tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61813576344670523662024-02-07T12:51:14.480-05:00Two skinny, one fat...As babes they married.
Their love grew and multiplied.
Two skinny, one fat.Jennie http://www.blogger.com/profile/08765509419542598128noreply@blogger.comBlogger109125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181357634467052366.post-72289375215249532392013-10-04T21:46:00.001-04:002013-10-04T21:46:29.869-04:00Unschooling <br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">“We can best help children learn, not by deciding what we think they should learn and thinking of ingenious ways to teach it to them, but by making the world, as far as we can, accessible to them, paying serious attention to what they do, answering their questions -- if they have any -- and helping them explore the things they are most interested in.” </span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1792210.John_Holt" style="color: #666600; text-decoration: none;">John Holt</a></div>
</span><br />
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<br />
This September, many of Judah's age-mates began school. Judah, upon hearing about this school stuff, promptly informed me that he wanted to stay home...and also, he didn't want me to teach him anything at home either.<br />
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Lucky for him, this was our plan anyway. Lucky for me, I can be home with the kids full-time to enact this plan of inaction. Truly though, to call it inaction is doing it a disservice. We are unschooling Judah and Neve, and ourselves really, but that doesn't mean we aren't learning. Instead, at the heart of the unschooling is a belief that humans, particularly young ones who haven't been squashed, have a natural desire to learn. We are a curious species, with a huge capacity for gaining wisdom from every day life.<br />
<br />
And so, we wake up. We have breakfast together. We talk about what we're eating and how it fuels our bodies, and how our body digests it and how we'll likely poop it out later today. Kids love talking about poop. And then I ask the kids what they want to do for the day. Invariably, one will ask to go to the library or on a hike or to visit some family member or other. And so we do.<br />
<br />
We hike and we identify trees and bugs and marvel at the beauty of moss or leaf formations. We throw stones in a river and learn about currents, and physics, and how to make the best splashes. We go to the library and Judah picks out books about fur traders and letters and numbers and hat stealing fish. Neve picks anything by Sandra Boynton. We go home and draw pictures and words on the chalkboard wall, and cut and glue random paper to random things, and make up silly songs and play the piano. We talk endlessly about how everything (from babies to PVC pipes) is made, because that is what Judah wants to know. We visit my mom or my sister or Luke's family. In each home the kids interact a little differently with their surroundings, but in each place they are embraced and loved.<br />
<br />
The best part of all this living is that the kids are doing so much learning, but they don't know it. They love it, because no one is making them do it. No one is telling them that they cannot learn unless they are in a structured setting with a sticker to prove they are doing it right. There is no shame if Judah calls an F as S, or when Neve tells Judah he's a "good girl" for peeing. They are learning because it is intrinsically rewarding for them, because they are free to fail.<br />
<br />
Some days this journey is exhausting. Some days, when I see what other children know or can do, it can be scary. All along, I have to let go of the comparative expectations we, as parents, put upon ourselves. I have to trust that my children will learn all that they need to learn, in their own time. There are moments of pure light, when I can see a breakthrough in their understanding. The light of those moments carries me through for another day.<br />
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I am so blessed. I am so privileged. I get to witness their blossoming. I spend my days with two minds that have so much potential; I hope I help them reach it.Jennie http://www.blogger.com/profile/08765509419542598128noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181357634467052366.post-16056763511013764582013-04-18T22:17:00.001-04:002013-04-18T22:32:28.047-04:00UnpluggingWhenever I miraculously discover a free moment during the day, I find myself turning to my phone or laptop for a wee tech-fix. Then the free moment ends and a toddler or preschooler starts requesting my undivided attention, only I can't oblige because my brain won't peel my eyes away from some super-beautiful Instagram photo of someone else's kid. Oh the irony.<br />
<br />
This week, I visited my brother for a few days, to give Luke a chance to study for his finals. I left our phone at home so I could talk to him each night. I was unfettered from the insular web for three blissful days. It made me come to a few realizations:<br />
<br />
1. I'm a more present, fun, engaged, loving parent when I'm unplugged.<br />
2. The vast majority of the stuff I do online is just taking up space in my life/head and not contributing positively to the life we want to live.<br />
3. I want my life to be lived in the wide-open world, not the world as seen on a screen.<br />
<br />
So, here I am, about to make a public declaration (because otherwise I won't follow through. I just won't) that I'm giving up all tech in the presence of my kids. I want to be present. I want to have a leg to stand on when I ask them to stop texting...or time travelling... or whatever, at dinner when they are teenagers.<br />
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I may snap the occasional picture when they do something irresistibly adorable, but now you'll have to wait until they are asleep to see it.<br />
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I have two beautiful children and only one life to enjoy them.<br />
I plan on doing just that.<br />
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<br />Jennie http://www.blogger.com/profile/08765509419542598128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181357634467052366.post-41260575873751420742013-04-02T16:01:00.001-04:002013-04-02T16:04:45.454-04:00NoDear Neve,<br />
<br />
Today is a very important day.<br />
Today, you said no for the first time.<br />
<br />
Now, I hope you will keep saying it.<br />
<br />
I hope you will say no to unkindness in the world.<br />
I hope you will say no to anything that judges another's worth based on their skin, sex, religion or accent.<br />
I hope you will say no to politics that would destroy your world for temporary gain.<br />
I hope you will say no when people tell you how to feel about your body.<br />
I hope you will say no to anyone who tells you you can't do something, because you are a woman.<br />
I hope you will say no to the machine which drives consumption and kills contentment.<br />
I hope you will say no to any partner who will love you only with conditions.<br />
I hope you will say no to any path which robs you of your passions.<br />
<br />
I hope you will keep saying no.<br />
<br />
Today is a very important day.<br />
Today, you said no for the first time.<br />
<br />
<br />Jennie http://www.blogger.com/profile/08765509419542598128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181357634467052366.post-41606527417518251242013-04-01T21:56:00.006-04:002013-04-01T22:12:46.934-04:00The Week That Was and the Giveaway Winner!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Top to bottom: 1. Annual Easter family photo past... 2. and present 3. Neve's first egg hunt</div>
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4. I forced my sister to cut off my hair 5. I'm so glad she did. 6. Judah and Neve discover the power of teamwork while raiding the candy stash 7. Jude and Daddy with their vintage Canadian Geographics 8.Navel gazing 9. Night weaning makes us all tired- pancakes for brekkie 10. Neve's water obsession 11. Cuddles and books with Gara (Grandad).</div>
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I'm thrilled to announce, <b>Chris</b> is the winner of our first ever giveaway, Nia Vardalos' new book <i>Instant Mom!</i></div>
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Chris, just leave your email in the comment section below and we'll send your copy of the book to you this week. </div>
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Thank you to everyone who left parenting tips. They were all fab!</div>
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For those who missed it, here's where you can check out <a href="http://twoskinnyonefat.blogspot.ca/2013/03/nia-vardalos-instant-mom.html">my chat with Nia</a>. </div>
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Happy April 1 everyone!</div>
Jennie http://www.blogger.com/profile/08765509419542598128noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181357634467052366.post-80062044407521066552013-03-29T21:39:00.004-04:002013-03-29T21:43:48.895-04:00The Year of Frugal Living - Part One: HousingOn January 6th of this year, I was scheduled to return to work from my year of maternity leave (yes, we get a whole year in Canada - one more reason I love this country). Instead of going back, I told the wonderful organization with whom I had worked for five years, that, this time around, I was cutting the chain to my desk chair. I was going to be a full-time, stay-at-home parent... Eeeep!<br />
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This is not all that unusual. Stay at home parents do still exist...even if I have a hard time finding them at the park at 8 am. Our situation is a bit tricky, however, because Luke is still a full-time, stay-at-school student. The guy loves learning. So, unlike four years ago when we were full fledged DINK's (dual income, no kids), we are now NIKE's (No income, kids everywhere). </div>
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Luke graduates next May and better become gainfully employed in his dream job, in the field of wind energy, in the few months following. In the meantime, ie. for 18 months, we are living with neither of us working. </div>
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How are we going to do it?<br />
Excellent question. I'm hoping I'll discover a lot of change in the couch.<br />
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Just kidding.<br />
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We actually budgeted our plan out fairly thoroughly during the past few years. That is to say, when both of us were working during the summer months and the like, we'd continue to live just on my income and to save Luke's. We also put aside a bit of my wage too, giving us a nice little nest egg for the 18+ months of no working. It's nowhere near what we would have made before, however. In fact, it's under 50%.<br />
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So we're having to get creative.<br />
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The absolute biggest expense for the average adult is housing. We were renters up until three years ago. A lot of people think renting is a waste of money, because you aren't building equity in a property. If, however, you have a house with a huge mortgage and little money down, you're actually just paying a heck of a lot of interest and not a lot of principle. Not to mention the additional costs of taxes, utilities and home maintenance (which can be huge). It pays to lay it all out on paper before you leap. All that being said, we had saved up enough to buy a house with 25% down payment (thus saving the hefty cost of <a href="http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/moloin/moloin_010.cfm">CMHC loan insurance</a>) and we were in the market for an income property.<br />
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I have to admit, I wasn't big on the idea of buying a duplex...<br />
