Things have been a-changin' lately...
Mostly me. I think I alluded to my "bucket list" of items to accomplish some time ago- I managed to tick off another one: marathon- done. 42.2km of gruelling sweat, exertion, painful feet, euphoric highs and droopy lows, and definitely a few tears- I am now a "marathoner", having completed the Mississauga Marathon on May 5th (my 35th birthday! What a gift to have my 3 loves of my life to cheer me on course-side in numerous spots to keep my motor running all the way to the finish!)
Other things have changed too- things that I had a hard time articulating a number of weeks ago, yet now seem not to define me as much as I thought they would... Medtronic went through a restructuring, and I was officially "voted off the island" in mid-April. Wow. At the time- there were lots of emotions: confusion, hurt, anger, frustration, helplessness, and a lovely lowered immune system- which means I picked up every little bug and cold that crossed my path for the next few weeks! Lo and behold tho- time passes, I achieve my big marathon goal, I age another year to my life, I go on vacation- and frankly, I'm feeling like I've been handed a gift.
I made the quick decision that we would pull the kids out of full-time daycare, and I would take this time as an opportunity to spend more time with Rowan & Georgia- and it has been like a 3rd mat leave, without having to get pregnant the 3rd time (bonus!). We've done playdates, park tours, planted vegetable gardens, gone on nature walks, rainy day puddle hunts, cuddled, played "trains", dolls, babies, coloured, painted, crafted, hide and seeked about 1000 times over, rode bikes, rode scooters, baked cakes and banana muffins, and read book after book after book. And I have loved it. I've had to rework myself a bit- its hard to go from fast-paced-million-mile-a-minute, down to a smell-the-roses 4- and 2-year old appraoch to life, but truly- the adjustment has come easily. The slow-down has allowed me to look at what I'd love to be doing with my kids on a grander scale- I'm finding new ways to "teach" them things- random chats about nature, how things work, space, and sometimes finding the odd mini-french lesson incorporated into sidewalk chalking or dinky car rallies. Rowan loves his "home days", and Georgia just saps up any extra time she gets to spend with all of us.
I'm learning things from them as much as I'm teaching them. I'm getting the 2nd chance to sit back and watch them- not through the chaeos of a 2-day weekend that typically gets jam-packed with all the social stuff that doesn't fit into the work week - but truly the time to watch them experiment, discover and adventure. And its truly amazing.
This time truly is a gift. And I'm tapping it for all I can...
Thursday 6 June 2013
Monday 11 March 2013
Interactive Map for images from ISS
Uber-cool! Another epic opportunity to share space with your kiddies...
https://cogsnscc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/OnePane/basicviewer/index.html?appid=0d1b3909ad9944dab7e29354f465ade7
https://cogsnscc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/OnePane/basicviewer/index.html?appid=0d1b3909ad9944dab7e29354f465ade7
All for the kiddies
Yikes. This is bang-on.
And especially relevant, as I'm sitting in my hotel room in London having full-on mom guilt for missing bedtime with R & G.
{thanks to my good friend LJ for posting!}
Thoughts for the future...
"We are sitting at lunch one day when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of "starting a family." "We're taking a survey," she says half-joking. "Do you think I should have a baby?"
"It will change your life," I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral.
"I know," she says, "no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations."
But that is not what I meant at all. I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes.
I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing will heal, but becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable.
I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without asking, "What if that had been MY child?" That every plane crash, every house fire will haunt her.
That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die.
I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of "Mom!" will cause her to drop a soufflé or her best crystal without a moments hesitation.
I feel that I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might arrange for childcare, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think of her
baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her baby is all right.
I want my daughter to know that every day decisions will no longer be routine. That a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at McDonald's will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming
children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that restroom.
However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother.
Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself.
That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. That she would give herself up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years, not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs.
I want her to know that a cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor.
My daughter's relationship with her husband will change, but not in the way she thinks.
I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with his child.
I think she should know that she will fall in love with him again for reasons she would now find very unromantic.
I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel with women throughout history who have tried to stop war, prejudice and drunk driving.
I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike.
I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or cat for the first time.
I want her to taste the joy that is so real it actually hurts.
