Wednesday 30 December 2009

Oh What Fun it is to Ride...

In a one-HOSS open sleigh!


Bells on belt buckles ring, making spirits bright...

Note the rather (ok, somewhat) lifelike pose of our warmly-dressed little guy!

Out with the Old, In with the New

Well, as the old year draws to a close, we have a sad farewell to say.

A Eugoogoly for Chris' Bathrobe, may it rest in peace.

(1984-2009)
Dear Bathrobe, you saw Chris
Through thick and thin
Through puberty
And post-partying
For so, so long
You've held on true
But sorry, dude,
Your time is through.
Yes, your math is correct. His bathrobe was 25 years old. To put it in even more perspective, we played cards with some friends on Sunday night, who were both younger than his bathrobe. Chris FINALLY received a snazzy new one from his mom for Christmas. (Yay! THANK YOU, ANN!)


Anyhoo, it was a sad day, yadda yadda yadda. I voted for a burial at sea, but we didn't think the plumbing could handle it.


WAITAMINUTE! WHAT IS THIS???



Oh dear, it's a Random Foot Check (RFC).

You may want to catch your breath, have a bit of a seat, etc, and watch this amusing and appropriate video. Here it goes again, indeed.
Indeed.

After many weeks of valiantly trying to keep the new belly under wraps, I was outed at the gym! I attempted the indignant/hurt new mother routine (what are you saying? I've been working so hard to lose my baby belly, and you're calling me fat?), but she saw right through me. Rats. I suppose it was crazy to think that I could hide this, though!

So, here's the belly at 17 weeks. Yep. Woo.

Sunday 27 December 2009

Huffmas in the Hat!

Hey, what time is it???

We were up bright and early for Vaughn's first Christmas, and full of pip and vinegar!

Well, one of us was, anyway!



Santa brought Vaughn a sled.
"Um... so I sit in this, like so. And uh... wheeee?"

We opened up a big box from Grandma and Grunkle Visger: Ahhh! Much better!

All dressed up for Christmas, with a renewed sense of elf-esteem and elf-confidence.

A George-in-the-Box from Grandma and Grandpa Power...

"Mommy, hurry up and put my toy together! Um...and put on some makeup, too..."




So much to see, so much new to play with... it's hard, being this spoiled!
Good thing he has good elf-control.


The stockings and presents all opened, and a long day of playing and feasting later (Daddy made an amazing turkey dinner!), everyone's still smiling.
Merry Christmas!




Tuesday 22 December 2009

Vaughn's first haircut

Snif...snif...




Well, my little fluffy duck was getting too fluffy. His floppy bangs were always in his eyes (and always full of food), he had little wings around his ears, and if you put him in a stocking cap, he did a pretty good impression of Relic. Not good.




So, I finally talked Chris into taking him to his barber (note that Chris is freshly coiffed, too!), and aside from the tears (mine), it was a great experience. Vaughn was calm, collected, and curious as always, and seemed to think the whole thing was pretty neat.


My baby is now a little boy! Waaaah!
(and of COURSE I got some clippings for his baby book)




A before shot of his bathtime fauxhawk - note the extreme length and awesomeness.









After - he can still rock a fauxhawk, but it's more dignified and mature, non?








Speaking of baths, here's a bath from happier, hairier times:


snif.

11 months - All ready for Christmas!




With Mommy back at work, it's been a hectic holiday season, but we've managed to decorate the house, get our baking done, and send out some Christmas cards, most of which are in the mail. I promise. (heh heh - like the use of the "royal we"?)

The V-man went to a breakfast with Santa event at the end of November, and delighted the jolly old elf with his attitude - he was the only little one in our group to smile for a picture - either he's just a laid-back, relaxed little guy, or he knows whose good books to stay in!

His new tricks, acquired this month, include:

  • Blowing bubbles in the bathtub (about 75% success rate, failure being indicated by coughing, sputtering, and grinning)

  • Waving bye-bye (awwww)

  • Pointing to what he wants (mostly food, of course; he is a Huff!)

