... or should I say first couple of hours...


A while ago I wrote a post about the looming end of my year of maternity leave - "...and it's time to say goodbye...".



Well today was Meaghan's first official day of daycare and it went off without a hitch. I didn't even get the chance to cry. (It sure helps that she's with the same woman that Layla was with her first year of daycare, that Layla is just in the next classroom, that it's a great daycare centre and that know and trust the people who work there...)




Meaghan is in a small group and is the only girl. She is also the youngest, but only by a few months. And with her baby blues and strawberry blond "lu-lu's" (french for pigtails) she was a real hit with all those boys!


I don't go back to work for another few weeks so we're doing a slow integration - letting her get used to the new surroundings, hoping that she'll nap in the same room as 4 other napping children, hoping that she loves it all!


Today was a really short first day. With the time change from this past weekend, we all slept in a little this morning. Add that to the fact that I didn't get anything together or sign any of the papers until today - what? it was a busy weekend!?!?! - And add that to the fact that now I'm packing bags for both girls... we didn't actually arrive at the daycare until about 9:30 a.m. and since I was planning on picking them up before lunch, Meaghan was barely there for 2 hours.


Tomorrow I think we'll add lunch to the mix. If I'm paying for daycare I might as well have them fed before I pick them up :-)

9:15 a.m.

I’m sitting in the waiting room at LASIK MD Brossard. After years of toying with the idea of seeing clearly without glasses or contacts it looks like I’m actually about to go through with it. My nerves are on high alert. You wouldn’t know that I managed to get through 2 child birth experiences. The laser surgery is supposed to take less than 10 minutes. When you ask around, so many people have opted to have this procedure done...

9:45 a.m.

I just went in to see the “counsellor” (a.k.a the lady who takes all your money away AND provides you with a relaxant if your nerves are shot... like mine). Apparently the optometrist marked on my eye exam that it was HIGHLY recommended that I have the more advanced procedure (ie. the mores expensive one). It wasn’t the impression that I got from her during my consultation – at all – so I was a little flustered at first. I still (sigh) opted to pay the extra fee because if I’m going to do it, I want it to be done right. At least the more advanced procedure includes a lifetime guarantee AND a 20/20 vision guarantee. With the standard one I was going to be paying extra for 5 year guarantee. Sigh (again). I’ve also now had a few minutes since I took the relaxant – a little pill that I let melt under my tongue. I think I feel more relaxed but I suppose we’ll only really know when I’m actually lying on the table and having my eyes sliced open (for lack of a better term...)... OOF (that’s just a louder and more uncertain this is a good idea “sigh” in case you were wondering)...

So I’m sitting in the waiting room. I’m thinking that this isn’t a big deal. Dozens of people have the procedure done in this clinic on a daily basis. When I came for my consult a couple of days ago I probably saw close to 20 people come out of the room with the “LASER” sign on the door. Their eyes were a little teary and a little red, but all things considered, they looked just fine.

I’m still nervous. Though a little less... I actually feel pretty calm right now. Hoping it lasts.

It’s Friday morning so where are the girls? As any parent knows, it’s not always easy to get a few moments away when you have 2 little ones. Personally I booked the procedure as quickly as possible for day that I knew my MIL wouldn’t be working – despite the fact that my SIL is in town with her 3 kids – and crossed my fingers that it would work out. I should have asked first but I figured that I could call and re-schedule if it didn’t work out. It took a little juggling and I know I disrupted some plans that were already in the works, but I think we found an arrangement that worked for everyone. I think. I hope.

What about me? At the moment I’m sitting here all alone (and have a chance to write out some of my thoughts for AOK) but my super sweet friend Aimée offered to help me out. She should be here just before I go into surgery, to sit with me afterwards, and to bring me home. She has 2 small ones too, but she re-arranged her day and asked her MIL to watch them while she helped me out. Good friends like that are hard to come by these days. I’m very lucky to have found her.

Once the procedure is done, I’m not supposed to watch tv, go on the computer or read for the rest of the day and evening. Maybe I’ll get Aimée to help me finish up this post and get it online... it would be very timely to post it the day of the procedure.

