Father's Day

Dave and I are pretty low key with most "holidays".  We go all out for Christmas and birthdays but for the rest of the occasions we keep it to a card, sometimes a small gift like a book, and doing something special to mark the occasion.  I appreciate that approach simply because I'm not spending the majority of my time thinking up gifts to buy for my family and it allows us to enjoy the day without all the pressure of making it this enormous occasion.

Father's Day wasn't any different in our house.  Dave got to sleep in while I took care of Isla.  After he got up, we enjoyed an awesome breakfast of bacon,  hashbrowns and cinnamon toast (Dave isn't a fan of eggs so they were conveniently left out for him :o)).  After breakfast, we went to our local Farmer's Market and picked up a turtle pie for dessert later that night and then went over to Bowness Park for a walk with the baby and the dog.

Bowness was insane and I really wouldn't recommend it if you have any plans more firm than "I hope we find a spot to park and, if we do, then lets go for a walk".  Fortunately for us, we were at the right place at the right time and managed to parking lot stalk someone to their spot so we did get our walk in.  The weather was perfect and we even went along a quiet little path that few people know about so it was super peaceful in that area. 

Overall it was the perfect way to spend the day with family and just enjoy each other.

Location: Bearspaw Farmer's Market and Bowness Park
Cost: $7 for the pie at the market
Gear for Isla: Sunscreen and a hat since it was a warm day.  We also had our Bumbleride Indie all terrain stroller with us which allowed us to go off the beaten path a bit.

Animal Crackers

I don’t think my maternity leave would be complete without taking Isla to the zoo. I’m sure at this point in the game, a trip to the zoo is more exciting for me than for the baby but it’s still something fun to do to get out of the house and meet up with other friends.


There are lots of inside displays as well as outside so the zoo is a year round activity now. The fees for entrance plus the cost of parking can get up there for each visit but with a year pass, it can be quite reasonable and it gives you a good excuse to go every week.

The cafeteria is nice and big and they have microwaves and change areas easily accessible so it’s easy to feed the baby. They also serve Starbucks coffee so I get to enjoy a latte while Isla has her lunch. As you walk around, there are tons of little learning sessions where a zoo expert talks about a specific animal. I’ve learned a ton of quirky things that I didn’t know before like the fact that Hippos can’t swim so they walk on the bottom of the river or lake.
Location: Calgary Zoo
Cost: It’s about $20 for an individual admission plus the $5 charge for parking. A year pass is $65.
Gear for Isla: Stroller, hat, sunscreen, and sunglasses (we have BabyBanz). I bring Isla’s food along with me so I don’t have to worry about buying something for her.

My first night alone with the baby....in the dark.

So last night was my first night alone with the baby since we've had her.  Dave had to go to Edmonton for the night for a work commitment and so I was left to fend for myself for the night. 

I wasn't really worried about it going in.  I take care of Isla all day while Dave is at work and we've both put the baby to bed on our own before while the other person was out for the evening so this wasn't really anything new to be on my own for the bedtime routine.  As mentioned in my previous post, I also had a crusty day but I was looking forward to getting Isla to bed and then relaxing with a book before going to sleep.

Well, it looks like my run of bad luck wasn't quite done for the day.  About 5 minutes after I put Isla down for the night the power went out.  I wasn't really that concerned since the phones still worked so I just figured I would change my plan and talk to Dave for a bit on the phone before heading to bed.  About 10 minutes after the power went, the phone lines went down as well, though.  I felt like I was in an episode of Criminal Minds or something.  Unfortunately for me, my cell battery was half dead and I get almost no reception in our house anyway so that ended my plan to talk on the phone.

In the end, the power was out almost 3 hours and so I started into the darkness for a while and then lit a couple of candles to read my book.  Of course, when the power did finally come back on around 11:00 all the lights that I forgot were on earlier came blazing back on and scared the dickens out of me. 

So my first night alone with the baby was a bit more of an adventure than I planned for.  Let's hope the next time goes more smoothly.

Location: My house
Cost: My Criminal Minds experience was absolutely free courtesy of the rain storm
Gear for Isla:  Well Isla was peacefully sleeping but I needed my cell phone, a flashlight, and some lit candles.  When the power first went out, I also appreciated that we still had one of those old school phones that don't need electricity to run so I could have my 10 minute chat with Dave.

One of those days...

Today was one of those days where I had the best intentions to have an awesome day and every single move I made something went wrong.  Sigh, I guess sometimes stepping out of the toy box isn't always a success.