"Ugh. Now someone's going to know that I can't garden and my kids run around pant-less in the backyard all day."<br />
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Luke, on the other hand, was totally mad about the idea of the "du-per".<br />
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So our first home purchase is a duplex. What this means for us is that we have no back door on our house. Instead there is a fully contained, private-entry apartment at the back. We can't hear anything front to back and the only time I really notice they are there, is when I want to have a hot shower and the water isn't all that hot because they've beat me to it (a bigger hot water heater may be in our future and let's be serious, I rarely shower). All this to say, it's had a very minimal impact on our lifestyle.<br />
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The best thing about the apartment is that is brings in 600 dollars a month. 600 bucks that requires us to do very little to earn. The apartment covers the bulk of our mortgage payment leaving us with utilities, taxes and maintenance. All in all, we're paying almost exactly what we were to rent, except we can enjoy the space and lifestyle a home can offer while paying down a significant chunk of our principle each year (thank you low interest rates!).<br />
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The location of our house is also a big money-saver. We bought in an area which is only a few kilometers from downtown. It has had a bad reputation in the past, but is really burgeoning into an activist-filled walkable neighbourhood. We love it. Best of all, it offers us a farmer's market, library branch, coffee shops, theatre, community center, my lovely in-laws and a sketchy karaoke bar all within a ten- minute walking radius. It's also on a major bus route and allows Luke the ability to always bike or take public transit to school. Less driving = money in the bank and time to do what we care about.<br />
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Utilities are another area where we've been trying to focus our savings. Our house is pretty small. Our portion is only 800 square feet. My bedroom is pretty much all bed. It's cool though. It's cozy, it's open and bright and best of all it's pretty cheap to run!<br />
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We have a gas furnace and A/C, which are quite economical, but even so we try and keep the house at a reasonable temperature. In the winter we wear slippers, in the summer we don't expect to sleep under a duvet. We try to turn off lights when we leave the room (I hear my father's pleading voice in my head if I don't), we run the dishwasher with the entire day's dishes after 7 pm, we make our kids share the bath, we rarely change the fish bowl, if it's yellow we let it ...You get the drift.<br />
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We thought we were saving pretty much all we could in the utility department and then we had an epiphany. We could hang our laundry to dry in our basement.<br />
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I know, I know, this isn't like the discovery of stem cells. People have been hanging laundry to dry for eons. But the stuff from the dryer is just so snuggly and smooth and lintless. And honestly, our basement is TEENY TINY, like, smaller than that font was.<br />
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"Too bad," we told our past selves, "give it up!"<br />
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Instead, we purchased a solid 30 dollar drying rack from Home Hardware, Luke strung up a rope from one end of the basement to the other, and we started drying. Our shirts are so stiff they stand on their own and our towels can double as drywall sanders, but we're so pleased with ourselves, we don't care.<br />
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Our quest for more housing related cash continues. Someday, we dream of buying a triplex, or maybe even a six-plex... a girl's gotta dream after all.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV6FYskiQB41HCnsq7T_2UoUTMJfCyl0HRffTQ0sUBIa7c7ATsPaqJhR_dOWSVuOkUvX_jyo6IfaVbWP9x2zhmqp4JPaJP0Rmro6V46qolj8wTS8ayHpmmhUdB5_WG9n2-UuKU_gHgLEM/s1600/house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV6FYskiQB41HCnsq7T_2UoUTMJfCyl0HRffTQ0sUBIa7c7ATsPaqJhR_dOWSVuOkUvX_jyo6IfaVbWP9x2zhmqp4JPaJP0Rmro6V46qolj8wTS8ayHpmmhUdB5_WG9n2-UuKU_gHgLEM/s400/house.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Our house - 2010</div>
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Now that I'm done my blathering, any tips from you?<br />
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Jennie http://www.blogger.com/profile/08765509419542598128noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181357634467052366.post-14186640114000075032013-03-27T10:09:00.003-04:002013-03-27T22:26:32.356-04:00Nia Vardalos: Instant Mom<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">“<i>Nothing prepared me for the love I would
feel for my child. Nothing prepared me for how quickly it happened for me. And
here’s what I just figure out now: no one is ever prepared</i>.” Nia Vardalos,
Instant Mom<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">Nia Vardalos
is warm, funny and engaging. I am nervous for our conversation, but she
immediately sets me at ease by assuring me that if I could see her, I wouldn’t
be so nervous. At the moment, I’m just thrilled she can’t see me. I have not
brushed my hair in 48 hours. I am wearing a ski cap. I slept in my sweatshirt. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">I take some
comfort in knowing, this kind of unkemptness is familiar ground for her. Like
myself, Nia is a mom. Unlike myself, who had 9 months and 2 weeks to prepare
for each of my children, she had a mere 14 hours.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">Instant Mom</span></i><span style="line-height: 115%;"> is Nia’s hilarious and emotive new book.
In it, Nia, first made famous for satirizing her Greek family in <i>My Big Fat Greek Wedding</i>, chronicles her
experience with infertility and finally her long journey through the adoption
system; a journey which culminated in being matched with an energetic and, at
times, right-hook-throwing, toddler. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">Instant Mom</span></i><span style="line-height: 115%;"> is both guidebook and cheerleader
for parents (and parents-to-be) considering adoption. She makes no judgments as
to whether foreign or domestic, open or closed, public or private, adoption is preferable;
saying only that every child deserves to be loved. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">When I ask
her what advice she can offer to people thinking of pursuing this path to
parenthood, she says, “Read as much as you can and then decide what’s right for
you. Just listen to that inner voice.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">Nia assures
me that the biggest myth about adoption is that it is expensive and difficult, and that there is something wrong with the children who are adoptable. She
refutes all of these claims, but especially the last. All the vast majority of
these children need, is a loving home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">What strikes me most, however, is that Nia’s
story isn’t just one of the adoptive parent, it’s one of every parent. Not one
of us knows what we are doing. Each parent is an instant parent, whether we were
handed our child from a midwife, obstetrician or social worker. In a single
moment, our lives are transformed. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">Nia shares moments
of pure terror in this journey, like watching her daughter choke on a hard
candy or realizing the stray dog living in her home is, in fact, half coyote
(ok, as a reader, that was more hilarious than terrifying), but there are also
moments of transcendent beauty – the first utterance of “mom” and “dad”, hands
held in the night, kisses given and received – moments every parent can
recognize. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">“<i>When it comes to control, parents don’t get
a safety bar to grip on this ride. I just have to grin through my chattering
teeth and lean into every gut-churning dip. I see it all around me right now- I’m
in a room of adults who know that sharp pang of nostalgia when we look at a
picture of our child taken just yesterday.” <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">Now that her
daughter is in school, I ask her if she has any advice for surviving the
toddler years. “Don’t buy anything new,” she says. “It’s like having a puppy
around.” I look over as I type, to see my daughter peeing on the floor. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">Nia is so
wise. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>Instant Mom </b></span></i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>will officially be released on April
2, but you can win a copy here! Simply comment below with your favourite bit of
parenting advice (non-parents can participate too)! One winner will be randomly
selected on Monday, April 1. </b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">Find out more:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.harpercollins.ca/books/Instant-Mom-Nia-Vardalos?isbn=9780062231833&HCHP=TB_Instant+Mom"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">Instant Mom</span></i></a><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></i><span style="line-height: 115%;">- read the goods, straight from the publisher and buy
a copy near you!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /><a href="http://www.adoption.ca/">Adoption in Canada</a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> – a great resource about where to start. “Of the more
than 78,000 children in Canada’s child welfare system, approximately 30,000 are
legally free or eligible for adoption.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><a href="http://www.adoptuskids.org/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">Adoption in the United States </a></span></div>
Jennie http://www.blogger.com/profile/08765509419542598128noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181357634467052366.post-79103768427491396502013-03-24T22:22:00.003-04:002013-03-24T22:28:55.012-04:00Dear SpringI see now this is all my fault.<br />
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Last year, I thought you had left because Summer had moved in again,<br />
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And Summer is so loud and flamboyant and demanding.<br />
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I presumed you'd come back like you always had,<br />
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Right when I couldn't stand one more moment of winter;<br />
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With a snowdrop and a rain drop and a chickadee call.<br />
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But winter is still here, emboldened by your absence,<br />
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Nibbling at my fingertips and ears and perspective,<br />
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Ready to enfold the whole calendar in his toothy mouth.<br />
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You have made me sorry for saying Autumn was my favourite.<br />
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Autumn with its flashy colours, rainy afternoons, gluttonous beauty.<br />
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How could I have forgotten you.<br />
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Verdant, fragrant, fleeting you.<br />
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You are a short season,<br />
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But you hold a long grudge.<br />
