You take…
and what do you get? 40 gallons of incredibly tasty, AND healthy salsa! Stay tuned for pictures. It takes 4 of us the entire 3 day weekend to make…
… it is impossible for Andrew to burn off all his energy with a full leg cast on. Therefore, sleeping kind of sucks right now. Apart from the fact that the cast has to be terribly uncomfortable (he loves full body stretches in the morning), he just isn’t that tired. When he is running around all day, it takes him 11 hours of sleep to recharge. Right now he starts to get restless in bed at about 5 am, and that’s going to bed at 9:30-10 now instead of 8:30.
The poor little bugger is trying so hard to do the things he was used to. He gets around pretty good, (think 3 legged dog) but he is probably about 20% of his mobility. He can climb up onto the sofa himself and get down off it, he can actually mount his Snoopy ride-em airplane and push himself around, but he can only go in a circle because the cast leg drags on the ground. You can certainly hear him coming now when he is in the kitchen, it sounds like *smack-Smack--- thump*, as his hands hit first, then he drags the cast leg with a thump behind him.
The one thing I am sure of is that he is pain free. The doc obviously did a great job of setting the cast, because he can lay on the ground with both legs in the air, He rode on my shoulders in the store yesterday, he uses the cast as a roadway for his car, a drum, and a pounding pad for his rubber hammer, AND he still pesters the donks incessantly .
I wonder if they make 2 foot tall crutches, I am sure he would learn to use them if it meant more mobility. 2 weeks is going to feel like a long time, as every day he is bottling up a bit more energy and a bit more frustration. There already are twice the tantrums and cries than we are used to. Oh well, they all pass and our little man is always looking up at us like “did I say that out loud?”
The one saving grace right now is, he knows what he wants and he knows how to ask for it (when not in tantrum mode). So it makes it easy on us in that regard… Oh well, I always preach perspective, and this one is pretty easy… he is still out little trouble maker and the cast will be off before we know it, really…
On a bit of a disappointing note, we cancelled our big camping trip for now (supposed to leave in a week), as it was for us to lay on the beach and do a lot of swimming and hiking. Well… all that is pretty impossible with a 2 year old in a cast I'm afraid…
… I was passed out here at home while Traci and Andrew spent their first night together at the Rockyview Hospital. Andrew came at 2:55 in the afternoon on Tuesday July 24th 2007. Traci endured 36 hours of oxytocin induced labor and then a c-section, but he was finally here. I wore my Birkenstocks and my feet were incredibly stinky and slimy. That is a lesson I will never forget. Don’t wear your Birkenstocks without socks if you have no idea how long it’s (whatever) is going to take, or you don’t have access to socks.
Here are some of my journal notes while we waited 10 long months for Andrew to arrive (Traci went 2 weeks overdue)…
- “Baby is cool, he winked at me in the ultrasound today. and was sucking his thumb.”
- It seems like forever till tomorrow, but 6 months ago feels like just yesterday . Funny how time flies when you are looking far into the future and forgetting about today. It is just a moment ago that Traci came running down the stairs to tell me she was pregnant, and falling on her ass of course. It is a million years to go until we get to meet young Andrew. But later, Today will feel like just a moment ago. I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of wishing for the future. I feel like if we wish too much for the future, we forget about today, then when the future becomes the present, we wish for another future.
I am all for wishing for today, and hopefully making the most out of today, cause really, that's all we have.
I Love Traci today. I will love her tomorrow, I did love her yesterday, but the only thing that matters is that I love her right now. I can do the things for Traci today that prove that I love her. That's all.- Wow!!! What a rush!!!
The tech told us:
"It is DEFINITLY a boy"
"His brain is symmetrical"
"His Heart has all 4 chambers, is inside the rib cage and is beating normally"
"His stomach has fluid in it, so he can swallow properly"
"His bladder has fluid in it, so his kidneys are functioning properly"
"His stomach is below his heart, which is normal"
"His spine is normal"
"Hands, feet, fingers, and toes are are normal"
"The umbilical cord is present and contains all 3 tubes"
"You have a perfect baby, congratulations!"
