ARRRRR...... (Ava, Russell and Ron's Regular Really Rousing wRitings)

So tired.........

2010-09-23T00:01:00.002-04:00

In case some day in the future I complain, let's use the last 24 hours as a benchmark.

5:45am. Alarm. Take shower, get Julie up, tend to Ava, change and dress, change dress and feed Russell. Prepare Ava's bottles and Russells milk, snack and water.
6:45am. Leave house
7:05am. Drop off Ava at daycare
7:20am. Drop Russ off with parents at daycare
7:45am. Get to Julies work. Take subway to new job
6:00pm. Leave work. Go home via ttc
6:50pm. Arrive at home, eat dinner
7:30pm. Finish dinner, start baths, brush teeth, change, bottle for Ava read story, put to bed
8:30pm. Clean up kitchen from dinner
9:30pm. Arrange Ava and Russells food for tomorrow
10:30pm wake Russ to pee and change diaper and put back to sleep
11:00pm. Fold clothes from dryer
11:30pm. Get bottle for Ava and settle to put back to bed
1:00am. Ava asleep, got to bed
5:45am. Alarm.....

Day with Thomas the Train

2010-07-25T21:56:00.000-04:00

Long over due update...

2010-06-28T09:10:00.002-04:00

So i know i need to back fill some dates so I can go back and remember them. Poor Ava has so few milestones logged.

Today was her Baptism and I'll post something for that soon, but she gave us a surprise last night. A week ago she start pushing herself around backwards but tonight that evolved into a full fledged crawl. Good Job Ava! 8 months and 25 days.

Sick kids

2010-04-04T20:35:00.003-04:00

Got a call from Julie telling me Russ had cut his lip pretty bad. She went to sick kids and I met here there.

Cut his lip was sort of an understatement. When I saw Russ, his lower lip on the bottom of his mouth was cut all the way through. The funny thing was he really didn't seem to think anything of it. He's sucking his thumb and playing with toys in the office waiting to see the doctor.

The advantage if going to a big hospital like sick kids is they have specialists for everything. Julie was concerned that Russ would have a permanent scar. They had a plastic surgeon do the stitches. He said the muscle had also torn so to put everything back together was about 20 stitches. The only things that bothered Russ was not eating for 8 hours and getting the IV put in. Aside from that he was fine. The worse part for me was when they sedated him and see his eyes sort of roll and see the little guy pass out. It was heartbreaking.

Thankfully Russ really doesn't complain or fuss with the wound.

The longest movie ever....

2010-04-04T20:35:00.001-04:00

So about two months ago Julies mom stayed over so it was a chance to go see a movie. Went to see Avatar. Just as they are about to attackthe tree the theatre goes dead. They give us some vouchers to come back but when is that actually going to happen. Julie eventually went with Deanne to see it again buti didn't want to use up a night out to see 2/3rds of a movie I've already seen.

Anyways enroute to Mexico with no 3d and on a 10inch screen. Finshed it. Pretty good.

Up next.... Ninja assasins.

I guess we're supporting the Cowboys

2010-01-10T08:53:00.001-05:00

Now that New England is out, the Tabata's will be supporting the Cowboys for the rest of the NFL season. If it works out for them, Ava will be getting a Leaf's Onesie.

Happy Girl

2009-12-07T08:23:00.001-05:00

Russell Halloween 2009

2009-11-02T08:38:00.001-05:00

Emily's Birthday Party

2009-11-01T23:13:00.000-05:00

More photos..

2009-10-18T21:40:00.002-04:00

Today I finally put my trusty Nikon D70 to rest. Still taking great shots up to and including today.

Times are a changin and i finally bit the bullet to upgrade to the new D90.

Leaping !!!

2009-10-10T13:00:00.000-04:00

I'm sorry, but I have to post this...

Not a momment too soon....

2009-10-02T15:28:00.000-04:00

October 2nd... it is five days until Julie's due date. Julianne and I were out last night at the Leafs home openner. (the lost to the Habs 4-3 with 12 seconds left in OT) Julie's mom stayed over to watch Russell and she helps watch the little guy as we get ready in the morning. I leave for work and shortly after, Julie takes Russell to daycare and then, to the Nissan dealership to get the oil changed in the Altima.

Around 10 in the morning I get a call from Julianne who is at the dealership. She says she feeling mild contractions around 10 minutes apart. Now for our long term readers, you may recal when Russell was born, we ended up going to the hospital twice. First we were sent back because the contractions weren't strong enough and Julianne wasn't dialated enough. see LCBO night!!! (aka - Russell day -1) When they finally did admit us, we were in the hospital for over 18 hours until the final push came. See Russell Day 0.
So with this news, i figure the baby is coming today or tomorrow, pretty much just like Russell. (4 days early again) I tell Julie to call me immediately if anything changes but we agree to go about our day.

Closer to noon, Julie calls again. She is at home now, not much change in the contractions. She asks if I can pick Russell up from daycare around 3:30. This would be after his nap. At this time, Russell is actually out in Whitby apple picking with his class. I agree I'll leave work early and get Russell after his nap.

I trekked down to Yonge and Eglinton with some coworkers to a Mexican restraunt. Chimichanga...really good, authentic Mexican cuisine. (verified by my Mexican coworkers) I get back to the office at 2, and receive another call. It's Julianne again. The contractions are getting stronger and are about 7 minutes apart. I leave work immediately. Julie asks that I pick up Russell on my way home and she will ask her Mom to come from work to watch him. Now in my head i'm still thinking no problem. The "book" says if its your 2nd baby, come to the hospital if contractions are between 5-7 minutes. Then I figure even if labour is twice as fast as last time, this baby isnt coming until after midnight.

I get Russell around 2:30 and get home about 2:50. By this time, Julie's contractions are quite strong. I still have the magic 5-7 minutes in my head and she says they're still about 7 minutes apart. We're back on the road to the hospital in a few short minutes. Of course its easy to tell when the contractions are because she's squeezing my hand every time one come. According to the clock on the dash board there was one around 3:00pm.... next one was 3:04 !!! whoa, that ain't no 7 minutes!!! Next one was around 3:07 then around 3:11 and we're parked at the hospital.

Roughly 3:15 we arrive at the reception desk to the maternity ward. Some other couple is there registering. (not having a baby, just giving their info) Julie has to sit down by the desk and holds me as another contraction comes over. I'm anxiously trying to get the lady's attention and she eventually takes our health card and hospital card. I ask her if we should go straight to triage but she makes a wait as another contraction come over Julie. Finally, she lets us go ahead.

We get into the triage room and there's no available nurses. One nurse quickly gives Julie a gown to put on and promptly dissappears to attend to another patient. Julie gets her top off, and the gown over her head when another contraction sweeps over her. She sits back down on the chair beside the bed as she holds on to me. Julie says "Ron, I think this baby is coming now!!!" The nurse must have overheard as she popped back and told Julie to get on the bed, get on the bed right now. She partially pull Julie to the bed as she still held on to me. Another contraction and the nurse is telling Julie to lie on her side and breathe and NOT to push. The nurse and I scramble to pull of Julianne's pants. I can't remember anything about how to breathe but I'm trying to help Julie as she's clearly feeling the pressure. The nurse is now frantically trying to call for help and telling Julianne not to push.... just then.... WHOOSH... Julie's water sprays all over the table and halfway across the triage room. She rolls from her side to her back and I look down only to see baby's face!!! I say the head is out !!! and the nurse is still frantically telling Julianne not to push... seconds later Julianne whinces again and the entire baby is out on the triage table!!! The nurse is calling for blankets and finally the blankets and the docters and interns all arrive. I take a good look at the baby, its moving, its breathing okay, and look once, twice, a third time before I tell Julianne that it's a girl !!! The nurse asks me what time it is... I look down at my watch and respond... 3:28.

(so backtracking here... Julie did cave in and asked the ultrasound technician to write the sex of the baby in the file so she could find out from her Doctor if she wanted to. Eventually she asked, and was told that we were expecting a Boy!!)

The next 90 minutes or so were filled with us moving to an actually room, weighing the baby (7lbs 4oz) a string of visits from the doctor or nurse to do some of the paperwork that is usually done when checking in.

In the momments between the visits, Julianne and I just looked at each other, and looked at the baby (still to be named) somewhat in disbelief in how fast everything just happened, what may have happened if she came just a minute sooner, and how perfect our newest little one was.

