison Anne Gambeta.
How old are you? Four.
Who is your best friend?Ariolanna (Arianna)
What are your teachers names? Mrs. Hunt and Mrs. Bailey (Said really quickly, as if it's all one word)
What is your favourite colour? Pink and purple
What is your favourite food? Crackers
What is your favourite drink? Chocolate milk
What is your favourite song? Call Me Baby (Call Me Maybe), Shake it Off (Taylor Swift)
What is your favourite book?
What is your favourite game?
What is your favourite movie? Frozen
What is your favourite thing to do outside?
What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Elephant and pony
What do you want to be when you grow up?


 

A year? Really?

I need to work on my game. It's been nearly a year since my last post. A year! I haven't blogged or even read a blog in that time. But I still find myself wanting to record these memories, and I'm not a big journal person either...Dilemma.

Hopefully I'll check back here more regularly, and maybe spruce the place up a bit. It's looking a little forgotten about.

On a happier note, it's the end of December! Addison and Isaac are both home for the holidays, and we had some nice Christmas days and dinners together with family. She is most excited for her big girl bed and big girl room (Thank you, Santa)!

Addison is missing school already. She loves it there, and I am thrilled to see her thrive. She can count to 100 and knows how to recognize both upper- and lower-case letters, and their phonetic sounds. She'll be reading in no time. She sings NON.STOP. and loves to dance. She just got her yellow belt in Karate, and loves to show her belt to everyone she sees. I'll interview her over the next few days, and hopefully continue to do so at this time every year. I always love to look back and read the hilarious answers in years to come.

For now, it's time for me to hit the hay. See you in 2015!

Re-organized

Can you call it RE-organized when it wasn't really organized in the first place? No? Okay, so I guess a better title would be "Finally getting it together after three years!" Seriously. We both keep the house clean, but it's not exactly tidy. Certainly not as tidy as we would like. We found ourselves dumping things here and there, rather than giving everything a permanent home. For such a big house, we have very, very little storage space. Organization is key, especially with a toddler. Last week something finally clicked, and I found myself giving the house an overhaul, one messy place at a time.

It all started with the cedar chest Mom passed along to us. Our sheets and blankets had previously been thrown into the entire left side of the upstairs closet. They took up far too much room but we didn't have much choice. So now the blankets sit nicely folded in the cedar chest, which will soon live permanently in the spare room.

This clears up half of the upstairs closet. HALF! HALLELUJAH we have storage space! Once this shelves opened up, I was on a roll. The closet is not the most efficient use of space - just two giant shelves on the left side - but it will have to do for now. I went to Target for the first time last week (Nothing exciting to report) and picked up two five packs of these containers for just $6 each. I came home and whipped up some quick chevron labels in PS, and got to work.

I had scribbled down all of my ideas of categories and items to be kept in there. I started my mission with the junk drawer. Oh junk drawer. Good bye. Good riddance. I hope to never see you again. Having this drawer empty left me with space to properly store baggies, wax paper, foil etc. HALLELUJAH again! AND moving the cooking supplies left me with space to properly store my pot lids. An entire drawer, full of pot lids. HALLE-FREAKING-LUJAH organizing feels good!

Continuing on throughout my house, I gathered things from above the kitchen sink, beneath the bathroom sink, the pantry, the laundry room...Like I said, we were rather scattered. Then I went upstairs and filed everything nicely into the following categories: Rags, Sponges/Magic Erasers, First Aid (everything I could gather up), Flash light/Batteries, Candles/Matches, Tools (screwdriver, measuring tape etc), Paint Supplies (small brushes, paint sticks, can openers), Sewing Supplies (pins, thread etc), and Crochet Supplies. It's not perfect, but we're really happy so far. We'll see how it works for us and change it as needed in the future. Along with these ten new containers, I have a basket for general cleaning supplies that don't fit into a lidded box, as well as a nice wicker basket that holds paper towel and toilet paper.

