Endings and beginnings

It's the 30th of November, the last official day of NaBloPoMo. It has been a challenge, but I have really enjoyed it! I mean, maybe 3 of my posts have had any real substance to them. Most have simply been stories about the kids. But it's been freeing to just write something rather than feeling pressured to write something significant. I need to channel this into writing in the future.

And speaking of endings (and beginnings):

• November looks to be ending the way it began - with parents getting puked on. Dave got hit 2 nights in a row with Teddy at the start of the month. Last night, poor Veronica was congested and spit up all over herself and me at 3 a.m. Boo!
• In happier news, Dave and I finished the series finale of "The Wire" last night. I am sure that this shocks no one to hear, but that series is so, so amazing. We started it when Veronica was tiny and we've been plowing through. I am sad it's over, though. We did watch S1 of Modern Family (also great) at the same time, and now we're caught up there, too. What to watch next? We're thinking "Friday Night Lights". Any other suggestions?

Thanks, folks for sticking it out with me. And have a wonderful feast of St. Andrew!

Veronica's Baptism...eventually.

The plans for Veronica's baptism are finally in the works, save the ultimate ok from the parish. I know Doreen, the head of the Baptismal ministry, though, and I am pretty sure that we'll get the only date that works. Too bad that it's in June.

At our parish, in addition to the full immersion font, we have preset baptismal dates. We have our godparents - Dave's brother Barry and my Aunt Linda. But the upcoming dates are less than ideal. They are:

• two dates in the dead of winter. Since the bulk of our families are from out of town (both godparents live a 4+ hour drive away and don't relish the highway drive required to get here), asking them to come to our snowy city at that time of year is just cruel.
• March 6th - the 40th birthday of her future godfather and the day before her future godmother's 60th. Also not fair.
• Nothing during Lent, obviously.
• May 8th - aka Mother's Day.
• June 19th - aka Father's Day.

We debated and debated, and consulted with family. We've settled on June 19th; we'll have a little something for all the fathers who'll be coming and sacrificing their special day. Plus, the weather will be great and it's near the end of the school year (for all my educator relatives and for the nieces/cousins who are still in school).

It's brutal, though - she'll be nearly 10 months old! Father Boyd has already started to ask: "When will I get to baptize this one?" and it'll still be another 6+ months.

No one can say that they don't have sufficient notice, though!

Teddy vignettes

Teddy had a few awesome moments yesterday and today. I needed to share them.

This afternoon, Dave was on the phone with my MIL and I was feeding Veronica. Teddy headed over to the toy bins and fished out his gloworm, whom he calls 'his baby'. Then, he flopped down on his couch, saying "Oh, baby!" and attempted to breastfeed the toy. Hilarious!

We've borrowed my parents' Advent wreath. In one of those crazy twists of fate, I had planned to buy our own wreath, but before I could head out to buy it, my Mom called to offer the one we used as a kid. It's sitting on the table and we began lighting it last night.

Teddy was thrilled. The moment he spotted us about to light the candles, he broke into a spot on rendition of "Happy Birthday". I guess we should encourage that? I mean - we are counting down to Jesus' birthday, after all. And we'll be celebrating the 25th with birthday cake, although it will be for my Nonna. She's named Natalina (which basically means female baby born on Christmas) as that is her natal day.

He's a riot, our boy.

Sleep. The lack of it is catching up to me.

I suspect that Veronica is going through her 3 month growth spurt because she is eating and eating and getting longer. She ate several times last night, too. And now, as we've passed the three month mark, I think that the hormones have worn off and the lack of sleep (though not awful, not by a long shot) is getting to me.

That's why I appreciated it so much this afternoon when Dave watched both kids so I could chill. I read and napped and it was great. Thanks, baby! You rock, and you're an amazing father. I wouldn't want to do this without you.

But Mom - we didn't make it to Costco this afternoon. We'll hit it tomorrow!

