Rehoboth or Bust

House/Dog sitter is ready. House is ready. Truck is ready. Suitcases are ready. Lunch/Snacks are ready. Portable DVD is ready. I am ready. J is ready.

It's only 3:30 on Thursday, how will I make it until tomorrow morning?? Truth is Hubby isn't ready. And A isn't ready. Oh the wait is killing me.

Not sure if I will be able to post next week, we had a hard time with the wireless last year, but it could have been the tropical storm. Will update if I can, otherwise you will get a full report on our return.

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Independance Day!

July 4th Giveaway!

5 Minutes for Mom is doing it again. Hosting another giveaway just like they did for Mother's Day. This on is in the spirit of July 4th and for us Canadians we can just pretend it is a delayed celebration of July 1st. Drop by their site and check out the great prizes they are giving away. Most include Canadians but there are a couple that are for US residents only.

A Conversation with Hubby

Hubby:"I can't wait until we hit the beach."

Me: "Yes, me too, the sun, sand, surf."

Hubby: "Sun, Sand, Surf? I can't wait for all the food. Grotto's pizza, beach fries, hamburgers..."

Me: " I love you honey, and you and my Dad could be separated at birth."

Hubby: "What?"

Me: "You sound just like Dad."

Hubby: "I guess we both think alike."

Me: "As long as you don't eat alike then we are all good."

Hubby: "I suppose, but I run and your Dad doesn't"

Me: "Yep, he used to say that when he was your age too."

Hubby: "Oh, ok. Well, it's just a week and vacation."

Me: "This is true, but he used to say that too."

Hubby: "I guess we are alike."

Me: "More than you will ever know."

A First

For me anyway to officially enlarge, print and frame one of my own photographs. As artwork.


Sure I have printed of photos of the kids and family and put them in frames, but this is different. I needed something beachy to bring the beach back to my kitchen after the paint job. I looked everywhere and saw a few photos I liked, then I realized. Duh. I have tons of photos of the beach that I actually took myself. Why should I pay for someone elses photos?


So I did it.
My first intention was to blow it up to poster size. I was ordering some prints from Costco and the largest size they had was 12x18 for $2.50, so I thought I would try it out before spending $30 to make a poster. And it turned out great! I found a beachy type wood frame at Michael's and picked up some mat and glass and a mat cutter (this was all cheaper than paying them $160 to frame it) and here it is. Tada.

I took the photo last summer during Tropical Storm Ernesto and the dot to the right in the distance is actually Hubby and A standing by the shoreline watching the crazy water and waves. It is funny that I would choose a photo from a tropical storm, but the colour of the dark sky matches the paint exactly and the sand matches the cabinets, so it was the perfect one to choose.

This second shot shows how it goes with the colours in the kitchen. I must say I am quite happy with my peice of artwork and will be doing much more of this in the future. Especially because I bought a mat cutter and have lots of mat left over so I can frame up a whole whack of photos and decorate the rooms upstairs. This may be the beginning of a new thing for me.

Still a Girl!!

Yes indeed folks we got the confirmation that we are still indeed having a girl! I was more worried that J would be devistated at the baby being a boy than Hubby or I.

All in all the ultrasound went well. My placenta is no longer low-lying (very important for a home birth) and the baby was only measuring one week ahead. My belly on the exterior is measuring three weeks ahead so we (my Midwife and I) were worried that I was carrying a big baby, but she seems to be close to target and will most likely be the same size as J was when he was born (8lbs 5oz). And I didn't have an overly large amount of amniotic fluid, which was another concern. So all in all everything looked great. That's not to say that something might show up in the detailed report sent to my midwife, but for now I was breathing a bigger sigh of relief.

I will say that I am entering the tired zone and our week at the beach couldn't come sooner (this time next week I will be soaking in the sand and surf). Any later and I don't think I would be able to make the trip. As it is I do think that I will be slower than I previously thought. Vacuuming is now out (unless I want to start the labour, I may start vacuuming again in August) due to a pain on my side everytime I pull that sucker out. Cleaning bathrooms is out, due to not being able to bend over properly and clean the tubs and showers. Pretty much I am good for laundry and kitchen duty and that's it.

Hubby is working away on the new basement, A's room is almost done then a well deserved break will taken. All that matters is that A has a place to sleep the rest can be done a lot slower.

The new car is still a riot, I think this first tank of gas is a write off as Hubby insists on driving it every day (he drives like twice a week normally). We tested out the luggage in the trunk space and are ready to roll. I will say though that I am having a very difficult time changing from standard transmission to automatic. I have been driving a stick for 20 years (TWENTY YEARS!!!!!!) so I find myself pressing the phantom clutch and shifting into neutral a lot. The biggest test will come in the wintertime when I can no longer laugh at people spinning and sliding while I drive by in first gear, or when I can rock myself out of a snowbank with my clutch, those will be hard days and most likely I just won't go out.

