My eternal quest for a hobby

Blogging isn't taking off the way it should

2008-08-28T14:42:00.000-07:00

This not working could be quite hard on the pocket book - especially if it's going to rain all the time. Today I signed up for community centre activities to keep myself and the putud occupied through the winter (which is already here apparently). Oh well, we can just use the old Vespa fund.

On Tuesday we were at a slight loss as to what to do, so we decided to go to the Art Gallery. We had gotten a free pass from grandma. So off we went on the bus. Ellis made faces at the man sitting next to me and kept asking "get off mommy?" Not yet, I said. "We're going downtown" I said at the start of the trip. Once we were over the bridge Ellis said "we're downtown mummy" but it sounded more like - actually, I'm not sure what, but eventually I figured it out. I was going to coat check the stroller, but the security guard mentioned that they actually like parents to keep the kids corralled. Too late - Ellis had already got a whiff of freedom. He careened around the first floor of the gallery and would have touched everything, but fortunately, everything was too high up. There were a few handpainted things on the wall that he did like touching though. It was a cartoon and anime exhibit and they had lots of tvs showing things like Dumbo and Toy Story . On the second floor they had video games through the ages and an old pac man console that was free - I could have stayed there all day (and Ellis seemed to like it too) but it looked like other people were itching to have a go. The rest of the exhibit was giant screens showing clips of Anime. Ellis likes pushing open the big doors to enter the exhibit. It was kinda cool actually. Third floor had some "disturbing" art by a couple of performance artists. If it doesn't give Ellis nightmares, it might give me some. Top floor was woman artists influenced or from a similar period as Emily Carr. At least I think it was - Ellis pretty much careened around that floor too.

We then hit lunch hour rush hour at the food fair where Ellis and I observed the strange office workers - man that seems like a long time ago. I don't know if I ever actually was one. Everyone looked very professional and I used to look slightly slovenly I think. Quick detour to old workplace and then to the library where I told the librarian about some puzzle pieces that got under the shelf. We hadn't put them there, but I think the librarian thought we had - that's what you get for doing a good deed. Ellis then had mini breakdown (it was well past nap time) and that just confirmed said librarian's opinion of us. I manhandled Ellis into stroller and decided to walk home. This just confirmed how truly out of shape I am. We got home just in time for me to want to pass out and Ellis to wake up.

That was a pretty good though - hope we have more of those than ones like today.

This is starting to resemble a previous pattern

2008-08-05T06:39:00.000-07:00

Namely my journal keeping. Lots of starts and stops. I see that it's been more than a year since my last post. I guess I haven't been bored enough. We moved, I started back to work after a year's mat leave and I guess just trying to maintain some semblance of sanity while working and caring for a small child meant that the blog got put off. I've quit my job though (normally I would be heading off to work within the next 10 minutes) so now I have time to blog again.

What spurred me on this morning was the fact that I wanted to post an add to Craigslist and I was unable to add a picture. I decided I needed to play around and waste more time on the computer so I can do some basic things in life.

Day 6 - Still Venice

2007-05-17T22:00:00.000-07:00

Still felt wrecked when we woke up at 9 this morning had breakfast outside
in the garden with a woman from Boston whose son is studying in Florence
(via McGill) for the summer ancient Roman history he's smart, we should
all do something like that at Uni as first degrees don't seem to matter much
anymore anyways! Had nutella on my melba toast this morning, so breakfast
was that much better. Took the boat to Murano, museum closed Wednesday so
wandered into a few stores and factories to watch a bit of glass blowing
didn't buy anything (sorry Anna, you know me). Went to the church that is
supposed to be interesting has some dragon bones, but it was closed (10
minutes too late). Didn't feel too bad as lots of churches in Italy. Next we
went to the Ghetto (the term getto was coined in Venice in the 1500's) when
the Jews were made to live in a specific area the Foundry area or Ghetto
in Italian they were free to roam about during the day but had to be
locked in at night and they had to wear distinctive yellow symbols of some
sort on their clothing. We took a tour of 3 old synagogues very
interesting. Found out that jews could only be one of three professions
money lenders (because Christians forbidden to do it as per the bible),
clothes salesmen and something else which I can't remember(doctors). The only reason
they were locked away in Venice was for political not religious reasons
other countries would not do business with Venice if the Jews were free and
wandering about. I'll stop going on now, you're probably bored. We hiked
back home stopping to get our daily gelato and Cyp and Ellis are sleeping
again. It's about 5 pm we¹ll head out again when they're up - our last
night in Venice. Cyp tells me not to worry we'll be back in November for
his birthday ha! I like Venice, but I think I liked Rhodes as well. For
that matter, a lot of places that were conquered by the Venetians look like
Venice (except for the canals) and they are a heck of a lot cheaper. It is
interesting to see where it all comes from though.

