Chocolate Bunnies

This makes me laugh so much. I'm not sure where the original came from, but the bunny on the right was Michael's idea and makes it so much funnier.

Trip Pictures

First off here are a couple of shots I took when Aidan and I walked down to the beach on Saturday. It was raining a little bit, but stopped shortly after we had set out. We were both wearing shorts and sandals but it was still a little chilly. We were down there for a very short time because after I had persuaded Aidan to come walk close to where the water was lapping up on the shore a larger wave came and took my sandal and I had to chase after it and then Aidan was sure the same thing would happen to him.

We weren't able to find too many shells, but we did find a few cool ones. Aidan liked the little baby shells the best.

You can tell by the look on his face here that he is so unimpressed with me making him stand there for a picture. I had wanted him to go down closer to the water but he wouldn't loosen the death grip he had on his hand and kept asking to go home. The best I could do was just to get him to turn around and not close his eyes for the picture.
He was much more excited once I said we could go back to where we were staying. That house in the corner of the picture is the place that we stayed from Thursday night until Sunday morning. It was very nice of Jack and Linda to let us stay there!!I'll admit, I helped him climb up on the rock and told him to put his hands up and say 'I won!' but it's still pretty cute!
While we were still down in the park by the beach we tried to take a couple pictures.
These didn't turn out super well, but they sure beat the ones where we didn't even make it into the picture!!

These are the little onesies we got for Hagatha. Aidan thought they were pretty cool and I think he was asking if he could wear them until the baby came, but I told him they were much too small for him!

I had laid them out on the bed to take a picture so Aidan ran to get the little toy camera and was trying to copy me and take pictures too.


He also took some pictures of Michael and told him to say cheese first - so cute!


I didn't get many pictures of the comedy night - this one is actually a picture of the rehearsal but what's special about it is that you'll notice that Michael is wearing an EDMONTON ESKIMOS jersey!! I had to get a picture because for sure that is never happening again!!

I don't have a program here where I can lighten the picture, but if you look closely, on the right hand side, with 82 on his jersey (BC Lions this time) is Michael and right down beside him is Aidan with his arms up in the air trying to do YMCA with everyone else.

The marching was a little easier for him to do - he was so excited to be up on stage with Daddy!

On the way back Michael came and walked around with us and took Aidan outside because I was too cold/lazy to go out there with him. I came out and took a couple pictures of them.

It was very very windy out there and Aidan's face is just priceless here.

Then Michael took a picture of me and Aidan. We're both in pajamas - Aidan's are much cooler Spiderman ones though.

Here you can see how windy it is. There's another picture where you can see more of us but combining the wind and my hoodie over my belly it is just really really not cool so I'm not going to put it up.

Michael posing next to a life preserver. He said he doesn't have many pictures of just himself which is true - he isn't in many pictures that I take so I'm glad he came up and let me take pictures of him and Aidan and also him by himself.

Little Spiderman asleep on the way home.

Don't kids look sooo cute when they're sleeping?!

In Kamloops on the way back I bought Aidan a little slushie - which greatly improved his spirits

He's sitting back there watching Diego's Dino Adventure with some cool foldable headphones Michael bought for him.

The only unfortunate result of this slushie was an emergency stop about an hour down the road to pee. Fortunately he told us right after we had passed a gas station, so we turned around and hightailed it back in time.
Showing off his cool blue Polarberry tongue.
We stopped to see my mom in Abbotsford on Sunday and she brought along some stuff for Aidan, the baby and me.

She had found this little Winnie the Pooh golf shirt and also these cool pants, so Aidan wore them today and was very excited about them - especially his 'Nee-Pooh' shirt.

Well, we got back last night at 6pm and I am happy to be home! There's a huge mess in the kitchen from lugging all our stuff in, I'm sure there will be like 8 loads of wash to do and I'm actually going to have to cook on a weeknight again, but we made it to daycare on time and I even made it to work almost half an hour early! I've got a doctor's appointment this afternoon and plans for this weekend - nothing like jumping in again with both feet!

The Big Night

Tonight is the night! Kevin's church is having a comedy night fundraiser and it's happening tonight it's happening. Everyone has been practising and decorating and planning and getting stuff ready. I think it's going to be a great success, the tickets are all sold out and the guys that came from Edmonton are hilarious - not to mention Michael and Kevin who are both also very funny.

On Thursday Kevin, Chaundra, Benj, Aaron, Joy, Michael and I all went down to Nanaimo. Party because it was Chaundra's birthday and also to pick up Kevin's sisters and Terri from the ferry. We did a little shopping, Michael and I saw a movie (Shooter - okay, but not so wonderful) and went out for dinner at Kelsey's.