Summertime

It's officially SUMMER!!! Yay! My favourite season has arrived and ironically it is a cool 20 degrees and raining today. Despite the hot, humid weather we have been having summer chose to come in rather on the sly this year. That's ok we needed the rain for the grass, not ours because we water, but everyone elses burnt lawns need a little help.

On the first day of Summer I always seem to have this one hit wonder in my head. A song by LFO called Summer Girls. Something about the song makes me always think of the beach. You can hear it and see it on You Tube (I am so lame, I can't figure out how to stick the video in here to click on). Funny, when I was younger it was John Mellencamp's (then Cougar) Jack and Diane that made me think of the beach, then Bruce Springsteen took over and then did Bryan Adams, I guess it all depended on what was popular that summer. Then one day I heard Summer Girls and that is the last song that stuck in my head as a reminder for a long time.

Hubby decided the other day that this would be the year that we introduces A to Bruce Springsteen on the road. We will have to see how long it lasts because A does get grumpy when you make him listen to too much good music. One of the fun things about our new to us vehicle is that it has a 6 cd changer, so I loaded it with our usual driving music (plus J's Curious George) and have been enjoying a little of the good tunes for the last few days.

Today is not only the first day of summer but it is ultrasound day. Since I hit 30 weeks yesterday, I get to have another ultrasound to make sure the placenta is in the right place. Hopefully we will also get confirmation that we are indeed having a girl! And if it turns out to be a boy, J will be one unhappy little boy, but what can you do?

Mascara Update

Exhibit A: Which was accidentally taken last week during my self-portrait day for Whoorl. I am wearing Clinique Lash Doubling Mascara in Black. This is the one I have made do with for the last year or so after testing many, many different brands (some drugstore brands, some cosmetic counter brands).

Exhibit B: I took today. Wearing my Yves Saint Laurent Faux Cils in Black. There is definately a difference.

I ususally give Mascaras a week before I pass judgement, but I know some of you are eagerly awaiting the results of my testing, so I am posting a mere three days into using it. My overall rating is going to be a 7 out of 10.

Day One: At first I was not entirely impressed. The mascara brush is great for brushing long lashes, but not for adding any volume at all. That is one of the differences with the Dior brush. It was flat througout with a round end, no one has had a brush like it since. This brush is round throughout and has lots of bristles, this type of brush is usually called a teddy bear brush which ads thickness to lashes without too much legnth. In this case I think they made the bristles shorter so you get a bit more legnth and not as much volume. I like to have both.

In order to achieve the look that I enjoy, I had to coat my lashes about four times when normally I do it only twice. This might change in a week or so when the mascara gets a bit of air in it and thickens up. I find most mascaras annoying for about a week until they aren't fresh from the tube.

The mascara stayed in place all day but, I will say that by the end of the evening the tips had flaked off a bit, which is something I do not enjoy. I want a mascara that I can rely on from morning until night, just in case.

Day Two: The wash test. After washing off my mascara, I had to pull out the eye make up remover to get the rest of the mascara that did not come off with the soap. Both Dior and Clinique come off with soap or just plain water if you need to. So in the event that you go swimming with your mascara on you know within a few good underwater wipes you have no residue. Not the case here, I won't bring this one to the beach.

Day Three (today): I found today easier to put on and only required three coats. But, as you will notice in the photo it looks a little clumpy today. It didn't look clumpy on Saturday and Sunday so we will have to see again how the rest of the week plays out and if I can get away with only two coats.

This is why I am giving it a 7 out of 10. Dior was a perfect 10 and this is missing a few key ingredients to get that full 10 points. Is is worth the $42 a tube? That I will have to decide at the end of my week of wearing it.

p.s. I will say that my eyelashes looked awesome while I was driving around in my new vehicle this weekend. Hubby thinks this is the coolest I have ever looked in a car, I think it comes a close second to my convertable.

Hair Day

Whoorl had a post about hair the other day. Whoorl has gorgeous hair and everyone asks about it. In honour of all her readers Whoorl posted her whole hair routine. She then requested everyone to send photos of themselves. 20 self-portraits and 5 by J later, I got a shot that I don't mind sending out. So this is my hair today, blow-dried, no product but all natural.

I also stopped by a grrls wrrld via the Fishbowl and discovered a new mascara. I am oh so excited to try it. I already have mascara on today, so I will have to wait until tomorrow. But, I have high hopes for this one. For many years I used Christian Dior's Diorcil. Then they stopped making it, out of the blue. I cried. I have made do with other mascaras but have hear that this Yves Saint Laurent's Mascara Volume Effect Faux Cils is to die for. So I stopped at Holt Renfrew and picked one up. Tomorrow will be a great day for my lashes.