We headed out around 6 to do el cheapo dinner a la Rick Steeves. This
involves standing up to eat. It also involved a pub crawl which sounded good
to Cyp. So we decided to start with the Ostercias on the east side of the
Rialto Bridge. We hiked through our usual route to get to the bridge
(through wireless square C. Frari) where Cyp paused for a moment to see if
he could do internet on his phone nope. We hiked by the Chinese restaurant
(I noted it for later as apparently there was a bar nearby here on the west
side of the Rialto Bridge. Tonight we got a more Rialto experience by
walking through the market that leads to the bridge. It seems everybody and
their dog (literally) comes out at night. We came across the ritzy shopping
area that we had not noticed before. We came to San Bartholomeo square and
proceeded to get lost. Looked at our book again and wandered up and down and
back and forth through all the narrow streets finally found Rostericia S.
Bartolomeo. It lacked charm to say the least bright fluorescent lighting
and glass cases containing the food. I picked what our book said deep
fried cheese and prociuotto and and a half litre of wine (about $5). The
staff was surly but friendly also as the book said. We polished off our
greasy food - I got a salmon sandwich for Ellis and then we headed out to
the next place. This was a place where you could take your water bottle and
fill it up with wine for later that part was closed though and we went to
the bar. This was a much cozier place than the last one. This time we had
prosecco and Cyp ordered the squid in its own ink (I read your advice too
late Barb) and I ordered a grilled corn type pancake which was quite tasty.
The prosecco was about $2.50 a glass and very good. Both these places seemed
to cater to locals while we were there, 2 girls about 9 or 10 came in to
kibutz with the bartender one picked up the drink nozzle and threatened to
get everyone this was laughed at by the approx 80 year old guy in the
corner. After the girls left, Ellis became the attention we made sure he
said goodbye to the old man when we left. A very different world from
Vancouver where we would not be allowed into the pub with Ellis. We then
went to another bar for more snacks and then we then hit the paticerie (ok,
not another bar but I needed a sweet snack). We meandered through the
streets, where we were pressured to buy Frauda and Fucci to St. Mark's where
the sun was just going down finally we make it at night. We walked around
the square to the sounds of cheesy music and met Liam (as mentioned earlier
7 months old from Dunbar and 20th). We walked by a man selling robotic
kitty cats and puppies and stopped to watch Cyp stood a ways away to take
pictures and noted others commenting about how the guy was already counting
his money from me and Ellis little did they know that I am el cheapo. We
wandered through the darkening streets for a while came across a group of
young boys playing soccer which we watched for a while and then made our way
back retracing our steps (stopping to watch a woman and her dancing puppet
mouse). Of course we hit one final bar on the West side of the Rialto but
as always, that last drink could not live up to the one before and we could
not recapture the elation of being just slightly tipsy. So we briskly walked
home with Ellis who was keeping the pirates away and crashed. At least Ellis
and I did Cyp headed out with his computer to the wireless bar where he
was ridiculed for it.

Day 5 - Venice

2007-05-16T22:00:00.000-07:00

As noted we had breakfast not sure why I was in such a rush, it was
cornflakes and yoghurt and melba toast. At least it was free. We put on our
sunscreen (it's hot and sunny) and hiked to the phone store so Cyp could get
a sim card. We also did 20 minutes of internet expensive at 9 euros per
hour. Then we started wandering aimlessly and found a bunch of churches and
a square with wireless hooray! We noted said square (Campo Frari) and then
wandered to the Rialto bridge, hiked over it (not quite sure what the big
deal is) and then caught the boat to St. Mark's again lucked out and got a
seat at the back in the open. Went inside the Basillica built in 1063 (or
something like that). Pretty darn amazing gold mosaic everywhere, dark
though. We were supposed to be silent (silencio) and Ellis started to
protest so I nursed him, not sure if that was acceptable, but nobody
commented. Went out, looked at the square some more, the bridge of sighs and
then took the boat to close to home and then had lunch (Wine is cheaper than
pop) and siesta. Ellis finally had a quiet moment and proceeded to rid
himself of three days worth of crackers Nairn oat crackers from London no
less. We had a slight accident where we maimed Ellis again this time he
fell over on the tile in the bathroom the tile was bumpy (circles about
the size of a loon) and one got him on the forehead it was terrible he's
now sporting a slight bruise (I don't think it will show in pictures which
we hope to soon post on Flickr Venice is too expensive for internet). We
also spent the afternoon figuring out where we're going to go next we
decided to stay one more night in Venice because we did not relish the
thought of another travel day so soon so we're leaving Thursday for Verona
it wasn't so easy getting a room as Rick Steeves makes out, but we did
finally get one not much cheaper than Venice! We're onto Cinque Terre on
Friday wish us luck as we don't have a room, but old Rick says it should
be easy although maybe not so much on the weekend we do have a room for
Saturday. We then headed out to the wireless square where Cyp confirmed
some hotel reservations and Ellis and I chased pigeons. We then proceeded to
the same street for dinner (Calle St. Barnabas sorry for the extensive
details they are for Doe and Neil) it's cheaper, I misread the menu
though so it wasn't as cheap as I originally thought but it was delicious
I had an entire Sea Bass don't think it was Chilean, looked more like
the size of a trout, but it was good and Cyp had squid. The hostess at the
restaurant took a liking to Ellis and paraded him around the restaurant
(yes, Cyp let her - Barb). Tomorrow we're going to do el cheapo dinner and
grab a slize of pizza or calzone somewhere. Thought about taking the vap
boat to St. Mark's at night, but I don't think Ellis really likes being out
and about in the dark. He talks very loudly to scare off the pirates. We'll
try to see St. Mark's in the dark tomorrow we've been eating dinner too
late (9 pm) and it's too late to go after.

