Folk Fest 2010

Over the years - 10 years or so - the Calgary Folk Music Festival has become somewhat of a religion in my family. Warren met my dad for the first time at Folk Fest. I used to wake up really early and head down to Prince's Island park and line up at 6am, before the gates were even open, just so I could rush the main stage with all the other crazies, and lay down our tarps to claim some prime real estate. My program would be marked up with circles and stars mapping out my journey for the day...which stages and which bands I wanted to see. A late afternoon nap under a shady tree wasn't unheard of. I'd saunter lazily through the artist's market and shop for handmade jewelry, scarves and jaunty caps. We'd all warm ourselves with a coffee and the mandatory festival Indian cuisine as the sun set behind the trees. I'd stay until the last song had played, and the last ghostly lantern had winded it's way through the crowd. Only to repeat the ritual the next day.

This year was a bit different.

But equally as special, memorable and worth the effort.

This year, for Warren & I, it wasn't so much about the music. It was more about chasing the shade, finding space for Rhys to explore and keeping everyone hydrated. And with us being the luckiest parents in the world, we also had family around us to help entertain Rhys and give us a break. The weather was glorious. Folk Fest was the perfect backdrop for a family weekend outdoors in the city, and I know each year it will get better and better as Rhys learns to dance and appreciate the worldly grooves. Rhys may have been baptized at 3 months old, but at just over one year old, he's been 'baptized' into the religion of...Folk Fest.

It was also the perfect punctuation mark to my incredible year off.

2Tired2Blog

Ooof. And I thought Folk Fest was exhausting BEFORE having a kid...

Hopefully I'll have a shiny new card reader tomorrow so I can post some photos :-)

Highlight of today? Spending 1.5 hours in the beer gardens while Rhys slept in the stroller beside me.

Two. Relaxing. Uninterupted. Beers.

On a hot summer's day.

Thank-you, my sweet little angel boy.

Folk Fest Highlight #1

Last night, as we were packing up our gear to leave Folk Fest, a man who had been sitting next to us came up to Warren and said, "You have a very well behaved, handsome son", and then he shook Warren's hand.

Huh. I didn't think Rhys was being anything but a typical one year old. Not really wanting to stay in one place very long, watermelon juice dripping down his face onto his white shirt, not wanting to fall asleep... But thank-you Mr. Nice Stranger! Thank-you very much!

Moral of this story? If you ever see a family with a young child/children, do not hesitate to compliment them on their child/children. It will totally make their day!

Hopefully we have more 'nice stranger' stories to share tomorrow...now we're off for a fun filled day of music, dancing, food and all-around-general-hippy-ness. Oh, and hopefully some napping.

Photo-less

Oh, how I wish our card reader was working! Then I could simply post cute, witty photos to count as my daily contribution.

So far today has been a good day, for me. With Rhys at daycare, I have no idea what his day has been like so far. That bothers me. This is going to take some getting used to...

Dropped Rhys off, then headed to Chinook Mall for my dentist appointment. Had an hour to kill so I bought a gossipy magazine, a double Americano and an apple strudel. Heavenly. Then picked up some ice packs and bungee cords from Zellers (needed them for folk fest...). Yup, having a dentist in one the biggest malls in Canada is pretty awesome.

Then came the appointment. My dentists' office has TV's in each room AND they have a lady who gives you a hand or foot massage while you get your work done. I went for the hand massage, because it just seemed wrong to have someone touch my feet at the dentist.

After that ,I shopped for jeans and actually had some luck! Thank-you Shawna for suggesting American Eagle Outfitters! Why had I never shopped there before?

Now I'm prepping for Folk Fest tonight. Hopefully Rhys had a fabulous nap at daycare so that he'll be in could spirits tonight. Again, I hate not knowing how his day is going.

Wish us luck!

Dr. Mom (and Dad)

Last night is now a distant haze, and I don't really want to relive it all here. But I'll relive some. It started off innocently enough, Rhys fell fast asleep without a peep.

I was chatting with my dad on the phone around 8:30pm when I heard Rhys squawk. "Gotta go, Rhys is crying".