While Joy and Chaundra were getting their nails done and the guys were shopping I found this little store with a whole bunch of baby onesies with the most hilarious appliques. Fortunately they were having a 2 for 1 sale so I got a little pink one with a Transformers logo (I think Michael said it was Decepticon) and then a little black one with pink headphones. Michael and I looked through the binder at all the options and were giggling, some of them were so funny. There were a couple that I really wanted to get, but then I'd have to be careful about where she wore it and who was around, so we stuck with the ones we got, just to be safe.

Like I said, our movie was okay, but there were some issues with the sound at first and then 3 times throughout the movie the picture went completely black which was really frustrating. After it was over we went to talk to the manager and got a pass, so now we can go see a movie in Grande Prairie for free :) Well, besides the cost of a babysitter.

On the way down we stopped in this place called Cathedral Grove with huge trees, some 800 years old, but most 300 years old. The trees were sooo tall and beautiful. We took a group picture there on Joy's camera but I got this one picture of Michael and me on ours.

Tomorrow is going to be an exciting day too. Aidan's very excited about riding on the ferry and seeing Mama and Auntie Amber and staying in a hotel. I'm very excited about going to Old Navy at Metrotown! We're going to split the trip into 2 days this time even though Aidan did so much better than I had thought he would - it's going to be a late night tonight and Michael doesn't wants to make sure he's well rested.

Well, we still haven't actually made it to the beach so that's the plan right now. Hopefully it's within walking distance or I can get a ride with someone. The other day when I was backing out of Kevin and Chaundra's driveway to give a couple people a ride to the church, I backed into a tree and ripped off the drivers side mirror so I've been staying out of the drivers seat!

Spiderman Travels to Vancouver Island

I think these would rank up there as some of the funniest pictures I've taken of Aidan to date. On Monday we were in Value Village (because I missed the ONE day the library was open on Easter weekend and was desperate for some books to bring along on our trip) and I thought we'd just take a cruise down the kids clothes to check for anything Hot Wheels when Aidan yells 'Spiderman!!!' It was so cute and even came with a little hat, so we had to buy it and then he decided that he wanted to travel in it, so he wore it (including the hat) all the way down to the Island.

Speaking of traveling, it went pretty good. Sunday night Michael was up and about which made it difficult for me to sleep and then the baby started kicking, so I got up at 4:30 Monday morning. I spent the whole day cleaning the house, rushing around trying to get everything packed and ready and finally at 6pm it was. I think this is the first time in the history of Michael and I being together that he has been packed before I was. Usually I make a list about a week before the trip and have everything washed and packed and organized 2-3 days before the trip. Not this time! There's so much stuff to remember and you always end up taking more than you need. Aidan was so excited to leave and kept wanting to get in the car while we loaded it up with our bags. I had wanted to leave in the afternoon, around 3 or 4 and Michael wanted to leave at 8pm so we compromised on 7pm and actually pulled out of the driveway at 8:30pm. In the end it was better we left later. Aidan fell asleep on his own at precisely 9pm which was nice of him. I was just getting ready to give him a gravol or 2 when I turned around and he was already asleep. When we went to get the gravol, it was behind the counter, so I had to ask for it and they wrote my name and number down - well, put it in the computer - and the pharmacist said it was because there was so much abuse of it going on. Hopefully they don't count using it to put your kid to sleep on a long trip abuse!! He woke up a couple times before we got to Abbotsford - twice he said he saw a face looking in at him at the window, so we had to put a pillow up so 'the guy' couldn't see in - once he listened to his music for about an hour but he slept most of the 12 hours to Abbotsford which was awesome.

We got to Abbotsford at about 6:00 BC time and were planning on going to IHOP for breakfast only to discover that it was closed for renovations! The only other place that was close and open right away was White Spot so we went there instead. Right as we were finishing up a group of people walked past us and I noticed my Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Art, so we went over to say hi to them and Aidan gave some hugs and kisses. It was pretty cool to run into them and nice to see them again. They even took care of our breakfast which was very generous of them.

The plan was to go to Metrotown and hit an Old Navy maternity store and then take the ferry over to the Island, but by this time it was only about 8am so we decided that instead of waiting around for the mall to open we'd just go straight to the ferry since we'd probably have to wait there anyways. Michael slept through the wait in line and also while the ferry crossed because he was getting a little tired. I was pretty exhausted myself since I had gotten very little sleep, but I preferred to let him sleep and take Aidan around the ferry rather than drive! Aidan thought the ferry was very cool. We walked around outside and looked over the edge at the waves and went up on the sundeck and looked over the edge again. There was a little play area with a slide and a few other things and we spent some time in there for Aidan to burn off some steam - then he noticed the arcade, so we had to go try out those games for a good 20 minutes (at this point he's perfectly happy just sitting there and pressing the buttons, turning the wheels and pulling on the levers without me spending any money and hopefully it stays that way for awhile!). By the time we got ourselves a drink and some skittles from the vending machine and sat down by a window, it was time to go back down to the car.

