Monkeyboy Junior Jr. had belly issues last night. Very messy and painful belly issues. I think I finally got to sleep around 3:30 am, and it was lightly, on the floor outside his room, so I could listen to make sure he didn’t choke in his sleep or anything… Luckily, he woke up in a chipper mood, but I am completely exhausted today. Thus, no pretty photos and no playing around. Just a snap I threw off in the wee hours as I tried to distract him from his woes with a little TV. *yawn*
Tags: 2011, acid reflux, August Break, belly issues, exhausted, snap, yawn
Okay, let’s wrap this up, shall we? So, for the second half of the trip we’ve already covered beachy goodness and our morning in Pacific Grove. Other than that, there was just lots of eating and visiting and playing on the beach, so I guess I’ll make the last post a monster one about, well… “us”, I suppose. 
This is me just minutes after we checked in to The Best Western in Seaside, and promptly hit the beach. Happy!
And here are the boys – itchin’ to get wet. Moments later, the baby ended up sitting in the surf, and our excursion came to an end.
The next day, after a little shopping, the nicer weather prompted Monkeyboy Junior (MBJ) and I to head out for another explore.
He was quite content to play in the sand…
…and I was just quite content.
Of course, a game of Wave Chicken eventually broke out…
…and we both got just a little bit goofy. AAAAAHHHHH!
Later that night, we met up with my sisters – who drove up from LA to meet us – and we headed out for dinner. Mmm, Chili’s! However, I have come to the conclusion that photos taken at restaurants are seldom flattering, so let’s just keep it moving, m’kay?
The next day, we rendezvoused with my sisters again…
…who had come bearing gifts, which was AOK with MBJ.
We then went for Mexican at Baldemiro’s, where my husband enjoyed a burrito he’d been waiting a whole year to try again.
Then it was time for another beach walk (and gull chase) – yippie!
As you can see, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Monkeyboy Junior and his new Auntie Anika got along famously.
Oh, dear. How did THAT happen? AGAIN?!?! =P
We cleaned up and headed to Bubba Gump’s for dinner. Again, I’ll spare you the awkward photos of that…
Our last full day found us in Pacific Grove, then on the beach again, where we were lucky enough to find a red bucket.
Which made MBJ very, very, VERY happy.
After naps and a swim, we rendezvoused again – this time with my sister’s boyfriend (now fiance) as well.
Half of us hit the beach…
…half of us watched.
Eventually, we all wandered down to see the sand castle building.
Tah-Dah!!!
Daddy kept close tabs on the baby (who stayed dry – yay!)…
…and Nick helped with Project #2 – the swimming pool.
We then went for the greasiest, gooiest, yummiest pizza (so I heard) at Gianni’s. I will make a photo exception, as this has all of us in it.
The next morning, it was time to pack up and head home – but not before one last meet up and a round of goodbyes.
Oh, how I wish we lived closer together…
But until we meet again, may there be many smiles and much love.
Tags: California, trip photos
Okay, so where was I? Oh, yes, right… Banff. The weekend before Christmas, the “fambily” headed out to the mountains for my husband’s “company Christmas party”. As has been tradition over the last few years, we stayed at the beautiful Rimrock Hotel, which is perched on the side of one of the Rocky Mountains. Normally, I am always a little reluctant to leave right before Christmas, with everything that needs to get done…but as usual, it was very much worth the time away.
Sometimes a change of scenery can do wonders for your mood!
And sometimes, you’re just as goofy as ever.
We got settled into our room (Monkeyboy Junior made sure the stuffies were cozy) and headed up to the lobby lounge.
Where we had some nice before dinner drinks…
…did some running about…
…and generally enjoyed the ambiance…
…before heading down to the dining room for dinner. Yum!
The next morning we enjoyed a delicious buffet breakfast with our friends, and then decided to head into town for a bit.
While waiting for the Grizzly Shuttle to arrive…
…the kids enjoyed the giant gingerbread house….
…and I admired the giant sugar art creations.
So much to look at – like the fancily dressed doorman…
…more sculpture (this time in ice)…
…and lots and lots of snow!
After a quick little bus ride, we were in the townsite proper.
And no trip to Banff would be complete without a trip to Welch’s old fashioned candy store!!!
Help yourself there, Brendan (what a bizarre shot!)
Of course, the toy store is fun too.
It was freezing (!) cold, so we decided to head back to the hotel.
And while I went for a mmmmmassage, the boys went swimming.
While the baby napped, Monkeyboy Junior and I joined our friends in the lobby lounge for some drinks and snacks. My husband then took Junior ice skating while I hung out with the baby. I didn’t have a chance to snap photos, but our friend Keith did over at The Changing Perspective.
Then it was fancy dinner time, and this year I decided to hang out with the kids instead of chasing the baby around the dining room / trying to keep him from screaming as he sat through dinner… I think it was a good call.
We had way more fun watching Christmas specials, racing down the hallways, and playing “catch the sock monkey”.
The next morning we packed up and snuck in one last swim…
…before driving home to Christmas preparations once more.
