The Forgotten One

When I'm stressed by packing for a big trip, someone always tries to console me by saying 'Don't worry, as long you have your passport, everything else you forget you can buy at your destination'. I used to believe that to be true, until I left CEDRIC at home. Oh, poor little Cedric. You'll be the first item I pack on our next trip, I promise.

Day 11 of our trip was a slightly more ambitious day. Before coming to Maui, Warren & I chose one thing that was really important to us to get the chance to do on this holiday. My 'thing' was that I wanted the opportunity to lay by the pool and suntan & relax (read: sans baby). I'm easy to please, I guess. Warren's 'thing' was that he really wanted to get up before dawn and drive up a volcano to watch the sunrise from ABOVE the clouds (hmm...slightly more difficult to please...). Obviously, this was something I would have loved to do too, but after much discussion we both decided it wouldn't be fair to Rhys to wake him at 4am, pack him into the car, drive up a windy, dangerous road to watch the sun rise from the freezing peak of a volcano. Not what we considered a child friendly activity.

So Thursday morning, Warren, Rob & Tiff woke up really early and headed off to the volcano, while I stayed at the condo with Rhys. Rhys slept in a little that morning (6:15am! Yes, in Maui, that was sleeping in...), and went back for a nap at 7am. That gave me the chance to blog a bit, and to enjoy our gorgeous view and the ocean breeze (which I miss very much):

As the morning hours ticked away I was beginning to feel sorry for myself. The gang was off having an adventure, and I was stuck at the condo. So I strapped Rhys into the Baby Hawk carrier and we went for a walk to find some Kona Coffee. Rhys got lots of 'Ohhs' and 'Ahhs' from passers by, which always warms my heart:

By the time we arrived back at the condo, Warren was home. The trip was totally worth it, he said, but he was glad we didn't bring Rhys. He said there was a family with a baby up on the volcano, and they were totally stressed out and had the baby wrapped and bundled in quilts from their hotel. Warren said it was cooooold up there. He also said the twisty road would have made me sick. But these photos tell me one thing is for sure...we will be taking Rhys back to Maui some day, so that he can watch the mighty sun rise up, while standing above the clouds:

After the gang had a quick nap, we jumped back into the van and headed south, to the sunny shores of Wailea. It was gorgeous there. We took lots of video, but the only photo we took in Wailea was Resolution Pic #11:

That night, we all cooked steaks on the ocean front BBQs, watched Survivor Heroes Vs Villains, and ate some All American Pie (half apple, half cherry!).

Our last full day in Maui was ambitious and full and lovely.

Holiday Recap: Rhys Edition

Today is Valentine's Day, and also Rhys' 7 month anniversary. Our baby had some firsts on our family trip to Maui, so this post is to document them.

He had his first time in a pool, and his first time 'splashing' the water:

He saw fish & the ocean for the first time. He said da-da, ma-ma and na-na lots on the trip (da-da & na-na were new). It seemed liked he was responding to his name, which was new. He can now sit up on his own really well. He sucked on his toes. He has started 'banging' things together. He slept in the same room as Warren & I for the first time since he was 8 weeks old. He ate mushed up banana for the first time.

He flew on an airplane for the first time:

He sat in a non-bucket carseat for the first time. He fed himself crackers for the first time (Baby Mum Mums):

He was a complete rockstar on this trip, in every sense of the word. He did so well being 'off schedule' and out & about all day. He adapted to his new sleeping space quickly. He was super easy going when we ate out at restaurants. He was amazing on the plane (slept for 5 hours on the plane home!). He's a little traveller now. Warren and I always joked that we would have one kid and become 'The Globe Trotting Trio'. This trip was our first step in the right direction! We survived. He survived. We had fun. He had fun. The saying 'I need home for a rest' was very true in Rhys' case. I think he was awake for all of 2 hours the day we got home. That boy needed some serious Z's after that adventure.

More recap posts to come (including our last 2 family pics), but I'm SO TIRED!

So, later gater.