Dave is in Edmonton for the night with work obligations tonight so I decided that I was going to use his downtown parking spot to make a trip to see some co-workers and friends for a coffee.  The morning was going well and all was good until I got an email from a co-worker of mine who had loaned me her mat clothes during my pregnancy.  At the time that she loaned me the clothes, I knew she was done having children and so I passed on the things I couldn't use to other pregnant friends.  Now my co-workers sister in law is pregnant so she wants the clothes back to loan out to her.  Normally not an issue except that out of the two garbage bags of clothes she gave me, I have maybe 10 items that I can find and everything else is long gone.  Anyway, what's done is done and the clothes are gone so I had to make the enbarassing phone call to explain what happened and apologize.  Gah, I hate when I miss the ball on things like that.

So, anyway, now my normally relaxed morning was sent into a tizzy looking for the few clothes that I had left (which I of course couldn't have possibly put in the same location or anything) and I ended up running behind schedule for getting to my work "meeting".  I did manage to get myself showered but totally forgot to put the towels beside the shower which forced me to leave a wet trail to be cleaned up later.  I also then ran out of the house without my cell phone or any bibs (which spells disaster for both myself and Isla, who is still the spit up queen and is also teething so the drool is on high gear).  Once I got to work, I then saw that someone had parked illegally in Dave's spot forcing me to park somewhere else further away and get into a huge discussion with building security about whether I was allowed to do that or not.  Did I mention it was also pouring rain so I'm now totally soaked and wondering why I took the time to shower in the first place since I'm clearly getting a second one?

In the end, though, we made it in to work (is this practice for what it will be like in 6 weeks when I'm back at work for good?) and Isla was on her best behaviour (thank goodness!) so I had a lovely visit with several co-workers and an enjoyable coffee with my friend.  I am also proud to say that as every issue came up, I handled it well and didn't freak out so I think I'm becoming more Mom-like every day in my coping skills. :o)

I think tonight I'll take it easy, put Isla to bed, and enjoy snuggling up in a blanket by the fire and watching some chick movie that Dave doesn't want to see.  Any more adventures can wait until tomorrow.

Location: Andrea's work, downtown Calgary
Cost: Nothing
Gear for Isla: Tons of Cheerios and Mum-Mums to keep her occupied, a stroller, and my rain cover for the stroller.

Farmers Market Fun and Becoming a Gourmet Chef

Calgary has several Farmers Markets and they all offer something different. Some of them run all year round and have little restaurants to enjoy a small meal. Some are impromptu side-of-the-highway sales that come only with the warmer weather. They’re all fun in their own way and this is one of our favourite activities as a family on weekends.


It all started with the Food Network. As a new mom spending hours on the couch feeding the baby, I got into watching Chef at Home with Michael Smith every morning. One thing led to another and soon recipes were printed off and, once I had a bit more time on my hands, new and wonderful meals were prepared. I found that Chef at Home was really good for using local ingredients that I could find in my local supermarket but, once I got a little more adventurous and tried out the works of some other chefs, the ingredients were often harder to find.

That then led to exploring the Farmers Markets. Every trip I find something new to try; spices, fruits, vegetables, bread, gelato, chai lattes, pies, meats, wines, and fun things for the baby. I find that I enjoy the markets on the side of the road more than the permanent ones. The prices are a bit better for the produce and there are less people. It is nice to be able to go to a farmers market year round, though, so the permanent markets are definitely nice in the winter.

Location: My favourite markets are the Calgary Farmer’s Market at Currie Barracks and the roadside market in Bearspaw.  I also really enjoy the Millarville Christmas Market. I haven't been there yet, but I'm interested in seeing the markets at Northland Mall and Sunnyside/Hillhurst to see if they have anything interesting.
Cost: Whatever you choose to spend on the goods. The Bearspaw market is fantastic for providing samples of things to try out.
Gear for Isla: Stroller and hat if we’re outside. Sometimes we use our carrier for the market at Currie Barracks because it tends to get busy.  If you decide to head to the Millarville Market, I would recommend a carrier there as well since the terrain is hard to push a stroller around.

Guess what I won?

My good friend Rieanne over at Lucy's Soup Can ( a food blog about finding shortcuts in cooking while still having things taste good), has given me a Versatile Blogger award.

The guidelines for accepting this award require the recipient to (1) thank the person who gave it to you; (2) tell 7 things about yourself; and (3) pass the award on to bloggers who you have recently discovered and think are fantastic.

