Cleaning, Decorating And A Contest

The kind folks at Swiffer sent me a CarpetFlick as part of a contest they have going on: Swiffer Holiday Home Tour Sweepstakes.

The minute the box showed up, Kieran went into overdrive. I couldn't open and assemble that sucker fast enough! He insists on "flicking" the livingroom every single day. That's not such a bad thing, of course. Even with his inexpert technique, Kieran's "flicking" manages to really clean up the carpet.

And, I might add, even though I freely admit I am not the most efficient of housewives, that CarpetFlick picked up way more than I thought was on the carpet. Clearly, I either have to get the vacuum out more often, stop allowing snacks in the livingroom or let Kieran carry on with his obsessive "flicking"!

Here he is with his new favourite chore toy.

I swear that crazy look on his face is the natural high he gets from cleaning, and being able to clearly see exactly what he has cleaned.

"Mom! Look!" he exclaimed in a combination of wonder and excitement. "It picked up a pine cone seed and my breakfast!"

After Kieran cleared the room of his toys yesterday, he "flicked" the carpet with his trusty bright orange CarpetFlick while I attempted to keep breathing while lugging around decorations and the Christmas tree.

I put the tree together. Kieran gently handed me all the ornaments. Then, we waited until Daddy came home from work for Kieran to put the angel on the top of the tree. Here is my boy and I with our completed tree.


If you want in on the Swiffer Holiday Home Tour Sweepstakes, go to the website and submit a photo of you inside your decorated home. You could be chosen as home of the week. You could also win, in a random drawing, $3,500 toward a home makeover, a Swiffer WetJet or a year’s supply of Swiffer products. Not shabby!

The Work Continues

The work of getting better continues. I am coughing much less but my ability to breathe deeply and clearly is not changing much. The inhaler helps a little but it would be nice not to feel like there is a giant weight on my chest all the time.

I over-extended myself a bit, too. That can't have helped. Pulling a couple of very light bags up from the basement left me so breathless and dizzy I thought I was going to faint!

There was cleaning and decorating going on. But, I'll have to post more about that in the morning. I need my sleep. I've been running on zombie fumes all evening.

So, make sure you come back soon to see pictures of what Kieran and I got up to all day.

I Saw It On TV!

Did anyone watch Gilmore Girls tonight? Not only did they feature knitting, but Luke's sister delivered a baby girl at home with a midwife and a doula. Her dopey husband loved the doula so much, he named the baby after her: "Doula"!

So nice to see that despite Luke's initial appalled reaction to the news that his sister was having the baby at home, that the birth itself was portrayed as very normal and safe and peaceful, with the doula and the midwife both decidely normal looking/acting.

Maybe now, when people ask what I do, I won't get dumbfounded stares. Maybe now people will go, "Oh, yeah! A doula! Just like on Gilmore Girls!"

Out Of The Mouths Of Babes #584

While waiting in the car for Sean to procure a supper of subs...

Kieran: This is the spookiest night I ever heard. This is so spooky, I have to call for help. Mom, we need a towtruck.
Me: Why do we need a towtruck?
Kieran: Because the car is dead!
Me: Uh, the car isn't dead, it's just turned off. Do you want me to turn it back on?
Kieran: No! It's dead! We have to do something!
Me: OK, Kieran, OK.

Apparently an entire afternoon of watching Scooby Doo on DVD is colouring his imaginative world.

Not Pneumonia

So it's not pneumonia. It is, however, horrible. The doc put me on a new inhaler and some antibiotics.

I'm not sure how effective the inhaler is. The other one gave me a very definite clear chest feeling but only lasted abut 15 minutes. This one, I'm not sure if I feel much of an easing of the breathing problems. I can take it every three hours, which may prove better than the other one which was a 2x a day treatment.

And the antibiotics? It'll take 24 hours, or up to 3 days, for me to feel the effects of those.