Crying isn't always bad

Today, I had a moment. I just had to cry. Not one of those sobbing breakdown cries, but tears of sheer happiness.

J and I were in the car on our way to a store, we were listening to Jack Johnson's Curious George CD. J loves Curious George, and now loves Jack Johnson. As we were driving along with the windows down, the breeze blowing in the car, J said, "turn it up Mommy, this is my favourite song". So I turned it up and watched in my special J mirror as my son sang along to all the words with Jack. He was clapping his hands and snapping his fingers (or trying to snap) wind blowing in his hair, happy as a clam.

I couldn't have asked for a more perfect moment, thus I was crying in my car while singing along with Jack Johnson. It was just a happy day.

Radom bullets of catching up

I can't believe I went awol again, it has just been too busy around here. I thought I would post some random bullets of fun to catch up on things.

• Starting with cute things that J has said over the past few days. "Mommy, when my baby Sister is born will she be in an egg?", "Mommy will your belly crack open when my baby Sister is born?", "Mommy will your belly go back to the way it was after my Baby Sister is born?" Apparently J has it in his head that babies arrive in eggs, just like chickens. And he is very concerned that my belly will be too big to cuddle with forever, somedays I wonder the exact same thing.
• It has been HOT! Hot, hot, hot. I love it. We have been using the pool and J is doing some great dog paddling with his new 'muscles' or floaties or water wings. It seems that his fear of the water and pool are definately over, which makes for much more fun for us, except for the fact that I have to go in the pool sometimes when I don't really want to.
• A's room is looking good. The framing in the basement is almost complete with the wiring next and the gyprock with be next week. It is looking like a real basement now and I am getting excited for baby's room.
• Hubby is running ragged. I feel badly that I cannot help more, but somehow mowing the grass in +30 degree heat and building a basement just don't seem to fit with being 29weeks preggers.
• Dinner with the girls. Myself along with a bunch of other Ladies went out for dinner without the kids!! Shocking and fun it was, we had a brief storm move in while we were dining on the patio, but the awning was good and the night was great. Nothing like a little girl time to rejuvinate yourself for a good long while.
• We have made our final decision on a vehicle. And Nissan, if you are reading, we love you so much we decided to go with a Murano. No, not a new one, we will wait for your Baby gift to arrive in August. But, we are thankful that your Murano offers a huge backseat that we can comfortably fit five people, with two carseats (yes, thanks Brian for being so patient while we moved carseats in and out of the vehicle). And as an added bonus the backseats also recline! We were really flipping between the Quest and the Murano, but the Quest available was a basic package and the seats were a not so nice cloth, and truthfully ranked in comfort with our '91 Ford. So Murano it is! And quite frankly, I am not a huge van person, I would rather an SUV anyday. And this one matched my colouring much, much better than the van.

So, this has been our week since the Sens lost the cup. Not too exciting for everyone, but lots of excitement around here for us. What on earth are we going to do while on vacation at the beach? It just won't seem right to have a week with nothing to do but watch the waves.

Done like Dinner

Yep, the Sens are toast, as per Nancy's prediction. But, I say they had a good run and hopefully learned from this years run at the Cup.

There is always next year.

Hockey Night in Ottawa

Please note the two tvs, for better viewing. Hubby and his best friend (who flew in from Colorado to enjoy the game in Ottawa) set everything up for the game and two more people came over after the first period. The boys were hilarious. It wasn't the same as watching with my Sister, neither Hubby nor Best Friend were as loud as she is, but that's ok. We had snacks, which J kept filling himself with way past his bedtime. We missed the visit with Best Friend while we were away so Hubby wanted to keep him up. Thankfully the neighbours aren't going to swimming or work this week so J slept in. I think he will be tired later on today, but it was worth it to watch him running around cheering "Go Sens Go!"

Notice that J is sitting with Best Friend. He hasn't seen him in a year and a half and it took him a few minutes to warm up. After those few minutes there was no separating the two. Best friend doesn't have kids, he has lots of dogs. So the two of them played and wrestled the first period away.

I feel like I must say that that was one boring game for a possible tie up of the series. A little disappointed here both with the team and the boring fans in the stands last night. Still have a chance to make a comeback though...

Home Again

Four airports, three airplanes, lots of waiting, and many amazed passengers and airline attendants later we made it home. Amazed you ask? Yes amazed. You see J is a seasoned air traveller and I am very proud to say that he is well behaved and doesn't cause too much trouble for anyone. Made especially easy with the new tv's on Air Canada planes, not that they worked on every flight but the longest one allowed J to watch a few shows. And the children's selection is a little on the light side, but it worked all the same.

