Yes, it's the last long weekend of summer.  Yes, for many it may be the last trip up to the cottage.  Yes, the forecast sucks.  But think of the positives.

1)  You are AT THE COTTAGE!
2) It is the last long weekend, so you better enjoy it!
3) Playing in the rain is FUN!  (But please, don't play in thunder and lightning.)
4)  I have a fun list of things to do for you. :)

*If it's just you and your honey up this weekend then that's easy!  Enjoy the quiet time, there's nothing like an excuse to spend a day in bed all snuggled up and cozy!

Things to do for you and the family:

*Go for a swim in the rain - one of my favourite things to do.
*Check out the nearest small town, do some shopping in their fun, unique stores
*Do some baking (And don't forget your friends at The Dock!  I love anything chocolate.)
*Get cozy with a book or maybe a stack of celebrity gossip magazines
*Set up an ice cream sundae bar!!  YUMMMMM!!!!
*If you can, watch the storm as it comes in!  Nothing like sitting on a porch watching the clouds and rain roll in.
*Crank up your favourite tunes and dance around like a fool
*Pull out some old school movies - think retro - Dirty Dancing, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, maybe some cheesey horror flicks?
*Make a fort with the kids!  Blankets, pillows, a table and voila!

And last but not least, don't get cooped up inside!  As I said above playing in the rain is FUN and the worst that'll happen is you and the kids will get wet and dirty...but hey you're at the cottage!  (But yeah, stay away from thunder and lightning...)

Happy Long Weekend, ENJOY it!

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I just wanted to give a quick update after my blog from a few weeks ago about my son and the fact that he would NOT sleep in the tent.

Actually, he doesn't do well when we're away from home at all, he just likes to be in his own bed.  And who can blame him?

This weekend we're up at the cottage, and there's this old cabin on the in-laws property that hasn't been used in years, but with some cleaning, sweeping, and dragging out old furniture - including mice nests - we've made it live-able.  (Well, sleepable anyway!)

This was a big deal because at home our son is still in his crib, but the cabin has twin beds so we thought we'd givei it a shot.  I brought everything from the little dude's bed - all of his blankets, security blankets, and even his little flashlight/truck to he could turn it on whenever he wanted.  Bedtime came at around 8pm and we tucked him in...went outside...screaming.  At this point my husband is ready to pack it in and go home.  We wait.  I go in and calm him a couple of times, hubby goes in a couple of times, but within half an hour or so he had passed out!!!  This was very exciting.  We headed out to join the crowd at the campfire.

A couple of hours later I was ready for bed so I head to the cabin and sneak a peak at my little angel sound asleep (yes, when he's sleeping he's an angel!).  I head to bed and just as I was drifting off I heard a THUD followed by a SCREAM.  I ran to his room and there he was, on the floor.  Poor little guy!!!  I picked him up and put him back in bed and he went right back to sleep!!  
  And he slept until 6am with only one other disruption - he had dropped his truck flashlight on the floor.  I went in and saw him reaching over the bed saying "Truck, Truck."

But other than that, sweet overnight success away from home. 

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It's August 6.  It's Friday.  It's my step-mom's birthday.  But why is today my new favourite day???  Because it's also NATIONAL ROOT BEER FLOAT DAY!!!

Everyone loves a float and frankly I don't think we enjoy them enough.  Plus, I'm pregnant and any opportunity to have a fun, non-alcoholic, caffeine free drink is fantastic for me!

So I've done a little research.  Legend has it that this yummy dessert drink was created by a gentleman by the name of Frank Wisner of Cripple Creek, Colorado, when he decided to float a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of his glass of root beer.  He named it the "Black Cow" at first, but I guess over time it has evolved to be known as the wonderful Root Beer Float!

You may think you know how to make a float, but I found the PERFECT way to do it:

*Chill beverage glass in freezer.  (If you're like us, you have numerous stolen beer mugs...those will work perfectly.)
*Add ice cream followed by Root Beer
*Here's the secret:  Add another scoop of ice cream after that, to cut down the froth!!
*Serve with long spoon and straw.
*ENJOY!

I also found out that if you go to A & W's Facebook page, they are giving away FREE floats!!  Here's the link:

http://www.facebook.com/awrestaurants?v=app_131519743556141

Bottoms up my friends!!!

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So, this weekend I was telling you about a stuffed Meare Kat who was found in a UK cafe a couple of weeks ago.  The owner of the place found him and could tell by how ragged he was that he must have been seriously loved, and therefore missed.  She started a Facebook page to reunite the toy with his owner...Well, I am happy to report that "Bubba Cat" has been reunited with his two year old owner Ned!

Here is the full story WITH pictures of Ned the cutie pie!!!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1299446/Ive-got-little-playmate-How-year-old-reunited-soft-toy.html

Love it!

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It's time for a rant session from a pregnant woman.  This was written with input from women and men, pregnant and not pregnant...I took some personal experience, polled friends, family, and my online Mommy community to come up with these doozies!

I know people have good intentions...but we all know that pregnant women are a little extra sensitive to start with, so why push it?

First of all, yes, it's hot and I feel huge.  Please do not say to me "Oh, this heat must be getting to you since you're so BIG."  Second, that "glow" is actually sweat from the aforementioned heat.

Third, we have chosen not to find out the gender of our baby.  Why does this upset so many people?  It is OUR baby!  People seem to think that if you don't know the gender you can't prepare.  Ummm...I'm pretty sure boy babies and girl babies all need the same things - diapers, wipes, bath supplies, sleepers, bottles, blankets...I could go on and on!  (And sidenote, after my son was born I got sooooo much blue stuff that I was glad I got the variety before hand)

Ok.  Now that I've gotten these things off my chest (and I'm sorry if I offended anyone) here is a list I've compiled of the WORST things that people have actually said to pregnant friends:


My favourites said by men:

*My husband said to me earlier this pregnancy, "Wow, you're looking pregnant!"  I just laughed because I know he likes the belly...but I could see how some would be offended by this. 