I'm practically giddy with anticipation of not coughing anymore. And sucking on cough drops because the coughing is ripping up my throat. And taking Acetaminaphen because the coughing is killing my head. And drinking 5x more water than I would normally need to because th coughing is making me incontinent. And going to the bathroom to change my pantyliner every hour because the coughing is making me incontinent. And scolding Kieran for making mean noises or telling me to be quiet because all the coughing is really getting on HIS nerves. And sleeping sitting up because lying down seems to trigger ever more coughing.

Oh yeah, I'm ready.

On a happier note, I watched WordPlay this weekend, the documentary about crossword puzzles, in particular the NY Times crossword puzzles. I really enjoyed the movie. I enjoyed the following song, written for the film by Gary Louris of The Jayhawks and Golden Smog, even better.

Pneumonia?

I called Telehealth again this evening. They think the persistant cough may be a sign of pneumonia. I was supposed to see a doc within 4 hours of their recommendation. I got 20 mins still. Unfortunately, at 6pm, the after-hours service wasn't open. It is supposed to stay open until 8pm. I wasn't about to sit in a hospital waiting room so I've got the humidifier on high, water flowing freely and trying to work on breathing steadily, not peeing myself and not breaking down into tears again.

I'll give you an update after we attempt to see a doc in the morning. Here's hoping I get more than 3 hours of sleep and that those hours come well before 5am, unlike last night.

Sorry for the downer.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

My mother gives out the most unimaginably useless advice.

While explaining to her about how all the prolonged, uncontrollable coughing has totally weakened my kegel muscles and everytime I cough I pee, which has resulted in my now having no clean underwear or pj bottoms (or jeans, for that matter) because I've peed threw them all, myy mother offered her usual sterling advice: "you should go to the bathroom more often."

You know, I would, but after I go to the bathroom, I could cough three minutes later and completely empty my bladder so that the next time I go, there is nothing left to pee out.

Last night I sent Sean to the pharmacy for a fresh supply of "really long" pantyliners. I should have just bit the bullet and got a pack of Depends. This is humiliating and spirit breaking.

"You're doing your kegels, right?" Oh yeah, Mom, and they're really helping.

Here's hoping that the coughing let's up soon.

Mr. Palmerston

Want to meet my man?

Check This Out!

Skip forward to 4:25 unless you want to hear all about the proto-punk, VU inspired band Simply Saucer who recorded an album in 1972 with a then teenaged Daniel Lanois and his brother, all of whom are from my hometown.

The video is a segment from the now-defunct CBC culture show >play that was hosted by former Moxy Fruvous member and journalist Jian Ghomeshi. Sean speaks on the segment because he produced the CD reissue of "Cyborgs Revisited", an album hailed as genius by such a luminary as Thurston Moore.

It was filmed when Kieran was about a month old and Sean has longish hair and long sideburns. I LOVE his long sideburns.

Soooooo Thankful

I'm in Canada. Up here we had Thanksgiving more than a month ago. And no sweet potatoes in sight! But, even though tomorrow is American Thanksgiving, I am taking a moment to tell you about what I am thankful for.

I am thankful for remembering that when someone is choking, you are supposed to check their airway first before doing anything else.

Of course, by the time I remembered that, I'd already tried other things. But, I'm thankful for remembering it when I did.

You see, last night Kieran choked on a candy.

Sean had decided he could have a treat from the candy dish that holds his dwindling Halloween supply (and the infusion of Christmas candies he received at the Santa Claus parade on Saturday while I was at my conference.) Kieran decided on a trio of mottled egg shaped candies that looked like they could be malt balls.

They weren't. They were gobstoppers.

Kieran likes to crunch through hard candies and lollipops, so I had a false sense of security about his putting hard candies in his mouth. He discovered he couldn't crunch through these, so I explained the concept and, with him sitting a foot away from me, I told him how to suck on the gobstopper instead of trying to eat it.

He was fine for a minute or two. He popped the candy out of his mouth to admire how it had changed colour. He popped it back in and inhaled, suddenly lodging the candy firmly in his windpipe.

