Hoof and Mouth Disease (AKA "Mad Magnus Disease")

Matt, here.  

It has been an interesting 7 days around here in the universe known as Magnus.  Last Tuesday, I noticed that he was quite hot when he woke up.  The concerned parent that I am, I of course did nothing (I don't even recall if I told Karen).  We just went about our normal routine and I busied myself getting him up and out for daycare.  That afternoon, when Karen picked him up, she was informed that a rash had developed on his bum and that one of the other kids at daycare had come down with Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease four days earlier.  It looks like the kid had passed it onto Mags.  Damn you Hudson, or Hunter, or Hayden, or whatever your name is! 

Getting some good old Vitamin D on that rash!

So, from Wednesday last week to this past Monday, Karen and I mixed it up between working and care giving, as Mags could not go back to daycare until it had cleared up.  With the exception of a trip into the Burlington office on Thursday for me and Karen going in Monday, we worked from home and we split the time between getting work done and keeping Mags comfortable.  Until his fever broke on Friday and the sores in his mouth got better, it seemed that Mags' comfort level was directly related to the proximity of a parent and the TV.  

You can knock him down, but not out!

Buying toys also seemed to improve his mood.

He loves his trucks

Because Mags' fever had broken, we stuck with Karen's scheduled plan to have a "Me" weekend, staying in a hotel and getting some alone downtime pre #2 while Mags and I stuck it out together at home and in the backyard.  

When Karen returned, I learned a little bit more of what she thinks of me... On Sunday afternoon we threw on Madagascar 2 to keep Mags entertained for a little bit.  Now, in the past I've been compared to cartoon characters.  Specifically, 15 years ago when I was 25-35 lbs bigger and drove a small Mazda, my brother-in-law compared me to Mr. Incredible based on this scene:

 Well, then we saw this on Sunday, and a new comparison from Karen was born:

  I can't get no respect.

Dad's Day 2015

Matt, here.

In the Rasmussen clan, it seems as though we do not always live by the rules of the Gregorian Calendar.  For most people, Father's Day 2015 will fall on June 21st.  For the Raz boys, we decided that it should instead fall last weekend.  So, for the 2nd year in a row, I joined my brothers and dad in Prince Edward County for a Father's Day Weekend of biking and wine.  

Last year we stayed in Wellington, which was closer to a number of wineries.  This year we chose Picton, with a better airbnb house and more culinary options (thankfully, as there turned out to be an unscheduled need for a Friday night pizza after the failed bbq sausages).

Saturday was bike / wine day.  Due to some creative map reading, we ended up cycling 30 kms before hitting our first winery.  These 30 kms included some very beautiful countryside, as well as quite a few hills.  In fact, while biking up one hill, a local drove by and yelled out his window, "I'd walk it if I were you!".  It also seemed that, regardless of whether we were cycling to the south, east, or north, we were always cycling into the wind.  I'm just glad that I had the newest bike (and the newest legs!).

This creative map reading did have its benefits, as it led us past the old CFB Picton from WWII.   

Tower at CFB Picton

The route also took us past a great lookout.  We could even see the windmills on Wolfe Island across the lake towards K-Town.  As "they" say, it is the journey, not the destination.

Raz men taking break from the hills and wind at the lookout

 

With a bit of a view

"They", of course, have not been to the Waupoos Winery, which was our destination after 30 kms on the bike.  Once we arrived we all grabbed some gelato and took a load off, then toured the grounds.  After the rest, I took my brother Karl up on his suggestion to sample some of the wine.  While sampling, we asked the wine barista (?) about the best route back into Picton.  She advised taking the longer route  (of course), due to the scenic opportunities.  So, after my dad and brother Jud took off with a head start, Karl and I finished our samples and then loaded up his saddle bags with wine, chocolate, and licorice (again, Waupoos was a great destination!).

The next 20 kms took us along the Loyalist Parkway with great views of the water on our right and the "Lake on the Mountain" (who knew?).  There were quite a few places for sale, if anyone wants to buy and invite me!

Lake on the Mountain in Glenora, beside the Adolphus Reach

So, after a morning with 50 kms of biking, we parked the bikes and used Jud's van to check out some other wineries in the area.  Not as fancy as the ladies we ran into being driven around in the white stretch limo, but it did the job!

All in all, another successful Dad's Day in Prince Edward County.  Now if only one of us would get a boat, next time we could just dock and stay in the harbour!

Picton Harbour

Hosting Sherrai's Baby Shower

Karen here.

On Sunday I had the honour of hosting the baby shower for one of my best friends, Sherrai (pronounced 'Sher-ray'). Well, officially it was her Sip and See. Her water broke the week before I was supposed to host her baby shower, and she ended up having her son, Levi, a few weeks early. So we threw her a party this past weekend where she could revel in the ooh-ing and ahh-ing of her best friends over her new love. :)

I should point out here that when I say we, I mean myself and Sherrai's bestie, Tracie. It was wonderful being able to share responsibilities with someone else, not having to be responsible for EVERYTHING! Seriously, have you ever hosted a party like this by yourself? So much work. Thank goodness I had Matt to help with the tidying up, and I had Tracie who owned more than her share of tasks! Thanks again, Tracie! 

Regardless of the work, it was worth it. And I have to be honest. I had soooooooooooo much fun researching themed goodies, games and garland! The theme for the original shower was a woodland creatures theme, and we maintained this for her Sip and See. There are an incredible number of ideas floating around on the internet... so many creative people. I totally stole a few ideas and am so happy I did so. Here's a glance at the table setting.

I am very proud of the goodies I made. I made cookies...

This was the easiest 'mushroom cookie' recipe I could find and it still took some effort. They were good though!

I am also proud of my birdies...

Truth be told, however, they were supposed to be hedgehogs, but they just looked like owls to me. Here's what they were supposed to be.

Oh well. Birdies still fit, and they were even more of a hit. Lots of people took some home for their kids. :)

But my crowning achievement was dear sweet Porkie...

Tracie also ordered a beautiful and delicious cake. Here is the lady of the hour doing the honours.

Sherrai's friend Sarah put together some games, one of which our friend Kristopher invented - The Poop Shoot.

The object of the game is for each attendee to try to throw as many brown balls as possible into one of the hung diapers. Sounds easy, but trust me, it wasn't. I managed to capture one friend in action.

Obviously everyone had a great time, especially Sherrai. How could you not with your best friends fighting over who gets to hold your baby next?