Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Boo-ya!!

Is it just me, or does Halloween seem like a bit of a non-event this year, just when I was getting into the thick of things? At work our company was just spun off from its parent, and the new name was unveiled with much pomp and cake on Monday. For as long as I've been here, there has always been a Halloween reception and costume competition in the cafeteria during the workday; this is the first year it hasn't happened. Maybe because of the cake'n'break yesterday, and reluctance on the part of management to coddle us too much.

Still, we have to keep it up for Liam's sake. Cindy did her part at daycare yesterday, with a day full of ring-around-the-ghostie, costumes and treat bags (which, yes, Chad and I pilfered last night). At home we did the pumpkin carving after dinner - my creation is the boring old jack that probably looks more like Liam's handiwork; Chad is the one who decided that Liam's name deserves to be in lights. I don't know how everyone manages to carve such masterpieces - the walls of our pumpkins were 3" thick and I resorted to stabbing out my face. Today, Liam will be taking it easy at Cindy's prior to tonight's festivities, when I will wrestle him into his frog costume one last time and throw on my own for its debut. We only have one stop planned on the trick-or-treat circuit, at a friend's who does a big display in her yard each year. Then we'll be home for the rest of the night to hand out.

Happy Halloween, everyone... the Christmas decor comes out on the weekend. :)

ETA: Now I hear the company party isn't happening because nobody on the executive was available to sponsor it, but that someone has already stepped up for next year's event. Don't they know I won't be here then???

Monday, October 30, 2006

A poll of sorts

Now that we're down to mere hours before hopefully finding out a bit more about #2, I'm curious... what does popular opinion say: a he or a she? Come out come out, lurkers, wherever you are...

Motor city mania

We spent the weekend in Detroit at the international marathon and half marathon. I haven't been to Detroit for a couple of years and couldn't get over the difference. Before we got there, I, Ms. Cheap, convinced Chad to use the valet parking so that our car would be squirreled away somewhere rather than left sitting in one of the sidestreet parking lots that look most unsavoury. But I really don't think I would have had to worry. The whole downtown area was cleaned up and revitalized for Superbowl last year - think beautiful landscaping, charming brick sidewalks, skating rinks and statuary - and now it looks like any other modern thriving city rather than a burned-out hovel. (I was, however, warned that I would know the instant I passed out of this 'renovation zone' - the difference would be like day and night. Luckily this didn't happen, so I can't report on it.)

We had a super fun weekend. After pouring rain and 50 mph winds on Saturday, the weather turned just in time for the race. Chad beat his goal time of 1:45, finishing in 1:44:44. (That's him crossing the finish line on the far right side of the Jumbotron.) Much to the chagrin of the whole city, but to my relief, the Motor City Kitties were knocked out of the world series the night before we got there; if we'd had to fight for border crossing privileges and dinner reservations with several thousand rabid baseball fans trying to make it to Game 6 before the opening pitch, it might not have been as much fun. (As it was, we had an awesome deep dish pizza at Pizza Papalis in Greektown - yum! - without waiting for a table.) Our hotel was great (and Liam loves staying in hotels) - and I picked up Liam's new bedding there - love it - no problem.

Back to the grind this week... this 5 day workweek is wearing thin...

Friday, October 27, 2006

For Cory

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ETA... I was referring to the OK Go video back in rotation... sorry for the confusion!

Diary of a hungry pregnant woman

With #2, as with Liam, I only had about 3 weeks during which I felt seriously putrid. Even so, we spent several months (at least 2 or 3) subsisting on little more than canned soup and grilled cheese sandwiches and the original Shake 'n' Bake chicken dinner. I had a thing against both meat and vegetables that lasted much longer than 3 weeks, which didn't make for some very interesting dinners. (In case it isn't already obvious... Chad does not enjoy cooking very much.)