  • Bringing us books to read to him

  • Climbing a full flight of stairs (eek)

  • Turning around to wiggle off the sofa feet-first

  • "Driving" his train and firetruck - he rolls them back and forth on their wheels

He's vocalizing a lot more, and makes a lot of "da!" noises, plus imitating tones as well. And of course, he eats anything and everything you give him! Gotta keep those cheeks pinchable!


We've had a few rough weeks with various bugs, but everyone's recovering nicely now...and nothing keeps Vaughn down for long -- Mommy and Daddy seem to get hit much harder, for some reason! I just love this picture - everyone was feeling under the weather, and we got a nice, cuddly day out of both of my resident boys-that-can't-sit-still. I don't expect this to happen ever again, but am glad I caught it on film!

Uncle Rob and Uncle Ryan came down for a lovely visit (unfortunately, it was on the lethargic weekend!) and we tried to stay upright for them as much as we could. Vaughn perked up for them on Sunday, though, and had a great time! He loves his uncles!


We're definitely excited for his first Christmas, and for our first, quiet (ish) Christmas as a little family.

Merry Christmas to all, and a healthy, happy holiday season!

Monday 7 December 2009

Cranky Book Review: Captain Corelli, You Broke My Heart!

Uh oh. She’s back.

I had given a copy of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin to Chris for our first anniversary (Paper! Genius!), since he chose a passage from it as a reading at our wedding. (I also gave him a collection of Ogden Nash poems, since we also had the Tin Wedding Whistle read (my choice). I think the two pieces offered quite a nice contrast to each other: one is sweet and sombre, and the other is goofy and playful… does anyone else see the parallels?) The book has a lovely inscription from me inside the front cover…twice. There are no reliable witnesses, but at least one of them (and possibly both) were written after a day of wine tasting in Sonoma, and possibly after dinner, as well, which required another full bottle of wine and probably an opening cocktail or so…and maybe a glass of wine before bed, too. (Let’s call those the Good Old Days, hmm?)


Anyhoo, Chris took his time in reading it, but really enjoyed it, and said that he thought I would, too. So it recently made its way to the top of the pile on my bedside table (which currently features The Abs Diet and Joy Fielding’s Lost, to give you an idea of what’s coming up).

Well. I wanted to like it, so desperately.

Let’s start with the good. Louis de Bernières can write; there’s no doubt about that. His turns of phrase are beautiful and apt. His observations are humorous and lifelike, and the characters (for the most part) likeable and honourable (oh, Carlos!). In every book I read, I dog-ear a page or two with a memorable passage that catches my attention; this book is full of them. It was a powerful, moving ride of highs and lows, and I alternated between laughing out loud and crying.

But, the story. Sigh. It’s a love story, sort of, but mostly a story about the Second World War and how it affects the people on a Greek island. It depicts Italians and Greek and Germans and English, the good and the monsters and the fools of all of them, but shows everyone as human, which must have been hard at times. Without having looked anything up, I’ll assume that it’s also historically accurate. BUT, historical accuracy aside, I hate when bad things keep happening to good people. Repeatedly. To really, really good and kind people. Yes, yes, war is hell. And yes, that Greek island went through a lot, over many years. But what about the love story? What about karma? What about happy endings?

As Chris says, it WAS a happy ending. Not to spoil it for anyone, but for me, a happy ending would have come about 40 years before it did. I found that its “happy” ending was ironic; “bittersweet” doesn’t cover it, because there was so much more bitter than sweet. I guess it’s a good sign that I identified so much with the main character that I was angry/bitter/cheated FOR her, and still am, about a month after having finished it, but still!

/end rant

Thursday 12 November 2009

10 Months and All is ... Well...



Well, I'm winding down this fabulous adventure I like to refer to as "maternity leave". I have two more weeks with my special little guy, half of which he'll be spending transitioning to daycare. Snif.