He started to flail and make wet wretching sounds. He doubled over and I could hear his stomach and esophagus convulsing to expel the blockage. Sitting up, I grabbed him by the collar and threw him over my knee with his chest and head hanging well down on one side and proceded to bang his upper back.

When I heard that involuntary convulsing sound and I pulled him back up to check to see if the candy had been dislodged. It hadn't. Kieran's face was getting dark red from the strain. I threw him back over my knee again and started banging.

I wasn't thinking. Or, at least, I wasn't thinking productively. I was operating entirely on instinct. "This is what you do, isn't it?" I thought. And I tipped the poor boy over my knee for a third time, thinking, "Who cares if it hurts him, I've gotta get that thing out!" And, "How long has it been? Is he getting any air? He's going to be dead or brain damaged if I don't get the fucking thing out right fucking now!"

Kieran popped up between my knees and convulsed a last time. His mouth was wide open. His skin was dark purply red - burgundy or marroon. His tongue was flat and curled up at the sides. And there, at the very back of his throat, just past the uvula and the tonsils, was a round white thing.

"Fingers!" I thought immediately. "Sweep his airway with your fingers!" So I took two fingers from my right hand, reached in and dug out the candy from Kieran's throat.

Kieran gulped in breath and stopped panicking quite quickly. But I wasn't so easily calmed.

I hadn't said anything during the entire ordeal, which lasted 60 seconds at most. Maybe even 30 seconds, if I think about it. Time has a way of dilating and becoming slower or longer when you are in a crisis. But, now, looking down at the white egg-shaped gobstopper in my hand, the hand that was covered in mucus created by Kieran's throat in an attempt to lubricate the offending matter and help eject it easier, I began sobbing.

I sobbed in great big croaking sobs, horse from 6 days of Bronchitis. I sobbed and sobbed and couldn't stop. Kieran started to touch my face and soothe me, "I OK now, mummy. It OK. You don't have to cry." I grabbed him and held him for a minute before I could get a hold of myself and stop.

I got up, went into the bathroom, threw away the candy and washed my hands. With the door closed, I put my feverish face against the cool white tiles and sobbed some more.

I am thankful I remembered that you are supposed to clear someone's airway first before doing any other lifesaving techniques. And I am thankful for my son.

My Sweet Boy

I May Be Lame, But I Haven't Stopped Blogging Yet

I feel bad. For nearly a week now my posts have been pretty lame. I'm soooooo sick, it's putting a major dent in my swinging lifestyle.

I called the doc's office this morning, starting at 8:45am and continuing until someone picked up at 9:05am. The receptionist sicked the nurse on me who finally called back around 10:30am. Apparently my doctor is out of the office and her covering doctor is double booked and I can't get in tomorrow until 10:00am.

I told them that today was my fifth day heading into severe coughing, fever by evening, constant sore throat and, oh yeah, I'm pregnant. It didn't phase her. "Well, come in tomorrow, but only for a minute, and we'll see what we can do. And cancel if you're better." Oh, did I mention that right before she said that I told her the coughing was getting worse.

Yup, tonight I almost threw up (I know, sorry, but I've got to bloody well vent somewhere). Oh, and I've been coughing for so long and so severely that I'm incontinent.

Life is fun!

I mostly recline on the couch sipping water and tea and watching Transformers and George Shrinks. Gawd help me!

Tonight I turned the heel on those nice pink and orange and brown stripey socks I've been working on. Just straight up the leg in a 2x2 rib and I've got a gorgeous pair of socks to add to my collection (which actually, for all my sock making this year includes one pair for myself, 2 pairs for Kieran, a singleton for a gift, a pair that needs one cast off for Sean and a few sorry attempts before I figured out what I wanted.

I really can't wait to have 2 pair of socks for myself! It'll be so luxurious! That conference was fabulous knitting time. Betweek barking into my sweater collar and rubbing my tired eyes, I got a whole foot done! On 2mm/#0 needles!

