"brother, brother..."

GUEST PHOTOS: PowerMan 1; Supermodel D & SDJ at Busch Gardens in Miami, Florida (in November!)
SDJ feeding Giraffes. This is my favorite thing about any zoo.
PowerMan's BFF (from University. Hope you can read his shirt); PM1, SD, BFF's wife & new baby, someone I don't know and BFF's eldest daughter. Everyone in this picture speaks better Spanish that PM (little family joke)
PM and his new God daughter -- too beautiful for words!

Yes, it's still my blog; but I had to juxtapose the frigid Thanksgiving I had with the trip my brother, his wife and daughter took to MIAMI to become the God parents of my brother's best friend's daughter. Now...names - oh wait - I don't use real names. OK, so my brother is PowerMan 1 with his wife, Supermodel D, and their daughter, SDJ (Sammy Davis Junior) -made famous by the Kelly Clarkson concert this past summer. Supermodel D has family living in Miami (Florida, BTW) and PM1's best buddy also lives there, so the Godparent invite was too tempting to pass up. PM's family spent the "traditional" Cuban-American Thanksgiving playing touch football in Spanish. They also had a lovely T-day eating their brains out, according to my sister-in-law who doesn't look any less like her supermodel self after days of eating. There are some more pictures of SD's family, I'll have to research names and add them later.

On the today front - it's warmed up to a comfy -5 Celcius (23F) and I almost decided to picnic in the snow with Buck. I actually let him sit in the cart while I loaded the groceries into the back of the car. Now that's warm! It's been a good day - RKZ has a business dinner tonight which means (drumroll) Popcorn and Diet Iced Teas in front of the television for mommy. Yes, if it were possible, I would eat nothing but popcorn, pizza and Diet drinks. Darn that husband and baby who need balanced meals!

Well - I'm off to unpack the groceries. I can't believe I used to have them delivered in Toronto and yet I get them myself here....where it's freezing...no--way below freezing. And the rumor is now that Toronto is "unseasonably warm." AHhHhh! Somehow, this is all Al Gore's fault :)
More tomorrow!

"...But the fire is so delightful..."

Buck walking Daddy in a Banff alley. This is last week, so RKZ doesn't have a coat.
Partridges in our back yard. Yep - no pear tree no gold rings...just a bunch of birds trying to pick through our gopher and snow decimated yard. It was cool though.
They flew away when I opened the back door to get a better picture. That never happens at the zoo!

Yeah. It's -26 degrees Farenheit today. That's -32 c if you're comparing. Yeah. It's cold. It's so cold that exposed skin could freeze after 10 minutes.

And yet, the sun is shining like crazy. At least it's not gloomy and overcast (which all my meterologist friends tell me makes it warmer). I have switched to wearing pants instead of shorts indoors, so I did turn the heater down to save a little energy. I have big plans to actually buy some food today & maybe make it to the mall. They have underground parking at the local mall, so we never need to really go outside. It's good to be North American.

I've been following the big Alberta Premiere race here (Governor for you stateside). Very similar to the US - a lot of mudslinging followed by some back-pedalling. Moral grandstanding and not too much being accomplished. Same issues as in the US, but Canadians (in government) mostly seem to pretend that's not true. Also, Quebec was given "nation within a nation" status and nobody knows what that means. The news people seem to think that the Native Canadians (First Nations/Indians - feather) are going to be demanding nation status next - so there will be a lot of people who don't know who they are (nation-wise) demanding rights that no one understands. Good times. I'm waiting for Texas to get wind of this.

Bad mommy was a trip to a second Gymboree this morning where I let Buck go down a slide alone and he fell off the side (like 6 inches). The poor dad next to the slide freaked out but Buck didn't even cry. I hear that children of abuse become quite tough. He's fine. We'll get a cat scan later.

"Baby it's cold outside..."

Pa Joad having a Coke at our kitchen bar. This is right after they arrived.
Ma Joad getting the band back together.
Gma J and her walker were on tamborine (or baby shaker toy).
Buck was on percussion (baby pot and ladle)
A small picture of the band for the cover
Buck's favorite toy during the visit was Gma's walker. Both of them practiced their walking a number of times a day.