Day 4 - London to Venice

2007-05-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

Woke up at 7 Ellis protested mightily and headed out. Once outside Ellis
was ecstatic and was bouncing up and down in his pack shouting out "good
morning!" to everyone what did we do to deserve him?! Got on the tube
felt even more like the movie Brazil this time all these people in black
suits and pink ties were steadily streaming up the very steep and looong
escalators. It was a completely different crowd from on the weekends.
Everyone looked at tad grumpy. We got to Liverpool Street Station to catch
the fast train to Stanstead airport and we experienced an Air Canada moment
where Cyp waited what seemed like an eternity to find out if we needed a
ticket for Ellis (we didn't). I pointed out to Cyp that I think we were in
a pretty famous station (hadn't really noticed before that), One hour train
ride later we got to Stanstead where more hordes of British were heading out
on their hollies. We learned that you don't get a predesignated seat on
Ryanair and that the lines to get on the plane can sometimes get nasty. Of
course, being Canadian we got ourselves to the front of the line right away
and tried to establish line etiquette seemed to work, no fighting much to
Cyp's chagrin (he's good at squirming his way through the masses). Sat on
the runway for an hour, but after the flight from Vancouver, this one still
seemed short and Ellis slept again (hooray). An hour busride from Treviso
got us to Venice and our very nice apartment room with our own little garden
(and playpen for Ellis which he is currently in protesting slightly) for
145 Euros, which seems like it might be quite reasonable for Venice. It's
not in an old funky building on a canal, but it's very close to the train
and bus station so easy to haul our stuff too so we're pretty happy. We're
staying two more nights as Venice is quite cool.
We unloaded and went out wandered and found ourselves at a gelato place,
so got some then found ourselves at the grand canal so hopped on a Vaparetto
went to Saint Mark's Square and was astounded TV does not do it justice,
wandered around a bit feeling a tad overwhelmed and then took the boat back
to our place Ellis slept the entire time in his pack. Poor putud. Then we
headed out to dinner at the university district, which we were told was
cheaper went to La Profetta, had two beer, pizza, salad and spaghetti for
30 euros which we're told is reasonable. Headed back to our room and
crashed. Ellis woke up at 5 am and wouldn't go back to sleep I would be
tempted to say jet lag except that's his favourite hour every day we
finally fell asleep around 6 and slept till 9:15 where I woke up in a panic
as breakfast only went till 10! This time I hauled a protesting Cyp and
Ellis out of bed as I ran around saying "Go go go!!! I want breakfast!"

