Author: sox

bad day: part one

So it’s a lot of work getting out of the house with two kids. It’s even more work when you’re going to the beach. There’s the sun screen, the hats, the beach blanket, the beach toys…just generally more stuff. Then there’s the shade issue when you have an under six-month-old who can’t where sunscreen. But Elliot loves the beach, so to the beach we went.

We decided on Esquimalt Lagoon, mostly because I’ve never been there. We got out of the house by 9:30, amazingly, and Amy fell asleep in the carseat on the way there (after screaming bloody murder while I got ready). That was fine, though, as I was hoping she’d just stay asleep in the seat while Elliot played.

We get there, get all the crap beach stuff out of the car, get everything set up, and Amy wakes up crying. And it’s WINDY. Annoyingly windy. Elliot doesn’t want to wear his hat. Amy’s screaming. Life’s great.

Jen arrives with her two charges, and Carys has fallen asleep on the way. I need to feed Amy, so I offer to sit in Jen’s car, feed Amy, and let Carys sleep a bit longer.

I feed Amy, and the boys play while Jen looks on. Things are looking up. Amy seems happier. I get out of the car, go back to the beach, put Amy into her carseat so she can get some shade, and she starts crying again. I am assuming she’s tired, but in hindsight I actually think it was the wind.

Elliot takes his hat off. I tell him he has to put it on, or we are going to go. That will surely work, as Elliot LOVES the beach. “Go home, Mum.” Oh dear. Did I mention how much work it was to get there? “No wear hat, go home.” Okay, so maybe we’ll try the food tactic. It works for all of three minutes. Amy continues to cry.

I look at Jen. She looks at me. Should we go? We make the decision to go back to her place. Complicating the decision is a third friend is supposed to join us…how do we let her know? Neither of us has a phone. Thankfully she showed up before we left, so that solved that issue.

We pack all the stuff back into the car, and I use the term “pack” lightly here. Everything’s covered in sand after our 20 minute stay at the beach.

Both kids are back in the car. Both are not crying. Things are again looking up.

We headed back to Jen’s and had quite a nice visit and play there. Part two of the bad day didn’t start until we got home. Part two will be posted later, after I’ve had a drink. It’s not too early for alcohol, is it?

a trip down memory lane

I’m going through Elliot’s old clothes so I can pass them on to a couple of friends, and it’s an interesting process. I can’t say it’s difficult, but I can’t say it’s easy, either. On the one hand, I’m liking the memories that some of the clothing evokes, on the other hand, I’m not liking trying to decide what to keep (or, more accurately, trying to decide what NOT to keep).

There’s the outfit he and Amy both wore home from the hospital:

There’s the first shirt I got for him, before he was born, complete with tiny foxes:

The Sprout shirt from Gran:

The puppy outfit from England, from Auntie Jan:

The first sun hat I got for him (despite how un-masculine it looks):

The shirt and shorts outfit from Gran, fresh from Hawaii:

The fox gear from his beloved daycare provider:

And the fleece coat specially made by Gramma:

And that’s just the first year!

I will keep some stuff, tucked away in a box that I may never look in again. I like the feeling of knowing that I’ve kept some things from his early years. They may not have much meaning to many people, including even Elliot, but they are chock-full of wonderful memories for me.

there seems to be a problem here…

When Greg and I got married I did a bunch of name changing with various organizations, but I never got around to notifying Telus. I kind of forgot about it, but now that so many people have call display, I keep getting reminded that my display name is wrong.

So I’m finally doing something. But I can’t get through to Telus. Yesterday I called their customer service line, and it wouldn’t ring. I finally got a call through, went through a few steps with their automated service, only to be told (by an automated attendant) they are having technical difficulties, and I should call back later.

I just called again, almost 24 hours later, and I got through right away, went through the same few steps, got to the point where I requested a name change, got some hold music, then a dial tone.

Frustrating, and a waste of my time. And unfortunately a name change is not something I can do online. I already tried that.

how many times can i use the word amazing in one post?

I’ve seen a handful of excellent live performances over the past few years — plays, concerts, musicals — and after each one I remember thinking that I didn’t really want to talk about the performance, because it would ruin the moment.

Yesterday was no exception. Greg and I went to the matinée performance of Cirque du Soleil – Saltimbanco. It was, in a word, amazing. It was by far the best live performance I’ve ever seen.

This was our first time seeing a Cirque production, and my only exposure to it previously was a very brief look during an episode of CSI (my, I lead a sheltered life). So I wasn’t sure what to expect, other than some people doing some neat stuff on trapeze.

It was so much more. I had assumed there’d be music as part of the show, but I didn’t think it would be live, and I didn’t think it would be so damn good. Both the band and the singers were amazing. My favourite act was two women on trapeze, and the music that went along with them almost brought me to tears.

