I woke up at 6 am to Dekker. Of all people, my son was up at 6:00! I know I’m repeating myself but for the past week-ish, the earliest he has woken up has been about 10:00. Either way, this morning was different. Kind of. He woke up and gave a few good wails, and was back to sleep. Juuust enough to wake me up completely. At first I was a little irritated. I’ve had trouble falling asleep recently so we’ve been getting to bed later, and waking up at 6:00 just doesn’t fit into my schedule. Plus, our house didn’t cool off as nice as it did the night before and I woke up with sweat on my face. Not my favorite. However, I got to wake up with Brady. He got up and did his own thing to get ready for the day, but came and had breakfast with me in bed. We almost never get our mornings together, except on the weekend. It was special and quiet and sleepy. I loved it.

Now I’m sipping my ginormous coffee (remember the coffee cups from Luke’s Diner in Gilmore Girls? Yup.) and wondering what today will bring. Our house is so hot, but outside is hotter, and unlike many young families I’m in touch with, I don’t live a hop, skip, and a jump from a spray park. While lots of ladies are getting their kids out in the sun, covering them in cool water, and playing hard, we’re finding ourselves more cooped up than anything. Being a lover of summer, its strange to have these feelings towards the heat. I looove the sun! But its exhausting to be so warm for so long! Maybe Dekker and I will take a nice cool bath together if it just gets too unbearable in here!

Either way, I’ll probably spend a decent chunk of today playing with Dekker in the basement where its a bit cooler. Remember a while ago, I posted about planning to build Dekker’s birthday present but I didn’t want to bring it up in case it flopped? Ok, you still can’t know what it is, but it definitely didn’t flop!!! It looks great actually, so that being said, maybe I’ll add another coat of paint to it today, since my “creative space” (also known as a piece of plywood on the floor) is set up downstairs. At least that way we’ll accomplish something! Actually, I plan to accomplish…three things. Yup, I can come up with three.

1. Paint Dekker’s birthday present

2. Plan a supper that doesn’t require a stove

3. Wash jeans (Not just do laundry, but I probably have 15 pairs of old jeans lying around and I’m thinking I should make them into a denim outside blanket or something. Either that or get rid of them. Today is decision day!)

I hope others have as chill (sick joke) of a day planned as I do!

I feel like today is just the deep breath I’ve needed. My house cooled down to 23 over night and has only warmed up a little. I feel light.

It always helps to have a great day the day before a deep breath day. I had one! I had a great time in the city with my mom and son. Its my entire last post if you haven’t read it yet. One thing I forgot to add, I’ll just quickly make up for right here.

We were in line at Old Navy, and there was a group of women with a couple kids in front of myself and Dekker in his stroller. One of the women was holding her young son, when he saw Dekker. “BABY!!!” he squealed, and wriggled hard to get out of his moms grasp. He came right up, no fear, and patted Dekker’s face, saying “Cheeks cheeks cheeks!” It was so great! I laughed while his mom tried to pull him away and reminded him that people have personal space and boundaries and all that good stuff, but he would not be contained. He came racing back, took Dekker’s little sippy cup from his lap and tried to give Deks some water. It was just adorable. I felt loved by that little boy 🙂 He loved Dekker so much!

Anyway, back to today. I woke up after 10:00 and got Dekker out of his crib, fed him, and put him down to play on the floor. He really didn’t want to be alone and cried and cried when I put him down. He spun around and tried desperately to get back into my arms. So I hugged him and cuddled him and kissed him until he noticed all his toys nearby and wanted to play with them. He bowled over at one point, right into a wall. He sounded a little concerned, but didn’t panic or cry. He just lay there on his belly with his face pressed against the wall, waiting for me to come save him.

He played happily and loudly for about two solid hours until I noticed he smelled baaaaad! I went to take him for a diaper change and he just snuggled into my neck and rubbed his eyes. I put my freshly cleaned up boy to bed giggling (literally) and went to get myself some lunch. Leftover salad (with my home honey mustard dressing) and leftover honey chicken on rice. I’m sooo full!

I’m resting so comfortably, taking a load off, and doing a bit more planning for Dekker’s birthday party. Would you make burger and buns from scratch or just buy it all?