September 29th, Just one of those days

2009-09-30T10:23:00.003-04:00

approx 4:00 am Russell wakes up and asks for Daddy. I go down to fix his blanket and fall back asleep on his bedroom floor.

6:45 am - all is quiet in Russell's room, I can slip back up to my bed to get a bit more sleep until the alarm goes off... however, when i go to check the time upstairs the lights are out on the clock... damn the power is off, what time is it? Checking my phone i see its almost 10 to 7, the alarm is usually set for 6. I wake Julianne and scramble to get ready in the dark. New problems is that without power, the boiler won't start so theres no hot water. Also Julianne can't get her car out of the garage because we can't move the lift so I'm now dropping Russ at daycare and Julie at work instead of going in early.

8:45 am - in the morning scramble to get to work, i've forgotten my access card for the office so i'm pretty much stuck to the desk all day borrowing a pass for bathroom breaks.

4:30 pm - have to leave work early to pick up Julianne and drive her to her farewell dinner near Yonge and Eg. Still have to drop her off and pick up Russell before 6pm.

5:00 pm - realize that Julianne has forgotten her purse at work. Everyone is gone for the day so she has no phone, car keys or wallet. Strategize for tomorrow to get bag as today was her last day at that office.

6:00 pm - pick up Russell from daycare and went to McDonalds for dinner. Great playland at Vic Park and St Clair except have to struggle with Russ to get him to finish his food before releasing him to the play area.

7:00 pm - takes a turn for the worse... Get home, power is thankfully back on but the garage door wont go up. Leave Russ in the car in the lane as i go in to try to get it working. Get it up manually be door is crooked and wont close correctly.

8:30 pm - Julie gets home, Russ is in bed asleep and I go back to the garage to fuss with the door. I serious screw it up and the cables come off the rollers. Concede and phone a service company. Rate is $65 to come tomorrow or over $200 to come tonight. I send an email to my PM to work from home and schedule an appointment for the next day.

9:30 pm - Julie is feeling pains in her tummy and starts timing the gaps... phones her mom to come down incase we need to jet to the hospital. I go back to the garage to see if I can atleast open the door to get the car out. Oh and if you recall Julie forgot her purse at work, of course her heath card is there too.

10:00 pm - Garage door is now totally screwed. Can't move it at all. I call the repair guys back and change the appointment from tomorrow to ASAP.

10:45 pm - Julie's mom arrives. Julianne is still feeling pain and I'm scrambling to ensure all our bags are packed.

11:10 pm - garage guy arrives. $225 for the visit plus parts. He puts the cable back but the door is really sticking as it rolls up and down manually. Hasn't tried it under power and he starts telling me all these things i need. New rollers $150. Suck that up and agree to change them. Job takes about 5 minutes. Now strongly recommends a surge protector for $50 and a new coil for another $140. There's not fricken way i'm dropping another $200 when the door is now working.

12:10 am - Julianne and her mom are asleep on the couch, her pain is subsiding. I pour a scotch to unwind a bit, but still need to get Russell's stuff together for daycare tomorrow.

1:00 am - finally get to bed but can't really sleep. Start web surfing on the phone.

approx 2:00am - Russell wakes so I go down to fix his blanket and finally fall asleep on his floor again. Good night.

Fast asleep

2009-08-25T23:59:00.001-04:00

So every night I check on Russell before going to bed and his sleeping positions are usually good for a laugh. This is tonight.

Russell at Daycare

2009-08-20T11:58:00.000-04:00

Tale of the tape update

2009-08-02T20:02:00.001-04:00

Today Russell is over 37inches tall and over 33.5 pounds.

Moon man

2009-07-14T09:03:00.001-04:00

Russell often points out the moon in the morning sky. Today however, he added some more commentary. 'I go up there'.

The question is in his lifetime would he go as a job or a tourist?

It's alive!

2009-06-23T00:12:00.002-04:00

When I got home on Saturday after eating ribs in mist, we all pretty much stripped down to bathe and tossed our clothes in the wash. Some time later Julie checks on the dryer as it's making a lot of noise for just Zippers and buttons. I'm summoned to the kitchen to find Julianne trying to put the battey back into her very moist cell phone.

The phone went through the entire wash cycle and half of the dryer. The phone was unresponsive.

I told Julie to let it dry over night. The next morning tried again and it all started up. Everything worked except the microphone so you could hear incomming voices but could not be heard. We discussed new phone options but we didn't have time to visit Rogers till Monday. Monday afternoon we retried the phone and it all works fine.

Basically if you have a dirty motorola phone, it's fine on the cold water cycle and a gentle dryer. Just make sure you give it two days to recover.

Bound for vegas

2009-06-07T14:07:00.001-04:00

Tight fit. Lucky for the weight loss contest.

Bound for vegas

2009-06-07T14:05:00.001-04:00

Going mobile

2009-06-07T11:42:00.001-04:00

Got an iphone blogger app. Let's see how of works.

Potty Time

2009-06-06T22:11:00.002-04:00

Okay, so last week we bought Russell a potty. We haven't been too good about sitting him down at regualar times each day. Wednesday, I caught him just a the begining of a pooh, so I rushed him over to the potty where he finished his business.

Tonight before bath he asked for the potty, sat down and quickly got down to some bladder business.

Great job Russell.

Tigress Woods

2009-05-28T09:33:00.000-04:00

Just skimming through some old photos and found a great one of Julie. Too bad she had to take a break from golf. She would probably be lifting the Lumber cup in victory this year if she had kept playing. Just check out the form.

Trinidad & Tobago 2009

2009-05-15T09:18:00.003-04:00

So another month, and another flight with Russell. This time, the flight was twice as long as it was to Orlando but this time Russell had his own seat. Over the 5 1/2 hour flight he was pretty good. Slept a bit, cried a bit, ate a bit and watched movies a bit so we really can't complain.

This trip was all about packing and unpacking. We spent the first two nights at Grandpa Ken's place. Saturday was Alyssa's wedding & reception at the Trinidad Hilton. I booked a room on my Hilton points knowing that it would be better to have a bed close by for Russell to crash after dinner. That Hilton status paid off with a few complimentary drinks, and free buffet brunch for 4 (incl Russ) the next day. Probably worth an extra $150 on top of the room. After that night, it was back to Grandpa's for another night, then the next day a 20 minute flight to Tobago for four days.

Grandpa rented a wonderful villa in Tobago with a great pool and the odd indoor lizard. Finally unpacked for a few days. We took Russ on a glass bottom boat tour to see the coral reef, a little snorkeling and the Bucco Reef and the Nylon pool. Russell loved the water. We'll definitely have to get in more swimming this summer. I even got in a round of golf.

Finally we flew back to Trinidad & one more night with Grandpa before the flight home.

A Rollercoster of a day...

2009-05-03T21:46:00.005-04:00

Good news.

It's Sunday and its the first day of the golf season for me. The sun is shining, the forcast is great have a smooth ride up to the course. What a great start.

Bad news.
I get to the course for 9am because they sheet says the first tee off is at 9:30. Execpt, when i get there, they say 1st off is at 10:30 and I'm in the 7th group, so I'll probably start around 11:30. So instead of meeting Julianne at 3:30 like i said, I now have to call her back to explain it will be more like 5:30 or 6pm.

More bad news.
I start my round with a 9 then a 6, then a 10. Yes, 12 over par after 3 holes. Finish the front 9 with a 58.

Good news.
Louis is beating me by 7 strokes after 9 holes. I smuggly tell him that I'll still beat him today. He leads by 9 strokes by the 11th hole. Then by 6 strokes after 12, then by 3 strokes after 13, then tied by the 16. All in all, I did beat him by 3 strokes. Finished the back 9 with a 47.

Better news...
I met Julianne and Russell at Dairy Queen where George and Yvonne were very generous with us. I'm still stuffed with Ice Cream.

Terrible news...
So i get home. Empty my pockets onto the bed so I can change my pants. I take off my belt and gently lob it onto the bed, when i hear a sickly cracking sound.

The horror!!!

The phone works but I get little shards of glass in my fingers when i use it. I really need to get this fixed this week as Russell watches Disney cartoons on it. It's a must have item for the flight.

2 year tale of the tape

2009-04-29T08:38:00.002-04:00

Russell weighed in at 32lbs and just over 36 inches this morning.