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<br />Jennie http://www.blogger.com/profile/08765509419542598128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181357634467052366.post-1237581924069688152013-03-21T22:48:00.001-04:002013-03-21T22:48:07.649-04:00Remember that time we were night weaning?Well, we're entering night three of our night-weaning project.<br />
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I hoped this post was going to say:<br />
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<i>It's going soooo great! She's sleeping, we're sleeping! Wow. So great. </i><br />
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Instead it has to say:<br />
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<i>It's going TERRIBLY! She loves boobs! No one is sleeping! Wow. So bad.</i><br />
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<b>Night One</b><br />
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I nurse Neve to sleep as usual. I explain that I will nurse her now, but after this, the show's over until morning.<br />
She replies with an emphatic, "Yep."<br />
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1:30 am - Neve wakes up. Luke goes to the floor bed in her room to comfort her. She takes this as an insult to her intelligence.<br />
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"You have no breasts. You do not lactate. Get the heck out!" She screams.<br />
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1:45 am - I can't take the angry screaming. I go in to help Luke. Neve is delighted to see her portable dairy factory is up and running. I explain that it is not nursing time, it is sleepy time. Neve becomes very angry at me. We had read about this. Anger is ok. She is not scared. She is not being abandoned. She is being snuggled and sung to by two lovely parents. She gets angrier.<br />
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2:00 am- We decide to take the party to our bed. It's bigger and we think she may sleep with a change of scenery. We are wrong<br />
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2:01-3:30 am - Neve is no longer angry, but she is wide awake. She thrashes about the bed. She cracks her forehead into my nose. She kicks the blankets off. She tries to find a boob in Luke's shirt. She realizes I either need a chest wax, or she has the wrong parent. She tries to find a boob in my shirt. She plays with a bottle full of water.<br />
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3:31 am - Judah wakes up and calls for Luke. Luke leaves to sleep in Judah's room. Tries to contain his happy dance as he does.<br />
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3:32-3:45 am - Neve continues to thrash about before finally falling asleep at the end of the bed, between my feet - butt in the air.<br />
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7:30 am - Judah, who has now slept for close to 12 hours, comes to wake us up for the day.<br />
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7:31 am- <b>Night Two</b> - I drag my butt around like a good zombie-mom.<br />
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11:25 pm- Neve wakes up, after being asleep for a few hours. I nurse her. This is technically cheating as I had committed to not nursing between 11-6. I don't care. I naively believe this will buy me a better night's sleep.<br />
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4:00 am- Neve wakes up again. Luke brings her from her floor bed to our room. I tell her it's sleepy time, not nursing time. She becomes angry once again. She thrashes around the bed. We offer her her bottle of water. She drinks some. She belches. She laughs. She turns the bottle upside down beside my back. My back becomes wet and cold. She thrashes around some more. We force ourselves to sleep, intermittently, through her horizontal zumba routine.<br />
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6:30 am- Judah wakes up and calls for Luke. Luke goes to get his one hour of uninterrupted sleep.<br />
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6:45 am- I wake to see Neve finally asleep, again at the foot of the bed.<br />
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7:20 am- Neve wakes up. It is light out. I tell Neve she can nurse now. She has a couple of swigs and then falls back asleep.<br />
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9:30 am- Mommy and Neve wake up. New record- latest sleep in with the least sleep.<br />
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As I said, <i>It's going TERRIBLY! She loves boobs! No one is sleeping! Wow. So bad.</i><br />
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If tonight is a repeat performance, I may have to revert to the all-night nurseathon. I either sacrifice my boobs or my sanity. Long-term, I'll probably want my sanity... probably.Jennie http://www.blogger.com/profile/08765509419542598128noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181357634467052366.post-23926869354432430572013-03-18T15:42:00.002-04:002013-03-18T15:42:34.051-04:00The Week That Was<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Top to bottom - 1. Neve, as always, trying to grab the camera. 2. Judah visits the reptile show with Uncle Nico. 3. March- In like a lion....out like a lion. 4. Judah's flowers are sprouting. 5. My well-loved seed catalog. Having a hard time making decisions for the garden this year. 6. Bringing a little spring to our decorating, as it continues to snow outside.</div>
<br />Jennie http://www.blogger.com/profile/08765509419542598128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181357634467052366.post-2056246125568917342013-03-16T21:33:00.002-04:002013-03-16T21:33:47.132-04:00Neve the Nocturnal NurseavoreThis week has culminated in the perfect no-sleep storm.<br />
<br />
Both kids have had terrible colds, resulting in lots of hacking when they are horizontal. Good for daytime. Super crummy for nighttime.<br />
<br />
Add to that, the time change, a few late nights and Neve's nocturnal nursing, and what do you get? No sleep!<br />
<br />
We're big on co-sleeping with the kids. They sleep better when they aren't alone. We sleep better when we know our kids feel safe and secure. As a result, Neve, now 14 months, has always nursed or been walked in our arms to fall asleep and then joined us in our bed upon first waking around midnight. Judah, at three-and-a-half, still wakes up at least once, generally between 1-3 and calls for Luke, who then goes and sleeps in Jude's almost king sized bed.<br />
<br />
Theoretically, this is all lovely. It has worked really wonderfully for us... in the past. Currently, we are running into an issue. A BIG, exhausting, brutal, awful, no-good, TIRING issue.<br />
<br />
Neve is a <u>major</u> nocturnal nurser.<br />
<br />
Although she likes the odd drink during the day, especially before her nap, she will accept food- not- from- a- boob during the waking hours. Her intake of said food is pretty small. She doesn't mind solids, but she definitely doesn't share her brother's penchant for devouring them. Instead, she likes to save up her points and nurse FOR HOURS during the night. As a result, I find myself inhaling food right before bedtime.<br />
<br />
9 pm, my body is in full-out panic mode: "Woman, you need to ingest like 3000 calories, like right now! I can hear that kid starting to stir, and if you don't, we'll have no choice but to eat your brain tissue!" This happens. I don't even know what day of the week it is.<br />
<br />
Last night, the old routine grew a little thin. It was 4:40. Neve had been nursing/ teething on me for almost three hours. I felt like a dog Kong. Chew-toy time was over. I told her the milk was "all gone". I was hoping she'd say, "ok", roll over and go to sleep. Instead, she totally lost her milk-loving mind.<br />
<br />
It was the infant apocalypse.<br />
<br />
"NO MORE MILK!!!<br />
<br />
HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN!?<br />
<br />
THIS IS THE WORST NEW EVER!!"<br />
<br />
She screamed.<br />
I sang her a lullaby. She screamed.<br />
I tickled her back. She screamed.<br />
I changed her diaper and snuggled her right beside me. She screamed.<br />
<br />
We continued this little pattern for an hour, then I called in reinforcements. Daddy the Boobless, took the boob addict downstairs for a board book marathon until 7 am, when they both fell asleep on the couch.<br />
<br />
How do you know it's time to night-wean?<br />
When no one is sleeping anymore.<br />
When you eat an entire bag of Doritos before bed - because you HAVE to.<br />
When your one year old can go most of the day without eating anything, because they've eaten you- all. night. long.<br />
<br />
So here we go- night one of the <a href="http://drjaygordon.com/attachment/sleeppattern.html"> Dr. Jay Gordon method</a> for night weaning. If you have any advice to offer, we're all ears. I'll try to keep you updated with our progress. If not, just listen really hard around 4 am, you might just hear one of us screaming.<br />
<br />
<br />Jennie http://www.blogger.com/profile/08765509419542598128noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181357634467052366.post-78267896085025606622013-03-13T11:41:00.002-04:002013-03-13T11:45:38.004-04:00Birth Story - Ina May Gaskin and the Farm MidwivesA couple Fridays back, I went to an early screening of <i>Birth Story</i>, with my super-cool-hippy friend who I aspire to be like (Yes Kirston, that's your official title over here). <i>Birth Story</i> is a documentary, which chronicles the life's work of Ina May Gaskin, arguably the world's most famous midwife and a personal hero of mine.<br />
<br />
It was beautiful! Both from a cinematographic standpoint and in its empowerment of women, birthing and otherwise, the world over. This movie made me want to give birth again...and that's saying something!<br />
<br />
If you get an opportunity to see this film, do! Better yet, make an opportunity to see it!<br />
<br />
Want to <a href="http://vimeo.com/birthstorymovie/birthstorymovie">see the trailer</a>?<br />
<br />
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Jennie http://www.blogger.com/profile/08765509419542598128noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181357634467052366.post-39685259849652442662013-03-11T23:08:00.000-04:002013-03-11T23:13:16.318-04:00No Praise - No PunishmentIf there is one thing I've learned over the past four years of parenting, it's that parenting is a learning experience. Ideally, the more you do it, the better you get at it. In reality, however, we often start out trying to be the best parents the world has ever seen- "I hand wove all the babies diapers" - and somehow fall into bad habits and parenting pitfalls that we swore would never befall us - "If you don't stop bothering your sister, Halloween will never come again".<br />
<br />
A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to attend an afternoon class with Carol Peat, an amazing childbirth and parenting educator. The "Calm Mum" session has challenged us to work towards some exciting changes to our daily parenting. The biggest change we're working towards is a no praise- no punishment approach. That's right folks, no praise - no punishment. *Cue the screaming of gold stars as they meet their doom*.<br />
<br />
But guys- you're thinking - don't we need to praise our kids? Won't they have low self esteem if I don't tell them that everything they do is amazing?<br />
<br />
I like to think of it like this...<br />
<br />
Situation a: Jude builds a really tall block tower. My first impulse is to say, "Good job, Judah!"<br />
or<br />
Situation b: Neve is hitting Judah because she wants a toy Judah has. My first impulse is to say, "No hitting. You can use another toy."<br />
<br />
In both instances, I've made a judgement about my child's actions, I've imposed that judgement on what they've done and I've left him out of the equation completely, except to say that the only thing that matters here is what I think.<br />
<br />
In these situations we are communicating to our child that a.) you are dependent on another person's praise of your actions to feel you've accomplished something. This is where actions get their value. Or b.) that what we are feeling isn't valid, unless someone tells us it is.<br />