Day 3 - London

2007-05-14T22:00:00.000-07:00

We dragged ourselves out of bed at nine so we could meet Richard at 10. Had
the best hotel coffee ever (it was instant I'm not kidding). Went
downstairs to pouring rain Vancouver style where we figured out how to use a
phonebox to call Richard he found us at about 10:15 and we took the train
this time to Euston station and walked from there to the British Museum. The
train station was just down the street from the tube and although it seemed
like we were going in the complete opposite direction, we basically ended up
in the same place I never did really get a good sense of direction going
in London. Richard seems to get bored of museums just about the same time I
do (or maybe he was just being polite), but we saw some stuff there that we
hadn't gotten to see in Athens because Lord Elgin stole it (or preserved it,
is the other side of the argument) It was pretty cool to see the statues
from the Acropolis six years after we saw the Acropolis it kinda links our
trips. We also saw some Egyptian exhibits creepy to realize that you¹re
essentially looking at dead people that again, the Brits stole out of
cemetery so they could exhibit it. After Greece and Egypt we headed out and
caught a double decker to St. Paul's Cathedral it being Sunday, we
couldn't specifically sightsee inside but we did get to sit on the Eucharist
and hear some excellent churchy music. Ellis was more interested in the
grate on the floor. The acoustics in the cathedral were pretty spectacular.
We then headed out again and walked over the Millenium Bridge which at first
I assumed was the same bridge that was near the London Eye and I couldn't
figure out how I had missed the Tate Modern or St. Paul's Cathedral the day
before turns out we walked over a different bridge the day before. By this
time, it was pouring and we were getting soaked so we went into a pub the
Anchor and had lunch all 4 of us had Carvery (meat and veg that tasted
like meat in fact Ellis's sweatshirt still smells like greasy lamb a day
later). I just didn't do the conversion (again as per Keith) and lunch was a
reasonable 35 for all four of us, which included beer. Fortunately we got to
dry off at lunch and when we left it wasn't raining anymore we took the
tube to Oxford Street so we could hit Marks and Sparks before it closed so
we could get Cyp his roo fortunately it was buy one get one half price. We
then hopped another bus to the National Museum where Richard got to see
Turner, I got to see Van Eyck and Cyp got to see Da Vinci we then stopped
for tea and then headed off to Buckingham Palace with a slight diversion via
Big Ben again we got on the wrong bus essentially. Watched the guards
tooing and froing a bit and then hiked through green park to the Ritz where
we caught another bus that drove through Berkely Square (seemed swank) and
somehow we ended up back on Oxford Street which I thought was the opposite
direction. We then went over to the business district where Cyp got a closer
look at the Lloyd's building (sewer and air ducts appear on the outside of
the building) and we went underground to catch the Docklands train which we
rode out to Canary Wharf (designed by a Canadian land of big officey
buildings) and Greenwich. This train was nice as it ran above ground for a
long way and we got to see lots of sights. Headed back via the tower of
London (which was now closed, but I really felt we had to see it) and then
convinced Richard to come for dinner with us. We went back to Regent Street
(Soho I think) via another double decker this time we had the very front
seat at the top which was kinda exciting I'll say pedestrians are crazy in
London there are no jaywalking laws perhaps they need them. Ellis liked
it a lot - it kept him pretty entertained even though it was a fairly long
ride. We had dinner at what was supposed to be good value as per Frommers
and I guess it was - but it was very upscale inside (oldest Indian
restaurant in London Veeraswamy). Ellis was so well behaved even without a
high chair - we stuck him on the floor for a while and he sat there seeing
how the different textures on the table and chairs made different sounds
with his spoon. Dinner was delicious (maybe that's where the value part came
in it was only 50 pounds for the two of us though and we did have a fancy
cocktail to start), We ended up racing to the tube so Richard could catch
his train to Winchester (they were only running every hour at this point)
and I hope he made it. He was an excellent tour guide - we finally got back
to our hotel about 11 pm the poor putud was crashed (the concierge noted
we had had quite the long day). We packed up for the next day and then
crashed into bed.

London - Day 2

2007-05-13T22:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, a more detailed version of our trip. We got to the airport with mom and
dad and despite the fact that Cyp had spoken to someone for an hour twice
regarding Ellis, they still didn't know what to do with us when we got
there. Apparently, infants must have a paper ticket, which means parents do
too. Cyp had already checked me and him in over the web so they had to
cancel our tickets to exchange them for paper ones. You should have seen
Cyp's face - we might lose our business class seats cause when the attendant
cancelled our e tickets, there was a small window when someone could steal
our seats. After about an hour she figured it out, but we were a tad grumpy.
Thank goodness mom and dad were there to entertain the putud. We then
checked our bags at the executive ticket counter. Ok, they must not like the
executives - about another 1/2 hour there and there was only one couple in
front of us. We finally made it to the check in gate where everyone's face
fell when they saw Ellis (oh gahd, I hope he's not sitting near us). We had
10 extra minutes so we had to go take advantage of the exec lounge (last
free beer) and fortunately I grabbed some melba toast crackers for Ellis.
Back on the plane in the front row we had two people sitting across the
aisle from us that jumped at the chance of giving up their seats to a couple
that hadn't been able to get first class together (gee I wonder why
perhaps it was the shrieking and writhing Ellis). Ellis seemed to calm down
when I gave him a melba toast and I started to freak out when I realized
that I had only 1/2 a cracker left, but then I gave Ellis to Cyp and he calmed
down maybe he could sense my plane anxiety. After takeoff the wining and
dining began I was served a ceasar 4/5 vodka, 1/5 clamato perhaps they
were hoping the alcohol would get quickly filtered to the Putud. We then had
shrimp salad, salmon brochettes, chocolate mouse rhubarby thing and port and
cheese. This kept Ellis highly entertained (and us too didn't even notice
the time passing by). About 3 hours in they turned out the lights and I
tried to get to sleep maybe managed a couple of hours but then I was awake
counting down the hours to breakfast which came none to soon around 5 am.
Ellis slept on me and Cyp the entire time. After breakfast it was pretty
much time to land again Ellis was not fine on me, but ok on Cyp. Plane
landing was a tad rough, we landed and we landed again.

When we stepped into the airport I felt we like we'd just entered the movie
Brazil. We got the fast track Customs line (hey - we have an extra pink
fast track card for anyone traveling to London in the near future) and Cyp
got quizzed on when Ellis's birthday is. We got our bags and headed out
and yes, Keith was correct being whitey means we were not searched.