Cronin Travel Nightmares

Okay. I'll admit it. That title is a bit of an exaggeration, and was intended for shock value. Mostly to shock my dear friend KW, who is planning a trip with her little one in a month or so, and who I know will be checking my blog and hoping to read all good things to glean some courage for her trip. Kirsty, it wasn't all that bad, I promise!

But, having said that, who wants to read about a perfect travel day with no headaches? NO ONE. People want the dirt. And there was some.

First off, we arrived at the airport 3 hours before departure and barely made it in time to board. We literally strolled up to the gate, didn't stop, and heard they were boarding travellers with young children. No time to buy a magazine or a bottle of water!

Travel Tip for KW #1: US security is nuts these days. Get there early.

Rhys was a rockstar on the plane. However, take off was tough on him, mostly because he hadn't napped at all since we needed to take him out of his stroller through security, and he was totally overstimulated. Fun Fact: The flight was 7 hours long, and Rhys slept a total of 45 minutes (once for 15 minutes, and once for 30 minutes). He cried for maybe 6-10 minutes total (felt like longer) as he fell asleep. The rest of the time (6 hours and 10 minutes) he was awake and happy.

Travel Tip for KW #2: Bring a small diaper bag within your diaper bag (that has just one or two diapers, some wipes and cream) to take to the change table, because the changing area is TIGHT quarters! Also, a binky leash is a must.

When we landed, we were in love with Rhys for being so great on the plane. That's when our luck turned a little bit. We learned a big lesson that I couldn't stop beating myself up over. We should have brought OUR OWN DAMN CAR SEAT, instead of renting one with the vehicle. I'm sure all the seasoned moms out there are thinking 'Well, DUH!', but I wanted to avoid the cumber some cargo and the part of having to install it when we got there. WELL. Turns out the car rental company doesn't install them for you. We assumed they did. Cut to us, 7:30pm Maui time (10:30pm Calgary time), after travelling all day, in the dark, in the rental car parking lot, trying to read & comprehend an instruction manual for the sketchiest looking car seat we've ever seen. HOLY CRAP it was hard not to lose our cool. My mom said Warren & I handled it great, but I was seriously having an internal meltdown. My mom was strolling Rhys around (who is normally fast asleep at this time) while we went through 2 different 'styles' of car seat trying to figure out at least one of them. Oh. My. Gawd. I want to barf just thinking about it. It sucked. But, in the end, it got installed. Then, once we were on the highway, Rhys (who was WAYYYY over tired) began to shriek and cry for 20 minutes straight to the point where he was spitting up and coughing he was so worked up. That was stressful. It felt like we were torturing him. Poor little soul. 'Sorry this is so rough on you buddy, but mom and dad really want a hot holiday, so...sorry'. Oh, I felt like the worst mom ever.

In the end, he fell asleep in the car, and was a trooper when we had to transfer him to his new crib, in a strange, hot, humid place. He slept well after that.

Even with all that, I can tell you it's worth it. This condo complex we're staying at is a GEM. Truly. We are so blessed.

Pics and more stories to come, I'm sure. Now - off to bed! Need to recuperate, even after a laid back day today.

31 days

This year, my New Year's Resolution took on a 'baby steps' approach. I decided that instead of one or two massive resolutions that span the entire year ahead, I would instead come up with a new resolution for each month, as the year goes on. Today marks the completion of my January resolution, which was to blog for 31 days straight. I (surprisingly!) really enjoyed it, and only 2 days were tough and felt like I was forcing myself to write something. I expected to struggle a lot more than that.

February will be a bit unique, because we'll be on vacation for almost half of it. So, keeping this in mind, my resolution will be vacation-oriented (read: fun!) and will also be 2-part.

1st half of February resolution: While on vacation, I will make sure, each and every day, to get at least one photo of Warren, Rhys & I together, just the 3 of us. Hopefully we'll get creative with them. And, I have a hunch that Cedric might make his way into some of them, too. It'll be a 'Where's Cedric' type of thing :-)

2nd half of February resolution: To make a digital photo album through Blurb of our holiday, by the end of the month.

