Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Ah, sweet normalcy!
It's 2pm, Seth is napping, Emmett is shopping with Daddy and I'm sitting here in my sweatpants doing a whole lot of nothing. We had lunch together as a family (vs. scrounging out of the cupboards), the laundry is finally getting done, and I'm about to clean the kitchen and put the Christmas decorations away. It's quiet, and I don't have to be anywhere...life is good. :)
Saturday, December 26, 2009
The 2000s
I've noticed a lot of "The 2000s in Review" articles lately, and I thought it might be a good time to reflect on the last decade in my own life...
2000: I started the decade working full time and saving up for my first year of college. I had a missionary I was writing that I was pretty positive I was going to marry. In April I went to Jasper for a few days with my best friend Carl - it was my first "grown up" trip away by myself. In September I started college and I was SO excited...I've always loved school and I really missed it the year I worked after high school. Needless to say I found the transition to post-secondary pretty easy and I got right into the school thing.
2001: Just 13 days into the year I met a guy at a party...a guy that started out as a nice distraction until my missionary got home but quickly became more than that. James and I's first year together was a rocky one...our families were very different religions and it was a big point of contention (mostly for his family). Carl wasn't a fan, and I don't think my parents could figure out what I saw in him, but we were crazy about each other pretty much from day 1. We broke up a couple of times but couldn't stay away from each other for long. During the summer James started investigating the church and was baptized in November. He proposed on Christmas eve day at the Muttart Conservatory in the middle of the poinsettia display.
2002: was all about The Wedding. In February we set the date: December 28th. The whole year was pretty much consumed with wedding planning and I don't think I came up for air until 2003! I also did my first student teaching practicum teaching a grade 5/6 class during November and December...that was very stressful but I had a great mentor teacher and it was a good experience. James struggled to find a full time job to support us while I was in school, and our prayers were answered when he got a warehousing job 9 days before we got married.
2003: Our first year of marriage! The first part of this year was a tough go...James and I were living in a tiny (and crappy) basement apartment on the west end of the city (in not the greatest neighborhood) and didn't have 2 nickels to rub together. We couldn't afford a car so James had to ride the bus for 90 minutes each way to work. Still, we had the "newlywed glow" so our dingy apartment (which we now refer to as "the hobbit hole" due to the fact that the ceiling in the bathroom was a little less than 6 feet), garage sale couch and second hand pots and pans were great because they were OURS! We were really adults now, living our own lives! Thankfully in June we got a very nice 1 bedroom apartment just off Whyte Avenue...I'll never forget when I found out that we got that apartment, I felt like we'd won the lottery! I waitressed during the summer and transferred to the U of A for the 3rd year of my degree. My second teaching practicum late that year didn't go as well as the first one...my mentor teacher and I had very different styles and I felt super intimidated by her. I didn't do my best and I started to seriously question the degree I was taking. Of course, being in my 4th year, it was a little late to do anything about it.
2004: I remember feeling very lost at this time in my life. I was the first in my family to graduate from university, an accomplishment I felt very proud of. At the same time I felt extremely discouraged because I had no teaching job lined up and no prospects...and I wasn't sure teaching was even what I wanted to do. That spring I got a job downtown at a call centre (answering customer calls for an american cell phone company)...the pay was decent and it seemed like a good job to pay the bills until I figured out what I was going to do. A few weeks out of training I noticed a job posting for a trainer position - a university degree wasn't required but a huge plus. I got an interview right away and I got a job about a week later! In a matter of a few weeks I had gone from student to teacher, so it was a bit of a challenge trying to teach subject matter I was still learning myself. It wasn't a perfect job but it was a "real" job and I discovered that I enjoyed teaching much more when I was teaching adults. We also got our first car this year which really made life easier!
2005: Ah, the year I got the "baby rabies". Bad!! James and I decided it was time to start our family, and on June 27th I nearly passed out when I saw the second line pop up on the pregnancy test! Which would have been problematic, since I was in a food court washroom at the time (I've never been good at waiting, and I just couldn't wait the 20 minutes it would have taken me to get home!). I was thrilled to be pregnant and thought about nothing else for the rest of the year. ;)
2006: By mid February I was as big as a house and went on some much needed maternity leave...by then I was glad to leave my call centre job behind and was excited to be a stay at home mom. On March 10th around noon my water broke, and Emmett Joseph Johnson made his way into the world at 6:21 pm the next day after a rather forceful eviction. I was in love instantly with this pink, gooey, squalling little creature. The transition to motherhood was not a smooth one...I felt incredibly insecure about my ability as a parent and there were many, many tears. Still, I loved being a mother and put my heart and soul into raising my little man. One bedroom wasn't going to cut it anymore, so our little family moved into our current place when Em was just 7 weeks old. Faced with the challenge of supporting a growing family, James busted his butt trying to get a plumbing apprenticeship...he quit at the warehouse and worked odd jobs while lining up at the union whenever he could trying to get that first job. Finally in September he started as a 1st year plumbing apprentice and we were thrilled! James proved to be a natural at the trades.
2007: Most of this year was uneventful...James was putting in his hours, waiting to go to school so he could advance to his second year, and I stayed home with a rapidly growing Emmett. In November we got some great news - I was pregnant again - and some very bad news...James was laid off very unexpectedly. He got another job quickly, but it was in a remote camp up north and he would be gone for weeks at a time. We decided to jump in with both feet and make the best of it. Just as we were adjusting to this new work schedule - James had been gone about a week - I learned I was miscarrying. Going through that without him was one of the most trying experiences of my life (and his, too). However, we grow through our trials and although that winter was very hard, I know it made me a stronger person.
2008: Things really started looking up for us this year...in March James found an in town job, and that spring I extremely happy to discover I was pregnant. That summer James was extremely happy to discover that our baby had an "outie"! ;) James had a series of jobs that weren't the greatest, but in August he got on at a project very close to home. Suddenly we had a lot more stability in our lives and it was so nice to have James home at 4pm! He also finally got his chance to go to school which meant a promotion at work. Emmett started to verbalize more and explore his world, which was very fun to watch.
2009: Seth John Robert Johnson joined our family on January 14th at 11:15pm...another beautiful little boy to love! James went to school and got another promotion, and continues to be the "go-to guy" on his project site. This year has been a bit of a blur as I've adjusted to parenting two small children. I took up running and discovered that I, the least athletic person on earth, could run a 5K! Emmett started preschool and Seth is growing at a fantastic rate - it's hard to believe his first year of life is almost complete!
Well, that's my life for the past decade...it's been one of huge growth and change. I've gone from a young girl just out of high school trying to find her way in the adult world, to a university grad, wife and mother of two boys. I think the next decade (what are we calling it? the "teens"?) will be one of big changes as well...home ownership, most likely another little one, maybe a return to the workforce, aunthood (looking at you here, Brit!! ;)) and the challenges of parenting school age kids. Bring it, 2010!
2000: I started the decade working full time and saving up for my first year of college. I had a missionary I was writing that I was pretty positive I was going to marry. In April I went to Jasper for a few days with my best friend Carl - it was my first "grown up" trip away by myself. In September I started college and I was SO excited...I've always loved school and I really missed it the year I worked after high school. Needless to say I found the transition to post-secondary pretty easy and I got right into the school thing.
2001: Just 13 days into the year I met a guy at a party...a guy that started out as a nice distraction until my missionary got home but quickly became more than that. James and I's first year together was a rocky one...our families were very different religions and it was a big point of contention (mostly for his family). Carl wasn't a fan, and I don't think my parents could figure out what I saw in him, but we were crazy about each other pretty much from day 1. We broke up a couple of times but couldn't stay away from each other for long. During the summer James started investigating the church and was baptized in November. He proposed on Christmas eve day at the Muttart Conservatory in the middle of the poinsettia display.
2002: was all about The Wedding. In February we set the date: December 28th. The whole year was pretty much consumed with wedding planning and I don't think I came up for air until 2003! I also did my first student teaching practicum teaching a grade 5/6 class during November and December...that was very stressful but I had a great mentor teacher and it was a good experience. James struggled to find a full time job to support us while I was in school, and our prayers were answered when he got a warehousing job 9 days before we got married.
2003: Our first year of marriage! The first part of this year was a tough go...James and I were living in a tiny (and crappy) basement apartment on the west end of the city (in not the greatest neighborhood) and didn't have 2 nickels to rub together. We couldn't afford a car so James had to ride the bus for 90 minutes each way to work. Still, we had the "newlywed glow" so our dingy apartment (which we now refer to as "the hobbit hole" due to the fact that the ceiling in the bathroom was a little less than 6 feet), garage sale couch and second hand pots and pans were great because they were OURS! We were really adults now, living our own lives! Thankfully in June we got a very nice 1 bedroom apartment just off Whyte Avenue...I'll never forget when I found out that we got that apartment, I felt like we'd won the lottery! I waitressed during the summer and transferred to the U of A for the 3rd year of my degree. My second teaching practicum late that year didn't go as well as the first one...my mentor teacher and I had very different styles and I felt super intimidated by her. I didn't do my best and I started to seriously question the degree I was taking. Of course, being in my 4th year, it was a little late to do anything about it.
