During our stay in BC, my siblings and I headed out to Victoria for a couple of days. There we visited the several museums including the wax museum, the BC museum (super awesome), the miniature museum, etc... Our last evening, we decided to eat at a sea food restaurant (much to Melina's chagrin).
Believe it or not, when I asked the waiter "do you have anything gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free and nut-free available? Oh, and soy-free?" he was surprisingly quick with a suggested modified menu item... Salad... WITH salmon.
The best part was when my sister ordered calamari and I watched painfully as this delicious smelling gluten-ridden-dish with garlicky sauce got passed around. Needless to say, when it got to Melina who held it and said "what is this?" I told her "JUST EAT IT... FOR ME, PLEASE!!!" My brother, David, the ever clever-comment mastermind notified my horrified teenage daughter that it was SQUID.
"Ew gross, Mom, I am NOT eating that!"
"Come on, just try it! I bet you you'll love it." Others chimed in with encouragement until finally she was about to take a bite when David (oh wonderful uncle that he is) told her "yeah, it's like chewing rubber when you bite into the TENTACLES."
Well, we were back at square one until finally she just put it in her mouth and chewed it with her eyes closed as though we'd just asked her to eat her cousin's dirty socks.
David is laughing and Melina finally opens her eyes and says "thanks alot, uncle David! First you tell me it's like chewing rubber and then you tell me I'm eating TESTICLES!"
Everyone went quiet for a moment and then we all burst out laughing. Melina starting thinking about what she'd just said and realized the error, turned beat red as our table roared with laughter... or was that just me?
Ah Melina... you never cease to make us laugh. Boy do we love you!
Saturday 25 July 2009
Home Sweet Home!
You know how every house has its "smell"? Each one is unique as though it is some form of fingerprint? I guess we all get so accustomed to our own house "smell" that we don't notice it anymore, or at least, I sure don't.
Anyways, when we finally got back home on the 17th, I walked into our house and actually got to smell our house scent!! And it was not of poopy diapers as I had feared!! (Thanks to the diaper bin being outside, I am sure).
That's when you know you've been away for too long... when you walk into your own house as though you were a visitor! After days of driving in the motorhome with two small children and living in it for nearly two weeks, it was GLORIOUS to come home!!! Duane and I kept gleaming at each other as we would reach into our own cupboards and drawers... we'd both get that sappy smile on our faces and neither of us had to say it outloud: it's sooooo good to be home.
The best part was finally going to bed in our very own king size deluxe memory foam oh-my-goodness-if-it-weren't-for-my-insomniac-children-I-could-sleep-here-forever bed! With our delicious down comforter that hugs us as though we'd been lifted into heaven for a snooze in the clouds... oh yes, it is that wonderful.
As an aside, if I may STRONGLY advise anything at this moment, it is this: when you spend a third of your life in bed (unless you have Ethan or Isabel as a child) then it is VERY VERY VERY important that you INVEST in a quality bed! I never believed this until Duane and I treated ourselves to our bed shortly after getting married. I had no clue a bed could make that much of a difference! Duane, who claimed he'd had sleeping issues his whole life, started snoring before I even got to finish saying my half of prayers!!! Either I am that boring or it is that comfortable... let's just assume it's the bed, ok? So there you have it, this moment brought to you by Best Sleep Centre...
Back to blogging about our trip...
It was wonderful to see family although moving an army that includes various stages & ages is no easy task... nor is feeding them! My sister Diane and husband Rick hosted the WHOLE crew (8 guests plus their 6 family members)! The motorhome was a huge asset (and huge in size) as Duane and I were able to keep our noisy night owl children away from sleeping people.
Ah yes, the motorhome... aside from spending an arm and a leg BEFORE even leaving for the trip, our delightful home on wheels decided to accumulate quite the additional charges during the trip, too. Thankfully it happened the night BEFORE leaving, but the fridge crapped out and all my pre-made gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, nut-free meals and homemade broths were thawing. ARG!!!! Apparently the motherboard is fried... hello additional $350 bill... sigh.
Not only that, but on the trek through Alberta, we were coming down a valley when two very large crows decided to take flight in the distance. Now mathematically, something went off in my head that sounded like "hmmm, this may not be such a good thing" only to watch the speeding motorhome COLLIDE with the birds!! The huge BANG was followed by something falling in the motorhome. In this whirlwind, I had closed my eyes and yelped.
Let me tell you how fast the speed of thought is...
In that split second where I shut my eyes in anticipation of the impact (which happened to be right in front of my driving husband's head), I heard the massive bang, something falling in the motorhome and my thoughts went immediately to "oh my gosh, the birds went through the windshield and when I open my eyes, the love of my life will have been killed".