Three months

Veronica turned 3 months old on Wednesday. She had a check-up yesterday. It involved no vaccinations and therefore no tears. :)

She is weighing in at 13lbs, 7oz (though she was not wearing a cloth diaper this time; last time's weigh in may have been slightly skewed by that) and she's 24.5 inches long. She passed the time in the waiting room cooing at all the other patients. She may end up being a talker like her Mom!

Her sunny, relaxed personality has returned following the 12 week developmental leap - she rarely cries and smiles and chatters all day long. She chuckled today for the first time. Her hair continues to stick straight up in the back. Her eyes remain a vibrant blue.

She is a little sweetheart. We'll keep her.

Craziest.afternoon.EVER

Oh you guys. I was planning to write about Veronica's turning 3 months old. But this afternoon was insane and I need to share.

My parents came to visit today. I generally try to get a whole bunch more done with the extra hands around, and my Mom loves to clean. These points are salient in today's tale. Also important - the fact that we have an alarm system. And a house built in 1967.

Over the holidays, we've asked the youngest daughter of Teddy's babysitter to look after our cats. To make it easier on her, we wanted to add a special code to our alarm system. The system we have is the same as the one we had in my childhood home, so I figured that my Dad would know how to set it up.

So - my Dad and I begin trying to add the new alarm code. And somehow - we manage to screw up the master code and arm the alarm. As such - we are trapped in the house with the alarm on and we cannot turn it off.

We call our alarm guy, who happens to live around the corner AND is the son of them woman from whom we purchased the house. He attempts to fix the problem remotely, but to no avail. He realizes that he has to come over to fix it, and that the alarm siren will have to go until he deactivates it.

While I am on the phone with Ken (alarm guy), my Mom and Teddy are upstairs, swiffering. He poops, and my Mom gets ready to change him. But before she can, she turns her back after they exit the guest room, and Teddy closes the door, locking her out. And the door would not open. It's an original door from the house, and it stuck when Dave's mom was here. It has no screws so there is no way to remove it.

To recap:

- trapped in the house by the alarm, with a siren about to blare; and
- Teddy trapped in the guest room, with the door stuck shut.

We tried and tried to get the door open. We tried to get the 22 month old to open the door -- he kept trying to turn the knob, but it wouldn't turn. He would touch my fingers, which I'd slipped under the door, and say "Mama???", then would play with the door stop. He wasn't thrilled - he was in a poopy diaper, after all, and trapped. But he did ok.

Then - Ken arrived and the alarm went off. It scared the heck out of poor Veronica (not to mention the cats), who started bawling. Teddy started whimpering on the other side of the door. And I realized that I'd have to break the door down.

I started throwing myself against the door, to no avail. I kept telling Teddy to back away from the door, just so he wouldn't get hit. And, after about 8 tries, I managed to unstick it. Poor Teddy was struck as it opened, but not too hard. I detached the plate and cracked the door casing, but my toddler was free.

And Ken managed to fix the alarm; it took a few minutes, but we figured it out and reprogrammed it. The baby stopped crying and the diaper got changed.

But oh! What a few minutes!

Random musings while watching a rom com from the late 1990s.

Yesterday, I ended up watching "Return to Me", a sweet little romantic comedy from about 10 years ago. It stars David Duchovny as a widower whose wife was the heart organ donor for Minnie Driver. The two meet years later and fall in love. In an eerie twist, Natasha Richardson plays the wife who dies too young.

I found myself reflecting on a whole bunch of things, watching this movie for the first time in years. To wit:

• I was struck by how many nods to the Catholic church are found throughout the movie. Minnie Driver plays Grace, an Irish Catholic whose Grandfather (Carol O'Connor) runs an Irish Italian restaurant where Robert Loggia is the chef. Praying the rosary, priests coming for dinner, the works. It makes me want to watch "Going my Way" again!
  
• I kept thinking: "What a fun blend - and Irish and Italian family". Until I realized that's what I have! D'oh. I mean, Newfoundlanders are as close to the Irish as you'll find outside Ireland.
• But man - the beginning of that movie is SO SAD. I was maybe 22 the last time I watched this movie and I knew it to be sad. But this time, it was all that I could do to fight off tears. The husband and the dog missing the late wife - GAH! I guess at 22, I had far less to lose and so identified with it in a more abstract manner. No longer.