2004: I remember feeling very lost at this time in my life. I was the first in my family to graduate from university, an accomplishment I felt very proud of. At the same time I felt extremely discouraged because I had no teaching job lined up and no prospects...and I wasn't sure teaching was even what I wanted to do. That spring I got a job downtown at a call centre (answering customer calls for an american cell phone company)...the pay was decent and it seemed like a good job to pay the bills until I figured out what I was going to do. A few weeks out of training I noticed a job posting for a trainer position - a university degree wasn't required but a huge plus. I got an interview right away and I got a job about a week later! In a matter of a few weeks I had gone from student to teacher, so it was a bit of a challenge trying to teach subject matter I was still learning myself. It wasn't a perfect job but it was a "real" job and I discovered that I enjoyed teaching much more when I was teaching adults. We also got our first car this year which really made life easier!
2005: Ah, the year I got the "baby rabies". Bad!! James and I decided it was time to start our family, and on June 27th I nearly passed out when I saw the second line pop up on the pregnancy test! Which would have been problematic, since I was in a food court washroom at the time (I've never been good at waiting, and I just couldn't wait the 20 minutes it would have taken me to get home!). I was thrilled to be pregnant and thought about nothing else for the rest of the year. ;)
2006: By mid February I was as big as a house and went on some much needed maternity leave...by then I was glad to leave my call centre job behind and was excited to be a stay at home mom. On March 10th around noon my water broke, and Emmett Joseph Johnson made his way into the world at 6:21 pm the next day after a rather forceful eviction. I was in love instantly with this pink, gooey, squalling little creature. The transition to motherhood was not a smooth one...I felt incredibly insecure about my ability as a parent and there were many, many tears. Still, I loved being a mother and put my heart and soul into raising my little man. One bedroom wasn't going to cut it anymore, so our little family moved into our current place when Em was just 7 weeks old. Faced with the challenge of supporting a growing family, James busted his butt trying to get a plumbing apprenticeship...he quit at the warehouse and worked odd jobs while lining up at the union whenever he could trying to get that first job. Finally in September he started as a 1st year plumbing apprentice and we were thrilled! James proved to be a natural at the trades.
2007: Most of this year was uneventful...James was putting in his hours, waiting to go to school so he could advance to his second year, and I stayed home with a rapidly growing Emmett. In November we got some great news - I was pregnant again - and some very bad news...James was laid off very unexpectedly. He got another job quickly, but it was in a remote camp up north and he would be gone for weeks at a time. We decided to jump in with both feet and make the best of it. Just as we were adjusting to this new work schedule - James had been gone about a week - I learned I was miscarrying. Going through that without him was one of the most trying experiences of my life (and his, too). However, we grow through our trials and although that winter was very hard, I know it made me a stronger person.
2008: Things really started looking up for us this year...in March James found an in town job, and that spring I extremely happy to discover I was pregnant. That summer James was extremely happy to discover that our baby had an "outie"! ;) James had a series of jobs that weren't the greatest, but in August he got on at a project very close to home. Suddenly we had a lot more stability in our lives and it was so nice to have James home at 4pm! He also finally got his chance to go to school which meant a promotion at work. Emmett started to verbalize more and explore his world, which was very fun to watch.
2009: Seth John Robert Johnson joined our family on January 14th at 11:15pm...another beautiful little boy to love! James went to school and got another promotion, and continues to be the "go-to guy" on his project site. This year has been a bit of a blur as I've adjusted to parenting two small children. I took up running and discovered that I, the least athletic person on earth, could run a 5K! Emmett started preschool and Seth is growing at a fantastic rate - it's hard to believe his first year of life is almost complete!
Well, that's my life for the past decade...it's been one of huge growth and change. I've gone from a young girl just out of high school trying to find her way in the adult world, to a university grad, wife and mother of two boys. I think the next decade (what are we calling it? the "teens"?) will be one of big changes as well...home ownership, most likely another little one, maybe a return to the workforce, aunthood (looking at you here, Brit!! ;)) and the challenges of parenting school age kids. Bring it, 2010!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Christmas Eve Eve
I am being super lazy today...spending way too much time on the computer and goofing off with the boys and not enough time getting stuff done. It always feels like the last couple of days before Christmas drag, and that always makes me feel super unproductive.
Christmas sure is different as an adult...and at 28 I feel like I'm only now adjusting. Christmas as a kid feels so magical...all of these decorations and goodies seem to just fly out of nowhere, and all *you* have to do is attempt to get some sleep on Christmas eve/count the minutes until you're allowed to get your stocking on Christmas morning. (I think 5:30 or 6am was the rule)
Then you grow up and realize how much work Christmas is...the shopping, decorating, baking and wrapping, not to mention trying to schedule time between various families while not missing out on anything. Don't get me wrong, Christmas is still great, but part of me kinda misses the days when all I had to do was wrap a few gifts from the dollar store (bought with someone else's money), eat my Captain Crunch and unwrap my mountain o' gifts. Now it feels like most of this year will be spent trying to make sure my kids eat something other than cookies, only open their own gifts, and stay out of the relatives' breakables.
Maybe that's the crux of the issue...travelling with small kids is a massive pain in the patootie, even if it's just grandma and grandpa's house, and Christmas = The Friends and Family World Tour. I'm just going to try and let the small stuff go and enjoy them opening their gifts, and maybe tell my mother in law to just put the dang marble chess set away already. (Love you Joanne!)
Christmas sure is different as an adult...and at 28 I feel like I'm only now adjusting. Christmas as a kid feels so magical...all of these decorations and goodies seem to just fly out of nowhere, and all *you* have to do is attempt to get some sleep on Christmas eve/count the minutes until you're allowed to get your stocking on Christmas morning. (I think 5:30 or 6am was the rule)
Then you grow up and realize how much work Christmas is...the shopping, decorating, baking and wrapping, not to mention trying to schedule time between various families while not missing out on anything. Don't get me wrong, Christmas is still great, but part of me kinda misses the days when all I had to do was wrap a few gifts from the dollar store (bought with someone else's money), eat my Captain Crunch and unwrap my mountain o' gifts. Now it feels like most of this year will be spent trying to make sure my kids eat something other than cookies, only open their own gifts, and stay out of the relatives' breakables.
Maybe that's the crux of the issue...travelling with small kids is a massive pain in the patootie, even if it's just grandma and grandpa's house, and Christmas = The Friends and Family World Tour. I'm just going to try and let the small stuff go and enjoy them opening their gifts, and maybe tell my mother in law to just put the dang marble chess set away already. (Love you Joanne!)
Friday, December 18, 2009
11 days and counting...
That's how long I've been sick with this stupid cold. Here I couldn't wait for December to start, and all the fun of the Christmas season has been dampened by my constant hacking and nose blowing. Not to mention my throat is still sore! Honestly, who still has a sore throat after ELEVEN days? I'm starting to think I've got the plague.
Ok, sick rant over. (At least for you. Poor James has to hear it constantly!) Last night was so nice and warm we took the kids over to Candy Cane Lane to check out the Christmas lights. Not surprisingly, Seth was asleep practically as soon as we pulled out of the driveway, but Emmett stayed awake for the whole thing. Em's not big on commentary, but we did get one "Wow, look at that!" so that was cool. :)
Speaking of Emmett, he's doing SO much better with preschool now. Up until recently, any time the "p word" was mentioned he would say "Back to bed?" and head for his room. Yesterday I asked him if he wanted to go to Max's house for preschool and he said "House? OK!" No stress, no whining. He happily brought his Makka Pakka toy for show and tell (which was apparently a big hit) and was happy there right from the start. When I came to pick him up he did NOT want to leave...when he was finally coaxed out of the playroom all I got was "Bye, Mommy!" It's such a relief that we've put that awful preschool debaucle behind us and it's something positive for him now.
Ok, sick rant over. (At least for you. Poor James has to hear it constantly!) Last night was so nice and warm we took the kids over to Candy Cane Lane to check out the Christmas lights. Not surprisingly, Seth was asleep practically as soon as we pulled out of the driveway, but Emmett stayed awake for the whole thing. Em's not big on commentary, but we did get one "Wow, look at that!" so that was cool. :)
Speaking of Emmett, he's doing SO much better with preschool now. Up until recently, any time the "p word" was mentioned he would say "Back to bed?" and head for his room. Yesterday I asked him if he wanted to go to Max's house for preschool and he said "House? OK!" No stress, no whining. He happily brought his Makka Pakka toy for show and tell (which was apparently a big hit) and was happy there right from the start. When I came to pick him up he did NOT want to leave...when he was finally coaxed out of the playroom all I got was "Bye, Mommy!" It's such a relief that we've put that awful preschool debaucle behind us and it's something positive for him now.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Awesome deal!
I was heading to my favorite second hand kids' store when I noticed a party supply/dollar store advertising 50% off everything. My kiddos' birthdays are coming up in the next few months so I decided to see what I could scrounge up. Here's what I got:
Emmett's Party
-a "4" candle
-2 candles shaped like hot wheels
-2 packs of party invitations
-a red plastic tablecloth
Seth's Party
-"Baby's 1st Birthday" napkins and plates
-party hats
-a big bag of balloons
-2 packs of streamers
And for all of that I only paid $10!! I would have bought more but it was already pretty picked over. Still, I love it when I get a good deal like that!
