Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Liar, Liar

1. What is the last "white" lie that you told? The last time Prince Charmings family called to ask to speak to him and he wasn't up for the day yet. I lied and said that he had been up and was laying down for a nap.

2. Can you forgive a liar? It depends on what they lied about and how often they do it. It depends on whether I can trust them as a rule or not.

3. Do you tend to exaggerate or underestimate? underestimate most of the time. I hate to look like I am exaggerating or bragging.

4. Do you hold a grudge? Nope. It is near impossible for me to hold on to anger long enough to hold a grudge. It feels like work to me and it just stresses me out. I would rather just let things go and move on.

5. What's the biggest lie you've ever told? I hardly ever lie. I guess I used to lie to my parents about my attendance at church. Now I am honest and tell them I don't go. (which they hate by the way)

6. Are there times that you feel that it is okay to lie? Not really. I guess it is okay when you are lying to spare someone's feelings and there is nothing to be gained in telling the truth. Even then, I would rather lie by omission. I am really not a fan of lying.

7. Did you ever end a relationship because of lies? No.

8. Do you think you can tell when someone is lying to you? I can usually tell when someone is lying to me. Sometimes I let it go, but I can usually tell.

9. Have you been caught lying? No, I used to confess to things when I was a kid.

Saturday Photohunt -- thankful

Theme: Thankful Become a Photo Hunter Tag: PhotoHunt

The theme this week is Thankful. I immediately thought of how grateful I am that I have two beautiful girls to love. But then I got to thinking about Princess Belle and her birthday party. I am so grateful that to the friends that showed up to make her feel special. And how she was so grateful for the presents that she got.

Finally her birthday Party!

After being stormed out last month, we were finally able to get an opening to have Princess Belle's birthday party. We had 10 kids invited, but it was on a Friday evening, so a lot of kids couldn't make it. But Five kids were there and included her bestest friends ever, so she had a great time. I made a gluten free cake for her and they provided a cake for the rest of the kids. The kids thought her cake looked so good that some of them had a piece of hers too. LOL She had a great time. The kids loved the loot bags that they were given and were playing with them on their way out the door. The play room was super hot so the kids kept coming out with bright red faces and sweaty hair, but they would drink some water and run right back in. It was a great time and I am glad with the number of people there, I was able to talk to the parents and have a good time myself without stressing out.

My camera batteries went dead so I only got a few pics but we had a video camera with us too, so we got footage of her opening all her presents. She was thrilled with her big gift from us, a BARBIE DREAM HOUSE! All the girls there looked at it and promptly asked their moms for one too. It was too cute.

Okay I admit it

Okay I admit it, I took today off. I didn't do any of the one hundred and thirty one things I had planned to do. Instead, I sat on the couch drinking decaf coffee nursing a headache that just wouldn't quit. So, while my dear blog friends may have stopped here looking for amusement, or something of interest to read, they found a wasteland of old posts with nothing new to enjoy.

I have been preoccupied lately. I have been thinking about Princess Magpie who is currently working on her sixth tooth and giving mommy a hard time. I am thinking about Princess Belle and how she is changing every day. I am thinking about how hard it is to walk the line between low carb to lose weight and gluten and dairy free to feel healthy. I am thinking about how much I wish it was Spring already as I am so done with snow. I am thinking about the fact that we have been trying to conceive again since Princess Magpie was born and how she is seven months old now and I hope it doesn't take five years this time as I am 37 years old now.

And in the midst of all that crap swirling around in my head, you would think a little would slip out here onto the blog for you to enjoy. But nope, I haven't been that good. So from the foggy brain of Twisted Cinderella, you will have to settle for a little wave, "Hi!" and a hope for better things to come.

Princess Belle's awards

In the last couple of days Princess Belle has gotten two awards from school for her improvements!! I am so proud of her and of her progress and it makes me glad I made the decision to try a gluten free dairy free diet on her to see if she had improvements (like I did).

Here are copies of her awards (I took out both hers and her teachers names)

February 25, 2009
February 23, 2009

Wordless Wednesday -- Princess Magpie

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Improvements

Well, I can definitely see a difference in Princess Belle since changing her diet. It doesn't make her the perfect child, but I don't expect a perfect child, I would just like to see her have more patience, attention span and a better ability to concentrate on her work.

And, yesterday she came home with a certificate for doing well during silent reading. Today when we did her homework, she was really good. She didn't wiggle and squirm. She didn't lose patience. She worked hard and got her work done.