*My cousin said to me last pregnancy "Move over tubby I can't fit on the couch."

*A friend's husband told me he got in trouble for saying something about his wife's "thick ankles"

*One man compared his wife's bathing suit bottoms to a COUCH!!!  Hope he enjoyed the dog house that night...

* (One year after baby was born)  "Oh, you have a MOM figure now."  --> WTF does that mean??


The WORST things said to pregnant women:

* Anything about "You look like you're about 9 months?"  is bad.  I got that when I was six    months pregnant with my son.

* ANYTHING about "Oh, are you carrying twins?" or "Look how big the twins are getting!"

* "I don't think I could ever be pregnant.  I find pregnant bellies gross." -->  Seriously?!?

* From my Mom (yes, I love you mom but really?)  "Let's take a picture of fat Lisa!" 

* "Look at how BIG and ROUND you are getting!"

* "You shouldn't be doing that in your condition." -->  This one drives me nuts.  I can still lift things/climb things/move things.

*  "Oh no, you're pregnant AGAIN?"

*  "How overdue are you?"

* "You look fat and happy."

* "That dress really shows your belly" --> Personally I don't mind this one, I love my baby belly and am proud to show it.  But it's a sore spot for many pregnant women.

* "Was this baby an OOPS?"

* "You are feeling that way because you are upset and HORMONAL." --> Please do not point out to a pregnant woman that she is hormonal.  'Nuff said.


Thanks for letting me rant. :)

Lisa

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OK that`s not really true.  He loves being outside all day, playing in the sand and water, living on hot dogs (or hog-oggs as he calls them), and campfires.  And playing in the tent is great - but sleeping in the tent on the other hand, not so much.

I had this weekend booked for two months.  I have always loved camping, and we have camped with our son before but only at the cottage.  Friday afternoon my friend Rita and I went up early to set up and get everything ready for when my husband, son, and her fiance got done work.  We thought it`d be smooth sailing from there!  (Needless to say, we were wrong.)

Friday night we put Darren (he just turned 2) to bed in the tent.  He screamed.  We tried to wait it out, but with so many other people trying to enjoy themselves around us, we gave in and took him for a drive and he passed out in the car.  Perfect!  We snuck him back into the tent sleeping soundly. 
I guess something startled him awake - he woke up SCREAMING and when that stopped he was pretty sure it was play time.  He was talking, impersonating sirens (hear WEE-OOOH, WEEE-OOOH, WEE-OOOH)  and trains  (Choo-choo!  Choo-choo!!), calling "Mommy!!  Daddy!!!"  (yes, we were right there in the tent with him but he still needed to yell at us.) You can picture the calm and quiet of the middle of the night at Bass Lake being interrupted by a very vocal toddler...it was starting to get light again when I finally got him to sleep, on our air mattress of course, with my husband sleeping on the tent floor.  (My  husband who is not the biggest fan of camping to start with.)  Darren was up a couple hours later.

Saturday night we put him to bed and he fussed for a bit but gave in and was sound asleep within minutes!  Again, perfect, we thought.  How could he not sleep all night after a busy day of playing at the beach, his birthday party and a campfire???  We stayed up for a bit longer and enjoyed the campfire and then decided to hit the sack.  Just as I was dozing off into a nice, outside summer slumber...SCREAMING.  He wasn't even awake...just screaming.  By this point we'd had enough (and most likely our camping neighbours had too!) and were desperate for sleep, we put him in the car and headed home.  The next day we went back to clean up our site and hit the beach for a bit.

Sunday night we all went to bed at 8pm and Darren slept very well - but of course, I couldn't sleep at all!!

But the whole point of the weekend was Darren's 2nd birthday party - I had a picnic shelter booked for Saturday afternoon and that turned out great.  He got totally spoiled...he got his first set of power tools and a hand made wheel barrel from my dad!  Here are a few pictures!



 

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Well here I am!  Just 6 months into my career as a part time radio announcer I have my very own blog!

I feel that writing a blog about a blog is a bit like writing your public school speech about writing a speech, but what the heck I'm going to do it anyway!

I thought this would be a good way to let you know a bit about myself, my life and my background!  And when I find something else that's cool to share I'll do that too!  And now, I won't have to tell you to Google your own images, I can post them right here.

I am from this area - born in Orillia, and lived in Bracebridge and Barrie as a kid...after high school I went away for a while - to Niagara College for Broadcasting and then moved to Toronto worked in Television Production for about 10 years.

But one fateful trip to Cuba changed all that...I was heading down with a girlfriend to celebrate my 28th birthday when this guy came up to me and asked me to borrow a pen.  I gave it to him and didn't think too much of it, except "Why are you bugging me at 7am and why didn't you bring your OWN pen to the airport??"  Turned out we were staying at the same resort...and long story short I married him almost 2 years later.

We live in Coldwater now with our son, Darren who is turning 2 in less than a week!  We also have a dog, Darby, and two cats who my husband is trying really hard to make me get rid of.  (I had the cats before him, they stay.) 
And...we have a baby on the way in November! 

That's me in a nutshell!  (Every time I say that I think of Austin Powers, remember that scene?  "No, this is me in a nutshell!  Help I'm in a nutshell!")

Feel free to drop an e-mail with your thoughts or events, lisa@thedockfm.com and I'm also on Twitter, it's LBatemanOHara. 
Cheers to weekends on The Dock!

Lisa

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