Now that the first trimester is safely behind me and I am feeling much better, I have become an eating machine. Sometimes this isn't good (such as when Chad brings home the industrial-sized carton of bite-sized Halloween chocolate bars, and I can't stay out of them), but sometimes it is: several weeks ago I checked several Rachael Ray cookbooks out of the library, and since then I have been cooking my way through a new recipe in 365: No Repeats every night. I am late jumping on the Rachael Ray bandwagon, but now I am firmly there. She is not the healthiest cook in the world, so there are some recipes I am trying to resist, but there is enough material in this one book alone to keep us going for a long time. Last night we had chicken breasts stuffed with goat cheese and spinach, finished with a pan sauce of thyme, onions, red peppers and lemon. Tonight it was a southwest pasta that was basically homemade macaroni and cheese with lots of cheddar, chili powder, coriander, cumin and jalapenos to kick it up a notch. It's like going out to a restaurant every night. These are all half-hour recipes: very feasible to pull off, and Liam really enjoys watching them come together from a vantage point on the island.

Last night after Liam was in bed I went down to the library to try to renew the books (including several board books of his, especially one featuring a little boy wearing rubber boots that he just adores), when I discovered to my horror that someone has requested my beloved 365 and I will have to take it back next week after all. I don't plan to go down without a fight; I will be photocopying the bejeesus out of that book this week, and the next patron in line to get it shouldn't be surprised if it's a little late coming back.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Where's the justice?

Cindy signed her charges up for Mother Goose at the library a few weeks ago. It's a Thursday morning story-hour program that also includes circle time and crafts. Today being the Thursday before Halloween, the kids were invited to wear their costumes to Mother Goose, so I sent Liam's along with the bag that normally accompanies him to Cindy's (normally only packed with a sippy cup, diapers and emergency change of clothes). When I picked Liam up Wednesday night I wished Cindy luck in getting him into the costume on Thursday morning and down to the library with no tears.

Tonight when I picked him up, she reported back to me that he loved wearing the costume. Was wondering what was up with all the other kids wearing theirs. Wore his hood the entire time, even while colouring a paper spider and pasting googly eyes onto a foam craft pumpkin. I was sure she was confusing him with someone else. I hadn't even sent the feet along, since they're really not for wearing outdoors, and I couldn't imagine that he would bear wearing any part of it for that long except for those feet. Remember - the photo to the left is him about two minutes after I got him into the costume last weekend, when he finally wrestled the hood free.

Then I realized that it sort of figures. It seems that in a lot of ways Cindy gets to see the very best in him, and we get to see the worst. He is pleasant and social to her. I come to collect him at the end of the day, and he kicks and screams as I carry him to the car. She gets him when he is raring to go in the morning, we get him when he is fussy at 5 o' clock. All this when we're the ones who tend to him all night long, who fret when he's sick, who celebrate every milestone (and the clincher - that whole 23-hour labour thing (which is bound to come up here again someday soon under the title "Things I Hope Not To Repeat With #2")). I know this is all completely normal and it's supposed to be a good sign - that he trusts us enough to let his true feelings be known with us. But when your child screams bloody murder at the prospect of - gasp - spending time with you - let me tell you, it wears on you.

If there's any solace in this it's that he should be set to go when Cindy celebrates Halloween at her house on Monday. (She doesn't have the kids wear costumes to her house on Tuesday so that they are raring to go on Tuesday night, rather than completely wiped.) And hopefully, he won't mind wearing the costume again on Tuesday night with us, at least for a little while. Tomorrow Cindy is taking the kids to the cornfield maze, the same one we visited as a family a few weeks ago. Liam was only mildly cranky there with us, which was mostly our fault for pushing him on the nap issue - but I wouldn't be surprised if he turns on the charm for Cindy when they go back at the exact same time. It would figure.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Name drain

Last night I was reading Pink is the New Blog when I discovered that Britney Spears didn't name #2 Sutton Pierce after all - he's really a Jayden James. (Or J.J. to the family; after all, remember, she's country.) I was totally fascinated by this bit of news. Probably because, lately at our house, there has been a lot of baby name discussion going on.

This really is a new experience for us. With Liam, we knew we were having a boy, and we had picked out his name in a movie theatre years earlier. All that was required was a check-in to make sure we were both still on board circa 2005. There was a bit of back-and-forth on his middle name, but we both knew that we liked Harrison from the start, and no matter what other suggestions were lobbed out, we always went back to it. We never had a backup name in case he didn’t look like a Liam, and we never chose a girl’s name. The whole thing was really a non-event.