I have noticed as well that she seems to care more about what happens in school. The teacher has had troubles getting her to get ready to leave to go home. She is slow. She has always been slow. The teacher has called me about it lots of times. This is the first time she came home upset because the teacher said she was going to call me about her needing to hurry up getting ready.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

1. I DID NOT just realize today that Princess Magpie turned seven months old yesterday! I am a completely devoted mommy who never forgets any important dates and is always ready camera in hand for every important moment of my children's lives. It doesn't matter that I spent all weekend dealing with teething misery, I still absolutely remembered that she turned an entire seven months yesterday and did a seven month photoshoot. I did not forget. Nope, not me!!
   
   
2. I DID NOT cancel my newspaper subscription because I am usually doing too many other things to bother to read until it is days late. I am an grownup human being who needs to be involved in her community and is aware of all the news in the world around her. I did not cancel my paper, nope, not me!!
   


3. I DID NOT forget to send out a calendar I had made for the new year as a Christmas Present. I put a lot of hours into that calendar and I would never get too busy to send it to the people that I love. Nope, Not me!!


4. I DID NOT waste valuable time last week trying to figure out how gluten got into Princess Belle's diet after seeing her reaction to it. I am hyper-vigilant all the time and gluten never sneaks by me. Nope, Not me!!
   


5. I DID NOT take a perfectly yummy vegetarian gravy and make it un-vegetarian by adding beef to it. And I was not so excited by the gluten free/dairy free results that I saved it to make beef and broccoli one day. Nope, Not me!!


6. I DID NOT pin the award that Princess Belle got in school today on the fridge taking it as sign that the gluten free diet is helping with her ADHD. I am fully aware that she could have gotten this on her own. I do not need validations that I am doing the right thing. Nope, Not me!!


7. I DID NOT notice that my followers on the my diet blog had gone down by two followers and get paranoid over it. I am perfectly aware that now that my diet has changed to gluten and dairy free maybe I don't provide what these people need anymore. I know it isn't personal. I am not a paranoid crazy person who needs your Internet love and attention. Nope, Not me!!



8. I DID NOT secretly rejoice whenever I notice that my followers have gone up or that I have gotten lots of comments. I really am not a paranoid crazy person who needs your Internet love and attention. I am not an attention whore. Nope, Not me!!



9. I DID NOT keep my big girl, Princess Belle, home from the after school program up the hill because I was scared of her walking in the snowy weather. If the after school program is still going ahead and they think it is safe, I would never second guess them. Nope, Not me!!


10. I DID NOT secretly wish that Princess Magpie had gone for an early nap so that I could crawl back into my nice warm bed with Prince Charming. I am a good housewife and mommy who was waiting for that time to do numerous loads of laundry and make my house clean. I do not spend some days longing for a nice warm bed. And I don't have a load of laundry sitting in the dryer waiting to be folded at this very moment. Nope, Not me!!

Teeth

Princess Magpie is getting her 5th and 6th teeth at the moment and these ones seem to be coming a bit harder than the last 4. She cries when the spoon touches her gums. She cries when anyone touches her mouth. She hasn't been sleeping as well. Poor little baby is just a wreck. I hope she is better soon, because if she isnt' we will both be sitting on the floor crying.

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Letting the Sparks Fly

1. Where would you go if you wanted to spark your creativity? I wander around the internet usually. It helps me to see other creative things and then I am sparked with ideas too.

2. What would be one thing that would embarrass you a great deal? Being caught singing in public
3. What values did your parents instill in you? To be honest, kind, hardworking and outgoing.

4. What’s a fad of your teen years that you remember well? tight jeans, neon clothing, big hair and big earings.

5. What is your favorite breakfast? anything that starts with a nice hot coffee or a nice hot chai tea latte.

6. What is the best birthday gift that you have received? I have no idea, to be honest.
7. What gadget could you not live without? My television remote control or depending how big something is before you consider it a gadget, my hand mixer.

8. Do you collect anything? antique books, movies, and earings.

9. What website (non-blog) do you regularly visit? my parenting groups and hotmail.

Spin Cycle: CHANGE

This week the topic is all about CHANGE. I had to think about this one for a while. There are so many changes to choose from, Princess Belle's new hair cut, Princess Belle's new gluten free way of eating, my gluten and dairy free way of eating, other bigger changes in my life . . . etc. But in the end I decided on something that I have been thinking about lately, how I have changed as a mom.

When I take the time to stop and think, I realize that I am a much better mother now to Princess Magpie than I was to Princess Belle when she was little. I can remember lots of mistakes that I made then that I would never make now. Some I am embarressed about. But now that I am older, more confident, more experienced, and more appreciative, I do things differently.