Emmett's Party
-a "4" candle
-2 candles shaped like hot wheels
-2 packs of party invitations
-a red plastic tablecloth
Seth's Party
-"Baby's 1st Birthday" napkins and plates
-party hats
-a big bag of balloons
-2 packs of streamers
And for all of that I only paid $10!! I would have bought more but it was already pretty picked over. Still, I love it when I get a good deal like that!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Associations
I consider myself a pretty tough chick...not much scares me. I can suck it up and get through anything if I have to. I've given birth twice, the second time with very little pain medication. However, I'm a COMPLETE baby when it comes to having a sore throat. Despite as much rest as I can manage and a healthy dose of Cold FX, I've finally succumbed to the cold that's been running rampant through my house. I've got a very sore throat and can't sleep. Everytime I get sick I pray for the sore throat part to end...I'll take a nagging cough and being plugged up over the throat thing every time.
I think it all goes back to the worst sore throat of my life...it was St. Patrick's day when I was a young teenager. I remember waking up that day and decided to microwave a chocolate St. Patrick's day cupcake for breakfast...eating that thing was like choking down broken glass. Later that day we went to this Eastern Star thing of my grandma's - it was a dinner and they had Irish dancers performing. I told my mom I was too sick to go but I think she figured I was playing it up like a teenage drama queen to get out of going to my grandma's thing. So, I had to go. I think my mom figured out that I really WAS that sick after getting down a couple of teaspoons of jello for dinner and then basically curling up in a corner for the rest of it. I clearly remember watching the dancers and praying they would finish so I could just go HOME!
Anyways, to this day I can't eat a St. Patrick's day cupcake or watch Irish dancers. Maybe one day one of my grandchildren will offer me a delicious cupcake with a jaunty leprechaun sitting on top, and I will start telling them all this and they will be thinking "Great, Grandma's telling another one of her stories that doesn't go anywhere." Like, that time I took the ferry to Shelbyville to get a new heel for my shoe...
Well, at least Emmett seems to be doing better...it's 3:30 am but he's literally jumping up and down beside me shouting "Dance dance dance!". At least one of us is feeling good right now!
I think it all goes back to the worst sore throat of my life...it was St. Patrick's day when I was a young teenager. I remember waking up that day and decided to microwave a chocolate St. Patrick's day cupcake for breakfast...eating that thing was like choking down broken glass. Later that day we went to this Eastern Star thing of my grandma's - it was a dinner and they had Irish dancers performing. I told my mom I was too sick to go but I think she figured I was playing it up like a teenage drama queen to get out of going to my grandma's thing. So, I had to go. I think my mom figured out that I really WAS that sick after getting down a couple of teaspoons of jello for dinner and then basically curling up in a corner for the rest of it. I clearly remember watching the dancers and praying they would finish so I could just go HOME!
Anyways, to this day I can't eat a St. Patrick's day cupcake or watch Irish dancers. Maybe one day one of my grandchildren will offer me a delicious cupcake with a jaunty leprechaun sitting on top, and I will start telling them all this and they will be thinking "Great, Grandma's telling another one of her stories that doesn't go anywhere." Like, that time I took the ferry to Shelbyville to get a new heel for my shoe...
Well, at least Emmett seems to be doing better...it's 3:30 am but he's literally jumping up and down beside me shouting "Dance dance dance!". At least one of us is feeling good right now!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
I was just on the radio!!
Didja hear me? Huh? Huh? Didja???
Yeah, probably not. ;) Anyhoo, I usually listen to Dave Ramsey's radio show in the afternoons while I'm cleaning (read: scraping who knows how old applesauce off the wall that I just noticed) on a local Christian radio station. Sometimes I keep it on that station afterwards and listen to this call-in talk radio show...I'm an opinon junkie and I love reading/hearing other people's opinions (even if the opinions on this show are usually a little too far right for my tastes).
The show called a bunch of stores and asked them what the policy was this year on being allowed to say "Merry Christmas" (for the record, 4 out of 5 stores were OK with Merry Christmas or didn't have a policy). He brought this up because apparently James Dobson (a big name in the evangelical Christian world for those not in the know) has been suggesting for a few years now that Christians not patronize stores that won't allow their employees to wish you a Merry Christmas.
Uh, OK.
So, I called in during a commerical break and I got on right away when they came back on air, which was pretty cool! I told the host that I was a Christian and that I didn't care in the least what a store's policy was, because Christmas is NOT about presents and shopping. Sure, those things are nice, but that's not why we're celebrating! I pointed out that we are a multi-cultural and multi-faith society and that it doesn't make sense business wise to cater to one religion, and I respect that. I suggested that instead of worrying about what the cashier at Zellers says to us we could perhaps spend the season doing charity work and setting a good example. I also said that I was trying to teach my children the true meaning of Christmas and that I wasn't going to focus on what the STORES are doing.
The host basically agreed with my "Christmas is not about presents" thing, and didn't say much else. After I got off the phone I turned the radio back on and he was saying that my call reminded him of a sound clip of some comedian he had heard...cue some "comedian" frothing at the mouth about how THE FOUNDING FATHERS were Christian and that THIS COUNTRY was founded on the BIBLE and if YOU don't like it TOO BAD because HE is going to say MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERY CHRISSSSSSSSSTMAS!!!!!
Yeeeeah. Totally not what I was saying at all. My point was about businesses, not individuals. But hey, I got to have my say...and maybe someone out there agreed with me!
Yeah, probably not. ;) Anyhoo, I usually listen to Dave Ramsey's radio show in the afternoons while I'm cleaning (read: scraping who knows how old applesauce off the wall that I just noticed) on a local Christian radio station. Sometimes I keep it on that station afterwards and listen to this call-in talk radio show...I'm an opinon junkie and I love reading/hearing other people's opinions (even if the opinions on this show are usually a little too far right for my tastes).
The show called a bunch of stores and asked them what the policy was this year on being allowed to say "Merry Christmas" (for the record, 4 out of 5 stores were OK with Merry Christmas or didn't have a policy). He brought this up because apparently James Dobson (a big name in the evangelical Christian world for those not in the know) has been suggesting for a few years now that Christians not patronize stores that won't allow their employees to wish you a Merry Christmas.
Uh, OK.
So, I called in during a commerical break and I got on right away when they came back on air, which was pretty cool! I told the host that I was a Christian and that I didn't care in the least what a store's policy was, because Christmas is NOT about presents and shopping. Sure, those things are nice, but that's not why we're celebrating! I pointed out that we are a multi-cultural and multi-faith society and that it doesn't make sense business wise to cater to one religion, and I respect that. I suggested that instead of worrying about what the cashier at Zellers says to us we could perhaps spend the season doing charity work and setting a good example. I also said that I was trying to teach my children the true meaning of Christmas and that I wasn't going to focus on what the STORES are doing.
The host basically agreed with my "Christmas is not about presents" thing, and didn't say much else. After I got off the phone I turned the radio back on and he was saying that my call reminded him of a sound clip of some comedian he had heard...cue some "comedian" frothing at the mouth about how THE FOUNDING FATHERS were Christian and that THIS COUNTRY was founded on the BIBLE and if YOU don't like it TOO BAD because HE is going to say MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERY CHRISSSSSSSSSTMAS!!!!!
Yeeeeah. Totally not what I was saying at all. My point was about businesses, not individuals. But hey, I got to have my say...and maybe someone out there agreed with me!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Christmas Time!
(or "Christmas Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime!" in baritone , if said by Emmett ;))
Well, it's official...I can now break out my Christmas spirit without fear of judgement from my husband or brother (Grinches!). My shopping is DONE, and I couldn't be happier...I tried really hard to pay attention when people mentioned "I like _________" and then store it away in the ol' memory banks...hopefully I did well. Now I've just got to wrap it all, and avoid all unnecessary shopping trips until January. Crowds really stress me out...James could happily spend all day at West Ed mall weaving in and out of the crowds, whereas the thought of doing that (especially doing that with 2 small children) is enough to give me heart palipitations. Thank you amazon.ca!!!
Emmett is really into Christmas this year...I got him a chocolate advent calendar, which he happily attacks each morning. He then spends most of the morning asking for more chocolate and trying to reach the top of the fridge to sneak some more of his calendar. I don't think we'll be hanging advent calendars on the wall like I remember doing for a few years yet. We also put up our "Beary Merry Christmas" calendar, which has a little bear that moves all around his house looking for Christmas. He likes it, but doesn't really get it yet - he just wants to take the bear off and play with it. I'm holding off on decorating and putting the tree up until next weekend...hopefully this will give the tree better chances of survival. Last year wasn't too bad except I noticed ornaments kept disappearing and then reappearing all over the house!
December itself isn't looking too jam packed, which is nice...I want to be able to relax a bit and just enjoy the holiday rather than run around all over the place. I'm going to try to focus more this year on the true meaning of Christmas...on Monday for family home evening we started teaching Emmett the Christmas story. They must be talking about it at nursery, or he's just picking it up super quick, because he could point out Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus right away. He also LOVES it when we sing Away in a Manger (he calls it "Baby Jesus song"). That really warms my heart, because I remember my grandpa singing that to me all the time to me when I was little, especially at bedtime when I would sleep over. I'm pretty sure he sang it all year round...maybe that was the only song he knew all the words to! That song will always make me think of Grandpa, and I'm so glad my little man loves it too.
