Me and My Shadow

Could it really be that my last post about me and my shadow was almost 10 months ago? My how time flies! Norah and I had some challenging times last week - in hindsight lack of sleep for both her and I was a major contributing factor. Friday night in particular, I was at my wits end, and she spent a good 30 minutes in her room after school and before supper time while I gathered the strength to deal with her. Needless to say after an early bed time and sleeping in (until nearly 9 in her case!) we were back on an even keel by Saturday.

That's not to say that we didn't get some serious down time in over the course of the weekend - we definitely did, and we're definitely all the better for it, with nary a tantrum to be seen! In the picture below, we were trying to convince Norah to have some 'quiet time' outside on the deck, reading her book, "just like Mom". Well she fell for the "just like Mom" bit, as you can see below, but that was just about it. In the end, I went into the house for a nap, and Matt and Norah had some success with an outside snooze as well.

My idea of Heaven

We all have our own idea of what we consider luxury, or heavenly, or even a bg treat. For me, it sometimes involves waking up in the woods, with Norah sleeping softly nearby.... other times, it involves reading a book in bed and Matt delivering me a hot cup of coffee... well recently, I got ALL of that together!

We made our now annual trip to Whittaker Lodge, a jewel in a certain state park in PA, where we've been fortunate to join Matt's brother and his family for a long weekend these past few years. The cabin we stay in is called Whittaker Lodge - here's Norah standing out front on the day we left.
To make matters even MORE decadent, in my opinion, the room we stayed in was a sun room, with views of the lake in every direction. Not to mention there were new beds this year that suited my pregnant body just fine! The beds line up with the windows such that you don't really even have to move to see the view. Here is the view when I open my eyes...

and sat up a little (my coffee was on it's way...)

And lastly, took a peek over to where Norah was sleeping... ahhh heaven!

32 Week Comparison

While it was mildly inappropriate and somewhat amusing to have that lady in the deli walk up to me the other day, when you compare my 32 week belly last time with my 32 week belly this time - you gotta admit, she has a point. Here I was, about 7 weeks before Norah arrived on the scene... relaxed, comfortable, maybe a little round all around... you get the picture
And here I was this past Saturday... looking like I swallowed a basketball after playing a few rounds of scrimmage... in fairness the sweatiness was due to the heat, but the Basketball bellay - that's all Brudder!

Crazy Daze of Summer

What do you do when it's 85 degrees outside, and almost as hot inside, with the air so thick you could cut it with a knife?

You give your kid a bath outside!

Deli-Talk

Saturday morning, all three of us went grocery shopping. It was a busy week and we were all feeling a little ragged, but, well, a girl's gotta eat!

We did our usual routine, where Matt headed to the deli, while I puttered thru the nearby aisles, grabbing this and that - though I left Norah and the cart with him. When I returned with an armload of whatever it was, I noticed to women looking at me and talking (ok, maybe I was being paranoid, but it seemed they were talking ABOUT me)

After I put my things in the cart, the younger of the two ladies (apparently the daughter of the other) asked me if I was due THAT DAY, because she had been telling her mom that my baby looked like it had moved into position already and was ready to DROP! Apparently she is a nurse and went so far as to ask if my doctors got my due date wrong!

Now, while this was mildly inappropriate, we had a good laugh about it, as it led some credibility to my feelings that I look (and feel!) 9 months pregnant already. It's gonna be a long summer!

SURPRISE! Toronto!

Last weekend, I went to Toronto, to my sister Susan's Baby shower. Now, those of you who know me, know that I am really not a big fan of showers - baby or wedding - despite the number that I have attended and had a hand in over the past year or two. That being said, I'm coming around... so much so that I got on a plane and left Matt and Norah for the weekend to attend Susan's! It's hard being so far away from my sisters sometimes, especially at times like these, when we're both pregnant. So when Matt suggested out of the blue that I jump on a plane and surprise her, well, that's exactly what I did! Here we are, bumping bellies just after I arrived.
Susan's good friend Shannon was in on the secret, and left her own mom and sister who were also visiting at home to pick me up at the airport. I think Shannon might have been more excited than I was! Thanks Shannon!

The funny thing was that I had a surprise myself the previous week, when my parents were visiting. When I arrived home on Monday, my sister Erin popped out from behind the house with Norah! As Erin's boyfriend Eric observed, we like to arrive on a plane, unannounced! In any case, Erin was a surprise guest (more or less, right Dad?) at Susan's on Thursday, so I'm pretty sure the last thing she expected was for me to arrive also! As one of my co-workers asked: the shock didn't put her into premature labor did it??