A few first thoughts: My parents are not still here. These are the pictures I took last week that I didn't post. Now that I am on top of the posting (every day, remember?), I am using the pictures from last week because they're still cute. I talked to my folks this morning and they were heading out of Elko and should be in Reno by tonight. Next thought: it's currently NEGATIVE 25 DEGREES CELCIUS (-13 F) here in Calgary. Yes, that's right - it is officially "butt-ass cold." Forgive my language - but this is the type of weather for which swearing should be presevered. Feel free to add a comment if you simply have never been in weather this cold. Feel free to come up and experience it. We're inside a lot. My favorite is that the humidity that builds up on the insides of the windows (between the windows and the blinds) actually freezes into a layer of ice covering the window inside the house. I currently have towels in all of our bedroom window sills. We live in a version of the ice hotel (and it could cost that much after we get our heating bill. I have shorts on right now).

Rumor has it that the spring will come. I already can't wait to get to balmy Colorado for Christmas. A couple that we're friends with here has asked us to go with them to cut down our Christmas tree -- uhhh...it sure as heck better get a little warmer first or that white tinsel tree we bought for the WT Christmas party might be all Buck gets this year.

It is also snowing. But those might be flurries. I can't tell if the wind is whipping up the snow already present or if the smoke & steam being released from our chimney (and those of our neighbors) is just freezing as it comes down. I haven't been outside today, so I can't tell you if I would simply freeze on the spot, but RKZ did shovel snow before work this morning and his face was still chilly after 10 minutes in the house. He's seriously my hero at this point. We are hoping to get his car into the garage tonight since he had some trouble starting it this morning (yikes). We watched some golf televised from Palm Springs the other day and I almost started to cry. Freekin' losers with their sunglasses on. They were wearing them just to spite me.

Bad mommy moment will go on all day as I scavenge (is that the word, E?) our pantry for something for Buck to eat since I have no intention of going to the grocery store today. I think he might like beets from the can. That's what Daddy's getting for dinner.

"Should old aquaintance be forgot..."

Daniel stole one of the bowls off the Thanksgiving table and pretended to eat from it.
This is him pretending to eat.
"What? I'm eating here."

Well...it's the feast of Christ the King today -- the New Year's Eve of the RC Church. So, we went to a really nice brunch that was organized by some friends in Regnum Christi (www.regnumchristi.org). There were tons of families and good food. It's a nice group of people and we had a really good time. Must have been at least 75 kids, so Buck was never bored. There was even a kids' snow sport tourneyment (spelling?) after we ate - sledding and races etc. I didn't see it but I heard it was fun. The entire group had a special Mass later in the afternoon, so it was a long day towards the end. We did have a nice "1 1/2 year old" circle in the back of the Church where we all just listened to our kids cry from fatigue, but even that was ok since we were all in it together.

Happy New Year to fellow Catholics. It's a good time to have a mini celebration. Feel free not to celebrate if that's not your thing.

Speaking of celebrating, I actually ordered nice Christmas cards from shutterfly.com. I was feeling particularly prideful about them until I reviewed my order (they've already shipped). I have a HUGE typo inside of the card. If you are bothering to read this, you'll probably get a card, so you can feel free to laugh at me. I will be spending some time after they arrive editing the cards. Nightmare. Nice ex-English teacher. I'm sure I won't hear the end of that.
If you feel merciful, just focus on the pictures at the front. We actually took a picture all wearing the same color (of course, Buck is not wearing shoes, but I liked the picture). We will never be the Norman Rockwell family at this point, so why bother?

On a final note, RKZ has said to inform everyone reading that he has officially given up on Jake Plummer and he is waiting for Jake Cutler to start for the Denver Broncos. This is a very big step for the Grady household as Shawn has never turned his back on one of his own before. There was mourning. But some deficiencies cannot be ignored. Go Broncos (and God Bless America). Oh, God bless Canada too.

"It's the most wonderful time of the year"

Pa Joad in his TV stance :)
Buck looking out at the Partridges (check back tomorrow for pictures!)
Gma J catching up on some reading by the fireside.

