As If Life Wasn't Busy Enough

We had to go and buy a new home...

Early in our search for a bigger home, I fell in love with a tiny place on Kenilworth Street. The house was completely redone and had never been lived in in its current renovated state. It was modern, with wonderful white kitchen cabinets and light granite counter tops, black subway tile back-splash, and wonderful brown hard wood throughout. The person who bought it, redid it and then had to give up living in it did a spectacular job and obviously had an enormous amount of style. The yard was also to die for and was exactly what John and I have always dreamed of having. I wanted it. But it had a very large flaw--the price. The home wasn't much bigger than this place (although it did have 4 bedrooms), but it wasn't worth the $700,000 the owner wanted. And, unfortunately, the owner was not willing to budge on the price. Sadly, we walked away.

Everything else we saw after Kenilworth fell short of our expectations. The house didn't have enough bedrooms on the main floor, too much work was needed to bring it up to the standard we expected, there was asbestos, the house was contaminated with oil, the kitchen wasn't configured properly, the street was ugly, the house too close to a main road, the ensuite was missing, the laundry room was in the dark and dingy basement... We got very picky after Kenilworth and we realized at some point that while we absolutely love the charm of the 1920-1950 style homes in older Ottawa, the vast majority of the houses in that age range would need fantastic amounts of work to bring them into the 2000's and provide us with the small luxuries to which we have grown accustom. We thought we might be able to buy a fixer-upper and do what the owners at Kenilworth did, but with a baby and a lot of other responsibilities, we weren't sure that was something we really wanted to get in to at this point. But then, just as I was starting to give up the search, we found our house.

The house is located in Westboro, 2 small streets North of Richmond, off Churchill. We are literally a 2 minute walk to a Starbucks and a Bridgehead (John's favourite cafe). While we still dream of Merrickville and the mansion we both instantly adored, I know that being close to amenities and the city life that Westboro offers is important for John's sanity. Being isolated in a small town, 1 hour away from friends and family would not be good for him. And to be honest, while I am disappointed that I will have to put my B&B/event planning dreams on hold, I would miss his family a lot and I think the isolation would get to me as well. I have lived in the country and I knew then, that while I grew up in a small town and should be accustom to simpler living, I am really a big city girl at heart. I want Rowan to have access to all kinds of things including theatre, community centers, the Y, biking, hiking, fishing, catching tad poles etc. All of these things can be done in some form from the city. It is harder to do them from the country. So, when we found a house that is in an older neighbourhood but that was newly built to have 4 large bedrooms, 4 gorgeous bathrooms, 2 fire places, hardwood, high ceilings, a kitchen fit for a chef, 2nd floor laundry, a cute little back yard, lots of storage, lots of parking (for family) and a bath tub big enough for a family, we jumped. The house feels good and we don't have to do a single thing to it, not even buy any blinds.

As you can imagine we are now frantically trying to prepare our current house to sell. It's not as easy as it sounds when you have a wee-one to work around. My parents are coming to visit this week and it will be a great help to have my mom around to occupy Rowan while I pack, clean and stage and pack some more. I will miss this house, the memories we made here and Puff will be sadly left behind. Although I love this house, it will be really nice to be in a place that John and I chose together for our family.

Baptism

John and I went to our church this week to arrange for Rowan's baptism. We originally planned to test run a bunch of parishes in the hopes of finding the *right* one in which we would be comfortable raising our son. What *right* was, I wasn't sure. But I knew we would know it when we found it. Turns out Our Lady of the Visitation, the first church we tried, had what we were looking for and we have been attending regularly since the beginning of the year. I like the church because it is small, unassuming, has beautiful purple stained glass windows, an okay choir and the priest is interesting and on the young side. John likes it because the priest educates during his homilies and while a few very hard-core catholic things slip in from time-to-time, generally speaking the place isn't too judgmental or preachy. Or, so we thought until we sat down with the Deacon and his wife...

Let me take a step back for a second before I describe our evening at the church to the phone conversation that John had with the Deacon's Wife while trying to set up this meeting. It went something like this (or so I imagine because I was only privy to one side of the conversation of course):

John: Hello?
DW: Is this John?
John: Yes.
DW: This is Mireille, from OLV calling about baptising your son (in a French accent).
John: Oh, Hello.

[Insert plesantries, a few minutes and several theres on the DW's part and ahhhs on John's part.]

DW: Are you practicing regularly?
John: Ahh...let's go with "rarely".

[At which point, with furious look on my face I mouthed "Give me the phone!" and I slapped my hand to my forehead]

DW: Silence.
John: Actually, what do you mean "practicing"?
DW: Do you go to Church?
John: Oh, yes. We've been going for some time.

[Nice recovery. Good thing she is French and there may be a language barrier I think to myself as I am sinking further into the couch]

DW: Alright then, the process is....
JOhn: We will be gone to England for about a month and we'll call you when we get back. Thank you for calling.

