Thank you thank you thank for your sage advice re: Hadley’s potty training relapse. Sage as in “wise,” not the color (though it is one of my favorites).

I don’t think it is a medical issue because she only does it at home or at Grandma’s. And she has gotten worse since I last wrote. A contributing factor could be that we are experiencing an inordinate amount of stress that I’ll get into later. We haven’t disclosed anything to the kids but they’re perceptive little things. Maybe Mommy’s veins that are bulging out of her head are a good indicator.

I am having a professional organizer come over on Monday for a two-hour consultation for my kitchen. I am doing a giveaway on Mile High Mamas in January for a free session with this consultant. And in order to write my review, I need to see her work.

And she will see mine and how my kitchen is a piece of work.

Is it counterproductive to organize your kitchen before the professional organizer comes over?

I dreamt the other night that I was dismayed when she showed up early, only to find me wearing a sexy piece of ling*erie I haven’t been able to fit into since second grade.

Not that I was wearing that kind of thing back then.

But at least I could have fit into it.

And this, my friends, about summarizes my state of mind these days. So, comfort me. What’re you dreaming about these days? And am I the only one who feels like I’m drowning?

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog

For the most part, she has been delightful since she turned four last May. She captivates her audience with her creative stories, befriends everyone, is learning to write like a whiz and modifies her adverbs better than most adults.

Bottom line: she is smart.

From the above statement, you might think I am frustrated. And you might be correct. When she finally potty trained last February, we thought we were home-free. We were wrong. It started with a summer of travel and a few accidents occurred. We let them slide. After all, we were off schedule.

It’s different from the power struggle we once had because she now tries to hide the fact that she did it. I have heard explanations of a possible growth spurt or she gets too wrapped up in what she is doing and forgets. We have thought maybe she’s not getting enough attention so have made the effort to spend more one-on-one time with her.

She had yet another poop incident tonight that we made her clean up. Jamie spent a long time talking to her about it and assured me they had an “understanding.” An hour later, she did it again. For the first time ever, I sent her to her room for the rest of the night, banning her from watching the Santa show on TV with us.

Fortunately, I have a lot of spare.

But not a lot in the sanity department.

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog

If you missed the action, let me give you the full story. Jamie bought me a TomTom navigational device for my birthday a couple of years ago.

Because evidently he thinks I am directionally challenged.

And he would be correct.

We only used it to gain our bearings on road trips and kept it in the middle console of my Pilot. Prior to our trip to Boston in October, we went to grab it…and it was gone. We searched everywhere but found nothing. We didn’t really know when it went missing because it had been several months since we had last used it. I had a sneaking suspicion I had brought it in the house and forgotten where I stashed it.

My suspicion was wrong.

Last week, Jamie was home alone when a man came to the door. Jamie hesitated to open it, thinking it was a solicitor of some kind but did it anyway.

“Did you have a TomTom stolen?” the man asked.

Jamie asked affirmatively.

The man then went on to explain that he is an electrician who was working on some wiring problems at a seedy hotel a couple of miles from our house. And in the ceiling of one of the rooms, he discovered that someone had stashed our TomTom, along with an iPod FM module.

So, yes. The few people who guessed the seedy hotel are the winners! Our neighborhood is the closest development to this hotel so evidently these creeps had gone on a joy ride one night. The electrician was able to track us down because we had programmed our home address into the TomTom.

And for those of you who guessed “a” that I found it hidden underneath Cheese Nips in the middle console, SHAME ON YOU for doubting my intelligence.

Besides, I don’t even like Cheese Nips.

But in your defence, I am blonde….

So, let’s hear it: what have you had stolen? Was it ever recovered?

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog

I promised I would include the answer to one of the most important multiple choice quizzes you will ever take. For those who missed it, our TomTom navigational device went missing. It was found several months later:

1) Right where I left it in the middle console, hidden underneath the Cheese Nips.
2) In a drawer in the house that I have been meaning to clean out for a year.
3) In a pumpkin. Because all roads lead back to The Great Pumpkin.
4) Stashed away in the ceiling of a nearby seedy hotel.

And the answer, my dear friends, is #4. All the sordid details to come.

============================================

Thank you for your sympathy regarding Jamie’s obsession with growing The Great Pumpkin 2009. Stephanie’s comment made me chortle:

“At least his passion involves little time and doesn’t take up much room. . . Oh, nevermind.”

Nevermind, indeed. And if you have ever wanted to hear a grown man GUFFAW, crank up your speakers and check this out. Whoever thought Bud Light would acknowledge the pumpkin geeks growers of the world?

After listening to this, I somehow feel like I’ve had one too many.

Pumpkins, that is.

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog

Your TomTom navigational device goes missing from your car. It is found several months later:

1) Right where you left it in the middle console, hidden underneath the Cheese Nips.

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog

Last week was one of “those” weeks. After returning home from a fantastic trip to Keystone, we were bombarded with less-than-stellar news. From the continued uncertainty of Jamie’s great consulting gig to a bombshell my in-laws dropped on us that I can’t get into at this point.

Oh, and then there was our first call ever to Poison Control. I was honestly one of those mothers who thought it would never happen. We keep all our cleaning supplies behind child-proof doors and our prescription medicine is in child-proof containers.

So, just what happened?

Simple: the self-destructive world of modeling.