Here’s hoping I don’t pass out on the table...

11:00 a.m.

So here we are, back in the waiting room. ("we" meaning ’Aimée and myself, she arrived a couple minutes after they put the numbing drops in my eyes... just in time to hold my hand through the pre-op anxiety and the actual procedure). My vision is really blurry right now.

I'm rockin’ my Jack Nicholson look with sunglasses on, awaiting instructions on eye drops and other such important things. The procedure went SO - MUCH - BETTER than I expected; maybe it was the relaxing medication I received before hand, maybe it was the hand of Aimée, which I latched onto as they fried my eyes, one after the other...

The weirdest part is not having your eyelids taped open or even the actual laser itself, it’s seeing the little flap of your cornea being lifted up. I actually commented out loud - "well that's strange!". Without getting to philosophical on you, it was like the literal window to my soul being opened. But weirder than that, it brought me to the realization that the true window to my soul is somewhere much deeper than my eyes. Why? Because I was watching something happen on my eye... I don't know how else to explain it.

Beforehand I was the most nervous about the fact that I wasn't going to be able to close my eyes and pretend I was somewhere else (while they sliced and fried my eyes). What I didn’t realize was that the incision happens when there is this vacuum contraption putting pressure on your eye. The pressure on the optic nerve makes you black out and so you don’t see anything anyway. AMAZING.

2:00 p.m.

So... although I felt great coming out of surgery (surely the relaxant and numbing drops did what they were supposed to do) the last hour or so has been a little more uncomfortable. My eyes are burning and I'd just like to be able to keep them shut a little longer (Note: I am actually writing this part the next day because I wasn't allowed to look at a computer screen in the 24 hours following the surgery). Thank goodness Aimée offered to stick around until Brandon arrives home. Now she's even agreed to stay for dinner - lamburgers - that I'm sure she'll end up making. Did I say thank you yet? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

4:00 p.m.

I feel pretty good. My vision is clearing up. I can see... without my glasses. So bizarre. I think I've now passed through the most uncomfortable part of the procedure - it just feels like I've been wearing contacts for too long.

7:45 p.m

Aimée and the family have gone home, the girls are in bed, Brandon has some things to take care of for the pets... I can't watch tv, I can't read, I can't go on the computer... I guess it's bedtime for me too.

Let me just put on my super wicked hot LASIK sunglasses... (yes I have to wear them to bed to make sure I don't rub my eyes) and climb into bed...

Did I mention that I can see?

Without my glasses?

Awesome!

A.

Check it out!

Meaghan's nursery is featured today over at Spearmint Baby.

A few notes about the nursery...
1. This is the second nursery of it's kind. The color scheme and decore is very similar to what we set up for Layla at our old home.
2. Whoever says you can't have a blue room for a girl is mistaken (in my humble opinion - after all there IS blue on the walls in both Layla and Meaghan's rooms).
3. The bedding was hand-made with love by "yours truly" (a.k.a Andrea) after my search through local stores left me uninspired. For material - I cut up a queen-sized duvet cover that I found at IKEA (a design that they don't carry anymore unfortunately).
4. Since the pictures were taken, we've added a nice/soft cream rug and book shelf under the 4 picture frames.

Here are some pictures from BOTH nurseries.

LAYLA'S NURSERY

The shelf unit didn't make it into Meaghan's nursery. It's now in the playroom instead...

Our condo design had this little nook... perfect for her crib.

My "IKEA" re-vamped baby bedding!

I found these at IKEA too...


MEAGHAN'S NURSERY

If you've seen any of my status updates on twitter or facebook over the last couple of weeks, you know that I have been following the story of a little girl named Layla Grace, who up until this morning was fighting stage 4 neuroblastoma.

This afternoon I found out that sweet little Layla Grace "went to play with the angels" early this morning. When you say it that way, it almost makes your smile. Almost. There is still something fundamentally wrong about a child dying of cancer. It isn't right.

Although I don't know Layla Grace or the Marsh family, although I will probably never meet them, I (like so many others) am profoundly touched by their story. I look at my girls differently. I look at life differently.

