Thank You, Mother Nature

Well, after yesterday's frenzied pumping of the window wells ALL FRIGGIN' DAY, Mother Nature is helping a fella out with a spring snow storm. Awesome! I am staying inside, warm and cozy, relaxing while m'baby has a long winter's nap. And while I know all this snow is inevitably going to melt and end up in my window wells (creating another lousy day like yesterday) or possibly making the difference in the flood-caused evacuation, I also know that day isn't today, so I don't care.

This afternoon Talia and I are off to visit Talia's possible future daycare. It is right down the street, so the snowstorm won't stop us. (Talia isn't scared of any snowstorm, she'll be safe and dry in Daddy's boot, after all.) I really hope it all works out. My awesome friend Marci has a spot for Talia in her home daycare, which is close to my office, but that office is too far away. I just can't justify having Talia in the car for 2 hours everyday if there is a spot for her this close to home, even though Marci would love her and spoil her and teach her so much she could skip elementary school and go right to Junior High.

Watch Out America, Here We Come

So Talia has 2 "aunties" that love to make a fuss over her but mostly love to use her to one-up each other. For example, they like to make separate dates with us and then while cuddling m'baby and whispering sweet nothings in her ears, they will slip in little gems like "Auntie Tammy stinks" or "Auntie Michelle will never be your favourite like I am..." The Aunties are going to have to call a truce, though, because the 4 of us are off to Grand Forks next month for a girl's getaway! Woo-hoo! I am embarassed to admit I have never been to the States, not even for cheap booze or a trip to Target. I am so excited I doubt I will sleep between now and our departure date.

I'm even getting my passport updated for the big excursion - since none of my ID matches, and it's been 2.5 years since the botched name change (I mean wedding) I'm using our trip as the motivation I need to get my identity finalized. (Get yer suggestions for super hilarious middle names in now....)

This pic was taken the same day as Tally's passport photos were taken. Apparently they won't accept a photo for a passport if it has a plastic fishbowl in it, so we decided to go with the professional passport photo. But this one is way cuter.

Team No Name?

Talia and I are all about the competition. We are on a team at my workplace, it's for a nutrition & activity competition. We get points based on how many steps we take in a day and how many servings of fruit, veggies, whole grains, and low-fat dairy we have in a day. Talia is bringing us down in the steps, but she's eating enough fruit and veggies to cancel out Michelle's Coca-Cola addiction. Our team name is still up in the air. Suggestions so far have been The Winners, Team Burger King, and Russia.

Yesterday I wore my pedometer, eager to kick everyone's ass, only to find out that when the weather is cold like this, Talia and I are sedentary. D'oh! I put Talia to bed and did laps of my house - downstairs, around the basement, up the stairs, around the main floor, back downstairs, again and again and again for 1/2 an hour. Bert and Ernie were confused - they started out stuck to my side, then just went up and down the stairs with me, an eventually decided to keep a close eye on my progress from their bed. Lazy dogs.

So far today we're up to 3,200 steps. Pathetic. And since it's freezing cold again (what's up with that? It's MARCH, for goodness sake!!!) it looks like I'm back to the basement. I better hurry up before our daily 4:30pm company comes over...... is Ashley really pregnant? will Katherine Chancellor be okay after the explosion? will Jill finally believe that is her mother? will Jeffy Pink and I bond over our common love for Y&R?

The Great Indoors

This weekend Grandma & Grandpa are paying us a visit because the RV show is in town! Grandma & Grandpa have been talking about getting a tent trailer since I started dating their handsome son. (That was over 9 years ago, if any of you are counting.) I'm not under any illusion that this weekend will bring the great tent trailer saga to a close. Don't get me wrong, I love my in-laws like crazy. They are funny and kind and are so good to us. They raised my husband, who is the best man I know. But they occasionally make me want to pull my hair out when we talk about the tent trailer. Again.

The funniest part (or LEAST funny, depending on if you are me or not.....) is that Rainer is just like his parents. Guess who has also been talking about getting a tent trailer for at least the last 4 years. Those of you who know Raine probably think he's all rugged and outdoorsy, and all over camping. Well, when you grow up surrounded by water, rocks, trees, etc. you can't help but be outdoorsy. Until it's time to sleep, that is. You can take the boy out of Keewatin, but you can't take the comfort of his own bed out of the boy. Good old Raine, he's tried really hard to like camping, he just doesn't understand why you would want to go somewhere to fish, swim, hike, and enjoy nature, when you could do all that at his parents' place and still sleep in his childhood bedroom. Bless his heart. It's not his fault he married a Girl Guide, after all. And for the record, if they sold tent trailers by the cash register, I would have already bought us one.