Took the tube to London, Ellis fell asleep in the carrier and we stupidly
took him out of course the tube filled up and I started to panic when we
got close to our station. There were now hordes of people on the tube and I
had to somehow get two bags and an Ellis off tried to put him in his
carrier almost broke his arm but did manage. It was awful and everyone was
looking at us in horror foreign child maimer! Got to hotel and
immediately went out as per advice of Keith stay out as long as possible
to avoid the jet lag. Went to London Eye, thought it was 2 pounds 50, but
was 14 pounds 50 so did not go on, walked across the bridge, found ourselves
somewhere else passed Scotland Yard (which apparently it's not anymore), a
billion CCTV cameras, went through some gate that other people were going
through, found ourselves in a big open air horsey like ring thing, came
across a park which we assumed was Hyde park (wrong), passed number 10
Downing St (though we didn't know it at the time) came to Westminster
Abbey (closed), Parliament and Big Ben then down the street to Trafalgar
Square. Then we decided to try to get to Wagamama for dinner we started
walking and I kept getting distracted by little street post signs that said
Buckingham Palace 3/4 mile, Picadilly Circus etc we got to Picadilly
Circus and I could swear I saw St. Paul's Cathedral in the distance, so we
struck off for there and then I decided no, couldn't walk another step we
need food. So we went down to the underground with about 10 billion other
people and walked and walked and walked and finally got to the tube and then
we got off and walked and finally got above ground I was convinced we
walked about the same distance as if we'd walked above ground. Asked the guy
in the Virgin Megastore where Streatham St was and he had no idea turns
out it the next street over (about half a block) One Wagamama later we
took the tube back and crashed. I started to nurse Ellis on the bed and woke
up about 1/2 hour later to a crying Ellis who had fallen off the bed onto the
floor traveling is hard on the putud and I felt terrible he seemed fine
though and we all slept great I only woke up once and then it was 9 am and
it was time to get up and go again. Should mention that Cyp realized he had
not packed any socks or underwear.

London

2007-05-12T22:00:00.000-07:00

hi,

if you don't want to be on our travel email list, let me know and i will unsubsribe you. We're currently in an internet centre on oxford circus st? £1 an hour. Got to our hotel around 4 pm van time - and immediately went out to see the London Eye - we didn't go on it, but it looked impressive. we then ran around like chickens and saw Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, Pic Circus blah blah blah - Somehow we walked around Buckingham Palace or very near. Went to Wagamama - Ellis got to order his own food which he promptly threw on the floor. I'm about to pass out, but thought I'd send a note to say we made it- Ellis was a star on the plane and slept for a lot of it - Business class was excellent and I don't know how we are going to do coming home. Ellis is hilarious - he keeps whipping his head around as if to say - ~hey these aren't the normal walks we've been taking. He took one look at Big Ben and started bouncing up and down in his pack.

The tube ride in from the airport was a bit of an adventure - but not too bad.

ok, I think Cyp wants to check his email

Ren

Visit at Aunty Tracey and Cousin Em's

2007-04-15T12:27:00.000-07:00

That Cousin Em is a whirlwind - she just keeps on going and she seems to have inherited her mom's daredevil gene. Not Ellis - he just looked at her like she was a nutbar. "Get down off that log Emilie - you're making me nervous!" We were also a little concerned with the jumping off of the coffee table onto mom on the couch. We spent our visit trying to cope with naptime and bedtime and in between Tracey fed us spectacular meals again and we went for nice walks in the woods. Ellis does not seem to be the best traveller - this does not bode well for upcoming travels, but at least in the future Ellis's dad will be with us. Part of the problem at Tracey's was the fact that whenever I put Ellis down and set him up with a toy, Emilie came along and took it and then Ellis was sitting there all forlorn with nothing to entertain him. By the last day there, he started to figure out what was going on and tried to hang onto toys in the bath, but that Emilie is just bigger and stronger. She usually did give him a consolation prize, but it just wasn't the same. By the last day they were playing together, thanks to Uncle Johnny - too bad it was time to go home.

A Miracle

2007-04-04T16:14:00.000-07:00

Ellis did not cry once when I put him down for his nap today. He rolled around a couple of times, looked at me get my magazine and settle into my chair by his crib, closed his eyes and fell asleep. This was even without the benefit of drugs (i.e. Motrin). I will remember this day - April 4, 2007.

The trip may be off...

2007-04-02T07:16:00.000-07:00

For two reasons - we bought a house and can no longer afford to go away and because it turns out Ellis does not cope with change. Last night Ellis and I headed out to the fancy airport hotel to join Cyp who had a conference there. We were hanging out in the nice luxurious room (while Cyp networked - i.e. got plastered). I watched a little tv and Ellis drifted off quietly to sleep - ah, I thought to myself, he appreciates luxury and the lack of clutter and ants - no screaming. I had a bath, read my book and went back to the bedroom to crawl into bed when Ellis woke up. I thought I could just pat him a little - shh shh a little and he would gently drift back to sleep like before. Nope - he was in full scream mode. I turned on the light - his head was whipping around violently - what is that light! What is that tv! WHERE ARE WEEEEEEE??????I walked him around the room - we looked in the mirror, I sang the wheels of the bus, I sang the eensy weensy spider, I sang the grand old duke of york. I massaged, rocked, tried to nurse. Finally after half an hour I called Cyp - he walked in ten minutes later which caused a slight pause but then Ellis saw the bed. THIS IS NOT MY HOME!!! We had a bath - that was fun. We tried to go back to bed. THIS IS NOT MY BED!!!!!! We gave up and drove home at midnight. I was very sad. I was looking so forward to the hotel crappy coffee. We are now back in the realm of ants and clutter and Ellis is happy. He doesn't quite realize that his parents are not quite so fond of the little putud this morning.

