Wednesday, July 27, 2005

The Next Mozart?



Caelan the next musical genius or nudist, either way 2 is a great year :)

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

The Tard Blog

So as you all know Chris works nights, well this leaves him with endless hours on the internet usually questing for Jeep info and interesting current events that lead him on his quest for a Jeep PhD. Well last night he discovered The Tard Blog. I immediately wanted to blog about it myself since he could hardly contain his laughter when he came to bed somewhere around 4 am. Well I just read it myself, be prepared for a laugh as you read about the daily occurrences of a Sped Teacher from the South.
Enjoy ;)

Monday, July 25, 2005

Lance does it again....

I was gonna blog about this monumental moment but between Carmi and Mike putting it so eloquently I see no need for it. I was so impressed by how Lance referred to other great athletes who have retired as well, how he looks up to Gretzky and Tiger even though he is much younger and still active in his sport. He is a man of the ages for sure. There are many parents, coaches, people in general who could take lessons from him. I wish him well in his future endeavours.

Friday, July 22, 2005

Got VOIP?

So I have done it, I have a landline. In typical Leanne fashion though it is not one that supports Ma Bell or her immediate counterparts, instead it is VOIP. For those of you who are VOIP illiterate, it is voice over internet protocol. What does that mean? Well firstly unlimited long distance in Canada and the US, all the bells and whistles( call display, VM etc.) for a mere $29 bucks a month + taxes and such of course. The coolest part about it is the fact that it has a digital dashboard feature that gives you the ability to do everything online, I mean everything including emailing your messages to an address in wave format. The clarity is as good if not better than a cell phone, setup is relatively simple(if you hooked up a router or modem you can hook this up) and it is no different then using a regular telephone, and you get air miles! So if I peaked your interest then check out Primus Tel, there is no contract so what's the worst that could happen? Save money, get away from the stronghold of Bell, be a pioneer is the telephone over internet adventure. You know you wanna :)

L8R

Sunday, July 17, 2005


So here it is me in my new Jeep. That is Chris's CJ7 in the background. We were out playing he was teaching me a thing or 2 about how to play in 4 wheel drive.

Saturday, July 16, 2005

Can't Sleep Might as Well Post (really long post)

I guess it has been a bit since I posted so lets bring everyone up to speed.

I am officially off work now, sick leave then Maternity leave to commence when the baby is born. I am really glad that I am off too, especially with the heat wave(again, still!). Latest pregnancy condition, swelling in the hands and overall hand pain and weakness. My hands, feet and hips feel like they belong to a stranger, the older more decrepit kind of stranger, while the rest of my body feels like it belongs to me, well me with a temporary tenant :)

Chris is on summer lay off right now so we have actually spent some time together recently. We went down east last week to visit my family. On the way there the transmission in my car decided that it wanted to act like a temperamental 2 year old and throw a tantrum. So it did all week and weekend and instead of it taking 3 hours to get there it was closer to 4 and closer to 4.5 on the way back. Alas the Contour and Ford in general are crap. Ford should stick to making 2 things trucks and mustangs everything else they should leave up to the experts. Speaking of Ford Trucks check this puppy out
I know someone who just got one... OMG I was on the test drive, this truck is awesome! There are few trucks out there now a days that can be called a man's truck but this one definitely fits the bill, oddly enough the proud new owner's name is Bill. Ford missed nothing on this truck, except maybe for making it a duelly, but I am sure that was an option.

As for the rest of the Contour saga, I have now donated it to the Teen Challenge Farm in hopes that it will do someone else some good. I am glad that it is going before the transmission totally goes (which I anticipate being any day now), hopefully some mechanically inclined individual can make it work for them. So you ask, what am I driving now? Well in about 2 hours or so I will be the proud owner of a 2002 Jeep Liberty. A beautiful slate blue Jeep Liberty. We are now a 2 jeep family, and I have an air conditioned multi purpose, reliable, under warranty 4 x 4 vehicle that is all my own. How you ask? Well lets just say that I am loved, a lot. Thank you a million thank yous, and you know who you are. Be prepared.... Pictures to follow.

So back to the vacation news or the trip home news. It was good, relaxing and full of seeing lots of people that I have not seen in a long time. Mom got me a prego massage while I was home... ahhhhhh massage! It felt amazing. For all pregnant women out there I highly recommend a massage in the sidelying position in your 8th month it is as close to heaven as you will come.
I had an great lunch with my Grandmother and Aunt and had the chance to catch up. I spent a whole entire day with my mom, even made strawberry jam ( which we screwed up and now it is strawberry sundae topping, still very tasty either way). I went to a birthday party in Whitby with my sister and saw a friend that I haven't seen in probably 4 years. Also saw her parents who it has been more that 8 years since I saw them and her oldest son which I know has been about 10 years since I saw him. I know the math there sounds a bit weird, but in a nutshell, I used to Nanny for them when he was 9 and then I moved away to college then to London and her and her ex husband split up and she moved away ( Texas and then various places in Southern Ontario). The last time I saw her was when her son was living with his father and I was visiting her at her house. Needless to say, did I ever feel old when I saw him, I mean he is now 20, has a live in girlfriend, is a Manager at Crappy Tire and is a full time student. He grew up to be gorgeous, and of the 3 boys he was the least attractive child. Always very reserved, a true daddy's boy. He has grown into quite a young man. It was great to see them all. Best part about the party.... Heated in ground pool! Pregnancy must # 2! Only second to a massage is the feeling of floating weightless in a pool. Needless to say I have been floating every chance I get lately.