First and foremost, I want to apologize for my last post. I wrote it out first thing in the morning. It was very well thought out and thorough, and after I published it, it disappeared. I went back into the inner workings of  wordpress to find a draft or emergency retrieval somethingorother and found nothing. I had to rewrite the whole stupid thing and just published it without proofreading, wit, or thought. This was not my finest moment. After rereading it, I have learned that I will never do that again! Not so good. But thanks for not nitpicking.

On a completely different note, today was a wonderful day! I was up late into the night with the thunder but slept late into the morning which made up for it.  I got an email from my mom that she was going into the city and was available to run errands with me. I had asked her the night before and she wasn’t positive what her plans were for the day. But they worked out! We met at Costco and picked up diapers and formula, plus a few sleepers. They just got in a good haul of new sleepers, some of the fuzzy ones for winter, and (get this) winter coats. Insane. I know. From there we hit Circle Mall for a few things, and then to Preston Crossing for almost everything! Walmart, Old Navy, Michaels, and Old Navy. Success all around, minus picking up some more Munchkin spoons. My favorite part dancing with Dekker through Sobey’s singing the old “Audio Warehouse” theme song. He just threw his head back and belly laughed while I bounced him around to such a lame song. But he loved it! Meanwhile, I purchased 6 nectarines, 6 peaches, and 6 plums for less than $5. Only good until Thursday everyone!

I had such a nice day in the sun with my mom and my son. We had no deadlines, no reason to rush, we just moseyed. And loved it. Now to figure out what to do with what I think is heat rash on my little boy. Poor little dude.

Our meeting yesterday evening was a sigh of relief. Not a “yes” but not a “no” either. I’ll explain.

We had my parents and cousin over for supper and then a show, which was really nice. We hid out in my chilly basement and ate some pretty awesome honey chicken. I know, I shamelessly compliment myself, but its yummy, I’m not going to pretend its not.

After our show ended at 8:00, Brady and I got all spruced up and walked downtown to the town office for our chance to appeal our deck permit before the town council. We prayed while we walked, which sometimes feels like it doesn’t help all that much to be honest, but it did. We went into the office and sat on a hard wooden bench, and waited for our turn. It felt like we were waiting for a principal of sorts. But we weren’t. Thankfully.

Here’s how I pictured our meeting going. I thought there would be a long table with the town council on one side, with us standing on the other side by ourselves, presenting our “case.” Like court. I thought they would argue with us, not in an angry way, but questions us a lot. I was scared of it, because we really didn’t have tons of information.

We were called into the meeting after waiting for about ten minutes. There were about seven or eight people seated around a round table, with two extra chairs for us. They al introduced themselves and we introduced ourselves, even the new town administrator. She has pink hair. So I felt like maybe they wouldn’t be too quick to judge us. After the welcome had died down the head guy said “So you wanted to talk to us about something.” I’m pretty sure they knew why we were there but they gave us the opportunity to go from the beginning, which I liked.

I started off by saying that we applied for a deck permit it May and received it a few weeks later, stipulating that we require 12′ piled. No response from the table. I hesitated a little and said “We thought that was kind of unreasonable…” and everyone around the table totally agreed! Out loud!!! It was a lot more relaxed from there on out. We passed around some letters we’ve gotten from builders saying that our inspector was asking something quite ridiculous of us. I couldn’t get too much back up from other RM inspectors because no one wanted to tangle with other small towns, but luckily the builders letters and emails seemed to be enough. I mentioned that I called the concrete guy in a nearby town to get a price on the piles and he didn’t even have a drill that deep! They all laughed. They started making jokes about drilling wells and drilling for things and making money and who knows what. But they were completely on our side. I finally just said that the piles would cost more than the deck itself and it just doesn’t seem fair. They were completely on board 😀 Apparently the building code has changed in the last year but we weren’t sure how much and had researched as best as we could. Then, our of the blue, the head guy says “I’ll make some calls on your behalf, because this is very unreasonable. I can’t promise anything, but I really want to help you.” I was so floored. It wasn’t just a yes or a no. They really DID want to help! I thought they’d just say no if we didn’t have enough info, but they completely sided with us. I felt feeling totally relieved. We walked home the long way and regrouped. I’ve needed to regroup for a while. Even though I’m still here, not somewhere hot, or just somewhere else in general, this helped.

So now we wait. I don’t know what or when the answer will be, but I know the town is on our side. I know they weren’t annoyed by us, or didn’t view us as trouble makers. Maybe they will view the town inspector as one, but not us!

I feel lighter today.