Just a Photo Blog Today

2007-03-28T08:55:00.000-07:00

On the Move

2007-03-27T16:57:00.000-07:00

So Ellis rolled off the bed last week. I could have sworn he was smarter than that, but it turns out he's just like all other babies. Ok, I had left him precariously perched near the edge but still...
We'd had a rough morning and he took longer than usual to go to sleep at nap time. There was much rolling involved and when he finally fell asleep, his feet were close to the edge with his head pointed into the middle of the bed. I figured he'd be fine as there was still a pillow between his feet and the cliff edge. He woke up screaming after a short nap and as I walked into the room to get him I realized he was half off the bed. I ran towards him, but I was too slow. Fortunately, he'd kicked the pillow off first and he landed on it perfectly. He didn't even notice he'd falled off the bed. My adrenaline was through the roof though - not nice of Ellis to try to give his mom a heart attack. This has now prompted the move to the crib, somehow he keeps ending up in our bed though at night.

Swinging and Excitement

2007-03-23T08:46:00.000-07:00

I don't like my stroller, but I do like the swing

2007-03-16T09:32:00.000-07:00

Aunts and Ants

2007-03-01T21:53:00.000-08:00

yay for Aunts that organize ski holidays and boo for ants that take over our apartment in the early spring. I noticed that I haven't posted for a while - felt a tad guilty about this after attending a blogging dinner last Thursday. I don't even work and can't manage a single blog post a week. Maybe it's the fact that I don't work that means that I have nothing to blog about - that's a sad state of affairs. We're up and down on the sleep front - Ellis was doing well but then I keep caving and nursing him to sleep - it's no wonder the little guy is confused about this sleep thing. I think he's also getting a ton of teeth - his entire upper gum seems to be one big bump. He's 7 months today and he has four teeth. He's been trying to crawl by balancing on his tummy and pumping his arms and legs (and barking like a seal) - not too effective. He then gets grumpy so mummy brings him his toy. He likes to stand a lot and I kinda wonder if he will skip the crawling stage. Today he discovered that he could propel himself backwards on the floor. I think I need to blog more - this is a disjointed ramble. I had another dream about work - my replacement quit and I had to go back to work right away - I hadn't done anything about daycare for Ellis - a bit too real. I didn't blog about the ski trip as we all decided there was no way we could forget it - the snow conditions that is. They were so bad that we will look back with fond memories about the fun we had trying to make it down the runs in one piece. Kinda like my one and only trip to New York - at the time I couldn't understand how people could live there, but now I look back on the trip as one of the most fun I'd ever had. Ah - reminds me of Pat's comment that having kids is like traveling to third world countries (I think I'm modifying). I think he actually said it's like going on a trip where everything seems to be a constant struggle and you're always scrambling to find a place to sleep, eat or transit out - it may seem like a bit of hell at the time, but when you look back on it, you wouldn't not have done it for anything.

All the Cool Kid's Coats have Ears

2007-02-13T07:52:00.000-08:00

So, we made it through the sleep experiment weekend. It wasn't so bad - Ellis only cried for half and hour - but he did scream his head off. He finally falls asleep when he rolls onto his stomach and can't lift his little head anymore, then he quietly falls asleep. I do wonder if it's permanently affecting his future self esteem, but he seems to have forgotten all about it by morning and generally wakes up in a good mood. I also tried the let him cry thing yesterday afternoon and he slept for 2 hours and fifteen minutes - perhaps that's why it took an hour last night for Cyp to get him to sleep. Although it could be that I kept coming in to see how it was going and that gave Ellis inspiration to scream louder so we would cave. We didn't though and he eventually fell asleep and he didn't wake up till 6 am! Could also be that he was extra tired as he went swimming again yesterday with me and granddma D.