Well, it's official...I can now break out my Christmas spirit without fear of judgement from my husband or brother (Grinches!). My shopping is DONE, and I couldn't be happier...I tried really hard to pay attention when people mentioned "I like _________" and then store it away in the ol' memory banks...hopefully I did well. Now I've just got to wrap it all, and avoid all unnecessary shopping trips until January. Crowds really stress me out...James could happily spend all day at West Ed mall weaving in and out of the crowds, whereas the thought of doing that (especially doing that with 2 small children) is enough to give me heart palipitations. Thank you amazon.ca!!!
Emmett is really into Christmas this year...I got him a chocolate advent calendar, which he happily attacks each morning. He then spends most of the morning asking for more chocolate and trying to reach the top of the fridge to sneak some more of his calendar. I don't think we'll be hanging advent calendars on the wall like I remember doing for a few years yet. We also put up our "Beary Merry Christmas" calendar, which has a little bear that moves all around his house looking for Christmas. He likes it, but doesn't really get it yet - he just wants to take the bear off and play with it. I'm holding off on decorating and putting the tree up until next weekend...hopefully this will give the tree better chances of survival. Last year wasn't too bad except I noticed ornaments kept disappearing and then reappearing all over the house!
December itself isn't looking too jam packed, which is nice...I want to be able to relax a bit and just enjoy the holiday rather than run around all over the place. I'm going to try to focus more this year on the true meaning of Christmas...on Monday for family home evening we started teaching Emmett the Christmas story. They must be talking about it at nursery, or he's just picking it up super quick, because he could point out Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus right away. He also LOVES it when we sing Away in a Manger (he calls it "Baby Jesus song"). That really warms my heart, because I remember my grandpa singing that to me all the time to me when I was little, especially at bedtime when I would sleep over. I'm pretty sure he sang it all year round...maybe that was the only song he knew all the words to! That song will always make me think of Grandpa, and I'm so glad my little man loves it too.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Be careful what you wish for.../kid update
So far this "Suck-vember" has been flying by...I'm so busy I feel like I don't know what's what. It's a good thing though, as Martha would say.
The Seth-meister is pulling up on everything now...he is just SUPER proud of himself, it's so cute. James and I always say that Seth "really thinks he's somethin' somethin'". Which he *is*, of course, but it's always better to keep that ego at a reasonable level.
Emmett is really getting better at telling us what he wants, and he's not afraid to try and "trick" you to get it. For example:
Emmett: Yogurt?
Me: No, you've had enough yogurt today...how about an apple?
Emmett: (Thoughtfully) Apple....aaaaaaaaaaand yogurt!
Because hey, maybe mom won't remember she said no to yogurt five seconds ago. It could happen!
We've also started having him do some chores around the house...we get him to help pick up his toys, and he's sort of getting the hang of setting the table (which consists of everything just sort of getting plopped on one spot because he's still too short to really see over the table, but he gets an A+ for effort!). He even put his own laundry away yesterday (after much tears and complaint, according to James!).
He's also started talking about his feelings, which is SO huge for him...the other day he came up to me and said "Mommy, I SO HAPPY!" Talk about a heart melter! He is talking a lot about Christmas as well...he's loving all the Christmas decorations in stores. DO NOT bring up Santa though...Santa is a creepy, evil old man and not all the presents in the world could persuade Emmett otherwise. We went to the holiday light up downtown, and even though we were approximately 300 feet away from Santa that was NOT far enough. It's kind of weird, but at least it gives me a great opportunity to focus on teaching him the real meaning of Christmas instead. I'm going to try and find an unbreakable nativity set that we can play with together...I think he's old enough this year to grasp the basics of the story.
The Seth-meister is pulling up on everything now...he is just SUPER proud of himself, it's so cute. James and I always say that Seth "really thinks he's somethin' somethin'". Which he *is*, of course, but it's always better to keep that ego at a reasonable level.
Emmett is really getting better at telling us what he wants, and he's not afraid to try and "trick" you to get it. For example:
Emmett: Yogurt?
Me: No, you've had enough yogurt today...how about an apple?
Emmett: (Thoughtfully) Apple....aaaaaaaaaaand yogurt!
Because hey, maybe mom won't remember she said no to yogurt five seconds ago. It could happen!
We've also started having him do some chores around the house...we get him to help pick up his toys, and he's sort of getting the hang of setting the table (which consists of everything just sort of getting plopped on one spot because he's still too short to really see over the table, but he gets an A+ for effort!). He even put his own laundry away yesterday (after much tears and complaint, according to James!).
He's also started talking about his feelings, which is SO huge for him...the other day he came up to me and said "Mommy, I SO HAPPY!" Talk about a heart melter! He is talking a lot about Christmas as well...he's loving all the Christmas decorations in stores. DO NOT bring up Santa though...Santa is a creepy, evil old man and not all the presents in the world could persuade Emmett otherwise. We went to the holiday light up downtown, and even though we were approximately 300 feet away from Santa that was NOT far enough. It's kind of weird, but at least it gives me a great opportunity to focus on teaching him the real meaning of Christmas instead. I'm going to try and find an unbreakable nativity set that we can play with together...I think he's old enough this year to grasp the basics of the story.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
This just in...
Parenting little kids is hard. They don't sleep when you want them to (and they're too little to be left to their own devices when awake so YOU can finally get some sleep), they make messes faster than you can clean them up, and going anywhere with them involves so much packing and planning you sometimes wonder if you're actually going on a week long trip rather than just running a couple of errands.
Case in point: my oldest is a FANTASTIC shopper. You could run errands all day with him and he'd be happy as a clam. My 9 month old, however, can't stand more than about 20 minutes in a shopping cart. Going to more than one store at a time is absolutely out of the question. The longest I'm ever out with him is for the weekly grocery shopping trip. I'm always very prepared...I always go right after nap, feed him first, bring toys and have a detailed list organized by section of the store. Still, by the time I hit produce a certain someone is throwing himself back in the cart in true "drama llama" fashion and sobbing like his whole world is ending. Usually while I'm bagging up the groceries Emmett finally gets sick of his brother's shenanigans and starts punching him in the face. Oh yeah, I'm sure Superstore just loooooooooves it when we show up.
Yesterday I had to do a HUGE shop (I'm putting on my big lunch this Saturday and had to buy all that stuff as well as our groceries), so I brought James with me and put Sethers in the sling my sis in law gave me (thanks Brit!)...this solved the cart conundrum (all he really wants is to be held while we shop, but good luck doing that while pushing a full cart with a 33 lb preschooler in it), but I was so weighed down by the chubster I could barely pick things off the shelf. And today my shoulders are killing me...I can't win! I guess I'm going to have to add grocery shopping to the list of stuff that has to wait until James gets home to help me. Seth, you are about to be banned from Superstore.
Sorry this is so long and ranty, I'm running on way too little sleep and just having one of those "baby for sale" mornings. I really do love my kidlets (and tell them so everyday), I just need a hot bath and a 3 hour nap. Neither of those things appear to be forthcoming, so a ranty blog entry will have to do. ;)
Case in point: my oldest is a FANTASTIC shopper. You could run errands all day with him and he'd be happy as a clam. My 9 month old, however, can't stand more than about 20 minutes in a shopping cart. Going to more than one store at a time is absolutely out of the question. The longest I'm ever out with him is for the weekly grocery shopping trip. I'm always very prepared...I always go right after nap, feed him first, bring toys and have a detailed list organized by section of the store. Still, by the time I hit produce a certain someone is throwing himself back in the cart in true "drama llama" fashion and sobbing like his whole world is ending. Usually while I'm bagging up the groceries Emmett finally gets sick of his brother's shenanigans and starts punching him in the face. Oh yeah, I'm sure Superstore just loooooooooves it when we show up.
Yesterday I had to do a HUGE shop (I'm putting on my big lunch this Saturday and had to buy all that stuff as well as our groceries), so I brought James with me and put Sethers in the sling my sis in law gave me (thanks Brit!)...this solved the cart conundrum (all he really wants is to be held while we shop, but good luck doing that while pushing a full cart with a 33 lb preschooler in it), but I was so weighed down by the chubster I could barely pick things off the shelf. And today my shoulders are killing me...I can't win! I guess I'm going to have to add grocery shopping to the list of stuff that has to wait until James gets home to help me. Seth, you are about to be banned from Superstore.
Sorry this is so long and ranty, I'm running on way too little sleep and just having one of those "baby for sale" mornings. I really do love my kidlets (and tell them so everyday), I just need a hot bath and a 3 hour nap. Neither of those things appear to be forthcoming, so a ranty blog entry will have to do. ;)
Monday, November 2, 2009
Suck-vember
Well, it's that time of year again...the pumpkins are slowly rotting on their doorsteps, my jeans are tight following a major Halloween week (yes, I said week) candy binge, and Christmas is still like 7 weeks away. November just sort of sucks any way you look at it...I mean, there's Rememberance Day, but that's not really in the category of Fun Festivities, now is it? I'm sure all of the stores are in full on Christmas mode, but I know if it I start getting into the holiday spirit now I'll be fully burnt out a full week before Christmas actually arrives. I always feel like I'm just trying to get through November so the good stuff can start.