It's a work in progress. I feel like I've made a huge dent, but there is still a lot left. The right side of the closet has to be re-done. I still need to find a home for a few things on Addison's dresser, above the kitchen sink, and in the laundry room. I plan on getting a few more containers and/or baskets and giving the pantry and bathroom cupboards a similar makeover. It has taken three years, but our house is finally getting the attention it deserves. Baby steps.

Freezer meals!

I love freezer meals! Who doesn't? I do this from time-to-time, whenever the mood strikes. Or whenever I'm over run with vegetables fresh from my garden. Hooray for fresh veggies! I recently tried the following new recipes. I had not planned on doing a big batch, so I didn't think to photograph my successes. Next time.

I'll update here as I pull them out, and let you know how they turned out!

Chocolate zucchini muffins (Uh oh! Cannot find this recipe!)

Crock pot chicken in a hurry (with wings and thighs)

Crock pot chicken cacciatore
Result: It's not the fanciest recipe so I wasn't expecting too much, but I was still pretty disappointed. I used veggies fresh from my garden, and my favourite tomato sauce (I haven't canned my own yet). It smelled awesome but it was really bland. 2/3 girls liked it, which is great, but I'll pass next time.

Crock pot marinated pork
Crock pot pork loin and veggies

Crock pot italian turkey soup
Result: Delicious! We're not big bean-eaters, but everyone at this up! Addison asked for seconds! I made it according to directions, and froze in two freezer bags. I served one bag at a time, and it was not enough. Next time I will double it and use two bags as one serving.

I also froze six cups of caramelized onions, an additional ten cups of shredded zucchini, and made amazingly awesome delicious yummy lemon zucchini loaf. The latter, however, did not make it to the freezer before it was eaten entirely. This may have happened twice. I've heard it freezes well. I need to try again when I'm home alone, so my family can't sneak in.

Now where were we?

It has been far too long since I last wrote in this. I kind of took a step back from blogs and some social media sites for a few months. It's nice to take a break. But it's also nice to keep a journal of sorts and keep track of the fun goings on in our lives, so here I am.

For the first time in months I can confidently say that I feel really good about myself and really happy in general. While I would love to be working and in school right now, I am truly enjoying being a SAHM more than I ever could have imagined. We are the luckiest parents of the most beautiful, hilarious little girl. Her personality is showing more and more each day, and her vocabulary is expanding rapidly. She was an easy baby and - knock on wood - she is a pretty laid back toddler. While I have been known to lose my cool a time or two, I have also learned to be patient with her. Anyone who knows me, knows how much of an accomplishment this is. She is still easy re-directed and I can often get her to talk out her problems before a mega meltdown even occurs. Not every time, of course, but it's a pretty solid start.

Our main concern lately has been her attachment. It's partly her age, but I'm sure it's exacerbated by Isaac being gone so often for work. She's with me so often that we're having some trouble getting her comfortable with others. She does warm up eventually but sometimes it takes a long time, and it really is exhausting to have her hanging off of my neck when we have company over. We're working on it.

In other news, Winter seems to have finally left. It felt like it never would. We kind of skipped Spring and we're into 25+ weather now. Pull out the shorts and dresses, Summer has arrived! Addison and I have been doing a lot of outdoor spring cleaning and gardening. She loves it. I've had so much fun watching her smell the flowers, point out the different colours, dig the holes, and pour the watering can. She has it all down pat. We planted some more goodies up front, and started both an herb and vegetable garden. Fingers crossed that we get something out of it.




I'm having a blast coaching U5 soccer this season. I had only intended to be a convenor but we had so many kids sign up that we were short coaches. My 12 11 (B. just quit) kids are amazing. It is such a fun challenge. I try to do a warm up, teach them a skill, and then do a scrimmage, but sometimes it goes better than others. I have a wide range of personalities from super duper shy introvert, to professional outgoing player. I can't wait to see how they all end up by the end of June. We're making huge strides already. Just last Thursday I had every single one of my kids on the field at some point during the game, and they all kicked the ball. This might not seem like much, but I was so impressed. I cannot wait for Addison and Morgan to play next year.

More updates to come soon (and more often)...

 

Oops

It's already been a month since my last post? Oops.

October - January is pretty crazy in my household with birthdays and holidays. Even more so this year with all that's been going on lately.

