Love is Fickle

As you already know...last week, a wood slave lizard took up residence in our shower. After the initial shock wore off, he was allowed to stay. We got used to him and he got used to us. He would roam the shower with free will, but as soon as you turned on the tap, even slightly, he would run to take up his position by the back wall, either behind a shampoo bottle or clinging for dear life to a sponge. And there he would stay until the shower was vacated.

We began to think of him as a pet that we could actually handle..in fact, I began to fall in love. I couldnt understand why nobody from his family had come looking for him. Then, I expressed concern to Heather that I was beginning to believe that he might have a slight mental problem...why would he choose to stay in the shower when it was obvious that he could have left at anytime?? And although there was plenty of liquids, there was no food! He was a smart little guy, so what was it? Heather suggested that I get him some therapy and I was actually considering it! lol

Then Sunday night Randy told me that when he went upstairs, he saw a lizard just leaving the bedroom. When Mr. Lizard saw Randy, he turned tail and ran under the bed. Was it our pet? A quick check of the shower confirmed it. The guy had used us and after making me open my heart to him...boom..he just left without even saying goodbye! That is the last time I fall in love with a lizard! lol From now on it is back to the old style...point that hot water shower at them until they slide down the drain and out of my life! I can deal with a little cold water at the end of the shower, better than I can with a cad of a lizard! :-)

Sharing A Shower

Please note: There is a mantle of shame in the Barless family which is being called "a weak link." Basically it is bestowed when someone tells a piece of information, from past or present, to someone else, that was not supposed to be shared. Sometimes you arent even informed that the piece of information was not for sharing .....and sometimes you are.

When I was young but after my sister Sue came along, I used to have to have a bath with her. Then I got a little older and I was allowed to have a bath alone but in the cold water after Sue, Al & Cath had theirs (together!). Home movies exist to back this up!! :-) I would like to say that my parents were environmentally aware long before it was in vogue, but... Ok...I hear you, Al! ..... no, it was because my father was of Scottish descent and if a penny could be saved, it was. lol

When I was even older I was twice romanced into the idea of sharing a shower and discovered that it was much like when I was younger. I was usually the one left standing out of the water, cold and none too happy, so I swore off sharing a shower a long, long time ago. But today I decided to give the practice another chance.

Like other parts of my life, I have a fairly strict routine in the shower. Wet the hair, add shampoo, lather up the right leg, shave the right side of my body from feet to underarm (skipping the middle part! lol), rinse, add conditioner, repeat the process on the left side and rinse. So, I was standing in the shower and had just put the shampoo in.. lathered the right side, lifted my leg to start the shaving process, when I noticed that I had been joined in the shower. My initial reaction, albeit selfish, was to say NOOOOO! There is precious little warm water as it is and I definitely wasn't into sharing it!

The shampoo was dripping perilously close to my eyes and with the hot water soon to run out, I didn't have a lot of time to consider my options. Then I realized something....hey, unlike every other time of my life, I was the one standing under the nice warm water and he was the one out in the cold! In fact, it seemed that he was as staying as far away from me as possible. The power was on my side! So, I relented and I shared my shower. But don't expect it to become a habit and I have to warn him...there is somebody else in this house that might not be so accomodating.....forewarned is to be forearmed! lol

Happy Birthday Katie!

With all this talk about birth and babies I totally forgot until I was reminded this morning that this is my baby sister's birthday. Honestly..I took the calendar home and I never know the date! :-(

Me telling Calleigh that they have just reminded me that it is your birthday!

I have the most amazing sisters that anybody could ever have and I love them and appreciate them more than they will ever know so to forget Cath's birthday is pure negligence. She makes me a better person, keeps me in touch with the rest of our family and is one of my very best friends.
So Happy Birthday little sis! Have a great day because you deserve it!!! Love ya!

and Happy Easter to everyone else!

Sugar and Spice

A different day, a different time, a different country on the other side of an ocean, a different hospital, a different delivery and a different sex, but the feeling of becoming a grandmother again 20 days later is equally thrilling, equally amazing and equally emotional.

Unlike Kirsty and Lee's adventure, Scott and Heather knew that if the baby didnt come on her own before March 19th...that was to be THE DAY. Heather checked into J.N. France hospital at 9 on Tuesday night to have an induction starting at 4 a.m. Wednesday morning.
I cant really comment on labour via induction because I have never been through one but stories abound that because the medicine speeds up the entire process, the pain is more intense. These stories, added to the fact that there are no epidurals in St. Kitts had Heather sleepless and worried for days in advance but there was no turning back now.
When Randy and I headed to the hospital around 10 am, I thought that we were going to be in for a long day, but we were met with the news that she was already 4 centimeters and moving along.