This movie is set in Chicago, just like "While You Were Sleeping", another fave. It seems to me that they aren't making these sweet, light-hearted movies any more. I miss them.

Cloth Diapering a Newborn - My Experience

It's sunny and mild -- probably for the last time in 2010 - so my diapers are out sunning. I continue to be astounded at how well the sun bleaches out the stains caused by breast milk poop. Score one for nature! And I thought I would take this opportunity to write about my experiences with cloth diapering a newborn.

Miss Veronica will be 3 months old tomorrow (I cannot BELIEVE how fast it's going this time) and will officially become an infant. And how we've been diapering her has been changing over the past month or so (she's a porker!). But I wanted to share the stash that we used on her while she was tiny. Well - she was almost 9 lbs at birth, but you know what I mean.

First and foremost, a HUGE thank you to Isha. She let us borrow a whole bunch of her NB stuff that Rory had outgrown. In addition - thanks to my Mom for some cash to augment our stash, some of which was used here, some to buy stuff I will highlight in a later post.

Here's what our stash looked like:

• 12 Kissaluv fitted diapers in size 0 (bought used from Ottawa Kijiji)
  
• 12 infant prefolds (borrowed from Isha)
• 4 Thirsties covers, size small
• 4 Bummis covers, size small
• 3 Annie Marie Padorie (AMP) All-in-one diapers
• 4 Apple Cheeks size 1 diapers (borrowed from Isha)
• 3 Fuzzibunz OS pocket diapers
• 1 Happy Heiney's mini pocket
• 3 Jamtots bamboozle diapers (used at night)

The reason we chose a newborn stash was because most of the OS pockets don't fit newborns well around the legs. In addition - you change them so much over the first little while that it's just easier to have prefolds/fitted diapers and covers as you're using 12-15 diapers a day! We used disposables until the meconium poop had passed, then we dove in.

We used the Kissaluvs and the infant prefolds most of the time, especially when at home. We liked both - the prefolds were more absorbent, but Dave liked the Kissaluvs better since they had snaps and he didn't have to wrangle with a Snappi. We reached for the Thirsties covers first -- they have leg gussets - but the Bummis ones are great, too. Sadly, she outgrew the Kissaluvs a few weeks ago. She can still get into to the infant prefolds, but they are getting small. Soon, it'll be pockets all the time.

My favourite diapers on her were my AMP AIOs. Annie Marie Padorie is a Canadian company and their diapers are adorable. They are super trim, have great applix, and dry very quickly. She's outgrown them, but they were a great diaper when we went out. I love the diaper in Med and in Large, too, but I'll detail that in another post.

Another great option -- and one that'll fit for ages -- is the Fuzzibunz OS. The diapers are sized using buttonhole elastic in the legs, so you can get it really small. These actually fit smaller than the FB Small diapers, and the snaps are great, too.

The other diapers we used were ok. The Happy Heiny's fit her right away, but I am just not a fan of that diaper. Plus - she's too big for it now. The Apple Cheeks are another Canadian-made diaper, and it fit her fairly early on. The inserts of these diapers are supposed to agitate out in the wash, but the pocket is right in the middle of the diaper. It is GROSS fishing the insert out of a newborn poopy diaper. And the Bamboozles are ok. The diapers have been discontinued (I got them used) and I can see why. But they work well at night.

Any questions? Feel free to fire away!

A post written during daylight hours!

It is cold and rainy, so I cannot say that this post is being written during daylight. But it's not even 10 am; in general, my NaBloPoMo posts have been written at 10 pm, so it's a nice change.

Veronica is currently taking a snooze and Teddy wanted to watch an episode of "The Backyardigans". Yes, we let him watch a small bit of TV - he likes the music in these episodes, and this show about imaginary play is adorable. He loves this episode - "High Tea" where they travel all over the world to get the components of the perfect cup of tea. There's a scene where they ride Mongolian ponies to the gushing geyser of the Gobi desert, and Teddy gets up and pretends to ride a horse along with them. It's hilarious.