I still find boys' names to be easy. If we wind up having another boy, we think we have a name. It's been on the table for a long time, since before we found out #2 was on the way, and I don't see it changing over the next few months (...though of course I reserve the right to change my mind at any time up until that government paperwork is filled out!) If we have a girl though... which we all know I am expecting... then I am stumped. I still have a hard time seeing myself having a girl, so it feels weird to me to be considering girls' names. Girls' names are so girly. I know that's the point, but I can't get used to it. And, just to be difficult, I am also very much against androgynous names. You will not catch me naming my child Riley and having every person who sees their name in writing scratching their head and wondering if it's a boy or a girl. So the quest is on for a name that is girly enough, but not too girly - a very tall order.

Then there is the matter of syllables - another anal issue rearing its ugly head. I like names that have different numbers of syllables. Maybe it's because I grew up as a Carrie Ann Robinson (2-1-3). Liam's name worked out that way too, 2-3-1. There are three current frontrunners for girls' names. One is 3 syllables, one is 2, one is 1. I don't know if I like 1 with Cook, because then it's 1-x-1, but 95% of the time it would just be 1-1; let's face it, middle names are rarely used, except for when you are graduating or getting married (or getting into trouble). (To Chad, of course, 1-1 is perfect!) The middle name I like for 3 is actually 4; is 3-4-1 too much of a mouthful? Chad doesn't like 4 as much as I do, so maybe it won't end up mattering.

Our front-running first names are wildly different. We are not debating between Emma and Emily, for instance. I’m talking different letters, different origins, different everything. I want something middle of the road - not top 10 popular, and not something so unique that we make up ourselves. (Though I’m surprised by how many people haven’t heard of Liam before, given that it is something like #16 for boys in Canada, and all of the girls’ names we’re looking at are a lot more uncommon than that.) I say I like traditional names rather than modern, but a lot of traditional names are so overused now as to be boring. I want something that is simple and a little bit quirky at the same time, but something that won’t get my child singled out or picked on for being weird. Luckily, I think my idea of quirky is a lot less so than most parents’ these days, so whatever we pick I think will still be considered safe. Also, Chad and I have pretty similar opinions on what we do and do not like. It’s not so much that we are arguing about it as just having a hard time facing it together.

Middle names are another issue. We have 3 frontrunner first names and a list of maybe 10 more that are up for consideration, but none of them sound good together in any combination, so I am looking at middle names that I would never use as first names, just because they do sound good together. Which, when you think about it, is a pretty backwards way to do it. I am still waiting for inspiration to strike with a name that is just as beautiful as the first name we have chosen, that also sounds good when paired together.

Heck, I am still waiting for inspiration to strike with the first name, that a-ha! moment, the one when Chad says, What about... and I say It's perfect! - and the search ends there. I just don't know that that will happen. We have the big ultrasound next week, and I think we’re going to try to find out if it’s a boy or a girl, provided that all else seems well. If for no other reason, I think I need to find out the gender in order to eliminate 50% of the naming what-ifs. I find all of this totally exhausting.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Frump

Today I finally dug out some maternity pants to wear to work since my professional wardrobe is quickly becoming too tight. I don't know what's happened since the last time I wore them, but they fit terribly. They are about two inches too short for starters - how did that happen? I might not be as skinny as I was the first time I wore them, but I am pretty sure I have not gained any height. *sigh* They are also a glaring reminder that I need to find the dressy boots that I have been putting off buying for too long. The flat shoes I am wearing (which also don't coordinate all that well) make me feel like I have clown feet right now. I feel pretty ridiculous and am trying to spend most of the day hiding behind my desk. On our way through Windsor this weekend, I see a stop at Motherhood in the cards.