I told John that I would be doing all the talking from now on when the church called. (This sounds bossy, I know. But in critical times, being bossy is perfectly acceptable.) I had neglected until recently to explain to John just how catholic my family really is and well, while I don't exactly subscribe to the same beliefs anymore, the last thing I want is to be thrown out of a church and have my son denied his baptism. My grandmother, Aunt Norean (the oh-so-loved Nun), Uncle Charles (the equally loved Monsignor) and maybe even Uncle Bishop Papin would roll over in their graves. You see where I am coming from now right? It wasn't uncommon for us to have mass said in the living room where we were gathered as a family. I thought this was what happened in everyone's family when I was growing up but as an adult, I fully understand how *that* was not normal and with that knowledge comes the extra pressure to ensure that my son doesn't get stuck in purgatory (or worse) because his mother and father were somehow deemed "bad". I, of course fully believe in a much more accepting and forgiving God than what the Catholics in my life believe in, but that's not the point.

Needless to say, I was terrified of the meeting that we set up with the Deacon and his wife once we returned from our trip. I prayed for the 30 minute video that everyone else seems to get when they register their babies for baptism, but deep down, I knew that we wouldn't be so lucky. And I was right. We started with a prayer and then we were grilled for 3 hours. We had to talk about our names, the name we chose for our son and our "roots". I thought I would distract them by talking about my family, but it didn't work. They still wanted to know about John's story. He did so well. The entire time I was on the edge of my seat, waiting for something to happen but things ended without us being thrown out on our ears. In fact, we apparently come from very holy families and we are going to "do great things for the church". It was comical. I think all of my holy family members were up there laughing themselves in to tears (a true McColgan trait) watching us wiggle. Anyway, Rowan is going to be baptized on June 28th, 2009 and it will be a wonderful day and celebration. We want him to have his "roots" in a church regardless of whether or not he chooses a different religion (or no religion at all) when he grows up.

Yes, that is a me sighing a big sigh of relief.

Another Bun a Bakin'

So here is the official first photo of Baby Dempsey #2... I can't believe it still. I have a feeling this one will be noodleless. But, I have been wrong in the past. No matter what, this one is going to be just as beautiful as the first and equally loved by us all.

Dear Baby D2: This is your Aunt Jenny. I've known your mommy for a very very long time. Someday, when you grow up, you'll understand the importance of having lasting friendships and will appreciate how much your friends enrich your life. You'll do just about anything for them. That's how I feel about your mom (and now your dad too). So please, be kind to her (them). Take your time growing in there but we're waiting and hoping and loving you already.

~Aunt Jenny, Uncle John and Rowan.

Busy Bees

We've been busy. Busy looking for a new house, cleaning this one, doing yard work, and of course-playing. I think the frenzy of cleaning and preparing that I have been crazed by is related to feeling cooped up in the hive for too long and wanting to be ready for the nice warm weather. If the house is presentable then there will be more time to get outside with Rowan and do some exploring. Speaking of which, we tried out his new wagon and he loved it. It will be perfect for evening strolls with the dogs and some day, maybe it will be perfect for carting all of our fishing gear down to the river near our new home? Ah, the dreams we have... I think my rubber boots would be a lot less suspicious and conspicuous in the Glebe.

Curly Cue

When Rowan was born with fair skin and straight blond-like hair, I was stunned. I envisioned a little black curly haired cutie-pie my entire pregnancy. I hadn't settled on eye colour because I knew he could have blue or brown eyes but I was certain he would have dark curls. Well, his hair is still blond almost 8 months later but it does look like his new hair is growing in curly. I guess he did inherit more than just the chin dimple from his dad after all. I should mention that this hair-do did require a little hair product. I couldn't resist!

Little Red Wagon

Thank you Uncle Gihad and Auntie Caroline for my lovely Little Red Wagon.


~Love Rowan.

A Cake Fit For My Sister

Being milk/soy free really really stinks. But every once and a while it causes me to try new things and to be a little more creative with baking. This, for example, is probably the best cake recipe I have made and it is kind of my own. I had to modify a recipe I found on line, and with fingers crossed, it came out more than just fine. It came out beautifully. I made a single sized cake in a ramekin so that we could taste test it before serving it to guests at Lila's not-such-a-surprise-65th tomorrow afternoon. It was delicious served warm and paired with a semi soft non-milk/soy coconut ice cream (see recipe in January) that we made with equally milkless/soyless dark chocolate chunks and salted cashews. I am telling you, I missed my calling when I became an Industrial Hygienists. I guess the one good thing about crawling around dirty, grimy, asbestos and lead laden hell holes is that I can't gain 300lbs.

Margo--this one is actually *that* good too. Try it.

Cake Ingredients

• 2 ¾ cups of white flour
• 1.5 cups of cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 1/3 cups soy-free and dairy-free margarine (I used Becel)
• 1/3 cup of Apple sauce
• 1/3 cup of oil (I used corn oil)
  
• 2 ½ cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup of rice
  
• ¼ cup of maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons of vanilla

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly oil two 8” round cake pans and dust with cocoa powder.

2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.

3. In large mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer at a high speed setting, cream the margarine, apple sauce and oil with the sugar until *fluffy* (it won't actually get really fluffy. It stays rather dense) about 4 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well in between each addition. Add the rice milk, maple syrup and vanilla, beating until combined. Using a wooden spoon, stir the dry ingredients into the wet in several additions until just combined.

4. Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pans and bake for 40-50 minutes, rotating half-way through, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool completely on a wire cooling rack before frosting.

Frosting:

• 3 cups of icing sugar
• 1/2 cup of cocoa
• 1/2 margarine (used the becel again)
• a little vanilla
• 1/4 cup of water

Beat all the ingredients with a hand mixer until smooth.