She was moving the US around and she goes, "look, he's rubbing his face" HE WAS!! it was really cool! He was moving like crazy, she had a hard time keeping up to him. (ed note: REALLY?) She took 5 very good pictures of him, and when she was taking them, you could see that his legs were bent like he was crouching, than all of a sudden he kicked! wow.
We go next Wednesday to get all the results at the doctors and we will know more details, like the heartrate, the exact due date etc...
Cool.- The maternity book says that for a father to feel more a part of the pregnancy he should give the baby a nickname…. "marty"
- Traci thinks it's going to be a boy. I don't care either way. I have plans in my head for either. I remember back in North Battleford, i was working in a machine shop and this big burly farmer came in to have a part fixed, he has his 5-ish year old daughter with him and she wouldn't leave his side, you could see that he was her hero. I thought that was pretty cool. That has stuck with me for 16 years. I also remember how much fun Hockey tournaments were and sharing all my big saves with my Dad after the game, cause it's ok to brag to your parents. "did you see that glove save?" yep, he did...
It's all good.
Our little boy is already 2 years old… Today was a pretty relaxing day. We needed it. All 3 of us have been going a million miles an hour for some time now. A down day was nice and I couldn’t think of a better day than his Birthday. Sunday is the party, small, but it will be lots of fun. Once again Mary Jo made the cake and it is AMAZING. I will have lots of pics on Sunday…
Happy Birthday Andrew! We love you!
… Traci and Andrew got home yesterday evening. They lost her luggage and Andrews car seat, so we had to borrow one from Air Canada. What a piece of crap. Anyway, Traci had called me from Pittsburgh airport saying that Andrew had fallen and she had to have Paramedics look at his leg. They basically said they didn’t see anything glaring and Andrew wasn’t in undue pain, so she got on the flight and came home.
When we finally got back to the house, I put Andrew down and immediate he couldn’t stand on his leg. So off we go to South Calgary Urgent Care Center. The line up here was pretty long and they take people on a worst come first serve basis and unfortunately Andrews spirits were really good, laughing and playing with me in the stroller. so that was probably the reason we didn’t get seen at all. After 2 hours of waiting we decided to go home, have a sleep then go see the doctor. We got to the doctor at 10am, had x-rays done at a different location, went back to the doctor, then went to Children’s Hospital. We were seen immediately and were discharged by 1pm complete with a full leg cast for Andrew. 
He has spiral fractures in both his lower leg bones on the left leg, and will be in this cast for 2-3 weeks. Once the cast was on, you could see he felt better already. Not to mention the codeine they gave him right after the cast was put on. We got to choose the color of the cast, I wanted black, but was vetoed because it would probably be too hot. I just wanted him to look tough. hehe. 2-3 weeks. That is some pretty fast healing little man… I’m proud of you, you are truly a trooper. Even when they had him lay down for the x-rays he would cry, but didn’t move a muscle. Our little man, 2 days shy of his 2nd Birthday. Traci said when he was born, “no trip to Children's Hospital before your 2 years old”.
missed it by that much…
Oh yeah, before I forget. I had heard great thing about Children’s and now have experienced it first hand. Thank you ER team, you did great!
