Rebecca Cuneo Keenan is a writer who lives in Toronto with her husband and three children.
DAILY SNACK
It’s not that we haven’t been digging the city workers’ strike.
The dump was fun,
And dry wading pools have their charms.
But I did buy new bathing suits.
So hurray for ratifying a new deal with the unions!
Everybody now!
Are you the kind of person who likes to have everything arranged well ahead of time? Do you like to know where, when, why, and how-much-will-this-cost when traveling? I am starting to see how that might be nice — particularly when traveling with children. Packing for a family is so much more involved than packing for yourself it turns out. You need clothes and toiletries and lots and lots of underwear/diapers. You need lots of games and toys for them to throw onto the floor of the car, never to be retrieved. You need snacks. You need pillows and blankets and a playpen and special snuggly blankets and the where-the-hell-is-it soother. And always, always you need a contingency plan.
DAILY SNACK
I was pretty much out of commission yesterday.
Young C came into the bedroom to see me.
“Mommy, I want a rest.”
He starts climbing onto the bed.
“Oh no, Sweetie. Mommy is sick and I don’t want you to get my germs. Why don’t you have a rest on your own bed?”
“No hugging, Mommy! I saaaaid no hugging!”
“I know, but my sick germs are all over the bed. You don’t want to get sick, do you?”
“Oh, I get it.” (His new favourtie phrase.) “Okay. I will have a rest on the couch.”
And he did!
He marched out to the living room and fell asleep on the couch.
Completely of his own volition — will wonders never cease.
DAILY SNACK
Lovely Sunday afternoon barbecue,
Turns into a bit of a puke-fest,
When I suddenly fall ill.
Head still throbbing,
Stomach reeling.
I recently made some changes to my blog’s layout that may have affected the way the page loads in some versions of Internet Explorer. I was unable to figure out how to remedy the problem for that version of Explorer. The site loads just fine in Safari (for Macs), Firefox and the latest Explorer upgrade.
If the page is loading all wonky-like, then, I recommend Mozila Firefox or the lastest version of Internet Explorer. (Or you can just keep on scrolling WAY DOWN past my first sidebar to get to the posts.) Sorry about the inconvenience.
UPDATE: I think it is working now. Let me know if anyone has any more problems.
DAILY SNACK
I got this hat for $2 at the newly opened used kids’ clothes shop in the Junction.
Little Bird Fly 2955 Dundas Street West
Booyah!
DAILY SNACK
It was time to leave my parents house,
(AKA “Ryan’s house” after my 18-year-old brother)
And to put away the elaborate teddy bear picnic in the living room.
Young C was missing his afternoon nap yesterday.
That’s for sure.
There were tears and there was yelling.
Lots of wailing and I’m pretty sure some jumping up and down.
I told him to sit by himself on the stairs and try to get a grip while I tidied up.
He was still sniffling all the way out to the car.
Then, as I was buckling up Reenie, he said,
“Next time we go to Ryan’s house, Mom, I will try to be patient.”
He conquered his emotions and I am so proud.
DAILY SNACK
There must be something about being strapped into a carseat for hours on end.
And then being held and/or pushed around in a stroller all day.
Something about not being let down on a hotel floor.
Or on the sidewalk or in the park.
Because as soon as she hit the ground,
Reenie really started crawling.
She mostly does a one knee, one foot sort of scoot,
À la her big brother.
But she also can do a proper cross crawl for a little bit.
And she’s off.
DAILY SNACK
I was trying to make time on the highway,
When it appeared on the horizon like a beacon.
A giant red apple.
“Oh! Stop here!”
My husband, apparently, has read all about the Big Apple attraction recently built on the 401 east of Toronto.
So I pull in and we walk toward the giant red sphere.
We can see a couple people enter through a doorway.
“Oh, I get it,” Young C exclaims,
“The apple is for going into.”
So we did.
DAILY SNACK
Does your baby turn it’s nose up at the mush on its spoon?
Do you know a baby who does?
My little Reenie mostly likes everything,
But has been known to turn up her nose on occassion.
One teaspoon of plain organic full-fat yogurt added to the mush,
And she gobbles it up.