Today: LAST MINUTE PANIC. Checking lists. Then an excited, anxious, sleepless night. Up early tomorrow. Catching a plane. Facing our fears. Leaving our comfort zone. LANDING IN THE TROPICS. Saaa-weet!

PS - Mr. Leonard Cohen is getting a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammy's tonight!

PPS - Glee Club Ladies - save a spot for me in the Congo line! See you when I come back.

Test Run

We were very fortunate to inherit a bunch of second hand summer type clothing from our friends. I imagine it might be hard to find sun hats and swimsuits for infants this time of year? One of the items I was particularly happy to find was a 'Body Glove' swimsuit for a baby Rhys' size. Of course, I had to make sure it fit! So I dressed a very unhappy Rhys (hence the soothie) in his Body Glove Swimsuit and finished off the look with a colorful sunhat. He looks like a professional diver, don't you think? Scuba lessons anyone?

So I figure if we leave with this ensemble, some sun screen, and some swimming diapers, he'll be good to go in Maui :-) Oddly, though, the list of stuff to pack for him is, in reality, WAY longer than that.

This would make a great father/son portrait except for the mass of spit up by Rhys' foot:

Today: Warren is off, so we'll continue to tackle our 'leaving for holiday soon' to-do list. One item on the list, is to look for a good backpack-style baby carrier to take with us. Warren isn't confident the Baby Hawk will be good enough. Since he'll be the one carrying Rhys in it, I can't argue too much. Any tips on good ones? A woman in our baby class recommends the Ergo. Anyone have this or used it before?

Ode To The Tube

When visiting London (and living there for that matter) the Tube is your main mode of transportation. With it's intricate lines of underground railroads, fancy turnstiles that suck-in your ticket and spit it out on the other side, with it's Way Out signs and Bakerloo's & Piccadilly's, it really is an icon of London. It's one of the things that makes me nostalgic for London and want to return. So throughout our visit, I allowed myself to be a super-geek and snap photos of The Tube.

Snorty McSnort Snort & WWRU

(Actual date of events:Wednesday, April 16th, 2008)

Wednesday started off with another errand. Head to Leicester Square to buy tickets to We Will Rock You at the half price ticket booth. Check. Phew. That was a lot of work. So we treated ourselves to a Starbucks. For the first time in my life I ordered a Starbucks TO STAY, and actually drank it out of a real mug and everything. We sat outside at the little cafe tables and people watched while we enjoyed our coffees. Warren took this awesomely cool photo of the Charing Cross Road sign. Coulda been a contender in the Facebook Photo Contest if you ask me.



Next on the Agenda was to head to the Portabello Road market in Kensington. Warren found a store called A-D-A-M that had this sign in the window (sorry the photo is blurry, but my camera didn't want to focus through the glass...)

The market was very quaint, lots of antique type shops lining a long road. It was all a bit touristy & overpriced for my taste though. But, it was Kensington after all.
It was in one of these shops that we encountered the most offensive 'bag lady' I'd ever seen. She had gross long dreads, and she followed us into a store. What made her so offensive was that she kept SNORTING back Flem. Over and over and over. It was disgusting. I swear she was a shoplifter or pick pocket or something, but why she insisted on drawing so much attention to herself was beyond me. We lovingly nicknamed her Snorty McSnort Snort.

Here's a rainbow row of houses.

It was my personal mission to find Warren a 'Jaunty Cap'. The hat you see me wearing in most of the photos is my 'Jaunty Cap'. This term started when a friend of mine commented on 'what a jaunty cap' I was wearing. Everything else soon became jaunty as well... jaunty scarf, jaunty boots, etc. So Warren really needed his own Jaunty Cap.

Turns out that some Jaunty Caps made him look like my Grandpa. So, the search continued...


We ate lunch at the Lazy Daisy cafe.

