Thursday, March 20, 2008

Arrived in Argentina

Well for the next little while this blog is going to be focusing on what I (Nadine) am doing in Argentina. So where to begin...

I arrived in Buenos Aires two days ago and had no problems or fears when I entered the airport. The first time I did this I was terrified that I was going to be mugged or kidnapped but I now knew the routine. I went to the place where Lonely Planet's guide recommended for transport (Manuel Tienda Leon) and booked a driver to my hotel (Park Chateau Kapinski). My driver was Carlos and he was very nice. He knew only a little English and I know only a little Spanish but we had no problems talking. My spanish is better then I thought.

Martin has come back so I'll update later. Sorry.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

My First Long(ish) Trip Away from My Little One

Well as the title states I will be away from March 17th until April 19th in Argentina. I will be gathering the data that I need for my PhD project in that time. This is going to be very hard on me and my family...but mostly me I think. Andrew is more then capable of taking care of Dinara and this isn't what bothers me. I am worried that Dianra is going to be upset not having her Mommy around for 4 weeks. I don't know how my supervisor's and other colleagues with children do this. The only thing making it bearable is that we are going to try and do webcam talks and I am going to be calling long distance a lot. I know this doesn't take the place of me being there but I really do have to get this data in order to complete my degree. It won't be forever and the sooner I get all my data the sooner I can complete the degree and go work in Calgary. We are planning for the next field trip to Argentina for January 2009 and this time I will bring my family with me (if not for the whole time at least for a couple weeks). I hope things go alright while I am away. If my friends and family here and in Edmonton could call and keep in touch with Andrew while I am away I would really appreciate it. I am sure Andrew will need a break from time to time. Andrew's parents will be coming and staying with him the weekend of the 21st for a week...which I am sure will help a lot. But if any of you want to come and visit and provide Andrew with some grown up time I am sure he would appreciate it. Well that being said I don't think there will be too much updating on Dinara for the next few weeks. I am considering blogging while I am in Argentina and telling you all what I am doing there. I should be able to post some pics of the area that I am working in as well. Keep your fingers crossed for us and hope that I can endure the time away. I plan on distracting myself with work the whole time I am away so I don't have to think about how much I am missing my little girl (and my hubby too). Talk soon. TTFN.

Friday, February 29, 2008

More Disneyland Pictures

Not much to say today but here are some more pictures.


Paradise Pier Hotel at night.



Entrance to Disneyland.


Dinara and Daddy by a large water fountain in Downtown Disney.


Daddy and Dinara outside the Carnation Cafe in Disneyland.















Saturday, February 23, 2008

Disneyland February 2008 Trip One for Dinara

Hello Everyone.

Well we have had a fun filled week. We returned from Disneyland yesterday and we had an amazing time! Thanks again to the generosity of Aunty Bridget we didn't have to pay for our accommodations. We also bought into the famous Disney Vacation Club on our first day. We set up an appointment with the agent as soon as we were at our hotel...The Disney Paradise Pier Hotel. We loved it! We have decided that Disneyland
isn't as good as Disneyworld but it was still a great time. We have lots of pictures and I mean lots of pictures (0ver 400) but I will only show a select few. If you want to see the rest you will have to come to Saskatoon and see my scrapbook (which I will be making as soon as I can). The weather on our trip was good but not great. It was rainy most days and cold (not obviously in comparison to Canada). We had only a day of good weather. It didn't stop us having fun though.

OK, OK now for some details...

Our first day we mostly got settled in our hotel. We did eat at the little cafe in our hotel first and foremost. I had the Cobb salad, Andrew had the turkey club and Dinara had chicken nuggets. The food was amazing and the servings were huge! I had a serving bowl full of salad and fixings. I couldn't believe it! Dinara's nuggets were sooooooo good too. They were actual chunks of chicken. After lunch we met up with Aunty Bridget (Mommy had forgotten Bridget's cell number at home) and was having problems getting a hold of her. However, after lunch I saw her in the lobby and squealed and ran towards her. We were just like little girls jumping up and down so excited to see one another. After this we got settled in our hotel room and walked around the Disneyland hotels until our vacation club reservation time. Signing up for the DVC took more time then we thought but we got lots of free things (hats, albums, fast passes, and gift cards) We then ate supper at the Wine Country Trattoria in Disney's California Adventure. It was good and we got to eat outside. So we ate at a restaurant outside in February. After supper Daddy and Dinara were tired so they went back to the hotel room to sleep. Aunty Bridget and I then ran around California Adventure (rode Hollywood Tower of Terror) and then ran over to Disneyland to hit a few rides there (Haunted Mansion, Tea Cups, and the Matadore). So much fun.