Thank-you to Rieanne for giving my blog a shout out and getting me a little more exposure in the blog world.
Now. 7 things about myself.
1. I'm a chemical engineer by profession and my least favourite subject in school was chemistry.  I chose chemical engineering because I wanted to push myself and have a challenge.  In the end, I'm really good at what I do so I guess it worked out.
2. Even though I work as an engineer I definitely don't fit into the typical engineer mold.  My best subjects in university were languages and literature and I'm very into the arts.  I feel that those traits are actually the things that make me most successful in my career.

3. I used to be a professional singer (mostly opera and classical music) and still like to dabble in musical theatre on the side when I can find the time.
4. Despite over a decade of practicing yoga, I still look like I just started a week ago.  That's okay, though, I've learned to love my limitations.
5. I have a shellfish allergy that I didn't discover until I was in my early 20's because I lived in Saskatchewan (where we didn't have a lot of fresh seafood) and I was a picky eater. 
6. I have Lupus, which is a little known about autoimmune disease where your body attacks certain organs thinking that they're a disease.  For some people it can be quite severe but mine is well controlled with medication. I just found out that my favourite singer Rob Thomas wrote his latest single, Her Diamonds, about his wife's Lupus.  I love him all the more now.
7. My favourite food is perogies.  As a child I decided I was going to marry a giant perogy and take a bit out of it every day.  Fortunately my real husband can make killer perogies so I guess I'll keep him.

So here is a list of blogs that I follow regularily:
1. Lucy's Soup Can

2. The Domestic Project

3. Smitten Kitchen

4. Definitely Not Martha

5. The Pioneer Woman

6. Lucky By Design

7. Mon Petit Amour

8. Food and Whine

9. The Lovely Paper Blog

10. Santa's Gift Shoppe

You scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream

Since the weather is finally starting to look more like summer I figure it's time for a post about ice cream.  Actually, who are we kidding here?  I'm always thinking about ice cream.

A trip to Regina wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the Milky Way ice cream stand. They have the best ice cream in town and they’re only open during the summer months so you have to catch them while they’re open. Dave, Isla, my parents and I all headed over there on a Saturday afternoon to enjoy a little treat before heading to the pavilions at Mosaic. Isla tried her first taste of ice cream (she already has the perfect licking technique down pat) and loved it, of course.


After we finished our cones, we headed to Wascana Park (the largest inner city park in North America) for a walk around the lake. It was the perfect way to work off the ice cream and get a glimpse of this beautiful park. All the geese had their babies out on the shores so that made the trip extra cute.

Location: Milky Way and Wascana Park, Regina
Cost: About $3 for a medium soft ice cream cone
Gear for Isla: Umbrella stroller and a hat for the walk, napkins for the ice cream :o)

Around the World in 3 Days

I love Mosaic. In Regina, Mosaic is a 3 day festival where all the cultural groups in the city make up pavilions at various different locations to showcase their food, drink, entertainment, and culture. You get a “passport” with all the different pavilions listed and then you drive (or take the free bus) to each location and party it up.
This year was Isla’s first time at Mosaic and it went really well. I was worried that the music would be a little loud for her (and we did have a few tears) but overall she was very happy. We ended up getting to about 10 different pavilions over the 3 days which is a success even without having a baby to tow along. My favourite pavilions are the Austrian for the overall experience, the Scottish for the entertainment (Isla was a fantastic table drummer while the pipe bands were playing), and the Poltava Ukrainian for the dancing. We also went to the Laos pavilion this year which was a first for me and thoroughly enjoyed the food.

If you’re ever in Regina, I would definitely recommend checking out this family friendly festival. Every year just gets better.
Location: Various locations throughout Regina
Cost: $12 for an adult passport which gets you into all of the locations (kids under 5 are free). The food and drinks range from $1 to $10 at each location.
Gear for Isla: Umbrella stroller, carrier for the more crowded pavilions, Cheerios to keep her entertained.

Green thumb

My mother volunteers her time at the Regina Floral Conservatory since she loves plants and flowers. Her yard at my childhood home is fabulous with a million different plants, trees, bushes. I, on the other hand, have a brown thumb. Pretty much everything I plant looks crappy or dies within the month. This is the main reason why Dave and I have decided to get a landscaper in to fix up our yard. We’ve done a lot of work on it ourselves over the last few years but we’ve reached the limit of our abilities and it still looks like an amateur came in and planted some Charlie Brown trees so it’s time to bring in the professionals.