I made it to class last night despite having a ton of work to do to get ready for a presentation today... last night was class #6 and it was only my 3rd attendance. Not great, right? The class has about 30 students, and there were only 12 of us there last night. Evidently, I am not the only one prone to skipping, and I feel a lot less pressure to attend going forward now. In fact, I am already declaring next Monday to be Pumpkin Carving Night. I am not going anywhere!! (For what it's worth, I took my laptop to class and managed to make some progress on the presentation while a team of students did a presentation about the marketing of Harlequin romance novels. Multitasking at its finest.)

Another snap from the weekend is going to have to do for today and maybe for tomorrow too... I have book club tonight. I swear, if it's not one thing, it's another. Lucky for me the selection for this month is The Kite Runner - a book that I read last year, and was able to dig out to refresh myself on quickly. I LOVED this book so I am looking forward to tonight. The great thing about book club is that it's at a little cafe just 5 minutes away from us. We drink hot chocolate, talk for an hour, and that's it. It's low pressure and short and to the point... exactly what I need on days like today when I am feeling a little overextended.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Puddle jumping

Friday, October 20, 2006

The end of another era

On Monday I had to take Liam to the doctor’s office for his 18 month checkup, which is really just a kinder, gentler way of saying it was time for more shots. I remember my doctor telling me when Liam was a newborn that, by the time he hit 18 months, he would recognize her office as we pulled into the driveway – and not in a good way. He was actually fine pulling in, and fine entering the office. They have a kids’ corner with an assortment of cars and trucks and tractors, as well as a kiddie kitchen setup, which Liam likes playing with equally as much (Cindy has one as well); he loves dishing up a plate of plastic spaghetti and meatballs, and putting things into the oven. We were stuck waiting in the office for an hour and a half prior to our appointment, so thank goodness for the toys. (It’s great to have a family doctor who also delivers babies when it’s your baby she’s delivering; not so great when she’s been called over to the hospital to deliver someone else right when you had an office visit scheduled with her.) Liam was also fine in the play area, but once we finally got into an examination room, his suspicions were peaked as lights were shone in his eyes and ears and he got the old tongue-depressor-in-the-mouth routine (wood on your tongue – ick!) By the time we went back out to see the nurse and I was given the job of pinning him down, he knew exactly what he was in for. He was a little trooper though, didn’t cry at all with the first shot and only hollered during the second (one of those burning ones again) for as long as the needle was under his skin. The good news in all of this is that Liam’s vaccinations are now officially done until he starts school – no more marching him into the office every 3 months for more pokes. At least, that is how I was thinking of it, until the kindly nurse reminded me that in a few short months I’d be starting the process all over again with #2. Thank you, Ms. Glass Half Empty.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Is it just me, or has Lost jumped the shark?

I mean, how many my-family-doesn't-love-me Locke backstories can we deal with? And what was up with Ekko and the polar bear - when on earth did that happen? That was news to me. And how many times can they bring Boone back in dream sequences? If they wanted him on the show so much, why did they kill him off in the first place?

Sigh. I really am almost over this show.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

A post that's not for the weak of stomach

The post title should warn you of what’s ahead; I’m not kidding, if you don’t want to hear talk of poop, look away now. You can’t very well expect to come to a baby blog day after day and not get into this kind of stuff now, can you?

Up until now, Liam has been an easy-going kid in pretty much all areas of life, which extends to diapering. He has never been bothered by a dirty diaper. Ever. We change him because we deem it to be in his best interest, rather than him deeming it to be so, or because he becomes offensive to us. At least, this was the case until last week, when the situation turned on a dime (as it often seems to do). One day we were playing in the basement when suddenly Liam took off running for the stairs, crawled up both flights lickety-split, and then started clambering around the change table, too. I hoisted him up and changed his diaper – lo and behold, he was due for a change. This has been repeated several times in the last few days. It seems he has finally come to find having something – dare I say it? - squishy in his pants undesirable.