…I am solo camping and I thought I saw something outside. I looked out the window but there was nothing. then I heard something… Like a whisper… was it the wind? no there is no wind. The leaves on the trees are perfectly still tonight. I look again and I don’t see anything but… I feel something. It is strange… like a whisper in my ear, but for my eyes. I can’t really make out what my eyes are hearing. That doesn’t make any sense to me, but it is what I am feeling. Maybe it’s the solitude, but it can’t be - there are people all around me here, but I don’t know any of them. My senses are on high alert now, I am tingling, The dogs are sleeping. If there was something there they would see it, wouldn’t they? There it is again… I saw it this time. By the fire. I grab my camera and start shooting. Then. nothing. it’s gone. I can tell because the hair on my neck has laid down. It’s not cold but I shiver. The tension goes away from my shoulders and I feel relived for some reason, like I was just given good news, like I was being hugged. Maybe that’s it. Maybe its just that I miss my wife and I miss my son. They will be home on Tuesday. I’ll feel better then. It was a longing that I was feeling. That’s all. Let’s check the camera anyway…
Huh…
I took this while driving 70mph down the freeway, I wasn’t even looking through the eyepiece…
Our Trailer is now a mobile office… For a change of scenery I pulled the trailer out to Okotoks while Traci and Andrew are away. I have been working for a total of 1 hour now and have more done than I would have in 4 hours at home…
All the books are organized and separated into types, MasterCard/Visa charges, Debit Charges, Account charges, Government forms, Deposits, Insurance, Workers Comp, Customer info, and of course the lovely ‘PAID’ file…
… not sure about the luggage yet tho. She called me while they were taxiing to the gate. They landed at 8pm mountain time, or 10pm local (eastern time) in PIT. They left 1/2 hour late from ORD. Andrew slept the entire flight. I am pretty sure they are exhausted, I know I am and I was just a helpless follower of the ordeal. In about 1.5 hours she will be at her parents. That makes it a 16 hour travel day… ouch.
…She was actually on the plane. Traci and Andrew were given 1 seat to share (he is under 2 years old) as there was a no-show for the ORD to PIT 4:30 flight. She was about to sit down when the guy showed up. she had to get off the plane. Can you believe it? My poor wife and my trooper of a son have been dealing with a really busy airline Thursday. Why on earth would all these flights be full on a Thursday?
She came off the plane and went straight in line for the 7pm flight, and did get 2 seats booked on this one. YAY. So… we left the house at 5:30 this morning and she will arrive in PIT at 6:30pm. That makes it a 13 hour trip instead of a 6 hour trip… yeesh. and she still has to go an hour south to her parents place.
She did good though. She stayed calm, with a few minor breakdowns. The biggest problem was lugging the car seat around. With the carry-on bag (all Andrews gear), the Car seat AND trying to carry/ drag Andrew from place to place, she is pretty wore out. She is in much better spirits now that she has a ticket in hand tho.
I feel better knowing she is feeling better. Pretty helpless from here, that is for sure. It was a little over 12 years ago I was on my way down to marry her and got stopped in Vancouver Airport for 2 days, 3 days before the wedding. Were we ever freaking then. Oh well, add it up and call it an experience to draw from in the future.
The only problem is that she had to fly back on Tuesday. I will hope for the best for her, she does not deserve this extra stress. The only reason she is going down there is so Her dad can see Andrew again.
On top of it all, we have no idea if her baggage is going to make it…LOL.
So they drove out to the runway, and then decided they needed to re-boot the computer. They couldn't do it properly out there so they drove back to the gate. Once that was fixed, they had to top off the fuel after idling so long.
To keep the story short, they left at 10:20 instead of 8:40, they WILL miss their connecting flight in ORD and we just hope there is 2 seats on the next flight out of ORD to PIT at 4:30.
Stay tuned.
8:30 am. Traci and Andrew just got settled into their seats on the plane. I asked Traci to call me when they got boarded. They are off to Granny and Pappy’s place in Greensboro Pennsylvania until Tuesday.
Andrew was up at 5am, which is about 2-3 hours early, but was a trooper. He must have known Traci was on her own with him once I left them at security, because when they got through security he didn’t want to be held anymore, he wanted to walk holding her hand. It made it WAY easier for Traci getting to the gate.
Apparently as they were boarding he was waving and saying ‘bye’ to everyone. Once on board he couldn’t wait until he got into his car seat. He is sitting there with his bottle, his soother, and his blanket. I am pretty sure he will sleep most of the plane ride to Chicago. He will get a treat once he gets there as Traci is going to flag down one of the golf carts to get them to the next gate. It is quite a distance to walk as they change terminals there. they get into Pittsburgh about 4pm local time and it is an hours drive to G&P’s house. I am happy for her that she gets to make this trip, but am quite sad as this will be the first time I have not been home with Andrew to put him to bed since he was born (almost 2 years!). It had to happen sooner or later, and as much as I am looking forward to the focused time at work and a game of golf on Saturday, I would trade it all right now to be with my boy.
