There was a rainbow

It's after nine and there is quite a storm raging outside. There has been a tornado watch all day, and while I do not want one of those, I am grateful for a good storm. When the storm first hit about thirty minutes ago I was looking into our backyard, leaning against the sliding glass door, and our kiddie pool and diaper-drying rack came flying against the house. I quickly realized I was being an idiot and moved away from the windows.* Alyce got out of bed when the storm began, and we quickly realized that she was not going to bed any time soon. We invited her downstairs with us and she parked herself down on the couch, watching baseball and drinking warm milk with her Papa. It was up there with the sweetest thing of all time.

It's been a whirlwind of a week. We are occupying this strange space lately, where we are unemployed, school hasn't started yet for Alyce, and we find ourselves with very little to do (not including the hours I spend looking for work). We can only spend so much time playing in the backyard, so between needing a change of scenery and wanting to make the most of this (we hope) last couple of weeks of pure freedom, we have found ourselves a few adventures. In the last ten days alone I have been to the Toronto Zoo, Toronto Centre Island, the Canadian National Exhibition, and yesterday, Niagra Falls. Talk about seizing the day.

 

I hadn't intended a trip to Niagra yesterday, but some friends from Delaware were going to be there (the same friends who looked after Alyce while Shira was born, if you've read Shira's birth story on Kveller), and I figured it was a good excuse to show Alyce the Falls. The day didn't work out quite as planned, and we never ended up finding our friends, but we had fun nonetheless. It was just me and Alyce and we've really found our groove together lately. There are always some unfortunate moments in the car with far too much whining and crying for my taste, but she's three. Comes with the package. For the most part we had the greatest day together, and I'm loving all this extra Alyce and Shira time before I head back to work. (Did you hear that universe? I am going back to work.)

Our day consisted of Falls-watching, ice cream-eating, and not much else. Oh, there were rainbows, too. Not bad for a Tuesday.

*This reminds me of a similar poor choice I made in the past, while driving in Jasper National Park in Alberta. My friend Cathy and I were on our first road trip in the mountains, and upon entering the park received a guide warning visitors not to jump out of their car if they saw a bear on the side of the road. What moron jumps out of their car to check out a bear, we wondered. Not ten minutes later there was an enormous elk on the side of the road. Cathy stopped the car, and I jumped out, camera in hand, and ran up to the elk. Yes, I am that moron.