Only my kid

We were in the grocery store a few days ago. As I was bagging groceries the kids were parked in the cart at the end of the register. Nathan was busy talking away. Pointing out the signs to anyone who would look at him.
"see that?"
"what's that?"
An older grandmotherly type stopped beside him bent down and said something to him quietly. Then she stood up and smiled and walked away.
a Second later.
Nathan screams down the aisle after her.
"I think your cute"
I'm sure that's probably what she said to him. But only my child would scream your cute at people in the middle of a grocery store. He's working on becoming such a little Casanova.

~Happy Dance~

So excited!!! We got tickets yesterday to one of the live Garth Brooks shows at the Wynn in Las Vegas. Just Chris and I, no Kids and a few days in Vegas. Yay for us. now I just have to hold out till July. I've been dying to see Garth f-o-r-e-v-e-r. He only did 3 shows in Calgary, in the late 90's, they were all sold out and it was impossible to get tickets. Then he retired before he ever came back up here. So when I heard he was preforming again in Vegas, I was on a mission to get tickets and go! It'll be the honeymoon we didn't get last year. And it's a few days before Chris' 40th. so we may have to book our hotel and flights to make sure were down there for his Birthday as well!

Go Canada Go

Canada vs. US men's Hockey tonight- I decided to give Nathan an Olympic experience...

We baked up some "Bring on the Gold" cookies
They were suppose to have little maple leafs, but they all melted, definitely looked better on the package than the real thing- but still Yummy
And then I dressed everyone in RED- including Nathan's Canada hoodie and put on temporary tattoos from the dollar store. Nathan thought the Tattoo's were the coolest thing EVER!

"GOAL!!!"

Yes, I tattooed a less than 2 month old baby- he needs to get used to his mother being crazy from the start!

All of us ready for the game!

We cheered

Okay I cheered, and Nathan told me"shhhhh Mommy, you hurted my ears"

and then we lost...hmmmm

Muskeg...more than just a funny word

Quiz Time!!!
ha
You didn't know there was tests on here did you?
Anyone know what Muskeg is?

well according to wikipedia Muskeg is:

Muskeg is more-or-less synonymous with bogland but muskeg is the
standard term in non-Atlantic Canada and Alaska (while bog is more common
elsewhere). The term is of Cree origin, maskek
meaning low lying marsh. Large tracts of this soil existing in Siberia may be
called muskeg or bogland interchangeably. Muskeg consists of dead plants in
various states of decomposition (as peat), ranging from
fairly intact sphagnum moss, to sedge peat, to highly
decomposed muck. Pieces of wood such as buried tree branches
can make up five to 15 percent of the peat soil. Muskeg tends to have a water
table very near the surface. As well, the sphagnum moss forming it can
hold 15 to 30 times its own weight in water, allowing the spongy wet muskeg to
form even on sloping ground

Hmmm sounds like a text book, pretty boring
But the Muskeg freezes solid in the winter and can be driven on.

I bring this up because Chris is working up in Fort McMurray right now. He called last night and told me they site they are working on is Muskeg. They have been told that the trucks must be started and moved every ten minutes. Because within an hour your tires can sink 2 -3 inches and once that happens the truck will be unmovable and completely stuck. and worst case scenario???......


source: D6 Caterpillar that broke through muskeg in spring thaw. Located near Wabasca, Alberta.

again according to wikipedia:
During the 1870s, muskeg in Northern Ontario was reported to have swallowed a railroad engine whole when a track was laid on muskeg instead of clearing down to bedrock. Many other instances have been reported of heavy construction equipment vanishing into muskeg in the spring as the frozen muskeg beneath the vehicle thawed.

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

I do love Facebook sometimes.
I just found out through an old highschool friends status update, that one of the guys we went to school with actually made the Olympic team.
I knew he'd been pretty heavy into luge by the end of highschool, but I wasn't sure he'd kept going.
Anyways I found him listed right on the Offical Olympic site. How cool
Chris Moffat - Luge Athletes : Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

The display

Weird! I just went back through my old blog post and realized the first time I talked about this space in the stairwell was almost exactly a year ago HERE
And I have been decorating the space seasonally...at least since Halloween but I forgot to take any pictures until this Valentines one.

Actually I think part of the reason I haven't been taking a lot of pics of the space is it's a lot bigger and harder to fill up than I thought so it almost always looks unfinished. But I think I'll start taking pictures anyways so when I do it better the following year it feels like an even bigger accomplishment. Sound like a plan?

