Missing the good old days

I remember the days when I rode around in the 'very back' of my parents station wagon. Somehow we survived being back there without seat belts. I could also ride my bike, without a helmet. Ironically, I was not allowed to be without fenders but the helmet, never an issue. Roller skating? No knee pads, no elbow pads, no problem. Of course in 2009, none of those things would fly. And as a parent, I get it. Times have changed and most of the time those changes are for the best.

Having said that, I still have a rant. WHY HAVE BABY WALKERS BEEN OUTLAWED!?! You remember them. The modern day excersaucer that back in the good old days had WHEELS! Now that's a fun toy. I'm sure lots of kids went down the stairs in them, including me I think. But is that a reason for them to be gone from Canadian stores? Can't we just be more careful?

Luckily, the american authorities have not yet seen fit to remove the best toy ever from the market. And even more lucky, we had someone who was willing to brave the border guards in order to smuggled one back for Mr. O and he loves it. For the record, it's a main floor toy only so there is no chance of him going down any stairs.


My connection will remain nameless but we thank you. :)

Christmas in July

So the sealift came to town this weekend and our crates were delivered yesterday. Oh the excitement!! Sealift day is almost like Christmas morning except Santa delivers these presents with a forklift. You crack open them open and see 2 1/2 tonnes of wonderful stuff you put on your wish list months before.

AND THEN... there's the excitement of finding the little treasures you forgot you asked for. This year it was the cases of cream soda. Mmmm, sugary sweet goodness... even if it is clear instead of pink now.(!?!)

Every Christmas morning there is one gift where you wonder what the person was thinking. In our case it was the 12 flats of corn. WHAT was I thinking?? 12 cases? I'm pretty sure I had 12 cans in mind and didn't read the order form properly. Oh well, like with any strange gift you find something to do with it. Re-gift it perhaps? So this is fair warning. If you are invited for dinner, don't be surprised if you get corn chowder, corn pudding, corn fritters, corn salsa or other corn related meals.

And finally, it's inevitable that there will be things Santa doesn't bring that you were really hoping for. We found that we forgot quite a few things that should have been on the wish list. Now we have to decide if we put together another small order before the season is over. I vote for yes so we can experience this excitement all over again.

Merry Sealift to all and to all a good night!

Bragging about the weather

The weather has been amazing here lately. We've made it into the 20's every day and it's been SUNNY, SUNNY, SUNNY! To enjoy it, we hit the beach and Oliver got his first look at sand.


I know, I know....jeans and a fleece vest at the beach? Just call it my northern bikini.

Craving carvings

Dad has only been here 3 days and he's already accumulated all these carvings. He's been complaining for months about the 'Inukshuk that got away' from their last visit so this time he's not letting anything go. They are also taking home 2 chunks of raw rock so that my grandfather can try his hand at carving.

He's a little obsessed... It's a good thing First Air allows 70 lbs for each bag cause he's still here for another 4 days.

We appreciate all gifts

We are happy to have my parents visiting from New Brunswick this week. They arrived loaded with 4 huge suitcases filled with very few of their own things. Mostly they brought baby stuff I had been requesting. Bottles because I only had one. Plastic bibs because the cloth ones create too much laundry. Clothes because I bought too much when I was home and ran out of room in our bags. And of course they brought toys that make noise and light up. Because that's what Grandparents do.

They were also nice enough to include a few little things for Nick and I, like the newest technology in smoke detectors. Because... well, that's my Dad. Most notably they brought Tim Horton's donuts which I've said before (see 'The Year In Review') are considered a rare and cherished delicacy by all. Now if I was a very experienced blogger I would have thought to take pics of the donuts before we and the other vultures picked the boxes clean. Unfortunately, I didn't think to do so. So you get the pics of the smoke detectors instead.



Thanks Mom and Dad. It's great to have you here :)

North vs South

Last week I received the new stroller ordered for Oliver. It's the quintessential southern baby travel system with the convenience of an adjustable handle, swivelling wheels, and several cup holders and storage compartments.

The same day I got my new northern 'travel system'. It came in the form of double sided, quilted material which I used to make a new amautik vest. This form of travel comes without cup holders and certainly no storage compartments. (although I did sew a pocket into my winter one)


I found it ironic that they should arrive on the same day. It was the perfect demonstration of what (in my opinion) is the biggest difference between living up here vs down south- SIMPLICITY. While I love the amautik, I'm a southern girl. I like bells and whistles so I 'compromise' by having both....Nick on the other hand really likes the adjustable handle.

Hello Mr. Blue Eyes

And to think I was sure his eyes would end up brown.