True to my word, I am posting today. TWO DAYS IN A ROW, for those of you keeping score :)
RKZ, Buck and I are cleaning today & putting away laundry. I also have to pick up some balloons for a Regnum Christie Eucharistic Vigil for the feast of Christ the King (CTK). FYI, CTK is the last day of the Roman Catholic calendar -- an unofficial Catholic New Years Eve, if you will. It is also one of the Church's greatest feasts. It's actually tomorrow (hence the word "vigil"). Regardless, I'm not totally sure about the balloons, but it's a party and I'm new to the group - so what can you do?

It is quiet and a little sad with the Joads gone. They called and have safely crossed the border (even after forgetting their passports). There was a hassle coming up from the Canadian guards (I guess they thought it was an elderly lady smuggling) but the US let them right through. We were glad. Buck keeps yelling "Na Na." He's been so spoiled with all three of his grandmas here over the last few weeks. I hope he doesn't sink into a depression for the next 30 days before we head out to Colorado for Christmas.

Tomorrow, I will also give some low down on my latest foray into the social scene here in Calgary: lipo & botox & trophy wives - O my!

"I just want to celebrate..."

The ice man cometh as our Canadian Safari Guide is given a free pass from the hospital just to attend our Thanksgiving day celebrations. He had to return to his unit later in the evening, but it was a great sign that he could come out at all. We were very excited!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you in the United States! I realize that none of you will be looking at your computers today (it's a day late anyway); but I figured that if you review the posts you've missed, you might enjoy knowing what we did here in the great white north. Also, my Canadian friends don't have these days off, so here is (finally) something to read from me.

Ma & Pa Joad and Gma Jody have been here all week & I've been sleeping in like a pro while attending my mom's groups sans baby. It's been a nice break for me (although RKZ has had to work up this week). Of course, my parents are well on their way to creating a monster. The child doesn't have a calm moment when he is not being carried around or playing musical instruments or creating a "train" with Grandma Joad and his walking toys. I'm afraid that Buck will be sorely disappointed when dull mommy takes over again tomorrow morning.

I hereby promise to post everyday from now on. I am feeling remiss in my lack of posts. I have saved some photos from this week to fill in any dull spots over the coming days - so if you are a regular reader, there should be some relatively entertaining stories over the next while. The first installment is actually a collection of our Thanksgiving dinner pictures. We were blessed to have Shawn's friend/co-worker and his family for dinner - as well as CSG.
Laura & Greg with RKZ in our dining room.
CSG, Gma J & Ma Joad on the other side of the table. CSG spent a good deal of the night entertaining us with stories of Ireland.
Taylor (daughter of Greg & Laura). She was a great help with Buck before he passed out from fatigue. She is a first-grade domino.
Mason (Taylor's older brother). Mason was excited about drinking his Diet Cokes as quickly as possible.

More Thanksgiving photos tomorrow - today we're off to visit Santa (yeah!)

"I only want to see you laughing in the purple rain"

Buck after his bath of prunes...
You want some?
How 'bout a blueberry?
I can feed myself prunes. You might think they're gross, but they are like chocolate pudding to me...
and they keep you regular. Hey, Where're you goin?


Ahhh - our boy can feed himself (and his shirt & face & bib & chair). The joys of independence.

The Joads cometh -- they began their drive from Reno, Nevada today. I will keep you posted with any updates. And I love my family today.

"Ode to Ikea"

Ode to Ikea**

Oh marvelous store for do-it-yourselfers
We are the groupies who stalk all your shelvers
and ask them if they can find bed-sets and lamp shades
We fill up our mini-van with cushions and cheap plates.
Our latest excursion to buy a new guest bed
left us bamboozled & one with a sick head.
The boxes too lengthy to fit in our car
RKZ was left wondering if we'd gone too far.
But the prices had been great and with promise & some smarts
He separated both boxes and simply loaded parts.
Poor Buck was an orphan all bundled for the weather
He decided to poop to make the whole day just better
Bad mommy had forgotten to bring a spare diaper,
or a sippy cup, or change of clothes or even a wiper.
So Ikea, O, Ikea, the friend of the masses
simply saves the day for the mommies who are asses.
Their change rooms are plush and their freebies amazing.
With "take a diaper if you need one" and mobiles for Buck's gazing.
Ikea, O, Ikea, we hardly knew the joy
We'll be back so so soon, friend
With our poopy boy.