Russell's Birthday Party

2009-04-25T16:56:00.001-04:00

Unfortunately, Daddy scheduled the party on the same day as the BMO Wonderland day, but Russell still had a great time.

Singing Happy Birthday

Opening a gift

Dancing to the Thomas Theme

Brunch with the mommy group

2009-04-18T11:04:00.000-04:00

Angela invited us and the other families in Russell's postnatal class for Brunch on Saturday. It was a great opportunity for Russell to see some of his old friends. Carys, Sophia, and Delaney all go to Graydon Hall Nursery so it's been a while since Russell has seen them.

Watching Diego

(Russell actually looks like the smallest here. It was very cute, Carys said "Russell, sit here" Lucky little guy)

For reference...(1 year ago)

Hugs for Carys

Too much Zoolander for Russell

Disney Trip

2009-04-07T00:23:00.002-04:00

I was going to rewrite this post but in a nutshell, here is what happened on the trip in bullet form.

Mar 28 day1 - travel

We got a pretty late start today as we had a few false starts getting to the airport. Fortunately we arrived at park n fly with perfect timing as the shuttle pulled up as we quickly unloaded. AirTransat had a bonus for us with child loot bags including a beachball, etchasketch pad & kid sized headphones.

Mar 29 day2 - overcast

the buffet breakfast at ponderosa. $3.99, what a bargin
buy some essentials for the condo. Milk, OJ, Grapes, KD, Ketchup, etc.
At the Super Target, the checkout girl did not know what ginger was. Welcome to the USA.
drove to Texas Roadhouse for dinner (paid toll) but decided it was too early to eat.
drove to outlet mall - bought nothing (except for paying the toll again)
drove back for dinner at Texas roadhouse (yes, toll again)
drove back to condo... yes, more tolls.

Mar 30 Day 3 - Disney Animal Kingdom

straight to animal safari
lunch @ pizzasafari
tough to be a bug 3D movie
playing in the bone yard

Mar 31 Day 4 - Disney Magic Kingdom

trains trains trains
Tram from the parking lot to the ticket gates
Monorail from the ticket gates to the front gate
Disney Railroad around the park
Russell was in Choo-Choo heaven.

rode tomorrowland speedway with Russ
buzz lightyears space ranger spin
photo with Buzz
lunch as cosmic diner
small world
winnie the pooh ride
Carousel
Disney railroad

Apr 1 Day 5 - Shopping

breakfast @ Sizzlers ($4.99 and not as good as Ponderosa)
find a walmart
Premium Outlet mall (Bought nothing again)
Orange World (Bought Grapefruit)
Russell naps in the car
Downtown Disney

Apr 2 Day 6 - Disney magic kingdom

fast pass perfected - as you can see by out increased ride count

Aladin's Magic carpet
Enchanted Tiki Room
Lunch - tacos
Jungle safari
Tomorrowland Speedway (again but with Mommy this time)
Tomorrowland Transit
Peter Pan's flight (Russell did not like the dark)
Teacups
disney railroad

Apr 3 Day 7 - pool party

breakfast @ ihop
back to Walmart
swimming
dinner @ Kobe
Disney Boardwalk

Apr 4 Day 8 - departure day

breakfast & packing
Mall of Millenia (Bought nothing)
Cheesecake Factory for lunch
Killing more time at Millenia
Festival Bay mall (Bought some Quicksilver flipflops for Russ)
Prime outlets mall
Returned the rental car and got to the airport.
Our already late flight was delayed. Departed after midnight. Russ fell asleep just before boarding.
Russell wiggled and whined occassionally during the flight, arrived at Pearson after 3am
Got bags around 4am. Massive line for Park N Fly shuttle so daddy squeezed on without any luggage to get the car and come back for Mommy and Russell.
Home and in bed at 5am.

Russell's Raspberries

2009-03-22T23:44:00.001-04:00

Russell has figured out the most ergonomic way to consume raspberries, provided you have small finger tips.

Cobra Kai in the Tabata Dojo

2009-03-14T23:18:00.005-04:00

Russell started the day trying to sweeten up Mommy.

and it worked.

Later on, we invited Kai over for Burgers and some play time.

Russell's Car Review

2009-03-10T22:45:00.008-04:00

Russell loves cars. Infact, his teachers at daycare commented on how excited he gets with all forms of transporation... cars, trucks, buses, trains and airplanes. Infact he can say Airplane in Japanese... "Hikooki" When he was upset with daddy leaving him at daycare, they would give him a matchbox or hotwheels car and he would be very happy.

Since Russell was so happy with them at school, naturally, daddy had to select a few cars that Russell could play with (with daddy) at home.

The first two in the collection were the 1964 Alfa Romeo GTA, and the 2008 Tesla Roadster. Daddy had to get at least two cars, because what would daddy play with while Russell was playing with the other one.

Start with a classic. The Alfa Romeo GTA has always been one of daddy's favourites. We found that the Matchbox version has a higher center of gravity and is prone to oversteer. This is great for making skidding motions across the floor, but is prone to flipping over.

The other car was the Tesla Roadster. This pick was really more of a statement to the world in which Russell is entering. The Tesla is the first modern all electric sports car and is historically sigificant. As you can see, it is ultra low to the ground with just over 1mm of clearance. Handling is much different from the Alfa with more weight up front it is much more stable. However, more stability does relate in a little less fun in the driving experience.

Russell's Garage

2009-03-08T23:13:00.001-04:00

Russell is already practicing parking in confined spaces.

Julia's 5th Birthday

2009-02-18T09:36:00.002-05:00

We were all very excited when we were invited to Julia's 5th Birthday Party. It was going to be a long day, starting around noon at the indoor playground, and well through dinner at Mike & Sheryl's. Russell napped in the morning before we left but after 2 hours of running and eating he still needed a 30 minute power nap in the car.

He had a great time with all the kids.

Russell hamming it up at dessert... (hijacked from Julia's blog site.)

Busy weekend

2009-02-02T12:38:00.005-05:00

Friday was Russell's last day at Graydon Hall Daycare. I think Mommy and Daddy are going to miss the staff and all the attention Russell got there. He was a real celebrity around there with even most of the parents there knowing him by name. I think Russell is going to miss the blonde haired, blue eyed girls. Not too many of those at Ikebata.

Saturday we drove to KW to visit Quentin and Kim & Grantley. Quentin was very excited to meet Russell and gave him a detailed update as to what he's been upto. Unfortunatly, the rest of us just heard babbling.

Sunday we took a long overdue walk thanks to the nice weather. Later, Russell settled down for a bit to watch some football. (unfortunatly, Daddy didn't)

Monday Russell started his new daycare. Ikebata is a Japanese/English bilingual daycare. He was pretty unsure this morning about starting something new. I hope he's okay. We'll find out when Mommy brings him home later.

Russell on Ice

2008-11-30T18:48:00.004-05:00

Grandma's company had a family skating day at the Ricoh Center so what better place for Russell to display is athletic potential to new Leafs GM Brian Burke? So with new skates and the helmet from last summer, he took to the ice for his try out.

Ice is a lot trickier on skates than carpet is.

In the penalty box...(i guess he didn't like the call)

Russell still doesn't care for Santa too much.

Russell Rocks

2008-11-11T14:32:00.004-05:00

Saturday, Julianne is thinking how cute Russell was singing along with Rockband, holding the mic. I explain to her that our old copy of Rockband won't play on the new playstation, but I would gladly go pick up a copy of Rockband2 for PS3 while Russell napped.

.... the rest is Rockband history.

Halloween

2008-11-03T15:46:00.003-05:00

I know i have lots of stuff to catch up on, like Russell Takes to the Seas, Russell goes to the zoo, Russell Picks a Pumpkin, and Russell goes to the ACC. Oh, and most importantly, Ron Rents a Mazda 5.

But to respect the season, here are Russell's Halloween photos.

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Ron's rapid rental recap

2008-10-15T22:07:00.002-04:00

Okay, so for the 3 people who are interested in the rental review over the Russell updates, here goes a catch up post.

Hyundai Accent - so they didnt have any midsize cars so they offered me this. I figured the Sonata was really good so i'll give it a shot.