Teddy continues to be very sweet to the baby. Ever day, he breaks out new worlds - this morning, he looked out the window and pronounced "Rainin'!". He had a growth spurt recently. He ate and ate, developed a belly, chubby cheeks, and a 2nd chin. Then he shot up at least an inch. He turned 22 months on the weekend, and though he can be exasperating at times, particularly when he does something he shouldn't -- like throwing - then smiles and says "Don't throw!" as if that will get him out of being punished. But he adds joy to our lives on a near-hourly basis.

We're also hopeful that Veronica has hit the 12 week spurt. Her sleep has improved and she has been less grumpy for the past day or so. And she's far more interested in everything going on around her.

Uh oh - she's waking up. I'd better run. I hope that you're all having a lovely Monday.

A quiet Sunday

Today was a lovely, quiet day. I had promised to help out with the CWL Membership table after mass, so that was my big task this morning. Veronica, Teddy, and I all napped this afternoon. My Nonna sent us up some food, so we had stuffed eggplant for dinner. And now, we're watching the final episode of S4 of "The Wire", which we are still loving.

I came downstairs (truth be told, I'd been dropping off a cloth diaper in the pail liner) after dark, and I spotted the flickering light from a scented candle, burning in the kitchen. It struck me, then, how excited I am for Advent -- both this year and in future. It's no coincidence that the prospect of a family Christmas was one of the things to which Dave and I most looked forward when we dreamed of having a family. I've been lax in terms of Christmas decorations since we moved to this house, since Christmas has been in Almonte/Kingston/Georgetown and I was either 1 week post miscarriage, VERY pregnant or about to head back to work. But this year, I think that both kids will like the tree. The cats will love it as well, unfortunately, but what can you do?

Saturday night bullet points

It's been a busy few days around here. To wit:

• Yesterday morning, we headed to a Familia meeting at our church. It's still a struggle for me to get both kids out the door to an excursion in a timely manner. I was all set yesterday...until we needed two diaper changes as we were about to head out the door. I'll get better at this, right?
• Last evening, I left the house ALONE for a couple of hours to take part in a focus group. It dealt with waste collection in the city; I'd had to keep a journal on garbage day for two weeks and participate. The honorarium? A sweet $125. I will take it!
• Today, we headed out to Almonte to see my Dad for his birthday. In addition, Dave took the car in for service and to get the winter tires. Good times.

And finally:

• I really, really hope that Veronica's strange, mercurial behaviour is related to the 12 week spurt. Because boy - is she all over the place. Clingy, tearful, grumpy...and far more alert. We're a wee bit nervous that her new behaviour is just how she's going to be, now that she's no longer a sleepy newborn. If so - pray for us!
  

"Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm...

Sixty four years ago today, Kingston, Ontario welcomed one of the smartest, kindest, most wonderful men I've had the good fortune to know. How lucky that I get to call him my Dad.

Happy 64th birthday, Daddy/Ray/Bampa! We'll be out tomorrow, bearing gifts and improperly blown kisses.

Love,
S, D, T and V. xoxoxoxo

I despair of ever writing a blog post while the sun is still up

Gah. I have such lofty goals each day -- particularly with respect to blogging - and they never come to fruition. Today, besides a medical appointment and hitting a couple errands in a part of town I HATE (Merivale Rd, you SUCK), I managed to unload the dishwasher and fold some laundry. And care for children. Both of whom were up multiple times last night.

I miss being in a groove, being able to get stuff done. I imagine that I will eventually competent again but for now - not so much. Days just go by and I feel like I am doing jack squat. And I really hate it.

Ah well. Let's hope that tomorrow will be better. It will be Friday, after all.

A hobby?

Earlier this week, Lauren posted about wanting to develop a hobby that would be productive. She is considering knitting, sewing or scrapbooking. I completely understand that sentiment, and just spent the evening doing something I have really come to enjoy - cardmaking.