I haven't seen Ryan since Addison's birthday. He's been working in New Brunswick for a month straight, comes home for one weekend, and goes right back out again. I don't know how Nicole has kept her sanity.

That would be why he was unable to make the trip to see Grandad. My parents and I went for a long, highway-free drive to see him last month. At 91 years old, he is still in great shape. He lives in a second floor walk up, loves walking around town, and is still as quick as a whip. Sadly, after nearly ten years of being in remission, his cancer has returned. He was hoping he could avoid treatment but had to go through surgery this week to have his larynx completely removed. Surgery went well and he'll be moved to a treatment centre soon. All three girls will be with him daily, rotating between them, going two at a time. Hopefully I'll soon be able to introduce him to Isaac and Addison, and Ryan to his family.

My parents moved this weekend. It's the best decision for everyone, but I'm still a little sad to see my childhood house sit empty.

Megan and I have started making and selling our greeting cards! She was in the right place at the right time, and set up a deal with a woman in her town who runs a boutique. She liked what she saw and put in a few orders right away. We're hoping to find a second location here and offer cards for all occasions, invitations, and various other paper party supplies. Happy Mailbox is taking off!

Isaac is still working away in the hospital. Addison and I went to see him recently and it was a total bust. She got into everything at the apartment and wouldn't sleep at night. There isn't much within walking distance and our attempted shopping trips to the Eaton Centre and Vaughan Mills mall were complete failures. I don't plan on bringing her back any time soon.

Addison is picking up new words every day. Just this week she started saying "See day-der" (See you later) when someone leaves. She's obsessed with jumping on the couch and pushing her baby in her doll stroller. I don't remember the last time she slept through the night. The doctor thinks she might be experiencing night terrors :(
 

Two

Two years ago, I was patiently anxiously awaiting your arrival, nine days after your due date.
Two years ago at 11:59 am, tears filled my eyes as we heard "It's a girl," followed by your little lamb cry.
Two years ago, I first counted your ten tiny fingers - complete with one hang nail - and ten little toes on your great big feet.

In the past two years you have gone from sleepy, squishy little newborn, to a happy, friendly toddler.
I look back at times when we struggled to understand your different cries. Were you hungry? Wet? Tired? Now you ask questions, tell me what you want, and say please and thank you.


You make me laugh every single day, even if one (or both) of us is having a hard time. You have taught me patience. I'm still working on it, but I see a big change in myself from two short years ago. You have taught me to enjoy the small things. It is amazing to watch you experience such pure joy over the tiniest things. I love seeing you experience everything for the very first time. You remind me to stop and smell the roses; to take a big deep breath and enjoy these special moments with my little girl in this great big world.

I love watching you perch yourself in the west window every morning and afternoon, watching the school buses drive by, and kids walking to class. I love listening to your baby babbles as you wake up in the morning and after nap, then seeing your face light up when you realize Mama or Dada has come to get you from your crib. I love hearing your silly laugh, and learning what you find humourous. I love when we ask you to do something you don't want to do, and you close your eyes, curl up, and pretend to go to sleep. I love that you say "Wow" when you sneeze, and "Achoo" when anyone else does. I love when you run into your room, grab more books than you can carry, and throw yourself into my lap, asking to hear the stories over and over. I love your enthusiastic counting "One TWO! TWO! Five! Two! TWOOOO!" I love how much you love the great outdoors. Most of all, I love watching you when Daddy comes home after four days away at work. Nothing warms my heart more than the man I love with his little girl.

Being a mom is the hardest, most amazing experience I ever could have imagined. It's so rewarding and fun, but it's also exhausting, and a challenge at times. It's a learning process for all of us, and I can't wait to see what life brings us in this next year.

I love you more than you will ever know. Daddy too. You will always be Daddy's girl.

Happy 2nd birthday, baby girl.

 

Sleepover

Morgan was here all day Saturday and spent the night. It was a huge success! Both girls had so much fun, and Isaac and I came out unscathed. Unfortunately the weather was not so great. It was overcast and cold, with scattered showers all day. While we didn't get to play outside for as long as I had hoped, we managed to stay busy.