V-day

Valentine's Day was more of kid event than it's ever been.

In fact we had pancakes as the main course for our "romantic" dinner
They were heart shaped and I dyed the batter pink...
Then topped them with whipped cream and strawberries

And Nathan was so proud of himself for helping set the table with "sprinkles" or some people might call them rose petals!

O Canada

WoW!

Just finished watching the Opening Ceremonies for the Olympic games.

I was pretty impressed.

Mostly I was impressed with how they recognized such a range of people, histories and Canadian figures. And to be honest I was happy that they didn't completely sell out the "Aboriginal Cultures" as I feel Canadians tend to whenever it suits there needs (ie. When we are the focus of the World stage). I Know that there was quite a bit of Native culture in the show, but to see so many other cultural references was a new touch for anything Canadian.
I loved when the totem poles turned to trees that referenced the group of 7 paintings.
I thought the ice flows and the Orca whales on the floor was the most amazing use of 2 and 3D technologies combining to create such a realistic images I was in awe.

But the nod "Rhythms of the Fall"to Quebec and French Canadian history of fiddle history, with the dueling fiddler in the moon was very poetic and the imagery with the maple leafs falling all around as the Newfoundland dancers and fiddlers began to play and dance was beautiful. Although I wish they had been able to find fiddle player that looked slightly less Gothic ~tattooed, dreadlocks and piercings aren't exactly the image I would have portrayed- but hey, I guess you can't accuse us of not being accepting and multicultural. And it was really great to have the East Coast Culture recognized and celebrated.

I won't talk about how they represented the prairies- other than to say it was slow, and a little to "Artistic" to make me feel the captured the heart of the prairies very well. I'm not really sure what some kid trying to be Peter Pan over wheat fields was trying to say, so I won't say anything more.

The "Peaks of Endeavor" segment with the Canadian Rockies rising from the stage in a storm of lightening and fire and transforming to high snowy peaks again amazed me. The instant staging changes were so dramatic when you think about. The ballet of the skiers and snowboarders that were lowered from the roof and the suspended from in front of the mountainous back drop were so well done. Then when the "Ice" skaters started to skate around the mountain peaks and create the light tracers, that looked like moving traffic lights and the Vancouver skyline replaced the image of the mountain peaks ~ I thought it was a brilliant transition. From Canada's natural beauty to the welcoming lights of the metropolitan Vancouver.

I will admit some parts of the ceremony were pretty slow, but most of the "Canadians" on facebook seem to be posting comments of pride. Although admittedly a few of them feel that there was a focus on stereotypes again. Whatever~ I like at least parts of it enough, I'll probably watch it again on another channel with Chris when he gets home.

I feel like a new parent

Well, I guess I technically am a new parent! But for some reason I expected there to be less of a learning curve with the second baby. However this is me, and I have to make it a whole new game again.
See,
With Nathan I had to learn the art of diapering one handed, while keeping a squirming baby on the change table with the other hand.
and you know? Since I mastered that little challenge why not take on a new challenge? right...right?
Actually it all started with the idea that cloth diapering would be more "sanitary" out on the farm, without regular trash pickup I was worried about diapers sitting around the area too long. I had a plan to sew a bunch of diapers before Greg was born, but that didn't get done. My MIL found these little g diapers.


I like the idea of them,
they are kind of the in between of disposable diapers, and actual cloth diapers
"You can flush, compost, or toss them. Flush and you're putting poop where it belongs. Throw the wet ones in your garden compost and in 50 – 150 days you've turned a wet diaper into a soil amendment. You're actually giving something back to the planet and reducing your family's footprint."
I'm not totally sure if I'm ready to compost them myself, but it seems like a more earth friendly idea.
Gotta tell you though,
I haven't been peed on this much in a long time!
I'm thinking I nee more that 2 of the little g pants, I'm not quick enough putting the new liner back in the pants...and well, I am dealing with a little boy!
Hopefully, I can master the quick change with these diapers as well, before Greg gets big enough to start squirming like his brother always did!

It' 7:30
both kids are screaming
one to be fed
the other about going to bed...

if I wasn't so tired I might be able to turn that into some Dr. Seuss worthy rhyme.
Instead I think I'll have to settle for figuring out a better routine tomorrow night.