We got off the ferry in Nanaimo and pulled into one of the malls parking lots and I turned around to tell Aidan we were going to get out and he was asleep! We picked up some Subway for lunch and decided to take advantage of his nap and head out right away rather than walking through one of the malls first. Ucluelet is clear across the Island from where the ferries dock, it's very close to Tofino. The map says that the drive should take about 2 hours and 40 minutes but the map does not tell you that the road is the curviest windiest bumpiest road EVER! I was so nauseous by the end it was awful. It also didn't help that Michael is a little speed freak and took these bends at the highest speed possible. Fortunately he wasn't able to go super fast because of how windy it was but I was soooo glad when we were finally in Ucluelet on a straight road. We were talking to Kevin later and apparently the road was plotted out by loggers just going from one good tree to another good tree - which explains a lot. We're going into Nanaimo on Thursday for Chaundra's birthday and then again when we leave on Sunday so I've got 3 more trips to look forward to!

Aidan slept pretty much the whole way to Ucluelet and was very happy to get out and run around and play at Kevin and Chaundra's. They have a beautiful big house right by the beach that they rent, and they also have a little bed and breakfast suite that their landlord rents out and they take care of. So we're staying there for right now and it's really nice. Actually any place that had a bed and a shower would have been totally fine with me. Usually that front seat is fine, I'm not sure if it was the length of the trip or because I'm pregnant but I just could not get comfortable the whole time.

Chaundra has promised Aidan that we will go down to the beach today and look for some shells so that should be fun. It's not really warm here, but I packed shorts for Aidan and me just in case - hopefully we can use them!

Right now Aidan's watching Dora the Explorer with the headphones on and every once in awhile he pipes up with some mangled spanish word or Map! or something that Dora wants him to say or some song they're singing. It's pretty funny, especially since I can't hear the show.

Not My Type of Guy

I just had 2 guys come in here looking for Al (my boss) who was (conveniently for him) out at the moment. He had actually just driven off like 2 minutes before they walked in which seemed to be somewhat problematic for these guys. They stood in front of my desk and made small talk for a couple minutes and left me their card and then said they would be back later. Now maybe I'm grumpy today or maybe I should really look for something that's not in customer service next time, but here are my problems with them:

• The first guy walks in and says 'Hi!' really chipper, like I should be excited to see him. I'm not. My desk has tons of stuff on it and I'm clearly busy. I don't have time for interruptions.
• Same guy whips out his little business card case and hands me a card - again, like I should care. 'Oh, thanks! I'll put it with my business card collection!' I don't want your card, and I'm pretty sure Al doesn't either, because he's as excited as I am when I hand it to him.
• While they're standing there I can smell the bottle of cologne they've doused themselves in. So gross...I'm trying not to wrinkle my nose and as soon as the door closes behind them I make a beeline for the bathroom and febreze the whole front office.
• They called me 'sweetie'. That just makes my fake perky grin just a little more fake.
• First guy again starts talking about the weather. 'So are you the one that's responsible for this weather? Are you tired of it yet?' No I don't control the weather and yes, like everyone else, I do not think it's cool that we still have new snow on the ground on April 4th!! That weather comment always makes me wonder. Like in the summer when people say 'Hot enough for you?' or 'Cold enough for you?' in the winter - as if there's a little thermostat that you're controlling the weather with.

I can blame this on pregnancy hormones, right?

Fish Place

Aidan is very excited today because he gets to go to the Fish Place. His very favourite restaurant (even more than McDonalds!!) is Joey's Only aka Fish Place. A couple months ago I took him there on a Tuesday night before bedtime stories at the Library and ever since then he always asks to go back. Tuesday's are all you can eat and the kids meal is $4 which is very affordable. Every so often we'll go and Aidan has a great time eating his fish, dipping it in the tartar sauce, being awed at the big fish on the walls with the super pointy noses and just being silly. I think his favourite part is the dirt and worms at the end. He roots around and digs out all the worms first and then gets me to help him eat his pudding. Last Wednesday we went to McDonalds for dinner and Aidan was upset because he 'had' to go to McDonalds and couldn't go to the Fish Place, so Michael told him that they could go today. I reminded him at breakfast that today was the day - 'Are you excited to go the Fish Place with Daddy?' He looked up from his cheerios and said 'Now?' with a hopeful look on his face. It's going to be a guys night tonight because I have an appointment at Clarica to set up an RESP for Aidan and also for little Hagatha. Or at least make plans to do that in the near future. Hopefully they have a plan that will work for us!