I take this as a good sign, because I know boys are supposed to be a lot harder to toilet train than girls, and I had pretty much resigned myself to merely hoping to have him trained by the age of 4 or 5 in time for school (reach for those stars, right?) Now, with what seems to be the first step in the process under out belts, I think it will still be at least another 18 months or so – but there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Considering that we’ll have another one in diapers in a few short months, this is a welcome turn of events.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Liam Hates Halloween

On the weekend, while the weather was good and it was daylight outside, I tried to get Liam into his Halloween costume to take a few pictures. I thought this would also give the dude a chance to get used to his costume before the actual day of. Wellll... it didn't go so well. Proof to the left. I don't know how we are going to get through a full day of this (a day at Cindy's and a night of trick-or-treating/handing out on the 31st), but you can bet that with a pricey costume well-chosen months in advance... I am not willing to give up without a fight. If I let him strip off the hood, he does much better (and he actually quite likes the giant feet); it's just that he doesn't look so much like a frog anymore without the big googly eyes.

Surprisingly, I saw none of this coming. After last year's total complacency I thought Liam would be a Halloween-lover like me. However, looking back, I suppose it was foolish to think it would be so easy; after all, let's remember that Liam Hates Easter: And also, we have evidence that Liam Hates Christmas:
(Holy crap, look at that hair!)

Who knows, I may wind up becoming a Halloween-hater myself. That costume I ordered? Not even close to fitting. One size, my ass. Even without a growing belly, it wouldn't have fit. I have one more idea up my sleeve but if it doesn't work... that's it... no more getting in the spirit of things for me.

Monday, October 16, 2006

Another one bites the dust

Now that we are back to a solid 5-day workweek, with no more stats and a dearth of vacation time until Christmas, our 2-day weekends have become that much more precious. Once again this one was a flurry of activity. Chad and I headed out on Friday night, leaving the L-man home with Gramma and Grampa to deal with the after-effects of a lot of sugar in a small body. The remainder of the weekend was filled with various chores. Last weekend we started getting Liam’s new room ready to turn over to him, by relocating the computer from it to the family room in the basement. This weekend Chad continued with that, emptying out the bookcase that has accumulated several years’ worth of crap (not the least of which is a large number of textbooks left over from our school days, texts on such interesting topics as thermodynamics and colloid & surface chemistry and tax law – any takers??) and relocating the bookshelf to the furnace room, where hopefully it will help to get some other assorted tools and crap off the floor. Liam’s new bedroom is currently a disaster zone, but we’re slowly making progress on it and it’s getting easier to picture what it will become. We have not yet ordered the bunk beds, but I did take advantage of an upcoming trip to Detroit to make a few purchases for it. I finally chose this bedding (the link will have to do);

…which I was able to get from Pottery Barn Kids for $119 US for the quilt and I think $14 each for the shams, and have shipped to the hotel where we will be staying (needed a US shipping address in order to be able to do that). The same bedding at Pottery Barn Kids in Toronto is $249 CDN for the quilt plus a 10% higher tax rate… not even close to comparable. On a related note, Pottery Barn then tried processing the transaction on my credit card 4 times, prompting a call to the house from the Visa fraud line… but I think we have things cleared up now. While I was at it, I also went to the Nods & Ends outlet for some coordinating sheets...

…regular $119 US, currently quite a bargain at the marked down price of $35 for the set. Now if only that David print would be re-stocked at Art.com! We also need to find a rug in order to complete the room, which is a tall order… kids’ rugs are hard to find and given that a good one will probably cost a few hundred dollars, I don’t want something too kiddie that Liam will outgrow in short order. Ah yes, and then there are the window blinds. I’m not sure if I feel up to the task of sewing them myself or if we’ll be looking for something ready-made.

(Chad figured out that our night in Detroit will coincide with Game 6 of the World Series… which means that if Detroit loses the series in 6 games, our car will likely be set on fire… and if Detroit wins in 6 games, well, it is probably just as likely to be car-B-Q’d!)

In addition to the chores around the house this weekend, I had to put together a proposal for the research project component of my marketing class, which I am headed to Windsor tonight to attend… ick. And that’s only AFTER I go pick Liam up early from Cindy’s so I can take him for his 18-month shots. Ugh. What a way to spend a Monday.

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Check in, mom and dad!

We heard about the 6.3 earthquake that just hit Hawaii... I assume you are probably without power right now, but get ahold of us when you can!