I would never get in any car (taxi or otherwise) anywhere (small town or not) without having my baby properly constrained in the right car seat. I always have lots of supplies around so that I am not caught unawares of something we need. I am more patient, and less stressed. I appreciate her so much more.

Every single time I pick up Princess Magpie, I put her little cheek to mine, wrap my arms around her and just breath in her sweetness. Every time. When she cries, I don't worry, I don't stress, it will be okay. I take care of things the best way I can and that is enough. I don't allow myself to get depressed and let depression swallow me up whole leaving nothing left for my family.

I am a different mother to her than I was to Princess Belle. Sometimes I feel guilty about that (I am a mom, I can even feel guilty about being a better mom now). I feel bad that Princess Belle didn't have this new and improved mommy back then. But then I console myself with the fact that she gets this new and improved mommy now. I have more patience with her now. I enjoy her more now too. I am interested in what goes on in her head and I listen to her more. She was too young back then to know how I failed her and thank god we made it through so that I can do better now.

I wasted so much time back then stessed, worrying, depressed, wishing for what I didn't have. I have learned over the years how precious the things I am lucky enough to have are. I take time to relish the feeling of Princess Belle's hand in mine, her kiss on my cheek before she goes to bed. I take the time to wrap my hands around a nice hot chai latte made with chai tea and rice milk and breath in the wonderful smell, sip it in small doses and feel it warming my soul, instead of gulping down as many hot coffees as I can in a day without stopping to really taste what I am drinking. I am taking time to be healthier, to help my family be healthier, to enjoy my life, to teach my daughter to enjoy her life too.

It is amazing to me how much I have changed in the seven years since my oldest Princess was born. I wonder how much I will change for my next baby whenever he or she shall choose to bless us with an appearance.

Mom thoughts.

As a mom, I second guess myself all the time. I make the decisions I feel are right and stand back and hold my breath hoping I did the right thing. As a child I thought parents knew everything. I was sure that when my mom and dad made a decision it was because as a parent you know exactly the right thing to do every time.

Putting Princess Belle on a gluten and dairy free diet to try to make her be a healthier girl and to combat her ADHD symptoms was one decision that I had a hard time with. I didn't want to withhold things from her for no reason. I didn't want her to feel deprived. I wanted reassurance that it would turn out okay for her. And as I reflect on what I am doing to help her, I remember things that my parents did to help my sister who grew up battling ADHD. I remember the sugar free diet and the coffee in the morning and the medication and suddenly it all makes sense. I can understand that they didn't know any more than I do. They were doing exactly what I am doing, whatever I can to make things easier for my sweet sweet girl.

And surprisingly, it is going better than I had thought. Princess Belle doesn't mind when I tell her that she can't eat that particular snack because I have to give her a special one. She likes soy milk and her special cereal. She likes the quick flax bread that I make for us in the microwave. She is so flexible and understanding, I could just squish her.

And last night, I got another clue that this was good for her. The bags under her eyes are starting to go away. I was looking at her after she came down the stairs telling me how she was looking out her window to wish on a star and the wall had banged her on the head. As I looked at her with tear stained eyes looking up at me late at night, I realized that the bags were almost gone. After all these years of bags under eyes. I was exhultant! It felt like a declaration that I was doing the right thing. She is getting better and she has only been eating this way for a few days. Suddenly the road ahead got easier.

I have tried to go back through my pictures to illustrate what I mean. It is hard to show because I don't tend to keep pics where the bags under her eyes are obvious, but here are a couple of pics I think you might be able to see what I mean.

Wordless Wednesday -- My Princesses

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Princess Belle's new cut

Well, I did everything I could to make Princess Belle feel pretty and feminine for school. I could tell as she was on her way out the door, she was feeling nervous over what the kids would say, but we discussed how she and I had the same cut and I didn't look like a boy and how she looked like the pictures of the pretty ladies I showed her on the computer and how she is just too pretty to ever look like a boy, and how I thought that the new haircut made her neck look lovely and long and how it made her eyes look beautiful. I think she felt better when she left. I took pics of her to let her know I thought she was super pretty today.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

1. I DID NOT give Princess Belle a pixie cut so that I wouldn't have to fight with her in the mornings about brushing it. Nope, not me!!
   


2. I DID NOT insist to the hairdresser that yes I wanted it over her ears especially when she asked me if I was sure more than three times! I am fully aware that my beautiful girl has elf ears and I wouldn't do that to her no matter how cute I think she looks with those big ears and those big eyes with the luxurious eye lashes. Nope, not me!!
   


