Work life balance has been a big topic around Chez McDougall-Foster lately.

I gave Eric an ultimatium a few weeks ago: Either we find the money to put the girls in another day of daycare, or I get a laptop.  A laptop would extend my work time in the evenings, and allow me to at least stay on top of email on the one or two days a week Lucy and Alice are home with me.

The laptop won.

It’s been a blessing and a curse. More much-needed work getting done, but now I feel like I’m working all. the. time.

Don’t get me wrong for a second: I absolutely love working for myself. I love working from home. I love being close to my girls, and picking them up each day, and enjoying my time with them.

But it doesn’t mean I’m doing laundry and making dinner the three days they’re in daycare. So it’s just like I leave the house each day from 8:30-4:30, except some days I don’t shower and I interview people in my fuzzy pink pajamas.

There still exists the same pressure of when to buy groceries, getting food on the table at a reasonable time, keeping things relatively clean and tidy. Oh, and keeping a marriage going, volunteering and having a semblance of a social life.

I still look back and snort at our pre-kids life and ever thinking we were busy. Or tired.

How do you manage it all? Do you feel under control at the office and home? Do all parents walk around with a facade of togetherness?

Last week a few friends were exchanging one of those list, get-to-know-your-friends emails. One of the questions was, “What are you afraid of?”

Almost all of us answered something about our kids being kidnapped or dying.

______________

Lucy is away from me three days a week at daycare, generally from 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

She occasionally stays over night with family members.

I’ve yet to drop her off at a party or playgroup, although I sense that is coming — more from other parents as opposed to her wanting me to leave.

At just about four, I have very high-level conversations with her about safety. Not, like, road safety, or holding hands etc. But those dark safety topics.

Like strangers. And inappropriate touching.

__________

I can’t scare the poor thing. She has just come out of her shell the past six months, and the last thing I want to do is send her back in, traumatize her, or make her fearful of the world.

On the other hand, that education has to start somewhere at sometime, doesn’t it?

I try to bring it up nonchalantly, when it’s in context.

Like last night. Lucy has had three nights of dry pull-ups (!!!) and we were talking about the potty, peeing, how big girls wear underwear to bed, and baginas.

“But no one touches you there at school or anywhere else, right, Goosey?”

“Nope, Mumma. Juuuust me!” Then she skipped across the room to turn off her light.

*whew* Operation Scary Detail Soliciting a success.

We’ve talked a bit about only talking to people when Mumma or Daddy are with her. No matter who it is — friendly neighbours, family, daycare providers (except when AT daycare, of course). Gently. See: not scaring, above.

This weekend I want to teach her what 911 on the phone means, and when/how to use it.

_________

Thoughts? How do those with older kids — especially those in school — deal with this? How do you (or plan to) bring it up? Does 4 seem like an appropriate age to start all of this?

This afternoon I pre-registered my baby Lucy for junior kindergarten with a very nice woman with an English accent.

She will likely go Monday, Wednesday and every other Friday. Seeing as she already does three days a week of daycare, this will not be a huge transition for her. I will more than likely send her to daycare on the Tuesday and after school so I still get a full work day and work week.

(Even though Lucy suction cups herself to me upon pick up from daycare, she has informed me that when she goes to kindergarten, she will be a bigger girl and will no longer miss me. Or, only a little bit.)

There was much hoopla in the media, on my friends’ blogs and Facebook pages the past few days regarding the Province’s implementation of full-day kindergarten at select schools. See this list for public schools here, and Catholic schools here. Traditional introduction into the school system has been what Lucy will experience, and in the beginning, staggering kids in over several short days, as opposed to full days right off.

While five days seems like a bit much for a 3 or 4-year-old, the rather angry backlash has surprised me. I’m hoping y’all can enlighten me as to why some parents are so upset about this. I have friends on all sides of the spectrum: One is disappointed her son will not get the same amount of schooling as those kids in the full-day program, and will thus be behind his peers. Another is upset her daughter — having almost no formal daycare/large group programming/other kid exposure — will struggle to transition into full-day school. Another is thrilled that her daycare costs will come down and her daughter will not have to be shuffled around from school to daycare and more.

Thoughts? Whether your child is starting school this year or not?

We had such a great time at Disney on Ice: Princess Classics on Friday night. Lucy was a buzzing top all day, and counted down sleeps all week to the “Princesses on the ice show.” The performance really was magical, even for grownups. Lucy has actually only seen The Little Mermaid, and not even to the end — so we’d love to start getting her the original movies like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty (ya hear that, Santa?).

