Soon to Be Four

We had our first over night guests this weekend. Ana, Chris, Emily (and Deuce still hidden away in that belly) arrived Saturday just in time for meat sauce and spaghetti (for the 3rd day in a row). Emily enjoyed it as much as Rowan did and after the babes were tucked away in bed, the adults had steak, brussel sprouts ("you'd like them this way") and an asian noodle conction. I ate too much but still attempted to eat my ice cream sundae. John had to take it away from me before I threw up though. I don't know what my problem is, I am like a dog who can't stop eating a bag of dog food it has ripped open! It's disturbing. Anyway, the food and company were great and we were very sad that the family couldn't stay longer. But, the next time we see them there will either be a new baby already here (because she/he decided to make his/her appearance while we were across the ocean) or the baby will be arriving and we'll be driving like maniacs down the 401 to be there to watch over Emily and keep her occupied. Either way, soon there will be 4 of them to love and miss and *that* is going to be just wonderful.

My Little and Big Arabs (Eh-Rabs)

Last night at bed time it occurred to me that all of John's friends have "mixed race" babies (and those who don't have babies yet will eventually fit in to this category as well). I guess *this* is a sign of what the future holds. Maybe a time when "race" isn't even in the dictionary anymore? It is after all, a made up concept. Genetically, race does not exist. But, I have to tell you, mixed-babies sure are cute and I wouldn't give up my little (or my big) Arab for the world.

I am not surprised that I married a person from a different culture than my own (do I even really have a culture? I am a mix of many things. Is that what defines Canadian cultures?). I have always been attracted to dark, strange men. But, I have to admit that I am slightly surprised that I chose a person who is Lebanese. Why? Well, my first experience with a Lebanese happened in 3rd year University and it was far from positive. I was the Residence Assistant (RA) in the Maritime Residence and I had this Lebanese master student living in my house. He described to me how his family had left Lebanon during the war. I had never met a person of my own age (or close to it) who had lived through a war and I thought he might be interesting even though I could never quite figure out the pronunciation of his name. I would now pronounce his name without issue, but at that time I was still quite "white" and had had very little exposure to different cultures. Ironically, it was the year that I had to deal with many cultural issues in my house (including having to ask an Asian woman to stop cooking the foul smelling food she was concocting in her room because everyone was complaining and it was after all "illegal" to have appliances in a dorm room). Anyway, this master student attached himself to me. He would call me at bazaar times of the day, he would come to my room and cry, he would insist we watch french foreign films together in my room (I kept the door open) and then he bought me a very expensive poster which, really was the last straw. I was thoroughly disturbed and I think he sensed it because all of my awkwardness lead to a tearful conversation about how he was accused of sexual harassment in his lab. EEEK. He gave me the serious creeps and, being the person responsible for the house, I really couldn't do much about my discomfort. I was really happy when he stopped calling me and I moved the heck off campus. I associated this negative experience with Arabic men. It didn't last long because I of course, recognized what that meant about me and being narrow minded (or racist) was not something that I aspired to be. Instead, I learned to avoid weak, weepy, clingy men who have mental health issues. It opened up the dating pool A LOT as you can imagine.

Skip ahead 14 years and here we are. I married a man who is the complete opposite of weak and clingy (although weepy at times). He also knows how to tie a wicked head scarf in seconds. Check him out!

Random Shots Around the New Hood

Rowan really enjoys his new home and all the space that it has to offer. Maybe it is the new skills he has acquired or maybe it is just the house, but he loves to chase us on his hands and knees and will try to find us in different rooms. In fact, tonight, he didn't want out of the bath and came flying around the corner out of his room and directly into the bathroom where I was still soaking. He wanted back in with mommy. Perhaps he wanted to shoot a few more hoops (thanks to Aunt Jen he has a bath basket ball net and he showed us tonight how he can put the balls in and let them drop)? He is unreal and never ceases to amaze us.

Anyway, here are a few random shots around the hood (well, the house really. It has been raining since we moved here for the most part). We have only been here 2 weeks but we have already forgotten Findlay Creek (but not Puff of course).

Pffff....Spaghetti

Last night John fed Rowan his first meal of homemade meat spaghetti and he LOVED it. How do we know? Well, he screeched a lot and got very upset when the first bowl of it was gone. He had seconds. I guess mommy isn't a bad cook. While we adored watching him slurp and gobble up the noodles (which were cut but still a little long), it was his newest trick that had us laughing ourselves silly. John blew on the noodles to cool them down and out of no where, we heard a little "Pfffffff" and that was immediately followed by a huge smile and fierce hand clapping. He was so proud of himself to have successfully executed his very first blow. We were pretty proud too.

Here are a few photos of Rowan enjoying left-overs today.

The Kiddie Pool

We are so lucky to have not one, but two outdoor wading/swimming pools within walking distance to our new place. We took Rowan for a dip and while he was interested in the other kids (who were a lot older than he was), he really liked a red ball and boat best.

Our Trip To BR

We were in BR the first week of June (see John's entry) and I neglected to post the pictures we took of Rowan with Grammy and Poppa. As you can see, not only did we get a lot of playing in, I got a lot of relaxing in too. Ah, gotta love home.

We hope to make it back to BR before the summer is out so that we can take Rowan to the beach and visit with the family again. We aren't sure whether or not that will happen at this point since we will be heading to Europe in 2 weeks, then we have to be in TO for the birth of Baby Derksen, and that brings us to the end of August when I go back to work (*sigh*). We have to get the mutts back somehow though and so it might just work out. We'll see. I would sure like to see Poppa and Rowan in the pool again too...

We've Moved

Somehow we pulled it off. It wasn't easy. There were many many hurdles to be overcome including the driveway that wasn't cured, the rain, the permit and safety requirements, and the mobile child who requires every ounce of our attention when he is awake. But we did it. We have been living in our new house in our new neighbourhood for a week now and we love it. We've been welcomed by our neighbours, some of which have been living here for 45 years. It is very different than our old community which really, wasn't very community like at all. We've found the parks, the swimming pools, the YMCA, the grocery stores and all of the coffee shops within walking distance. We are still buried in boxes, but, that really isn't a big deal because we have the rest of our lives here to unpack.

I feel a little bit like Annie when she moved in to Daddy Warbucks mansion... "I think I'm gonna like it here!"