3. I DID NOT delete a rude comment about Prince Charming not wearing a shirt in my pic. I am fully aware that Prince Charming likes to come home and take off his shirt and relax with his girls and I the same way his father and my father did and I know that this is a free country and you can say what you like. I do not feel that this is my blog and if you are going to be rude and say things hiding behind your anonymity I have the right to delete it. Nope, Not me!!
   


4. I DID NOT roll my eyes when I was eating a fast food place when the idiot teenager fine young lady behind the counter didn't have enough brain cells to figure out had difficulties understanding that I wanted a burger with no bun, no sauce and no cheese (gluten and dairy free) and had to ask me SEVEN times what I wanted and had to ring it in three times, when apparently there was a button for that on the register. Nope, Not me!!


5. I DID NOT contemplate never going out to eat again since it is way more complicated now but then decide I was proud of me for being brave enough to go over and over and over it with her until she got it right. Nope, Not me!!


6. I DID NOT look through our pics taken lately and realize that I have taken way more pics of Princess Magpie than Princess Belle. I absolutely did not feel guilty about that and proceed to take pics of Princess Belle consoling myself with the fact that the reason I have so many more of Princess Magpie is that I am doing a photo shoot every month on her birthday for her first year and most of the time I am taking pics, Princess Belle is at school. I am a confident mommy who shares everything absolutely evenly between her children and never does anything to feel guilty about. Nope, Not me!!


7. I DID NOT take pics of Princess Belle after she woke up with messy hair with the Pixie cut she didn't get and decided to cuddle daddy before I even got a nice pic of her new hair cut. I wouldn't do that. I would first document her adorable new 'do. Nope, Not me!!
   
   
7. I DID NOT walk hand in hand with Princess Belle swinging our arms as we strode through the store showing off our new Pixie cuts and discussing how we are now the short hair family. I did not tell her that if anyone tells her she looks like a boy this time they are crazy and she can say that she doesn't, she looks like me. And I am not secretly scared that someone will say something to make her feel bad. Nope, Not me!!
   
   BEFORE:
   

AFTER:

Dancing with Daddy

It was a moment caught unawares, Prince Charming was dancing with Princess Maggie and suddenly I was there, camera in hand, intruding on their moment. I couldn't help it. They were just so sweet and loving and I had to capture it for us to enjoy in the future when she is going full tilt and no amount of reprimands will slow her down. I had to capture a few minutes of slow dancing in the living room with daddy, just Prince Charming, Princess Magpie and a whole lot of love.

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Be My Valentine

1. Do you have Valentine’s Day plans? I think we are having takeout and exchanging valentines

2. Do you buy a Valentine’s Day gift for someone special? Sometimes for my family.

3. What, so far, was the happiest event of your life? The birth of my daughters, finding out I was pregnant, and getting married. (I am terrible at picking just one anything.)

4. What is the best job that you ever have had? Even though I have had more prestigious office manager jobs, I enjoyed working as a dispatch at Irving Oil the best.

5. What would be your fantasy job? I am doing my fantasy job, being a SAHM. I truly love this. The only that would make it better would be getting paid for it.

6. What would you think would be the worst job? Anything dirty, grungy, and sweaty.

7. What foreign countries have you visited? The United States.

8. What foreign country would be your fantasy trip? Scotland, Australia, and England. (See I really can't pick just one of anything!)

9. Since leaving your home growing up, how many places have you lived? Hmmmm . . . I know I have lived in over 40 since I was born. I have to figure out how many since leaving home. Let me count . . . (Midland with roommate, Midland in apartment, Corner Brook for work, Deer Lake, Corner Brook for college, Sydney, Halifax apt 1, St. John's, Halifax in apt 2, Halifax in crappy apt 3 after hurricane destroyed apt 2, Halifax in house, Gander, Jefferies, St. John's.) So if I haven't missed anywhere I have lived in 14 places in the 19 years since I left home.

I am a horrible mommy!

OH no! I just realized I am a horrible mother. I forgot to send her valentines in with her. My poor girl will be the only girl with no Valentines to share and she will be sad and it will be all my fault. I want to sit on the floor and cry. My poor girl!

UPDATE: I am so relieved! I was able to call a taxi company and get them delivered to the school for her over her lunch break. I can take a deep breath now, it will be okay.

Conversations in the glass castle

Here is a conversation that I had last night with Princess Belle. I have to say, it made me so happy! (and it made me laugh)

Princess Belle: Mommy did your belly get smaller?