The Secret to Mashed Potatoes

I think I have figured it out, and if I'm right, it's Parmesan cheese. I made these great mashed potatoes on Valentines Day, trying to copy the Keg's mashed potatoes because they are the best ever. That recipe had sour cream, butter, Parmesan cheese and vegetable oil. It all seemed like a little much (even though it tasted sooo good) so the next couple times I made mashed potatoes I used sour cream and a little butter and some Parmesan cheese and ever since then my mashed potatoes have been the best ever. Even Michael agrees. So there you are. I know you were all wondering... :)

This past weekend was really good. On Friday I sent Michael out to get some yummy steaks and ice cream cake because the weather was warming up - and also I had just been paid, so we could afford it. Pat dug out the barbecue for us and took out the garbage he found buried under the snow. That was so great because now we actually have wood on our deck to walk on as opposed to bumpy slippy snow/ice depending on what the weather's doing.

While all this was going on I picked up Aidan and we were supposed to stop at the dollar store on the way home to pick up some ribbons for Sammy's present as well as a birthday card. Aidan picked the birthday card but then when I chose the white ribbon rather than the blue ribbon that was just the end of the world and the only response to that was to flop onto the floor, roll around and scream. It was exactly what I needed on a Friday afternoon after a long week of work. Amazing how he just knew...Anyways, after standing around for about 10 minutes trying to wait it out I finally grabbed him and hauled him out to the car and strapped him in, but in the process I managed to pull something in my stomach/abdomen area which was really not cool. Also not cool was that I couldn't walk properly and had to waddle around like a gimpy duck all day Saturday. Fortunately by Sunday it was mostly gone and will hopefully be all gone in a couple days. I'm not sure what Aidan's problem was, but he came dangerously close to having his Saturday schedule of swimming, hair cut and birthday party wiped clean! He was in a much better mood on Saturday and did not waste the last chance I gave him - even reminding me that I was the one that got to pick the ribbon :)

It was his last day of Salamander and I had promised him that after his class, we would sign him up for Sunfish. He did his thing and had a great time and then brought me his little report card when he was all done, and his teachers had written in there that they thought he should redo Salamander so that he could work on his floats. I was a little disappointed and also a little anxious that Aidan would be upset about having to repeat Salamander, but he wasn't. He said he had fun in his class and would have fun doing it again which I thought was a pretty good attitude to have. When I went to sign him up for Salamander again the girl told me that there is a 3 year old class and then a 3-5 year old class which was a little more advanced, so we went with that one. It's actually good he has to repeat Salamander because there are only 6 preschool levels, and only 2 after Salamander, so I was wondering what we would do when he was done all the levels, but still too young to go on to the Red Cross levels. His next set of lessons start on May 26th, so we have lots of time to go swimming together and work on floats.

While he was at Sammy's birthday party I stopped at Superstore to get some groceries - but forgot to put my debit card in my bag and ended up at the till with no cash or cards to pay! Definitely one of my most embarrassing moments! Fortunately they just put my groceries aside until I came back with my debit card. I had tried to explain to Aidan that Saturday would be all about Sammy - not him or anybody else, just Sammy. He seemed to understand that, but was not persuaded that Sammy would share her cake with him. I said 'I guarantee you, Sammy will share her cake with you' which was not a wise thing to say. We picked him up and I asked him if he had had any cake, and very indignantly he said 'No! No cake! No cupcakes!' while making a brushing away motion with his hand. Too funny! It was a good thing we had that ice cream cake at home to save the day.

Sunday was April Fool's Day and I always remember too late to do anything, but Michael was on the ball - sort of. While I was in the shower I heard this little noise from Aidan so I asked him if he was okay and he said yes. A couple seconds later I heard this little giggle, so I peeked around the curtain and there's Aidan standing in the bathroom holding out his hand which is covered in ketchup, saying 'Aaaahhh!' with a big grin on his face. It was pretty funny. He was very impressed with himself that he had 'gotten' me.

Even though it's only April 2nd today I think April is going to fly by. This coming long weekend is Easter, and then on Monday night we're taking off for Vancouver Island for a week. We'll be back on the 16th and then the weekend after that is my birthday and Michael has arranged for a pretty cool hotel room here without Aidan which should be lots of fun and then another week and it's May! Hopefully by then most of the snow will be gone and we can finally get some warmer weather around here. It was snowing last night and this morning and was down to -15 which is just not right!!