The transitioning is going really well - for him, anyway. I sobbed for the whole 4 hours on the first day I dropped him off, but have got the sobbing down to a minimum, and find that lying very still or napping helps pass the time in my empty, echoey house. Snif. Getting out of the house just puts me in the company of other moms with THEIR babies, at the mall, at Costco, etc, which leads to sogginess, naturally. He seems to be having a great time, eating and napping well, and doesn't seem to care one way or another when I show up to pick him up! Ingrate.

Seriously, though, I'm very happy that I found a good dayhome for him (right in our neighbourhood, and very highly recommended... AND she's a Newf!), and that he's settling in well. Next week, we'll be stretching his hours out a little longer, and possibly trying one or two all-day visits... with my commute, he'll be there from about 7:20 till 5:15 or so. Waaaaah! My little boy will be calling someone else Mommy! Well, when he can talk, anyway.

That's another problem. The current routine, which starts at about 6:30 am, gets Vaughn and I fed, washed, brushed, and half of us (the smaller half) dressed -- by 8. I think we'll need to work on our speed. Or maybe skip the hygiene part of the morning.

Moving on to happier stuff:
  • I start back at work in two weeks instead of one, because my wonderful husband (hope he's not reading this...no need to swell his head) will be travelling for the whole week I was supposed to start back... which naturally sent me into meltdown mode -- how the heck can he expect me to abandon-my-baby-and-leave-him-for-10-hours-and-then-drive-for-50-km-sobbing-on-a-highway... so he said, what if I used up some points and brought you two along? Yay! Crisis averted... for a week.
  • The V-man is crawling! Not just that happy little frog scamper that I love, but actual hands-and-knees crawling! ...for about 4 steps... then back to the scamper. Yeah!
  • The pulling up to standing and cruising continues.
  • His bathrobe fits! (see above) I didn't think it ever would.
  • His "best" (?) new trick is begging. I swear, if you even think of having a snack outside of regulated snacktimes, he is suddenly at your knee, looking up at you and growling endearingly (which is weird, but awfully cute)... and because it's so cute, Chris and I can't help but give in and share every time, reinforcing this adorable bad habit.
Anyhoo, life continues, and this blog will either see a lot more activity (since I'll be back at work, ha ha), or a drastic drop-off. I'll try to share any fantastic newsiness, though.

Tuesday 3 November 2009

Nobody Here But Us Halloweenies

Dear Great Pumpykin,


I think I'm starting to have this Halloween thing figured out.


First, you hunt and stalk a suitable pumpykin. Check.





Next, once perfect pumpykin is secured (after Daddy nearly has a conniption over the price: $7?!?! mumble grumble etc.), Mommy hacks it to pieces with sharp things (while I nap and get rested up for a night of debauchery).


Apparently, dressing up like a skunk is instrumental to this holiday, for reasons that Mommy hasn't been able to explain satisfactorily. Whatever. Everyone seems delighted to see me, and the costume that Grandma made was nice and warm and comfy, so I guess this isn't so bad.


Then you have to attend various parties and soirées. I got to go to two! Below, an assortment of turtles, bees, giraffes, piglets, princesses, and several other skunks (a "stink" of skunks, Mommy says) attempt to be photographed at the same time! Note that this wouldn't happen in the wild, either. Daddy said he felt really stressed just watching this part.




Finally, for some reason, Mommy took me around our neighbourhood, where she rang doorbells, said "trick or treat", and held out a little bucket. A lot of very nice people gave her candy, which seemed to make her happy. I don't know why I had to come along.



When we got home, Mommy let me play with the loot for as long as it took to get a few pictures of me. Then she took it all away. I'm not sure what she did with it, but I'm pretty sure I won't see it again.



All in all, it was a fun, though somewhat confusing, holiday. I was praised for being a pleasant little skunk for the whole day, though, which I guess is good.

And Mommy's already looking forward to next year!

Love,
Vaughn

Monday 26 October 2009

Splish Splash





Daddy's off on a work trip, so it's just me and the V-man, holding down the fort. We seem to be doing ok, but miss him terribly! Last night was the splashiest bathtime yet, and tons of fun!