All of the twenty or so pilots that J asked, "Do you have a gun?" and "Do you live in Ottawa too?" were really nice and didn't mind a little three year old asking so many questions. One gave him a sticker of some wings and another let him into the cockpit (after landing of course). Another passenger in First Class gave J his cookies, shocked I am sure that this kid wasn't kicking his seat for the entire flight. Other passengers made comments as they walked off the plane and we waited to deboard until they were all gone. All of which were positive and made me very proud of our little guy.
Coming home is so bitter sweet. We had so much fun. Although I had to mediate for my sometimes whiny son, for the most part the kids played like gems. And unlike the week in Regina the tv is back on here with no one to play with but me. So, yes the bittersweet. I am so glad to be home, but at the same time, so sad to leave my Sister and her family. We do have so much fun, which wouldn't last if I lived in her basement, and the kids play so well. And at this point it doesn't look like they will be leaving Regina anytime soon. I can only put in my prayers that they will be directed back to Ottawa so we can all hang out together on a regualr basis again.One of the hardest things about leaving so early in the morning is that we didn't get one finaly goodbye and last morning hug. Then again, I had enough tears just hugging my Sister goodbye, couldn't imagine squeezing all the kids to death too. And my BIL got short changedd, I thought I would see him in the morning but did not, so I didn't really get to say goodbye, hope he is ok with that and will reserve it for the next meeting.

Baby neice was doing much better by the time we were packing up and heading home. She is sucha bundle of cuddles and although she has always snuggled with me, she really would cuddle into my belly and cuddle close. I kept joking that it was like snuggling with Grandpa and his belly, but either way it was really cute.

And LJ is such a ham, but hates his picture taken, so I have a few shots with him in them, but mostly they are blurry and he is running away from the camera. Too funny that little guy.

We started our week hot and sunny and it ended the exact same way. Saturday was sunny and 30 degrees, so we went downtown to the farmers market, to Cathedral Village for ice cream and back home for running in the sprinkler pool. Of which I have no photos because I left my camera in the van and BIL went out for a few things. When he got back we went to the greenhouse for plants and by the time we got back it was dinner! I did get over 150 photos though and just shared a smidgen with you all.

Another great visit but yes, it is glad to be home. Hubby set up our pool and cleaned the house so much all I can smell is a mix of chemicals and fresh paint. Even though we painted a few weeks ago. Now, back to the regular scheduled programming. With a little rain, that I think I have already lived through.

Winding down

Our time here in Regina is coming to an end. But not without a little drama, some good fun, and meeting a new person. I still can't find a usb cable around here to download all my photos, so I have them locked in my camera until we arrive home on Sunday.

Drama, baby neice has had a cold since we got here and I knew that J would get it due to circumstances beyond our control (grabbed sippy cups). So, yesterday as baby neice was getting worse and worse and breaking out in fever, J's nose was running more and more. Thankfully, he seems to only have a very runny nose... so far. Unfortunately baby neice had to go to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning today as her fever was so high that she was starting to get febrile. Thankfully, I was here and both my Sis and BIL were able to go together. It turned out that she has an ear infection (same as other baby neice back home) afer a little antibiotics she was almost back to her old self by this afternoon.

Good Fun, since yesterday was the nose running like a tap day and the beginning of the cold, J was very whiny and playing was a little difficult. Many tears were shed and feelings hurt and Mommy was losing her patience rapidly. Today, however, saw a sleep in until 7:50am!!!! Can you believe it?? Me neither. So there were well rested children and even with the rough start of the hospital we had an afternoon of fun and Sis and I were able to just sit and chat instead of mediate. It was great. The fun afternoon went into the early evening when great BIL sent us girls off to a movie and put all four kids to bed. Brave, brave man.

And yesterday I got to meet a fellow blogger!! We met through SAJ and have exchanged emails a few times. We were going to go to a park with my Sister and the kids, but due to baby neice not feeling well, then J starting to bawl because I was taking him away from his cousins and the rain that started pouring down, I went by myself. Anna from McLean Family Chronicles and A Mommy's Ramblings was such a gracious host and the chatting, oh it was wonderful. I got to chat uninterrupted. We shared a coffee and lots of wonderful stories. Her two beautiful children welcomed me into the home with many shy smiles and were great for our entire visit. Anna's hubby even made an appearance, so I got to meet the whole family. So much fun. I do have a photo of us, but it is stuck on my camera so you will have to click over to the McLean Family Chronicles to see one. It was great to meet and get together and chat in real life. Thank you Anna for having me over.

Tomorrow will be final wind down day for the kiddies, as we leave at 6am on Sunday. I will have to pack up after the Sens play and get us all prepared for the journey home. We have two stops this time, one in Winnipeg (it will be my first time back since I left there in '92) where we will probobly not even leave the airport lounge and the other in Toronto where we will simply change planes and head home. I am hoping for another smooth trip. It will be bittersweet, as I will be happy to be home, but missing my Sister and her family too. Until our next visit I suppose. And who knows, I may have got her a little bit interested in the blogging thing, we could see something from her at some point.