Gifted
We received a lot of gifts when Noah was born. Beautiful blankets, adorable sleepers, lots of books. We treasured each one.
Brian and June (and Zoey) DeWagner gave us a gift that I will never forget. Brian, a gifted writer, wrote a post about Noah. He took the things I like about myself, the things I treasure about Adam and distilled them into a picture of Noah when he grows up.
If he turns out half this cool, I will be one happy Mom. Thanks, guys.
Trust Me, I’m a Doctor
Noah has a bit of a cold, so I asked Adam to pick up some Saline solution so I could clear is nose and help clear up his congestion. I asked him to get unmedicated drops since you aren’t supposed to use cold remedies on babies and a mist wouldn’t help wash out the gook. I wanted to make sure he got something suitable for use on small babies, but didn’t realize I may have told him the specifics a couple times too many until he returned home.
Me: “Did you get them?”
Adam: “Yup.”
Me: “Did you get the right kind? The ones for ba —”
Adam: “Saline rinse, drop form, unmedicated, mild solution, recommended for occasional nasal congestion. And there’s a picture of a baby on it.”
Me: “Oh. Well, good.”
Noah.
I’ve started this post about 12 times, but I’m finding it hard to describe what’s going on using regular words. I need better words. I thought about making up my own words, but then someone pointed out that ALL words are made up words and I was so busy thinking about that idea that I forgot that I was supposed to be writing about the thing I didn’t have words for in the first place. But it’s a good story with a happy ending, so I’ll try to tell it with my inadequate vocabulary nonetheless.
On Monday, October 19th, I was 35 weeks and 4 days pregnant, and after a difficult pregnancy and over a month of bed rest I was ready for the pregnancy to be over. Apparently, so was Junior. Exactly half an hour after I had made up the crib as the finishing touch on his nursery I felt my water break. Of course. I should have known he’d be early; he’s a Finley. Continue reading »
Best Wedding Toast Ever…
Adam and I attended Mark and Kellie Goodman’s wedding a few weeks ago and I heard one of the greatest wedding tributes ever, spoken by best man Kory Peters:
You two are like two pieces of 8-nubbed Lego; you fit together perfectly and now that you’re together, nothing but a butter-knife can get you apart again.
Check here for Adam’s pictures of the big day.
Sweet Nothing
Adam was lying in bed tonight, gazing over at me. I said to him, somewhat coyly, “You’re staring at me.”
“Yes,” he replied lazily.
“Why?” I asked, dreaming of romantic replies such as “because I love you,” or “because you’re beautiful.”
“You’re in my direct line of sight.” He stated simply.
Lookee What I Can Do.
So I bought myself an iPhone (yeah, I know) because they’re cool and useful and mostly because I think Adam was going to bite my head off if I asked to borrow his iPhone one more time to play that neat solitaire game while we wait for a train. So now I am able to write you a blog post WHILE I GET MY HAIR DONE – like I am live on the scene. I know, cool, eh? Except there’s not really much to report on since I’m in, well, a hair salon, after all and not much is going on. The hair guy isn’t even here because I waited till he walked away to do this because I feel bad doing stuff while he is trying to cut my hair and making small talk about his dog and stuff. But the point is I CAN write a blog post in the hair salon and that is what matters.
AND… everyone here keeps calling me “Hon,” and that would nomally bother me but it seems quite normal in a salon for some reason.
When in Doubt… KITTY!
Lucy, a tiny little Tortie with a Calico face is our newest family member and complete distraction. She is the cuddliest, snuggly-est little kitty on the planet. Her favorite pastime is burrowing under the covers and hugging our legs as we sleep, or nuzzling our necks and falling asleep herself.
She LOVES her big brother Chuki, who is a little unsure what to do about her. He gets along with her so much better than any other cat, even Ollie, allowing her to cuddle up to him at times and even giving her little licks on her head. But she wants to snuggle with him ALL the time – when he is asleep, when he is eating, when he is walking across the room, and he either ends up stepping on her by accident or getting pushed over himself.
She is definitely our cat – the first night she was home she sat very patiently for Adam’s photo shoot and poses quite nicely for all the random camera moments so far. She doesn’t seem to understand the human respiratory system since she tries to sit on our heads at night and nearly suffocates up, but she is learning…
Lucy was rescued with her three brothers Jude, Sgt. Pepper (“Sarge”) and Maxwell by Toronto Cat Rescue who are still looking for homes for one of Lucy’s brothers who is just as snugly and playful as she is.
Watching the Past, in the Future…?
Since Colin and Emily moved to Orie-gone they are enjoying a west coast time zone, and are consequently three hours behind us. We always tease them that we are calling from the future, and how is it there in the past, anyways? Of course the joke gets old, but that doesn’t mean we stop saying it.
Adam and Colin have both just signed into i-Chat on their Macs to watch the end of the world series together (virtually) and talk about the game just as if they were in the same room, like we do for a lot of things since they have moved. But Adam is watching on Fox, Colin on TBS and fox is about 20 seconds behind. The i-Chat has no delay, but this means that Colin’s TV is essentially 20 seconds in the future. So now they’re trying to figure out how Colin is watching 20 seconds into the future, from three hours in the past.
Of course, Adam has had a few Steamwhistles and I am sure Colin is lubricating his World Series Experience in a similar fashion, so it makes the whole thing a lot harder for them to figure out too. They’re both quite befuddled about it now.
We’re Back!!
Well, the trip to BC was amazing. We spent 4 days in Vancouver, Surrey and Whistler, then drove down (in a rented car) to Eugene, Oregon to see Emily and Colin (we miss you guys!) and came back up to White Rock for Sue & Chris’ wonderful wedding on Saturday before flying out of Vancouver again back to Toronto. I’ll be uploading my pictures (as soon as I find the damn cord for the camera) and talking about each day in detail, but for now I’ll leave you with a few of my favorite pictures of Adam’s and links to the rest of the set.
The End of the Dock
A weekend at the cottage is never complete without certain required traditions, and the creation of some new ones. Here are some of my memories from our most recent cottage expedition, to celebrate “Old Man Wallace’s” 30th birthday.
Getting “While you’re upped,” which means getting sent for a beer when you’re not actually up.
Colin and Aiden getting inducted to the “I’ve tipped in a canoe” club, of which I have been a proud member for years.
Ollie trying to eat a caterpillar, a chipmunk and that ugly bug with wings we found in the cabin.
Learning that Aiden does not require sleep. We think he’s a cylon.
Adam taking record 2 Gigabytes worth of pictures in 4 days.
An 8-foot bonfire for no reason on a perfectly warm night.
Sleeping 15 people in a cottage that is supposed to sleep 10.
Adam endlessly poking the fire because he can’t let it alone, and me endlessly bugging Adam about poking the fire because I can’t let it alone.
Watering the flowers in the rain because “it was a directive.” The weather was great, except for the fantastic thunderstorm as we were leaving, and it was a perfect mix of hilarity and clarity, of laughing so hard our cheeks hurt and sitting still for almost a full hour to stare at the perfect sunset. With Colin & Emily’s move to Oregon just around the corner, our cottage days together are numbered. But even when they are over, we’ll still have all these stupid memories to keep us laughing.