That thought... SUCKS! No thank you... I'd rather you not enter my brain at all, good day.
Needless to say, when I opened my eyes to see Duane laughing his head off despite this huge circular crack right in front of his face like a bullseye and the rear view mirror knocked onto the floor, I was both relieved and furious. His comment and concern? "Ah man, now I have to look through this broken glass all the way home?"
As I start crying at the realization that all it really takes is an unexpected split-second to have your whole life flip upside down on you, Duane looks over at me and gets frustrated with me... um hello? "Why do you always have to assume the worst all the time?"
Um, because the fact that the glass didn't shatter at your head to be crushed by this massive stupid flying black bird is by the sheer grace of God! Sheesh!
The last stretch was long and we were all starting to feel it. Duane was so anxious to get home that he woke up friday morning well before any of us were awake and started driving the trek back home. We were supposed to stop in Regina but barrelled through in hopes of just getting home. Poor Duane wouldn't even stop to go pee so his back teeth were floating pretty bad when we were only fifteen minutes from home when all of a sudden, the motorhome ran out of gas.
And we are nearing supper time with hypoglycemic demon children on board... not good.
Hooray for our CAA RV membership we had just purchased... or so we thought.
nearly three hours later, oh yes, you read that right... nearly THREE HOURS LATER, the lucky CAA guy arrives with a 10 litre can of fuel. Duane's face dropped as he said to the guy, "That's it? Are you kidding me? Have you SEEN our motorhome? That won't even be enough fuel to START the thing!"
Needless to say, ladies and gentlemen...
HOME SWEET GLORIOUS HOME!!!!
Anyways, when we finally got back home on the 17th, I walked into our house and actually got to smell our house scent!! And it was not of poopy diapers as I had feared!! (Thanks to the diaper bin being outside, I am sure).
That's when you know you've been away for too long... when you walk into your own house as though you were a visitor! After days of driving in the motorhome with two small children and living in it for nearly two weeks, it was GLORIOUS to come home!!! Duane and I kept gleaming at each other as we would reach into our own cupboards and drawers... we'd both get that sappy smile on our faces and neither of us had to say it outloud: it's sooooo good to be home.
The best part was finally going to bed in our very own king size deluxe memory foam oh-my-goodness-if-it-weren't-for-my-insomniac-children-I-could-sleep-here-forever bed! With our delicious down comforter that hugs us as though we'd been lifted into heaven for a snooze in the clouds... oh yes, it is that wonderful.
As an aside, if I may STRONGLY advise anything at this moment, it is this: when you spend a third of your life in bed (unless you have Ethan or Isabel as a child) then it is VERY VERY VERY important that you INVEST in a quality bed! I never believed this until Duane and I treated ourselves to our bed shortly after getting married. I had no clue a bed could make that much of a difference! Duane, who claimed he'd had sleeping issues his whole life, started snoring before I even got to finish saying my half of prayers!!! Either I am that boring or it is that comfortable... let's just assume it's the bed, ok? So there you have it, this moment brought to you by Best Sleep Centre...
Back to blogging about our trip...
It was wonderful to see family although moving an army that includes various stages & ages is no easy task... nor is feeding them! My sister Diane and husband Rick hosted the WHOLE crew (8 guests plus their 6 family members)! The motorhome was a huge asset (and huge in size) as Duane and I were able to keep our noisy night owl children away from sleeping people.
Ah yes, the motorhome... aside from spending an arm and a leg BEFORE even leaving for the trip, our delightful home on wheels decided to accumulate quite the additional charges during the trip, too. Thankfully it happened the night BEFORE leaving, but the fridge crapped out and all my pre-made gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, nut-free meals and homemade broths were thawing. ARG!!!! Apparently the motherboard is fried... hello additional $350 bill... sigh.
Not only that, but on the trek through Alberta, we were coming down a valley when two very large crows decided to take flight in the distance. Now mathematically, something went off in my head that sounded like "hmmm, this may not be such a good thing" only to watch the speeding motorhome COLLIDE with the birds!! The huge BANG was followed by something falling in the motorhome. In this whirlwind, I had closed my eyes and yelped.
Let me tell you how fast the speed of thought is...
In that split second where I shut my eyes in anticipation of the impact (which happened to be right in front of my driving husband's head), I heard the massive bang, something falling in the motorhome and my thoughts went immediately to "oh my gosh, the birds went through the windshield and when I open my eyes, the love of my life will have been killed".
That thought... SUCKS! No thank you... I'd rather you not enter my brain at all, good day.
Needless to say, when I opened my eyes to see Duane laughing his head off despite this huge circular crack right in front of his face like a bullseye and the rear view mirror knocked onto the floor, I was both relieved and furious. His comment and concern? "Ah man, now I have to look through this broken glass all the way home?"