I'm not alone. All it takes is a quick look at the comments on http://www.laylagrace.org/, on her facebook group or twitter and it's obvious that in her short life, Layla Grace has had an impact. She had touched many lives. She has brought many people closer to their families and closer to God. And her story is raising awareness of neuroblastoma and raising funds for important research.

But now what? I want to do more than sit here and tell a few people about a little girl who fought cancer, about a story that brought me to my knees, about a family who lost their baby. I want to do more than send my condolences to the family via twitter or facebook or e-mail. I feel too much. I am too touched by her story. There has to be more I can do. Something more personal.

...Maybe I can find a way to raise money for research? ...Maybe I can find a way to support families who are going through similar situations? ...Maybe... Maybe I should start by finding out what's already being done and go from there.

I don't know... I just feel like if I can be inspired to DO something positive because of Layla Grace's story... that it will somehow "mean something".

That somehow... somehow her story isn't quite over.

A.

For an introduction to the A.O.K "trial Gourmet series - click here.

2 weeks ago, it was "March Break". I don't know why, but having Brandon home for the week threw me off a little. It's probably why I am only getting around to finishing up this post (from 2 weeks ago) now. Well it was probably more than that. March break, basement renovations, laser eye surgery... if you know what I mean!?!?

The following is a recipe for a simplified beef wellington from Jamie Oliver's "Cooking Revolution".

It was okay... but there's more on that below the recipe :-)


Ingredients (serves 4-6)
1 medium onion
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
2 clovers garlic
2 portobello mushrooms
olive oil
4 sprigs rosemary
a big handful of frozen peas
1 large egg
1 lb good quality ground beef
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
all-purpose flour
2 sheets puff pastry, defrosted in frozen

(I. PREPARE YOUR GROUND BEEF MIXTURE)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Peel and chop onion, celery, carrot, and potato into 1/4-inch-sized-dice.
Finely grate the garlic.
Clean and roughly chop the mushrooms so they're about the same size as your other veggies.
Place all the vegetables into a large frying pan over medium-low heat with 2 "lugs" of olive oil.

Pick rosemary leaves off the woody stalks, finely chop them and add them to the pan.

Fry and stir for about 8 minutes or until the vegetables soften and colour lightly.

Add the frozen pees and cook for another minute.



Put the vegetable mixture into a large bowl and let cool completely.

Crack the egg into a cup and beat it up.

Add the ground beef to the bowl with a good pinch of salt and pepper and half the beaten egg.

With clean hands, scrunch and mix up well.

(II. ROLL AND FILL YOUR PASTRY)

Lightly dust your clean work surface and rolling pin with flour.
Lay the puff pastry sheets one on top of the other.
Roll out the puff pastry so it is roughly 12 x 16 inches.
(Dust with flour as you go)
Turn pastry so you have a long edge in front of you.
Place the ground beef mixture along this edge.
Mould the beef into an even, long sausage shape.

Brush the edges of the pastry with some of the beaten egg.
Roll the ground beef up in the pastry until it's covered completely.
Squeeze ends together.
Dust a large cookie pan with flour and place your Wellington on top.
Brush all over with the rest of the beaten egg.


Bake in preheated oven for an hour (until golden).

(III. THE RESULT)

I had high hopes for this recipe and it didn't quite meet my expectations. Mostly because of the the puff pastry (maybe it was the particular brand I used... maybe I should try making my own next time?) The pastry was okay, though not as crispy as I would have like and more importantly it didn't keep nicely for leftovers. On the up side the beef mixture with the rosemary and garlic combination was incredibly tasty (I actually think rosemary and garlic is now one of my favorite flavour combinations).

That being said, it is one of the few "trial "Gourmet recipes that Brandon expressed any desire for me to make again. Some of his other favorites have been the pumpkin spice cake (which I've made a few times since), rosemary leg of lamb, strawberry cheesecake trifle, and lamb kefta in rojan josh sauce. The next recipe I will feature in this series is the most surprisingly yummy addition to my regular rotation of dinners - Cranberry and Maple Sausage Chili - seriously yummy and extremely simple. Coming soon...

A.