Haddie had her friend Alex over for a playdate. They were upstairs disassembling her room, trying on all her princesses dresses and playing fashion show. They would come downstairs, do a few twirls for me and then head back up to change their clothes.

I didn’t suspect anything until I put Haddie to bed four hours later. She had a cold last week and I gave her a Triaminic Thin Strip to help with her nighttime cough.

She looked at me sheepishly: “Alex and I ate some of those today.”

“Ate what?”

“The medicine.”

I raced into the bathroom and sure enough, there were numerous packets of used strips in the garbage. And I did what any mother would do when she was sure her daughter was near death: I dumped them out, counted how many they downed (eight), called Alex’s mom and then Poison Control. Oh, and I FREAKED OUT.

Fortunately, enough time had passed that if they would have overdosed it would have already happened.

Gee. What a comforting thought.

When I asked Haddie how they opened the packets (which I have trouble opening), Hadley explained that Alex had simply cut them open with some scissors.

And thus she shall be known as The Enabler.

We were lucky it turned out OK but it made me much more cautious about what we have in our medicine cabinet that she can access.

It also confirmed that models + drugs = bad news.

I had my own episode as a wee lassie when I ate a bottle of Flintstone vitamins. I was spared getting my stomach pumped but it was a lesson well learned.

One of my favorite medicine memories is of my friend Avril. When we were in ninth grade, we went on a class trip to Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. We had an extensive packing list and were instructed to bring a large first-aid kit.

One night when we were bored and hungry, Avril discovered some chocolate-covered tablets in her supplies. She read the label and dismissed it because she didn’t know what it meant. The word? Constipation. Those tasty chocolate-covered pills she ate? Some tasty candy called ex-lax®. Funniest thing? Her dad is a doctor.

She experienced first-hand the adverse effect of taking them.

And those white pants she was wearing the next day at that museum?

Think brown.

So make me feel better. What run-ins have you had with Poison Control?

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog

Me: Haddie we need to pick up all your toys so we can vacuum.

Haddie: Why? Is someone coming over?

Sadly, she was correct.

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog

I am in the market for a cell phone. Those who have ever attempted to call me know that I don’t really like phones and like calling people back even less.

It’s nothing personal. Usually.

That said, I cannot dispute the convenience of having a cell phone in case of emergencies such as when I don’t know what kind of tortilla chips to buy at the store. You know. Life-threatening stuff.

Jamie bought an iPhone and I love it. I currently have a Nokia that was released in the dark ages. Seriously. Even though I am not a cell phone lover, I have enough cell phone pride to know that mine is ready for retirement.

And so I tried the Nokia 5310 on for size. After my trial period, I was asked if I wanted to review the Nokia 5610, which made me wonder why they would not have just sent the newest model to begin with?

Evidently, I am a cell phone virgin.

Overall, this is a great little phone with a lot of bells and whistles for a lot less money than its counterparts.

Pros:

• Killer music player capabilities. Barney never sounded so good.
• Fairly loud speaker. Because I need more noise in my life.
• A 2 megapixel camera that takes pretty good ictures. It can also function as a video camera, doing both sound and image. This is great for someone like me who always forgets my camera!

Cons:

• Pain-in-the-butt hook-up to a computer to download the Nokia PC suite.
• Video quality is quite grainy.
• It is way too fragile for me and the LCD cracks easily. Not that I would know anything about it. But I almost did.

Would I buy it? You betcha! It’s quite the step up from my current Nokia and gives me more bang for my buck than my hubby’s beloved yet pricey iPhone.

So, I turn the question to you as I do my research: what kind of cell phone and service do you have? What things do you like/dislike about it?

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog

…is snot. Lots and lots of snot. And a child who evidently does not know how to properly use a tissue more than once. Fortunately, I excel with this particular tutorial. Clinical studies have shown I blow my nose an average of 500 times a day.

And that is when I am well.

Sadly, entire trees have succumbed when I am ill.

On a positive note: when in the depths of her illness, Haddie still insists on wearing her glamorous sparkle pants and T-shirt.

When so much seems so wrong in this world, somehow this just makes everything all right.

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog

Jamie has been consulting at a great company for several months now. There was talk of bringing him on as VP and giving him stock in the company, which they are hoping to sell off in a couple of years. All in all, a great situation.

But then came the economic downturn.

Small businesses seem like they’re the first to get hit and Jamie’s company is no exception. They are in a situation where they are wrapping up with their current clients (who are past due on hundreds of thousands of dollars) and have several pending contracts. Lucrative contracts. It’s just no one is signing until they see what happens with the economy.

Jamie’s boss told him last week until these contracts came through, they can only afford to keep him as a part-time consultant. The frustrating is we have no idea how long this will last.

Bummer.

We’re not too worried yet because at least it’s something. It’s just all the extras like Christmas and our basement that is almost complete. Rumor has it our contractors will want to get paid and our family will want presents.

Bummer.

Jamie and I have already decided to forgo our gifts to each other and I’m sure more sacrifices will need to be made. It just makes me wonder who else is feeling the pinch? Until two weeks ago, we weren’t feeling it at all and it’s amazing how everything can change so quickly. Have you been affected by the economic downturn or has it been business as usual?

© Crazy Bloggin’ Canuck–A Denver Mom’s Blog