Still hanging in....but man, this hurts!






Nobody is prepared for childbirth the first time around.... it is truly a journey into the unknown but Heather was a trouper. There was contractions every couple of minutes and she breathed through them just like she was supposed to, although I heard that Scott got an earful about putting her in this situation and it seems from her language that Heather must have been a sailor in her past life..LOL! ...Except for a headache...he didnt seem to bothered about any of it. I wonder why???? lol
About 11.30 am, Heather was sweating and they didnt have any disposable barf "hats" in St. Kitts to fan her with. I tried the back rubbing and putting a wet towel on her neck and not even the snack bar had a cube ice, so I decided that we should go and get some. At the same time I could pick up some lunch for Scott and Jason (Scott's first cousin, who is in the hospital because he hit a monkey while riding his bike on the same night that Heather was admitted. The monkey ran off, but Jason has 4 broken ribs and a collapsed lung). We divided the tasks..I went to the restaurant to get the lunch and the ice while Randy went to the grocery store to get the Tylenol and some Gatorade. We were back to the hospital by 12.15 and after dropping Jay's lunch to him, I marched back to Heather with the ice and a mission in mind.

Except, where were Scott and Heather??? Whaaaaatttt??? She had already been taken to the delivery room??? This is not the way it is with a first baby...I had just seen this take place 20 days ago and I had seen it 34 years ago.....and first babies are supposed to take longer! The nurse informed us that she was 8 centimeters dilated and the Dr. was with her. I called Heather's house to give them an update and I got her Dad...I told him what I knew...which was in fact, almost nothing, but I felt that since they couldnt be here, some sort of connection was definitely in order....I know that I would want to be on the phone for the entire time! lol I cant tell you how happy I am that Calleigh waited until I got back from England!

I had hardly put down the phone when a nurse came to me and asked me for the clothes for the baby. Nooooo!!! I had recently learned that I didnt know anything about clothes or blankets for that matter...I didnt want this job! lol I wanted to be the designated baby holder! :-) But a grandmother has to do what she is told and so I went in search of Calleigh's very first outfit. Before I got out of the room which was less than 20 feet from where we were sitting, Randy came and told me that she had been born. Whattttttt??? Holyyyyyy! The next thing I knew, Scott was out of the delivery room looking glassy eyed, totally dazed with a grin a mile wide...in other words..that first time father look! The same as a first time mother..but without the grin! lol He was there to get clothes for Heather. This was unfolding waaayyy tooo fast for me. It was like Noah's arrival but on fast forward!!

About 5 minutes later the nurse came along pushing a bassinette containing one battle scared baby girl and at that moment:

CALLEIGH SAHELY CHRISTINA
8 lbs. 14 oz. 23 in. long
Born 19 March 2008 at 1.15 pm
J.N. France Hospital, St. Kitts.

came into our lives. I immediately got back on the phone to let Heather's parents know that their first grandchild had arrived. Bob and I (no not that BoB! lol) had a small cry together while Zed zipped off the first pictures on his Blackberry. Calleigh's pic was in the US, Canada and England before her mother was finished being "repaired" to quote Kirsty..... Got to love modern communications. Noah and Calleigh are going to grow up in a world that we couldnt even have imagined when we were young. Ok...I really am turning into my father! lol

Heather arrived back to room looking no worse for the wear and "tear"! Sorry girl, had to put that in...lol... and with her inner Jessica Simpson intact...."Wow! That was a different experience" or something of that nature. Of course we all howled at her. In typical Astaphan fashion, the
proud Daddy was starving after the ordeal and dove into the now cold lunch while Mommy ate ice cream.
Calleigh had to stay the nursery for a while they observed her and so we decided to leave and leave the new parents rest.

Can anybody be any luckier than I am?? I less than a one month period of time, I had been given a tall, dark, handsome, melt in your arms grandson and a tall, blonde, cream puff with attitude grand daughter. I know that having babies and raising them doesnt come without hard work but being a Noah's Kadie and Calleigh's Grandma is going to be pure joy for me!
Having said that, credit must be given where it is due and as we were leaving...Scott said it best..."After seeing what I saw today, Kirsten and Heather are CHAMPIONS!" And oh yes they are!!! Thank you!!!

Whose???????