I've joined a 'stamping club' where we meet once a month to make several cards/learn techniques. I have to purchase about $30 of product each month, but that's no big deal. And the cards are REALLY nice. As in - you'd never know that I made them, they're so nice. And the women in the group are awesome, too. A night out! It's only a few hours, but still!

In related news - I left Veronica for 3 HOURS tonight. That's the longest we've ever been apart and she managed not to starve to death. Props to Dave -- always an amazing dad - for keeping her content while I was away. Thanks, baby!

November sun

I am likely jinxing myself by saying this but it's the truth -- to date, November in Ontario has been mild and sunny. And I am LOVING it.

November, my father's birthday notwithstanding, is my least favourite month. Remembrance Day is a sad occasion. It's cold and the snow starts. And to quote The Mamas and the Papas: "All the leaves are brown and the sky is grey...". Canadian Thanksgiving is in October (thanks to the earlier harvest) so there's not much to brighten this month. Even the Church encourages us to pray for the dead during this gloomy, gloomy 30 days. February is also gloomy, but it's snowy and our city embraces the cold, having a 3 week long festival. Plus, it's a short month and warm weather is around the corner. With November - the warmth is AGES away.

But this year, we've been so fortunate. I have been basking in the sunny, mild(ish) days. Taking the opportunity to go outside and to sun my diapers. I imagine that this good fortune won't last but I really do appreciate it. I feel like I missed summer this year, what with the extreme heat and the modified bed rest at the end of my pregnancy. These fall days have been great. Let's hope that they last a bit longer!

The Week Twelve Leap (we hope)

Poor Veronica. She's a bit of a mess today.

She's dealing with a bit of a cold, so that isn't helping the situation. But she'll be 12 weeks tomorrow, which is one of the 'stormy' periods prior to the third developmental leap outlined in "The Wonder Weeks". And boy oh boy - is she ever storming.

The poor kid slept poorly last night, wanting to nurse intermittently and thrash in between sessions. She's been fussy all day - crying jags, clinginess, diminished appetite, the works. It's particularly odd because she is svuch a placcid baby. She rarely cries and is generally jolly. The poor little muffin.

Teddy is also having a rough evening. The kid has been eating like a horse over the past few days. To wit: he ate an entire red pepper, half a green one, 8 cherry tomatoes, 2 pieces of roast beef and one of turkey, plus crackers and cheese yesterday at Rory's b-day party, and that was just lunch. This morning, he had FOUR sippy cups of milk (8-9 oz each) and then had a huge lunch (and dinner). His cheeks are chubbier, and he has 2 chins and a belly. Plus he is heavier (Dave agrees). And tonight - he's in tears with what we think are growing pains. He keeps rubbing his legs and his feet, asking "Shoes?" as if they're too tight. Poor kiddo.

That's what's happening over here. But why don't you mosey on over to Arwen's site and congratulate her. It turns out that she's carrying TWINS!

Sunday Night Strategizing

I have been inspired by Jamie at Mostly Gladly (whom I aspire to be like in most aspects of my life, truth be told) and am going to detail what my To Do list for the next 7 days.

Time Sensitive:

• Do Familia homework before Fridays' meeting
• Enter data from waste journal before Friday night's focus group
• Get Dad's b-day gift squared away by Friday
• Determine what needs to be done for CWL membership volunteer slot

General:

• Write and mail Thank You notes
• Contact Deb re. card order
• Organize V's clothes - store the outgrown, bring out new stuff
• Take a pass through Teddy's clothes
• Contact various friends (Cathy, Sarah) to set up play dates
• Develop content for more content-heavy blog posts
  

Strategic:

• Plan for Xmas card. Refine holiday shopping list.
• Passport planning for Veronica.
  

The zits don't lie.

It wasn't until recently that I finally clued in to a fundamental truth. It's nothing profound; it's simply that my skin is like a window into any sort of life event tied to a hormone change. Like pregnancy. Or if I am about to deliver. The cascade of fresh hormones makes my oily, Mediterranean skin go into overdrive.

Days before I could officially stick pee when pregnant with Veronica (and when I figured that I might be pregnant), my skin started going haywire. And yep - positive test.