It's really peppy and nimble. would be a ton of fun on an autocross track or any track for that matter. Interior finish is pretty good for a cheap car, on par with the Mustang for comparison sake. My rental had one big problem. The front door contacted the front fender when opened. I guess this could be adjusted but felt like a sizable defect.

Nissan Murano - really looks nice, but was pretty average in all. Felt a lot like the Equinox, with and nicer exterior and interior.

Mustang - again... honestly, not quite as bad at the first one. Visibility is still an issue, but this was a little quieter, stereo was a little cleaner, drove a little better. But in general still crap. Need to try a new Dogde Challenger and Chevy Camaro to have a valid comparison.

Chevy Trailblazer - interior is straight from the 80's. black leather top to bottom, just missed the eau du Polo. Interior was more fit for an IROC from the 80's than a modern suv. Car itself wasn't too bad, solid, handled okay, and rode fine.

Hyundai Tucson - I'm continued to be impressed by Hyundai. Interior is not as nice as the Sonata, probably on par with the lower, Elantra. However, car drove fine, good interior space for a small suv, and everything worked well.

Hyundai Sonata - had another one and it was as excellent as the first time.

Dodge Caravan - This weeks car... first true minivan and there's tons of space. However, tonight, the cruisecontrol lever flatly fell out of the steering wheel and is flopping around getting caught on the wiper level. First it could get stuck on the wiper lever and prevent me from steering and cause an accident. Now I have it taped to the back of the steering wheel to keep it out of the way.

Bringing da Thunder

2008-08-26T23:30:00.002-04:00

So 2008 is the biggest movie blockbuster summer to date. Hollywood is expecting a record 4 billion dollars in ticket sales. This pumped up from comic book sequels The Dark Knight & Hell Boy, and double dips to old franchises like Indiana Jones.

I've seen an unexpected number of movies this year. There is a theatre in the same complex as my hotel so it's pretty easy to catch a late show while i'm on the road. This summer held a lot of high expectations. Ironman really held up to its promise. One of my favourite comic book heroes as a kid, delivered a great summer movie. The retooled Incredible Hulk was incredibly not terrible either. Marvel is sewing the seeds to the biggest hero movie of all time by developing individual storylines that will eventually come together in the Avengers movie featuring Ironman, the Hulk, Thor and Captain America. The Avengers franchise ties together most of the Marvel Universe including Wolverine (new movie coming) and Spiderman. Maybe it is a move to counter the inevitable Justice League movie that can never seem to get off the ground.

Most other highly anticipated films could not say the same. Indiana was too far fetched and fell into the Lucas trap of blue screen effects over a solid cliffhanger story. Pixar is a guaranteed ticket but the eco-preaching Wall-e overshadowed a promising story and dazzling animation. The Dark Knight, I feared that the Ledger's demise would overshadow the performance, but in fact, the Joker's portrayal was so captivating, it blew away the rest of the storyline and as a whole, the movie was empty and aimless. Hellboy, while a surprisingly good first movie, was flat and boring in sequel form. Wanted was a cheesy film so get adolescent boys to buy tickets to see Angelina Jolie's naked ass. (it really was the best part of the entire 2 hour film) But the unsuspecting guy becoming secret agent story is already done and done much better in the TV series Chuck.

Many other efforts didnt even get my six bucks. (yes, Tuesdays in Rhode Island are cheap) Get Smart, The Mummy 3, Love Guru, Zohan, Speed Racer... (maybe Pineapple Express.. might see that next week) will all be lucky to get a few hrs of my time via the PVR when they're broadcast on TMN.

So tonight.... I think I saw the most wicked awesome film of the summer. Tropic Thunder has to be seen in the theatre with the commercials and previews and everything. Completely original, satires the Chuck Norris Delta Force movies with Hearts of Darkness, Making of Apocalypse. The concept is great and the cast has you jumping between "that's the guy from..." and "I can't believe he's in this too". This movie is a cool as Ironman, but funnier than anything i've seen this year.

3rd Anniversary

2008-08-25T19:34:00.002-04:00

So Julianne and I celebrated our 3rd Anniversary with a phone call. In lieu of being together for the actual day, we planned to have Friday as our 'date' day.

We dropped Russell off at daycare after breakfast and we headed up to Wonderland. It was a weekday, and the Ex was on so it shouldn't be too busy right??? Wrong.... we spent some quality time in line for the 3 rides we managed to get in before we left to pick up Russell.

Now aside from that, i did manage to catch Russell on video a fair bit so everyone can see what he's up to. Of course that's what anyone is interested in anyways.

Russell's Vocabulary

Russell's Exercise routine

Russell's new shoe

Snip Snip Russell

2008-08-13T22:18:00.003-04:00

This is one of the hardest decisions the parents of any boy has to make. You know that he'll never be the same after the first cut, but as parents, you have to make a decision that is in you son's best interest, and frankly, Julianne and I think it just looks better.

.... so i caught the whole procedure on video....

Ron's Rental Review - more hawt pony action

2008-08-13T21:19:00.010-04:00

So a week ago the hertz lady offered me either a Mustang or a Sonata... in that brief moment that followed, I could imagine my review of the Sonata: "The car was white....that's about it" I cannot imagine a more bland, uninspirational car in production today. At the Autoshow, I can't imagine coming within 100 yards of one of these buckets. At least the Mustang is an icon, so I took it.

This week, after feeling soiled by the 'stang, I had no problem taking the Hyundai keys she offered me.

From the outside, the Hyundai Sonata is indeed one of the most boring cars i've ever seen. It basically looks like a dated Honda Accord. They exterior styling just doesn't look quite current.

So i opened the trunk to stow my bags and things got slightly more promising. Two oval tail pipes and a V6 badge gave me a little more hope for the week. Opening the door and stepping into the Sonata was the big surprise. The fit and finish here is excellent. I would say that the dash and dials look better than my BMW (mind you my car is over 4 years old) The interior is the complete opposite from the Mustang. The quality and feel of the dash and all of the surfaces feel far beyond my expectations, and that of anything I've rented so far. Even the shift path has a fine subtle chrome pinstripe.

So lots of photos but how does it feel? Again, completely different from the Mustang. The engine is virtually silent. Even when you stomp on the accelerator, the engine is still hardly noticeable, you just feel a solid whoosh of power as you're surged down the freeway. Handling is surefooted, not exactly 'sporty', but confident and comfortable.

Honestly, this is the perfect car for someone who really doesn't care about cars. What I mean is I really can't find any 'quirks' that only a true enthusiast would embrace like the tone of the exhaust. This car really gets you from point A to B smoothly, comfortably, reasonably quickly, without any complaints or issues. And it does all this with the best fuel economy next to the Prius that i've encountered so far. Over 26 mpg.

Basically I can see the Ford & Hyundai engineers each given the task of building a $25,000 car. The Ford guys spend $20k on the body, (it is a cool looking car) and the remaining 5k to get the rest of the car done. The Hyundai guys took $24k to engineer the interior, engine, suspension and chassis, then make a quick sheet metal mould around the outside to design the body. Decide for yourself which is more important to you.

Oh, and by the way, it's white, with a metallic pearl hue. Very nice.

Ron's Rental Review 4 - The Pony Express

2008-08-06T00:53:00.006-04:00

So i'm at the counter to pick up the car this week, and the lady says she has a Mustang for me. Almost like a gag reflex, I ask if she had anything imported that she can offer me instead. She says they have a Sonata, but in that time, i think of the blog, and the fact that the Mustang is a classic, the Sonata is pretty boring and good or bad, I should have something to write about. So I say I'll stick with the 'stang, take the keys and plod off to space #31 and the red 2008 Ford Mustang.

I drop my bags in the trunk and slide into the car and am immediately awash in a sea of beige plastic and polyester. Plastic here was far worse than any of the GM cars I had rented. Clearly the materials were supplied by either Hasboro or Mattel. Infact, i'm sure the dash in the Barbi version is exactly the same, only pink.

What was even worse than the dash was the ridiculous shift knob / lever thingy. The stupid design aside, the plastic used here felt like the handle of my super soaker. As a driver, there are really only three parts of the car you touch with your bare skin: the radio, the steering wheel, and the gear shift. If you have to use cheap materials, don't scrimp on those three items.