ETA: They have checked in and are OK, though all the islands are without power and it sounds like things are a bit chaotic.

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Half birthday in pictures

(He doesn't always love getting the bear hug as much as I love giving it!)

Friday, October 13, 2006

Half birthday

(Photos down... to be added later.)

Today it’s your half-birthday… you’re 18 months old! I largely abandoned doing these monthly updates when you hit the 1 year mark, but I think this milestone calls for one, because so much has been going on with you lately... things I think it will be fun for you to know about someday.

It’s amazing and hilarious to us how much you have turned into a little person lately. You are a huge copycat. You love to watch us do stuff and try it out for yourself. This means that you have picked up doing several chores lately and I love that you love to do them! We can give you something for the garbage and you will throw it out for us; you enjoy emptying the dishwasher and watering the flowers; and when I cook you’d rather be sitting on the counter helping to stir than just about anywhere else. You would rather follow us as we do things around the house than play with your toys. If I brush my hair, you want yours brushed too. If I take a bite of something and say “Yum!” you immediately do the same. Funny little dude!

You LOVE being outside. You perk up when we ask if you want to go out, and if we don’t ask, you will often start getting all of our shoes out of the closet in order to drop the hint. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing in the yard, puttering around on your scooter, or going for walks… you’re happy doing it all. For our walks we do a circuit around our block, and you usually make it halfway on your own two feet. I can’t blame you for tiring out, because the walk always includes a sojourn up and down most neighbours’ driveways, jumping off of every curb in sight, splashing in any puddle you can find, stopping in front of the Boires’ house to point and say “Bow wow wow” (yes, you know that Sam lives there!), and picking up every stick you can find (even if it’s 4 feet long) and dragging it along with us for the remainder of the walk.

At home, your favourite indoor activities still include reading. Every day you sit down and flip through about 20 books, pointing to and naming the things you know, babbling your way through the rest of the story. You also enjoy being read to; when you think it’s time, you bang on my knee with a book and start demanding, “Up up up!” until I pick you up and begin. You like doing animal puzzles and pushing toy cars around on the floor and riding your rocking horse. You run laps around the sliding closet doors. You love to brush your teeth (if only for the chance to play with the taps); and you like flushing the toilet, and have been known to empty in several rolls of toilet paper to watch them disappear…

What else can I tell you about yourself? You love squirrels. You are starting to say ‘kitty’ instead of ‘cat’, but I don’t think you will ever say ‘dog’ – they will always be ‘bow wow wows’ to you. You also still say Mom and Dad instead of Mommy and Daddy, which makes you sound like you are about 10. You love being tickled under your chin and encourage it by tipping your head back and leaving yourself open when you are in the mood. You are addicted to French fries (oh dear) and juice boxes. You eat everything well, but still prefer fruit and cheese to most other things. You still hate to get your hands dirty. You love the dogs next door from a distance, but get shy when you have the chance to see them up close. You can be very clingy when we first get home from work. You like to stand in front of your growth chart and back up to it so we can see how tall you are. The other day we brought home a pair of rubber boots for you, and I can’t believe how they have instantly become your very most prized possession.

At 18 months old, you weigh xx and are xx inches tall... to be determined at Monday's doctor's appointment... and that's as far as I've gotten for today.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Finally, the Then to go with the Now