A Lot has been Happening

2007-02-09T08:27:00.000-08:00

and I've been falling behind on my posts. Plus, I couldn't find the camera cable so couldn't get pics onto the computer - so now I'm using the card reader. On Monday we went to the new Costco with NB - it was dead! I was carting Ellis in the Mei Tei (he was sleeping) but he eventually woke up after about an hour (we were perusing all the isles) so we stuck him in the cart (I love cart - it's kinda like stroller). Ellis loved the cart and more adventurous NB took him for a ride in the parking lot of Costco - Ellis was hanging on for dear life as she spun round in circles. We were laughing hilarioulsy. About half way home in the car Ellis started squealing - he'd finally realized he liked the cart too. That afternoon we headed out to the pool to go swimming. Second time swimming was less scary for me. Ellis kicked his chub legs for about 45 min., chatted up the lifeguards and drank half the pool. He felt kinda sloshy when we finally took him out. That night, he could barely stand on his two little legs pretty much fell asleep on his own at 8 and slept a long time! For the life of me I can't remember what we did Tuesday (this is why I should update the Blog more often) but on Wednesday we got up at the crack of dawn so we could go to aquafit at the pool. Ellis looked at me as we were leaving the house at 7:30 - "where the heck are we going - I'm still in my sleepy clothes!" He was quite happy to see the pool again - he didn't kick as much this time and didn't drink the water. Hence, he wasn't quite as sleepy on Wednesday, even after having a busy day of store and Aquarium. Oh! Just remembered what we did on Tuesday - we went to the Bloedel Conservatory at QE Park with Sharon, Imogen and Genevieve. It was great - lots of big birds to see (Ellis stuck his hand in a pile of bird crap - hasn't seem to have gotten bird flu yet). Thanks Sharon for the pics as I forgot the camera again. Thursday started out with a cleaning frenzy as the ants are back. Of course, I mopped the floors only to have Stanley take a crap right in the middle of the hall - he either has worms from neighbour Molly or he's protesting his new cat litter. I should take him to the vet as he probably has worms which means that Ellis probably has worms. Sigh. Later we went to signing class and drop in. Drop in was great (or should I say post drop in coffee was great) as it was a beautiful day and we sat outside for about an hour. Feels like spring. Swung by the market on the way home with Anna Maria and Francesca to pick up curry dinner and then it was home to wait for Cyp. Ellis went to bed a tad earlier last night. This weekend we start the experiment of getting Ellis to sleep on his own. It makes me sad though to think of him all alone in his crib in the electronics room. I will probably cave. According to Sue it will take three nights of no sleep for parents to teach little guy to sleep. Wish us luck.

Swing

2007-02-09T08:12:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I haven't mentioned the swing yet. The swing is our new way to get out of the house. I usually need a destination when going for a walk with Ellis - which usually means going to the store if we haven't got other plans, which usually means spending money on things we don't need. The other day, Barb, Ellis and I went swimming (more to come later) and stopped at Safeway on the way home. NB asked if we needed anything, but we didn't so I stayed in the car while Ellis slept. Later on in the day, NB caught me leaving our place to go to the store. She looked at me a little incredously (sp?) before I told her that we were bored and needed a destination. The store turned out to be a good idea as we obviously needed food (two big bags worth). Ok, back to the swing - so I discovered the baby swing a couple of blocks from our house so now Ellis and I make pretty much a daily trip to the swing. He's getting more used to it - but this pic is from day 2 (Jan 31) when he's still pretty unsure. Now he's starting to squeal with delight.

I Caved

2007-02-02T21:03:00.000-08:00

and got a stroller - my back made me do it. Ellis was up to 20 pounds this week and I found that I just couldn't go for long enough walks anymore. Kids certainly turn you into consumers - a new car, toys and other bits of plastic crap and now the stroller. I really needed that stroller though. At least I can do some grocery shopping without the car now. Ellis doesn't particularly like it - he tries to get out of it just like he tries to get out of his car seat, by jerking his whole butt upwards and flinging himself with all his might. Great for the abdominals I'm sure. I was over at Susan's for tea yesterday and she put Dominic down for his nap by holding him tightly and saying "shhhhhh"for about two minutes and he was gone. I was flabbergasted. So I tried it with Ellis last night and it worked. So of course I tried it again tonight, but he wasn't having it. He flailed and wailed, coughed and screamed. I was secretly saying to myself, I'm going to win, but then he started shoving his whole entire hand in his mouth and made himself barf. It was quite the feat - all this white frothy, snotty stuff came pouring out his mouth and onto me so I went into the bathroom and asked Cyp to get me a cloth and Ellis immediately stopped crying once he was in the light and looked quite pleased with himself. This led to a fight between me and Cyp - why can't I just go to bed with Ellis like usual and I stated that I wanted to stay up past 7 some I could do my own thing. So Ellis is now in the Exersaucer and I'm doing my own thing. Cyp was trying to watch TV but couldn't as Ellis was fussing in his saucer. Rascal.
Shall I give in again - probably will as eventually it will be my bedtime too.

Rolling

2007-01-29T07:24:00.000-08:00

Ellis has finally gotten the knack of rolling from back to front. He spent the weekend practicing and now hurls himself back and forth on the bed. I'm having to be more diligent about ensuring he is between me and Cyp and can no longer leave him precariously perched near the edge. He prefers resting on his stomach and now spends a lot of time propped up on his elbows doing the "seal" as Tracey refers to it. Uncle Max was also demonstrating to little guy how to crawl last night. Should have had the camera. Ellis was facinated.