The pics are from Clear Lake, Summer 2007. The arrival of The Stinker disrupted our annual McQueen Family camping trip last summer! I wonder how little Tally will like the tent this year???

Home Sweet Home

We're back from our week-long excursion to Grammie & Grampy's house! Talia was spoiled rotten and loved every minute of it. She got to play with the toys from Grammie's daycare, made friends with all the kids at Grammie's daycare, went swimming with Daddy and Grammie, and was basically held, cuddled, entertained, and smothered with kisses every waking (and almost every sleeping) minute. That's what grandparents do!

Mommy, on the other hand, was kept on her toes by those bad granparents, trying to sneak treats into that cute little baby's mouth. A baby who is beginning to eat real food is a temptation like no other to Grammie & Grampy. Mommy was constantly swooping in (in the Nicholas P. of time!) to stop one of them from feeding Talia a wide variety of things: pudding, cookies, nutrigrain bars, toast & honey, salsa (seriously, grampy? SALSA?!?) and ice cream. Who knows what they were able to sneak past poor Mommy? (much to the delight of Tally, I'm sure!)

Party Girls

Yesterday Talia and I went to a 1st birthday party. Tally's BFF Ayva turned 1 and threw a fantastic bash, complete with a 97 year old Oma in attendance. (Too bad Talia's boyfriend Nicho wasn't there to serenade all the baby girls with "All the Single Ladies." He TOTALLY would have had all the girls swooning.)

Talia partied herself out by 6pm and slept straight through until 8:30 this morning. M'baby loves to sleep, just like Mama! Grammie phones every morning to see how our night was. When Talia delivers a snooze over 12 hours, I can practically hear Grammie bursting with pride all the way from G. Plains. Some families like to pass on jewellry, antiques, or other treasured family heirlooms. The McQueen clan likes to pass on a fondness for the pillow.

Three Ring Circus

Today was a beautiful, warm, sunshiney day. In an effort to tire out my dogs, I thought it would be the perfect day for all of us to go for a walk - Talia, Bert, Ernie, and myself.

Our first hurdle was just getting out of the house. Bert is scared of winter this year and has to be dragged out the front door. Ernie, on the other hand, has no fear of anything and likes to bolt out the front door unless you make him sit & stay, not taking your eyes off him. So I bundled up the baby, put her in the sled, tied Ernie's leash to the doorknob, and prayed for good results. Sure enough, as I was carrying the sleigh out the door, Ernie took off like a shot, only to slingshot himself on the door. Bert narrowly escaped getting the door slammed on him and took off like a shot as well - back into the house to hide under the kitchen table. (This was right about the time I started to suspect this wasn't a great idea.)

Finally, the 4 of us were outside, ready to take off around the block. My dogs are perfect little angels when they go on separate walks. Together, they are hellions. They pull at their leashes, each one determined to get ahead of the other. So today I tied Bert's leash around my waist so he was walking on my left, and held Ernie's leash on the right. I was pulling the sleigh on my left, so Bert the scaredy dog kept trying to get away from it. Of course, he was tethered to me, so he basically did a slow-motion gallop all the way around the block. Ernie could see Bert galloping beside him, assumed Bert was trying to get ahead of him, and pulled so hard on his leash that he kept pulling himself unconcious - he would fall over, take a couple of deep breaths, and then wake up. (Now I'm fairly certain this walk was going to be a big mistake.)

Halfway around the block (at the furthest point from our house), another dog in the neighbourhood (Echo, a really beautiful, playful, HUGE dog) started barking her head off at the boys. If they were by themselves, neither of them would have noticed. Together, they decided the best course of action to get back at Echo was to turn on each other. (They're cute, but not smart. And there's the confirmation I needed that this walk was the biggest gong show ever.)

Finally, I got the boys somewhat calmed down. I put Bert in the sleigh with his baby, which, let's be honest, was really what he wanted the entire time. Since Ernie wouldn't stop barking, I scooped him up under my arm and made a beeline for home. So if any of you were in the vicinity this afternoon, I was the short girl walking the dogs by pulling one in a sleigh and carrying the other. I'm surprised my neighbours weren't outside taking pictures. Tell me again why I thought it was a good idea to take them both for a walk?