My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. "You'll never regret it," I finally say. Then I reached across the table, squeezed my daughter's hand and offered a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings."
-Author Unknown
And especially relevant, as I'm sitting in my hotel room in London having full-on mom guilt for missing bedtime with R & G.
{thanks to my good friend LJ for posting!}
"We are sitting at lunch one day when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of "starting a family." "We're taking a survey," she says half-joking. "Do you think I should have a baby?"
"It will change your life," I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral.
"I know," she says, "no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations."
But that is not what I meant at all. I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes.
I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing will heal, but becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable.
I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without asking, "What if that had been MY child?" That every plane crash, every house fire will haunt her.
That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die.
I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of "Mom!" will cause her to drop a soufflé or her best crystal without a moments hesitation.
I feel that I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might arrange for childcare, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think of her
baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her baby is all right.
I want my daughter to know that every day decisions will no longer be routine. That a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at McDonald's will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming
children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that restroom.
However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother.
Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself.
That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. That she would give herself up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years, not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs.
I want her to know that a cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor.
My daughter's relationship with her husband will change, but not in the way she thinks.
I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with his child.
I think she should know that she will fall in love with him again for reasons she would now find very unromantic.
I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel with women throughout history who have tried to stop war, prejudice and drunk driving.
I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike.
I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or cat for the first time.
I want her to taste the joy that is so real it actually hurts.
My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. "You'll never regret it," I finally say. Then I reached across the table, squeezed my daughter's hand and offered a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings."
-Author Unknown
Friday 8 March 2013
outta this world...
Space has been given a whole new seat in our house.
Anyone else following our fellow Canadian, Chris Hadfield's, escapades at the International Space Station? "Amazing" doesn't give his social outreach enough credit. Com. Hadfield is online and in charge- tweeting (@Cmdr_Hadfield) 10+ times a day, sending down 8-10 images of the Earth in his view from space, and providing upteen educational opportunities to share with Canadian youth. He is inspiring a nation, and bringing outer space right into our homefront. Commander Hadfield is nothing short of a celebrity.
We have been taking this opportunity to share Chris Hadfield's images with Rowan (and Georgia). To observe the awe on his face- the excitement he has every day when he runs in the door from school, asking: "Did Commander Hadfield send down more pictures today? Can I see them?". He's printed off images of space-view volcanos, Com Hadfield in his space suit, rocket launches- and brought them into school for "show & share". His class has paper-mached planets and hung a solar system from the roof. They built a "spaceship" out of cardboard and tin plates (and old computer monitors mounted on the inside!), and Rowan and his classmates take turns "launching" the rocket and flying through the atmosphere. Rowan can now differentiate Hadfield's images: icebergs, clouds, ocean, desert, mountains, rock...all beautiful perspectives of the terra of our world- and he gets it. He looks closer at the screen to discern some of the images that Hadfield describes in his photo commentary, and he constantly asks us to watch and re-watch his youtube vids depicting different aspects of life on the Space Station: nail clipping, hair cutting, hand washing, making lunch.... amazing. And he's 4!
Anyone else following our fellow Canadian, Chris Hadfield's, escapades at the International Space Station? "Amazing" doesn't give his social outreach enough credit. Com. Hadfield is online and in charge- tweeting (@Cmdr_Hadfield) 10+ times a day, sending down 8-10 images of the Earth in his view from space, and providing upteen educational opportunities to share with Canadian youth. He is inspiring a nation, and bringing outer space right into our homefront. Commander Hadfield is nothing short of a celebrity.
We have been taking this opportunity to share Chris Hadfield's images with Rowan (and Georgia). To observe the awe on his face- the excitement he has every day when he runs in the door from school, asking: "Did Commander Hadfield send down more pictures today? Can I see them?". He's printed off images of space-view volcanos, Com Hadfield in his space suit, rocket launches- and brought them into school for "show & share". His class has paper-mached planets and hung a solar system from the roof. They built a "spaceship" out of cardboard and tin plates (and old computer monitors mounted on the inside!), and Rowan and his classmates take turns "launching" the rocket and flying through the atmosphere. Rowan can now differentiate Hadfield's images: icebergs, clouds, ocean, desert, mountains, rock...all beautiful perspectives of the terra of our world- and he gets it. He looks closer at the screen to discern some of the images that Hadfield describes in his photo commentary, and he constantly asks us to watch and re-watch his youtube vids depicting different aspects of life on the Space Station: nail clipping, hair cutting, hand washing, making lunch.... amazing. And he's 4!