<br />
If we approach this with a no praise- no punishment mindset, the focus shifts from telling them they are loved (or making them feel unloved), to showing them they are loved, no matter the situation. We can change these situations to look something like this...<br />
<br />
Jude builds a really tall block tower. I say, "Wow. That tower is as tall as you and you used so many different colours!"<br />
and<br />
Neve is screaming, and wailing on her big brother. I get down to her eye level and say, "I hear you, but I won't let you hurt your brother."<br />
<br />
In both instances I am withholding my personal lens on the situation. Instead, I am recognizing what they have done and validating their experience. Judah can now think, "My mom cares enough to really notice what I've done here." And Neve can hear, "What I'm feeling is okay," while we also validate Judah's experience as the victim of her frustration.<br />
<br />
So far, the results of this approach have been amazing. I feel like the attachment between us and the kids has only grown deeper. They don't have to worry about our reactions being conditional based on our view of their behaviour. Instead, they have parents who are armed with the skills to remain calm and consistent, regardless of the decibel level of a meltdown.<br />
<br />
The benefits are huge, but setting the pattern is hard. It's easier to just tell our child that everything they do is amazing. It's easier to give in to our own frustrations and shout or give time-outs when they are "bad."<br />
<br />
It's harder to stay calm, to step back, to say "this isn't about me".<br />
<br />
Not praising or rewarding or bribing kids for everything they do will eventually allow them to do and enjoy things for their intrinsic value. Not punishing our kids for everything we perceive as a deviation from the perfect child, allows us to step back and see that our kids, especially the little ones, are only acting in a developmentally- appropriate way for their current situation; and allows them to understand that their emotions are okay and they can be processed and translated in healthy ways.<br />
<br />
When children feel heard, understood, and unconditionally assured that their parents will remain a calm, loving, presence they can be calmer and happier too.<br />
<br />
Want to learn more? Check out the Babies Naturally blog and <a href="http://www.babiesnaturally.ca/2013/01/prenatal-classes-birth-support-breastfeeding-support-london-ontario-dont-tell-your-kids-they-are-special/" target="_blank">read it</a> direct from the expert.Jennie http://www.blogger.com/profile/08765509419542598128noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181357634467052366.post-83680380648608849322013-03-09T14:31:00.002-05:002013-03-09T14:31:12.426-05:00The Week That Was<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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pictured, top to bottom:<br />
1. dress up - criminal M&M meets the russian police<br />
2. a rose from jude and morai<br />
3. summer sewing for neve<br />
4. thrift store treasures<br />
5. a trip to IKEA means a frame for my valentine's gift<br />
6. bouncy balls remain this week's hottest toy<br />
7. new play kitchen!<br />
8. a visit to the sugar shack<br />
9. the olden day maple syrup way<br />
10. still winterJennie http://www.blogger.com/profile/08765509419542598128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181357634467052366.post-62846959757297571692013-03-05T22:58:00.000-05:002013-03-05T22:58:04.203-05:00One to TwoWhen you welcome your first child, everyone warns you about how much your life is about to change, <div>
"I hope you've had lots of sleep, because you won't have much for the next 25 years!" </div>
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"Well, your days of showering in private are over."</div>
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"How do you feel about pee soaked mattresses? That's too bad, because you're going to have one."</div>
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And so on. </div>
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What society doesn't prepare you for, is the life flip that happens when you go from having one child to having two. </div>
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Perhaps it was just me... Maybe it was our birth spacing... Could be that we went from having one really easy going kid, to having one really easy going kid with a feisty sister. More likely though, I think that the first year with a second child is just BRUTAL. </div>
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One child is a PANTLOAD of work (literally and figuratively), but the first year with two is like treading water (and doing laundry, and making breakfast, and climbing the stairs), with a toddler clinging to your ankles and a baby in your arms... </div>
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It was like Neve was born and on her first night at home, she and Judah met in his bedroom closet and made a secret treatise along these lines:</div>
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We solemnly swear,</div>
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1. That we will never nap simultaneously.</div>
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2. That we will always lick each other's toys and faces when we are ill, to ensure one of us is sick at all times. </div>
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3. That one of us will always be in mom and dad's bed. </div>
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4. That mom will never use the bathroom unattended. </div>
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5. That dad will always be awoken by one of us before dawn and that we will ensure he reads 10 Sandra Boynton books before breakfast.</div>
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6. That one of us will always attempt escape at the library.</div>
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7. That no trip to the grandparents shall go without a screaming finale. </div>
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8. That we will never willingly share anything with each other, and that whatever you are playing with is exactly what I need, right now. </div>
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9. That any moment we accidentally get along, should end with us banging foreheads. </div>
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10. That the only music we will agree on will be nauseating, third-rate, nursery rhymes sung by puppets. </div>
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For the next 12 months, they obeyed their own laws. Then, one day without notice, they started to play together. We pretended not to see. We avoided direct eye contact. We hid in a closet and wept with relief. </div>
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Now, Judah insists on being the one to run upstairs when Neve wakes from a nap. </div>
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Now, Neve calls for Judah when she wants someone to play in the couch fort. </div>
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Now, Mom has tiny moments of reprieve. A chance to sit back and watch... and imagine what it might be like to have three. </div>
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Jennie http://www.blogger.com/profile/08765509419542598128noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181357634467052366.post-75599610439242146352012-12-31T11:46:00.001-05:002012-12-31T11:46:05.705-05:00If you give a child your bagel...<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you give a child your bagel, she's going to get your cold.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once she has your cold, she'll probably get a runny nose.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After her nose starts running, she'll refuse to use a kleenex.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To thoroughly refuse your kleenex, she'll bang her head on the floor.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Banging her head on the floor may bring about a fever, so she'll need some Tylenol.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once the Tylenol is working, she'll feel like she was never sick, so she'll have a dance party on your bed, at 3 am. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After the dance party, she'll be thirsty so she'll want a boob of milk. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Boob milk is so yummy, she'll want to drink for much of the night, while showing off amazing feats flexibility; simultaneously kicking you in the throat with one foot and her father in the groin with the other. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Acrobatics are tiring, so she'll probably need a short sleep. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once she wakes up, she's going to need a fresh diaper. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Discovering for the 2500th time that bare bums are better, she'll try to escape her fate. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In her retreat, she'll likely bang into a wall. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Banging into walls is distressing, so she'll probably need a cuddle...and a snack.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bagels make for excellent snacks. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And if you give a child your bagel...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She's going to get your cold.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Jennie http://www.blogger.com/profile/08765509419542598128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181357634467052366.post-18766417244893895932012-12-17T21:57:00.002-05:002012-12-17T21:57:21.423-05:00A Christmas LetterDear friends,<br />
It's that time of year again - time to mute the Barenaked Ladies pretending to be non-unionized elves time! So sorry about my lack of correspondence over the last few months. I've been very busy looking for lost library books and bouncy balls beneath our couch. <br />
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I know you're all dying to hear what's been happening in our little neck of the woods, so here goes.<br />
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Luke is still in school. For those of you counting, this is his 7th year of university. We're all very hopeful he'll actually decide to leave after this degree. And by all, I mean our bank and me. We moved his desk into our windowless basement. I can tell he's getting smarter the paler he becomes.<br />
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Judah is three. He likes to lick his sister and put things in his nose. His favourite store is the Bulk Barn. He still prefers not to wear pants. He will, however, put on pants if you promise to take him to the Bulk Barn.<br />
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Neve is a month away from being one. She bites. She missed the class where they had, "Don't bite the breast that feeds you" unit. She walks, she talks, she does our bookkeeping. A fabulous addition.<br />
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I was supposed to return to work next month. I decided it would be more fun not to, so I quit my job. I am now a full time child delayer. Anytime a child asks me to do something, I say "One second". I'm really good. I think I may be promoted soon.<br />
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We also have a new member in the clan - Blueberry the Beta fish. He's great; quiet, eats very little, doesn't throw toys or require an RESP. A perfect child really. I may have a few more. Fish that is.<br />
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Well that's all for now. I promise to be a better correspondent in the New Year (resolutions and all that, permitting).<br />