The only problem is that Vaughn's newest tricks (pushing himself up to sitting, then pulling himself up to standing, and cruising around things) while awesome everywhere else, are NOT awesome in the slippery bathtub! I fear that it'll be quite a while before he stops fighting me on this one... if ever? In the meantime, this is fun for hours at a time:

His other new trick is turning pages - it makes reading pretty neat. Or more frustrating, depending on his patience with how fast we read!


Well, we survived the flu, and are no worse for wear, aside from a bit of residual snottiness. And yay, no flu shot required now! Apparently, every case of flu recorded here so far has been H1N1, so the "regular" shot wouldn't have done us any good...so now we're off the hook for the season! I hope.



My braces are getting more manageable. My initial enthusiasm waned after about 4 hours, when I realized that it hurt to bring my teeth within an inch of biting anything. Oh, the agony! But nothing that time, good humour, and a nice mixture of alcohol and tylenol couldn't fix. It was a good week of zoodles, KD, smoothies, and oatmeal, anyway. AND, I've got my nightly flossing routine down to 25 minutes (wheee), and am able to eat semi-solids again, though the Crispy Crunch and Mr. Big in the Halloween stash are still safe from me...although they may have a future in the blender.

Moo-ha-ha-ha!

Sunday 25 October 2009

We are Very Sorry to Introduce...

As evidenced by my "Currently Reading" list (look right!), I've been bitten by the bookworm again lately, which has been wonderful and/or frustrating, depending on the book. Let me introduce...

The Cranky Book Reviewer

Do you have a favourite author? One that you know won't let you down? You have read everything by this guy, and you get super excited when you see that he's written a new book and that it's available at the library...

Charles de Lint is actually an Ottawa-based writer (in one of the first books I read by him, a character walked down Bank Street, over the Lansdowne bridge, and I suddenly realized it was set in my town) has been one of my tried-and-true guys for over ten years.

He's created an incredible world, Newford, populated with likeable, interesting, memorable characters, which exists across many of his books. For me, opening a new story and reading about Geordie or Jilly, or Maida and Zia again was like running into an old friend. Each book left me satisfied, but also desperately interested to read more of his work. His stand-alone novels are just as good.

The Mystery of Grace, however, has the feel of a publisher's deadline about it. It had all the classic de Lint characteristics - a mix of reality and fantasy, intrigue, love, folklore, music, good against evil... and then it just ends. I almost feel like writing him a letter, and saying, "No seriously. Where's the REAL ending?" It feels slapdash, like he just gave up and decided to stop at the 100,000th word (these books exist in NowWhat, à la Douglas Adams).

I still love the man's work, and will definitely get a hold of his next book as soon as MH Public Library gets it in, but he only has two more chances with my heart.

I've also just finished my third Ken Follett novel, World Without End. It was slightly worse than its prequel, Pillars of the Earth. (oh look - it's being turned into a miniseries, apparently starring Lovejoy. Goody.) Don't get me wrong - I admit that it's MY fault for sitting down with another 900-plus-page book of his (thanks, Meg!!!), especially after I didn't enjoy the first two too much.

I'll give the man props, though, for researching his work thoroughly - the in-depth information on carpentry and mason techniques from the 14th century, the background on the plague, etc. was, I'm sure, very accurate.

However, in an opus as long and detailed as World Without End, with so very many characters, he tended to re-introduce them again each time they pop up...again. As in (paraphrasing, as I have no interest in opening that book again) "Gregory Longfellow, who was the lawyer at the trial for etc.". This calls for another letter: "Perhaps if you made your characters more memorable in the first place, you wouldn't need to describe them over and over again".

Generally, I found the plot lines to be extremely reminiscent of Pillars of the Earth. Hero and Heroine, torn apart, reunited, lather, rinse, repeat. Good People persecuted. Repeat ad nauseum. Evil Church-Type People prosper, wreak revenge over and over on Good People, for no good reason. Etcetera.

I will NOT be reading any more of his books. Unless I'm desperate.

/end vent

Thursday 15 October 2009

This little piggy...


...was going to go to the flu clinic on Tuesday morning with her little boy.