I should have known that labour was imminent with Veronica because in the days before August 24th, my skin looked greasy and AWFUL. And full of blemishes.

And now...the breakouts have begun again. On Tuesday, I will be 12 weeks postpartum. And that means -- the dreaded postpartum hair loss. GAH!

Happy Birthday, Roro!!

It's the 1st birthday of our friend Rory, and we'll be celebrating on Sunday. But when we told Teddy that it was Rory's birthday, he clapped and said "HAPPY!!" We credit Daphne for teaching him the famous tune.

We practiced for 15 minutes - Teddy would demand "HAPPY!" And we'd start singing. At the end of each line, he'd tack on "Roro!", his nickname for Rory. It was super cute.

Then, we called to sing to the birthday boy himself and Teddy, as usual, refused to do anything on the phone. We're all set for Sunday, though.

Happy 1st Birthday, buddy! We can't wait to celebrate with your whole family on Sunday.

Lest We Forget

It's Remembrance Day here in Canada and elsewhere in the Commonwealth (and Veterans' Day in the US). We're wearing our poppies, and we paused for a moment of silence at 11 am. Sadly, with a toddler and a newborn, a visit to the Canadian War Memorial for the service was not feasible so we watched on TV. We're close enough, though, that the fighter planes which scramble for the fly-over could be heard from our house.

Teddy was not at all interested in the ceremony -- even the marching soldiers -- until the very end of the procession when he spotted the military vehicles. 'A TRUCK!" he exclaimed. "A truck, a car, a bup (bus)!!"

There is not one single Canadian WWI veteran still alive, and the youngest possible WWII veteran (18 in 1945) would now be 83. But the sacrifices that they made when they were little more than children will never be forgotten.

I look forward to taking the kids to battlefields one day (visiting Ypres was a harrowing and valuable moment for me) and to attending the 2018 ceremony in person to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the armistice.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We will remember them.

"Ode of Remembrance", taken from "For the Fallen" by Lawrence Binyon.

A great big "Tank yoo"

I should preface this post by saying that I will focus on more substantial posts later - maybe this weekend.

But today, I want to say a huge "thanks" to my parents. They came to visit today, bringing all sorts of goodies from their travels - foodstuffs, Bookers Bourbon for Dave, clothes for the kids...awesome! In addition, my Mom is coming back tomorrow to watch Teddy b/c I have a medical appointment to which I cannot bring both kids. Bampa and Nonna, you ROCK!

As an aside: we're catching up on Glee, and I am very happy to see that there are new music numbers which Teddy will like. Yeah!

The day got away from me...

...so I am writing this post one-handed as I feed the baby. I had a meeting at the church tonight, so Veronica got to go to her first evening meeting. Lucky kid - at only 11 weeks old!

My MIL headed back to Georgetown on the train this afternoon after her firstsolo visit to Ottawa. We will miss her. I'm very lucky -- I have a wonderful MIL about who loves us and about whom I cannot complain. Thanks so much for the help Nanny!

And my parents are back from their trip -- I can't wait to hear all about it when they come by tomorrow.

I'm writing this as the baby chills in the swing...

Dave has taken his Mom out to the casino, so I am chilling with Miss Veronica. I think she is getting ready for a developmental leap (there is one at 12 weeks and she'll be 11 weeks tomorrow) because she's acting 'stormy' as predicted in "The Wonder Weeks". A bit clingy, taking longer with feedings, the usual stuff. It makes finding time to blog tough!

I am catching up on the Amazing Race, and the past two episodes have been spent in one of my favourite cities - St. Petersburg, Russia. The most recent episode had them following more cryptic clues than usual as they raced around the city. I was so excited as they started to read the clues -- I knew the answers! Church on the Spilled Blood (the most GORGEOUS Russian Orthodox catherdal), Peter and Paul Fortress (where the Romanovs are buried) -- all sorts of amazing sites. I would LOVE to go back, though it's not in the cards for a while. Of all the places I have visited, the two I would most like to get back to are Russia and Australia. There are lots of other places I'd love to go, of course, but those are the two places I am desperate to explore in much more depth. [In terms of new places, I want to see all 7 continents (3 to go), all the countries in Europe (about 15 to go), all our provinces and territories (1 and 3 to go), all 50 US states (16 to go), and countries like Israel, China, India, Egypt and South Africa.]

