And the Winner is....

Well, many guess right! It's a diaper chute! It leads from our deck to a 5 gallon pail at the bottom. Considering how much diaper "crap" we go through, it's a nice touch!


Of course, the big question, is who is the winner.....

Liminal Me

Expect your prize to be in the mail shortly. I am wondering.... Do I need to put that on VHS or Beta for you?

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Mulletless MacGyver

Well, I've MacGyvered again! I may not have as impressive a list as the original Angus MacGyver, but I'm doing alright.

List of Problems solved by MacGyver

The laundry basket was an easy contraption, not requiring my "Master of Modification" skills. This new project did however require more than a stick of chewing gum and a paper clip.

It works great! What is it? Well that's for you to guess. The winner will receive the first 4 episodes of MacGyver on DVD, mailed to them! All correct guesses will be entered into a draw on Tuesday.


*Disclaimer - this offer is not valid for immediate family or friends that have visited the house within the last week. Offer not valid in the United States or Kazikstan. DVD may or may not be an original, which may mean I'm a bad buccaneer. I will not be liable for what said winner does with the DVD or any modifications performed due to watching 4 episodes of MacGyver.

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Laundry Day

With Dora busy being a mom, Marko Polo had to pick up the slack. That means doing the laundry. I've done my own laundry many times, but since we've moved to the new place and gotten the new machines (LG front loaders) I haven't touched'em.

So with a set of quick instructions from Dora I was ready to give it a try! If you have the coin, I highly recommend front loaders. Uses less water, less soap, less energy and it's easier on your clothes. Along the way, I discovered an excellent use for the laundry basket. It's like a portable basinete. I wonder what I can macgyver next?....

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Golden Shower

Yup... it was bound to happen. The little man showered me with his "little man. As I was performing a change, being dissapointed that he hadn't let loose in over 16hr as the doctor had recommended I was trying to decide if I should be calling someone, when he made up for lost time.
Using my Ninja-like reflexes, I dodged the main onslaught of the two foot fountain. My head snapped back so fast I thought I got whiplash. I watched the urine dance across the sky like a water show in Vegas. Soon like Vegas, the show ended and the tourists moved along.
As I looked around surveying the damage, I noticed my Ninja reflexes had failed me. Alas I had taken shrapnel.

Mark's Baby Rule #1: Safety glasses are not just for science labs.

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Home...Finally

Well, the new family is home! After a couple of days in-training, they have let us out of the hospital. With car seat in hand we headed home.


It's quite a surreal experience, as you leave that hospital with a living being that you are responsible for. That if left to it's own will perish. That's a lot of responsibility for someone who can't remember to put the toilet seat down!

After arriving at home, the big question was how would Denali respond. Our husky has had free reign of the house for 8 years and having a younger sibling is a new thing. Can an old dog learn new tricks?
It seems they can! Very quickly she found her new place and is right at home with our new family. In fact sometimes she is the first one to respond and beats us to the crib when the baby is crying. She then seems to give us the same look as we seem to give her.

"I dunno? What should I do?"

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Baby iTunes

Day 2:

We survived a day and it's been full of some pretty amazing stuff! I think this is the first time in my life where I got up at 3:45 in the morning and was happy about it.
We are doing well as a family and I am home for a quick nap and to grab a few things before we head home tomorrow. It's been non-stop action as I've learned to swaddle a baby, change a diaper, help get a baby to latch, sleep on a hospital chair and eat cafeteria food. Sweet Action!
For those that want more details, we have decided on a middle name

Logan Toru I.
7lbs, 2oz
Born 5:18AM Oct 13th, 2006
Normal looking (that's assuming you think my brothers look normal)
Eats when awake, which is not very often.

Thanks to everyone for the comments of love and support. Thanks to you guys (Moms and Dads) we love and appreciate your support, Thanks to rocco and liminal for the flowers and the rest of our babysitters....

I mean family and friends.

Lastly, as the posting might suggest, we have been using my ibook to play music while feeding or to drown out other sounds in the hospital.
We are looking for songs to add to our baby Logan playlist, so suggestions are welcome. So for we have

Nina Simone -Ne Me Quitte Pas
Bobby Darin - Beyond the Sea
Harry Connick Jr. - It had to be you

and our favorite! Wonderboy by Tenacious D. For those that know, we called Dora's bump "wonder boy" throughout her pregnancy. As I was looking for songs in iTunes I happened across it. I must say, I truly wonder where wonderboy gets his powers. For he hath cast a spell upon us!