He didn't stop crying until 1:30am. We put a lot of miles on the 'ole rocking chair last night, since that was the only thing that would help him settle. But put him back down...and screams. The worst, frantic, painful screams. The entire night was a stressful, frustrating, heartbreaking game of 'try to guess what is wrong'. Is it his teeth? Are his eyes still itchy? Is it separation anxiety? It's Daycare! This all our fault! Is he hot, cold? Maybe he has an ear infection? Is he frustrated with his sleepsack? Maybe indigestion from the fish sticks? We tried everything...Tylenol, burping, coddling, water...he was inconsolable. Convinced he simply just 'missed us' we attempted twice to get him to sleep with us in bed, something we have never done before.

How do other families co-sleep? Seriously, he tossed and turned, and sat up, and screamed, and rolled, and screamed and rubbed his face into the bed...so that didn't last.

Finally after some tears he fell asleep for an hour or so in his crib. Then he woke again at 3am, screaming, crying, etc. Again with the guessing game, but this time Warren & I are delirious with fatigue and stress and start arguing and getting snippy with each other, thinking every idea or theory the other person has is stupid.

Warren: Okay, don't yell at me, hear me out, but maybe it's...

Amanda: Stop it! This is NOT because of the cupcake they gave him at daycare! I've had enough of your sugar-phobia, damn it!

Ya, it wasn't pretty. But stress and lack of sleep aren't a good mix, and then add in the screams of an inconsolable child and blood pressures are sure to rise. We weren't at our best.

At 5am, after many more attempts at rocking him to sleep, we brought him, once again, to our bed. He was wide awake. We came to terms with the fact that our day was likely going to be starting at 5am and turned on the cartoons and gave him some milk. Soon after that...propped up and nestled into Warren's shoulder, he was snoring. Warren soon followed, then I did too. We slept together, our exhausted family of three, half sitting up in our king size bed until 7am.

Long story short - went to the doctor and the culprit is...ear infection.

Sometimes I wish I'd gone to medical school, so that I could be a Doctor, instead of just playing one on TV.

And now we go UP.

As my friend Keri said in the comments, we've been on a bit of rollercoster lately. This morning was a DOWN. Rhys had separation anxiety. But, now, at the end of the day, we are on a big UP. Arrived to pick him up at 2:45pm, he was happy and enjoying a snack and thrilled to see us. He was handing out smiles to everyone. His eye was totally cleared up. He napped for 1 hour and 45 minutes! He had fish sticks for lunch - his first fish ever! He stayed up an extra hour tonight and went to bed at 6:20pm. Mmmmm...I'm so proud of him.

(Note to grandparents: sorry for the lack of Rhys photos. Our card reader is dead...hopefully we'll get a new one soon!).

Tweet.

Rhys had a good night last night. Slept right through without incident. His eye goop was gone this morning and he was back to his normal self, somewhat. He's definitely a bit more needy that usual. When we dropped him off he did.not.want.us.to.leave. Tears in the morning for the first time. Aida was saying "You must go, you must go. He see you, he cries...". Back to wallowing in my mommy guilt for another day...

(I'm not on twitter, so this is kind of like a blog-tweet. Did I go over the character limit? Need to learn twitter shorthand I guess...).

Miracle of Miracles

When I tell people Rhys is going to be in daycare when I'm back to work, a common response is "It'll be tough, you'll shed a few tears, but he'll eventually really like it". "Shed a few tears?", I'd wonder, "Why, because I'll miss him? ". That seemed unlikely (the tears part). I mean, he was coming back. It's not like he's gone forever. He's just at daycare.

But yesterday proved them right.

To start off the day, Rhys had had a terrible night on Sunday night. Up every hour or so. Screaming. Miserable. He was a bit groggy in the morning, but still cheerful. The drop-off went well. It was rainy and grey outside, so I knew it would be a long day for him indoors.

I missed him, but it was something else, too. I felt kind of lost. No direction. No focus. On edge. I'd get teary, wondering how he was doing.

Then came time to pick him up. Warren was home so he came with me. "You know, with our luck, the first day you come with me to get him will be the day he's crying his head off" I joked, and we both laughed uncomfortably.