What about you? To where are you desperate to go back? And where would you love to go?

We've created a Glee monster.

I have posted in the past about Teddy's love for Glee. I should qualify - not ALL of Glee, just selected musical numbers. The awesome ones. Like the Journey medley in the season 1 finale, or "Empire State of Mind", or any of the big duet numbers ("Don't Go Breaking My Heart", "River Deep, Mountain High" or "Lucky" from 'Duets', my fave S2 episode to date). He has watched each more times than I can count, and loves to listen to the tracks, too.

Great, right? Except for the fact that he now thinks that any music is called "Glee". We've been trying to reinforce the word 'music', but it has not yet taken. It's also difficult to ascertain which song from Glee he'd like to hear, as he wants to hear "GYEE!", but if the wrong song is chosen, it's accompanied by a chorus of "Nononononono!"

The worst (though possibly the funniest) occurs during mass. When we arrive in church, he announces "GYEE", so excited is he for music. Any piece of music during the mass - even quick parts of the Doxology - are huge hits. And as soon as they end, he announces "AGAIN!!". I've never been so happy that music is interspersed throughout mass! Hey - anything for a toddler to look forward to during that time is a bonus.

The resemblance is uncanny.

The baby was oddly fussy tonight (I think it's a developmental stage), so this will have to be quick.

This child looks NOTHING like me as a baby. She does look like her brother at times (which is odd, because Teddy looked like me), but not like me. Who does she resemble? Her eyes are blue and may stay that way (Teddy's -- like mine as a baby -- were slate grey until they went brown) and the look like those of my mother-in-law and her family. One of her sisters is named Veronica, though she goes by Vonnie; she is Dave's godmother. As for the rest of her face...

The moment my Dad saw her (at 8 hours old), he pronounced: "She looks like Flo", my aunt for whom she was named (Veronica Floriana). My Mom agrees, and ever member of my Mom's family -- in particular, my Uncle Sergio who was 17 months younger than Flo and with whom he was always super close - comments on how much she resembles Flo. I think it's wonderful that she looks like the woman for whom she was named and who would have adored her.

My favourite movie

We're chilling out on the couches this evening, showing my Mother-in-law my favourite movie. Astoundingly, she's never seen Casablanca before so we're rectifying that.

I saw this movie for the first time right after Dave and I got married. I was under the impression that it was really dull (Dave had tried to watch it in high school with a former girlfriend and couldn't get past the first 10 minutes). But I think he'd watched it during University and had really liked it because he owned a copy. My parents came up for a visit (this was before they moved up here) and since neither my Mom nor I had seen it, we decided to watch.

And oh! Were we ever transfixed, mesmerized and heartbroken. Had I seen it a month or two prior, our wedding song would likely have been 'As Time Goes By' ('The Way You Look Tonight' is a solid pick, but still). It's so witty and one can sympathize with all the main characters. I adore Humphrey Bogart, and Claude Rains is hilarious. And it's so sad, but satisfying. When we were in Los Angeles last year, we saw the studio where it was filmed, Sam's piano and a bunch of costumes from the film; I was thrilled.

(Aside: The scene with Viktor Lazlo leading 'La Marseillaise" is on and it still makes me tear up. Vive la France!)

I recently read "Round Up the Usual Suspects" - a book on the making of this movie. It's funny -- it was another movie cranked out at Warner Brothers during the height of the studio system in Hollywood. A number of writers (all very talented) worked on the script and it was tweaked even after primary filming ceased. The cast were lukewarm on the project. The studio was focused on larger films. No one anticipated its success neither at the time nor over time. But it has become an enduring masterpiece and one of the most quoted movies in American cinema.

If you haven't seen it - do!