We read some books (and learned Gorillas are scary):

 

We played in the rain:

 The girls played tag:

The girls Addison jumped on the couch:

We went for a bike ride:

They actually enjoyed it, despite these expressions. It was too crowded in there with Morgan's winter coat on.

We played ping pong:

We put on a movie Finding Nemo) and had a long bath, then the girls hit the hay.

 Morgan slept from 7:30-5:30 and Addison slept from 7-6. They each had breakfast and played nicely together until Ryan picked Morgan up around 7:30.

Toddler sleepover SUCCESS!

 

Due date

Addison was due two years ago today. Little did I know, we'd still be waiting a week and a half later!

October Photo Challenge: Day 6

I'm thankful for...

October Photo Challenge: Day 4

What you read

October Photo Challenge: Day 3

This happened today

23 MONTHS!

I'm an awful blogger. I should have kept up with these. Bad mommy!


Weight: Still under 25 lbs. I'll wait and see what her two year appointment reveals at the end of next month.
Length: See above
Recent milestones/new things:
New words: She has many single words but still isn't often using two words together to form proper sentences. I'm not afraid that she's delayed, but I know this is expected by two years old. There should be an explosion any day now. Some new words include boy, and knee.
Favourite toy: Books, cars, dolls ("baby")
Sleep: 7-6
Diapers: Still comfortably in Pampers Baby Dry (4)
Food: She has always tried new foods and eaten just about everything, but never in big portions. Over the last few months we've noticed her preferences and dislikes. She's been eating a bit less than before, but she's doing alright. Her favourite food is still any form of meat. She loves steak and potatoes, and crockpot pork chops. Scrambled eggs and bacon is a big hit as well. Lately she hasn't been eating broccoli (an old favourite). Her milk intake has quadrupled this Summer.
 

The leaves, they are a-changin

It might still be 30+ degrees during the day, but the nights are starting to cool down, and the leaves are already changing colours. With this comes a great deal of raking, and the non-stop fun that is leaf piles! A. had so much fun helping clean up and running through the yellow, brown, and red leaves.

Introducing...

My girlfriend had her baby! Aubrie made an early appearance August 31. Please excuse the awful photography. Here she is at seven days old. She and mama are doing well. I can't wait for the girls to grow up together. We're so excited for our friends Megan and Brandon. She's beautiful.

Even before they met, Addison was excited to say her new friend's name:

Addison (22 mos) and Aubrie (7 days)

Pick your battles

A. didn't sleep well lastnight. She wouldn't nap this afternoon and hasn't eaten all day. She's been whining and not using her words to tell me what she wants. She's currently enjoying mama's Dill Pickle chips for dinner.

One week

Up until last week, A. had never tried to open the fridge. She could not pull out the Dining Room tables and was therefore unable to climb onto the Dining Room table. She had pulled her diaper off here and there, but was unable to do so if completely dressed.

In seven days, she has not only learned how to do all of the above, but she has mastered it all. She is a fridge-opening, chair-pulling, table-climbing, diaper and clothes-removing toddler. It's a whole new ball game at the HG household.

This and that

I'm not very good at keeping up with this blogging business. What have we have been up to lately...

 I'm finally off of crutches. I'm not too sure what the next step is for my knee. I'm waiting to hear back from Ortho, and we'll go from there. For now, I'm still taking it easy. I've started taking Addison outside, but it's difficult (and terrifying) to be on your own in town with a toddler who's faster than you are. Thankfully she's really good at holding my hand when I ask. The rule is that she must stay on the grass at all times, or we go inside immediately. Normally I'd let her wander a bit farther and give her one warning if she's too far, but at this point, I can't take the risk. If she were to run, I physically cannot run after her right now, so I keep her close by. It's only been a few days, but so far, so good.

I got a lot of (good) reading done while I was held up. I'm catching up on cleaning that didn't get done, and starting to conquer the house To Do list. So far I've painted the downstairs bathroom door, the Spare Room closet, and some of the trim. Baby steps.