So a few minutes later I'm rolling down the interstate and I can feel the impressions of the Mustang flowing out like diarrhea. All the dials and vents have about an inch of chrome trim around them. The only good thing about that is that all that chrome reflects the sun into your eyes so you can't focus on how bad the rest of the interior looks. The view, the seats, the sound, the radio, the dash..... all so exceptionally bad they are truly exceptional.

The windshield is short and the hood line is very high which is cool in a chopped hotrod but for a practical car, makes you feel like you're steering a tank, looking out one of those little slits.

The Mustang has bucket seats, but they have absolutely no lateral support. It really just feels like a shorter version of the bench seat in my dad's 78 Impala. However, this is probably a good think because it discourages you from attempting any real cornering. You can feel the rear axle hopping over small highway bumps and you can easily imagine yourself facing the wrong way if you pushed the car in any way.

Of course, Ford has conveniently fitted the Mustang with a permanent traction control system. They've done so by giving the V6 absolutely no horsepower whatsoever. With your foot on the floor, you still can't squeek the tires.

The fact that you can't squak the tires is ironic because those very tires rolling down the freeway at 50mph are so loud, it sounds like you're in the bathroom filling up the tub. So with the roar of the tires, i turn up the Sirrus satellite radio to alleviate the noise. The radio, sounds awful. It has tons of treble and the plastic door panels rattle to the beat.

This car is so incredibly bad, it stands out among all others. In 2005 it was awarded Canadian Car of the year by some inebriated snowmobile drivers. How this is possible is beyond me. I guess the only question is how the copycat retro cars from Dogde (Challenger) and Chevy (Camaro) will fair.

Ron's Rental Review take three

2008-07-30T07:08:00.006-04:00

Now we're truckin'! I was ready to whine about the Equinox. But in all honesty, aside from the expected shortcomings of pretty much all GM cars, its not that bad. This opinion could be tainted by the car i'm driving this week which is a true automotive abomination, and is completely rant worthy.

So the Equinox. Yes the dash makes no attempt of being anything other than a large sheet of pressed plastic.

Basically the look and feel of everything could be best described as Flea Market Chic. The Artsy square fabric with the big plastic handle from what felt like recycled Coleman coolers.

Mechanically speaking, there really wasn't much to complain about. Ride was comfortable, very much like the Outback from the previous week. The engine was no less powerful than the Subaru. The overall feel of the car was solid. Of course this is a new car. A few short years would see all those hard plastic bits on the interior squeaking against one another, but for now it was quite comfortable. I averaged about 25 mpg which was also on par with the Subaru.

In conclusion, the Equinox was only memorable because it wasn't as awful as it could have been. Not really rant worthy or rave worthy.

LMBR Cup Training

2008-07-22T21:33:00.002-04:00

With two Kozai's in this years Lumber Cup Championship... the Tabata's have taken steps to reclaim the cup. Russell has commenced training with his eyes on the prize for 2020!!!

Ron's Rental Review part deux

2008-07-16T21:59:00.006-04:00

okay, so what the heck is PZEV??? Google says its Partially Zero Emission vehicle. So 'partially' must me sometimes its zero emission right? So is it a hybrid? There's a green leaf on the logo so it must be right?

Well, all i can figure is that its a very low emission vehicle. So really the only time it is "zero emission" is when its turned off.... pretty much the same thing as a Hummer or a Lamborghini.

Okay, aside from the PZEV, the Outback is really a very nice car. It's jacked up higher than a regular car so the view is pretty good but its definitely a car, not an suv. The ride is very comfortable, the tires and suspension suck up the bumps and the car feels very solid and planted at all times.

The interior is nice. I'm driving the base model i guess with cloth seats but its tasteful and most of the materials seem to feel like a good quality.

Okay back to the PZEV... I think it stands for Practically Zero Energy Vehicle. This wagon with 4wheel drive is heavy, and the 170hp four banger just isn't enough to get this family wagon up to highway speed at under a glacial pace. Also the weather here has been really nice, so morning drives to the office, i've had the windows down. On starting the car, the PZEV idles really rough, and is sounds like a wheezing putt putt engine.

Really the only downside of the Legacy Outback wagon is the engine. I've gotten about 25mpg driving it for about 2 weeks. (Hertz has given me the same car two weeks in a row) Half the roads around here have a 25mph speed limit so the weak engine is bearable. However,if there were an STI version of the outback, I think it would be a great car and something I'd consider after the M3 if the price were right.

Burgertime

2008-07-16T21:49:00.003-04:00

So Russell's diet is almost exclusively composed of organic or naturally raised foods. Mom & Dad don't usually eat as well so we've fallen into a routine of cooking separate food for Russell and us.

Well, we're now trying to eat the same things as Russell because cooking twice for dinner has us going to bed later and later.

We had homemade burgers and this time, and had some for Russell too.

Ron's Rental Review

2008-07-01T00:16:00.006-04:00

Okay, sorry, I have lots of photos of Russell but they're all on my cameras at home. The only pictures i can access are on my phone so these 'on the road' updates will have some other themes... And i guess I'll try to take more Russell pics with my phone on the weekend.

.....So its my 3rd week in Rhode Island and I'm in the line at Hertz to get my car. There's some semi distinguished looking guy at the front of the line and he's talking with the Hertz guy. It sounds like he's not too keen on the car he's getting and I think I over hear the Hertz guy say "PT Cruiser". The semi distinguished guy makes some gesture, lifting his hands, palms up, in an upward motion... sort of like asking for something a little more 'distinguished' you might say. So the Hertz guy puts the keys back and I think he mumbles "Outback" to the guy. The semi distinguished guy looks much happier and takes the keys and I get one step closer to the front of the line.

I now see how the game is played, and I'm ready for an upgrade. For the last two weeks I got a Pontiac G6. The G6 is an pitiful effort at designing a car. It's really not worth the effort of describing how awful it is. Honestly, if Oprah Winfrey game me one of them, it would be on craigslist before you could spell TTC.

So I get to the counter and there's no way i'm taking a G6 this time, however when the Hertz guy brings the keys over, it's only a small block, with no cut metal part sticking out. I first thought it might be a Volkswagon, with the switchblade key but it was black plastic on all four sides. No brand logos, only 3 buttons, lock, unlock and red one I assume is panic. The Hertz guy tells me the space number the car is located at but doesn't mention the type of car. Well, i know this is no G6 with this key so I take it and haul my stuff to the spot.

I get to the spot and the first thing i think is "cool, they rented me a golf cart" because before me is a white Toyota Prius.

I unlock it, place my bag in the back, and get into the driver's seat. I plug the key block into a slot in the dash, then start looking around to figure out what to do next. There's a button on the dash labeled "Power", I press it and the dash lights up, but nothing else really happens. I can't get the car in drive and can't get the AC going because it's hot. I push the power button again, now the little light behind it goes from orange to green... still can't get the car in gear. So i push the button again and everything is off again. Finally I push the button a 4th time and its back on and green. Foot on the brake, and I get the car in drive. I can finally adjust the mirrors, set the A/C and figure out how to get radio going. It now feels like it's been 10 minutes since I got into the car.

So I'm now off for the 20 minute drive from the airport to the office. First thing i notice is the brakes are really 'grabby', which I like. Sort of reminds me of when I had the track pads on the S2000. It might be uncomfortable if your driver is a little hard on the brake but it suited me fine. Accelerating is pretty much what I expected... on par with the G6, sort of like doing the 1/4 in a cruise ship. Aside from that, the interior is spartan but nice. The dash and doors look some kind of recycled rubber/plastic product textured to look like a tatami mat. Looks and feels 100 times better than the G6.

So after a day off work, I get back into the Prius to get to the hotel. I back up and all i hear is "beep..... beep......beep.....beep...." OMG!!! I am driving a Golf Cart!!! It was good for a laugh.

So what about the gas mileage? There's a big screen in the middle of the dash that shows the current mileage, and where the power is going between the engine, the motor, and the battery. It's really distracting and all I can say is that sometime the mileage is good and sometimes its not.

In fact, my very favorite show on the planet had a segment last week comparing the fuel consumption of the Prius against of all things.... a BMW M3. What a coincidence!!