Apparently, in addition to daily posting, NaBloPoMo will involved my movie recommendations. :)

Still sick, but (hopefully) on the mend

Not too much to report today. It's cool and rainy, and the kids are ideally on the mend. Poor Veronica is SUPER congested. But Teddy seems to be perking back up, so that's good. When they are feeling better, I hope to write posts with more substance. Until then - it's stream-of-consciousness city.

My parents spent the day in Key West, visiting with Hemingway's cats, buying Dave his favourite bourbon at some hole-in-the-wall liquor store, and basking in the 29 deg C weather. As Dave replied "Bookers, a sketchy liquor store, Hemingway, cats,...and 29 degree weather… I don’t care what happens for the rest of your trip, this is officially the day I missed being there the most.

You know things are quiet when I am writing about my parents' adventures!

But I watched "Rudy" for the first time tonight. I knew I'd like it -- I am a sucker for sports movies -- and I did. But I'd heard it likened to "Hoosiers" and people. It is no "Hoosiers". Just thinking about that movie gives me goosebumps. If you haven't seen it - run, don't walk.

House full of sickies..

God bless my Mother-in-law. Her presence has been amazing since we are dealing with a house filled with sick inhabitants.

It's primarily the kids. Teddy appears to have Rotavirus (or some other form of gastroenteritis). There was puking and now there's...other stuff. Plus, he is battling a cold so is super snotty (he may also be teething. Awesome!) So far (knock wood) Veronica has avoided the gastro but has caught the cold. The poor little monkey is so very congested. Dave and I are feeling poopy and run down. Boo!

It's crazy -- Teddy didn't get a cold until he was 8 or 9 months. This is poor Veronica's 2nd cold. I guess those are the perils of having an older sibling who passes on illnesses.

Let's hope that we're all on the mend soon. More substantial posts will have to wait until then.

Early November Odds and Ends

My MIL arrived today for a week-long visit. The timing was perfect, as Teddy is a bit under the weather so it's nice to have to have another set of hands to help out. Plus, she is a lovely lady, so a visit is always nice.

My own parents, the lucky ducks, are on vacation. It will surprise no one who knows them that they are on a cruise. This one is a round trip from Baltimore visiting US ports primarily (Charleston SC, Key West and Miami FL) as well as Nassau and Coco Cay (RCI private beach). We will cruise again, though, once Miss V is old enough and has a passport. Yep - American children can get into Canada and back home with just a Birth Certificate. Canadian kids, though, not so much. Now that V can hold her head up, perhaps we can get a photo!

Veronica is 10 whole weeks old today! We're getting a kick out of the verbalizing ("Ugoo!" "Yeeee!") and her neck strength is excellent. Her hair continues to stick straight up. Poor kid.

Day 2 and my posts are already all over the place. I should use this month to finally write about the birth (only 2 months later; with Teddy, it was 9). Yes - that is what I will resolve to do!

Strangest. Hallowe'en. Ever.

Saturday night, driving home from a visit to family in Kingston, the temperature kept dropping as precipitation fell. As we neared Ottawa, it became clear that it was happening - we'd have snow for Hallowe'en.

The high for the day was a balmy 3 degrees C (the heck?!?), which may have accounted for the fact that we had a grand total of SEVEN trick-or-treaters. Our street is just sedate, I guess. Our friend Isobel (who lives behind us...well, across the park and behind us) had the happening street. We ended up doing an emergency candy run to her place as she was running out of candy. Oh well - less for us to eat.

We did, however, let a mystified Teddy wander around outside after dark. He was really good at saying "Dank u", less consistent at "Tick o t'eat". He prowled around as Tigger. He wasn't sure what to make of it at first, but he warmed up to it, as you can see from photo 2.

He was adorable with his loot, which he thought was "Cheese". He placed it in a toy school bus one piece at a time, then wheeled that around. Mmm...cheese bus. Or bus cheese. Both are totally adorable and totally unappetizing.

As for Miss V, she dressed up in a 'Little Princess' outfit. But since it was freezing, she went outside in a teddy bear bunting bag. Check her out in all her chubby glory.

Let's hope that next year is a tad warmer!