Day two began with breakfast at Lilo and Stitch's PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) Grill. This was our favorite character meal of all time. It was soooo much fun. The character breakfast starts with a family photo with Minnie and then the other characters (Stitch, Lilo, and Pluto) walk around, pose and interact with the guests. Andrew and I had never had so much time with characters at a meal before. Mommy made the mistake of having an omelet from the omelet bar...it tasted good but I think something touched shrimp so I felt yucky for most of the day. We then headed into Disneyland proper and walked around. We rode the main street train and entered Toontown. This was great. Dinara had a blast. We had lunch in Downtown Dinsey and then went back to the room for a nap. We then walked around Disneyland some more and left Aunty Bridget in California Adventure. We said our good byes and walked away a little sad at leaving our good friend. We didn't get much time with her but it was awesome as always. We then went for supper at Goofy's Kitchen. It was extremely expensive and Mommy wasn't hungry (as the shrimp reaction was still around). It was fun to see the kid's reaction to the new characters (especially seeing princess Jasmine). That made up for my lack of appetite.

Day three was breakfast in Disneyland in the Carnation Street Cafe. Here we had eggs benedict croissants with breakfast potatoes (that were to die for). Yummy, yummy! It was raining lots at this point and getting cold. Good thing we had Dinara's winter coat and lots of layers to wear...unlike most of the tourists we saw. We had a great breakfast but saw a tonne of people in the park. We then decided because of all the people and the lines that we were going over to California Adventure instead. Here we rode Mike and Scully's Monsters Inc. Ride (twice), went and saw Muppet 3D, went through the entire Bugs Life area (for toddlers), and ended with a nap in the hotel room. Lunch was Mexican in Mission Tortilla Factory. I thought it was good but Andrew isn't really a Mexican fan (bean and all). We then went over to Disneyland and rode Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Dumbo (Dinara's favorite), and Nemo Subs. Awesome, Awesome, Awesome! Andrew also rode the Matadore himself. He enjoyed it where is Mommy didn't. Supper was at the Rainforest Cafe. Daddy thought it was too loud and over stimulating. Dinara seemed ok with it and Mommy (being deaf) didn't find it too loud at all. The food was really good though! Mommy had a bacon cheeseburger, Daddy had a buffalo chicken salad, and Dinara had grilled cheese. We then went back into Disneyland to ride some more rides.

Day four began with breakfast at Storyteller's Cafe in the Grand Californian Hotel. Dinara loved this! The breakfast is a character one with all animals (Chip, Dale, Miko(?), Turk, and Koda(?)). She loved seeing all the animals and even surprised Mommy with how excited she got. We then went over to California adventure and rode a bunch of rides there (The ferris wheel, Triton's carousel just to name a few). We then walked over to Disneyland and rode some there too. We ate lunch at Minnie's restaurant in Disneyland (can't remember the name right now)...fried chicken and mashed potatoes. It was excellent. Andrew and Dinara went back to the room to nap and Mommy went shopping in Downtown Disney. We ended with supper at Yamabuki. This is the japanese restaurant in the Paradise Pier Hotel. It was also amazing. I know I keep saying this but the food here is really good. Expensive but good. I finished with some packing and then getting a fitful sleep.

The end. Well for this trip at least. Here are some pictures.

The first two are of Aunty Bridget and Dinara at the Main Street Train Station:





Toontown in Disneyland:


Dinara's First Ride Ever...Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin

















Disneyland Castle (Aurora's Castle...Sleeping Beauty):



Mommy, Daddy and Dinara with Walt:



Aunty Bridget, Dinara and Goofy:





Birds of Paradise growing wild outside our hotel:



Aunty Bridget and Dinara outside waiting for the Monorail in Downtown Disney:



The awesome view of the Materhorn and the Finding Nemo Subs:



Pictures of Dinara and Pluto; as well as Dinara and Jasmine at Goofy's Kitchen:





I'll post more pics later. I need a break now. TTFN (Ta ta for now). Have a Tiggerific day!

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Hockey Fans are We...Go Oilers Go!

It's the good ole hockey game...it's the best game you can name...sorry went on a tangent there.

Well it has been quite a while since my last update. Sorry. Things are a little hectic with teaching, consulting, and getting ready for Disneyland and Argentina. I know...excuses, excuses. Oh well.

Dinara has started watching hockey now with her folks (and Uncle Kat and Aunty Heather) and is an Oilers fan right off the bat. She now puts her hands in the air and yells "Goal" when we do. It is so cute. Here are some pics of us watching the All Star skills competition and an Oilers-Flames game (which we lost horribly). She has also taken to removing her diaper and having accidents now (two in the last week). We think it is definitely potty training time. She has been sitting on her potty when Mommy and Daddy go but with her pants up...now it is time to get those pants down as it is obviously what she wants. Sigh. No longer our baby. Oh well it had to happen sometime...after Disneyland would have been an advantage though.

Also some pics of Daddy snowblowing our walk ways. Dinara likes to look out the front window and yell either "snow" or "cold". Either one is correct. I'll try and update a little more...definitely after our first family vacation to Disney next week. Talk soon.


Dinara cheering in her pink Oilers jersey that Mommy found at Walmart.


Dinara laughing at Mommy cheering.


We were teaching her some goalie moves. Up, up, down, down on her knees. She is a natural.


