A great week and now a new countdown is on....

This entry is going to be very newsy, short of wit but hey, I've got a lot to get down here and little energy. This pregnancy has reached the point of "I want this baby to be born but at the same time I have way too much to do so please don't come yet. But wait, I'm just so tired... how will I get it all done? Don't come yet! But then, if the baby stays in there, I'll continue to be tired. Ach! My brain is being eaten by pregnancy hormones." Anyway, here is all our news of the last week and maybe soon I'll be inspired to be funny, witty, or at least sarcastic.

We had a great week at the cottage last week. Of course, John had a brutal sinus cold the first three days so that sucked but Emily and I had a great time. She was so much better this year at the cottage. She loved swimming - spent time playing on her "plane" (her name for the windsurfer board), in her baby float, riding John's shoulders, and "paddling" in the canoe (she likes to sit on the seats and hold a big paddle. Note: must find her a child-sized paddle for next year). She also loved just playing in the cottage and on the (new) deck, exploring around the cottage and playing with the bubbles. On Thursday, my dad, Donna, Beth and Graeme all arrived with two dogs in tow so Emily was even happier. She absolutely thrives on having people around - she is a very social animal. More people to show off for, ask "what doing?" and ham it up for.

While we were there, Jannie and Mark Henkelman joined us for the afternoon and evening for some bocci, some good food (patting my own back here) and some birthday cake for Emily. Emily turns 2 on August 11 (Friday already!) so I made a birthday cake for her. She was clearly thrilled to have everyone sing for her and for the next two days she kept asking for birthday cake. I caved and gave in almost every time. Hey, if she got to eat more, so did I.

No vacation with a toddler is complete without some injuries of course. Emily had her share: stepped on a bee, face-planted against the edge of a table getting her first fat lip, and then the whopper: fell down the front steps of the cottage landing on the rocks at the bottom, on her face. Perfectly round bruise on her forehead and several scratches on her nose. Check out the next photo for the evidence. I guess I'll put off that picture at Loblaws for a couple of weeks.

Emily slept in a "big bed" while at the cottage. The first night was a bit rough but after that it was all shits and giggles. She was thrilled and announced it every morning by shouting: "Emily! Big bed! Sleep!" Sleep. Yes, that would be nice past 7:00 am. Ah well. At least the peace of the lake was ours and ours alone for the first few hours.

So, now she is in her big bed at home as of tonight. Of course, after about 10 minutes she somehow had wedged herself between the mattress and bed rail. I only knew this when I heard her say through the monitor: "Emily uh-oh. Boom. Careful. Careful." I ran up and there was her little body suspended in midair. Yes, my heart was pounding thinking that she could have been caught at the neck. Needless to say two dining room chairs are now wedged against the bedrail, a towel shoved into the space and tomorrow I will be at Toys R Us buying the more expensive but safer bed rail that claims to eliminate this problem (which they point out can result in death or severe injury. Great, I'm sure I'll sleep just fine tonight).

It was great to spend time with Beth and Graeme. Especially at the cottage. And also fun, as always, to see the colour of Beth's hair. She chose this time to go with the Ronald McDonald colour I chose last year and which I still am paying my hair dresser to get rid of. We decided that it is far better on short hair. Much less Ronald McDonald.

Emily is back at Dawn's this week while I get things organized here, cleaned and do some cooking. So far I've only managed to clean two bathrooms (we have four), finish painting Emily's room, and read my current book "Julie and Julia," which I totally love. Oh and nap. I must nap more. I thought I was going to fall asleep standing up. I have more to organize this time than usual. More on that in a future post, after this baby is actually born.

Anyway, it is now time for bed, reading my book etc. The book has now taken me to the point where I actually made Julia Child's salade nicoise for supper tonight. Man, French cooking creates a lot of dishes. Tastes great, less filling, burn off calories doing dishes. I see now why French women don't get fat.