We walked through the doors, and....well. We both recognized that cry. He was standing by a table, crying, with dark circles under his red, tired eyes. My heart cracked into a thousand pieces. A caregiver swooped him up and consoled him, then looked at us, "He just started crying a second ago". It cracked into a thousand more pieces because I knew I'd never know if she was being truthful. Then Aida came to me. "Oh boy," she said. "He only napped today for thirty minutes. He had a good morning, but the afternoon, not good". I had never seen him that tired. His eyes were red from him rubbing them. He just looked beaten.

So we rushed him home so he could nap and get the rest he desperately needed. But instead, he screamed and screamed and we rocked him and cradled him but nothing worked. He slept for 10 minutes, that's it. We played with him but he was seriously going to collapse. So we bathed him and he was in bed by 5:20p. His night was slightly better than Sunday, but still rough. Up at 8:30p, 10:30p, 3a, and 6a. Screaming. Exhausted. That evening and night I cried and cried and cried and hated myself for ruining his life and breaking him. He seemed broken.

Morning came and he was happy. His eyes were crusty from a restless sleep, but he was happy. Off to daycare. Happy. We thought positive thoughts and prayed for a better nap today.

I had coffee with a friend, did some grocery shopping and when I came home Warren was home too. "I'm going crazy here! When can we go get him?". At 2:30p we drove down, preparing for the worst. Walked in, no crying. Good sign. Went around the corner and entered his room. He was sitting on Aida's lap, eyes red and sore and tired. My heart sank. He smiled when he saw us.

"Oh!", Aida said, "We just had a fight...I was washing his eyes, he doesn't like that...his eyes been dripping all day." Turns out, the goop we noticed in his eyes this morning was a sign of something more sinister. So she suggested we get some eye drops for him, but still bring him in tomorrow because he did really well today and she doesn't want to break the momentum. Also might be one of the reasons he's been sleeping poorly at home and rubbing his eyes so much.

My son, Rhys, slept for 1 hour and 30 minutes at daycare today. THANK YOU JESUS.

Pacing.

I'm home alone with a list of things to do, to keep me busy.

But, instead of tackling the list, I'm pacing the hall. Eating a cucumber.

I can't focus.

I never thought this would be easy, but I didn't expect it to be this hard.

Daycare Day 2, Continued...

Continued...

When I got into the car after leaving Rhys at the daycare, I called Warren from the parking lot. "I'm coming home now", I said. "What? Why? Is the daycare closed?". "I'm coming home WITHOUT RHYS", I replied. "Whaaat? Oh.".

Walking through the front door was so strange. I made myself a bowl of cereal and a coffee and checked my blog list and Facebook. The phone rang. My heart jumped. But it wasn't the daycare, it was Warren's mom. "Thought you & Rhys might want to come to the Britannia Pancake Breakfast at 10:3oam. Rhys would love the music!". Nope, Rhys is at daycare. Ugh.

I used the time alone to clean up the house and backyard as there was still a bit of mess from the party. I found homes for Rhys' new toys & books & clothes. I found myself wanting to check his video baby monitor, only to remember seconds later that he wasn't home. Then I had this urge to tidy up his room really nice, and I hung some items on his walls that were gifts that I hadn't gotten around to hanging until now, and I folded all his clothes really nice and rearranged his closet. It was like he'd been away at camp and I was preparing his room for his return. Or something.

I had a glorious shower and even blow-dried my hair. Then off to the bank and then to pick him up.

When I got there Rhys and the other kids were sitting in there booster seats having their snack of banana & watermelon. Rhys looked up and saw me and pointed. Aida took him out and changed his diaper and handed him to me. Rhys smiled and pushed his face into mine and then squeezed his arms around my shoulders. He really squeezed me. It was lovely. That's not something he does. It was as if he was saying "I love you mommy! I remember you! You are still my favorite!".