Unfortunately, they both had head colds.

Actually, on closer inspection, they decided that they felt decidedly...fluey.

And with further research, their symptoms seem pretty well in line with H1N1.

So THIS little piggy has dodged the flu shot yet again! Ha ha!

Kaff kaff.

Snif.

Kaff.
Bleahhhh.

Wednesday 14 October 2009

Brace Yourself

The V-man is growing by leaps and bounds!
The first meal of spaghetti was a huge hit, as you can see.



Toofs! We got toofs! The only way to show them off is by hanging upside down, of course!





Our little boy is now pulling himself up to standing on his change table (oh, that's safe), and in any other area can be propped up against walls, chairs, couches, etc. Quite convenient for me, since I can now put on my shoes or wash both hands at the same time (ooooo).

The handsome Huff mugs for the camera at Thanksgiving in Edmonton.



He had another fun weekend with his "cousins", Odin and Teddy, whom* he finds amazing and fun and wonderful...although Great Dane kisses are a little intense when you're only three apples tall!





And FINALLY, I bit the bullet (the last thing I'll be biting for some time, it seems... I had zoodles for lunch (didja ever go hunting with your bowl and spoon?), and although they were tasty, I miss nuts, popcorn, candy, candy, candy, candy... already!) and...well, I did something. No regrets yet, but it hasn't started to hurt yet. Sigh.





* Question for Captain Grammar: does a plural indirect subject (Odin and Teddy) require a who or a whom?

Saturday 3 October 2009

The All-Day Tea

Tea all day - what a concept!

Here's how the All-Day Tea starts: it's 6:45 am. You draw a nice fresh kettle of cold water, and bring it to a boil. Carefully and conscientiously, you choose a teabag from your delightfully excessive assortment, and pick your favourite mug from the cupboard. On this occasion, it's the peach-and-apricot herbal blend and the oversized Pampered Princess mug, respectively. You place the teabag lovingly in the cup, winding the string around the handle, and pour the boiling water over top, filling it almost to the brim.

8:25 am: You walk past the mug, still full to the brim, still containing the teabag, but now cold, sitting on the counter where you left it when you gave the baby his bottle, his breakfast, changed him, dressed him, washed his face, brushed his (six) teeth, got him into his sweater and took him for a walk to the park, time on the swings, and on the bouncing mousie. You're home again, and a little chilled, in the perfect state to enjoy a lovely cup of tea! You discard the teabag, place the mug into the microwave and press "beverage".

12:30 pm: After naps all around, another bottle (for the baby, unfortunately) and lunch (leftovers for both of you!), it's time for some independent play. Perhaps independent enough that you can try this tea thing again. The cup of tea, which is still in the microwave from its 8:30 reheating, gets another ride on the carousel, and comes out piping hot. Rather too hot to drink right away, really. But it will be perfect in about 10 minutes.

4:42 pm: You wander past the coffee table with a Very Cranky Baby Who Doesn't Want To Nap, upon which you spot a lovely (yet cold...again...) cup of tea which would not only be very calming, but would hit the spot right now. Unfortunately, even a cold tea will stain when the (small) flailing arms knock it out of your hand, so it will have to wait a little longer.

6:00 pm: Yes! Tea with dinner! The cup goes for another ride. That way, it can sit and cool on the table while the baby drinks his dinnertime fix, and then, while you're eating your own dinner whilst feeding the baby with your other two hands, you can sip your lovely tea.

8:15 pm: The baby is in bed, if not asleep, then doing a reasonable facsimile of said sleep. The long-awaited cup of tea rode around in the microwave again, and is held protectively against your chest as you sit on the couch, watching tv. You take a sip, then another, then another.

9:00 pm: Draining the last, now cold, drop from the mug, you sigh happily. What a lovely cup of tea.

Wednesday 30 September 2009

Cheers!

This DG (Drunken Goddess?) post is dedicated to Andrea, whom I will virtually toast with a...