Ok...what do we think this tastes like???? LOL!!! (See below)

Ying and Yang

Tonight is a big night and I am on a deadline of 7.45 to get this written....so as Lainey says "forgive pretty please?"

If you ask parents, the thing they want most for their adult children, is to marry someone who loves them well and that they return that love equally well. I am so very lucky that all my children have amazing spouses....spouses that are perfect for them...which is the only thing that really matters and I truly love each and everyone of them like they are my own. We have all sainted Stacy and have marvelled at Lee's love and patience but tonight is about Heather.

Tonight Heather and Scott are beginning a new life...one that Kirsty and Lee can so identify with...because my baby boy is going to be a daddy!! They are absolutely petrified at the proposition.. both for different reasons but I can also tell you that they are going to be fine because they make a perfect pair.

Heather will come through the delivery with flying colours because she is Heather. She has strength and commitment and most importantly, she has the ability to keep her eye on the end goal and that end goal is something that she has been planning for since she was a little girl. Heather is a "natural mother." If you could see how she mothers her cats..you will know instantly! She is loving, patient, caring and diligent. What she doesnt know...she willingly learns. She may be terrified at the moment but that is because she is about to go through something that she has no idea about...the everybody is different theme....but I have the utmost faith in her abilities to handle it like the trouper that she is. Most of all, Heather seems to be her calmest when her "Scotty" is at her side.
The last time in 2008 that you will see Heather with this bump!

The deadline has long passed and I didnt get this done for Heather on time. I apologise but it will give you something to do with all of your spare time, when you get home! lol

Heather and I are as opposite as night and day but we have a great relationship...whether she knows it or not! lol I straight out insult her...she laughs....She hands out backhanded insults...I laugh. But underneath those insults, I love Heather because there is nobody in the world that loves my child more than she does and nobody in the world could possibly do it better. They are ying and yang. And when one needs propping up or encouragement or a reminder of reality..the other one is there to provide it. I see it everyday.

Like Noah before her, Calleigh is going to be a lucky little baby...she will have parents that are fun, loving and most importantly they both have great hearts and those hearts fit together like a glove.

Noah knows!

I was booked on an Air Canada flight that was supposed to be leaving at 3.35 p.m. I asked Kirsten what time we were supposed to be leaving the house to get to the airport on time and she told me about 11.15 Well by the time we got Noah bathed and ready it was already about 11.30 Then I took him downstairs to get his coat on while Kirsty did whatever it is she is always doing at the last moment! :-)

As I was putting on the coat, a whiff of Noah's bottom told me that it was time that I changed my first diaper for Noah...no..it is not that I dont do diapers, but his Mother doesnt seem to trust my skills at putting the new style "nappies" on correctly! lol Anyway...after getting Noah's diaper changed and his new coat put on, Kirsten decided that we should have a 3 generation picture taken. As Lee was talking the multitude of pictures...you have to take lots of pictures of the same pose...so you can get the one without the Barless chins!....Noah decided to let us know that he had dirtied another diaper!

Off with the coat again...off with the diaper....just getting him cleaned up when...ooops...we were too quick to change the diaper..he wasnt finished! By this time we were all howling with laughter, which was a good thing to take away goodbye tears. Finally the change pad was hosed off, Noah was cleaned up..the diaper bagged replenished...the coat was put back on and we were on the road. It was close to 12.30. Inside I was worried...I had already missed one flight on this journey and didnt want to miss another.

By the time we reached the airport, it was close to 1.30 and I told Kirsty and Lee not to bother coming in because by the time I got through Heathrow security and then to the gate...the right gate, I hoped...it would almost be time to board. I had the bright idea to throw my coat into my suitcase because I thought that I would have to run the 5 miles to the A/C gate. I walked into the check out area and to the A/C desk and the agent says...where are you going? Toronto On which flight? The 3.30 It is delayed until 7.45. What???? Noooooooo!!!

Now I am sitting in the best people watching airport in the world with no camera to take pictures for this blog, no coat, and nobody to talk to. I should of listened harder...Noah was definitely trying to tell us something!

If you wait long enough....

For years and years and years I have worn white canvas running shoes or what have come to be known as " KB's, little white running shoes" to my sisters. They were light on the feet, went with everything and made my size 8's look smaller. When everybody was into their Nikes or whatever brand name was in that year...I didnt have to make a decision...my heart stayed true. Oh, they use to laugh at me, although I think I have at least a few pictures of Cath wearing the same shoes...ok, ok...it was 15 years ago...but still! lol

Long ago, I bought them at Bargain Harold's for $1.99 until that store closed down and BiWay became the go to store. My love for these shoes outlasted BiWay too and Walmart was the only store in town. They overcharged though...I had to pay about $5.99! The soles wore out before the tops did and usually at the beginning of the next summer, last years pair would become garden shoes. I was occasionally unfaithful to the tried and true cheap little shoe. I tried a slip-on pair...they looked the same but they gave me blisters. I passed them on to sister Sue and they gave her blisters too. Next stop..Ajax dump. Back to my first love I went.