"Tell me everything!", I asked Aida "How was nap time?". "Well," she said, "he only slept for 40 minutes". She's right. That isn't very long, especially considering he usually has two 1.5 hour naps at home. But at the same time, I was impressed that he slept at all. The kids nap on little mattresses on the floor, with a blanket on top of them. At home, Rhys sleeps alone, in his crib in a sleepsack. The concept of him sleeping with others around him, not in a crib, seemed so odd to me.

She said he was very confused when the lights went dark. He refused his soothie and tossed it aside. She washed it and then he took it. She stroked his leg and he pushed her hand away. She stroked his chest and he pushed her away again. She sat beside him and eventually he lied down and fell asleep. She was eating her lunch in another room when she heard him babbling (very LOUDLY she said). Him and one other girl were awake and she wasn't sure who woke up first. He sat on her lap after that playing with a book. Despite his lowsy nap he was in a good mood, and after a minute or so in my arms he wanted down and ran to the barnyard toy thing again.

When we got home we played for about half an hour and I put him down for a nap. He slept for 2 hours (and so did I). So I'm really hoping next week he slowly gets the hang of napping longer at daycare because he doesn't get a second nap there once I'm back to work. For now, though, I'm around to pick him up early so he can nap at home if needed. That's why were doing it this way.

Last night was one of the best nights with Rhys we'd had in a while. He woke up from his nap at 5:30pm and he was really hungry. Ate a lot of dinner, then the 3 of us hung out in the yard playing, splashing, wagon riding, digging in the dirt, chasing dogs, until bath time at 7:30pm. He was out like a light after that.

Daycare

Now that Rhys is one, so has begun our transition to daycare. I have another week and a half before going back to work, so our plan is to ease him in, a bit longer each day so that by the time I go back he's used to it. And frankly, I need to be eased in just as much as he does.

Yesterday, the day after his birthday, was his first official day.

Daycare, Day 1:

Rhys woke up at 7am. We brought him to our bed to drink his milk and watch cartoons while we 'woke up'. Then had to quickly give him breakfast and I had to actually get dressed and put on makeup before 8:30am. Unheard of on Mat Leave! I gathered up all his daycare stuff and we were out the door by 9am.

As soon as we got there he was walking around playing with all the stuff and exploring. The caregivers said that was a great sign, because they said a lot of first-timers cry at the noise & stimulation of being in the centre, when they're used to the quiet of home. It was a quiet day in his age group - only 4 kids when there can be up to 8 - but there are 2 other age groups in the centre.

The main care giver in his age group is this FABULOUS woman named Aida. She is an older, Polish woman with a thick polish accent. Very grandma-type. I really like her. She's been working with babies for 25 years and you can tell. Her & I took the 4 kids on a walk in the 4-baby stroller. She would pull twigs and leaves from the trees and show the kids how to smell them and touch them. Rhys had his first 'Digestive' cookie while one that walk.

I'd heard stories of women who sat in their cars crying after taking their kids to daycare. I never anticipated being emotional. But, on this walk, while I watched him in that stroller with the other kids, interacting with Aida, my eyes swelled with tears. I seriously had to hide my face, because I wasn't wearing sunglasses. But it suddenly occurred to me why people have those silly 'kindergarten graduation' ceremonies. I realised that, at the tender young age of One, Rhys was 'graduating' to a new stage in his life. This was a big deal. The cord was being cut, just a little bit more...and mixed in with my sadness, was also pride.

Then back at the daycare she fed them lunch. Spaghetti. She suggested I leave the room in case my presence distracted him from eating (she clearly doesn't know my son!). I re-entered the room and stood behind a bookcase about part way through, and just watched. Rhys didn't see me and I don't think Aida did either. He was eating so much (2 bowls full!) Aida started asking him, in her polish accent, "Rhys, you tell me, top secret...who do you get your appetite from? Mom or Dad? Hundreds like you! I want hundreds just like you!". Made my heart melt.

That took us to about 11:30am, and I brought Rhys home for his nap. Gramma Patsy came over and we played in the backyard with all his new toys in the afternoon.

Today, Daycare Day 2:

This morning we were out the door by 8:30am, and my plan was to stay until lunch, and leave him there to eat and nap.