Lychee Lightning

1/4 lime
1 1/2 oz. tequila
PC Lychee Sparkling Soda

Muddle the lime. Add the tequila, lychee soda, and ice. Serve with cute and witty cocktail napkins.

It's Delightfully Good.

Tuesday 22 September 2009

Frogger!

This is how the V-man gets around. It's not quite crawling, but it does the trick!

D(elinquent) (blo)G(ger) AGAIN

Blah blah blah, update your blog.

I'm sorry!!!

V's been teething, we've been travelling, and now the poor little guy has a cold. Awwww...

Anyhoo, this will be quick, and don't worry, I won't fill it up with news about Chris and I. We all know that the people want the V-man.

Vaughn is now 8 1/2 months old, and is full of teeth and good cheer.
He now has his top 4 teeth, and darned if I can't get a photo of them, but you'll have to take my word for it: adorable.

We went to Calgary the weekend before last and were graciously hosted by Chris' cousins. Vaughn was in heaven --

people that waited on him hand and foot, a kitty and TWO doggies! Oh, and we also went to the zoo.





Grandma and Grandpa Huff came down for the day, as well. Vaughn was tickled pink.






The morning routine never gets old. We get up, have breakfast, and go to the park.
This cat can SWING!




And after dinner every night, we take a little walk to help us digest. With style.



More in a bit...













.

Friday 28 August 2009

A Day at the Lake


This is the first post about our little vacation to Ottawa and Halifax. These are all out of order, and quite incomplete...



In Nova Scotia, we took advantage of a lovely, unseasonably warm day (ok, the whole vacation was "unseasonably warm" -- that is, freaking hot and sticky) to go down to the lake.



This is the lake that my grandparents and Aunt Chook have lived on forever, in which I'd spent so much time splashing, catching minnows, being sent in with a bar of soap... So I was very excited to bring Vaughn down to the water for a little dip.



It started well; we put him in nice shallow water, which was delightful and warm, and he splashed a bit and looked around. (Possible caption: "Take the picture! These legs aren't getting any whiter!") (Note to self: if you're going to wear shorts for the first time in August, expect to look a wee bit unbalanced in the tan department.)








Vaughn's (insert relation here -- we spent quite a bit of time debating the label for my cousin's kids: second cousins? Cousins-once-removed? Too complicated) new friends (Ronnie, Kevin, Madeline and Sean, seen in the photo at the top) thought it might be fun to bury him in the sand. As you can tell, everybody thought it was a great idea. Ok, except maybe Vaughn.







When I pulled him out, he was quite dirty, so I stood him in some deeper water to wash him off. He showed off some of his frog kicking, too! He was pretty content, but suddenly...







I noticed a little thing on his ribcage. THERE WAS A LEECH ON MY BABY!!!



Calmly, and without fuss (ha ha!), I lifted him out of the water, saying in a pleasant voice, "THERE'S A LEECH ON MY BABY!!!"





Luckily, Alison, aka WonderWoman, knew what to do. Apparently, you just wait till it lifts its head to move, then pick it off, no problem. She did this easily, and Robin (the leech) was then buried in the sand by the cousin-type people.


Phew.
Here we are with my hero, after the ordeal.
Vaughn actually didn't notice a thing. I'm ok, though.

Monday 10 August 2009

7 months: Butt seriously...


Could he get any cuter?


DG Presents: Overachiever!

The housewifely duties continue. In my ever-challenging quest to impress my live-in gourmet (gourmand?), I have taken on a lot of new recipes lately, and some have been huge hits.



For your consideration:






Mango crème brulée


Well, it's not very low in fat or sugar, but surprisingly easy to make, and hey, you get to torch stuff. It's a standard crème brulée recipe, but with a mango purée at the bottom. Deeeelightful.


I finally made use of the Splendid Spoonful, a neat little cookbook of custardy-type things. Yum. And Chris got to fire up the butane torch he got for Christmas. And then we BOTH got to eat the finished product, which was totally delicious. Also, nobody caught on fire.


Two thumbs up!