**An ode is a poem that is written for an occasion or on a particular subject. They are usually dignified and more serious as a form than other forms of poetry. Unfortunatly, today's society has distinctly less respect for propriety, morality, and dignity. Modern odes include sarcastic poems about various subjects, including velcro and vegetables. There are several versions and differing opinions on what the rhyme form for an ode should be. In light of these disputes, many educated persons are of the opinion that they are simply poems that contains some form of rhyming pattern which are about a certain subject and contain the word "ode" in the title. Some restrictions are sure to apply.

"Baby you can drive my car!"

Uhh...I think it's broke, Dad.
How do I get out of this thing?
Just leave it like this. I'll pretend it's a space ship or something.
Got it. Look out fires of Discovery Ridge!

So do you know anything about these plastic Little Tikes cars? Yeah, they're the devil's cars. The reason I know this is that Buck received one from the Duke & Duchess and he hasn't left it since. Also, we had some other kids over & the three boys (there was one, lonely girl) spent almost 2 hours fighting over who got to sit in it. Buck spent about 15 minutes pushing another boy in the car & that seemed to work. Eventually, we had to "park" the car in the "guest-room garage" due to fears that it would come to blows. Kids cannot get enough of this molded plastic buggy.

Of course, the Duke & his lovely wife gave the "tricked-out" fire-engine version equipt with push-button siren. I am constantly in a state of alert these days -- except I never need to ask "where's the fire?" I just need to know where the fire truck is.

Things have settled after the whirl-wind visit (is that the way I should spell "whirl-wind"?) It was so great to see the D & D. We stayed up playing cards and visiting and spent the days decorating the house and receiving too many great gifts. Buck has spent the first few days crawling to the top of the basement stairs and yelling down. I think he is looking for his grandparents to come up and slather him in affection. Good times.

Tomorrow is "Rememberance Day" in Canada where we celebrate the men and women who have fought and died for this country's freedom. I bought a red poppy the other day (everyone wears read poppies to show support here) and the veteran said, "People are just wonderful to give so much support." I said to him, "You are the ones who are wonderful. You have done so much for the world." It's just true.

One of the biggest things for us personally is that RKZ has tomorrow off from work. It will be nice to spend some quiet time together. I will post again tomorrow. Right now I am going to have a beer.
See ya!

"Rocky Mountain HIIGH..."

Canmore, Alberta -- this is the "Three Sisters" (or 4 cousins or something like that)
The Duchess, RKZ, Buck and The Duke in Canmore (Grandma had bought something at this point)
A larger view of the previous picture. We parked in the valley below a number of mountains. It was a little like a European town.
The Duchess outside of the local brewery shop. She looks happy to buy a little beer :)
This is the girl who works in the brewery shop. We bought 2 12-packs and she gave us 4 x-large Octoberfest shirts. We were excited, so I took a picture of her. She wasn't interested in seeing the blog. Too bad - now she's on it.
We think these are the 3 sisters again. They get around.
The Duke shows off his newly purchased beer (notice that RKZ holds the other box). Buck looks very excited in his pack.
Yet another view of Canmore's mountains. I looked like the world's biggest tourist taking all of these pictures.
More mountains in the fog. It wasn't too cold this day, but the fog made it beautiful.
A romantic family moment in the street.
This seemed like a European street to me. We'll pretend this is the Alps.
View from the car window on the drive from Calgary (about an hour)
Buck enjoying his Bruchetta.
A serious Duke and Duchess
This is how they really are :)

OK, so it's not Colorado -- but it is still the Rocky Mountains -- and they are breath-takingly beautiful. We've had a great visit with Grandma and Grandpa. I will attach photos of Buck's new car tomorrow. We've obviously been too busy to get anything new posted - but here are some pictures to explain all that we've been up to (NEASWAP).

Bad mommy - oh...you'll see some pictures tomorrow.