Birds and Nerds

2007-01-28T07:28:00.000-08:00

We went to Cyp's favourite destination again - the Riefel Island Bird Sanctuary. It was an experiment to see how Ellis feels about birds. I'd taken Ellis for lunch on Friday with Ellen and we sat outside as it was a beautiful day. There were little birds flitting around eating bread crumbs and Ellis freaked out. As soon as I turned him away from the birds, he'd stop freaking and when I pointed him at the birds, he'd freak again. So off to the bird place we went and he did okay. He wasn't nearly as happy as with dogs and cats, but I think he likes ducks. I don't think he likes his new carrier though as he kept trying to fling himself out of it.

Now, I've posted a pic - the vain part of me did not want to do it - look at those neck wrinkles (I'm not talking the bird here) and I think the new carrier makes my butt look big. It's a good one of Ellis and the bird though.

Cousins

2007-01-25T19:49:00.000-08:00

We went to visit Cousin Emilie and Aunty Tracey this past week and it was loads of fun. On our way there we stopped at the Happy Cat Haven and got to visit with love starved kitties. Love starved kitties appreciated Ellis a lot more than his own kitties Lucy and Stanley and Ellis appreciated the loved starved kitties a lot more too. I never heard Ellis laugh so much. I seriously considered trading in one of our cats and picking up a love starved one (don't let Lucy or Stanley read this blog). NB got a new kitty herself which I'm dying to meet. We were then off to Tracey's where the fun continued. I'm not sure, but dogs might be even more fun than kitties - especially when they bark loudly. Odd that a kid would like that, but Ellis liked fighting (ok, playing - but it seemed like they were fighting) dogs and barking Bailey. We learned a lot at Aunty Tracey's - what food is good to eat, basically anything that Aunty Tracey cooks, but Ellis was partial to curried chick peas, the proper way to have a bath (thanks for sharing your cool toys Emilie, the right time to go to bed (7 pm as opposed to 10:30 pm - hence the longer blog post), how to go for walks in the woods, what a real bedroom is like and what swimming is like. We packed a lot into 4 days. It was fun. We were both sad to come home, but we had to come back for dirty diaper pickup and for our signing class. Do you think Aunty Tracey and Cuz Emilie will let us move in with them?

Carrots and a HORRIBLE Nightmare

2007-01-20T06:27:00.000-08:00

Little guy had carrots last night. He's been getting quite grumpy right around dinner time the past couple of nights. Cyp and I have been shuffling him back and forth (no - you take him) until as a last resort we (ok usually Cyp) takes him for a walk. Last night I went as there was a McDonald's ice cream cone thrown in at the end of our destination. So, NB and Keith were over last night and Ellis was ramping up and he was staring so hard at our dinner that I had a brainwave. I went to the cupboard and pulled out some carrots in a jar (leftover from Tracey's baby shower, over a year ago, yes I'm a packrat too), opened them up and started to give them to Ellis. NB said "you have to try them mom" (I guess so little guy knows he's not being poisoned), so I did and they weren't as bad as I thought. I don't think I needed to try them though as little guy pretty much grabbed the spoon out of my hand and started mowing down on them right away. As I fed him I had kinda a sinking feeling as I realized that my relatively easy life is going to be a lot harder now. I'm now going to have to figure out what he wants to eat everyday and if I thought I had laundry issues before, I realized I had been seriously deluded as I started at his carrot incrusted sleeper that I had just put him in. Cyp was looking a little carrot incrusted too. I also realized that perhaps that is why he keeps getting grumpy these days when I'm out to eat. He wants to eat!

Part 2

So I had a horrible nightmare this morning and it was toooooo real. I was drawing the bath for little guy and I put him in it and then I went to sort my and Cyp's change (a slight obsession of mine). I suddenly realized what I had done and I ran back to the bathroom in a panic and there he was in a bucket, water over his face with his eyes closed. I hauled him out, turned him over, his eyes opened and I woke up instantly and felt sick sick sick. I still feel sick when I think about it. I started to think about it - I went to work yesterday and told them I'd be back in twelve months (as opposed to ten, which is what I had originally indicated). I think my subconscious is telling me that I'm abandonning little guy for money, but I'll tell you subconscious, that was not a very nice way to bring up that issue with me.

2007-01-17T08:26:00.000-08:00

Cyp and I like to argue over who takes the pictures and even though this one seems to be a Cyp extreme close-up, it's actually a Renee extreme close-up (after all, Ellis does have flawless skin - he could be a supermodel). I went to choir again last night. It's getting easier going - I no longer fret the entire time about how dad and little guy are doing. When I got home though, no one was here and I did start to worry. I started imagining all these horrific scenarios. The main scenario being that dad and little guy were run over by a crazy driver. The door opened at 10:10 though and in they walked - Ellis looking very rosy cheeked. Cyp had timed it to the minute as I told him I would be home by 10:10.