Adventures in Calgary

We've had a lot going on the last little while. Here are some of the highlights...

We've hired contractors to come in and finish our basement. The work starts Monday! We're doing a full-finish with a living area (with gas fireplace), bathroom (with custom shower) and laundry room. We're also getting some custom millwork done (entertainment unit, and built in shelves in the bathroom). I can't wait to see it all come together. We hired Sticks and Stones to do the design. We've had to change a couple of things since their first design but overall getting a designer early on really helped us decide what we wanted.

In preparation for this major project, I've been spending all of my days and some of my nights trying to clear out the basement. YUCK! We should be completely done today though so at least I'll have one day to relax before starting my NEW JOB!

I start working at Karo tomorrow! I'm really looking forward to the change.

Molly is doing well. I took her into the doctor again this week because she still has a rattly cough and is wheezing a bit. Turns out it's probably bronchitis brought on by the croup. They're just going to let it run its course though since she's in great spirits, sleeping and eating well.

Molly's language is really coming along. She seems to have so many words in her head right now that she just has to let them out in a constant stream. From the moment she wakes up its "blanket, baby, sleep sac, couch, TV, fishies, fan, diaper..." basically anything she sees or thinks about gets named in no particular order.

We're also starting to toilet train Molly...or more accurately, she's showing an interest in potty training so we're going with it. She really seems to like the idea but hasn't had any success yet. In fact we had one 'code brown' this week...YUCK is all I'm going to say about that.

Noel was away in Edmonton for work this week. He's still got a cough too. But I think this house of plague is finally on the mend.

We finally heard back from Westjet that they are NOT going to replace our cameras that were stolen from our luggage after it was check in. And I don't think we're going to bother going through our insurance at this point. So no photos for a while. I might try to get my digital camera back from my parents at Thanksgiving so we're not totally without a camera but we'll see.

Today was my last day at Y&R Calgary. It was pretty low key (thankfully). The gang took me out for lunch. There was cake. I even got to try out the new office pool table before leaving. It still doesn't seem real. I'm sure it will once Wednesday rolls around and I start driving to work (via the day home of course) and hopefully start in on my new healthier regime. I plan on eating healthier (should be very easy since all I've been eating lately is crap) and running at lunch.

Molly is still fighting off the last of the cold virus that caused the croup last weekend. She was a total snot nosed, crusty-greener kid today. YUCK! I never thought I'd have one of those but I was sooooo wrong.

We decided that we're going to go ahead and do the basement this fall. The work is going to start on Monday the 24th of Sept and it should take 15 working days to be complete. We're going to hold off on getting new furniture for down there for a while. We'll just move the couch from Molly's room down for the time being and get an inflatable bed for company that comes. We're also going to stick with our current TV until it dies. I can't wait to see what the house will be like and how our usage patterns will change once it's done. I want to make the loft into a dress-up dance party area for Molly. And I figure we can get her a real bed once the couch is out of her room. Exciting times!!!

We only got to spend one day/night with Auntie Barb and Uncle Norm but what a fun filled time it was. We got to visit with all our former neighbours (sadly we didn't get to see Rob/Cyndy/Ruby or Brynna) and we got to meet Stacey and Andrew's little Ella. We were surprised at how much Molly loved swimming in the lake. It was hard getting her out of the water! Uncle Norm taught us how to cook a primo grilled cheese sandwich. Auntie Barbie got lots of good cuddles in with Molly. We miss them so very much. It was hard to say good bye.

We were lucky to get a visit in with Deb and her baby Helen. Sadly shirtless Dave was unable to attend.

Our trip to Ottawa was wonderful. We got to spend some real quality time with Noel's grandparents. Molly just loved their house and backyard. She especially liked the kid sized "tv chair" that they had from when Noel's dad was a kid. Grandma Flatters even got out Michele's old china tea set from when she was a kid and Molly thought that was pretty cool. While in Ottawa we also got to go to the Carleton Place Nursery to visit with Noel's Aunt Heather and Uncle Dave. I just love walking around out there. They've done such an amazing job creating a wonderful place to shop for plants. I just wish I could get my gardening stuff there.

We got to have a fabulous visit with Gram Corkey. She wasn't feeling the greatest that day but I think she still got a kick out of Molly "helping" water her flowers. At one point Molly dropped the hose and ended up soaking herself. So fun. I think my parents have a similar photo of me on Gram's front porch. Sadly Aunt Carol and Pierre were away on holidays so we didn't get to see them while we were in town.

We had a fabulous time visiting Mom and Dad in Hamilton. Dad put up a swing in the backyard for Molly - which she loved. Mom dug out my old cabbage patch doll for Molly to play with - also a big hit. Molly's been able to say Cookie for a while and on this trip she started calling Dad "Bunka"...it's close to Grandpa I guess.

Last weekend we ended up rushing Molly to the hospital when she woke up at 11 pm struggling to breathe. We'd had sushi earlier for dinner so I thought she might be having an allergic reaction to shellfish but it turned out it was croup. This comes on the heals of Chicken pox, and pink eye. It's been a tough fall for all of us.

In other news, I've accepted a job at Karo and start next week. And we're hoping to start our basement renovations in the next week or two. We're still waiting to hear from Westjet about replacing the cameras that were stolen from our luggage on our flight back from Ontario so no new photos. I will be trying to finish posting the photos from our trip to Ontario over the next couple of days.

Sorry it's taking me so long to update the blog with the rest of our vacation photos. Work has been insanely busy lately (we're shooting 4 new Paul Brandt Ford commercials) and Noel and Molly have both been sick. I hope to start uploading again soon.