As for Chris that weekend... He went on his first official outing with my father. My father and his common-law son-in-law (his new title for Chris) went on a fishing trip to Lingham Lake (zoom in it is the lake that is the funny shape North East of Madoc). They had a great time, Chris got to play in his jeep and there was man type bonding that went on, all in all a perfect weekend was had by both of us.

We stopped in Pickering ont he way home to give the transmission in the Contour a break, and walked in on a party at Chris's cousins house in full swing. In previous posts I haven mentioned Shangri La, well that is where the party was. So we got to see about 15 or 20 of his relative all in the same spot, none of which have seen me pregnant yet, so there was lots of Budda Belly rubbing going on. I totally don't mind it, especially when it is family and I know it is done out of love. They too have a heated in ground pool so you know what I was doing there! After copious amounts of BBQ we headed back to London.

Well that about brings everyone up to speed except for a pregnancy update.
Less than 50 days to go (give or take a few days of course). Baby is growing like a weed, healthy stats and measures on the last appointment, mommy is doing fine, the mural is still not finished but we are primarily prepared for the new arrival right down to having names picked out.

Other than that it is Home County this weekend and I am gonna see if I can get my belly Henna Tattooed while we are there.

Time to get ready to go pick up the Jeep.

L8R

Sunday, July 03, 2005

The weekend Recap

So it is day 3 of a long weekend, Tuesday is my last day of work then I am off till I drive myself crazy or until Mat leave is over(hard to say which will come first!

Friday we headed out for wings and beer(well I had iced tea) then went to the top level of the parking garage at Galleria to catch the fireworks in the city. The best part about that perspective is the fact that not only do you get to see the city's mediocre attempt at fireworks but you also get to see any of the surrounding suburbs and local backyards attempts. We could see a excellent display going off in the Komoka area(we think), and I have to say the London attempt failed to even register on the comparison scale. The fireworks in the distance outshone outlasted and outsparkled.

Saturday was filled with summer stuff, we headed to Port Stanley in the jeep then wandered around on the beach for an hour or so while Chris got a sunburn, after that it was BBQ and Birthday celebrations along with our own personal firework display at the farm.

All in all it was a pretty good weekend so far. I have included pics of the birthday boy below.
I am not sure what the rest of the weekend entails... time will tell.

8 weeks 4 days or so to go, can I tell you how badly I want to be not pregnant anymore.

L8r all.

How many members of the male species does it take to put together a tractor?

The finished product!

Life as a 2 year old is so tough... especially when you are this cute :)

Sunday, June 26, 2005


Caelan @ the splash pad today... 2 days shy of 2 years old

I had great weekend...

Even though I am 9 weeks and a few days away from my due date and the weather this weekend hit the mid to high 30's it was an awesome weekend.

It was full of all the things I love...road trips, friends & family, BBQ, pie, water parks, summer sunshine and shopping.

Chris and I took a road trip to Port Huron yesterday on the quest for a Travel System for the baby, and of course that also included other random shopping while we were there. Chris made his first baby purchase, which was the travel system, Go big or Go home was how he put it. By driving 2 hours we saved over a hundred bucks! Well worth the drive I would say. There is a picture of it below for those of you who are unfamiliar with what a travel system is.

On the way back we stopped at Aimee and Bill's and had a BBQ with pie included... mmmm pie :)
It was an awesome way to spend a Saturday, for the first time in a long time I didn't feel left out of something because I am pregnant. Thanks to all of you who made me feel normal for a day.

This afternoon I spent some time with Caelan and Aimee and the rest of the clan at the splash pad just off of Harris Park. This picture above is Caelan at the park today... I can't believe that he will be 2 on Tuesday. Wow how time flies. We had a blast and then I donned the walkman and walked home. The exercise felt awesome but then I was graciously reminded that I was pregnant when 50% of the walk was filled with Braxton Hicks Contractions... nothing to be alarmed about just damn annoying. When you are hauling around 30 additional pounds and the majority is a belly there is nothing more annoying than it turning rock solid when you are trying to maneuver it. At least they are not painful.

Oh ya last thought... I got to eat freshly picked local strawberries this weekend too. They are tiny this year but bursting with flavour. They went awesome with pie :)

The Travel System for the Peanut

Thursday, June 16, 2005

A wise woman once told me...

That it is the biggest moments in your life that will bring your true friends out of the woodwork. Boy was she right.
She also said that when now that youa re pregnant, those poeple your thought were friends will think you have a contagious disease and dissapear from your life.
Right again.
Well the woodwork popped out one of those friends last night.
We had tea, as per usual for her and I.
It was so nice to see her again, just like old times. Sure things have changed since we last saw each other, but things don't seem to have changed between us. I am glad to have her in my life, one of those friends whom I will always cherish, even if I don't tell her enough.
Thanks for the tea, you will love the book.
L

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

3 things I love about being pregnant...

