I've been a shut-in the last little while

a) I didn't have a car because my hubby's car had a broken wheel or something and making money is apparently more important than going on outtings with the kids and doing my own grocery shopping.
b) I was waiting for the good snow to come back so I could go tobogganing or build a snowman.  Or whatever.

The snow hasn't returned and has instead transformed into various piles of slush, and sheets of ice, and pits of mud.  Still the sun, and my furry houseguest (my parents' jackapoo Morty), motivated me to go outside this afternoon. 

It was too warm for snowpants, but the kids wore all their other winter paraphernalia.  Although Jadzia opted to wear William's old alligator galoshes instead of her pink winter boots.  When we arrived at the park near our house, we discovered that the playground structure was now standing in an iced-over muddy sink hole.  This did not stop my children from climbing and sliding.  Jadzia can now navigate that curved ladder without much hesitation. William was delighted at his new super power of breaking ice, and splashing in the frigid water. Of course I had to join in, just to show him that I was better at it, because I'm bigger.  

After pushing my offspring on the swings (William is too big for the baby swings *tear*) for a tediously long time, I suggested we explore the forest near the park.  Favourite quote of the day from William: "That's not a forest, it's just a bunch of trees."  Okay, so it's not algonquin park, not even enough cover for teenagers to smoke pot without getting caught, but I didn't expect my son to become so jaded so soon.  When we were in the trees, though, he decided that it was a forest after all.  He found a long stick and sword-fought the bushes in a distinctly boyish way, while Jadzia examined the different consistancies of mud.  We found squirrel tracks.  I lured them out of the mini-forest with the promise of a snack.

I did have a car today, but I didn't end up going anywhere until after my hubby came home and we went out for dinner to celebrate a friend's birthday (Happy Birthday Mark!).  On the way, the wheel made a funny noise.  It sounded like a drunken Nascar car and was so loud that we actually pulled over, but ultimately ignored until after dinner.  Now it's my car's turn for the shop.  Oh reliable transportation, if only I'd appreciated you when you were here.

Rain on my Parade

This weekend was the Sound of Music Festival, when almost all of Burlington gathers near the waterfront to watch a parade and various music acts in less-than-ideal weather.

It rained through Saturday's parade, thinning out the crowds to give us a front row seat. We enjoyed the marching bands well enough, but didn't bring enough warm clothes, so we decided not to stay for the kid's bands we had planned to see. We bought fudge to take home and decided that the Skor flavour was the best.

Today was better weather, so we headed down again and saw Tom Cochrane perform. He kept making gratuitous Canadian references and talking about how great it was to be back in the Golden Horseshoe. I think he was being an applause slut, but as long as he played "Life is a Highway" everyone was happy. William didn't want to stay for even one song, and finally dragged my parents away to take him to the park, where he got extra soaked.



Not that I blamed him. It was sweltering hot. That's Canada for you; cold and rainy one day, hot and sunny the next. Makes you value the good weather. Like Tom Cochrane said, "Nobody appreciates summer like Canadians."

Status Update

Seeing as I haven't blogged since the weekend, I thought I'd give a few updates. I'd like you to imagine this as one of those newsreels scrolling along the bottom of your screen.

William is currently in his Snugli strapped to me. Adam wants to get a different brand because this one fits kind of awkwardly (with baby often leaning out the side). Becca and Drew have the Baby Bjorn, which seems to work better.

It's very sunny out today and if yesterday was any indication it's very warm too. Yesterday we walked to the Early Years Centre and saw a talk on switching to solids. William was the youngest there (which makes sense because it's way too early to even think about solid feeding.) He was in a fabulous mood until halfway through the talk when he decided to test his vocal chords. I walked him around the room and by the second lap he fell asleep.

An old lady thought William was a girl yesterday. "Oh isn't she a darling. She's such a doll. ... She... She ... She." Now I know that without checking genitalia it's difficult to guess at gender with babies, but at the time he had a blue blanket wrapped around him and was wearing a onesie that said "William" across the front of it. I don't even bother correcting at that point.

I went to put on a onesie yesterday that he's warn before and found it no longer fit. My little boy is growing up.

We have lots of instant oatmeal in our cupboard, so today I'm going to try and make cookies out of it.