Got there, Rhys did a b-line for the little barnyard toy thing, Aida started playing peek-a-boo with him, and she asked me if I planned to stay again today. "Well, I certainly could!" I replied. "Oh, you should go. You should go...look at him, he's happy" she said.

Ooookaaaay. So, I kissed him goodbye and he barely even looked up. Which, truthfully, is what I wanted. Much better than having him scream and cry with his arms extended as I left.

So, now I'm at home, the whole day to myself (I'm picking him up after his nap at 2:30p), and the rest is still unwritten...

A Birthday In Pictures

Yesterday was Rhys's 1st Birthday. When my brother Adam showed up he asked me "Who the heck has a party on a Wednesday night?".

I do, that's who.

First, the PONY we got Rhys for his Birthday:

Playing with his new water transportation station:

Gathered around his new bubble lawnmower with Uncle James & Aunt Kayley:

Wagon!:

And, the moment I'd been waiting for! :

To top off the evening, we hauled everyone into the Pub for an exclusive VIP screening of his birthday video.

And now, for the World Premier! Click Here To Watch.

When I watch it, I can't believe it's only documenting one year. It feels like a lifetime ago that he was born, because my world is so different with him in it.

Song choices:

1st song: 'Innocence' by Avril Lavigne. This song hit me hard when I was pregnant with Rhys. I would crank it in the car and just bawl.

2nd song: 'I Gotta Feeling' by The Black Eyed Peas. I picked this song for a few reasons. First, it has a great intro. Second, it had the 'vibe' I wanted. 3rd, it's a really good sample of the music that was popular the year Rhys was born. It's probably the most over played song in history!

3rd song: 'Canned Heat' by Jamiroquai. It's just a fun song.

4th song: 'Loving You Is Easy' by Sarah Mclachlan. I was so torn about what song to use for the end of the video. Had a few in mind. Then I heard this a few weeks ago on CBC Radio 2, and I had found my ending.

Video was shot on a Canon HD Mini-DV video camera. Maternity photos taken by my friends and professional photographers at Big Picture Photography. Video edited on a MacBook Pro with the iMovie program.

Cake Boss.

Just call me 'Buddy'...

For later today...

(I know, I'm a total cheater...)

Tired

I'm feeling really strapped for time lately. Between prepping for Rhys' birthday party (which includes food shopping, house cleaning, video editing, present buying, backyard arranging, and other little things to make the day special), prepping for his start at daycare, family gatherings, etc, etc, all on top of the regular day-to-day activities like prepping meals, cleaning up after meals, laundry, following our walking toddler around everywhere, etc, etc... How do all you moms out there do it? I'm so tired.

Anyway, here is an outtake from Rhys' Birthday video. It's one the many clips I couldn't include, but think it's cute and worth sharing ;-)

Widescreen link HERE.

Sunday.

Today was a perfect Sunday. Warren only had one appointment, and they cancelled! I went to the mall in the morning for some 'top secret' birthday errands, then my mom came for a visit while we watched Spain (wahoo!) win the World Cup, then off to Nana & Grandan's for a backyard dinner with some out of town friends.

Rhys & Grandan:

Rhys walking around entertaining everyone:

Rhys decided, suddenly, that he knew how to climb stairs:

Oh ya, and the Birthday Video? DONE. (Shawna, whatever you charge your clients, IT'S NOT ENOUGH). Look for it's Blog debut on the 15th!

Post!

Today was really fun. Rhys & I spent the day at Grampa & Grandma's house to celebrate my Dad's birthday. Rhys got an early birthday present - a wagon! - and his uncle James pulled him around in it. He called it a 'baby motor home' because Rhys was lounging and eating snacks in it. Lots of video & photos were taken of the fun we had, but of course that was all on other people's cameras.

So, I'm just posting for posting's sake. I'll *try* to do better tomorrow!

Insightful

Yesterday Kirsty and I were talking a lot about parenthood and how awesome it is, and yet how at the same time is full of challenging moments and moments that downright suck. But we love it! And then I read Backpacking Dad's post 'Do Parents Hate Parenting?'.

Worth the read, especially if you're home, bored, nursing sick kids or recovering from ear surgery and need something to read to pass the time...