Four Fruit Cookie Cobbler

This awesome recipe, from Chatelaine (the whole reason I subscribe to Chatelaine is the food section - we've only had one bad experience...more on that later) makes a 9 x 13 pan of goodness. Apples, pears, plums and cranberries, covered with chocolate chip cookie dough, and baked.

Of course, you HAVE to serve it with ice cream!

Although a cup of butter goes into the topping, surely the fruit cancels it out, right?







Perfect Pizza Dough

Again from Chatelaine, this one was surprisingly easy to make, considering that 1) the recipe calls for a food processor, which I don't have, and 2) I'm a klutz.

Good thing Chris wasn't around to watch the process (pizza dough is very sticky) (although you can supposedly "refrigerate in a sealed plastic bag up to two days", it didn't mention that it will rise AGAIN and explode out of the plastic bag, in your fridge) (I may not have had all of the ingredients on hand and maybe had to make some substitutions) (flour gets EVERYWHERE) (as does cornmeal). Anyhoo, the important thing is that the outcome was fantastic. It looked and smelled great, and tasted like REAL pizza dough. Yay, me!








The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie
Again with a cup of butter. Aside from that, however, it's pretty much identical to the chocolate chip cookie recipe that I took when I left home (Mom's recipe uses shortening).
I kept the 2 cups of chocolate chips, but added a cup each of walnuts and dried cranberries. Nom nom nom.
Chris approved, too!









The final DG moment of the week was fairly miserable.


I attempted "Mojito Pork"*, from Chatelaine, a concoction so terrible that it warrants writing a letter. For once, I followed the recipe exactly (lime juice, ginger, honey, salt, RUM (I waited till 4 to start the marinade, in case I accidentally drank it) and a pork tenderloin, garnished with mint. It looked funny, smelled, as Chris said, "like human", and was only palatable with a bite of grilled pineapple or mashed potatoes. Bleah.

I think it would have been absolutely fantastic without the pork. In a glass.


No photos. Just the urge to brush my teeth again.



* Of course, sensible people would have stopped at the name "Mojito Pork".

Thursday 30 July 2009

July: A Summery Summary









We had a pretty busy July! With Canada Day and Uncle Ryan's visit behind us, we thought we could maybe relax for a bit. Boy, were we wrong!



We signed up for swimming lessons for the two middle weeks, and I've gotta say, Vaughn is part fish. He's a happy little water baby, and seems totally mellow with the whole experience... as long as he doesn't put his face in the water and breathe in. He doesn't like that too much. After the first week, though, he figured out the blowing bubbles bit, and kicks like a little frog! I love it!





Ash and Jeff visited for two nights on their Long Way Across tour, and were fantastic houseguests and enthusiastic adventurers (not to mention provided half of these photos)! They partook in the Medicine Hat Stampede, attended the parade (wow. Words cannot describe the parade, sorry), and were good sports to play both Killer Bunnies and Cranium Pop 5 with us.



Hey, do you know the entire theme from Laverne and Shirley? These three do.





Seems that I somehow gave away a clue by saying that I wasn't old enough to know anything about it, and right after Ash guessed it (in 3.2 seconds), the peanut gallery burst into song. I still cling to my claims of youth, but had to Google it. Voila.



Vaughn's eating three squares a day with us now, and seems to love everything we give him (although I have cut beef out of his diet for my own sake - yick)... he's an "advanced" eater, in that he can feed himself - if you wait too long to put the spoon in his mouth, he takes matters into his own hands. And all over his face.







The end of July also saw us take a road trip up to Edmonton (with a stop for lunch with Grandma and Gramps in Red Deer). It was a nice long weekend -- the V-man hung out with his doggie cousins, Odin and Teddy, and Aunt Lynda, Uncle Rob, Uncle Ryan, and of course, Grandma!




Unfortunately, Chris came down with the flu, so Vaughn was left to the tender care of Odin a lot. Nobody was eaten, so it was a successful trip.




Finally, Vaughn has grown out of his baby tub (snif), and had his first big boy bath in the bathtub. He's growing so fast!!!



Anyhoo, here's hoping that August is nice and quiet...

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