I'm changing my strategy this year...I'm going to cram November so full of stuff I won't even notice it flying by (I hope). Looking at the calendar, my strategy looks promising. This week we've got to deal with the flu shot fiasco (whenever they decide to open up the clinics again), then next week I'm putting on lunch for 50 at a church thing (if you're going to quarterly enrichment...hope you like chili! ;)). After that I'm planning a hawaiian luau themed preschool activity, and somewhere in all of that will be Christmas on the Square - fireworks and the big Turning on of Downtown Christmas Lights. Doing this in November totally goes against my policy of no Christmas until December 1, but Mayor Mandel isn't taking my calls. So, I'll have to once again make an exception.
Also on the docket this month...finish Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (I'm right in the thick of it right now...sorry Langstons, I broke down and borrowed a copy from the library!), do some knitting, finish my Christmas shopping (oh yeah, that's right, I said FINISH) and hopefully sneak a date night in with James, too. Anyone feel like babysitting? ;)
I'm changing my strategy this year...I'm going to cram November so full of stuff I won't even notice it flying by (I hope). Looking at the calendar, my strategy looks promising. This week we've got to deal with the flu shot fiasco (whenever they decide to open up the clinics again), then next week I'm putting on lunch for 50 at a church thing (if you're going to quarterly enrichment...hope you like chili! ;)). After that I'm planning a hawaiian luau themed preschool activity, and somewhere in all of that will be Christmas on the Square - fireworks and the big Turning on of Downtown Christmas Lights. Doing this in November totally goes against my policy of no Christmas until December 1, but Mayor Mandel isn't taking my calls. So, I'll have to once again make an exception.
Also on the docket this month...finish Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (I'm right in the thick of it right now...sorry Langstons, I broke down and borrowed a copy from the library!), do some knitting, finish my Christmas shopping (oh yeah, that's right, I said FINISH) and hopefully sneak a date night in with James, too. Anyone feel like babysitting? ;)
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
My New Toy
I mentioned awhile ago that I love indexing and all things history related in general. When it comes to doing my own family history, I haven't done much. Most of my dad's line is done, and my mom and grandma are working on my mom's line. So, I decided a couple of years ago to start working on James' family tree...armed only with a few names, dates and places written in his baby book, I set off to see what I could find. I found his great grandmother on a census from 1911, but I didn't get any further than that. Well, on Monday night I decided to try again - ancestry.ca has a 2 week free trial so I signed up and started searching names.
That great grandmother I couldn't find anymore information about...I found her marriage certificate! Her name was slightly different, which is probably why I couldn't find her before. Anyways, I noticed that someone had a family tree connected to James' great grandfather - lo and behold, someone has done a TON of family history work on one of James' lines! Not only did I find lots of full names, dates, and places, I found pictures too! I have pictures going 5 generations back, but this one was my favorite - this guy's name was also James Johnson, and I think he was James' great great uncle:
The first time I saw this picture I thought "Hey look, someone put my husband in old timey clothes!" The face shape, nose, stature...clearly James is a Johnson through and through!
So, I've officially got the bug now...all of my precious TV time has been cut out in favour of going through this public family tree and recording every bit of information I can. I've found a lot of info but there is so much more to do!
Friday, October 23, 2009
Stuff I Waste Time On!
Here's a bunch of my favorite blogs:
http://www.lovelylisting.com/
Lovely Listing has all sorts of interesting/creepy/weird/eye bleed inducingly ugly photos from real estate listings. People have some weeeeeeeeird houses. Like this one:
Yep, that's an aquarium floor. I'm pretty sure this is James' dream home. Well, we ARE saving up our downpayment right now...quick, what's 5% of 29 million?
And then there's Cake Wrecks:
http://www.cakewrecks.com/
Like cakes with obvious spelling errors? Cakes with instructions like "I want sprinkles" written out? Cakes with random, unexplained piles of dog poo icing? Cake Wrecks is the place to go. One of my personal favorites:
Now really, how could you NOT have a happle birthday with a cake like this? Man, I can't wait until I'm fithy years. plus Nine...that's gonna be awesome.
This next one comes with an assignment:
http://www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com/
No picture, but see if you can find the one of the nude couple posing with their very annoyed looking cats. Don't worry, the cats are covering all of the essentials...I want the back story on that one, bad.
And a couple for the members reading:
http://www.whatmormonslike.blogspot.com/
This guy hasn't updated for awhile, but this blog is well worth a read through...hee-larious!
http://www.overheardintheward.com/
Lots of funny stuff heard at church - not surprisingly a good chunk of it comes from sunbeam classes. This one's my favorite:
Mom: How was Primary today?
Son: Good.
Mom: What did you do?
Son: Well, they told us Jesus was coming but he never showed up… so we just colored.
And finally...
http://www.sexypeople-blog.com/
I'm not brave enough to scan my grade 7 picture, but believe me, they'd post it.
http://www.lovelylisting.com/
Lovely Listing has all sorts of interesting/creepy/weird/eye bleed inducingly ugly photos from real estate listings. People have some weeeeeeeeird houses. Like this one:
Yep, that's an aquarium floor. I'm pretty sure this is James' dream home. Well, we ARE saving up our downpayment right now...quick, what's 5% of 29 million?
And then there's Cake Wrecks:
http://www.cakewrecks.com/
Like cakes with obvious spelling errors? Cakes with instructions like "I want sprinkles" written out? Cakes with random, unexplained piles of dog poo icing? Cake Wrecks is the place to go. One of my personal favorites:
Now really, how could you NOT have a happle birthday with a cake like this? Man, I can't wait until I'm fithy years. plus Nine...that's gonna be awesome.
This next one comes with an assignment:
http://www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com/
No picture, but see if you can find the one of the nude couple posing with their very annoyed looking cats. Don't worry, the cats are covering all of the essentials...I want the back story on that one, bad.
And a couple for the members reading:
http://www.whatmormonslike.blogspot.com/
This guy hasn't updated for awhile, but this blog is well worth a read through...hee-larious!
http://www.overheardintheward.com/
Lots of funny stuff heard at church - not surprisingly a good chunk of it comes from sunbeam classes. This one's my favorite:
Mom: How was Primary today?
Son: Good.
Mom: What did you do?
Son: Well, they told us Jesus was coming but he never showed up… so we just colored.
And finally...
http://www.sexypeople-blog.com/
I'm not brave enough to scan my grade 7 picture, but believe me, they'd post it.
Monday, October 19, 2009
My Office has "Es-ploded"
It's been teething hell-week for poor Mr. Seth...he's cut 3 top teeth in the last 7 days, and #4 isn't far behind. Little man and I were up at 4am this morning, so I thought I would get some much needed paperwork done while he was distracted with his "baby genius" DVD and we waited for the baby Tylenol to kick in.
About an hour later, piles of various papers all around me, I gave up. Half the stuff I needed was buried who knows where. I'm normally an organized person - I seem to do well everywhere else in the house but papers just pile up like crazy. For the past year or so whenever I'd have to hunt for something I would swear up and down that I was going to straighten this mess out Once. And. For. All. Then I'd find what I needed, and that plan promptly went out the window.
No more...I'm gonna get me wunna them there offices in a box today, and then the Great Office Organziation of '09 is ON. Seems like the only solution now that my desk file drawer only opens half way and my hanging file folders have literally fallen apart. It's like an ancient ruin of what was once a great filing system, pre-children. Now Emmett plays mailman with said broken drawer (if James or I ask the other if we've seen some small item, the first reply is usually "check the mailbox"...and at least half the time, we're right) and one of the Seth's favorite pasttimes is tipping over my office garbage can and diving head first into the balled up paper and candy wrappers.
The real heart of the problem is we have just plain run out of space. We live in a basement apartment, which by anyone's basement apartment standards is pretty nice and very liveable, but even as a rather minimalist family of 4 we are really crammed in here. Our christmas decorations live in the boys' closet, along with kid clothes of every season and size (properly boxed and labelled...go me!). James' tools are hanging out in the pantry. My griddle is hanging off a coat hanger on a pipe in the laundry room. My mother in law gave us their wok yesterday and I honestly haven't the faintest idea of where it's going to live.
A basement, a basement, my kindgom for a basement! (That we, uh, don't have to live in too.) Hopefully we'll be buying our first place next spring/summer...then my office in a box can get to know its friends Christmas Tree and 0-3 month Boy's Sleepers better in a cozy dark little corner far away from my line of sight. ;)
About an hour later, piles of various papers all around me, I gave up. Half the stuff I needed was buried who knows where. I'm normally an organized person - I seem to do well everywhere else in the house but papers just pile up like crazy. For the past year or so whenever I'd have to hunt for something I would swear up and down that I was going to straighten this mess out Once. And. For. All. Then I'd find what I needed, and that plan promptly went out the window.
No more...I'm gonna get me wunna them there offices in a box today, and then the Great Office Organziation of '09 is ON. Seems like the only solution now that my desk file drawer only opens half way and my hanging file folders have literally fallen apart. It's like an ancient ruin of what was once a great filing system, pre-children. Now Emmett plays mailman with said broken drawer (if James or I ask the other if we've seen some small item, the first reply is usually "check the mailbox"...and at least half the time, we're right) and one of the Seth's favorite pasttimes is tipping over my office garbage can and diving head first into the balled up paper and candy wrappers.