A Quick Update

I spent most of the weekend in Toronto (North York) at the CAPPA Canada annual conference. CAPPA Canada are the organization through whom I've received Postpartum Doula training and through whom I will get Childbirth Educator training. I took my Labour/Birth Doula training through DONA.

In order to get across the city for my ride, I had to get up at 6am both days this weekend.

I. Never. Get. Up. That. Early. Never. Ever. Ever.

It was hard, but I did it. It was important to me to go to this (free) professional conference to meet other birth professionals and get a sense of how they operate. It was also important and of personal interest to me to do a little ongoing education.

And, I have a mystery illness that could be strep throat, pneumonia, cough or flu. After feeling like the walking dead, going for four days with a temperature, severe headache, severe sore throat and persistant convulsive productive cough, I called the excellent stage 1 medical response service Telehealth Ontario to get an opinion on whether I should, at this stage and with these symptoms, be self-medicating and riding out a virus or checking in with my GP. They agreed it was time to check in with a doc, especially since I am pregnant.

Thanks Telehealth nurse for reminding me that while I CAN take acetaminaphen, I'm supposed to be taking one regular dose, not two extra strength! Eeek!

So, anyway, back to the conference.

Some general observtions: North York has the most uncomfortable gallery for it's city council! I liked the room and the way it had a secret meeting room attached through the back of the council chamber where our exhibitors were was clever. But, holy beans those benches/chairs/seats were tough on the ass and back! And, when you have a conference populated entirely by women, by goodness, please make sure the bathroom facilities are adequate!

About the presenters: First of all, if you're ever asked to present to a group of people in a adjunct profession to yours, don't prepare your presentation the night before your talk and then talk about how your Powerpoint slides look crappy because you did them last night. Also, don't apologise for a lack of information in your presentation because you emailed a guy last week and he didn't really give you much to go on. If you leave the entire presentation until last minute and then don't have much to say, you're going to look rather stupid. And, just because we aren't doctors doesn't mean you can get away with sloppy presenting full of sneering, out of hand dismissals of the comments of your audience.

My favourite presentation of the entire conference was Erica Ehm. Erica Ehm used to be a major media personality in the 80's during the birht and blossoming of Much Music, Canada's music video station. Later, having fallen out of the limelight a bit, she became a mum and, like many mums, discovered her true calling. She went on a mission to help new mothers to understand that all the crazy stuff about having, feeding and raising babies is normal.

Erica's talk was so refreshing in the middle of a number of fairly academic discussions about valuable topics such as c-sections in Canada and how birthing interventions affect breastfeeding, Erica lost control of her emotions as she spoke of the cirsumstances leading up to her revelation - a powerful example that the difficult times scar us deeply for good or bad. He breaking down while speaking and her continuing on in her casual, honest, friend-to-friend way of talking moved me and many other women to tears.

She taught me a way to speak plainly about the reality of mothering without being unduly fear-mongering, something I was recently accused of. Erica's method: "You're going to have the baby and you're not going to love it right away. That's OK. It's normal; happens to everyone. You're going to spend the first 2 weeks crying all the time because you're tired and you feel isolated and like you don't know what you're doing. That's OK. I'ts normal; happens to everyone." I liked that approach. So non-judgemental, so not frightening, so liberating and honest.

The other presenters, as I said before, were more on the academic side of things. Some far more than others. That's cool. I learned a lot. I didn't make a lot of notes, but I'll probably read through the conference manual again to make sure I can recall all those presentations and the discussions they inspired.

I am so happy to finally be at home, in my quiet house, with pjs on. I took the (overdose) or acetaminaphen and I think the fever has finally come down a little. I'm hoping to get a decent sleep tonight - despite the fact that my bladder is suddenly being crowded out by a slowly but steadily swelling uterus. You know, it's funny, the first couple months of pregnancy your uterus expands, fills with extra tissue and blood for the stretch-o-matic job it will do shortly and as a result you can feel it all happening through mild cramping that is reminiscent of PMS twinges. And everytime I get one of those "twinges" it means I'll have to pee that much more often.