So today will start great. I slept pretty well, Dekker is waking up, just chatting a little on and off, and I don’t have tons to do. Tidy up a bit, make a few phone calls, and think about putting supper in the crock pot in the afternoon. I will make my honey chicken recipe. Its the one foolproof recipe I’ve found that I’m comfortable serving to company. My cousin is coming over for supper and the evening to watch the Bachelorette, and I’m not even nervous to make it for her! Not long ago, I would be panicking about having to serve a meal to a guest, but this one recipe calms my nerves. And its super yummy! Because I don’t know how to make a link where you can click “here” and it will send you to the website with the recipe, just go to this website ok? http://www.chef-in-training.com/2012/04/crock-pot-honey-sesame-chicken/

It is whats after supper that is a little scary today. We are trying to rebuild our deck and it seems thats not such an easy task anymore! No, I dont mean the actual labor part of it. I mean the stinking inspector! Brady and I were trying to be thorough, so we called the town office and asked if we needed a permit and they said they would check with the inspector that our RM uses. He said yes, we didn’t even really think about it, we paid $200, and the permit was emailed to us, should be the ok to start building right? Wrong. Unbelievably wrong. The guy is demanding that we pour 12′ piles into the ground, 12″ across. Unbelievable!!! We thought maybe it was a mistake so we called him back to talk to him about it and he was a little stink pot (right mom?) and would only say “Its a structure, it needs a foundation” over and over again. We have been researching our butts off since that day, and this evening we will present our “case” in front of our town council so appeal this stinking permit and either get rid of it altogether, get them to change it, or learn that we need to find a way around it. Which we have already. We can build the deck completely detached from our house, and then and only then does it not require huge piles. For those who don’t know, piles that depth would cost more than the deck itself. Plus, with all the rain we’ve had, we would definitely hit water, which makes it take way longer, we would require much more equipment, and would just be waaay too expensive. The town office has asked us to gather information from other RM inspectors on the way that they would do it. Expect no small town RM wants to tangle with another. Literally, no one will help us. So we will go into tonight with a couple letters and emails from builders saying that this inspector is a little off his rocker. Because we don’t have what they asked for, I feel very ill-prepared, and a little sick to my stomach. To me, its clear our inspector is being unreasonable. Shouldn’t that be enough? Because its obvious! Everywhere else (from what I’ve found) required piles for a deck that is a) six feet up, b) has walls, or c) has a roof. We are looking to rebuild the exact deck we had  before, which is about 40″ up with no outer anything. Just a deck.

No matter what happens, we’ll have a deck. It may have to built separate from the house and at this point I dont even care. This has just been held up too long. We’re going to get our answer and order the stupid deck the next day. I don’t know how the whole thing will work now. Will they agree or disagree with us on the spot? Will we have to wait several days for a decision? I hope not! We bought our house knowing we had a weak deck to rebuild, and that it completely fine. But the first summer we had just moved in, second summer it was still sitonable, third we had Dekker and no time for anything else (except tearing it down) and now I just want one!!!!!

I have a lot of calls to make to put all our info together and get every fact in place. Prayers and thoughts would really be appreciated! I hope I can tell you our answer by tomorrow.

This will be a bit of a grab bag post I think. If you read the one I wrote at stupid o’clock this morning, you’ll understand that I’m running at about half power here, so don’t expect quick wit or creative segues. Deal? Deal.

So I realized that my previous post was my 10th! So that alone counts as a milestone right? Plus, this is post 11, and 11 is my favorite number so this post is something to celebrate too! Yay eleven!!! To show my appreciation for eleven, I will share with you eleven random observations, facts, or thoughts. Ready?

1. I caught up with a friend from about eight years ago today on Facebook. She remembers doing hip hop with me in the middle of the night at camp. Clearly, my wicked dancing skills left an impression.

2. When Brady gives me a back rub before bed, he uses this nice massage bar thing from Lush instead of yucky oil or lotion, and when he rubs it on my back, I always picture it being a mini zamboni. I know I mentioned this in a previous post, but since I mentioned it to him, he drives that thing so meticulously! It turns corners correctly, covers the whole rink, and even drives off in the same spot 🙂 Who says you lose your imagination as you grow up?!

3. Coffee makes you poop. At least, coffee makes me poop. I won’t probably elaborate on that one.

4. Since I worked in an office, I can’t type my name right the first time. Haiely. Ridiculous.

5. When I’m driving, I car dance, and sing into my iPod. Yup, just like little girls do with their hairbrushes. My way is just cooler because it has the cord and everything. The only person who I let witness this is Dekker, because he is not quick to judge.