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Much love,<br />
J<br />
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<br />Jennie http://www.blogger.com/profile/08765509419542598128noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181357634467052366.post-41247088301427605282012-07-04T22:01:00.002-04:002012-07-04T22:12:39.376-04:00There was a time...<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There was a time when my image of parenting included a sleeping child and a rocking chair. Seriously. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There was a time when I could go a whole day without someone throwing up on me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There was a time when I would consider having to get up to pee and then going back to sleep for five or six hours a "bad" night's sleep.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There was a time when I could go out for dinner without wondering whether my spawn was at that moment peeing on someone else's furniture, or sucking on an animal's foot, or testing the volume capacity of their scream.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There was a time when I could shower every day.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There was a time when a seven o'clock dinner didn't seem like a crazy, radical idea.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There was a time when I could sit and read a book- and it wasn't Walter the Farting Dog.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There was a time when I could nap whenever I wanted.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There was a time when I could choose vacation destinations without considering their splash pad offerings.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There was a time when I could have a bath without a shark and a tug boat floating by. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There was a time when I could play music more loudly, talk more loudly, make...tacos...more loudly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There was a time when I didn't automatically presume I had been peed on when I felt warmth anywhere on my body.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There was a time when I could read an email and send a reply all in one sitting.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There was a time when I had a lot of time to myself, to do whatever I wanted - and it was lovely.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But this is even better.</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Now I get to experience play all over again. <span style="background-color: white;">Today we went on two lion hunts. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Now I see joy in new things - pine cones, trains, the moon. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Now I think harder about how the decisions I make impact the future, because the future is you.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Now I understand what it is to truly give of yourself, because when I give, you thrive.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It's not always easy, in fact it's often terribly hard, but it is good. For that, I have you to thank. </span><br />
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<br />Jennie http://www.blogger.com/profile/08765509419542598128noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181357634467052366.post-7397669981926994202012-06-11T09:12:00.000-04:002012-06-11T09:12:19.870-04:00I'm so glad you're mine.<h3>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Happy 7th Anniversary Luke. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">If you asked me to do it all over again, I'd say yes. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2005 </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Just a couple of hot kids tying the knot.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2006</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back when we had a social life. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQaoHKcPwHepQzMpWmYrDepEWQzdXcW_1G7B1CTcr_QQA4zyOGKvQx_-qmnWGf42eU6GDWW9se4WnP98QxYDqThEqB_-56h1FRtpvyCwcEQ4hCNdmzzN2bov47l_iqiB6u3mKwwOlJgR8/s1600/2006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQaoHKcPwHepQzMpWmYrDepEWQzdXcW_1G7B1CTcr_QQA4zyOGKvQx_-qmnWGf42eU6GDWW9se4WnP98QxYDqThEqB_-56h1FRtpvyCwcEQ4hCNdmzzN2bov47l_iqiB6u3mKwwOlJgR8/s400/2006.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2007</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The year we decided to invade the capital for an extended stay.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPa4AkBhIec1O4n1mRfX-hbeIhwzR8Y9XRAlXCm_grFJQS4SE-dT5zK6v8-ANwhukf216007xWeDqW0h8yESda1mFjVWuRnJhSzOsqeO2zFTPnp-Hr7ZhuF_aVnTKLmBR7aKSbvKz6jBo/s1600/2007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPa4AkBhIec1O4n1mRfX-hbeIhwzR8Y9XRAlXCm_grFJQS4SE-dT5zK6v8-ANwhukf216007xWeDqW0h8yESda1mFjVWuRnJhSzOsqeO2zFTPnp-Hr7ZhuF_aVnTKLmBR7aKSbvKz6jBo/s400/2007.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2008</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The year all of our friends got married.<br />That got us feeling romantic...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsE5KPAMpFDOf6wkRyEvYXe5quQ1DeUlbLRN_KO5AQPPibpKDYNGZuECjDaMYwAw_jayxLff4oMcvRmjcfn-Rn7eg2qPJZwozo478Na9cVx3XeKAZGTyjwjzUxE_2cvywVmc4QM8VkS4g/s1600/2008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsE5KPAMpFDOf6wkRyEvYXe5quQ1DeUlbLRN_KO5AQPPibpKDYNGZuECjDaMYwAw_jayxLff4oMcvRmjcfn-Rn7eg2qPJZwozo478Na9cVx3XeKAZGTyjwjzUxE_2cvywVmc4QM8VkS4g/s400/2008.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2009</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And before we knew it, along came Judah.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoRcYckd9jmrrNJ34HTnm4e0neXlQ13IPKxuFaYCOouCJX1DT6K-2QlHpz-jdSSW_ljj5gptU4ee-z0El59uHTBYGOLp37q1VuWw-s6ej8IiZa-2XYLWEzy5aAe4J47by-TFqv8AEBduQ/s1600/2009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoRcYckd9jmrrNJ34HTnm4e0neXlQ13IPKxuFaYCOouCJX1DT6K-2QlHpz-jdSSW_ljj5gptU4ee-z0El59uHTBYGOLp37q1VuWw-s6ej8IiZa-2XYLWEzy5aAe4J47by-TFqv8AEBduQ/s400/2009.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2010</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Awww, we make cute babies.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieV74hqZBYcr73LeB3GkNnNTJKppQBnRTh-nRs0RTgtkHc_hAtHnwGQCE4NcdpOQ69noze8AoKOsKUtgo6YyaptDrI6K8zzj96KtiCv7FmoJbIqhXUYPzLywutOKyfgzATYlvXPJB0AnA/s1600/2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieV74hqZBYcr73LeB3GkNnNTJKppQBnRTh-nRs0RTgtkHc_hAtHnwGQCE4NcdpOQ69noze8AoKOsKUtgo6YyaptDrI6K8zzj96KtiCv7FmoJbIqhXUYPzLywutOKyfgzATYlvXPJB0AnA/s400/2010.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2011</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let's do it again. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMUkKROeguX07S4M7JTj01yHliLd0WvH6tU54Y7Ns98DEx7woXtlrFvQSf6Z-pdLXQ8QLUvBhyzNh6hChOWhzRMPwxpho4DAwU92oX8MCkvCyn2EBkY7YHsioH_0zKLz8ihlKKSpmep1E/s1600/2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMUkKROeguX07S4M7JTj01yHliLd0WvH6tU54Y7Ns98DEx7woXtlrFvQSf6Z-pdLXQ8QLUvBhyzNh6hChOWhzRMPwxpho4DAwU92oX8MCkvCyn2EBkY7YHsioH_0zKLz8ihlKKSpmep1E/s400/2011.jpg" width="266" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2012</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perfect present tense. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw3wXPnu9xjcOF7IhPD5QvSOG9fvoHzdIyynoyFos8nDsVJJ8estgxHrGwa7IsHF64aDVxcyPFus-UKPuEGwIEDgSSpSZjUNfzAEIiiJc0Xwz4IH_Y0JH38o2gkaZBvnUWfBytxbkY1Ls/s1600/2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw3wXPnu9xjcOF7IhPD5QvSOG9fvoHzdIyynoyFos8nDsVJJ8estgxHrGwa7IsHF64aDVxcyPFus-UKPuEGwIEDgSSpSZjUNfzAEIiiJc0Xwz4IH_Y0JH38o2gkaZBvnUWfBytxbkY1Ls/s400/2012.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<br />Jennie http://www.blogger.com/profile/08765509419542598128noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181357634467052366.post-23505682915834800422012-06-09T23:05:00.002-04:002012-06-09T23:08:41.026-04:00Challenges and Triumphs<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Hi!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We're alive! It's been a dog's age since I've written, and quite honestly I thought about ditching the whole effort a few times, but I'm back. Why? Because I'm pretty sure this is the closest thing my kids will ever get to a baby book / scrapbook / childhood memorabilia of any sort. So there you have it kids. Proof that I loved you as children... no guarantees about your adolescent years.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So here's how things are...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Neve</span> is almost five months old. She is a firecracker. She smiles with her whole face, she vocalizes every emotion, she reaches out and grabs life...and then she sticks it in her mouth. We are all madly in love.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVYrVPme9jcxXfmHY_kIgIxe1UVmrsQYL4wGR3PBApFkE0d3jSR7yulSNPOZPcjEaOYvEjI8NM2eanF-oeIr3RLAdYCdCdrPgz7PjnlkWZheEjakRnqA52K7QG97yjm6zjjc7xeMJn030/s1600/IMG_20120514_122351.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVYrVPme9jcxXfmHY_kIgIxe1UVmrsQYL4wGR3PBApFkE0d3jSR7yulSNPOZPcjEaOYvEjI8NM2eanF-oeIr3RLAdYCdCdrPgz7PjnlkWZheEjakRnqA52K7QG97yjm6zjjc7xeMJn030/s400/IMG_20120514_122351.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Judah</span> is almost three. This leaves me feeling ancient. How is he three already? The kid could ostensibly start jr. kindergarten one year and a bit from now. That is if I could bear to part with him. Instead I think I'll lock him in a tower with a soccer ball and some Mercer Mayer books. I think he'd be fine with that.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-D5P47ZI51m4MCiNVhSgwNOwKlhpPHVijQKgqIZrRLXsvOek65wJpv5PZ0FqyJf8Z8q5WNyXtmvvIRqulcm8mYjqHpGelcxc1HhMzxUhw6-qcdG7KlQOQAh9om-KE7zDPcUFwtYXuvbk/s1600/IMG_20120515_150225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-D5P47ZI51m4MCiNVhSgwNOwKlhpPHVijQKgqIZrRLXsvOek65wJpv5PZ0FqyJf8Z8q5WNyXtmvvIRqulcm8mYjqHpGelcxc1HhMzxUhw6-qcdG7KlQOQAh9om-KE7zDPcUFwtYXuvbk/s400/IMG_20120515_150225.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Luke</span> is done year two of engineering. I am no longer a Western widow. Instead he is doing a co-op in Tillsonburg (my back still aches when I hear that word...get it?) and commuting an hour each way. This commute has left me car-less...or as I like to think of it now, car-free.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigz6Cmlobldloe1_JcnEFY6kNAo9hCkjcfoEAW1h8TXrngvxuvyJF6817ZCZ4p22UBqYvZawVpFv0MfzdI7RJ-pim37FskPRuTP09DF6fPIERpT0-ftigM1n13EPVLnaRIzGU58z5JQXk/s1600/IMG_20120609_145957.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigz6Cmlobldloe1_JcnEFY6kNAo9hCkjcfoEAW1h8TXrngvxuvyJF6817ZCZ4p22UBqYvZawVpFv0MfzdI7RJ-pim37FskPRuTP09DF6fPIERpT0-ftigM1n13EPVLnaRIzGU58z5JQXk/s400/IMG_20120609_145957.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At first we hadn't even considered the possibility of not buying a second vehicle for the summer. Obviously I couldn't survive without a car!!! Then I began to feel the creeping protestantenvironmentalist (that's a word right?) guilt. If I talked the green talk, I had better start walking the green walk, especially if Luke was burning enough carbon to put another hole in the ozone. So we (Jude, Neve and I) gave up the car cold turkey. Although my in-laws have been their wonderful selves and offered one of their cars on days when we need one, we've been doing really quite ok. Giving up the car has been my triumph of the season.</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We walk to the park and the library almost EVERY DAY. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have taste tested popsicles from every variety store within a five kilometer radius. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We know the neighbourhood cats. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We wave to the lab who sits sentinel on the upper floor of the old Victorian three blocks away. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We notice when new plants bloom. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We stop and smell the roses...literally...like every four houses. It's glorious.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Now, to fulfill the promise of this blog post title, I'll give you a point form run down of some recent challenges.</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Judah likes to hug Neve's head. Tightly.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Neve doesn't like having her head hugged, tightly or otherwise. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Neve likes to be attached to my hip.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My hip is not made of velcro.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Judah asks for pie and candy for every meal. Still refuses to eat vegetables.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pie and candy always seems to get cut from the menu plan</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Judah will only pee in toilets that meet his exacting standards, bushes apparently do not meet this criteria...even in emergencies. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Neve can roll from back to front and front to back...but she prefers for you to do it for her. She will scream to tell you this. If unheeded she will take drastic measures and do it herself.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Judah thinks sunscreen and toothpaste are infected with the plague, that's the only explanation for his sudden (dramatic) aversion to both.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Judah is on a story kick, wherein he asks you to tell him a story at least 50 times a day, for real. And if he doesn't like the plot he'll say, "I don't yike dat story. Tell me another one story."</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And now, <span style="font-size: large;">photos! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">See Neve, I took pictures of you even though you were the second child...</span></div>
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<br /></div>Jennie http://www.blogger.com/profile/08765509419542598128noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181357634467052366.post-62862244406853087692012-04-06T21:41:00.005-04:002012-04-06T21:44:08.246-04:00Poopageddon<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*Warning: This post has a heavy poop quotient, because, quite honestly, so does my life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Dear Jennie,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why has it been so long since your last post to me? I thought we had a good thing going on. We used to talk so much, you thought about me so frequently, you really cared and now, what!? ...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Dear Blog,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I would love to write to you more frequently, alas my days have been usurped by some rather hilarious antics which prevent me from doing so. Let me elaborate... I shall narrate for you a ten minute segment of my Wednesday and you can see for yourself why I have been so derelict in my blogesque duties. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mama is in the kitchen. It is 11 am. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both children have been fed a healthy breakfast- one consisting of eggs and fruit, the other consisting of egg and fruit- flavoured boob milk. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both children have been bathed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both children are in clean clothes and looking cherubic. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Judah is pantsless. All is as it should be. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Judah and Mama are putting away dishes. Judah points to the floor...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Look Mama! Bugs!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">11:01</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mama looks to the floor. There are 30 ants attacking a yogurt covered Cheerio from the previous day's breakfast. Mama goes into panic-driven extermination mode, while still trying to promote kindness to animals. Ants are swept into dustpan and taken outside. Some ants are more alive than others. More ants have appeared at the Cheerio crash site. Mama deems it time to pull out the mop and bucket...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">11:04</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before the mop and bucket can be retrieved, Neve begins to cry. No problem, Mama can soothe baby... oh wait... baby has poop oozing out of her pant leg. Poop is all over Mama's hand and jeans. That's okay, Mama will just plop baby down on the couch and eradicate the poosaster... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">11:06</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What's that all over the couch? "<span style="font-size: large;">Judah, why are there poop smears all over the couch!?</span> Were you pooping on the couch earlier?" Judah does not respond. Looks panicked. Hides behind kitchen table. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mama throws Judah's discarded pants over poop smears and begins to change baby, who has now managed to get poop on every single item of clothing- both socks included. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">11:08</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two cloths later, the baby is out of her own filth and lying naked on the couch. A new diaper has yet to be applied. Judah emerges from hiding and begins to shout, "I need to poo! I need to poo!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Judah is now fully potty-trained. This does not warrant Mama panicking, Mama thinks. Mama encourages Judah to run upstairs to the toilet. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">11:09</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"Mama! I need you!"</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mama and baby (now wearing only a diaper) rush upstairs. Judah really did need to poo. He was not exaggerating. The attempt to get on the toilet was, unfortunately, a few moments late. There is poop all over the toilet front, under the seat, on toddler legs...everywhere! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The poo spiral begins to suck the entire bathroom into its vortex.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">11:10</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Baby is happily lying in the hall in her diaper, examining a light fixture she's never had the pleasure of meeting before. Toddler is enjoying his second bath in as many hours. Mama is laughing hysterically while cleaning the toilet, because,<span style="font-size: large;"> in moments like these, you laugh or the poop wins.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And that, dear Blog, is just a small sample of why I haven't been by. I hope for both our sake the next absence won't be so long... or foul smelling. </span><br />
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<br />Jennie http://www.blogger.com/profile/08765509419542598128noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181357634467052366.post-6186839781649591242012-03-05T14:09:00.001-05:002012-03-05T14:19:05.722-05:00Two HandsI'm alive! Yes, despite being completely absent from the world wide web, I am still here.<br />
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My absence can be blamed on numerous factors...</div>
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Diapers.</div>
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Potty training.</div>
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Laundry from said diapers and potty training.</div>
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Cleaning up Hot Wheels.</div>
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Cleaning up play-dough.</div>
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Cleaning up regurgitated apple peels.</div>
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Cleaning up milk vomit from my own hair.</div>
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Removing fully-clothed toddler from baby eye touching- vicinity. </div>
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Removing half-dressed toddler from furniture.</div>
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Removing naked toddler from street-facing picture window.</div>
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But most of all, I've been absent because I almost never have two free hands. As a result I've become quite proficient with my feet (thank heavens for weirdly long toes). I can pick up laundry with them, I can flush the toilet with them, I can push Hot Wheels in a Hot Wheel race. I can shoo toddlers off of furniture. I can even use the touch pad on the laptop to navigate to my email. I cannot, however, type...at least not quickly. This afternoon though, the clouds parted, an angel chorus sang in the distance and both my children went down for their naps - at the same time!!!! This may be my greatest accomplishment to date.</div>
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And now, a quick photo recap of what we've been doing for the past month!
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<b>Putting mustaches on the kids while they sleep... </b></div>
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<b>Having Neve suck our thumbs...for hours...</b></div>
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<b>Dealing with some sibling rivalry...</b></div>
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<b>Visiting friends and their beautiful babies...</b></div>
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<b>Visiting great-grandmothers...</b></div>
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<b>and grandfathers...</b></div>
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<b>Making crafts.</b></div>
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<b>Making snowmen...and snow cats (not pictured - too awesome for camera).</b></div>
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<b> Making memories a la VIA train ride. </b></div>
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Hopefully, I'll make a reappearance before another month lapses. If not, happy Spring!!!</div>