Look at me whining about my pregnancy! Haha! Well, it wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't sick, so here I go, off to bed, where I hope to sleep for long periods of time between my first trimester frequent pee-er club meetings in the bathroom.

No full post today (sorry!)

I've been at a conference all day and am sick with the flu. I will make a proper post tomorrow night when I get back from the conference.

Frugal Treats: Milkshakes and Smoothies

I don't drink milk and Kieran will often whine when there isn't any chocolate in it. He also whines if I try to get him to eat fruit instead of candy, for dessert. A piece of fruit just won't cut it for the wee whiner and I can't afford to buy sugary, fattening desserts.

Into the brink steps the homemade milkshake/smoothie!

How do you get a preschooler to eat a banana? How do you get a pregnant mama to drink some milk? You make a milkshake!

The Funky Monkey
2 cups ice
2 bananas cut up
2 cups milk
2 TBSP chocolate sauce

Blend it all on ice crush until the ice is, well, crushed. Serve with a straw, or at least a sippy cup with a straw.

You could alter this recipe to include any fruit you have that is on the cusp of overipeness or buy a bag of frozen berries or fruit to keep in the freezer. I keep bags of cranberries and mixed berries for just such treat emergencies.

If you have a bit of ice cream, toss that in. For a healthier version, if you have yogurt, that'll work too. But, you don't really need it.

To sweeten it, if you are using fruit that's not terribly sweet, or adding yogurt, which can be on the tart side, toss in a bit of molasses, honey, brown sugar, maple syrup or even white sugar. If you are on a bit of a diet, go easy on the sweetners or use Splenda.

Note that the less fat content in the milk, the more it will probably froth. (Which is a nice sidenote for future latte and steamer making: skim milk makes the best foam!) But you don't have to use just cow's milk. Go for some rice milk or soy, if you abstain from cow products.

In the end, your kid(s), even older ones and adult sized ones (*cough* husband *cough*) will think you are the coolest and your treat won't cost you more than you were already going to be eating anyway.

Go Shrimp Baby Go!

Did I tell you that Kieran calls the baby the "Shrimp Baby"? He does! After looking at an image of a 4wk old fetus (I'm 6 weeks pregnant but the baby is only 4wks old - so confusing that difference in dates) he declared it looked just like a shrimp. He then told me how much he loved eating shrimp and begged for shrimp cocktail for snack!

Kids, eh? So funny.

I've only known I've been pregnant for a few days, but already this Shrimp Baby is earning its keep.

Eden Kennedy (or Mrs. Kennedy, as she has long been referred to) at Fussy.org, the woman who created NaBloPoMo, this crazy post-every-darned-day-of-November thingy, announced that one of the sponsors was a baby bedding company who would like to award a complete fancy crib set to the NaBloPoMo participant who announced her pregnancy the earliest in November.

I announced, serepticiously, on Tuesday. I left a comment on Fussy.org saying that while I wasn't the earliest I too announced my pregnancy during NaBloPoMo. And, besides that, we didn't use cribs, so a crib set wouldn't be useful to us.

Well, the kind people at Javis Davis, the sponsors for this particular contest, are awarding the other women who announced their pregnancies this month with a wonderful gift. I don't know if it's the same for everyone, but we were awarded a pillow and blanket set. Even cooler, we could pick the fabrics that they'd use to make the handmade set for us!

How cool is that?!

A hearty "WooHoo!" to the fine folks at Javis Davis. If you are in the market for something special for yourself or a friend, Javis Davis makes beautiful bedding sets.

Feeling Un-Groovy

Despite the cool new haircut, I feel horrid. My sinues are acting up, I'm tired and I'm getting headaches.

The excitement of being pregnant is perfectly balanced by how blech one feels.

The Day Is Over Already?!

It's been a crazy day. I took a few moments to post yesterday's post at 11:45pm, just 15 short minutes before my daily deadline. I had to run around and do some tidying because first thing this morning my friend and doula mentor (and my labour doula!) came over with her two youngest. We hung out, talked shop, talkedknitting, drink ridiculous amounts of tea and squealed about my newly pregnant state.