Tags: Banff, candy store, company Christmas party, gingerbread house, ice sculpture, ice skating, massage, Rimrock, Rocky Mountains, snow, sugar art, swimming, toy store, Welch's
Just a few snaps as we head into the weekend. When life gives you snow (and a chinook)… make lemonade! Er, I mean – go sledding!
The baby had a few smiley moments amidst all the whining.
But Monkeyboy Jr. was as pleased as could be.
T’was a bit chilly with the wind, but that didn’t stop him.
He got in plenty of runs, and even some “big brother-ing”.
What a fun way to spend an afternoon together – wheee!
Hope you have yourselves a great weekend!
Well, last night our youngest’s reflux flared up – in an inconsolable crying and unable to sleep kinda way. We were up from about 11:30pm (after he’d had 2 hours and I, one, of sleep) until past 4am, and then up every couple of hours after that… At one point, when I was trying to calm him down, I began singing “Hush, Little Baby” – but with modifications I came up with years ago when I first started singing it for our youngest, and was too tired to remember the right words. Apparently working at a bird sanctuary for seven years kinda sticks with you, even when completely sleep challenged. I thought I might share it here today, for lack of brainpower to contribute much else…
Before I started bringing my iPod to the hospital, I would also sing this song to our baby over and over and over again.
*
Hush little baby, don’t say a word,
Mumma’s gonna find you a mocking bird,
And if that mocking bird don’t sing,
Mumma’s gonna find you a cedar waxwing,
And if that cedar waxwing does flee,
Mumma’s gonna find you a chickadee,
And if that chickadee does fly,
Mumma’s gonna find you a sweet magpie
So, hush little baby, don’t say a word,
Mumma’s gonna find you a mocking bird.
*
Hush little baby, don’t say a word,
Mumma’s gonna find you a mocking bird,
And if that mocking bird gets loose,
Mumma’s gonna find you a Canada goose,
And if that Canada goose gets stuck,
Mumma’s gonna find you a mallard duck,
And if that mallard duck is too dull,
Mumma’s gonna find you a California gull,
So, hush little baby, don’t say a word,
Mumma’s gonna find you a mocking bird.
*
As you can see, it’s really quite easy to do – just think of a 3-4 syllable bird (like a “big black crow” or “house sparrow”) and then come up with a rhyme for what it might do (like “go” or “show”). Just repeat that with 3 or 4 birds, and you’ve got yourself a verse you can repeat, and you’re golden. It’s not like your child is going to call you on bad rhymes for “robin” or that we don’t actually get toucans here in Canada. But I digress. Anywho. It’s come in handy many times, and perhaps you too shall find use for it with your next child or babysitting foray. Now, if you’ll excuse me, the couch is whispering my name.
Tags: birds, hush, little baby, lullaby, song, stupid effing acid reflux
Okay, okay, enough with all the negativity already! Today I would like to celebrate something grand, something life-affirming, something wonderful even. A few weeks back I got a phone call from my sister requesting that I hop on to Skype – so I did. As the internets went about connecting us, she miraculously appeared before me – with her boyfriend sitting beside her. Clearly something was “up”. Sure enough, they “had news” – the can’t-quite-sit-still-in-a-chair kind. And with a flash of a certain ring finger, the impending wedding beans were spilled. Hurrah!
And as she proceeded to tell me all about how he had asked her at the top of a mountainous hike just that weekend… and he chimed in with a story about how he had remembered a certain ring she had admired two years back, when they were looking at engagement rings with his sister… I had the overwhelming sense that I had seen this kind of thing before. Not figuratively, mind you – quite literally, in the movie When Harry Met Sally in fact. You remember those snippets with the “real couples” sitting on the couch telling their stories, don’t you? Well, it was VERY reminiscent of that. And it made me all warm and fuzzy inside. (I love the idea of this – it was #40 on my bucket list – “find someone who will tell me a lifelong story”.)
We talked a little bit more about their plans, I gave my enthusiastic congratulations, and then let them go on to making their next surprising call. As the day progressed, I got it in my head that I wanted to make a little something for them – a congratulatory-celebratory-craftatory type thing. And even though they (and you all) will get to see it right here, right now, way before they have it in their hot little hands, I just couldn’t wait until the postal service did their thing before I shared it.
So, congratulations you two love birds! I wish you much happiness and manymanymany years of love… and stories. xo
Tags: impending wedding, love birds, quilty critters, Skype, When Harry Met Sally
Today we are heading out to get our family portrait taken. Normally I’m not a huge fan of these things – I’ve seen enough Awkward Family Photos in my day to think that getting “posed” photos taken is seldom a good idea. Not that I will hold it against someone if they have the old Sears “baby-on-a-faux-fur-rug” photo proudly on display, but it’s just not my cuppa tea. We’re more the kind of family that would take our Christmas Card photo while dressed in superhero costumes – and by “would”, I mean “did”.
Christmas 2008 – Robin, Green Lantern, Batgirl, and Wonderdog.
It wasn’t until Kids Photo came along that I started warming up to the idea of getting our portrait done. The studio was close by, handily located right in the mall (near the bribe-containing food court), and their walls were filled with casual looking family photos. Of course, getting a gift certificate for a free sitting didn’t hurt either. Plus, when push came to shove, trying to get everybody looking at the self-timered camera was getting to be rather… challenging. So, we went for it.