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<br /></div>Jennie http://www.blogger.com/profile/08765509419542598128noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181357634467052366.post-75247476423287252452012-02-03T21:28:00.001-05:002012-02-03T21:35:55.789-05:00Why everyone needs a kid (or two)<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Despite the fact that people who don't have children apparently have higher life satisfaction than those who do (likely based on a study by some scientist watching parents remove their children from licking the sugar bags in the grocery store), there are many sound and logical reasons to have a child. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are a few such reasons from my recent personal experience.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. They keep you modest.</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tonight, as I made dinner, Judah approached me, put a hand on my stomach and said, "Another baby in dere?" </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I gave birth two and a half weeks ago kid, cut me some slack!!!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. They encourage you to interact with people you wouldn't normally.</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While bagging our groceries, Judah proceeded to hit the advance button on the conveyor belt next to ours, flattening the Wonder Bread of the woman checking out behind us. This provided us with an opportunity to make eye contact and smile at a stranger...while apologizing profusely and attempting to fluff her bread. Yay for meeting new people! </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. They spawn creative thinking.</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When your toddler demands six stories about pie every morning, and you really don't want to get out of bed so you want to comply, you get creative with the plot lines. Pie eating contests become the storylines of novices. Try stories about pies in outer space, pies made by farm animals and pies with relatives accidentally baked inside- that's creativity!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. They help you do everything faster.</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Going pee, taking a bath, getting dressed, making a phone call; none of these things are done faster than when one or even two children are wailing just outside the door, or in the room...or on your hip. Sure, your blood pressure may jump to unhealthy levels, but just think of that as your cardio for the day. Kids also prevent heart disease. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. They save you heaps of money.</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This may seem counter-intuitive, after all, don't you have to feed, clothe and entertain these small creatures? Well sure, but you'll be so busy doing these things you won't have time to: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">a.) Look in a mirror - money saved on cosmetic purchases</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">b.) Care about what you're wearing, so long as it doesn't smell like a bodily function - no more cash wasted on clothes!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">c.) Have a social life, outside of meetings with other parents which revolve around a plate of goldfish crackers and discussions about diaper residue - sushi savings in the bank!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">d.) Eat a diet of anything other than the remains of your toddler's meals which you dutifully gobble up while folding laundry and corralling mega blocks with your feet- add up the bucks, baby! </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6. They remind you that life is about so much more than yourself. </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When the last thing your two year old says while falling asleep is, "I love you, mama"...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When you find yourself singing the lullabies your mother sang to you and think that, one day, this baby may sing them to her daughter...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When you wake up in the middle of the night and take a moment to realize that tiny bundle of warmth next to your chest is an entire, perfect human being...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When you see the joy in your parents' eyes as they survey this awesome being that is their grandchild...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When you watch as brother insists on giving his baby "brother" (sister) a kiss goodnight...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then you know it's all worth it; all about so much more than you. Instead, it's </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">about something vastly better - them. </span><br />
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<br />Jennie http://www.blogger.com/profile/08765509419542598128noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181357634467052366.post-77415416384221075872012-02-01T13:54:00.003-05:002012-02-01T13:55:46.835-05:00Two and two quarters & two weeks and two days<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Name:</b> "Judah Yen Hookah"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Age:</b> Two and two quarters</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Phrases of note: </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"I don't yike dat."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> "I need a snack... cackers and cheese...and tandies."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> "Oh! Tank you, Mama!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"I don't sink so, Mama!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> "Piggy, piggy, piggy, piggy." *Typically said to Dada when Dada asks for dessert.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Favourite activities: </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eating protein</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Pi-yo fights!!!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Marbleworks</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Current favourite books:</b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Frog and Toad</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mercer Mayer anything</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Something From Nothing</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pie'd and Seek- an original work by Auntie Jessie and Uncle Ted</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Recent milestones: </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Learning to open the very suctiony fridge door (on strong days)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Getting his own water at bedtime</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pretending dinner plates are diapers by pressing them against his bare bottom and saying "Dat a diaper?" followed by maniacal laughter. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQuon3_WZMNCZjCyBngZRC4l6kI8JWP4fmPE79yGe2fY1qkdS488wICTIOuZ31U0sMalT72CI6MdfOyTJNru6r70ZUIJM9CBosibowZSXHYBNrgCtdCzikUY-A6iAkAIjVweE9bwjA1cQ/s1600/115_0696.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQuon3_WZMNCZjCyBngZRC4l6kI8JWP4fmPE79yGe2fY1qkdS488wICTIOuZ31U0sMalT72CI6MdfOyTJNru6r70ZUIJM9CBosibowZSXHYBNrgCtdCzikUY-A6iAkAIjVweE9bwjA1cQ/s320/115_0696.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Name:</b> Neve Lolkje Hoekstra</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Age:</b> Two weeks and two days</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Phrases of note: </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*snort*</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Favourite activities: </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eating </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sleeping</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Expelling food</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Creating laundry</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Current favourite books:</b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">War and Peace</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Paper Bag Princess</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Recent milestones: </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lifting and turning head</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Staying awake for more than 15 minutes consecutively</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sleeping for more than 4 hours, consecutively, at night. This was probably a fluke. Don't get excited. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Remaining adorable while doing face contorting impressions of Jack Nicholson. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="background-color: white;">"The soul is healed by being with children."</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dostoevsky </span></div>
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<br /></div>Jennie http://www.blogger.com/profile/08765509419542598128noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181357634467052366.post-62640021628661839372012-01-26T14:55:00.003-05:002012-01-26T14:55:44.801-05:00Neve's Birth<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She's here! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After several weeks of feeling like she would never come, she did! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Neve Lolkje Hoekstra joined the family on January 16th at 12:26 am. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had different expectations leading into Neve's birth than I did with Judah's.</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had anticipated the labour would be a lot shorter than our first. Half as long, the statistics and experts told me, is the norm. </span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I expected the pain would be less acute. I don't know why I thought this, I just sort of assumed having done this before would give me physical and mental preparation I didn't have for the first. Plus I had had hundreds of Braxton Hicks contractions, by default then my uterus must have been in the best shape of its life.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I assumed my water wouldn't break until late in the labour. With Judah, it was broken by my midwife right before we started to push...</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let's just say Neve had other plans from the get go...</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Saturday, January 14 - 11:30 pm </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Neve is having a major kicking fest. So major, I joke with Luke that she's decided she's had enough in there and she's busting her own way out. Joke's on mama- 5 minutes later the water breaks... sort of. Turns out, Neve has broken the bag of waters high up in the sac, thus not all of it leaks out and full out labour doesn't begin in earnest. We don't know this until much later. We call our midwife and I keep my bum up in the air to ensure Neve's head can't drop down onto the cord.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sunday, January 15 - 12:05 am</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our midwife arrives, confirms that yes that is amniotic fluid (phew, I haven't begun wetting the bed yet) and no the baby has not dropped onto the cord, nor has the cord tried to exit the building. Everything is looking good, I'm free to move around and encouraged to sleep.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2:00 am</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My contractions are steady and strong enough that I can't sleep, but weak enough that I know we're in very early labour. I'm psyched. I get up and watch numerous episodes of Modern Family in the living room.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7:30-8:30 am</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eager family members/ birth team arrive to check in on progress. Much hanging out ensues...</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Noon</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With little progress, much of the birth team resorts to napping. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitA7i6NMKni1iWo7ThsPjs-yV0j9NHX6Zh3BQCbRZr45rHODz7twd7fPZ-HFCf5LHPPWh_nlfpm8Jt_3nOLb2SYSqV119HaTDxCWPu_nJsFMZEXT8QrbRVdShZGtbTDGMcQY7C8vb7ni0/s1600/115_0621.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitA7i6NMKni1iWo7ThsPjs-yV0j9NHX6Zh3BQCbRZr45rHODz7twd7fPZ-HFCf5LHPPWh_nlfpm8Jt_3nOLb2SYSqV119HaTDxCWPu_nJsFMZEXT8QrbRVdShZGtbTDGMcQY7C8vb7ni0/s320/115_0621.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx0g9cnsSs3a-tcAuXNoUuynV6QZPqeXR7euo28xeEovMmn2tjgbDR4XboVpNQysUm8B9mA1873_wgZ6Xh1Kf7bZIcjmfYKbd3NLPcxxIEYDTSeH0XavCaRO8MyuIIqLfJFQ6mlANaIdc/s1600/115_0623.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx0g9cnsSs3a-tcAuXNoUuynV6QZPqeXR7euo28xeEovMmn2tjgbDR4XboVpNQysUm8B9mA1873_wgZ6Xh1Kf7bZIcjmfYKbd3NLPcxxIEYDTSeH0XavCaRO8MyuIIqLfJFQ6mlANaIdc/s320/115_0623.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The rest entertain themselves drawing cartoons...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvUsjDri1tIU3B4ch10ssZLB5b3eq8DTajrhWVtnMudTXgobEj9xUZljNisAG-PQ8XkEyZ2-BSL0xmloojCH_nn886mtQLrJ78c5QuwMDGTU9qZRf5Pxs4WMKWsg0LU2sNQnXx2MSmQ5k/s1600/115_0622.