kim through
   the looking glass

… until Brad brought home the 3-hour Battlestar Galactica Miniseries on his USB key.

We have reached an all-new level of geekiness.

I can’t wait to watch the first season!!

I have totally been slacking at taking the pictures off my camera and updating le blog and le Facebook with pictures of my beautiful little girl. Maybe it’s because every moment she’s awake I’m ripping my laptop cord out of her mouth if I dare to open it up regardless of HOW FAR AWAY FROM IT I put her, or maybe it’s that I’ve been really tired lately and I just haven’t wanted to take the effort.

Either option is sad. Read the rest of this entry »

Unless, of course, you can come up with some way to reuse or recycle nuclear waste AND make reactors completely safe.

Did you know that 2.5 million people live within the ‘danger zone’ - 30 km - of Pickering’s nuclear plant? Did you know that it is the only nuclear plant in the world built that close to a population of that size? Can you imagine the impact of an accident or a deliberate attack on the Pickering reactor??

Take action. Call George Smitherman, Ontario’s Energy Minister at (416) 972-7683. Instead of spending money fixing up the Pickering reactor, ask him to spend money investing in renewables. We can make a difference!

Pro Kids from Faith Promise Church on Vimeo.

Wow.

Anyone else see some serious flaws to this? Anyone else confused as to how their child has doomed someone to hell by waving at them during a church service?

Anyone else be outta that church so fast that man’s head would be spinning?

Wow.

My friend Sandy wrote about this over at The Daily Poop - check out her post. This was the comment I left there:

Holy. Crap.

I think you about summed up my thoughts on this ridiculous policy.

I think my favourite thing is that at the beginning of the clip, he said it was because the sanctuary (ummm … Holy? Whatever happened to the sanctuary being a holy place?) is a war zone. And from there it became - because it’s not relevant, because we’ve spent millions of dollars on other things for them, because they’re too distracting. Um, yeah. Is it because you’re concerned for their spiritual health (would you bring a baby into a warzone …) or because they’re irritating?

U.R.G.

I don’t think my keyboard can contain my venom

(Oh, and p.s. Pastor Chris? If the sanctuary isn’t a relevant environment, can you tell me how it’s healthy that a room off to the side with recliners and big-screen TVs IS??? Or is that part not the warzone?

I wanna hear your thoughts, my dear readers! Ready, set, GO!

My sister, Jenny, did this on her blog yesterday. I just love these kinds of things

1. Do you like blue cheese? Yuck. No.

2. What is your favorite holiday? Thanksgiving. Turkey and pumpkin pie? Yeah.

3. Do you own a gun? No, thank goodness.

4. What flavor of Kool Aid was your favorite? Mmmm … I really liked the purple kind.

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? PAPs, yes. Regular ones, no.

6. What do you think of hot dogs? Love ‘em!

7. Favorite Christmas movie? Elf and A Christmas Story.

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Tea.

9. Can you do push ups? Yes. Not a large number all at once, but I can.

10. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry? My engagement ring.

11. Favorite hobby? Knitting … and blogging.

12. Do you have A.D.D.? Nope!

13. What’s your favorite shoe? My birks.

14. What’s your middle name? Anne.

15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment?

1. Wow that train’s a bit loud.
2. I wonder if my teapot will make me a cup of tea?
3. Is it possible to knit and blog at the same time?

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Water, tea, and water.

17. Current worry? That Gwen will keep napping.

18. Current hate right now? The fact that we were all awake at 5:50 am.

20. How did you bring in the New Year? Playing a board game with friends.

21. Where would you like to go? Ireland.

22. Name three people who will complete this? Meh. Do it if you want to

23. Do you own slippers? Yes! I got them in my stocking this year (thanks, Becky Clause!)

24. What color shirt are you wearing right now? Blue, with a white fleece sweater over top.

25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? I don’t think I’ve ever tried.

26. Can you whistle? Yes.

27. Favorite colors? Brown, pink, and green.

28. Would you be a pirate? Yar!! Definitely.

29. What songs do you sing in the shower? Your Name is Gwen

30. Favorite girl’s name? Bronwyn

31. Favorite boy’s name? At this moment in time? Sheldon … but we’d never be able to use it. Sheldon Schellingerhoudt is a horrid fate.

32. What’s in your pocket right now? My cell phone and Burt’s Bees chapstick.

33. Last thing that made you laugh? Brad - he’s playing Zelda.

34. Best bed sheets as a child? Rainbow Brite.

35. Worst injury you’ve ever had as a child? Hmmm … either the time I dropped $280 in pennies on my foot or the time I sliced my arm open with an X-Acto knife and required stiches.

37. Who is the friend you’ve had the longest? Mary Anne

38. Who is your loudest friend? It’s a tie between Jan when she’s playing Wii and Crystle

39. How many dogs do you have? None, thank goodness.

40. Does someone have a crush on you? Maybe?

41. What is your favorite book? Oooh. Hard one. All time? Bridge to Terabithia.

42. What is your favorite candy? Sour Kids.

43. Favorite Sports Team? Hahaha!

44. Favorite Movie? I don’t think I can say.

I don’t have a topic that I specifically want to blog on, so I thought I’d throw a random smattering of stuff out there.