I do find these classic princess stories rather amusing. It’s pretty damn amazing how fast these ladies fall in love. Like, in minutes. Don’t you wish everything in life was so easy? And why are the men always the rescuers? We need to re-write these tales with some strong females, I think.

So many kids in the audience had these light-up, twirling prince/princess wands, and played them all. night. long. Eric said it was like saws were coming at his head…

Thanks Mom Central for the tickets! We (and I hope our contest winners) had a fabulous time.

Our little princess! She was so excited to wear her dress.

Lucy with Jen O.'s daughter Eirinn. Both girls were quite tickled they had matching Cinderella dresses on

Lucy's friend Pearl wore her Sleeping Beauty dress. Never have I seen so many ruffles in one place.

All the princesses and princes waving goodbye from the castle

This morning I left this in the park near my house:

At least, that’s what it felt like.

My first baby started a week of preschool camp today. While I’ve been leaving Lucy at a home daycare and various family babysitters for years, there was something different about dropping her off with a handful of teenage strangers and a fourth-year university student wearing Hawaiian pants. But we both need this week apart for a few hours each day.

Lucy was there from 9 a.m. to noon doing crafts (she was colouring flowers when I left), games and songs.  What I’ve gotten out of her so far, upon her return, is that she play, play, played, read a book about fish, went pee with two other little girls, and did not have time to finish her snack.

Also? “I don’t WAn’t to go HOme. I WAnt to stay here.” Did you miss Mumma and Alice and Spencer? “Nuh-oohhhhh. I want to stay heeeeere, Mumma.”

Her face and knees were covered in dirt.

I gather the day was a success.

I had Danielle, who snapped the fabulous photos of our girls, go outside of her normal repertoire and capture Eric and I for our 10 years together in February. We took these in the Boonies on a rather chilly Saturday afternoon in May.

It was a chance for us to remember that long before marriage and houses and babies, there was just us. And always will be.

Thanks, Danielle. Visit her at 40piggies Photography.

Today is Lucy’s last day at daycare for the summer.

Our wonderful home provider, Julia, closes down for the summer to spend the school vacation with her three boys (she’s a single mom). So far this has worked for us, with me working from home and getting help from our teenager Shelby and our parents. But we’ve had many conversations the past two years about how much longer we can handle the shut-down.

Certainly next summer — when I plan to be working three days a week — it will not be viable.

But we’re not thinking about that right now. We’re thinking about:

• a) it’s summer!
• b) ohdeargod, it’s summer!
• c) what am I going to do with two kids for nine weeks?
• d) how am I not going to go nutty with two kids?

We’ll be getting various breaks from each other at daycamp, the cottage and help from Shelby again and our parents. But people: There are a ton of loonnnng days ahead. And you can only craft away or hang out in the backyard so much.

So, let’s help each other out. What do you do all summer? Where do you go to play? Splash pad? Park? Trail? Best indoor place on a hot/rainy day? Festivals? Museums?

Leave a comment, and we can build up a fabulous local resource to refer to all summer.

As an added bonus, I’ve got a set of Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Keys to give away to one lucky commenter!

Here are my faves:

• Any and all local fairs (click here for a list of all the fairs in Ontario, including Durham Region)
• Libraries, early year’s centres (full list of Durham’s are on the site here!)
• Brooks Farms (tractor rides!), plus Cooper’s Goat & Veggie Farm, Uxbridge (corn sandbox and…goats!)
• Port Perry’s waterfront — soon to have a splash pad! And they have great restaurants, picnic area and park
• Picnics in the park (there’s something so…summer about doing this)
• Indoor malls on hot days to cool down
• Ditto indoor play centres (see our list here!)
• Kiddie pool in the backyard with friends
• All of Durham’s local festivals and celebrations can be found on the Tourism Durham website, and others — see the local events page

I’m so far behind on recording the little happenings in our life lately. Before they are forgotten forever in the vortex of summer and growing kids, a list (with pics, below):