6. My son sleeps 16-18 hours per day, on average. I bring that up here because I can. Its my blog.

7. On that note, I HATE the word “blog.” I think I’ll change it to something else. Suggestions are welcomed! Brady suggested “memoirs” but that sounds too formal. Does the newspaper that they wrap fish in have a special name?

8. I know almost nothing about my delivery experience with Dekker. I don’t know how long I labored, how many stitches I got, or even who caught my baby. I really wish I did, it bothers me more than it should I think.

9. DId you ever notice that once you graduate, you expect time to stand still for everyone except for you? I was looking through pictures of the high school graduates this year and found my “care buddy” from elementary school. You’d have to be from Dalmeny to understand this fully, but I was in grade six and hung out with this particular kindergartener once in a while. And she just graduated. I feel old all of a sudden. I will be 24 at the end of the month. Mid-twenties?!?!

10. Fingers. Toes. Commandments. Lords a Leaping. Digits in a phone number. Years in a decade. 

11. I watched “Kids Say the Darndest Things” once. Its a show hosted by Bill Cosby, where he basically just has three cute kids up on stage and just talks to them and they say silly things. He was talking about math on this particular episode, and he told one of the kids that his favorite number was eleven. He said it was because eleven multiplied by anything was just that number twice. So he asks the kid what 1 x 11 was and the kid answered “Eleven.” True. Then Bill asks “Whats 2 x 11?” The kid confidently answers “Twelve.” Awesome. I love eleven. 

Thank you Bill Cosby for putting a bright light into my day!

Sleepless night #3. This is starting to get really frustrating. The stupid part is that tonight, I was genuinely tired! But as soon as the light went off, I knew I had to sleep, and since it hasn’t been working well for me recently, anxiety built almost immediately and now here I am, on my couch, in my living room, wrapped in my green blanket, wondering how long this crappy battery in my laptop will live before it shuts itself off without warning and I try sleep again. 

I definitely need to get out of here. I’m finding myself a little jealous of those around me. It seems everyone is going on a trip, and we are not. I’ve looked up trips to the dominican, or just somewhere hot in general, but its the wrong time of year. Plus none of us have valid passports so thats out. I’ve thought Banff since Brady would love the snowboarding, but again, wrong time of year. Plus I’d be stuck in a room with Dekker all day, which would be ok but not a super vacay. I know we could just find a cabin at Waskesiu but we’ve probably left that too long and Deks is too young for tenting. My top option at the moment is just going to BC, finding a hotel near the beach, and tanning for a few days. I don’t need beautiful greenery or nature. I’ll take the city, complete with pollution and road noise! But again, too far to drive just for a beach, and flights wouldn’t be worth it. I’m feeling a little stuck out here and I’m not sure where to go.I just need to regroup. Any ideas would be welcomed. Also sleep, i welcome you too.

I don’t know what has happened to me. When I was a teenager I was a terrible sleeper. Then I got married and slept so much better having someone nearby. Then I had Dekker and started sleeping awesome just with the extra energy used throughout the day. But for some reason, I am not sleeping well these days. And I try everything! I’ll have a snack, or just some milk. We’ll watch Netflix, or Brady will even read to me. I sometimes even go as far to take a gravol in hopes that it will make me drowsy. But I almost always get a back rub. We use these nice massage bars from Lush instead of oil or lotion. My favorite part of the back massage is when the little bar drives around my back like a zamboni. I mentioned it to Brady yesterday without even thinking, and I guess I had never mentioned it to him before! But its what I think of every single time . It was funny 🙂 (Side note: spell check doesn’t recognize “Zamboni!”)

So last night nothing worked! I decided to let Brady sleep and to just got play on the computer in the living room. I”m so lucky I didn’t have to 🙂 I know lots of couples go to bed at separate times, but we never do. It feels sooo strange to fall asleep alone for both of us! So instead of sulking in the living room, we got up and went downstairs to play Super Mario Brothers! It was so fun, even though I’m sooo bad at that game. A half hour later, we had demolished a world, and decided to try sleeping again. And it worked! It was successful and fun. While I hope to be able to sleep better in the future, the occasional midnight date wouldn’t hurt either. I felt 18 again.

So different, but the same 🙂