Sure I'll sign your jersey....

Some athletes put themselves above all others. I guess if you have scouts drooling over you while you're in high school, making you all sorts of offers once you're eligible for College, giving you discreet "gifts" like cash and vehicles, signing you to a huge signing bonus once you are drafted, and then have legions of fans follow you around donning your name on their jerseys, it might be possible to get an attitude.

Alison has said before that professional athletes are one of the most over-paid professions around. I could not agree more.
Some are smart with their money and open a restaurant or sports bar. Others invest in the stock market. Then there are the few who take $80 000 in $1 bills to a strip club, or those who can't resist the temptation of drugs while they're playing....
If I had a multi million dollar deal to play a sport, that would be my main focus for the few years that I did play, then I would worry about everything else.

This post came to me as I heard about yet another football player who failed a third drug test, and is now suspended (without pay) for the entire year.

I was listening to the radio one day and they had a discussion about over paid professions. Dentists were another suggestion, saying that their dental hygenists do all the work, then the dentist come in, look at your mouth for 10 seconds, then say "see you in 6 months".

In our fair city, it seems as though the city bus drivers are always threatening the public with a strike vote. Their biggest complaint is wages, yet the bus fares go up each year, as do their wages.

I say if you want the best "gravy" job around, work for the Federal government. They've got it goooooood!!

Pets

I grew up with dogs and cats for most of my life.
I consider myself to be a dog person, and hopefully one day, my family will enjoy a dog, probably after we buy a house.
It's amazing how attached we get to our pets. When they die, it's like losing a part of your family.
My parents adopted a shepherd cross from the humane society a few years back, and finally old age caught up to her, and my parents had to euthanize her. The way they looked at it was that they gave her another 3 good years of life.
My parents are now talking about getting two new puppies. They are a Jack Russel/Westhighland Terrier cross, and will be a little easier to handle due to their size...
Now Ellery gets to (indirectly) have a dog. They will grow up with her, and she will know the joys of owning a dog, without dealing with the mess.

I've created (another) monster

My mom has been bugging me forever about Facebook. She always wants to go on there so she can see pictures of our family.
I finally explained to her that she needs to register, just like any other website.
Well, she has joined, and now it's Ali being bombarded with friend requests from my mom, and some other family that we really don't ever see.
Facebook is one of those things that we'd like to keep private. It's a chance to have some friendly banter with friends, and sometimes it's maybe some stuff that you don't want your parents to read.
Just like this blog, we keep this from certain people, because it's a chance to complain to your OTHER group of friends, without fear of backlash from family.

I just hope they keep it in control. Otherwise, I might have to take Facebook behind the barn and put it out of it's misery......

If you are who you say you are....

Why aren't Psychics weather forecasters?
They could say "It will rain until 11:07, then nothing but hot and sunny until 7:55 tonight."
We would never have any issues with the weather again.

I though of this at around 3 this morning, as I was in that half-awake-half-sleeping phase.

Furthermore, it is Friday night, time for a Bomber game, time for a win, and of course, there's rain in the forecast. Damn psychics. I want my money back.

When adults act like kids

One of my co-workers is turning 40 this weekend. She posted an open invitation in our staff room, so everyone knows that they're invited.
One of my other co-workers is celebrating her 5th year wedding anniversary this weekend. It's their tradition that they invite a bunch of their close friends to a BBQ, and have a friendly game of baseball.
The lady who's having her birthday party found out about this "other" party. She approached the other woman, and asked her to re-schedule her party because that was the day of her party....
The other woman was quick to respond that her get together was at noon and was expected to be done by 4 p.m. Suddenly, that was acceptable, and all is right with the world again.

The same woman who's having her 40th birthday this week was also mad at me.
One week before my birthday, I invited a few friends to join Ali and I, and go 5 pin bowling.
One of the girls that came out with us invited everyone back to her place afterwards for a few drinks. We declined, and headed home - unaware of the drama my actions were about to cause.
The next day, some of the people were talking about the bowling, and the shenanigans that followed at the "after party".
This woman overheard their conversation, and snipped "Chris never told me about this party. How come I wasn't invited?".
My first clue is, if somebody doesn't ask you to join them, you're probably not wanted. I guess that's just me...
Her next comment was priceless. She said "I WAS going to throw Chris a baby shower, but now he can forget it!".
What are we, eight?

So, my advise to everyone is to post a general invite, extended to all, even if you don't want everyone there. If you don't like the company, you can sneak out the back door.
There's never a shortage of drama at my workplace. It's a real-life soap opera, but with uglier people.

Today is the home opener for the Blue Bombers. Not only do I enjoy going to the games, it's the whole ritual of what my dad and I do.
We get to the stadium early, watch the pre-game warm up, enjoy a smokie or two, drink a cold beer, and just take in the smells and sounds of the game.
Again, I picture myself a few years down the road. My dad actually mentioned that once Ellery is old enough, we will have to buy a third season ticket so she can come out with us.