• Three Dora & Diego window stickers & a beach ball now grace the glass and floor in Lucy’s room, because my girl has gone poop on the potty FOUR TIMES in a row! That’s right, no 3+-year-old poopy diapers in a week. We are so thrilled. And so is Lucy. She keeps asking if we’re calling everyone to tell them — and that “I’m so proud of myself!”
• If you’re wondering what worked, it was a combo of give and take: I bought some dollar store toys, and put them in a bucket in the bathroom so she could see them. When she went poop, so got a prize. If she went poop in her diaper, she had TV taken away for the rest of the day. We only had to take TV away three times before she realized we meant business. — and that television AND a toy was awesome.
• Speaking of poop, poor Alice is battling terrible constipation. A result, I think, of adding a second bottle of formula a day, Cheerios and crackers. She just hollers like the devil when she goes. We are taking out stock in prunes
• Speaking of butts, Alice can sit up on her own now. It’s so adorable when they can do that! A whole new world to learn about from that angle
• Also, her top two teeth are coming in. Anyone else hate teething? Yeesh.
• I have piles and piles of reviews to do and write (vitamins, food, play centres, pacifiers). I think the week I’m at the cottage with the girls will be review week.
• Our gardens look gorgeous right now. Must post pics.
• We saw the Sound of Music on Saturday (must see the movie still, as I don’t quite get what all the fuss is about…), and we were away from the girls from 9:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. During the performance, I had this pain in my arm that traveled from my elbow to shoulder, and was all freaked out telling Eric to watch in case I had a stroke. When we got home and Alice drained my milk-swollen right breast? Pain disappeared. WEIRD. Can one get milk backed up in their appendages?
• The other weekend was our local Duck Derby, and guess who was there? Bram from Sharon, Lois and Bram! Remember Skinnamarink-A-Dinky-Dink? ALL the parents in the audience were swaying and singing, blissful in reliving their childhoods, while our kids were looking around suspiciously. T’was hilarious.
• For Father’s Day, Lucy made personalized keepsake jars for Eric, her Papa and Grandpa. They were a hit, and she loved doing them.
• It’s stinkin’ hot out, and I LOVE IT. Been hanging tons of laundry, with Alice babbling away in her booster seat outside on the deck
• I lost three nose pins this weekend — two down the drain, and one in bed. Grr…
• Lucy and I did swimming lessons together for eight weeks. More on this later.
• Stroller Fit class continues to be great fun, and an even awesomer workout now that instructor Kelly has kicked it up: We walk faster, use benches, tip toe up hills. No weight loss, but this weekend I fit into pants I haven’t been able to in years!

And pics:

Seeing as you’re already here voting for your favourite siblings photo, care to say hello and enter a little contest?

Selfishly, it’s mostly for my benefit.

There are a ton of new visitors to the site, and even more who I know read but never comment (I am guilty of this on many of the sites I read, too). And then there are you friendly regulars (Doodle’s Mom, Jen O, Cathy, Sarah, Christy, 1001 petals, Nicole, Laura, my Dad…).

So I ask — pretty please — if you will leave a comment and say hi on Delurking Weekend. And — just for fun — what are your plans for the weekend?

One lucky person will receive a free haircut from Melonhead Children’s Hair Care in Whitby. And if we reach my goal of 100 comments, everyone will receive a special coupon from Once Upon a Child in Ajax.

UPDATE SUNDAY: Know what’s…odd? On Friday alone, there were 500 unique visitors — 700 total — yet there were only 45 comments by the end of the day. Isn’t that weird? I’m not complaining or trying to call people out at all. I’m just so curious why that is…

Thanks to everyone for saying hello so far! We’re a busy bunch, aren’t we?

UPDATE JUNE 23: Wow, we almost did it! Thanks everyone. It was so neat to hear from all of you.

The winner of the Melonhead gift certificate is Gemma! Now maybe her kiddies can get a real haircut. And I’m still going to email all of you the Once Upon a Child coupon, just because you’re awesome. Stay tuned to your email.

Archie Comics began decades before my sister’s books scattered across our house got me hooked around 23 years ago. Like Golden Girls, they are comfort food in written form. There is something so predictable and wholesome and safe about Archie and his band of friends from the fictitious Riverdale.

And the world’s most famous love triangle — between Archie, Betty and Veronica — has defined almost every issue.

Now the word is Archie is getting married. To the girl no one wants him to.

Yes, the snooty, cold, no-common-sense bitch Veronica is said to be the recipient of Archie’s eternal love. He proposes with Betty in the room wiping a tear off her cheek.

Really. Really.

If this is actually the case, you can bet a legion of fans are going to revolt. As blinded as Archie is by Veronica’s hotness, I just can’t believe he’d pick her over uber cute, sweet, earthy Betty.

I haven’t actively bought a new Archie book in years — aside from Eric stuffing my stocking with them, my sister giving them as gifts (then reading them herself, of course!) or buying used ones at garage sales — but I now have Sept. 8 circled on my calendar to see where this goes…

I’m proud to say Lucy is an Archie fan, too. She finds the books in the bathroom and my nightstand and office, and loves to sit down and make up stories about the pictures. Alice? Well, if chewing equates love, then she is head over heels.

(That is my collection, numbering in the hundreds. The colour arranging — which needs updating — was inspired by this.)

Thanks to my sister, Michele, and reader Kelly for having this in my inbox this morning