P.S. Tenacious D is a band that may require viewer's discretion. Nothing wrong with the song wonderboy, but some people may be offended by some of their other content. Clickers beware.

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It's a Boy!

Say Hello to Logan I.


I'll post more when I have time, but I'm on my way back to the hospital to see Dora. We expect to be released Sunday Morning if we're on good behaviour...


So it begins.

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It happened so fast...

Well, the weekend of thanksgiving is over and the week of left overs begins. After killing the day chatting with D and margarita I thought I'd better whip something up for dinner. Yup, that's right, I was cooking again. I was craving pizza - which always gives me heartburn - but I jumped in anyway. A quick search on the internet revealed an easy to follow recipe and the dough was started...with whole wheat flour of course. Denali and I headed out for a few extra toppings while the dough was rising - it's like I knew what I was doing! Not likely. We got home and Marko was back from work, though still working. Denali and I sliced and diced and the dough actually worked out - miracles never cease to amaze. For toppings, we had the usual cheese, basil (FRESH), tomato, green pepper, black olives, mushrooms and what separates these pizzas from the rest was the carnivorous portion, the turkey!! Yup, a thanksgiving pizza. What better way to eat leftovers. Sorry no photos available. I was too hungry. It all happened so fast. Who has time to get a camera when the ooey gooey cheese is hot and ready to be consumed?

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Creme Brule

Well, Thanksgiving: Part II. This sequel almost killed me! I can't remember the last time I ate that much.,I felt like I was going to explode. For desert, instead of a wafer thin mint, I ate 3 deserts. THREE! My God am I dumb!

We were invited over to Liminal's parent's house for turkey, and I must say what a treat. It was an ethnic buffet of cullinary delights! It was hopeless as soon as I saw all that food. Oh well, that which does not kill you makes you stronger...



The item we brought to this wonderful dinner was desert. My new kick is Creme Brule right now. How can it not be. You get to use a blow torch! I thought it was a tricky desert to make, but it can be quite easy. Below is the recipe that seems to work for me.

8 egg yolks
1/3 cup granulated white sugar or vanilla coffee syrup
2 cups of whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, skip if your using coffee syrup
1/4 cup granulated white sugar (for the caramelized tops)

Preheat oven to 300ºF. In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is thick and pale yellow. Add cream and vanilla, and continue to whisk until well blended. Strain into a large bowl, skimming off any foam or bubbles.

Divide mixture among 6 ramekins or custard cups. Place ramekins in a water bath (large pan filled with 1 or 2 inches of hot water) and bake until set around the edges, but still loose in the center, about 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven and leave in the water bath until cooled. Remove cups from water bath and chill for at least 2 hours, or up to 2 days. When ready to serve, sprinkle about 2 teaspoons of sugar over each custard. For best results, use a small, hand-held torch to melt sugar. If you don't have a torch, place under the broiler until sugar melts. Re-chill custards for a few minutes before serving.

Yum.... Enjoy!

P.S. Perhaps someone can try this recipe out before I reclaim my torch!

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Dream Machine

While cruising the Internet for roof rack ideas for our truck, I came across this. My "Dream Machine". It's a Mercedes-Benz Unimog. That's right a unimog on my blog! I dare say this thing is some sort of medieval form of transportation. Regardless, I want one. I wonder if dora will agree?


Cast your vote here!

You can check out more on this sweet ride at this site.

http://www.rockymountainmoggers.com/zebra00intro.html

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Project Baby 1.0 Beta

Well as you can see, this is project baby, in beta version of course. Expect the full version to be available Mid-October.


As posted by Dora, we went to Waterton this weekend. Visited with Chris & Anne, which was nice. The cabin is coming along quite nice. Thanks again for the BBQ supper!

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Thanksgiving

The turkey came early this year as family is unavailable next weekend. If I wasn't 38 weeks pregnant already, the dinner would've provided stretch marks. The nameless being that currently resides south of my breastbone danced all through dinner. A true omnivore - just like dad - dances for food. It was the creme brule that stole the show though. So good! A nice addition to the traditional pumpkin pie.

This Cuc Vampire came along for the ride yesterday. We had a great day, hiking in Waterton. Nothing too tough, a walk along Cameron Lake to the platform at the almost end of the lake. So nice and cool for hiking...and the colours are spectacular right now! Lomah is the place to be...

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