Although I don't believe in dump-posts

I am going to have to sum-up.
Life is not slowing down to allow me to blog about it.

As one awesome lady put it lately, "You're not supposed to have enough time to do everything you have to do. That forces you to choose." And making choices is largely what we are here to learn how to do well.

Definitely feeling the reality of not having enough time to do much of what I would choose. Plus the reality of not always being wise with the time I do have (my massive slothful streak)..... dangerous combination.

Anyhow... so.... Quebec and back again.

Thursday we drove 6 hours to Plattsburg, NY.
(The sun was bright, I wore Mr Renn's sunglasses over my glasses in an (successful) effort to thwart a headache.)

During those 6 hours we repeatedly bribed Sir O with the econolodge's swimming pool. Too bad both their indoor and outdoor pools were FREEZING. Due to the freezing-ness, the Captain appears to have caught the sniffles and has them still.


Friday morning we arrive in Canada and kiss our ability to read important traffic signs goodbye.

We met up with Mr Renn's parents who, after auditing French courses at WSU, decided to spend a month in Quebec to polish their skills via immersion. (For cool, huh?)
We packed light, so once we arrived in Quebec city, we were able to settle in quickly and head out for a few sights. Here we are admiring the St. Lawrence river from atop the walls of the historic ramparts.


We missed the changing of the guard at the citadelle, but taking advantage of the photo-op was still fun.

I think there must be about 700 old cannons scattered around Quebec city, and Sir O probably climbed on half of them.

Saturday, unfortunately, was rainy and windy and generally treacherous. We elected to brave the indoor amusement park in the Les Galeries de la Capitale mall. Oliver, despite a few overstimulated frenzies, seemed to enjoy the slow, red train....


and the fast green train (only in another country would they let a toddler ride this thing):



Sunday we attended the Quebec ward, then did some shift-work in an attempt to make the most of the time we had left. First Mr Renn took Sir O out with his parents while I worked on nursing the sniffly Captain back to health, then Mr Renn and I skipped out alone for an abbreviated version.

You never saw a place on this continent that looked so much like it belonged in the middle of Europe. Here's Petit Champlain Street.


And from everywhere you can see the massive Chateau Frontenac. (Which is now a hotel). Mr Renn wants to go back and stay in it someday.
We packed up, caught our breath, and said some sad goodbyes. Mr Renn's parents have accepted a mission assignment in Argentina, and we may not see them for a long time.


We were on the road by 6:30 Monday morning. Thus started the longest drive of all time.

We were through customs by 10.
And then we drove and drove and drove and drove. We stopped when the Captian insisted on a snack. Then we quickly packed back up and drove some more.


By the last pit-stop of the trip both kids were screaming and writhing violently when we put them back in their carseats. I had to squeeze into the back-seat to try to keep the peace.

Sir O and the Captain were really both such troopers for putting up with the whole thing. Unfortunately we HAD to get back for Mr Renn to see his scheduled patients. I think we'll try to avoid driving anywhere with the kids for a few days.

Avec vous ingles?

There is nothing like being on your feet all day and straining to understand every word that is spoken to you to make you exceedingly tired.
Or to make you feel less-intelligent. How dumb am I that I am uni-lingual?

And there is nothing like scrolling through your vacation photos to make you scrutinize your post-partum-body. Tired eyes, drooping posture, round edges and all.
And there is nothing like rain to land you in a mega-mall with roller-coasters instead of old-town-quebec.And yet, you know, we are loving every minute of it. I love watching Sir O interact with family. Makes me all warm and squishy inside. Even when he's being obnoxious. (What?! My child, obnoxious?!)

Hope to report in full once we are safely home.

Have you seen me lately?

Sir O's latest favorite is making collages. 1/2 of the images he picks for me to cut out end up entirely covered up {Since I let him handle placement while I wield the gluestick}, but it makes him happy.

We've had a fully-furnished imaginary train ride:
Some rather unfairly-matched sumo wrestling. {It's ok, it gives Sir O a taste of his own medicine}




More pillow pouncing.

And there are those among us whose cheeks are getting rounder by the second. I'm not saying who.