Well, no, it didn't, but we somehow managed to have a fairly relaxing whirlwind visit, topped off by a lovely and very enjoyable shower hosted by Susan's Mother-in-law, Anna. Anna and her daughter Paula put on an amazing spread of food, and it was great as always to catch up with some of Susan's friends, and know that she's got them as well as her in-laws with her up there.

Since we don't often all get together, and even more rarely all showed and 'dressed up', my Mom made sure we got a picture of us all! Here we are, the MacNeil women, at least two generations of us! Nice huh?

Guess where I was this weekend??

Mama's Crave-Worthy Guacamole

Guacamole, a dip made from avocado, is originally from Mexico. The name is dervied from two Aztec Nahuatl words - ahuacatl (avocado) and molli (sauce).

Whatever. It's good, and it's what I'm craving this pregnancy. Last time it was poutine, and Norah doesn't seem to have turned out particularly French Canadian, so I am betting Brudder won't come out Mexican either. Besides, even though avocados are pretty high in fat, it's the good fat, right? Not like the kind found in fries, cheese and gravy. Anyway, you may know that we MacNeil girls like our citrus in our cooking - lemon in particular, but we don't sneeze at a lime either (particularly when paired with a Gin and Tonic - but I digress) so this recipe reflects that - as well as the frequency of my heartburn.

Mama Shauna's Crave Worthy Guacamole

• 2 ripe avocados (leave them in the counter for a few days if they are too hard when you get them)
• 2 limes
• 1/2 bunch of cilantro
• a couple of thick slices of red onion
• 1 tomato

Cut the avocado in half and remove the pit. (Save for later in the unlikely event you don't eat it all - it will keep the leftovers from turning an unappetizing shade of brown). While still in the skin, cut some criss crosses in the green flesh and then flip them inside out, dropping chunks into a bowl, and impressing your favorite two year old. Engage said favorite two year old in "mixing" the avocado chunks. If you don't have a 2 year old handy, lightly mash the avocado. Cut up the tomato and add, keep the 2 year old mixing. Then, chop up about half of the cilantro - still mixing. Dice the slices of red onion - you got it, keep mixing. My favorite 2 year old likes to taste test each ingredient, but generally gets hung up at this point, and may lose focus - but not to worry, she's at least half MacNeil, so the lime in the next step brings her right back. Squeeze the juice from two limes and add it to the mix and voila! You're done! It's important to do the lime last because it's kind of a lot compared to most recipes and it's hard to moosh up the avocados etc. if you add it too early. Enjoy with your favorite 2 year old, husband, friends, neighbours and family - it's sure to please!

Baseball Anyone?

Last night, we took Norah to see the local farm team for the Boston Red Sox. It was hot, humid, and a school night, but we had a blast! The stadium only holds about 5,000 people, so while there isn't really a bad seat in the house, we were 2 rows from the field! I think this really helped Norah get a feel for things, although she also seemed to like looking down from the concourse to see the whole field.


We've been to see the AAA team, and were duly impressed, and we weren't too sure what to think about the A team... but they did a great job, with the full ball park experience, without the hassle and prices of going into Boston! We'll do that at some point, for sure, but for now, this is just about our speed! They had all kinds of stuff going on at every batting change - mini race cars, vans tossing t-shirts, mascots doing funny things - you name it. They also had a big screen (not exactly a jumbo-tron) that would periodically flash up a message to "make some noise!" This, of course, was a huge hit, as Norah, and every other kid in the place went nuts, stomping their feet, yelling and clapping!

As always, we talked it up a little before we went, and she seemed pretty psyched about it. This morning, I asked her what her favorite part was, and she said "The Big Toothbrush" There was a toothbrush mascot that swept up the bases after the 3rd inning. So it wasn't the friend dough, hot dogs, peanuts, actual game, making noise, mini race cars or alligator mascots, it was the toothbrush that appeared for all of 3 minutes. Go figure.

Super Heroes don't say "Mommy"

Norah has quit calling me "Mommy", and now refers to me as "Mom". Still a term of endearment to be sure, but I must admit I was a little bummed, as I was sure she'd be calling me "Mommy" for a few years yet. In any case, I just realized why this change has come about - Norah is a Super Hero. (a very nicely accessorized one at that) and everyone Super Heroes can't call their mothers by a name like "Mommy"

Burn Baby Burn!