He can sing every word to the song "I.S.S.~ Is Someone Singing?", which Com Hadfield recorded LIVE from the International Space Station, with Ed Robertson of the Barenaked Ladies and the Scarborough Gleeks. (check it out below- the words will inspire!)
If you are a parent, and have not yet taken advantage of this educational opportunity- I strongly encourage you to sit down with your child and show them some pictures...space is one of those magical places that captures the imagination of children, and gives them licence to dream to dream, make-believe and become our next generation of astronauts.
Com. Hadfield has done (and is doing) awesome stuff up there:
Interviewed William Shatner (Captain Kirk!)
He "caught a dragon" (spaceship) with the Canadarm II (youtube this! awesome!)
He dropped the puck (virtually, of course) at a Hockey game!
His guitar pick (and how he got his guitar on his small ship all the way to ISS is beyond me!), but his pick matches his mission patch!
He is hosting interviews with elementary schools, high schools and communities all over Canada
He sees 16 sun rises a day (could you imagine?)
...and he's taking control (as in "Commander") of the International Space Station in less than 2 weeks. The 1st Canadian to ever do so.
He is truly inspiring a nation.
Thank-you, Chris. You truly are Canada's Hero.
"Canada built the Canadarm2, and the Canadarm2 built this Space Station. We should all be proud of that".
~Chris Hadfield
Monday 28 January 2013
The BIG 4
He's 4, and not afraid to tell anyone that asks (or doesn't!).
We had Rowan's 4-year doctor's check-up today. I was trying to remember, en route to the doctor's office, and I think this is the first time he's been seen at our family practitioner's office since last year. I teetered between the feeling of "wow- Rowan must really be the picture of health" (and a small pat-on-the-back for being exceptional parents), and actually feeling like that had been a really. long. time. 1/4 of his life went by, and he hadn't seen his GP. I guess this is what happens as your kids leave baby and toddler-hood, and move on up to being real little people.
He got a perfect bill of health (minus the persistent chesty cough he's had for a few weeks now): just shy of 42" tall, and {almost} 40lbs. And growing!
Interestingly, our doc noted that his speech is remarkable...most kids have the sound "eff" mixed up with the phonetics for "thhhh" until late kindergarten. For example, Rowan can count with perfect sounds "One. Two. Three. Four. Five.", whereas many (apparently) kids his age will pronounce three with "free"...or maybe "fwee". Likewise, the "L" is also a commonly mixed up letter of annunciation during toddlerhood, and can simply be be tested with the word "lollipop". No problem for R, but some kids would say "wallwipop". Good knowledge for us to monitor with Miss G (whom, due to her ear issues, is still significantly behind the curve with her speech!).
We had Rowan's 4-year doctor's check-up today. I was trying to remember, en route to the doctor's office, and I think this is the first time he's been seen at our family practitioner's office since last year. I teetered between the feeling of "wow- Rowan must really be the picture of health" (and a small pat-on-the-back for being exceptional parents), and actually feeling like that had been a really. long. time. 1/4 of his life went by, and he hadn't seen his GP. I guess this is what happens as your kids leave baby and toddler-hood, and move on up to being real little people.
He got a perfect bill of health (minus the persistent chesty cough he's had for a few weeks now): just shy of 42" tall, and {almost} 40lbs. And growing!
Interestingly, our doc noted that his speech is remarkable...most kids have the sound "eff" mixed up with the phonetics for "thhhh" until late kindergarten. For example, Rowan can count with perfect sounds "One. Two. Three. Four. Five.", whereas many (apparently) kids his age will pronounce three with "free"...or maybe "fwee". Likewise, the "L" is also a commonly mixed up letter of annunciation during toddlerhood, and can simply be be tested with the word "lollipop". No problem for R, but some kids would say "wallwipop". Good knowledge for us to monitor with Miss G (whom, due to her ear issues, is still significantly behind the curve with her speech!).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)