I'm learning to garden. Yes, you read that correctly. Anyone who knows me probably thinks I'm kidding, but I'm enjoying it. It's not a full time favourite hobby by any means, but I'm starting to appreciate my new curb appeal. Mom has always loved flowers and gardening. It was never my thing. Now that we've done some landscaping and I've put together the two front gardens, I'm noticing a huge difference. I started small, with easy plants and flowers. I didn't want to take on more than we could handle. I'll see how everything makes out by the end of the Summer, and decide whether to take on more or less next year. So far everything is growing quickly and flowering nicely. This week I've had three people compliment me on the front gardens and our new plants. I've enjoyed brainstorming what could go where. It's actually kind of fun.

Mother's Day 2012: Bleeding Hearts, Hostas, yellow Lanium

June 1 2012: Everything is growing! Hens&Chicks in the front, as well

Hosta Garden (planted in 2011): Hostas, Flocks, white Lanium, and a random Lily that was here when we moved in

Not much is new around the house or with the tenants. No big issues; no big complaints. Isaac sold his bike last weekend. It was fun while it lasted, but he's not home often enough to justify the price of insurance and gas. The plan is for him to get one again once he's home full time. The guy he bought it from is great. He's coming to pick it up next week.

Addison is growing like crazy, and learning something new every day. Lastnight she started saying "Ya!" and "Yaaaaay," which she claps along with. She knows all kinds of body parts and animal sounds. She loves to count from 1-10 in English and French. She favours numbers two, five, and nine. She understands simple commands like "Sit on your bum," "Wash your arms," and "put it in the garbage." When you ask her to clean up or put something away, she'll happily put things back in their proper spot, one by one. If it's time to go, she'll say "Coat! Shoes!" She gets everyone else's stuff and gives it to them, then gets her own. When she comes in from having played outside, she immediately sits down and takes her shoes off. Sometimes she doesn't even let the door close. She loves to read, and will point out things she knows in her books, such as cars and dogs. While reading about the Berenstein Bears going to bed recently, she said "Night night."

She's had a hard time with men lately, besides Isaac, and sometimes her Grandpas. She'll cry and turn her head, so as to not even see them. It takes her a long time to warm up to them, if she ever does. She's been a little more clingy and upset with small crowds lately as well. She sees other babies and young kids regularly, but I think I need to make a point of it more often. Now that I'm starting to venture out again, I think I'll take her to play group weekly. She'll also have swimming lessons again later this Summer. It's good for both of us.

I think that sums up our last few boring weeks. I leave you with this crazy picture from this morning, of my little toddler tornado. I went upstairs to get dressed. In that time, she managed to take her jumper off, empty the bin of baby supplies, empty a container of wipes, open and dump out a pack of diapers, dump her Cheerios on the floor, and pull a blanket off the couch. There's also a random measuring cup in the Living Room that was not there before I left.

Conversations with a toddler

Addison normally gets up at 7 or 7:30 am. Today she was up at 5. It's 8:30 now, and this conversation reflects how our morning has been thus far:

TJ: What would you like?
Addison: Cacker? Cacker? Pees?
[TJ hands cracker to Addison]
Addison: No. Cheeeeeese? Cheeeeeeese?
[TJ hands cheese to Addison]
Addison: No. Shoes! Shoes!
TJ: You don't need your shoes on while we're inside.
[Addison runs and gets her shoes, throws them on the ground] No!
 

19 MONTHS!

Closer to two than one!


Weight: Haven't weighed since her last appointment
Length: Haven't measured since her last appointment
Recent milestones/new things: Using yes (shaking her head) and no (saying the word) in proper context, counting #s 2-10 (If you say "one," she'll say "two." If you say "seven," she's say "eight, nine." She'll copy every other one after you).
New words: Addison (Often sounds like "Awesome," or "Ah-sin"), Anne, Gompa (Grandpa), car car, honk honk, bus, pee
Signs: All done, more, diaper, eat
Favourite toy: Books
Sleep: 7-7
Diapers: Love Pampers Baby Dry (4)
Food: I recently made ribs in the crockpot and she went crazy for them!