I miss you little man, see you Tuesday, you can bet I’ll be early to the Airport to pick you and Mom up!
was the sound I heard when I flipped the breaker for the 12v converter in the trailer.
Traci came in the house to tell me that the lights were really dim in the trailer. I went out and checked it out, and found that the battery had been drained right down. I went outside and checked the power plug (we keep it plugged in when its at the house), yep it was connected, all the breakers were on. So I opened up the converter cover and lo and behold the converter breaker was tripped.
BANG! ZAP! ZZZTTTTTT! *sparks fly* *SMOKE*….
Man that was loud, and I think I peed myself a little.
We had a power surge out at the campground in Lake McGregor. We didn’t notice it cause it just fried the converter and nothing else. We were then unknowingly on battery power for the lights and stuff, as the shore power was still working fine for the TV and microwave etc. Our neighbour trailer had issues, and a few others noticed some problems, but we couldn’t tell anything was wrong with us. It did affect us, as the water treatment plant had been knocked out so we didn’t have water. Sure, the first time we ever tow without any water in the tank, the city water is unavailable. Well, anyway,we had bottled and the water was back on line by morning, so no biggie.
So, I am going out to Okotoks for some alone camping (Traci and Andrew fly to Pittsburgh on Thursday), and I have Tony of RVMD lined up to swap out the converter right in the campground on Thursday evening. He says the new one has a breaker that protects the converter from any issues like this. Thank you Tony. If anyone has RV issues in Southern Alberta from April 15th until September 15th, Call Tony at 403-968-7863 and he will fix you up. Much cheaper than the dealerships. And he comes to you! He fixed our furnace the last time we were there.
My ears are still ringing from the bang… yeesh.
We don’t normally stay only 2 nights, but as this was more for me to go skiing, we made the exception. It turned out to be much more than that tho. We really enjoyed our time spent with our hosts Dan and Jeanette. I met Dan through the Running Room training 10k clinic. Even though I left that group for the 1/2 Marathon clinic, Dan and I seemed to hit it off right away. We would see each other at run club nights and when our Race on April 5th came and went, we all (10k clinic alum) decided to trade emails so we could keep in touch and organize runs etc.
We were running back in early June and Dan said I should come Skiing one weekend. (the reason he runs is to stay in shape for skiing). I said YES. I think I may have surprised him a bit, as I was quite persistent in picking a weekend to meet up out at his cottage.
Well the weekend finally came, and it was with some trepidation that Traci agreed to this trip, we were off. Friday Afternoon at 6pm we were on the highway for a 1.5 hour trip to Lake McGregor Country Estates. It’s a pretty, but pretty uneventful drive out there. It does go through the town of Vulcan, for any of you who are trekkies…
We pulled into the site after a bit of a travel guess by me, as I left the directions at home. Thankfully Dan and Jeanette spotted us coming in or we would have been walking around like goons trying to find where to check in.
Andrew had a bit of a struggle getting to sleep as there was a very LOUD party in the campsite next to us so that was the end of the socializing for the night. The party next door wrapped up about 3am, so that’s about the time Traci and I fell asleep.
We got up to some pretty stiff winds, but Dan and Jeanette were at our site at 9am as promised to pick me up for skiing, we got down to the lake and it was really choppy, so no go on the lake this morning. We did manage to get the boat in the water, 
I got back to camp, Andrew was still sleeping and Traci was still in her lounger, so I walked over to Dan’s place and sat on his deck. 
So they were really nice and got me up skiing, it was REALLY choppy still, but I did manage my first ski in about 15 years, so that was good. If the weather didn’t smarten up, I was good, I had crossed off my #17.