The best part about today is that I finally have a distraction away form the fact that I'm home alone for the entire week. It's wierd seeing an empty crib, or not hearing the usual baby sounds coming form the other room. After work each day, I come home and make myself supper, and then it's bedtime by 10:00. I feel like an old man....
I can't wait to see my girls again on Sunday night.

P.S. Thumbs up this week to Ali/Ellery, Theresa(thanks for the card) John, Reggie, and Zig.
Oh, and Phoung Nam Restaurant....

Lonely

Ali and Ellery are still in Ontario. I have been back in Winnipeg since Sunday, as my holidays are now done, and I have the work week from hell ahead of me. Friday is my only day off (Bomber home opener!!) then back for the weekend.

I don't know what to do. Ali hasn't been feeling that great lately, and at least I know she has her mom to help out, and do some baby sitting. If she were here, she'd be all alone during the day.

Work is as hectic as always. After almost 3 weeks off, you would think that the pace would slow down a little. Wrong. I guess car accidents and workplace mishaps didn't get the memo to take the summer off.

I think I'll curl up on the couch, watch a movie, then go to bed early tonight. Wait, I did that last night too...

Hurry up Friday!!!

I'm snoozing, in more ways than one

My apologies for not blogging lately.
It has been steady around here, and we're all trying to establish some sort of rhythm to our daily lives.
Ellery is sleeping pretty well, but is WIDE awake form midnight to 5 a.m. like clockwork....

My mother in law was in the city for the last few days, and we appreciated the help while I was at work. It's now my mom's turn to offer a hand for the next couple of days.
I got to thinking about all of the single mothers out there, or just any of the moms who do not have the supports that most people take for granted. I have a new found respect for motherhood, not that I ever thought it was easy, but it truly is a 24 hour per day job.

Our baseball season is now in full "swing" (pardon the bad pun) and luckily, I've made it out for our first week, but have missed the last few. I'm a little leery to play as often as I'd like, because I don't know how my back will hold out. Lately it's been feeling ok, but I think I'm due for another visit to Igor my Russian mafia masseuse...

After six long cold months, Blue Bomber training camp officially starts new week. This, as my readers may know, is my favorite summer past-time. I look forward to taking my daughter to games when she's older. This will be "our thing" until she begins hanging out with her girlfriends at the mall, or dating. I'll be sure to keep my shotgun close. Alright, change of subject, I just panicked a little.

I just thought of one of my bad habits that Ali truly hates. You know when you have "something" in your nose and a good hard blow just doesn't get rid of it? When this happens to me, I twist up a tissue and use my patented corkscrew technique which is 1.) highly effective and 2.) a better alternative than my finger.
Ali hates this, and I think she even gags once in a while. That remind me, I saw another lady picking her nose and then eating it in her car yesterday. I'm going to start keeping a count of how many disgusting people drive to work each day. Blech!

For my next few blogs, I'm going to give a special "thumbs up" to a person/people who I am thinking about or noticing a lot of lately.

Today's blog will include my best friend Mike, Ellen Degeneres, the Mallard ducks living in our pool, and our moms.

Stay tuned to see if you make the next list...

I've got a staring problem

Since the first day we brought Ellery home, I find myself unable to peel my eyes away from her.
If we're watching TV, Ali and I both jump up a commercials to check on the baby as she sleeps.

It is such an awesome feeling to have her right in front of us, after many years and countless heart breaking nights, thinking of the prospect of never having kids.
I now know what all fathers feel when they talk about their kids, and how they want to nourish them and protect them for the rest of their lives.
The funny thing about this whole experience is that I'm the one who tears up when I hold her, or say anything related to my little girl. I have never been so emotional. It's so bad I bawl when I see a certain commercial, or hear a certain song. I'm such a girl....

One of the thing that I enjoy most is watching our parents hold Ellery. I remember my mom running into the hospital room for her first visit. She immediately started crying, and kept repeating "Oh my God, she's beautiful." At one point, she actually stomped her feet and flailed her arms a little. I think she might have a bit excited to finally become a grandma. Again, I cried, but so did everyone else in the room.
Our parents now look for any excuse to come into the city, or give us a call to see how she's doing.

I am so thankful to finally have this little miracle baby here in our lives. Now our family is complete.

Update

While I sit here at home, fresh from the shower and two whole hours of sleep, Ali is at the hospital right now with our little Bean....

Bear with us people, I want Ali to handle the introductions. Think of this as a final "teaser" until you get all the details tomorrow when we return as a family!!!


I hope you can handle the suspense!

(And sorry for leading everyone on, but you had to wait this long, what's one more day?)

Now, try to get some sleep before the grand announcement. I didn't.

I guess I'm not as patient as I thought

Yesterday consisted of getting an early morning call to the hospital, only to wait, wait, and wait some more.
After almost 7 hours of monitoring, walking, and more monitoring, they sent us home to hopefully have contractions and maybe even some labor symptoms....