The real heart of the problem is we have just plain run out of space. We live in a basement apartment, which by anyone's basement apartment standards is pretty nice and very liveable, but even as a rather minimalist family of 4 we are really crammed in here. Our christmas decorations live in the boys' closet, along with kid clothes of every season and size (properly boxed and labelled...go me!). James' tools are hanging out in the pantry. My griddle is hanging off a coat hanger on a pipe in the laundry room. My mother in law gave us their wok yesterday and I honestly haven't the faintest idea of where it's going to live.
A basement, a basement, my kindgom for a basement! (That we, uh, don't have to live in too.) Hopefully we'll be buying our first place next spring/summer...then my office in a box can get to know its friends Christmas Tree and 0-3 month Boy's Sleepers better in a cozy dark little corner far away from my line of sight. ;)
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
I want chicken, I want liver...or maybe just some tofurkey.
I caught a bit of The View today as I was folding Mt. Washmore (aka a long weekend's worth of laundry for a family of 4) - Alicia Silverstone was on promoting some new vegan diet book she's putting out. She spoke about how "nasty" foods like meat and dairy are "unkind" and make you feel bad. Ok, I can be on board with that...downing tons of meat and dairy probably isn't the best for you. There is definitely something to be said for a (mostly) plant based diet, and if someone feels the need to be vegetarian or vegan, I can totally respect that. I could go veggie, but avoiding anywhere that bacon was being fried up would be tantamount to my success. I don't think I could handle vegan (if my life had a subtitle it would be "A Life Without Cheese isn't a Life Worth Living"), but to each their own, right?
But you know what part really stuck with me? Alicia Silverstone's DOG is vegan too. The thought of a vegan dog manages to both amuse and annoy me simulateously. Some argue that humans aren't meant to consume animal products, and while I don't agree, I can accept that argument. But dogs? What exactly does Ms. Silverstone think her dog would be eating if left to its own devices? Perhaps she imagines it would hit Trader Joe's and Whole Foods begging for kelp "meat"balls (kelpballs?) like that scene in Lady and the Tramp. Come on...has Hollywood really reached the point that even naturally carnivorus animals can't enjoy a little Iams the way nature intended?
As The View's co-hosts ooh and aahed over the guacamole (vegan cheese and sour cream, natch) and aformentioned kelpballs, one mentioned her sister and five kids...where were they to find the super special calcium rich seaweed used in the kelpball dish? "Oh", Alicia replied "you could order it online, or just pick it up at (insert overpriced specialty hippie store of your choosing here)." Yep, I can just see it now...Joe Six Pack driving right on past Wal-Mart to the local hipster hangout to pick up the kids' favorite vegan cheese-whiz. It's just not dinner without it, you know?
It's a personal pet peeve of mine to see celebs hawking the latest "miracle diet" calling for weird, inexpensive, hard to find ingredients and insisting that evvvvvvvvvvvvvvverybody would just feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeel so much better it they only tried it! Tell that to the majority of people out there whose monthly grocery budget would be busted after one trip to the store.
/End Rant
On a completely unrelated subject, Em had his first trip to the dentist today...we've been reading Just Going to the Dentist (Oh how I love Mercer Mayer!!) all week and talking about how the dentist was going to look at his teeth with a mirror on a stick, which he seemed to think was moderately cool. Still, Emmett is Emmett, and things went about as well as could be expected. The dentist said Emmett was the first kid he's ever seen that could cry and scream with his mouth closed...LOL, classic Em! The new dental hygenist there also spoke and acted exactly like Kelly from The Office, which was highly amusing. She was great though, super gentle. Hopefully Em's a little more cooperative next year, otherwise we may have to talk alternative measures - maybe The Big Book of British Smiles and then "hold still while I gas you!!" ;)
But you know what part really stuck with me? Alicia Silverstone's DOG is vegan too. The thought of a vegan dog manages to both amuse and annoy me simulateously. Some argue that humans aren't meant to consume animal products, and while I don't agree, I can accept that argument. But dogs? What exactly does Ms. Silverstone think her dog would be eating if left to its own devices? Perhaps she imagines it would hit Trader Joe's and Whole Foods begging for kelp "meat"balls (kelpballs?) like that scene in Lady and the Tramp. Come on...has Hollywood really reached the point that even naturally carnivorus animals can't enjoy a little Iams the way nature intended?
As The View's co-hosts ooh and aahed over the guacamole (vegan cheese and sour cream, natch) and aformentioned kelpballs, one mentioned her sister and five kids...where were they to find the super special calcium rich seaweed used in the kelpball dish? "Oh", Alicia replied "you could order it online, or just pick it up at (insert overpriced specialty hippie store of your choosing here)." Yep, I can just see it now...Joe Six Pack driving right on past Wal-Mart to the local hipster hangout to pick up the kids' favorite vegan cheese-whiz. It's just not dinner without it, you know?
It's a personal pet peeve of mine to see celebs hawking the latest "miracle diet" calling for weird, inexpensive, hard to find ingredients and insisting that evvvvvvvvvvvvvvverybody would just feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeel so much better it they only tried it! Tell that to the majority of people out there whose monthly grocery budget would be busted after one trip to the store.
/End Rant
On a completely unrelated subject, Em had his first trip to the dentist today...we've been reading Just Going to the Dentist (Oh how I love Mercer Mayer!!) all week and talking about how the dentist was going to look at his teeth with a mirror on a stick, which he seemed to think was moderately cool. Still, Emmett is Emmett, and things went about as well as could be expected. The dentist said Emmett was the first kid he's ever seen that could cry and scream with his mouth closed...LOL, classic Em! The new dental hygenist there also spoke and acted exactly like Kelly from The Office, which was highly amusing. She was great though, super gentle. Hopefully Em's a little more cooperative next year, otherwise we may have to talk alternative measures - maybe The Big Book of British Smiles and then "hold still while I gas you!!" ;)
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Nerdy Confession
I love indexing! There, I said it. Whew! ;)
For those thoroughly confused right now, indexing is when you take images of old records (censuses, birth/marriage/death certificates, ship passenger lists, etc) and type out the info so that it can be searched by those doing their family history. Before indexing you would have to get rolls of microfiche and scroll through them until your eyes felt like they were going to fall out of your head, and hope you found the information you were looking for. (Yeah, I did that exactly once.) After something is indexed you should be able to type in a name, for example, have it pop right up for you.
I started indexing last year after reading an article about it in our church magazine (Mormons are well known for being genealogy-happy) and checking out the website. As of today, I've indexed 10,659 names! It's probably more than that, because I've done quite a few records that had more than one name on it (like a marriage record that's got the bride and groom as well as their parents' info). A couple of weeks ago I got an email from the site inviting me to be an arbitrator...each record is indexed by 2 different people, and the arbitrator goes through any discrepancies and picks the correct information. I have to admit, my inner nerd was pretty stoked to be given arbitrator status. So far I've arbitrated 150 records...sometimes it's really hard to figure out which interpretation of the info is correct, but I'm doing my best with it.
It's pretty interesting to read the old records and learn a bit about the past. The death records make me glad I live in the 21st century...even 70 or 80 years ago people died of seemingly benign things ALL the time. The romantic in me wonders if the people who filled out those 100 year old marriage certificates stayed together all of their lives. It surprised me as well to see the number of women in their late 30's and up getting married for the first time...I always thought back in the day you were a confirmed spinster by the age of 23! I've seen plenty of interesting names - one 19th century black family in the deep south gave all of their sons occupation names: Doctor, Judge, etc. Sometimes I even Wiki the places on the records...I did a bunch of death records for what turned out to be a TB hospital somewhere in the southern states. I looked it up and found a picture of the place - it was pretty much the creepiest looking building ever.
So yeah, I may not be doing *my* family history (kind of at an impasse on that one right now) but at least I'm helping others do theirs...and satisfying my inner nerdiness at the same time. Win win!
Another quick preschool update...I hosted for our co-op preschool for the first time today! We learned about Thanksgiving - we ran around pretending to be turkeys and made a turkey centerpiece out of a lunch bag and some construction paper. Emmett still wasn't sure about things, even though we were hosting this week - I think the word "preschool" still has negative connotations for him. He freaked out while we were pretending to be turkeys, which didn't surprise me (he is really weird about pretending to be animals), but I'm trying to teach him that we do a variety of stuff at preschool so there is something for everyone and it's not just things HE wants to do all the time. He actually did most of his turkey craft, which pleasantly surprised me, and he did a fantastic job sharing his toys with the other kids. Oh, and he went nutso for the animal crackers we had for snack, surprise surprise. ;) All in all a successful morning!
For those thoroughly confused right now, indexing is when you take images of old records (censuses, birth/marriage/death certificates, ship passenger lists, etc) and type out the info so that it can be searched by those doing their family history. Before indexing you would have to get rolls of microfiche and scroll through them until your eyes felt like they were going to fall out of your head, and hope you found the information you were looking for. (Yeah, I did that exactly once.) After something is indexed you should be able to type in a name, for example, have it pop right up for you.