Mr Renn: on Father's Day

Em asked me to share something in honor of Father's Day because I should contribute to the blog more often and after all I have sired two sons; I am a father. Thinking back 3 years now to when Sir O was first born, how the time flies, how far we have come as a family...how much we have learned about each other.
I remember well sitting in the hospital room just a few hours after Sir O was born holding him, studying his face...thinking of what he might one day become or what character he might have...and pondering what name would suit him best. I remember driving home from the hospital with him, (feeling like a sixteen year old taking a driving test) all the way home...I was very cautious. And then watching him grow...his first steps weren't towards me or Em but rather the vacuum cleaner. And then having the Captain join us earlier this year and having those same thoughts and pondering s all over again.
I am very thankful to be a father, to have been blessed with such wonderful boys, who love to laugh and play with their dad. Of all of the things I have learned in the past three years, one thing that stands out is the importance of being a good example. I am amazed at how much Sir O mimics what he sees me do whether it is reading a book, or fixing something, or working on the car. He is very perceptive, as I believe all children are. I have taken care to try to use uplifting language and control my temper so that he might hopefully do the same. We have a long way to go, but hopefully he will just pick the good things I do to follow.
Happy Father's Day!

me? missing? what?

Yeah, sorry for the absentee-ism of late.
You know how summer can be.
My excuse: recovery from my week away mixed with getting ready for a trip here:
(That would be Quebec).

12-14 hour drive with two small boys and all their gear in our little sedan.....I'm a bit frightened.

But I'm hoping for a lovely time once we're there.
And tips are welcome. For long car rides, or things to catch in the great French Canadian metropolis.

I have a song for you

The Captain's been singing all day today:


And since Sir O's beginning to notice and resent the moments when he's left out:

The 399 blows

I was pondering last night that I haven't watched The 400 blows (or any Truffaut for that matter) since becoming a mother of boys. And I'm not sure that I could handle it or even appreciate it any more. My mother-hormones are raging and unhappy childhoods set me off into morbid fits.

Morbid fits are bad. Especially when one does not have the option of staying in bed until they pass.

I wonder if someday I'll be able to return to biography and drama with more tolerance for the sadness of real life.

I'm afraid I'm a little too much like June Boatwright. I feel a little too keenly pain that is not my own. I get outright overwhelmed. Is that a gift or a curse? I do not yet know.

This motherhood gig, I tell you, it's more than I bargained for.

exploding ends and nice people

Okay, I owe some considerable back-story-age.

One week without the Internet = I find out how productive I can be. I realized with relief that being productive is not nearly as rewarding as I thought it would be, and so now I can return to my semi-sloth with less guilt.

My Floral Immersion course was remarkable. It was amazing how easily I slipped back into creative-production mode, even if I lacked the mechanical knowledge to make the visions in my head a reality.

{I got a bit distracted when Sir O exploded into mind-boggling-diarrhea Wednesday afternoon. Some miraculous way it resolved itself in time for the saintly neighbor-babysitter to not have to deal with it the next morning. (Although her little girl got it Saturday... oh the guilt!)}

And oh, the nice people!

I have to say, most of my experience on the East Coast has been me being disappointed with how snarky and self-oriented the mentality is here. I was pleasantly shocked by the abundance of genuine nice-ness that I found myself surrounded by during this week. You never heard so many complements and supportive words in such a small space in such a short time.

I have 79 pages worth of flowers and greens to memorize by next Spring, and I'm wishing I'd learned a little Latin somewhere before now.

What I made:
Line Arrangement
Round Arrangement*
Vegetative Arrangement
Parallel Design**
Market Bouquet in Glass
Single Flower design in glass
Garland*
Focal Point Arrangement
Focal Area Crescent**
Multifocal Rectangular
Formal Linear Design**
Beidermeier Design in Sand
Shoulder Corsage*
Wrist Corsage
Boutonniere**
Handtied Bouquet
Drop Bouquet
Wheatsheaf bound Bouquet**
Topiary
(* = HARD for me)
(** = FUN for me.... well they were all fun, but my favorites)

Also of note, the Captain started rolling over (consistently) on Sunday. (Before he started puking) He's a slow roller; those thighs of thunder take a lot of heft to torque.

feeling

much better, thank you

and the laundry is 1/2 done.(curlers? what curlers?)

Normal of one sort or another is just around the corner.
As is a catch-up post.

long time

Nothing can deter you from blogging quite like a barf-till-you-reach-bile baby. See ya when I see ya then. Lots of catching up to do. Lots of laundry too........