I wish I could write insightful posts like Backpacking Dad. Rhys' poop is really sticky these days! Oh, wait...that's not insightful at all. *SIGH*.

Better Day.

Yesterday was rough. I was stressed, tired and sick. So was Warren. Rhys was a TERROR. He seems to have entered a bit of a 'tantrum' stage, or as Warren likes to call it, the 'We're Only Having One Kid' stage. Regardless, yesterday kind of sucked.

Today was much better! Rhys was an absolute delight to be around. We had an amazing visit with Kirsty & her son Easton. We talked a lot about going back to work and all that jazz and now I have a bunch of blog post ideas swirling around my brain. But I am still very. tired. And lots to do. So, I'll jot down some notes and save those ideas for another time.

Here are the two buddies, 8 weeks apart (Easton is 10 months old today!). My, how they're growing!

To top of the day, Rhys was a dream tonight. Warren was working late, so it was just the two of us. We crawled around the floor chasing each other, peek-a-booed until our tummies hurt from laughing and gave each other big, wet kisses all night long. Tonight was an 'I want lots and lots of cute little babies' kind of night.

ASS out of U and ME

Conversation this morning in our kitchen...

Warren: Okay. I've looked everywhere. I found this tape, but it looks blank.

Amanda: (takes tape, desperately hoping it's the missing tape they've been searching for) Yup. This looks brand new. And it's the wrong brand. Can't be it. (Places tape on the table and continues to wallow in her misery).

Literally 2 minutes after typing my last post, I decided to play that tape, JUST TO BE SURE.

And...voila. Rhys' first Christmas!

Now...is 4:30pm too early for a glass of wine?

At Least

I've been in a bit of a funk today. I'm fighting off a mild cold, which is draining my energy and wearing my patience thin. To add to my sour mood, last night as I was working on Rhys' 1st Year Video I noticed we were missing a tape. We've scoured the house and it's either lost or we accidentally taped over it. We're missing half of December and January/February. Specifically, Rhys' first solid food and, you know, his first Christmas. And I distinctly remember taping those things. I'm sad and angry and frustrated and disappointed...it sucks.

At least I picked up party decorations.

Love List

A few things I am really enjoying these days...

1. CBC Radio 2: What's that? AMANDA? Is that YOU? Yes, I'll admit. I'm not usually one to push or promote the CBC. I'm just not a fan of government run media in general. It's the principal of it. I mean, you can dislike Fox News' Bill O'Reilly all you want, but at least you can sleep at night knowing your taxes aren't paying his salary. But, I digress.

I am a big fan of top 40 hits. I like the catchy beats and hooks and like to sing a long. So my usual radio station of choice was Calgary's Vibe 98.5 (now Virgin 98.5). Recently though, I've had it. Just because I like a song, doesn't mean I want to hear it 8 times a day. So I searched for something new and stumbled across some classical music on CBC Radio 2 'Tempo', and loved it. There is this whole underworld of people out there who love classical music, and actually know stuff about it. Fascinating. Then, I discovered 'Shift' and 'Drive', the later hosted by one of my favourite Canadian musicians, Rich Terfry aka Buck 65. Just yesterday I heard 'Girl' by the Beatles, then Katie Lang's version of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah', then 'California' by Led Zepplin, then an acoustic version of Alanis Morissette's 'Ironic', all in a row. Commercial free. Seriously. Awesome. I have to swallow my pride (and principles) while I enjoy the government run radio tunes that fill a niche market that apparently I may be a part of. GULP.

2. Organics Delivered: With Warren on a real health bender these days we decided to try this new service called 'Organics Delivered'. I'll be honest, it was the 'delivered' part that attracted me more that the organic part. But while in Maui I was a bit disillusioned when I bought a mango at the Maui Safeway, and the sticker said it was from ECUADOR. So we decided to give local, organic produce a shot. And did I mention it's delivered?