Some days, I just have to blog whatever is on my mind. Today, it's this little guy -->

Cute eh? Don't let him fool you, he's not burning desire (which you might guess by the fact that he's running away) He's HEARTBURN, and I dislike him very much. No, I HATE him. He's worse than a newborn, and no where near as cute! He's with me morning, noon and night. He makes me afraid to eat and unable to sleep. He makes me uncomfortable and cranky, and the only thing that makes him go away is milk. I've had more milk in the past two weeks than in the past two years combined (ok, maybe not, but it's close)

TUMS don't cut it, cause in a cruel twist of fate, sugar seems to be one of the worst offenders. So not only no jelly beans, but no juice, no lemonade, no wine coolers (kidding, just seeing if you were paying attention) Its water and milk for me until the end of the summer!

My doctor told me "don't be a hero, take some X, Y or Z" which of course I didn't note down, so when I went to the pharmacy today I had to ask the very nice lady behind the counter which ones were OK. She said she had two kids and would not advise taking any over the counter antacids as the amount of testing was likely minimal. So, in my tired, cranky and heart-burned state, I couldn't deal any more, so I strolled wistfully down the candy aisle before I bought some more milk...

So, if you were to cruise by my office today, here's what you'd see.... Yummm MILK!

Memorial Day Saturday: Boston!

My cousin Kirk stopped by on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend enroute from Nova Scotia to Toronto. He'd never been to Boston before, so we went with him into the city and just generally kicked around for the day. Note to Susan and Shannon: Yes, these are from Memorial Day, but just posted for the first time today!

Here is Norah feeling her heritage as she checks out a bagpiper near the public gardens
And here we all are, taking a little break at Cheers! Well, it's a bar and she's 2, so outside of Cheers :)

Matt caught a good photo opp in the public gardens

We read "Make Way for Ducklings" the night before, so we made it a point to visit the ducks... all the ducks....

Though Mama Duck was clearly the favourite

Kirk, Norah and I in the Public Gardens Norah and the Swan Boats, which she recognized from the book

Matt, Norah and Kirk watching a busker in Faneul Hall

Here's Norah, working with Matt the night before, getting the basement ready for Kirk Friday night ice cream fun with our buddy Jack!

For Aunt 'Zie and Shannon

Because, and I quote, "Shannon and I are getting quite impatient about the blog... I know you are busy and preggo's and stuff, but Memorial Day? Really?"

Seems I have set the bar too high with my burst of blogginess last month! More to come but here is a quick shot from this morning, when yes, we were quite busy!

Driveway Fishin'

Norah liked fishing so much that she wanted to practice last night in the yard. OK, well maybe that's not quite how it happened. Maybe she was just trying to get at her bobber when Matt was taking the rods out of the boat last night... regardless, I think a few of these are cute!

Memorial Day Monday: Special Guests

I mentioned showed you a picture a month or so ago of me and a couple of my pregnant friends... well, I'm the only one still pregnant, the other babies have arrived! On Monday the girls and their families came out for a visit (sounds so cool to say that!) Here's a picture of all of us, with our daughters! Me, Julie and Sue, with Norah, Laurel and Claire.
It's a little crazy to think how much things have changed, from the days when we'd meet up with our bikes, swim gear and car load of other stuff and spend the day on long rides, involving long chats... Back in those days, Matt, Vic and Jeff weren't even on the scene yet, and honestly, I don't know if we knew we were looking for them yet! In any case, it's been an honor to know these ladies and share all the big life changes with them over the past couple of years! Here's to many more to come!

Memorial Day Sunday: Fishin'!

We had a great and very busy Memorial Day weekend, and I have a lot of pictures to share. But since this is the Beantown Bugle, and we don't always report on things in the order in which they occur, we're going to start with Sunday.

We dusted off the boat (well, Matt did, obviously) for the first time since before Norah was born, and took it out for an evening troll on our local lake. After a sputtering start, we were off! Norah wasn't crazy about going fast (can't say I blame her honestly) but she seemed to really like hanging out in the backwaters, learning how to fish! Since we had to wait until 4:00pm to put in, we packed some supper and hung out on the lake until bedtime. Here are a few pictures from the trip.