Shortly after they left, I lay down on the couch to doze while Kieran watched some children's television and played cars beside me. It's that first trimester fatigue and it hits me every day around 3pm. Thank goodness I'm at home, Kieran is old enough and well behaved enough to mind himself a little. When I had a corporate job, this part of pregnancy killed me.

So, after laying on the couch half conscious, I finished making dinner, found out we'd be going to the evening's Hamilton Bulldogs game and started to get things ready. We ate dinner at 6:30pm and were out of the house at 7:10 to make it to the coliseum for the 7:30 puck drop.

We got home at 10:30, made a few phone calls and I'm just finishing this at 10:56. I'm going to hit publish and run into the living room to watch Gilmore Girls on a Seattle station. Sean took care of putting pjs on Kieran. After Gilmore Girls is over, I am zonking out.

What a day!

Wowee!

Go here. No, really. Just go!

Random NaBloPoMo Fun!

Check this out!

Another Potty Training Update - Yes I'm Going To Talk About Poop!

Well, if it seems too good to be true, it usually is.

For a month or so, Kieran has been pooping in the pot rather well. He might only go twice in a week, or so, but he went, in the pot, with no mess. And, as a bonus, he emptied his pot himself!

Well, his last poop was on Monday. There is a big "P" on the calendar marking the important day. Nothing since then, however, in the last few days, Kieran has been showing signs that he's wanted to poop, even needed to do it. He has resisted with a singular will.

He says he is scared of it. He claims it is too big and too firm.

I've tried upping his fibre intake and his liquid intake. I've had gentle, non-pressuring talks about how going potty more often reduced the size of the, uh, movement. I explained that if he didn't go more often, he might have to visit the doctor.

Nothing seems to work.

I've tried being zen about it, knowing that the little guy has to come to terms with this new phase of life and a new skill. I realise that it will take time for him to master this intimate task. I've been trying to give him the time and space to go potty when he needs and wants to, hopeful that the absence of pressure will encourage eagerness.

And, then, today happened.

At his Uncle Marshall's house, at lunch, he frantically announced the need to void his wee bowels. Daddy went to the loo with him to help him hop up on the "big people toilet". Unfortunately he returned without performing.

A few hours later, in the middle of a screechy (that would be me) game of "Scene It", Kieran once again frantically announced the need to poop. I urged Sean to again go with him, hoping for a little weekend downtime on the mommy front.

I sniffed the air, looked at my sister-in-law and her boyfriend and announced, "Ahhhhh, he's finally done it!" A few minutes later, Sean yelled out, "Mommy! Get in here!" his voice betraying barely controlled panic.

I ran, thinking perhaps a, um, turd that had been stewing for a week had perhaps proved too much for the newly installed toilet. Instead, Kieran was staring at me scared while Sean attempted to clean poop out of the new grout with damp toilet paper.

There was poop in the underwear, up and down Kieran's leg, on his pants, on the floor and all over the toilet. Apparently, most of it had come out in the poor kid's pants as he ran to the bathroom and by the time Daddy arrived, he'd yanked the pants off, the colossal turd had fallen on the floor and smeared itself over half of Kieran's body and clothes. Daddy had swallowed his panic, picked the turd up with his hand and set about trying to clean up as much poop as possible before calling in reinforcements.

Kieran was dumped into the tub, his clothes rinsed and tossed in a dryer and many sponges and anti-bacterial wipes were used up. Despite the best efforts, while the bathroom and my son recovered quickly, the particular smell of feces had gotten into the pores of our hands and refused to be dislodged.

We had Poop Fingers! Gack!

Oh, everyone laughed and laughed. We apologised and our hosts were the greastest actors in the world, denying that any of it made them, a childless couple, the least bit queasy. (Parents deal with other people's poop every day of their lives and know not to be horrified by accidents. The Childless, with this particular lack of experience, are easily forgiven for being horrified by such an accident!)