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Making a caged bird sing

Being the slacker parents that we are, Liam has never owned a pair of rubber boots. He wasn't walking last spring, they're hardly needed over the summer, and we've been talking about getting him some for the past month, but not doing much about it. Partly, my excuse has been that we haven't been anywhere shopping lately (that small-town excuse again). And partly, really small boots are just hard to find. (I did see an adorable pair of frog boots and matching slicker when we were in Banff, but I am not so good a judge of size to have risked buying them there and not been able to return them.) The guilt has been eating at me though, especially seeing as Liam has been trying to jump in puddles on our after-dinner walks for some time now, and I'm constantly holding him back. Anyway... it poured rain all day today, once again making me feel guilty for not having boots for Liam... so at lunch Chad and I ran over to a nearby department store to take a look. And we found some. Not fancy, but considering that he'll only wear them for a month before the snow flies and then they likely won't fit next spring... it doesn't really matter. When I picked Liam up from Cindy's tonight I mentioned that we had found Liam some boots, and she said she thought he would love them - because he admires the other kids' boots so much. She also said he'd had a bad day, constantly running to the door to get his shoes and to look outside - not understanding why they couldn't go out. When we got home and showed Liam his boots he was thrilled, and even though it was still sopping wet after dinner, I couldn't hold out. We got Liam into his rain jacket and boots and went for a walk down the street. I have never seen Liam so happy - screaming with glee and jumping in every puddle we passed. It was hilarious and touching and the cutest thing ever - and so, so worth the $8.97 it took to make it happen.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Still boiling

Today we're still under the boil water advisory. Which is more of a pain than you'd think. It's amazing how much of a difference not having safe tap water makes. (Apparently there was a loss of line pressure somewhere, meaning a check valve may have allowed some backflow through the water lines... kind of like when your plumbing backs up. Initial tests have proven it's fine but the final test culture won't be complete until tomorrow morning.) For Liam in particular, it's been a tough pill to swallow when it comes to brushing his teeth, which is still one of his very favourite activities... mostly I think because he likes to play with the taps while sitting on the bathroom counter next to them. Tonight he was allowed to play with the taps, but not stick his toothbrush underneath, which caused an enormous deal of angst and many tears. He had to make do with this bottle of water instead... just not the same.

Monday, October 09, 2006

Another holiday episode of Now & Then

This morning we woke up to a boil water advisory, the first time I have ever experienced one. We didn't actually hear about it til we had been up and about for several hours already... I had gone for a run already... and drunk a big glass straight out of the tap before I left. As a result I am walking on eggshells right now, hoping that every little twinge doesn't lead to having my head down the toilet for the rest of the day. Happy Thanksgiving or what!!

Chad went for another long training session this morning, so Liam and I headed over to what will have to pass for our local pumpkin patch to round out the front porch decor. The whole American midwest thing with local patches where you can pick your own pumpkins and partake in other autumnal activities... well, I would really like for that to catch on here. There's nothing like it around us, although there are numerous fields full of pumpkins out there - a business opportunity just waiting to happen, I think. We did pass a place just outside of Stratford yesterday with a sign that read Pick your own pumpkins, hay rides, cider, free kittens... exactly what we're looking for (all but the free kittens!)... maybe we will have to go there next year. For this year, I took Liam back to our local farmer's market, where the pumpkins are lined up in rows but are obviously already taken off the vine. He still very much enjoyed running up and down the rows and trying to wrangle them to the ground, and I guess that's all that matters. The pumpkins at this market are on par with what you'd pay at the grocery store, but a few years ago I discovered one of those honour system produce stands just down the road from us, where pumpkins are priced at $1 each... so I typically buy just a couple at the farmer's market for the photo opportunity, and then round out the collection with the cheapies fresh from the field. For some reason the produce stand ones seem easier to carve, too.

Just for fun... here's the pumpkin patch (ok, ok, farmer's market) photo from last year... just for comparison's sake.

Surprise surprise, photo trouble. Maybe later then...

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Thankful

Thanksgiving may not be until tomorrow, but here is my something to be thankful for: I think I felt some baby kicks today. Which is something I've been waiting for and growing increasingly anxious about for the last few weeks. I felt Liam's first kick at 17w0d and here I am at 15w6d with #2 - knowing that I should be feeling it sooner this time around, but up until today, nothing... then this... a few twitches... here's hoping they grow stronger and more frequent over the next few days. Another sign that all is hopefully well.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone... even those of you in the States who have to wait another month and a half to have your turkey. Enjoy this in anticipation.

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Liam 1, mommy 0

Liam just made it through perhaps his first day ever without a nap. It's a feat I hope he doesn't repeat anytime soon. He was miserable, irritable, and inconsolable, and as a result I was, too. I don't mind giving him time and attention, but when I'm doing everything in my power to make him happy and he's just sitting on my lap crying... it is so not fun. He was in bed (hopefully) for the night before 6 p.m., and right now we are just really hoping he sleeps til morning... I don't think I can take too much more of the little guy today.