Me: What do you mean?

Princess Belle: Well, before you looked like you still had a baby in your belly, but you don't anymore. Now you just look like Mommy.

Me: (in my head I am dancing a little jig and yelling woohoo at the top of my lungs) Well I probably did lose some weight in my belly.

Princess Belle: okay (runs off to play)

Me: What is her allowance? I need to double it.

Prince Charming: Mommy, she doesn't get an allowance. Double nothing is still nothing.

Me: Its a deal!

Prince Charming: Mommy that is not very nice (laughing)

Thursday Thirteen #79

Thirteen Things Twisted Cinderella has NOT done no matter what my kids and dog might tell you. LOL I absolutely DID NOT wake up with a headache this morning, get terrible gluten cravings, and being alone in the house with the baby (who can tell no one) go into the snack cupboard and pull out not one but three gluten-filled snacks and pig out. Not Me! After not eating such snacks, I absolutely DID NOT put the packages in the garbage in hopes that no one would see my moment of weakness. And after not hiding the evidence, I did not sit there paying the digestive price, thinking to myself, that was so worth it. Sitting here in the living room, typing this out, I DID NOT decide that maybe it would be better not to have temptation in our house when I am sick. The other Night, when Princess Belle was being stubborn about eating her supper, I DID NOT lose patience and actually argue with my 7 year old daughter about eating that last tiny little bit of chicken. I am a picture of patience all the time and never lose it with my daughter when she doesn't deserve it. After getting a call from the school yet again about Princess Belle's lack of concentration and her moody behavior, I absolutely DID NOT become frustrated with the wait for her ADHD testing and decide to take matters into my own hand and decide to try to adjust her diet to help her. When putting Princess Maggie to bed, and hearing her fuss I absolutely DID NOT set a timer for five minutes so that I could comfort myself saying, "it is only for five minutes and then you can go get her" so that she would learn to calm herself. When she cried, I absolutely DID NOT sit there and cry too. I DID NOT talk to the dog and baby and explain to them that mommy needs more than a few hours in a row. I am fully aware that they can't talk. I am a rational human being who can survive on as little sleep as possible and still be bright eyed and chipper in the morning. I absolutely DID NOT tell Princess Belle that I was tired of fighting over combing her hair in the morning and that I was getting it cut. I am the picture of Mary Poppins patience and can sing her a spoonful of sugar to make it easier to comb her long beautiful hair. After NOT telling her I was going to cut her hair, I DID NOT bribe her by telling her I would get the same cut so that if anyone said she looked like a boy, she could say she looked like me instead. I DID NOT sit in my living room in a headache-filled haze, look at the dog hair in the corners of my living room and think, "Screw it, I can't face it today." and then ignore it as it yelled at me all day about what a bad housekeeper I am. I am NOT delusional and my house DOES NOT judge me about much worse a housekeeper I am than my mother was and how she would be appalled at the state of my house on my best day. I absolutely DO NOT feel that I should be sweeping my floor three times a day every day. I absolutely DO NOT feel guilty that my bed doesn't get made every day and that Prince Belle's room is a permanent state of disaster.

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Wordless Wednesday -- Princess Belle

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Big Victories in a Little World

Princess Magpie is continuing on her quest to take over her little world. She is changing every day. Last night, while we were watching television, she was on the floor in front of us. We realized she seemed to be repeating something over and over and looking at us. She was very clearly looking at us and saying, "Baba, Baba, Baba" We stopped and looked at her, wondering to ourselves if she was just practicing her sounds or if she was trying to tell us something. I stood up and looked at her and she repeated just once to me, "Baba!" Just to test our theory, I walked into the kitchen and fetched a bottle and held it out at her. She looked at the bottle, smiled at me and repeated victoriously, "Baba!" I picked her up and she began to drink furiously. So my babies first word is baba (bottle). Too funny. It makes sense, she is a voracious eater and seeing as how her belly is the most important thing in her world as far as I can tell, I can see how her first word would have to do with that. She will work on Mama and Dada later. LOL

This morning she was laying on the floor and she flipped over on to her belly. I watched her, waiting for her to do as she usually does which is work really hard to flip back over, get frustrated and then cry. But as I watched, I realized she wasn't giving up. She worked and worked. Then she would lay her head down and rest before lifting it back up to try again. And lo and behold she flipped herself back over. When she did her little face was filled with joy and pride. She was so excited with herself for doing it. I, of course, took pictures of the whole thing.