So as the days progressed, I noticed that the fuel gauge was still on full. I started to flirt with the idea that i might get to drive and not have to refill the tank before i returned the car. (you're supposed to return the car with a full tank of gas) It's Thursday and I'm heading back to the Airport to return the car and the tank is still 8/8 bars full. I get off the highway and just before I turn into the airport, bang.. one light goes out, 7/8. Bugger.... now i detour to the gas station, with the intention of putting in just enough gas to get that last light back on. I start filling, I get just past a gallon and i'm ready to let up and pump clicks closed. Must be totally full. I'm just put in slightly over $5. I get back in the car, start it up to head back to the airport, pull away and notice that it's still at 7/8ths. Now I'm second guessing myself, did the pump stop or did I stop early? I pull around to another pump just to make sure. I reinsert my credit card and start filling again. This time..... 52 cents of gas before the pump stops again. It's definitely full. It's full but the gauge is still showing 7/8ths... which is just another quirk because the car still had trouble starting where I have to 'reboot' it get it in gear every so often when starting it up. I have my 52 cent receipt ready for the Hertz guy if he says anything about the tank not being full, but just as I pull into the Hertz lot, the final 8/8ths bar re-lights and is showing a full tank.

I drop off the car and I ask the guy, how far I went. He says 120 miles. Pretty good, 120 miles on less than 1.5 gallons of gas! Maybe they are on to something here!

Opening a present!

2008-06-01T21:18:00.002-04:00

Okay so maybe the editing doesn't keep pace with the music but i had to take a step beyond dumping the vid right from the camera to the web.

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There she blows !!!

2008-05-29T08:32:00.002-04:00

Okay, it's day 2 of poo watch.

Russell was up at 5am this morning so I got him a bottle to eat while we changed his diaper. First verdict.. no poo.

tick tick tick... 5:50am: So poo watch continues. Breakfast and still no sign of the tell tale pushing the we've all become accustom to. (click here for a reminder) So i'm checking my watch. Registration for today's golf tournement is at 7:15 with tee off at 7:45. I figure I could leave at 6:30 to make the registration time, maybe as late as 6:45 to make the tee time.

tick tick tick... 6:15: no poo,

tick tick tick....6:30: no poo, (well some from daddy, but none from Russell as of yet)

tick tick tick... 6:45: no poo, oh well so much for golf. I call Louis to see if he's on his way and of course he's just leaving his house. We'll find out if he made it to the course tomorrow.

tick tick tick... 7:30: Julianne is now taking my car to work (with my golf clubs in the trunk) so I have her car with the car seat if we still end up going to daycare.

tick tick tick... 8:00: I'm playing with Russell's train that uncle Mike and auntie Sheryl gave him to lure him away from the back door. Russell approaches, following him is the waft of a stinky diaper. I'm thinking, well, time for a change, I should give him a few more minutes to make sure he's done. Just then, i notice a small brown chip on the rug... it must be Poo! Then a second later a baby sized 'log' is sitting right beside me on the hardwood! Whoa, no time to spare, the diaper must be overflowing and the poo is falling down his pant legs!!!

So I leave the poo on the floor, grab the little dude under the arms with one arm, and around the cuffs of his jeans with my other hand in an attempt to contain the poo. We get up to the change table and thankfully, there is towel on it so I'm not too concerned with the poo getting all over it. I get the diaper off and the poo is everywhere, up and down his legs as suspected, much too big a job for wipes, this is going to require a bath. I carefully haul Russell to the tub leaving the poo pants, poo onesie, and poo diaper on the now soiled change table. As I'm washing him off, naturally, Julianne phones at this very moment to see what's going on. (this is where an extra mutant arm would come in handy) I inform her that the bowels are now moving once again and she proceeds to remind me to see that he has adequate extra clothes for daycare, all the while, I'm balancing poo boy with my other hand.

The bath is over, Russell is clean again, so i take him back to his room, but I can't change him yet because the poo clothes are all over his change table. I put naked Russell in his crib a few moments while i dispose of the diaper and dirty clothes. No more than 10 secondly later, I've cleared the change table, turn to get Russell to notice he's standing over a wet spot in his crib. Great, so I slap a diaper on the little squirt and now i have to change his bedding. Jeez, that little guy really knows how to work Dad over.

Anyways, Russ is now napping. I have some stuff to put in the wash now as soon at the last load finishes. I'd like to say "I'd rather be golfing" but if I was, I would have missed Russell smiling and laughing at me once he was full dressed again.

At least now, I'll never forget it.

Thrusday should be perfect???

2008-05-28T22:54:00.003-04:00

So today is Wednesday. Brian, Louis and I played Maples of Ballantrae on Sunday where I shot a round of 100 even after starting with a triple bogey on the 1st and taking a 10 on a later hole. I had a mediocre round at Maples which was a vast improvement over my previous round three weeks ago. I knew would be missing the next tournament in two weeks and i didn't want to wait 4 weeks till my next round after improving 13 strokes over my last one, (new driver helped) so i had a strong itch to get back out on the links again.

On another front, the project I am working on doesn't quite have enough budget to keep me through the end of next week so I figure I could take 1/2 day off this week and next to help the budget and get in a bit of golf.

This morning I checked out www.lastminutegolfer.com. I saw that I could play the same course I played on Sunday, for 1/2 the price and with a cart included. It's a 7:45 shotgun start, so I figure I could be back at the office for 1pm. Sounds perfect right?

It even gets better. Julianne's mom has agreed to stay over Thursday night so we were planing to go out for a quick dinner and see a movie. (maybe Ironman or Indiana Jones)

So now my plan is to leave the house around 6am, play golf, get to the office for 1pm and do a series of Release Management interviews, then come home, shower, leave for dinner and a movie with my sweetie. Sounds pretty good for a Thursday.

So I'm driving home with my prefect plans running though my head when I get a call from Julianne. She picked up Russell from daycare where she found that Russell has diarrhea, and he can't come back until his bowel movements firm up. So if Julie takes the day off, she has to arrange someone to take her patients AND loose a day's pay, versus, I skip my golf, forefit the fees, and I still have to get back to work for my workshops so I need to get someone to care for Russell after 1pm, until Julianne's mom arrives after work.

So my parents are now on call to watch Russell if needed, and my Thursday plans are all now hinging on Russell's next poop. Not only the texture of his excrement, but also the timing. I need him to drop a load by 6:15 at the latest to make it to the course on time.

Wish us luck. Oh, and feel free to wish Russell a happy 13th month birthday today.

It's my Party!!!

2008-05-03T20:14:00.000-04:00

So we organized Russell's first birthday party for Saturday May 3rd. We knew it was going to be hectic day but really had no idea just how hectic.

On Tuesday, the day after Russell's actual birthday, Julie got a call from daycare informing her to pick him up as he had a fever. Julie had the day off, and was planning on visiting the new dental practice that she would be starting at on Thursday. I on the other hand, was out in San Francisco getting an preview of the next version of Siebel. (and watching the cable cars a bit)

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Julie picked up Russell and took him to the Doctor. She said to give him Tylenol and bring him back on Thursday.

So Thursday, I'm back in town, so I take him to the doctor so Julie can go to her first day of work. The doctor says that Russell has an ear infection and prescribes some antibiotics. The good thing is that his fever is fading by this point.

Friday night, Julie and I plan to get ready for the big day. I made all the hamburger patties that night and Julianne did some baking. The next morning, Julie was going to decorate the cake and tidy up. I was taking Russ to music class, getting beer, then going to Loblaws for chicken (for the beer can chicken)

After music class we change Russell and notice he has little spots all over his tummy. Some on his arms and legs too. Julie calls the doctor and leaves a message for her. We assumed it must be an allergic reaction to the antibiotics so we don't give him anymore, and I proceed to the grocery.

I know have beers in the car, I've just loaded 4 whole chickens into the grocery cart when I get a call from Julianne. She says the Doctor called her back and from our description of his rash, thinks he has Rosiola? (sp.) She proceeds to tell us that he's not contagious but he may have been when he had his fever earlier in the week and that his toys and stuff he's touched my still pass it on. So now, we're scrambling to figure out how much food we need and to see who is still coming. We called everyone with small children to give them an update and see if they're still coming. All this time I'm looking at the chickens... how many do I need now... 2? 3? or should i still buy 4 since they're on sale this week?

I come home and we're still scrambling to get ready. Julianne still needs to shower, I have to pre-cook the burgers and prepare the chicken when the guests start to arrive and on top of that, the rain starts to fall.

Of course, none of this seemed to bother Russell, who had a great time regardless. In fact, i think everyone had a great time, and Julie and I probably just scrambled for nothing. Hopefully we'll get better with practice.