Now before you run out and give it a try, a few warnings. Although you can set preferences, you don't actually order specific produce items. The bin comes to your door with a variety of stuff and you don't know what will be included until you receive it. It's like Christmas morning every two weeks! If you live with picky eaters who may not enjoy things like Swiss Chard or Beets, this probably isn't for you. And you have to like salad because each delivery usually includes several varieties of lettuce. And, it's not all local. They say they do their best to include as much local produce as possible, but a large amount still comes from the states. But so far, we're enjoying the deliveries, and the way it forces us to consume more vegetables :-)

3. This brings me to the next love item, Produce Savers. They work. The key is to remember to store your produce in them.

4. 5 Ingredient Slow Cooker Cook Book: This is a recipe book I accidentally stole because it was hidden by Rhys' carseat purchased at Superstore. I love my slow cooker, and this cookbook is great because, as the title says, each recipe has only 5 ingredients. And they're all 'normal' ingredients, stuff I usually buy already. I'm predicting to use it a lot more once I'm back to work.

5. "All Out Of "Pad: This is an impulse purchase I nabbed at Chapters, and I love it! It's always on the fridge, and as soon as we run out of something I tick off the box and voila! An instant shopping list whenever I'm heading to the grocery store. The best part? Warren has FINALLY caught on and now he ticks things off too :-)

Evolution of a Pub

My dad was very surprised when he first found out we were pregnant. He was the one who transformed our basement into a British Pub. His logic was that any young couple who wanted a Pub in their basement wasn't exactly thinking ahead to a life with children in the near future. But I ask you, what child doesn't want to play in a Pub and enjoy a Dickens Christmas every year?

That being said, my dad had a point, and now Warren & I are working on re-organising the Pub to accommodate a 'grown-up' TV/movie watching/fireplace area, and a play area for Rhys (and any little buddies that may come over!). Part one of this transformation was getting rid of the GINORMOUS, space-sucking, eyesore of a TV that we had down there. Warren got it for free from a client who just wanted to get rid of it. It has served us well, but it was taking up precious real estate in our Pub, and no child needs a screen that big, blaring Treehouse into their skull. My brother came over yesterday to try and move it. Some photos for size reference:

Beside Warren, who is 6'3":

At the bottom of the stairs:

Needless to say, the move was UN-SUCCESSFUL. I'm pretty sure we need to hire a piano mover to get this thing up our stairs. Getting it down was scary enough (I had 9-1-1 ready to go). So, it's now found a temporary home in our freezer room.

Today, I drove up to Airdrie to pick up a corner TV stand I found on kijiji to house a smaller, old TV we had kicking around. Now, Rhys doesn't really watch TV, but I know this will come in handy when he's old enough to like cartoons or movies, plus, I know his Aunt Kayley & Uncle James might want to watch TV when they come to visit. Here's the beginnings of Rhys' Pub Playroom:

I'm wondering if I should get some wooden letters and make a sign that says 'Ye Olde Playroom'. Ha!

But OH! The 'grown-up' area is awesome! We got a new TV mounted to the wall (space saver!!) and I absolutely LOVE the ambiance down there. I feel like we've doubled the size of our house. While Adam was over we 'christened' the new TV by watching 'Shutter Island' on Blu-ray. GREAT MOVIE! Highly recommend it.

Now, since I'm sure my mom is getting annoyed at the lack of Rhys photos in this post...here you go. This was taken the day after the projectile vomit episode - much happier baby!

Parenting 'Right Of Passage', Perhaps?

Yesterday Rhys was not himself. He had a terrible night's sleep and was grumpy all day. Runny nose, bum rash and general malaise with an ample amount of whining. Let me tell you, nothing makes me appreciate his easy going self than when it's gone. I could see his 2 top front teeth pushing their way through the gums, so we figure he was teething. Some baby Tylenol helped him have a 2.5 hour nap in the afternoon, which was glorious. The cherry flavoured medicine used to go down easily, but this time he winced and scrunched his nose at the taste, but he took the full dose.