I started indexing last year after reading an article about it in our church magazine (Mormons are well known for being genealogy-happy) and checking out the website. As of today, I've indexed 10,659 names! It's probably more than that, because I've done quite a few records that had more than one name on it (like a marriage record that's got the bride and groom as well as their parents' info). A couple of weeks ago I got an email from the site inviting me to be an arbitrator...each record is indexed by 2 different people, and the arbitrator goes through any discrepancies and picks the correct information. I have to admit, my inner nerd was pretty stoked to be given arbitrator status. So far I've arbitrated 150 records...sometimes it's really hard to figure out which interpretation of the info is correct, but I'm doing my best with it.
It's pretty interesting to read the old records and learn a bit about the past. The death records make me glad I live in the 21st century...even 70 or 80 years ago people died of seemingly benign things ALL the time. The romantic in me wonders if the people who filled out those 100 year old marriage certificates stayed together all of their lives. It surprised me as well to see the number of women in their late 30's and up getting married for the first time...I always thought back in the day you were a confirmed spinster by the age of 23! I've seen plenty of interesting names - one 19th century black family in the deep south gave all of their sons occupation names: Doctor, Judge, etc. Sometimes I even Wiki the places on the records...I did a bunch of death records for what turned out to be a TB hospital somewhere in the southern states. I looked it up and found a picture of the place - it was pretty much the creepiest looking building ever.
So yeah, I may not be doing *my* family history (kind of at an impasse on that one right now) but at least I'm helping others do theirs...and satisfying my inner nerdiness at the same time. Win win!
Another quick preschool update...I hosted for our co-op preschool for the first time today! We learned about Thanksgiving - we ran around pretending to be turkeys and made a turkey centerpiece out of a lunch bag and some construction paper. Emmett still wasn't sure about things, even though we were hosting this week - I think the word "preschool" still has negative connotations for him. He freaked out while we were pretending to be turkeys, which didn't surprise me (he is really weird about pretending to be animals), but I'm trying to teach him that we do a variety of stuff at preschool so there is something for everyone and it's not just things HE wants to do all the time. He actually did most of his turkey craft, which pleasantly surprised me, and he did a fantastic job sharing his toys with the other kids. Oh, and he went nutso for the animal crackers we had for snack, surprise surprise. ;) All in all a successful morning!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Preschool Update
So it seems it's all's well that ends well with this preschool business. I talked to the director via email a couple of times about my concerns, but she was pretty much all "We're awesome, what are you talking about?" Yeah. Long story short I got my money back and I never have to set foot in that place again.
On a much more positive note, I am now doing both homeschool preschool with Emmett, as well as a preschool co-op with some friends from church once a week! We'll all take turns teaching, and it will be Emmett and 4 other boys, all pretty close in age. We had a planning meeting this week and I'm really excited about it...these ladies are all fantastic and I love all the little boys that will be in his "class". I think we're going to have a lot of fun!
I'm doing the homeschool thing Monday thru Friday, just for about 10 minutes a day. We're doing things like colours, letters, numbers, nursery rhymes, etc. He pretty well knows all of that stuff, but it's more about having him practice school skills. He really needs to work on his listening (What 3 year old doesn't, right?), and I'm just now introducing crafts to him - definitely his LEAST favorite part of "preschool"! Each week we're doing a theme based on stuff he's interested in - last week was cows and this week we're learning about bees. He's becoming quite the little expert on beehives and honey! On Friday we're going to make a bee that he can play with, so maybe that kind of craft will interest him a little more.
As terrible as this whole preschool experience has been, I think it really increased my confidence as a mom and reminded me how much I've grown as a mother in the past few years. I was updating Seth's baby book this morning and I pulled out Emmett's for comparison. Seth is just starting to crawl, but Emmett was still a couple of months away from crawling (and 4 lbs heavier!) at this point, and I remember being super worried about it. I also remember people telling me it was no big deal, that he would get there, but until he did I couldn't stop myself from worrying. Of course with Seth being my second I'm way more laid back in that area, but even with Emmett I'm loosening up. Emmett has always been behind his peers on most things developmentally. He's proven that it's not a matter of intelligence (this kid has all of his books memorized and practically operates the computer better than me), but a matter of only working on things that are important to Emmett. Singing and reading and computer games are important to Emmett. Taking his own shoes off or using the potty...not so much. It can be frustrating at times, but I KNOW he's going to get there. I'm doing what I can to help him stretch out of his comfort zone and try new things, and I'm not sweating the rest. I can't tell you how much I wish I could go back about 2 years in time and tell myself to chill out. ;)
On a much more positive note, I am now doing both homeschool preschool with Emmett, as well as a preschool co-op with some friends from church once a week! We'll all take turns teaching, and it will be Emmett and 4 other boys, all pretty close in age. We had a planning meeting this week and I'm really excited about it...these ladies are all fantastic and I love all the little boys that will be in his "class". I think we're going to have a lot of fun!
I'm doing the homeschool thing Monday thru Friday, just for about 10 minutes a day. We're doing things like colours, letters, numbers, nursery rhymes, etc. He pretty well knows all of that stuff, but it's more about having him practice school skills. He really needs to work on his listening (What 3 year old doesn't, right?), and I'm just now introducing crafts to him - definitely his LEAST favorite part of "preschool"! Each week we're doing a theme based on stuff he's interested in - last week was cows and this week we're learning about bees. He's becoming quite the little expert on beehives and honey! On Friday we're going to make a bee that he can play with, so maybe that kind of craft will interest him a little more.
As terrible as this whole preschool experience has been, I think it really increased my confidence as a mom and reminded me how much I've grown as a mother in the past few years. I was updating Seth's baby book this morning and I pulled out Emmett's for comparison. Seth is just starting to crawl, but Emmett was still a couple of months away from crawling (and 4 lbs heavier!) at this point, and I remember being super worried about it. I also remember people telling me it was no big deal, that he would get there, but until he did I couldn't stop myself from worrying. Of course with Seth being my second I'm way more laid back in that area, but even with Emmett I'm loosening up. Emmett has always been behind his peers on most things developmentally. He's proven that it's not a matter of intelligence (this kid has all of his books memorized and practically operates the computer better than me), but a matter of only working on things that are important to Emmett. Singing and reading and computer games are important to Emmett. Taking his own shoes off or using the potty...not so much. It can be frustrating at times, but I KNOW he's going to get there. I'm doing what I can to help him stretch out of his comfort zone and try new things, and I'm not sweating the rest. I can't tell you how much I wish I could go back about 2 years in time and tell myself to chill out. ;)
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Alarm Bells
As I mentioned in my last entry, Emmett started preschool last week. After the second day I got pulled in for a "chat" about Em's lack of listening skills and short attention span. This behavior "couldn't go on all year". I was asked to observe the next class to see if I had some suggestions for them.
I spend the whole day crying off and on, thinking I had somehow failed as a parent because my child wasn't falling in line at preschool. I was afraid he was going get kicked out of the program. I spoke to trusted friends and family about it over the weekend and went in there on Tuesday resolved to help my child adjust to preschool and support the teachers any way I could.
As I brought Em into the classroom, he started bawling, which surprised me since he had been fine the first couple of days. Alarm bells started going off in my head when I was consoling him in my lap and one of the teachers came up to him and said (well, more like yelled): "Come on Emmett, there are only 12 minutes left of play time and you CAN'T stay on your mom's lap, you need to get down here and PLAY."
I reacted slowly...things just kept going from bad to worse and something inside me was screaming "Something is NOT right about this". The pinnacle moment came when Emmett refused to draw something on the daily art project and the teacher grabbed his head and forced him to look at the paper while holding his arm and forcing him to draw. I don't know why I didn't slap this woman, I think I was in shock. I could NOT believe was I was seeing.
During this time one other child was crying for his mother - he was shown no compassion whatsoever, was told "You are in SCHOOL now and you should know better than to keep crying!"and was basically just put in a corner to cry. My mom suggested I go back to the school and find this boy's parents and tell them what happened. That's what I did this morning and I am SO glad that I did...alarm bells had been going off for them as well but what I told them convinced them not to put their kid back in that class. The boy's grandmother told me that when they went to pick him up on Tuesday, the teacher said "Oh, is he still in the bathroom?"
They had put him in the bathroom, closed the door and forgot about him. Him mom found him sobbing on the floor. Apparently this child's mother and grandmother also saw Emmett sobbing in a corner on the first day, and they thought it wasn't right.
I can't believe anyone would possibly think treating a child like that is acceptable. I've written a letter to the preschool director letting her know my concerns (and believe me, showing professionalism and restraint while writing it was no easy task) and Emmett will never set foot in that place again.
This was my first experience with the "mommy alarm bells" going off, and needing to advocate for my child. I am so grateful that I was in that class to witness what was going on and that I listened to my gut on this one.
I spend the whole day crying off and on, thinking I had somehow failed as a parent because my child wasn't falling in line at preschool. I was afraid he was going get kicked out of the program. I spoke to trusted friends and family about it over the weekend and went in there on Tuesday resolved to help my child adjust to preschool and support the teachers any way I could.
As I brought Em into the classroom, he started bawling, which surprised me since he had been fine the first couple of days. Alarm bells started going off in my head when I was consoling him in my lap and one of the teachers came up to him and said (well, more like yelled): "Come on Emmett, there are only 12 minutes left of play time and you CAN'T stay on your mom's lap, you need to get down here and PLAY."