After the market we headed to Harrods and stopped in at Burberry's on the way. Felt TOTALLY out of place there, with our tourist sneakers and jeans. Oh well. Harrods was different though. It was PACKED with tourists. It was HUGE. It had a sushi bar in the middle of a fish market. It had a CANDY department. It had doormen and fancy washrooms with granite counters. It was something to behold.

Before the show, we freshened up at the hotel and ate at the Victoria Pub near Hyde Park (and our hotel). This pub had the most beautiful 'reading room'. Too bad our basement doesn't look THIS good!

We Will Rock You ROCKED. However, I have to admit I was a little worried when the opening act looked more like a bad Doctor Who episode that took place in the future - or a version of the future that people in the 30's would have imagined. Neon, bubbles, robot dancing. Ya, I was worried.

But I hung in there and WOW. It rocked.

A Float Down The Thames & Hampton Court Palace

(Actual date of events: Tuesday, April 15th, 2008)

Our first morning in London started will a complimentary 'Full English Breakfast' at our hotel. For those who don't know, a Full English Breakfast consists of:

1) Egg
2) Toast
3) Cooked tomato
4) Ham
5) Brown beans
6) Blood Pudding (this breakfast didn't come with that, which was fine by me).

This was a great way to fuel up for the day ahead.

First things first, we headed to Paddington station to pick up our train tickets to Bath. Warren likes to have all these things sorted out ahead of time. Next on the list was to try and get tickets to a stage play called 'Speed the Plow' starring Kevin Spacey and Jeff Goldblum, that was happening at the Old Vic Theater. Our handy travel book told us that the Old Vic opened at 10am every morning. So we aimed to arrive there before it opened.

When we found it, there was a short line of people waiting outside already, but not too bad. When the door opened and the line moved inside to the box office, we were told that the ENTIRE SEASON was sold out, and that they only had a few 'Standing Room Only Tickets' left. As we debated in line on whether or not we would even want to stand through an entire play, the 2 couples ahead of us got the last available spots. So this attempt was a complete BUST. It was a bit disappointing because I used to have an uber-crush on Jeff Goldblum, but at least we can say we tried.

So what now then? How about an impromptu Boat Trip up to Hampton Court Palace (you know, the one from the 'Tudors'...)!

The boat we ended up on was called the Dunkirk and had an amazing history. It was a civilian type boat that was actually used during World War II to evacuate soldiers who were being attacked at Dunkirk back to England.

It was the PERFECT day for a boat ride like this. The sun was bright, the sky was blue and the breeze was warm. We really lucked out.
Because it was a 3 hour float down the Thames to our destination, the boat was equipped with a snack bar & BAR. One of the things I really wanted to do on this trip was have a Pint on the Thames. Check.

Throughout the 3 hours, the Captain recited all the historical tid-bits as we floated by them. It was extremely interesting and the 3 hours went by quickly. The Dove Pub supposedly has the SMALLEST BAR in the world, with only 2 stools.

After a beautiful trip, we docked at Hampton Court Palace.

We didn't head straight to the Palace, but instead strolled around the little town, looking in some antique shops and had some lunch at a Pub.

The entrance to the palace was huge. We have 2 paintings of Hampton Court in our Pub, so it was so neat to see it in real life.

Inside, many of the old rooms were staged to demonstrated what they would have been used for.

Outside, the gardens were immaculate (of course they were, this is England for goodness sake). Yes, that's me under the tree!

The Royal Tennis Courts were actually being used. I have no idea if they were royalty.

The first of MANY photos of Warren taking photos.
My critically acclaimed 'Flowering Bulbs' photo.

After the Palace tour, on our way to catch the train back to London, Warren bought a soft ice cream cone with a chocolate candy stick, that he used to eat as a kid. Awwwww.
We ended our day back in London and ate a Vegetarian Indian restaurant that our Travel Book had recommended. The food was great, but the service was absolutely atrocious. It's funny now, to think that the service was SO bad, we actually took the time to make sure we noted that in our travel journal :-)