It's easy to see that nothing has happened so far, and I can only imagine the stress that our parents and friends (and fellow bloggers) are experiencing. Every time the phone rings, we're hoping it's that call back to the hospital. I've done this trip so many times already, I think I can set the cruise control on our car and it can find it's own way there. I hate waiting by the phone.

To add to my impatience, daytime television is full of programs such as Bringing Home Baby or Baby Story. We're surrounded by babies, just not the one that matters to me the most.

So here we sit, bags packed, list of phone numbers I have to dial after the bean's arrival, MP3 player to listen to music, magazines to read, and snacks to enjoy.

All we need now is for that phone to ring.....and some comfy seats for support people in the hospital rooms.

Hug a nurse

This week in the U.S., and next week here, it's National Nurse's week.
I've been nursing for almost 4 years now, and I can honestly say that this is the best career choice that I have ever made.
With nursing, some people think that we just hand out pills. I can assure you, in my workplace alone, we do way more than that.

The one thing that people may not consider about nursing, is that there is plenty of patient teaching, and counselling that goes unnoticed. We explain the patient's medical condition, common treatments for the same, possible options and expectations for their hospital stay.
We also advocate for our patients. Many people are afraid to ask a doctor to repeat him/herself, and say "yes, I understand" only to have more questions than when the doctor first arrived.

I think I enjoy the patient teaching the most. In a previous post, I mentioned that I would love to be a nursing instructor one day, and my everyday work experience will help me along the way.

I watched Martha Stewart today while waiting in the hospital lounge. I had to laugh when she appeared on camera wearing nursing scrubs. If only she knew what kinds of debris hits those pink scrubs, she would not think that "was a good thing...".

So this week (or next) hug a nurse. Tell them you appreciate them, and that they are doing an excellent job. And then buy them cookies.

So, that's the name you picked...

A while back, Alison ordered a necklace with our baby-to-be's name on it.
Seeing it for the first time printed on something really made me happy. Even as we make lists now, and write down the name, it gives me goosebumps. This is the necklace to the right, and don't worry, the name has been blurred out.

We keep telling everyone that the name we have selected is uncommon, but hardly weird.
Probably the weirdest name I've heard from a friend was a co-worker naming her daughter Zuzu. Yes, Zuzu. That's not a nickname, as it was in "It's a Wonderful Life", but her actual first name. I hope for her sake, they call her by her middle name - Kaleigh.

When we were first selecting names, we had a laugh at the author when it was obvious that she had exhausted her baby name bank. After a while, it was like she wasn't even trying with names such as Post, Den, and Hall.

So far, the pool at work is about 50/50 with guessing if it's a boy or girl. My colleagues have suggested some pretty interesting names, but I am trying to listen to their parenting tips.

I have 13 shifts left until some much needed holidays. This is the first year I was able to get a 2 week stretch off together, and with my regular days off, it works out to be almost 3 weeks off.
We're planning on having lots of family/friends time (Hello Mike/Irene) and even a trip out West to visit my favorite cousin.

Bring on the warm weather, sandals, and of course, the diaper bag....

The click that changed my life...

Today we installed the car seat. Actually, it's now called a "carrier system" which includes the base, car seat, and the stroller. The colour won't give anything away either, it's called "green tea".

After I heard the clicking sound to say that the seat was firmly locked in place, it was official.
I had to drive down Portage Avenue to drop off our income tax, and I noticed that I had already modified my driving. I was more cautious, and was noticing all of the bad drivers.

I'm already dreading the first drive home after the baby is born. Alison and I joke that I'll be driving in the slow lane with my four way flashers on, cursing every driver that comes too close for comfort.

We've also installed a web cam, so if we can show our parents how to access the camera from their computers, they can see us and the bean, and capture how quickly he/she will change...

As Canadian as...

There are a few stereotypes that Canadians cannot shake.
One is our apparent love of maple syrup. Granted, we love syrup, but no more that our American friends on the East coast that produce a similar sweet treat.

Another stereotype, which I cannot believe, is that we live in igloos. Seriously? It's 2008.

I've been asked by a Texan once if Canada had electricity. Ouch.

As Canadians, we say "eh". Not every second word, but we say it. It's very comparable to an American "huh" after every sentence.

The idea to this post hit me tonight, while I was watching hockey. (A true Canadian passion)
I thought of certain hockey fans booing certain hockey teams. I'd love to remind them that half of the roster for any NHL team calls Canada their homeland, but they wouldn't want to hear it.

On a side note, the riots that occurred in Montreal following their first round victory was deemed to be a well thought out plan by a small group of hooligans, who used the final victory as an excuse to burn police cars, and loot a few stores. It would have been considered a little more well thought out if the idiots didn't videotape this with their cell phones and DVD recorders. The police simply are searching Youtube/Facebook, and arresting these tools one by one.
I've been pretty excited about my teams in the past, but have never considered throwing a brick through a window or setting fire to a car to say "Wooo!!!". Maybe I'm not so hardcore after all....