The week before we went to Regina, we met with various landscapers. It was interesting to see the different ideas that they presented. In the end, we picked the guy that we related to the best and who seemed to have the best knowledge about what will work in our yard. After we made our decision, we went out for a drive to take some photos of yards and plant life that we liked so that he could incorporate those ideas into his design.
The work will be done sometime in July here so we have to deal with our current landscaping for a few more weeks yet. I’m looking forward to seeing what can be done with it, though. Looking at some of the more mature areas in Calgary, it was fantastic to see the beautiful trees and yards. I’m hoping that one day my yard will look like that as well. In the meantime, to satisfy my need to see beautiful plants, Isla and I made a little trip over to the Regina Floral Conservatory to see my mom’s work. The plants were gorgeous.
Location: My yard and the Regina Floral Conservatory
Cost: You don’t want to know what we have to pay a landscaper to do the yard. :o)
Gear for Isla: Nothing at all other than a handful of Cheerios to help us get through the meetings with the landscaper uninterrupted.

Bermuda, Bahamas?

Nope, just Regina Beach but still Isla’s first trip to the beach all the same. During our week long vacation in Saskatchewan, we decided that a day trip to the beach for fish and chips at Butler’s and a walk in the sand was the perfect thing. In the end, the day was beautiful and sunny, the food was good, and we got some lovely photos of Isla’s first foot in the lake (it was a little chilly to do any swimming).
Since we didn’t really do much other than eat and go for a walk, I can’t really recommend what to bring for a true day at the beach. I can say that this was the point in the trip where there weren’t any change areas available and we really appreciated having our car change station set up. I would assume that most beach communities are similar in their lack of change facilities.
Location: Regina Beach, Saskatchewan
Cost: Lunch at Butler’s Fish and Chips and gas for the drive.
Gear for Isla: Sunhat, sunscreen (I use Ombrelle 60 for kids), a towel for those wet feet, stuff for a makeshift change station and a carrier (we have a BabyHawk carrier that we used).

An 8 hour trip in…..8 hours!

This past week we tried our first big road trip with the baby (and the dog of course) and drove to see my parents in Saskatchewan for the week. We’ve done smaller road trips to Edmonton and out to the mountains and they went fairly well (except for the point when Dave accidentally sneezed and woke up the baby, at which point we had to stop on the side of the road in a snowstorm to feed the baby which was promptly followed by a massive poop explosion) but this was going to be the first time we would be spending the whole day driving.


Based on stories from my other travelling mom friends, I was expecting the trip to be long and exhausting. In the end, it was fabulous. We stopped at our usual places along the route and just added in a feed and diaper change to our normal pit stop. In between breaks, Isla slept for most of the drive and babbled to her toy when she was awake. We had a small incident on the way out where a rock cracked the window of our brand new vehicle but we managed to get a quick repair in Medicine Hat and we were back on the road with barely any time lost.

Here are a few tips that I feel contributed to our smooth journey:

• Put the baby in old clothes that you don’t care if they get dirty (because they will!) and bring an extra change of clothes in an easily accessible bag. We didn’t have an issue except for when Isla pulled off her socks right at the beginning of the drive and then spit up on them leaving me with nothing to put on her feet. Of course the only thing I didn’t have in my diaper bag was extra socks so we had to unpack half the car to get at a new pair from her suitcase.

• Bring the stuff to make a makeshift diaper change station in your car. We only had to change her in the car once on the entire trip but it was worth it to have all our gear easily accessible. The baby change areas on the road aren’t great either so there were a few times where I regretted bringing her in with me and just wished that I had changed her in the car.

• I kept the back seat beside the carseat free just in case I needed to sit in the back with Isla. In the end, we didn’t need to use it but if you have a fussy baby that needs entertaining then this would probably be a good thing.

• If you have a 10 month old Cheerio hound like I do, then keep a huge supply of cheerios on hand to get through the fussy times.

• We had a pile of children’s music on our iPod just in case but in the end we just listened to our own music and that worked out just fine too.

• I’m not a fan of Fast Food but a lot of the places do have high chairs to feed the baby on the go. We also have a chair that screws onto the side of a table so that works fantastic for restaurants as well.

• Bring a carrier or a simple umbrella stroller for the breaks. It makes it easy to do things with the baby along and its simple to set up and go quickly.

Location: Highway #1 from Calgary to Regina
Cost: Gas for the car
Gear for Isla: A car seat (we have the Snugride 32 carseat which is awesome if you have a tall baby), toys, one of those mirrors that allow you to see the baby from the driver’s seat, extra clothes (and socks!), formula and lunch for the baby, gear for a change station in the car (mat, wipes, diapers, plastic bag), carrier (we have a BabyHawk carrier that is great since it fits both myself and Dave), and an umbrella stroller.