Now, jump ahead to bedtime, when Gramma Patsy was over and Warren & I were getting all dolled up for a fancy romantic dinner at 'Rush' restaurant downtown to properly celebrate our anniversary. I was in my bathrobe, had just finished bathing Rhys, and had him all snuggled in his jimjams. Time to give him a nighttime dose of the cherry flavoured medicine that we hoped would help him sleep better and get the rest he needed. He winced and scrunched and turned his head and even gagged a little at the taste. But I persisted. Then, IT happened. Projectile Vomit. All over my baby. All over my bath robe. All over Gramma Patsy's arm. All over the carpet. Splatter on the bedding. Later, when I picked up the medicine bottle, it was also dripping vomit. My poor little man. I felt so responsible, because I was forcing him to swallow something he didn't like. It was clearly a gag-reflex reaction. Warren came to our rescue to help clean up the mess, and I was just thankful he wasn't there to witness it happen. He would have freaked out and insisted we go to Emergency at the hospital. It was exorcist-like.

So, son's projectile vomit all over the place while getting ready to go out. I think this means I have 'earned' my first parenting badge. Kind of like they do in Beavers and Brownies. I can sew that onto my Mama Sash and wear it proudly.

I'm VERY pleased to announced that, even though he needed more care & love from Gramma Patsy than usual while we were out, he woke up in a delightful mood this morning, runny nose gone, bum rash gone, and those little white 'Satan's Kernels' poking through a bit more. Maybe he'll have some adorable buck teeth in time for his birthday. Perfect for chomping down on birthday cake.

In the end, we were able to dress ourselves and have a delicious meal, just the two of us.

GranDan

Warren's Dad is an interesting guy. Born in England and lived through the war. His life has been crazy and full of twists and turns and risks and payoffs and downfalls. He's funny, laid back and speaks his mind. He's a great husband to Warren's mom. Does the dishes every night, and enjoys traveling with her. He looks forward to the day his grandson, Rhys Kenneth Daniel Cronin, will be old enough to share a pint with him. Rhys will call him 'GranDan'.

Daniel Cronin is also an avid cyclist - a hobby he is passionate about. Did I mention he's 78 years old?

CTV awarded him 'Athlete Of The Week' a couple weeks ago, and here is the story they ran:

Widescreen link HERE. (recommended)

*Note: This was videotaped, handheld, off the TV, so the audio & video aren't the greatest.

Alcohol & Good Intentions

Yesterday turned into a lovely evening...blue skies and a light breeze. Perfect for a quick after dinner jaunt with the jogging stroller. BUT, while having some dinner out on the deck, Warren pulled out some champagne that has been in the fridge since Rhys was first born. So we ended up hanging in the backyard and had a late night fire instead. A much more appropriate way to spend an anniversary, don't you think? Exercise is so overrated.

Nothing says 'romance' like some gorgeous power lines against a blue sky:

Our delightful spawn joined us for the celebrations:

We polished off the 'Ice Wine Truffles' that were leftover from my "Girl's Banff Getaway" last week:

Rhys was enjoying being sprayed by the sprinkler mist as I watered some plants, and ended up with a pretty funky hairstyle:

After Rhys was quietly sleeping...

July

This next month is going to be full of big things for us. Rhys turns one. Rhys will be going to his first of many Calgary Folk Music Festivals. Rhys will start daycare. My maternity leave will end, and I'll be returning to work full time. July is kind of a big deal around here.

Because there is so much to document this month, my resolution will be, once again, to blog every day. That's always a daunting task to commit to, but I need to this month. I can't let this month fly by without notice.

Today, Canada Day, is Warren & I's 4th Wedding Anniversary. We don't buy each other gifts or cards, instead we simply committed to taking the same picture every year. And this year is the one I've been dreaming of for a long time...

July 1st, 2010:

(You can see the past 4 photos HERE).

Rob & Tiffany (now Rhys' Godparents) took the photo, as usual, and then we all went to mission again for coffees. This year, THEY are the ones expecting a baby. We are in the middle of such an exciting time in all of our lives. So much change, adventure, growth and happiness. I never want it to end.

For the remainder of today: Warren is working a bit, Gramma Patsy is coming over, we'll head to the mall to pic up some photos, and maybe tonight we'll take Rhys out in the jogging stroller, if the weather holds out. The sky is looking grey...

Happy Canada Day, everyone!