I reacted slowly...things just kept going from bad to worse and something inside me was screaming "Something is NOT right about this". The pinnacle moment came when Emmett refused to draw something on the daily art project and the teacher grabbed his head and forced him to look at the paper while holding his arm and forcing him to draw. I don't know why I didn't slap this woman, I think I was in shock. I could NOT believe was I was seeing.
During this time one other child was crying for his mother - he was shown no compassion whatsoever, was told "You are in SCHOOL now and you should know better than to keep crying!"and was basically just put in a corner to cry. My mom suggested I go back to the school and find this boy's parents and tell them what happened. That's what I did this morning and I am SO glad that I did...alarm bells had been going off for them as well but what I told them convinced them not to put their kid back in that class. The boy's grandmother told me that when they went to pick him up on Tuesday, the teacher said "Oh, is he still in the bathroom?"
They had put him in the bathroom, closed the door and forgot about him. Him mom found him sobbing on the floor. Apparently this child's mother and grandmother also saw Emmett sobbing in a corner on the first day, and they thought it wasn't right.
I can't believe anyone would possibly think treating a child like that is acceptable. I've written a letter to the preschool director letting her know my concerns (and believe me, showing professionalism and restraint while writing it was no easy task) and Emmett will never set foot in that place again.
This was my first experience with the "mommy alarm bells" going off, and needing to advocate for my child. I am so grateful that I was in that class to witness what was going on and that I listened to my gut on this one.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Summer Update
It's 4am and I can't sleep, so I might as well check "finally write another blog entry" off my to do list and post a bunch of pictures I've been holding onto for the last couple of months.
We went to Jasper for Canada day...the weather wasn't fantastic but the boys proved to be excellent little travellers and we made the best of it. We had a picnic beside Lake Annette and Emmett was way too busy throwing rocks in the lake to actually eat!
He's having a little trouble adjusting to the structured environment of preschool, but hopefully we'll be able to work with him on that in the coming weeks.
We went to Jasper for Canada day...the weather wasn't fantastic but the boys proved to be excellent little travellers and we made the best of it. We had a picnic beside Lake Annette and Emmett was way too busy throwing rocks in the lake to actually eat!
There's a paved trail around the lake so we were able to take Em and Seth for a little hike after lunch...Emmett walked most of the 2.4 km, which I thought was pretty impressive for someone who's legs are only 10 inches long or so. ;)
A rare shot of James - he's almost always behind the camera!
A rare shot of James - he's almost always behind the camera!
Then the kids figured, hey we drove 4 hours to get here...let's hang out in the car some more!
Em and daddy by the Jasper bear - it's amazing how much these two look alike, their builds are identical!
One of the stores in town had a bubble machine...he was SO MAD when we had to leave it behind!
Not sure why James took this one, probably because he's pinching himself while sleeping...kids are weird.
I turned 28 on the August long weekend...getting older isn't really as fun when you're closer to 30 than 20! I decided to make my own birthday dinner - I saw these french bread mushroom pizzas on Rachael Ray's show years ago, and they looked SO good, but the ingredients were way too expensive to justify making it for a regular dinner. This year I decided I was finally going to make them...they were really good! I turned it into kind of an italian theme with caprese salad and grilled asparagus.
James cleaned the kitchen after, which was also my present. ;)
Emmett started preschool last week...he was very excited to wear his little backpack and seems to be really enjoying it! Here he is on the first day:
He's having a little trouble adjusting to the structured environment of preschool, but hopefully we'll be able to work with him on that in the coming weeks.
We just got back from Lethbridge this weekend - we visited James' Oma and Opa, and hit the Calgary Zoo on the way down as well. (I don't have pics of this yet, as they're on James' phone) It's funny what is important to little folks...we worked hard to get Emmett to notice all of the exotic animals, but he was more excited by things like the flowers and a bunch of sparrows hanging out in the porcupine enclosure. He did really enjoy the giraffes and the monkeys though.
The boys did very well camping and visiting Oma and Opa...it was a lot of time in small spaces not really designed for children and they handled it quite well. (We were hoping to spend some time outdoors but it was wasp central...I got bit myself under my arm, not fun.) The boys were the hit of the assisted living centre where Oma and Opa live - Seth was in full charm mode and Emmett had a great time running around and saying hi to all the residents. Opa even arranged for Emmett to have yogurt for dessert at dinner time...yogurt is his favorite food and he was SO excited! Now that he's talking more it's so fun to get his "take" on things...we got a lot of "Wow!" and "It's so BEAUTIFUL!" this weekend. (The camper was especially "beautiful" ;))
Sethers sure changed a lot this summer...he's sitting up really well now, and is on the verge of crawling. He's adapted a really cute system to get around - a combination of rolling and hand over hand wriggling that looks like he's swimming! He's babbling constantly and we think he's starting to mimic words - this weekend he was saying "oooooooooopa, oooooooooooooopa" a lot. (Probably because big brother was saying Hey Opa, Hi Opa, Opa up, etc constantly the whole trip)
A few random pics:
This is what happens when you go on a formula bender:
The boys did very well camping and visiting Oma and Opa...it was a lot of time in small spaces not really designed for children and they handled it quite well. (We were hoping to spend some time outdoors but it was wasp central...I got bit myself under my arm, not fun.) The boys were the hit of the assisted living centre where Oma and Opa live - Seth was in full charm mode and Emmett had a great time running around and saying hi to all the residents. Opa even arranged for Emmett to have yogurt for dessert at dinner time...yogurt is his favorite food and he was SO excited! Now that he's talking more it's so fun to get his "take" on things...we got a lot of "Wow!" and "It's so BEAUTIFUL!" this weekend. (The camper was especially "beautiful" ;))
Sethers sure changed a lot this summer...he's sitting up really well now, and is on the verge of crawling. He's adapted a really cute system to get around - a combination of rolling and hand over hand wriggling that looks like he's swimming! He's babbling constantly and we think he's starting to mimic words - this weekend he was saying "oooooooooopa, oooooooooooooopa" a lot. (Probably because big brother was saying Hey Opa, Hi Opa, Opa up, etc constantly the whole trip)
A few random pics:
This is what happens when you go on a formula bender:
The tiger and the hawaiian tourist:
So that was our summer...it was fun but I'm glad it's over - bring on the colder temperatures please! (Note: I reserve the right to take this back in February!)
Friday, July 24, 2009
Feeling Greatful
I've been trying to think of new ways to get my rather disinterested 3 year old to sit on the potty for more than 2 seconds - bribery doesn't work, books get old quick and any attempts at conversation are met with "all done potty?". Now we sing church songs, and lately he's been asking to sing to me rather than the other way around. I swear I feel like my heart is going to burst as he quietly sings "A Child's Prayer" or "I Love to See the Temple" in his sweet little voice.
I feel so grateful to be Emmett's mom...parenting him has taught me so many things. Him and I are very different personality wise; I am fiercely independant, he is completely unenthused about learning to do pretty much anything for himself. I have a hard time shutting up, his philosophy is "why use 10 words when 1 will do?". He has forced me to learn patience, humility and how to let go of things that aren't that important.
It's kind of interesting to watch Em amongst a group of his peers...he's definitely got his own little drumbeat going on. He loves to be around other kids, but doesn't really feel the need to play with anyone else yet. If someone steals a toy from him, he barely seems to notice...or at most quietly takes it back without comment. He's kind to his little brother (who, BTW is ever so pleased when The Great Em acknowledges his existence) and, despite a blossoming bossy streak , is really well behaved as far as 3 year olds go. I do worry about him sometimes (Will his speech ever catch up to his peers? Will he make friends at preschool?), but I try hard to remind myself that he's doing his own thing and getting there in his own time.
I've really got to post some pictures on here - I've got a camera full but my cord has mysteriously walked away (probably to a toy box), so I'll add pics as soon as I can.
I feel so grateful to be Emmett's mom...parenting him has taught me so many things. Him and I are very different personality wise; I am fiercely independant, he is completely unenthused about learning to do pretty much anything for himself. I have a hard time shutting up, his philosophy is "why use 10 words when 1 will do?". He has forced me to learn patience, humility and how to let go of things that aren't that important.
It's kind of interesting to watch Em amongst a group of his peers...he's definitely got his own little drumbeat going on. He loves to be around other kids, but doesn't really feel the need to play with anyone else yet. If someone steals a toy from him, he barely seems to notice...or at most quietly takes it back without comment. He's kind to his little brother (who, BTW is ever so pleased when The Great Em acknowledges his existence) and, despite a blossoming bossy streak , is really well behaved as far as 3 year olds go. I do worry about him sometimes (Will his speech ever catch up to his peers? Will he make friends at preschool?), but I try hard to remind myself that he's doing his own thing and getting there in his own time.
I've really got to post some pictures on here - I've got a camera full but my cord has mysteriously walked away (probably to a toy box), so I'll add pics as soon as I can.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Wow.
Between getting my own cell phone this past weekend and starting this blog, it looks like I might be jumping into the future! Or, 2005. What's next? Hovercars? $50 bottles of Pepsi? Exercise bikes powering TV screens and playing "Beat It" on a continuous loop? The possibilities are endless!
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