As I start crying at the realization that all it really takes is an unexpected split-second to have your whole life flip upside down on you, Duane looks over at me and gets frustrated with me... um hello? "Why do you always have to assume the worst all the time?"
Um, because the fact that the glass didn't shatter at your head to be crushed by this massive stupid flying black bird is by the sheer grace of God! Sheesh!
The last stretch was long and we were all starting to feel it. Duane was so anxious to get home that he woke up friday morning well before any of us were awake and started driving the trek back home. We were supposed to stop in Regina but barrelled through in hopes of just getting home. Poor Duane wouldn't even stop to go pee so his back teeth were floating pretty bad when we were only fifteen minutes from home when all of a sudden, the motorhome ran out of gas.
And we are nearing supper time with hypoglycemic demon children on board... not good.
Hooray for our CAA RV membership we had just purchased... or so we thought.
nearly three hours later, oh yes, you read that right... nearly THREE HOURS LATER, the lucky CAA guy arrives with a 10 litre can of fuel. Duane's face dropped as he said to the guy, "That's it? Are you kidding me? Have you SEEN our motorhome? That won't even be enough fuel to START the thing!"
Needless to say, ladies and gentlemen...
HOME SWEET GLORIOUS HOME!!!!
Thursday 9 July 2009
RV there yet?
Well, our household managed to get over the flu although poor Ethan was left with quite the nasal congestion. Even now, the little guy looks like he was attacked by the mucous monster!
Despite a rampant flu bug (sparing Duane and Melina, thank goodness) we also managed to find a second hand motorhome in preparation for our BC trip to visit my sister and her family. My other sister & her kids, my mom and my brother and his son decided we would all caravan out there to see our beloved sister whom we have missed dearly since her move out there in January. You can imagine how eager we were to embark on this journey considering our crew: a disabled ten year old, highly allergic nine month old, active two year old and a teenager! Honestly, you think all of us in a van for twenty four hours of driving would be do-able? I don't think so! So we looked into renting an RV (which was ridiculously priced) and decided to go out on a limb and buy one instead with the hope of flipping it with minimal loss should we not like it in the end.
Well... WE LOVE IT!!! It's the first time EVER that I have been able to go "camping" with Isabel!
So I am actually typing this from the back room of our motorhome on Duane's and my third anniversary (as he snores beside me) to say a big hello to all of you out there. The ocean is next to us as are many, many other cramped RV's (honestly, I have no idea how people manage to manoeuvre these things so close together!!!
It is wonderful to be together as a family but the time is very hectic for us with nap times, nursings, tube feedings and diapering three children. Not to mention that I have had to cook all of our own meals due to our extreme dietery restrictions. This was another reason we decided to travel with a motorhome... the convenience of cooking all of our own meals!
So there you have it... we are healthy, we are here safe and doing our best to make the most of our time together. Here's hoping you are all doing well wherever you are and how ever you are feeling at this very moment.
God bless you and may He bring you tranquility in your lives and a beautiful, restful sense of peace. Much love out there!
Despite a rampant flu bug (sparing Duane and Melina, thank goodness) we also managed to find a second hand motorhome in preparation for our BC trip to visit my sister and her family. My other sister & her kids, my mom and my brother and his son decided we would all caravan out there to see our beloved sister whom we have missed dearly since her move out there in January. You can imagine how eager we were to embark on this journey considering our crew: a disabled ten year old, highly allergic nine month old, active two year old and a teenager! Honestly, you think all of us in a van for twenty four hours of driving would be do-able? I don't think so! So we looked into renting an RV (which was ridiculously priced) and decided to go out on a limb and buy one instead with the hope of flipping it with minimal loss should we not like it in the end.
Well... WE LOVE IT!!! It's the first time EVER that I have been able to go "camping" with Isabel!
So I am actually typing this from the back room of our motorhome on Duane's and my third anniversary (as he snores beside me) to say a big hello to all of you out there. The ocean is next to us as are many, many other cramped RV's (honestly, I have no idea how people manage to manoeuvre these things so close together!!!
It is wonderful to be together as a family but the time is very hectic for us with nap times, nursings, tube feedings and diapering three children. Not to mention that I have had to cook all of our own meals due to our extreme dietery restrictions. This was another reason we decided to travel with a motorhome... the convenience of cooking all of our own meals!
So there you have it... we are healthy, we are here safe and doing our best to make the most of our time together. Here's hoping you are all doing well wherever you are and how ever you are feeling at this very moment.
God bless you and may He bring you tranquility in your lives and a beautiful, restful sense of peace. Much love out there!
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