Then there was the variety. I thought it was just trapeze artists. But there was dancing, juggling, a guy riding a bike in as many positions as you can think of, a mime…and some pretty amazing trapeze moves.

I’m a really symmetry person, and that was one of the things I loved about the acrobatic and trapeze acts. And I think the symmetry stood out even more because of the performers’ costumes. They were perfect — just the right amount of colour, but they didn’t take away from the movements.

Anyway…I’m gushing. It was amazing. Breathtaking. And one of the best birthday presents I’ve ever received. Thank you, Mr. Fox.

a day i won’t soon forget

This morning we headed down to the Victoria Day Parade with the Verges. After an enjoyable couple of hours, Jen and I headed back to my car with the hungry girls so we could nurse them. I was parked on Burnside Road, which was busy because of the parade. The road was also wet from rain.

We had been sitting there for about ten minutes chatting and breastfeeding Amy and Carys when all of a sudden I heard a screech of tires behind us. I can’t remember if I looked in my mirror or if I actually turned around, but I caught a glimpse of a car headed straight for us. Then came the awful noise of cars crashing together, and we jolted forward, into the car parked ahead of us.

My first thought was Amy. I looked down and she appeared to be fine. My next thought was Jen and Carys. They both seemed fine as well. We both then leaped out of the car, very shaken up and angry. A woman with two adult passengers and two kids had hit us. Apparently traffic had slowed to a stop in front of her, and when she went to put on the brakes her gas pedal stuck, so she didn’t stop. She hit the car ahead of her, and then she bounced into us. I suspect she accidentally pressed the gas and the brake at the same time, but I can’t be sure.

No one was hurt, thank goodness. Someone not involved in the accident called 911, and an ambulance arrived shortly after the accident. I tried to call Greg, who was still watching the parade, but got his voice mail. Thankfully he showed up right before the ambulance did. The police and the fire truck arrived pretty quickly as well. The police took everyone’s statements, and the firefighters checked for any fluid leaks from the cars. Elliot thought it was all pretty cool, as he was oblivious to what had happened and was focussed on all the emergency vehicles. Probably a good thing.

Both Jen and I were (and still are) very shaken up. Mostly because we imagined what could have happened. If the car had been going faster, if we hadn’t been holding on to our kids, if I had been getting out of the car…it’s scary thinking of all the what ifs.

But we are all safe and sound. My neck and back are a bit sore, and I’ll probably be stiff tomorrow, but I don’t think it’s anything serious.

In addition to the emotional and physical impact, there is the practical impact. There is significant damage to the back of our car, and some (hopefully) minor damage to the front. Greg and I are due to go to the mainland on Friday, so we need a car that fits both car seats, our stuff and the dog. The car seats unfortunately don’t fit in our truck. So I’m hoping things go smoothly with ICBC, and we can get a suitable rental.

But again, thank goodness we are all unharmed. That is by far the most important thing.

birds

There seem to be way more birds in our yard than in previous years. It may just be that we are noticing them more because Elliot points them out to us, but I really don’t remember there ever being this many.

I’m not a bird fan — I’m actually scared of them — but there are these small grey ones that have beautiful red heads, and I’m actually going to do some research to see if I can figure out what they are. They are quite pretty.

There are also lots of little all-grey ones (swallows? starlings?) that take dust baths in our back yard, and then the usual crows and seagulls. And this morning I happened to be looking out our front window when two bald eagles flew right in front of it, followed by a bunch of seagulls chasing them.

saying goodbye

I’ve got all sorts of thoughts and emotions running around in my head as a result of Amy’s arrival, and I’m hoping to get at least some of them down here over the next few days.

One of the things I am looking forward to with Amy is not having to adjust from a life without children to a life with children. It took a long time — longer than I thought it would — for me to make this adjustment when Elliot arrived. I know there will be lots of other adjustments, but at least I’ve already plunged into a child-filled world. I have some idea of what to expect, and I have some idea of how much less time I’ll have for me.

But something I wasn’t expecting is a feeling of sadness that has accompanied Amy’s birth. Part of it is hormones, part of it is feeling sad about the end of my pregnancy, knowing it was my last one, but I think the majority of the sadness comes from the realization that Greg, Elliot and I have reached the end of the road as a threesome. We have had a lot of fun over the past two years, and I say goodbye to that threesome with regret.

Thankfully the regret is coupled with a whole lot of anticipation for what’s in store for us as a foursome.

chocolate brownie not so good for heartburn

And two glasses of water and a mocktail before bed not so good for bladder. But it was nice to go out and see some girlfriends.

So not the greatest sleep last night…and obviously no baby. I haven’t had bad heartburn for about a month, and last night was pretty bad. So of course I’m thinking that maybe that means something will happen. I’m grasping, I know.

Stay tuned.