5:42 a.m. (subtitle: how on earth is this fair?)

Last week, before Chad took off for Cowtown, he mentioned in passing that he had been invited to a Bon Jovi concert taking place there this week. I instantly went gaga and gushed about how lucky he was. Jon Bon Jovi is probably the hottest man on earth; and though I don't love him in an I-own-every-CD-he's-ever-released way, I do love him in an if-I-had-the-opportunity-to-feel-the-love-in-person-then-you-bet-I-would way. (Although I think my 14-year-old, The Cure-listening, black-wearing self just had a hernia, admitting that - I am a relative newcomer to the Bon Jovi worshipping scene.) Anyway, I told Chad he was making a grave mistake in passing up the opportunity, and left it at that. This afternoon Chad called to ask me help him make a decision: he's now been invited to an INXS concert in Calgary as well, but the problem is that the concerts run simultaneously. Should he go to Bon Jovi or INXS? Chad is a lifelong INXS fan, which one would think would sway him in that direction; but he has seen INXS play live many times - two with me, anyway - and Bon Jovi would be something new and fun. (And, something to rub in to me.)

I told him not to mind if I couldn't help him make his decision, because after all, Liam was up for the day at 5:42 a.m. this morning, and it didn't take long for Mallory to hear him and get up, too. So my head is a little foggy today, and not necessarily in top decision-making mode. I ask you: how is this fair??

Chad is taking the red-eye home tonight and will be back tomorrow morning, ready to dive back into our life of domestic bliss with renewed enthusiasm (or so you'd think). Anyway, back to the weekend, and a few photos to upload before I forget all about having them: on Sunday morning as Chad was preparing to high-tail it to Calgary, I loaded the kids up and headed to Stratford to see my parents. Partly to visit with them, and partly because I knew I could take advantage of their babysitting services to give myself a welcome break. What I really wanted to do was leave Mallory with my mom for a bit so I could spend some one on one time with Liam. I spend a crazy number of hours with him these days, but I feel like I am constantly shushing him so he doesn't wake the baby, or slowing him down so I can bring Mal along with us, or otherwise cramping his style. So after lunch on Sunday, I took Liam out for some quality time.First up, we rented a pedal boat, since he got a kick out of seeing them out on Lake Victoria last time we were there. I thought ahead and brought his life jacket, and we took a walk down to the boathouse to rent one out. The minimum rental was an hour. We got about 15 minutes into it before Liam got a panicked look on his face and said he wanted out of the boat. I tried distracting him by pointing out all the ducks and swans and pedalled like mad back to the boathouse; and of course by the time we got there, he wanted to stay in. We did wind up getting out after about half an hour, but the boatkeeper was a nice guy and gave us a credit for another half hour trip next time we're in town. Next up on the list: a trip to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for a big caramel apple, which they will slice up for you on the spot to make the eating a bit easier. Liam wanted one of the red candy apples and I wanted a caramel apple; he agreed only on the basis that we got one coated in Smarties. It was yummy! On the way home we stopped to feed the ducks and seagulls, and admire the baby swans. And when we got home, Mallory was having a fun time with my parents, as evidenced here, so there were no, er, fewer guilty feelings about leaving her behind.Stratford also has a wonderful new Lion's community pool with a wader end and splash pad facilities - so on Monday, I took Liam to a family swim there for a while before having lunch and heading home. The one on one time with him was great. It was a nice break for both of us to have me not constantly telling him to slow down or speed up or stop rubbing Mallory's head like a genie bottle. Just the two of us... kind of like the good old days.

PS Dawn - it would totally make my day if you could add a comment along the lines of "Oh yeah, I dated Jon in high school" here.