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Meh.

I have to admit, that was my reaction to Lost last night. I was disappointed! After the first five minutes I was jumping up and down on the couch next to Chad saying, that was awesome! That was so awesome! But after that, nothing really happened. Don't get me wrong... I would like to know why Jack is being held separate from Kate and Sawyer... and who Carl is - is he one of the tailies, or is he like Desmond and Rousseau and came to the island another way? And, last night's episode seemed to indicate again that the Losties weren't 'brought' to the island but rather landed as part of an unfortunate plane crash (is there any other kind?) - meaning that Henry/Ben thought there might be survivors, but wasn't sure. So why were they all connected before boarding the plane? I think the Others have some sort of government tie-in if they can put a dossier together on someone's background at the drop of a hat like that. And, did I hear Henry/Ben correctly in saying that Otherville is actually on a nearby island? Yeah, I suppose I'm as sucked in as ever... I was just hoping for more action last night.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

PSA time

Lost Rhapsody

Lost Season 3 premiere
Wednesday night - 9 p.m.
Woot!

Here's a review of the episode, if you're so inclined... there are no real spoilers involved.
Review

TGFI

No, my days of the week aren't mixed up, nor am I dyslexic; it's just that lately I have been thinking thank God for the internet. Specifically, for online shopping. I look up just about everything I buy ahead of time now, and if your store doesn't have a website... I will probably not be shopping with you anytime soon. I don't have the time, patience, or gas money to shop in person anymore. And considering that last week when I took Liam grocery shopping, we left a "Cleanup in aisle 4" in our wake... well, there's only so many of those that I want to experience.

This week, the internet has been of major use to us in putting Liam's new room together. After much deliberation and searching every place known to mankind, we have a frontrunner in the bedding department: Nothing has been ordered yet, but I will assume this is it unless a lightning bolt strikes with something better.

Next, thanks to the folks at Art.com, I want to order this print:It's from a children's book called No, David!, about a 5-year-old boy who breaks all his mother's rules - jumping on the furniture, breaking her vase, chewing with his mouth open, etc. Hoping for it not to become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

And then, something fun for me... something I have already ordered, with Liam in mind, but this one is for me. I will be a tease and just show you one part. I ordered these, only they're black and purple, not black and white as shown: Thanks for the offer of the loan Megan, but I think I am set for this year... as long as it all still fits a month from now.

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Bone weary

This was the kind of weekend that leaves you exhausted and almost looking forward to going back to work by Sunday night, for the mere opportunity to sit still for 8 consecutive hours the next day if nothing else. OK, maybe that's a stretch, but it has been a busy weekend. Lots of little things accomplished around the house and out and about, and lots of fun had too. These pictures were taken this afternoon at our local cornfield maze. This being the second year we have gone, I suppose it is now an annual thing. This year Liam made it through the first part of the maze on his own, but not without slipping and falling in the mud several times, which upset him to no end - have I mentioned how much he dislikes getting dirty? He was also long overdue for a nap so the energy burst didn't last long and he was back in his stroller for the remainder of the maze. He did perk up when we came out - maybe it was the change of scenery that did it, after all that corn? - and he enjoyed some of the other on-site attractions, like this, um... cow barrel??
In addition to the cornfield maze, we also spent a morning doing a family run around the creek on the south side of town; Chad is training for a half marathon, I am just trying to stay in shape and Liam was in it for the ducks and multitude of dogs walking the paths. Chad and I also admire a house that backs onto the paths, so I like to go spy and make sure that if it ever goes on the market, we'll be aware of it. :)

I was planning to skip my class tomorrow night and take it easy, but my professor has asked me to talk to him in person tomorrow to finalize the end-of-term project I'm doing. I guess it will be worth it to drive down this once if it still means skipping a bunch of group meetings down the road. I just hope I can make it home without throwing up.

October 1 - break out the Halloween holiday wear!