• On the right, you’ll see a new widget - the ‘Ideal Bite’ widget, and to be more precise, the ‘Mama Bite’ edition. I had signed up for these daily tips for green living a while ago and was loving getting them! Lately, though, I’ve realized that I already am aware of most of the tips/advice, so I unsubscribed, but thought I could continue to support them by helping my readers get some tips.
• I’ve finally mastered the art of wearing Gwen on the front in my woven wrap. I’m currently using the front wrap cross and LOVE IT. Since Gwen’s about 15 lbs now, she’s getting too heavy for my sling, but it’s quite comfy to wrap her on! Now I’m trying to work on back carries …
• I’m an aunt for the second time! Brad’s sister had a baby on February 4th - they are both (to our knowledge) doing well.
• I’ve finally joined Ravelry! So far, I’ve input most of my stash and needles and have picked out my next pattern for some new socks. I’m almost done the sock I’m working on now.
• I’m thinking of selling off my wool covers. Although they fit Gwen quite well as a newborn, this next size is just not working for us. Right now, we’re using two little g pants, a Kushies cover, and a Bummis cover. I’ve got an order in for a few more little g’s.
• I’ve been working on my wedding scrapbook lately - digitally - and it’s been lots of fun to go through our pictures and re-live that day! I can’t decide whether to make just a picture book or to do some journalling … any suggestions?
• Gwen has been sleeping GREAT lately!! She’s been taking two good naps - around 1 - 2 hours apiece AND she’s only waking twice during the night - once around 10 or 11pm and then again around 2 or 3am. The only downside to this good sleep is that she’s waking for the day between 6:15 and 6:30am. That’s just cruel (she used to wake up around 8:30am!).
• On of my very good friends is very close to having a new baby … I’m so excited to meet him! I made her a dinner last night and need to take it over to her house this weekend for her freezer.
• Facebook is irritating. Why doesn’t it ever work correctly?
• I have been totally slacking in the picture department lately! I’ve got tonnes of pics of Gwen and lots of videos, but I haven’t taken them off my camera yet.
• The cord on my laptop is dying. It needs some serious electrical tape and Brad and I are thinking seriously of doing a full back-up of all my files in preparation for the day that my laptop will be on it’s way to computer heaven. You can’t buy a new power cord for Macs, so once it’s done, it’s done. Not quite sure what we’re going to do when the lappy dies. I’m hoping I can get a new one, but yeah. That’s money.
• My mommy just called and she’s coming to visit today! YAY!
• I totally fell off the push-up and sit-up wagon. I did the first week and was loving it. And then yeah. I’m thinking I’m going to re-start week one this coming week since Brad wants to do the challenge too. This way, we can suffer together

Oatmeal Face!

Mistress Mouse seems to be feeling better - yesterday she was awake 3+ hours in between her naps and she took a 1.5 hour nap on her own in the afternoon!! I don’t know why, but it appears that when she’s not feeling so good she actually sleeps LESS than normal.

I’ve been re-reading parts of Mary Sheedy Kurcinka’s book, Raising Your Spirited Child. It’s been good for me - mostly because the first time I read it, Gwen was only a few months old and although I knew she was going to be ’spirited’, I couldn’t yet identify many of the temperamental traits that made her spirited. On the second read-through, I’ve identified:

• Intensity - my favourite description of this is, “a living staircase of emotion, up one minute, down the next,” (Kurcinka, 2006, p. 41). Um yeah. That about does it.
• Sensitivity - “has to have quiet to sleep,” “a selective eater,” “acts out your stress,” (Kurcinka, 2006, p. 45).
• Regularity - “never falls asleep at the same time,” “is hungry at different times each day,” (Kurcinka, 2006, p. 55). Gwen, Gwen, Gwen.
• Energy - anyone who has ever watched Gwen or held her will know that this is one of her traits … she is NEVER still.
• First Reaction - “Rejects at first or watches before joining in,” (Kurcinka, 2006, p. 57). Now, it depends on the activity, but generally speaking, she’s a watcher. Or she joins in and then decides she’s not ready yet and wants to snuggle for a while before joining in again.

There’s a few temperamental traits that I’m not sure about - adaptability, persistence, mood, and perceptiveness - mostly because she can’t yet communicate enough to be sure.

Bath Time!

Either way, I’m finding the book to be helpful in helping me to name the traits that she’s exhibiting and find new ways of labeling them - for example, instead of ‘dramatic’, say ‘expressive’; instead of ‘emotional’, say ’sensitive’. It’s been good for me to learn how Gwen might think and, especially, how she is probably feeling inside during different situations. For example, it’s helpful for me to know that if she is prone to having a negative first reaction, she is actually, physically experiencing a racing heart, dilated pupils, rising blood pressure, and tense vocal cords and that it is a physical reaction tied to her genetic make-up (Kurcinka, 2006).

Look at me!

And seriously. How cute is this kid? Even though sometimes her reactions drive me a bit batty, she’s the sweetest, most curious, happiest baby for the most part. I couldn’t imagine my life without her now that she’s here and I’m loving getting to know this little person!!

Pardon my lack of blogging. It’s been a crazy week! Mostly it’s been a difficult week.

Gwen has been teething and sick since Monday (well, teething for two weeks, sick since Monday). Runny nose, cough, fever … yesterday she was pretty lethargic, so we decided to take her in to the walk-in clinic. Turns out it’s a viral infection, so there’s nothing anyone can do. I’ve been holding her for naps and giving lots of extra cuddles, not that she’ll let me do any less And her second tooth is *just* popping through now. Poor girl.

Last night I went out fr my first official ‘night out’. A bunch of moms from my church got together at Kelsey’s! I enjoyed a margarita and a burger. It was great to go out with some people in the same stage of life … we talked a lot about our labours and births, cloth diapering, babies, pregnancy, and parenting and we talked a little bit about work, school, and other miscellaneous subjects.

Mmmm, margarita.

Le demain passé, j’ai fini mes chausettes!

Ils sont agréable, non?

J’ai déjà monté pour un autre paire des chausettes. J’ai trouvé une filme excellente qui représentant une method pour monté le fil pour les chausettes ‘toe-up’ - double knitting. Aller à 3:55 pour les instructions.

That’s right. It happened.

Gwen Can Crawl!!! from Kim Schell on Vimeo.