1. My hair and nails are growing at an insane pace, not only are they growing but my nails are strong and my hair is shiny and softer then ever.

2. My Leafs jersey is the most comfortable things I own. I think I am going to labour in it... sicne labour is sorta a sport it only makes sence to be wearing a jersey.

3. Food... mmmmmm food. The tastes and smells of food are so much more intense (this can be a bad thing from time to time, but an amazing thing most of the time). If you have ever been a smoker then quit you will know what I mean, if not and you are a women get pregnant and eat till your heart is content.

Need your help...

Hey all,

So I went and saw my doctor today, and against her better judgment she agreed to wait until the 5th of July to put me out on sick leave. She wanted me out now since I am having a lot of pain in my hips and have terrible sciatica in the left leg. The fact that I sit on my but at work and cannot walk for 20 minutes every hour has her annoyed that I am staying. Fact of the matter is, if I were making her salary I would already be on leave. Ha ha ha.

Anyway I have been painting a mural on 2 of the walls in the baby's room and I have posted a few pics for you all to check out the progress.

Around the top of the room I am going to paint a quote from Peter Pan... it is as follows...


S
o come with me, where dreams are born, and time is never planned. Just think of happy things, and your heart will fly on wings, forever, in Never Never Land!

Now the question I have for you is, what colour should I paint it in? As you can tell by the mural I have no fear of colour, lol.
Please leave a comment as to your colour suggestions.
Thanks
L

The mural in the baby's room, a work in progress.

The mural in progress, about 85% done.

Friday, May 27, 2005

All you have to do is believe...

It is very rarely that I am so moved by a movie that I blog about it. Well I have been moved!

I just finished watching Finding Neverland, WOW!

The previews do it no justice.
Do you remember the way you fell in love with a story when you were a child?
How every little detail stuck in your mind like it was the only thing there?
Do you remember the day that you forgot it all?
This movie will take you back to before the day you started forgetting.

I know that I am pregnant and hormones surely came into play, but I have to say this movie has captured the part of me that I forgot I had and catapulted me back into believing the true beauty in the little things in life.
The purity of imagination.
The innocence in refusing to forget the fairies and pirates and flying friends.
The freedom to believe whatever your heart desires and your imagination can conjure.

I am going to Chapters first thing tomorrow to buy Peter Pan for the baby. This is a story that should be in every child's library. I think that this should be a prerequisite for all parents and parents to be. How else are you supposed to relate to the innocence of a child if you have forgotten the best part about being a child?

The story of Peter Pan could stand to find it's way into business as well. How many high level execs and sales people and staff in all industry are so overcome with stress and seriousness that they forget how to believe?

Believing will get you everywhere.

In other news on the baby front...

We had another ultrasound yesterday... I gather things went well, however I will not know until I see my midwife next. I was blessed with the opportunity to deal with the evil tech again so it was short but sweet with even a bit of rudeness to boot.
I am not going to post the picture since it was not a very good one but, it was still really neat to see the baby again. This will be the last ultrasound we are having unless there is a medical reason for another.
I started drawing a mural on the walls in the babies room the other day. I will post pictures when I am done.
Just a handful of days and I will be in the third trimester and then it is the home stretch :)
I am really getting excited to meet this little one, as tiring as I know it will be I have a feeling that I am about to embark on the most rewarding experience of my life.

Here's to believing!

Monday, May 23, 2005

Baby update

So I just got back from the midwife... I gotta say she is awesome!

Stats update for those of you who are following:

BP 120/73
Baby's HB 140
Fundus Height 27cm ( I am 25 weeks 4 days at this point so that is almost 2 weeks ahead)
Weight 158lbs... up 23 in total.

At this point I don't have to have a gestatinal diabetes test since I am not at risk... and everything is appearing to be great at this point... this makes me happy since I understand that it is not the most pleasurable thing. Touch wood lets hope that I don't have to have one.

Other than that all is well on the baby front. I have my third and final ultrasound on Thursday, then no more... they are so uncomfortable that i am glad that this is the last one.

In other news... I am now the proud parent of 4 black mollys... fish! My sister bought me and the baby an aquarium for my birthday and I christianed it with 4 fish... Eenie, Meenie, Miney and Moe!

Mr. Burns moved to the country... and got a haircut... he is very happy at Mom and Dad's.

I am still selling the Nissan if anyone wants it... $600 bucks or obo.

L8R all

Ahhh I love the country :)

Sunday, May 22, 2005

I Should Blog a bit...

Well it is a long weekend... exuse #1, I haev a M/W appt tomorrow I will blog then.

Thursday, May 05, 2005

Photolog of the Trip

Due to popular demand I have posted some of the trip for you all to see. Most of these pics we took are huge, like 2 megs so... if you want one for your wallpaper, email me or leave me a comment and I will hook you up.

Enjoy

L

I Love NY!

The View From Our Hotel During the Day

The View From Our Hotel @ Night

86 floors eh!

Don't fall 86 floors is a long way down!

Macy's Street Level

Macy's Top Down