Happy Birthday to Russell

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Russell's Cake

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Russell takes the lead in Rockband

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Man on the Move

2008-04-26T08:20:00.003-04:00

Russell is 364 days old today. He'll also getting quite bored of just crawling around. He's be working on his walking for a few weeks now. Basically he could stand up, and maybe shuffle one or two tiny steps before falling into whoever was coaxing him on.

He's progressed beyond that now an is truly on the move.

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Russell the Swinger

2008-04-13T17:35:00.000-04:00

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Breakfast with Russell

2008-04-08T19:35:00.000-04:00

I know I'm way behind on updates but here's a quickie.

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Russell's School of Seduction

2008-02-10T23:36:00.000-05:00

For all the single guys out there, my boy would like to demonstrate how he executes some the basic rules of engagement. His old man wasn't nearly as good at this, but its all the rule of nature that a child will someday exceed the skills of the parent.

Step#1 - Be Excellent
Excellent or at least memorable. Check how Russell is rockin' the mismatched sock deal. That little girl can easily recall Russ from any other dudes at the party as the cool sock guy.

Step#2 - Be Desireless
Nothing stinks more than the stench of desperation. Russell looks slightly aloof and coolly ignores the fact that her eyes are all over him. He's already confident and content and it's her challenge to gain his attention.

Step#3 - Be Gone
Those pursue that what retreats from us. Russell doesn't want to stick around to give up his whole story. By leaving the scene early, he leaves with his cloak of mystery intact. At this point, she knows he's got some cool sock style, he's confident and not needy... he's given her a taste, but wants to leave while she's still hungry.

There you go boys... by this point, she's ready for the 'reconnect'. Russell would have gotten her number but she can't speak yet, and Russell's penmanship is not quite up to his Casanova skills.

Russell-less update :-(

2008-02-10T22:19:00.000-05:00

So I can't say much about what Russ has been up to this week. He left for Trinidad on Wednesday to see his Grandpa Ken and his Great Grandma Leontine.

..so i guess this will be a Daddy update...

so last night, still somewhat stunned by the Leafs win over the Red Wings, I found myself at Dan's place playing Guitar Hero. After rocking it with the Yam-man for a few hours, i had it in my mind to bring home my electric guitar at my earliest convenience. So tonight, I'm strumming it with the TV on, and I see if there's anything interesting going on with the Grammy's... at the commercial break, they say Alicia Keys is will be performing live so...being a lonely guy with the Ms. away, I figure I could use a little Alicia 'pick-me-up'.

So I basically turned the volume down and fiddled with my guitar for the next hour or so as I waited for her act.

She looked great as usual (sorry hun) and was singing "No One". Yes its totally been overplayed but she mixes it up a bit live and had John Mayer step in for some added soloing, (Unlike Kanye and the dumb, but slightly catchy, 'Stronger' - They actually muted out the "shit" and "dyke", just like on FM radio, the probably just played the CD they bought at WalMart in the background... what a meathead... I really wished he wouldn't win so he could cry about how much he should have won and would boycott the awards... blah blah blah... ) ... k so back to Keys.. so the song is going and I'm trying to follow the base line to learn the chords. The song is the 4 chords for the entire song except for the bridge. D - A - Bflat - G... so I'm playing along and I realize why that song sounds so good. They're the same chords as "Weekend in Scarborough"! Damn you Alicia for stealing my stuff!!!

Like Father Like Son

2008-02-05T10:30:00.001-05:00

I swear i must have drove my parent loony doing this very thing when i was little. My memory is pretty poor but i recall doing this to no end as a baby.

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9 months old today !!!

2008-01-28T22:39:00.000-05:00

Just to keep yall informed... and yes, my sleeper has been washed since the photos in the last posting.

Sick week

2008-01-27T17:32:00.001-05:00

Sadly, Russell's social calendar had to be cut short this week as he came down with a cold.

Actually, he really cut back on seeing other babies. He still made it both the mall and Ikea for a little shopping. Basically a regular weekend eating, watching a little tv, and hanging out in the old crib.

A few new ones for the new year.

2008-01-21T21:55:00.001-05:00

Russell is modeling his new car seat. He was too tall for his old one at about 8 1/2 months. He's also practicing his product endorsement skills here.

Also, he doesn't like to take being left alone lying down. Usually, if he's protesting a nap, this is how we find him.

note to self... consider lowering the mattress.... again.

Post Xmas holiday party

2007-12-29T21:48:00.000-05:00

So today, the Kozai's put on a most excellent spread. It was great to see everyone although, it was quite eye-opening to see all those kids.

Russell enjoyed his seat at the head of the kids table... he also looks like he gets a little chatty when he's had a few beers. (wonder where he gets it from?)

Thanks again for all the enthusiastic parents who took photos and promptly posted and/or distributed them.

Heres a few of baby Kai.

So we thought he was napping....

2007-12-29T13:45:00.000-05:00

but when we went to check on the little dude, it seems he was just hanging out.

... note to self... Lower crib mattress.

Russell's first Christmas

2007-12-25T21:40:00.000-05:00

okay.. so naturally today is all about a bunch of firsts.

First Christmas Present.

First Christmas breakfast with Uncle Timmy, Auntie Deedee, and Uncle Louis.

Mommy clearly enjoyed it as much as Russell.

Christmas Eve

2007-12-24T21:35:00.000-05:00

Mom and Dad came over for the traditional Tabata Xmas eve dinner.

Grandma Tabata kitted Russell a new scarf to go with his Maple Leafs sweater... (still need to show that.. trust me it's awesome)

....and Grandpa and Russell modeled their matching sweaters... although Russell wasn't in much of a modeling mood.

Xmas Party

2007-12-22T21:29:00.001-05:00

Yea!! we finally hosted a party in the new place. It was a good test to see how child ready the house is. I guess it faired okay. At least no pediatric injuries were reported.

Thanks to everyone who came out to join us during the busy holiday season. Like usual, the day blew past and I hardly got a chance to snap any photos. Thanks to everyone who did, and posted them.

Okay, I did get at least one picture that day.

Christmas Card Photos

2007-12-18T21:18:00.000-05:00

Okay... some fast and furious updates cuz we are way behind...

So we decided to do photo cards for Russell's first Christmas, as many of you now know. Here some of the shots we had to choose from.

One from the mall.. Russell exploded into tears seconds after this shot was taken.

One very conservative one... not Christmasy enough if you ask me but did allow Russell to retain some dignity.

...and of course the one we picked. I know he wouldn't want this photo to materialize until well after high school. But by the time he's in University, it can only help his 'cuteness' factor with the ladies.

Catching up ... again

2007-12-17T17:25:00.000-05:00

Well with the holiday upon us, we've been quite busy for updates. We went to pick out our Christmas tree with Russell. Honestly, even all decorated and lit up, I don't think he's all that impressed. He's much more enamored with the empty cardboard boxes.

Russell had another vaccination shot this week too. To be honest, Julianne really keeps track of which one it is more than I do. But he did get weighed again. Latest official weight is 19lbs 1 oz.

We also did a long overdue cleaning of his room. In his closet I found a new toy he's really taken a liking to. My old PS/2 keyboard. What do you think of his new cubicle. I guess its a long road to the corner office.

Our Designated Driver

2007-12-06T01:10:00.000-05:00

in keeping with the auto theme of the last post.

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back to normal??

2007-11-18T23:17:00.000-05:00

So today, we finally did the big move. The hardwood has all been replaced, so has the trim and the main floor was repainted so Louis came by to help move the TV, Loveseat, and a few other items back upstairs.

Not a lot of stuff to move but more than i could move by myself. We started around 11 and between playing with Russell and the odd water break we finished around 12.

We had lunch, played more with Russ, watched Ratatouille, a little football, and finally, Louis got his jacket and returned to his car to find.....

.... well, that and a note from some lady who slammed into the parked car about 3 hrs earlier. The rest of the night was filing police reports, going to the collision reporting center, then getting some food for Louis, along with a generous portion of booze. He was well liquored when i dropped him off. We'll see how this all pans out, but I can't fault Louis on this one. Nothing like when he beached the whale.

Halloween !!!