Mommy and Dinara in their blue Oiler's jerseys (Dinara's from Uncle Cam and Aunty Torrie and Mommy's from Daddy). That's right #27...George Laraque. He was Mommy's favorite until traded...still like him but I'm more of a Roloson fan now.


Mommy trying to get Dinara to smile and cooperate in the photo...fat chance on that.


Daddy snowblowing our front walk. Doesn't it look cold out...well that's because it is!


Dinara watching Daddy and playing with Explorer Minnie. This was a gift from Wallace to Nadine about 11 years ago.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Happy Birthday Dinara!!!

Well it has sure been a long time since we updated...sorry guys. I just got so busy at school and getting my consulting stuff all sorted out. Well we have had a few more milestones...Dinara's second birthday was on the 17th and we had a good ole time spoiling her. We went to Fudrucker's for breakfast, had veggie soup (her favorite) for lunch and Mommy made chicken nuggets, broccoli and tater tots for supper (another of her faves). We didn't do the birthday cupcakes until the next day...too late for her to eat them after supper. Also, it took my girl almost two full weeks to finally get all her christmas presents open. She loved them all and has a wonderful time playing with all of her new toys. I have to now go through her toys and see what we are going to keep out and what we are going to put away for the next baby. Dinara is speaking more words but no sentences yet. She also babbles all the time now. Once she starts to speak I think it will be a never ending conversation...just like with me. She loves to say Shoe and Snow. She also says Shark when ever Bruce shows up in Finding Nemo. She says Tree, Uh-oh, Cold, and Wow frequently now...in the right context too. Whenever she gets near things that are hot she says ow ow. Very cute. Trying to ask her if her feet are hot was funny yesterday as she went ow ow and blew on them.

What else to tell you...ummmm...I am a consultant for Imperial Oil now. All the forms have been signed and I start work this weekend. It will be lots of fun and I get paid too!

Oh! We have all the parts to our Disneyland Vacation booked now but are sad that our friend Bridget (Aunty Bridget) will only be able to join us for 1.5 days...work got hectic for her. Well we appreciate the time we will see her and the fact that she took care of our accomodations with her Disney Vacation Club points...which we are going to buy into while down there. We can't wait to go to Disney and show Dinara everything. Aunty Bridget sent Dinara (and us too) some presents and they arrived on Tuesday. Dinara now has a Finding Nemo musical snowglobe (in her bedroom), a Nemo purse, the invitation from Disneyland inviting Press to the opening of the Finding Nemo ride (which has the seagulls saying Mine, Mine, Mine when you open it), a set of Disney DVDs that are specifically of things in the Disney Parks, a stitch collectors pin, Disney Christmas ornament, and two Richard Scary books; for Mommy a wine magnet made out of Pennsylvanian Slate (too cool), and scrapbooking stuff too. Thank you for all of it you are really too generous with us. We can't wait to see Aunty Bridget in February.

A quick thanks to Aunty Bonnie and Uncle Phil for the Winnie the Pooh dial phone for Dinara. She loved it.

Enjoy the Pics...there are lots.


Daddy and Dinara reading together. Note what Andrew is reading...


Dinara opening one of her last presents from Grama and Grampa...a Winnie the Pooh Glow toy. It plays music too.


Dinara opening one of her last presents from Nana and Opa...a musical dancing dog. It plays classical music. Very nice.


Uncle Craig chasing Dinara with her present from Uncle John...we call him Big Ben (the bear not Uncle Craig).


Dinara making a silly face. I included this just cause it was a fun thing to do.


Daddy and Dinara dancing to Disney music. Fun, fun, fun.


Birthday girl in her birthday outfit. She is waving hi to the camera. So cute. She is growing up so fast.


Daddy watching over Dinara as she runs around at Fuddruckers. They know her by name there.


Dinara trying to feed Mommy. So cute!


Daddy and Dinara getting Birthday kisses.


Dinara with her new Mickey Mouse Clubhouse play set.


Dinara with her new Mickey Mouse Bathtime play set.


Dinara with her Bath time set and her new Mickey Car...she has a Minnie car too.


Dinara opening her tea set from Grama and Grampa.


Dinara with her new tea set.

The next four photos are of Dinara and Mommy having a little tea party.









Dinara hugging the doggy book that Great Uncle Dale gave her for her birthday.


Dinara in her birthday chair. It is a recliner too. Walmart rocks!


Dinara in the fancy dress that Grama and Grampa bought her for Christmas. I thought it might be nice to play dress up for a while.


Dinara eating her birthday supper.


Dinara with her birthday cupcake.


Dinara enjoying eating her birthday cupcake.


Dinara still enjoying her cupcake.


Messy smile girl.


Dinara playing with her Nemo purse.


Dinara's musical Nemo snowglobe. It is awesome and didn't freeze in transport.


Dinara pointing at her new snowglobe and yelling "MO"...which is what she says for Nemo.


Dinara with her Nemo purse. She drags it all over the house.


Another Nemo purse shot...oh and Dinara is there too.

Well bye for now.