2 summers ago, I was in Winners and spotted a pair made by Keds. They were fantastic...light, comfortable...just perfect. I loved those shoes. Then..last fall I went to New York with my aunt. She was complaining about her feet hurting and in a moment of weakness, I offered her my beloved shoes. She took my offer! I didnt really think anything of it at the time because I thought that I could easily replace them with another pair. You have no idea about the pain I felt the next time I went to her house and saw my shoes. She had disposed of the laces and cut a piece out of the top that was hurting her toe!!! I knew that even if I got them back in her will, they wouldnt be the same.

I went to Winners, all the shoe stores I could think of. I went to Walmart and heck, I even went to Payless. Nothing...notta....zip. Waaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh! One day I was crying to Cathy about the said state of affairs...to her credit, she was diplomatic about it and it was I that finally said, "they have totally gone out of style, havent they?" She gently said..."yes, they have." I was crushed but I bravely accepted the fact, although I knew that I would never love another pair as much. I finally let some little sales boy talk me into a leather alternative. Sort of like a European sports model. They are not offensive and they are comfortable but I just cant look down without feeling some pain.

Then I came to the fashion capital of the world (with apologies to Paris!) and while we were still waiting for "BoB" to arrive we went to the mall. Oh my goodness, I thought I had died and gone to heaven! There were "little white shoes" everywhere! They are not out of style...they are fashion forward! Ok..I had to pay way more than the $1.99 I used to pay and I had to pay it in GBP...but can you really pay too much for high fashion? My first loves are back in my heart and on my feet, right where they belong!
















So this summer I will be sporting the latest in shoe fashion. Eat your heart out girls!!

What a Wonderful World it would be

I'm in love! You cant watch a baby being born and live with him for 11 days and not.....it is impossible. Especially when you arent the one that is getting up with him in the middle of the night! lol But this one is particularly special. And yes I know that in a couple of weeks from now, I will probably be saying the same thing about another little one...but right now.. today..I live in Noah land.

And Noah land is fun! We have played with him, dressed him up like a doll, like Rocky because he is always swinging his fists and laughed at his expense when Kadie couldnt resist the bunny ears at the supermarket. But it is an innocent laughter and one he will laugh at too someday.






































Although he owns one...even I wasnt cruel enough to dress him in the Toronto Maple Leaf outfit, so, great Uncle Al beat great Uncle Dave in the race to make Noah a supporter of a certain football (soccer) team and of course we had to dress him up in the outfit to prove his new loyalty. That's Newcastle for the uninitiated!

The local midwives may have made me feel like I had never been around a baby before, chastising me twice in a 15 minute visit but Noah and I understood our respective roles right from the beginning. He took one look at me and new that there was hardly any restaurant, never mind food! lol. Kadie was here for one purpose and one purpose only...to love him. And so thats what we did. We hugged and we cuddled and I became a master at putting him to sleep...even when his Mommy didnt want him to. Noah loves to have his back rubbed... something I hate doing in the real world :-)! and we spent lots of hours doing that too. The payback was so simple and so subtle but at the same time, it made my heart melt... first...a look of recognition when I spoke to him and then .....a smile.

Noah land is the way the world should be. There are no wars, no heartbreak, no politics, no deception or lying...there is just love. I didnt sleep very well last night and today is a very sad day. The tears are constantly at the surface. I dont want to leave the safety of Noah land and go back to the real world...it is too harsh...it hurts. Everybody should have a chance to live in Noah land as a Kadie.. it has truly been an amazing experience and I long for the next installment!

The only thing that I can think of that could possibly make me tear myself from my big boy is the knowledge that I get to go and live in Calleigh World! Bring her on...I have stories about your cousin and heart full of love to share with you Calleigh!

Dear Great Aunties

You kept asking my Kadie if my feet are as big as they were in the scan. I didnt see the scan but of course the answer is easy...everything about me is big! :-)

My hands are big, my fingers are long, my body is tall
and my voice is loud...just ask my Mommy and Daddy!

I am only 2 days old and I am already running a household! So to answer your question...YES...my feet are very big!