2007-10-31T23:24:00.000-04:00

October 31st has come and gone... probably one of the biggest days of the year in the Beaches. We were bi-polar in our priorities, first it was Russell's first Halloween, but also, our first Halloween in the new house. We had no idea how many kids we'd get, how much candy to buy, or if we were going to take Russell door to door.

We got a few kids before 7pm but Woodbine was pretty quiet so we decided to take Russell to visit some of our friends in the neighborhood. As soon as we walked through the alley, and out on to Boardwalk Ave, the street was packed with kids and parents alike. There was a big display (at least 3 houses worth) on Boardwalk that looked pretty cool.

We made our way over to my friend Dave's place on Sarah Ashbridge. He was perched on his porch with a glass of vino in hand dolling out the sweets with the other. Looked like a pretty nice gig and gave daddy ideas for next year.

Next stop was Julie's friend Angela on Winner's Circle. Carys was actually taking her pre-sleep snack so it was a quick visit.

Russell was again, very popular with the ladies in his pumpkin outfit and received lots of attention. Funny it seemed like we took a lot of pictures at the time, but there seems like less to choose from than usual. Anyways, here's how we'll remember our pumpkin from Halloween 2007.

6 Months !!!

2007-10-30T19:29:00.000-04:00

Well, as far behind as I've become, I can't miss Russell's 6th month birthday.

Russell recently has begun to start his day with Rice cereal. They call it 'solid' food but its really more runny then the breast milk he's used to. He's also gotten pretty good with maneuvering his own bottle. Today, Julianne changed his diaper while he held and drank his own bottle. I don't know if this is a good habit to get into because those dudes that take a drink into the men's room with them really creep me out.

Russell also tried out his new 'muff' for his stroller. All ready to be cozy warm when Mommy or Daddy is freezing in the months to come.

Russell even had a party to attend... sadly, it wasn't for him. His cousin Alexi had his 2nd birthday party on Sunday, and wasn't above sharing his balloons.

Lastly, Russell is now getting his first tooth! Mommy is frantically looking for some all natural, organic dental floss.

Happy 6 Months Russell !!

wow... fell way behind again...

2007-10-21T21:53:00.000-04:00

he're a token photo to keep us up to date.

Today we took advantage of the unseasonably summery day. Met one of Russell's Mommy Fitness friends, Samantha. Samantha is a natural blond with blue eyes. I guess the boy has good taste. We also met Samantha's parents, Erin and Andy.

Deep in the heart of Texas

2007-09-10T21:04:00.000-04:00

Sorry, no Russell update today. Today was my first full day of Callidus training in Austin Texas. For all my fellow weight loss competitors, I thought you'd all be interested on how my diet went today.

Breakfast - plain croissant & black coffee
mid morning snack - training provided breakfast burrito and diet coke
Lunch - BBQ Brisket... awsome BBQ.. Rudy's BBQ Awsome place... you simply order meat by weight, and they give you bread and fixin's and sauce and stuff. Tomorrow, I'll skip the bread... it's a total Atkinsfest.
Dinner - Chicken fried steak...cuz real Chicken fried steak is beef not chicken !!! ...and 2 pints of draft... pints were $2 each !!!

no late nite snacks planned yet.

Post #100 !!! - Guy Humour

2007-08-30T20:01:00.000-04:00

Tonight, Julianne went out for Nikki's wedding rehearsal and dinner. I found a new way to entertain Russell.... of course it should be obvious... get a few guys drinking beer and belching, you have a pretty rewarding evening. I'n never forget sitting around the cottage, with Rick Raciopal describing the different kinds of bowel movements, and being in tears laughing the whole time. This is a promising sign of things to come.

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Daddy's other new trick...

2007-08-26T23:42:00.000-04:00

Daddy is also using Adobe Lightroom for his processing... it really kicks azz.

new toy for daddy...

2007-08-17T23:36:00.000-04:00

Daddy got a new lens.... Tamron 28-75mm f2.8

That means a whole slew of new photos of Russell.

Mommies storm the island

2007-08-17T00:03:00.000-04:00

The mommy group took to the sea to visit Centre Island today. Russell looks quite content to hang with his hommies.

bbq test

2007-08-15T23:35:00.000-04:00

Looks like pulled pork will be on the menu after Sep 21st.

Like Father Like Son....

2007-08-12T23:31:00.000-04:00

I wonder where he gets it from???

Back to the Berry patch.

2007-08-08T21:22:00.000-04:00

Mommy and Russell have really taken to those Raspberries. Although, looking at the field, no one really else has.

Not the youngest anymore !!!

2007-08-03T21:15:00.000-04:00

Russell moved up to 'older' status last week when Tatyanna was born on the 29th of July. You may remember Russell wishing her a good delivery on an earlier post.

Here is Tatyanna...

...and Russell clearly looks more mature now that he has a little cousin to look up to him.

Boozing it up

2007-08-01T18:07:00.000-04:00

Somewhere in the middle of daddy's week off, we decided to do something we haven't done for a while.... visit a few wineries in Niagara.

We stopped and sampled at Jackson Triggs, Stratus and finally a fancy schmancy lunch at Hillenbrand.

After lunch, Mommy and Daddy took a lesson in blending wines. They were given a few bottles of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Savignon to try out different blends and finally bottle their favourite.

After all that tasting and blending, lucky there was a designated driver among us.

Henry's Party

2007-07-28T17:55:00.000-04:00

Russell had a very busy day today. First he visited Nikki's wedding shower where he garnered some extra attention.

Then it was straight to uncle Henry's party.

Russell make sure to wake up to wish Sophie luck before she left to bring his newest cousin in the the world.

Bubmo a week later

2007-07-26T17:48:00.000-04:00

Looking much better this week.

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Sharp Dressed Man

2007-07-26T17:42:00.000-04:00

Russell and colleagues at his last post-natal class.

Louis' new place

2007-07-25T18:22:00.000-04:00

Louis' passion for his car finally resulted in some recognition. He is the G20.net member of the month! While out taking photos for the website, we stumbled across, what might be Lou's next place. Has a great view and plenty of parking.

Day for dim sum

2007-07-22T22:14:00.000-04:00

Bumbo day 1

2007-07-20T22:12:00.000-04:00

okay.. maybe not quite ready for it.

Party for grandpa

2007-07-15T22:04:00.000-04:00

Today was a semi 75th birthday party for Grandpa T. It also was a chance to visit my cousin Rob's new home in Richmond Hill, and finally meet his wife, Miki. I mean they've already had 3 kids together by now.

Back to the Bjorn

2007-07-13T21:57:00.000-04:00

A week after the Baby Bjorn meltdown at the berry patch, Daddy decided to give it another shot..... and with great success!!!

Raspberry Picking

2007-07-07T21:46:00.000-04:00

Today was the first time either Julianne or Russell picked Raspberries. We planned to put Russell in the Baby Bjorn to make negotiating the aisles of berries easier but he would have none of that. He cried for at least 5 minutes straight so we gave up on it, plopped him back in the bugaboo and went off roading. This was quite successful and daddy felt much better about his Mastercard bill.

Mommy's fast asleep

2007-07-04T21:43:00.000-04:00

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Quick stop at the beach

2007-07-02T21:34:00.000-04:00

Our first day back to just the three of us. Took an quiet stroll to the beach as usual. Mind you, actually walking on the sand was a rare occurrence.

Grandpa Ken's visit

2007-07-01T21:25:00.000-04:00

Grandpa came to visit this week. He seemed very happy to have a willing subject to model for his photographic endevours. It was a busy week of fine dining and photography.

Just on cute picture

2007-06-23T21:23:00.000-04:00

Typical morning

2007-06-22T23:36:00.000-04:00

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Hello Goodbye

2007-06-19T23:16:00.000-04:00

Auntie Kim and Uncle Grantley finally had a chance to visit... sadly it was just in time to say good bye. Well at least Russell will have a place to crash during Octoberfest!

Russell's Baptism

2007-06-17T22:37:00.001-04:00

Okay, enough stalling. Hopefully there will be some cleverly edited video someday but I have to get past this posting to continue on.

On a very hot and sticky day, Russell and entourage arrived at Corpus Christie church. Russell was not entirely taken by the whole event as he cried pretty much from the outset. Thankfully his new godparents, Melanie and Mike took it in stride. We thank you both for accepting the role of Russell's godparents and I am confident that your combined experiences and wisdom will be invaluable in Russell's upbringing. Thank you both.