Once I got that out of the way, we cruised down to the dam end of the lake and hung out there for a while. It was just a nice afternoon.
We had a really nice visit over there. 
We were all pretty tired after that, and it was pushing 9pm when we got back to the camper so we said our goodbyes for the night and retired to our respective residences. 
We woke to a breezy (but not too breezy) day on Sunday, but Dan and Jeanette were ready to go at 9am again, Traci and Andrew came again, but we were using Ed’s boat this time and it was too small for all of us. Dan, Ed and I got our runs in, then we went back to pick up Traci and Andrew for a nice ride along the shoreline, looking at the scenery, including some amazing Pelicans.
We were packed up and home by 2pm. It was a great weekend.
I made a list of things I wanted to do when I lost the weight. #17 was water-ski again. We are off to Lake McGregor for a camping weekend on an invite from one of my running buddies to go waterskiing!
*check*
…Meet again to discuss our Stampede Breakfast…
We went out today to have a stampede Breakfast at the Alberta Treasury Branch, but it turned out to be the Breakfast for all of Mackenzietowne. I am baffled at how much time people are willing to spend waiting for 2 flapjacks and some sausage. The line-up was over an hour. AN HOUR! for some lousy pancakes. yeesh. We stopped at Tim Hortons instead. The line-up is only 10 minutes there… hehe.
It’s Stampede time here in Calgary again and Andrew is READY!!! YeeeHAWWW!
Does this hat make my diaper look fat?
Have a safe and happy Stampede everyone!
… Traci and I ran a race today! Traci did the 5K run and I did the 10k run. We arrived early to get a good parking spot (Andrew stayed at home as G&G came over to hang out with him), but didn’t really have to be that early as it was a small race. There were about 400 participants in the 5K, 10K and the fun walks. In Traci’s group there were 91 runners and she finished in 43rd place with a time of 34min 31sec.
Place – 43
Clock time – 35:16.6
Bib - 2724
Chip time – 34:31.8
Pace/km - 6:55
This is especially good as she hasn’t trained at all for this race. This pure fitness for her! She was lucky though, as the 5k turn around was just at the top of the big hill that I had to run down, and you know what goes down, must come up, right? Heck just for good measure they put another big hill at the turn around for the 10k run, so 2 BIG declines and of course 2 BIG inclines! It sure made it tough. It was the hardest 10k race I have participated in, because of the hills and of course the lack of training.
My Group had 111 runners in it and I finished a respectable 37th. However, if you look at the chip times I was actually faster than the person in 36th by 1/1oth of a second. I ran my butt off to beat her at the end as well! So I am claiming 36th. So there lady!
Place – 37
Clock time – 57:01.2
Bib - 526
Chip time – 56:55.4
Pace/km - 5:42
We enjoyed the after race fun. The race was a fundraiser for PaceKids here in Calgary. It is an organization that raises money for kids with Cerebral Palsy and other developmental disabilities, and they had a booth that you could stuff your own teddy bear and take it home. So while Traci was waiting for me to finish, she got Andrew a bear! We waited around for the prize draws, of course we didn’t win anything but the people watching was top notch! We enjoy sitting and watching other people - that is for sure. There are certainly some curious individuals at the races (me included). All in all we had a great time today. It was a new approach to racing for both Traci and I, as we were going out just for the fun and fitness of it with no real time goals, just finish and enjoy the day! Mission Accomplished.
Oh, Andrew is moving to a big boy bed tonight. Don’t mention anything to Traci as she is a wreck over it. Her baby is growing so fast…
We didn’t do much. A bit of shopping, and then I went out on a hunt for a specific sandbox for Andrew. After a couple misses, we did find it. And he liked it… good thing…
We spent the rest of the afternoon playing outside and doing some yard maintenance. I took a couple photos of the yard as it is really in mid-season form right now…
This will probably be the first strawberry eaten in about a week I figure… yumyum…
We had Beer Can Chicken for our 4th of July supper and it was, as always, Tasty!
