The Learneds has me single again

A few hours ago, John left to attend his big conference of the year: The Learneds. It is held at a different Canadian university every year. It is the meeting of all the different learned societies - geography, philosophy, English, history, etc. It's a time for John to show off his historical "stuff" and also to meet up with his colleagues from across the country.

You may remember that last year I was left home alone with Emily for the week. This year it is times two. Last year, I was tired, pregnant and Emily had recently started her new daycare with Dawn. This year, I'm tired, mother of two, and saddled with a toddler who has decided again to show me her prowess in demonstrating all of Satan's most beloved characteristics.

I have a draft post on the go entitled "Portrait of a Toddler." I started it a few days ago when I was feeling downright overwhelmed with the joy of being Emily's mother. She has been, to put it mildly, perfect the last week. When asking for anything she says "may I please have..." or "may I use....". She always says thank you, she tells me how much she loved her dinner, she showers me with hugs, she spontaneously plays games with Hope, she has the funniest and sweetest inflections in her language that I just want to listen to her talk all day, she plays on her own with such gusto and imagination that it makes me wish I was two again so I could populate that world with her.

And then today happened. The draft post remains in draft form and just might for a while.

Several time outs, shouting and screaming (not just from her), peeing in pants (just her), a lot of crying. In short, a normal day for a two and a half year old.

I really was enjoying the break from toddler reality. Although during said break, the reality of babyhood hit when my perfect sleeper, Hope, decided that it was time to catch up to all the normal babies out there and stop sleeping and start crying instead. I mean, really? Why sleep when you can just cry and get hugs and perhaps some boob all night long?

To offset John's absence, I've planned a getaway for us girls. We're packing up on Tuesday after Emily's preschool group and heading to Kitchener to visit my good friends, Tamara and Greg and then on to John's sister's house in Cambridge on Friday, then to St. Catharines to John's mom's house on Friday night. I'll pick John up at the airport in Toronto on Saturday afternoon and we'll head back to his mom's and stay there for a few days so that I can visit my aunt and uncle and plant some nice things at my mom's plot at the cemetery, too. Whew, I'm a bit tired just typing it all out. It will be nice though and good to have some distraction from my responsibilities as sole care giver.

I promise to post throughout the time away with some updates of our goings on.

My big accomplishment of the past week, and what kept me from blogging much, was the vegetable garden. It is in! Cucumbers, tomatoes, squash (three kinds), rutabaga, rhubarb (in anticipation of next spring), and herbs. I hope it all works out and I don't have to water every day. Last summer I didn't water the gardens once. Ottawa just got the perfect amount of rain. This year, the gardens are already parched and it's only May. My spring blooms are almost done but I did take some great pictures of my beautiful crabapple to share with all of you. The scent filled the house when the breeze was just right.