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvUsjDri1tIU3B4ch10ssZLB5b3eq8DTajrhWVtnMudTXgobEj9xUZljNisAG-PQ8XkEyZ2-BSL0xmloojCH_nn886mtQLrJ78c5QuwMDGTU9qZRf5Pxs4WMKWsg0LU2sNQnXx2MSmQ5k/s320/115_0622.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1:00 pm</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Clearly feeling far too comfortable, Luke and I decide to take a long walk to get things going.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMzkv1AbEEVeUm6iqnaS5I_6Q0m6uhrCH1ZOAzIvKNn5h9BwQKVkP7VQjE44_jNnE8eEu2UrZqsqWCPF9SbLgNZeZ-7Mh9yMr1iIQecj7R27MjvEzNdfa0u4YD-Ylyzckns_4bjM-_WW4/s1600/115_0625.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMzkv1AbEEVeUm6iqnaS5I_6Q0m6uhrCH1ZOAzIvKNn5h9BwQKVkP7VQjE44_jNnE8eEu2UrZqsqWCPF9SbLgNZeZ-7Mh9yMr1iIQecj7R27MjvEzNdfa0u4YD-Ylyzckns_4bjM-_WW4/s320/115_0625.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The walk is fairly successful.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mid-afternoon</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The midwives return to check on progress. The cervix is 85% effaced. I was hoping to hear that I was 5 cm dilated. The midwives go home again and we kick up the activity. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5:30</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Things are starting to get painful. The TENS machine is pulled out and, after shocking me once or twice, we get it going properly. Pizza is ordered.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7:00 pm</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After cat napping between intense contractions, Luke, my sister Charissa and I head out for another walk. It is bitterly cold- I have intense contractions every 50 meters. We return home shortly</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8:00 pm</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We decide to take the action upstairs. Active labour has started. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We hang out in the nursery for awhile. Everyone practices their deep breathing :)</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9:00ish</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The midwives return for the last time - hoorah! - and set up all of the home birth equipment. I continue to hang from Luke's aching neck. Did I mention he's a fantastic birth partner?</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10:00 pm</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5 cm dilated and "waters are bulging". Me: "There are still waters!?!?!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We ask our midwife to break away!! </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10:05</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Water is broken for the second time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now that we're cooking with gas, we move to the bedroom.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10:30 ish</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We enter the transition phase of labour, wherein I hurl my cookies. Yes, labour is glamorous. But hey, we're still smiling between contractions....</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAjt1Km00dM-Q0pyuWFAZk5S0Evn_9q3An-mxsFASAc2_oPpe0HxyOTigrw_qpVf1oJMJjHyodyc5YSXF5OlC_BvuDfLsIn010wohNudV3vY0lC3HTBkjFwTcKKiw9da2XxrY2KRniAVQ/s1600/115_0636.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAjt1Km00dM-Q0pyuWFAZk5S0Evn_9q3An-mxsFASAc2_oPpe0HxyOTigrw_qpVf1oJMJjHyodyc5YSXF5OlC_BvuDfLsIn010wohNudV3vY0lC3HTBkjFwTcKKiw9da2XxrY2KRniAVQ/s320/115_0636.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not so much during...But look at that team at work! Who needs drugs when you have 5 cheerleaders (wonderful mom in law is behind the camera).</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfYH_M9jafMiuwmSvhMPOyOHSeKiNP6YBLuElqm9-vTr4AZs0_kZ-JTq6962vM1HRtryMvRq6ZKn7G6BmqGbUALAXEn9k1YDFoRi3XBzHuU-0lM0jHTkZludZIH91hk6wUr6fqecbwaVM/s1600/115_0637.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfYH_M9jafMiuwmSvhMPOyOHSeKiNP6YBLuElqm9-vTr4AZs0_kZ-JTq6962vM1HRtryMvRq6ZKn7G6BmqGbUALAXEn9k1YDFoRi3XBzHuU-0lM0jHTkZludZIH91hk6wUr6fqecbwaVM/s320/115_0637.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>11:15 - </b>PUSH...and PUSH...and PUSH... this kid's head is huge!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>January 16, 12:26am - </b>She's here! After untangling her chest and arms from a record-length cord, I hold my daughter for the first time. What a rush!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgaecyD1dlCB_IfRWoi2aR1t1rOy1Ghyphenhyphen7eXKm2Gd1O82jOHZB1U8WlHscr6R_XPgL51GPerypcvUAxDDvaBQYpczw2hKFPEQBgKp7yORHq8fG1TPaFuvwBPMFomukqBNKeIVNpwSf20ZA/s1600/115_0641.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgaecyD1dlCB_IfRWoi2aR1t1rOy1Ghyphenhyphen7eXKm2Gd1O82jOHZB1U8WlHscr6R_XPgL51GPerypcvUAxDDvaBQYpczw2hKFPEQBgKp7yORHq8fG1TPaFuvwBPMFomukqBNKeIVNpwSf20ZA/s320/115_0641.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meeting her amazing Dada.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDb1C-qpedPMwJ9FObXmpggfF2TxGtpv9uX48iIiY9SDtqdVUx_GQn25oWhNlBzVSC9P187Bu5cy7npm0io7wB4DPiG5Wpi3hn3gQrqbFoiGlXpa-p0dluj1-wrGfjVmzteFmgZM9K4a0/s1600/115_0651.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDb1C-qpedPMwJ9FObXmpggfF2TxGtpv9uX48iIiY9SDtqdVUx_GQn25oWhNlBzVSC9P187Bu5cy7npm0io7wB4DPiG5Wpi3hn3gQrqbFoiGlXpa-p0dluj1-wrGfjVmzteFmgZM9K4a0/s320/115_0651.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>3 am</b>- After the extended family comes to meet the new arrival, our wonderful midwives complete the newborn exam. Baby Neve is 8 lbs. 2 oz. 20.5 inches long, with a head circumference of 36 cm.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjohxQqo2XvW3bYXZt6E8u5FgdP1ZJa-j6d7jFfCquwHv0nd1GutulAY_krUV8A1bjvlX0N8mmmYYRqaKSBIPoS6-sjNdCiSMHVytV1-BexNBunl-yD0A0ql2s2m_3ocALfypPgMPf3ho/s1600/115_0653.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjohxQqo2XvW3bYXZt6E8u5FgdP1ZJa-j6d7jFfCquwHv0nd1GutulAY_krUV8A1bjvlX0N8mmmYYRqaKSBIPoS6-sjNdCiSMHVytV1-BexNBunl-yD0A0ql2s2m_3ocALfypPgMPf3ho/s320/115_0653.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The next morning </b>Judah and Neve meet for the first time. Jude is, of course, pantsless.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKgxtnHUnp_OZuCl_dg-FlFZmWWJGPRgqRkonT2QG6aW_K20PtrI47f-k57b1DYxlT-NJ89oNymeRUP4u8FvTnr_zgiJEluxifp60d8e5JbuK9dzUaRiUrveHJpzFMWY3Gs-WRhJbAouQ/s1600/115_0656.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKgxtnHUnp_OZuCl_dg-FlFZmWWJGPRgqRkonT2QG6aW_K20PtrI47f-k57b1DYxlT-NJ89oNymeRUP4u8FvTnr_zgiJEluxifp60d8e5JbuK9dzUaRiUrveHJpzFMWY3Gs-WRhJbAouQ/s320/115_0656.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn00ECydVrqykEpmhjB5Bb_7jLB1rJs0zyVPC4fpCj9pmNnpFZTbcGYZq-5u7zBSJvkzm_tR2PmfVFw0S1lHOVPmtNu0g93ysxTxJKvzX1ZhS2SqeNHc6VdoMNULNtYtLyo-anv8wZ3O0/s1600/115_0657.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn00ECydVrqykEpmhjB5Bb_7jLB1rJs0zyVPC4fpCj9pmNnpFZTbcGYZq-5u7zBSJvkzm_tR2PmfVFw0S1lHOVPmtNu0g93ysxTxJKvzX1ZhS2SqeNHc6VdoMNULNtYtLyo-anv8wZ3O0/s320/115_0657.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Welcome to the family Neve. We are so glad you've come!</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguc2V-D65T8kJaXbmo6zntzOkluVCkqnyZ0e28qgB_oL2C8LYn4yTP1OgryBY79cULuUlgsTuT3_ppW48J60bRlK9vB9Fl6jnooU3_7A2wcKXCGHoTmrpfqVZWD6LkBmXhXU5LmgM4U5I/s1600/115_0686.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguc2V-D65T8kJaXbmo6zntzOkluVCkqnyZ0e28qgB_oL2C8LYn4yTP1OgryBY79cULuUlgsTuT3_ppW48J60bRlK9vB9Fl6jnooU3_7A2wcKXCGHoTmrpfqVZWD6LkBmXhXU5LmgM4U5I/s320/115_0686.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<br />Jennie http://www.blogger.com/profile/08765509419542598128noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181357634467052366.post-39828703072930710712012-01-12T19:46:00.003-05:002012-01-12T19:46:43.418-05:0010 Months!<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is it- we are done 40 weeks. The due date has come...and is almost gone. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Where are we now?</b><br /><br /><br /><u>Aches and pains</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yep...plenty. Particularly in the front of the pelvis- who knew that such pain could occur? </span></div>
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<span style="color: #282828; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.4;">The pelvic pain is rivaled only by sudden pinched nerves in the butt, causing </span><span style="line-height: 15px;">embarrassing</span><span style="line-height: 1.4;"> leg paralysis. Which results in walking/falling with one jelly-like leg- often in public places. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Who knew pregnancy could be so dignified. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh yeah, and dry skin...and braxton hicks contractions... and an inability to sleep...and...you get the idea. </span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Total weight gain</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">34 pounds. Make that 35...I just bought chips and chocolate pudding. </span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cravings this month?</span></u></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ANYTHING. FEED ME!</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><u>Judah's thoughts on baby now?</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Judah, like his mother, has taken to shouting to the baby in-utero. Yesterday he screamed, "Come out baby! I have things to show you!" I hope those things don't include his obsessive toilet- flushing or dog- licking habits. </span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Current state of the baby?</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Baby's head is still riding pretty high in the pelvis. I am assured this is common is consecutive pregnancies and that she will drop when labour commences. Fetal drop zone, coming up!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Her heart rate is lovely, and amazingly, I can frequently feel her practice breathing. Super cool. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As for her position, she's been stubbornly posterior - her back is to my back - meaning potentially late, long, back labour. This is what happened with Judah. His labour stretched out over 3 days. THREE DAYS!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #282828; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.4;">In order to avoid this fate a second time, I spend much of my waking day crawling around, hanging over my exercise ball and generally creating a human hammock out of my stomach to get baby to rotate. Judah sees this as an excellent opportunity to get hourly horsey rides. My back should look like an </span><span style="line-height: 15px;">Olympic</span><span style="line-height: 1.4;"> swimmer's shortly. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #282828; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.4;"><u>Induction attempts?</u></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #282828; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.4;">So far my induction techniques have been limited to drinking copious amounts of raspberry tea, taking long walks and willing baby out with my mind. All have proven lame. Monday, if I'm still pregnant (is there a reverse knocking on wood that can be done here?) I'll be at the midwife for a stretch and sweep. If that doesn't get the ball rolling then... I got nothing... I'll just keep waiting. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #622d68; text-align: -webkit-center;">"The whole point of woman-centered birth is the knowledge that a woman is the birth power source. She may need, and deserve, help, but in essence, she always had, currently has, and will have the power." </span><br style="color: #622d68; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><em style="color: #622d68; text-align: -webkit-center;">Heather McCue </em>
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</div>Jennie http://www.blogger.com/profile/08765509419542598128noreply@blogger.com5