2006 family portrait taken at Kids Photo.
Not the greatest photo on the planet, but we like it well enough for what it is. Now that there are four of us, we need to get our portrait updated. Over the last couple of years, I’ve taken my fair share of photos of us – usually with my camera holding arm extended or with people looking away because they don’t “get” the whole self-timer idea – but I’ve been unable to capture one of us that I’d enlarge and frame for the mantle. I suppose I could ask a friend to come and help out, but I also understand just how busy people are. So, yeah. We’re heading back to Kids Photo this afternoon in the hopes that they can work their magic and create something we will all love. I’m thinking we should bring our pajamas, though… ’cause that’s just how we roll.
Tags: awkward family photos, Christmas Card photo, family portrait, gift certificate, mall, photo, Photography, posed, Sears, superhero costumes
Alrighty now. Let’s finish up the northern part of our trip with a few last shots of beautiful San Francisco.
After visiting the California Academy of Sciences, we headed out to the Music Concourse, played in the fountains, and got some sun.
We then drove through Golden Gate Park, admiring all the cool attractions which we no longer had the energy to explore, and decided to let the kids blow off some steam at a playground.
After being cooped-up in his stroller for much of the morning, the baby was VERY happy to be out and about.
Though his big brother was pretty happy to just play too.
When I first saw this sign, I thought “Aw, how cute and quirky of San Francisco!”, but then the creepiness factor sunk in.
This guy was clearly not abiding by the above signage, but he was doing some very interesting exercises.
Oh, how I adore the patina of time.
We headed back to Alameda for dinner, chillaxing, and eventually sleep, then decided to go back into the city the following day.
Going over the Bay Bridge to get into the city (from Alameda).
A view of the city from the “Grand Old Bridge”.
Driving along the Embarcadero towards Fisherman’s Wharf.
As we had done Fisherman’s Wharf and a boat tour to the “Big Orange Bridge” / past Alcatraz on a previous trip, we decided to take a cable car to the “South of Market” (SoMa) district this time around.
This is us – thank goodness for helpful photo-taking tourists.
Look, there’s one now – helping to illustrate just how hilly the ride is.
So many cool things to see on the way…
Oh, how I also adore the funky architecture!
And unusual businesses. (Seems counter-intuitive, doesn’t it?)
And Swensen’s! Mmmmm… Swensen’s. Suddenly I was 16 again, drowning my sorrows in vanilla with hot fudge.
All in all, the ride went fairly well (on the way there at least).
When we got to the SoMa district, we did a little shopping – daddy enjoyed hitting the Adidas store…
While mommy preferred poking around Anthropologie. *sigh*
We then grabbed a quick bite to eat and got on the cable car to head back towards our parked car… at which point the baby decided it was nap time and he did NOT want to be on a cable car. A major tantrum ensued. Luckily, he cried himself out after several minutes, and we made the return trip without further incident – i.e. without the other riders pelting us with rocks or some such thing.
We survived!!!
The following day, we packed up and headed a few hours south to enjoy some beach time… but that will have to wait for another day.
Tags: California, san francisco
No matter how big the mattress is that you’ve purchased, when your kid(s) climbs into bed with you in the middle of the night, it will never, ever be big enough.
Whether they come to you teary-eyed and scared after having a bad dream, or stealthily sneak into your bed like a pint-sized ninja while you sleep, having your kid(s) join you in your cozy sanctuary of restful repose is seldom a win-win proposition. Defying the laws of physics, a restless 6-year-old can somehow magically take up more space than two full-grown adults. While you grapple for blankets and desperately try to figure out which way to point your head so you can breath some fresh air (and not get another foot in your face), just try to remember how lonely and frightening it was to be that young and alone in the dark.
Tags: Mom's Fortune Cookie
Just thought I’d post a few pics from Halloween today. Boo! (Yay?)
The weekend started with the “Fall Ball” at our eldest’s school.
Monkey Boy Jr. went as Mister Harry Potter.
The rest of us – an Adidas-clad hip-hop guy, a spider, and a witch.
There was much dancing (’cause this is thriller, thriller night…)
Whether it was solo, in a conga line, or… with girls!?!?!
And a few other surprises too…
Monkey Boy Junior Jr. spent the first half clinging to our legs.
But then he got into the “spirit” of things…
And in no time was “itsy bitsy-ing” his way around like a pro.
Great costumes, prize give aways, virtually no “slutty” outfits…
And lots and lots of dancing to some great music!
What was not to love?
I’ve got to admit, it’s one of my favourite “fambily” activities we do.
Next up – our first time trick or treating at Market Mall – craziness!
Again, there were lots of great costumes…
Free treat give aways… (Trick or treat, smell my feet…)
And even dancing!
After rests/naps, we headed around to the “grandparents” etc…
and got in lots of kitten cuddles / puppy kisses before heading out.
Yes, Harry, it IS quite shocking how much candy one gets, isn’t it?
Hope you all had a marvelous weekend, and to any pagan readers out there… Happy New Year!
Tags: 2010, Hallowe'en
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