A few more hours later, at Grandpa Bill's house, Kieran once again announced, "I have to poop!" I looked at Sean, "Honey, can you handle this? I really just want a few hours free of mommy duty this evening. I'm always cooking for people and cleaning butts and cleaning up after people and meeting everyone else emotional needs. I just need a blessed hour to myself!" Reluctantly, Sean got up and harrumped into the bathroom where he promptely said, "Ah, man! Mommy! Get in here!"

The little man had done it again! And, while there wasn't a giant turd on the floor this time, though that's too bad because Grandpa has a cheaper though easier to clean vinyl sheeting floor, there was poop all over the pants, the only pull-up on us, all of Kieran's lower body and almost the entire toilet.

Into the tub he went, again! Sean and I wiped and disinfected. This time, Aunty Julie, who was just starting to wash a small load of table linens, took over pants cleaning duty.

To her dismay, she too acquired the dreaded Poop Fingers! Gack!

So, Sean and I conferenced in the bathroom and decided that we are going to stock up on children's stool softeners and scylium fibre to sneak into skakes or juice. Anything to get the poop frequency up for long enough that Kieran stops holding onto that smelly horde and lines up at the bathroom every morning, or evening, like the rest of humanity.

Sexy Mama!

Yesterday was haircut day at the Palmerston house. 20 years ago that would have meant that I would get the clippers out and jsut zip everything off the heads of the men I love, but we're a little too metro for that now. Besides, Sean won't let me near his head with sharp objects.

Yesterday afternoon my hair was still in two tight, foot long braids. My hair was long, lifeless and splitting like an untreated board next to a heat vent. I was pulling more hair out of my brush each morning than an aggressively balding man loses in a week. I looked like a happy, fat hippie.

But, no longer. Oh, I'm still fat and I'm still happy. I just don't resemble a hippie anymore!


And here is the back!


Yes, that is an actual style in my hair! I used "product" this morning. I even blowed the damned stuff dry! With a round brush! It's fairly short at the back, uneven in the front and wacky all over. It's pretty easy to duplicate every day. And, if I don't do much to it, it'll probably look alright.

In the afternoon, Kieran got his hair cut first. Against my better judgement, I took him to Haircrafters instead of the fancy salon that specialized in kids cuts all in the name fo saving $5. I wasn't as happy with his haircut as I was last time and the stylist was obviously ou of her element working with little ones, when it was clear that the fancy stylist could have cut Linda Blair's hair in the middle of a tornado while she rotated her head spewing pea soup and blasphemies.

Oh well, nothing can change how handsome my littlest man looks!


I would've shown you Sean's head but he's off at work doing work things like supporting his family. He's not sure he likes his haircut, but I think it's pretty good. Most women cut his hair too short and even. The guy works at a record company, not an accountantcy!

Kieran and I are over the moon with ourselves, however.

Everyday Heroes

In the morning, my friend Lynn will be in surgery having her second mastectomy.

Please join me in sending her good health vibes.

Riding With Aunty Julie

I couldn't help but double post today so that I could share this picture with you.

Kieran's Aunty Julie visited from Port Dover today. She had lunch with us and then went out for a walk around the block. Kieran showed off his newly acquired trike riding talents.

He's not so good on steering yet, so Aunty Julie taught him the fundamentals of bike steering.

Some New Favourite Things!

Olives stuffed with garlic cloves!

Oh my goodness! These are the tastiest little suckers in the whole world! I bought a handful for a snack today and almost at all of them in one sitting! The garlic isn't hot at all and doesn't repeat on you like fresh chopped garlic usually does. I'm hoping that eating a bunch of these will have a positive effect on my health.

Google Notebook!

This is the coolest little gadget around, especially if you have Firefox. Lots of people use social bookmarking tools to remember cool websites, but what I've always wanted was something like Stickies but that had way more functionality. That's Google Notebook. I can make to do lists for myself, I've listed out ideas for blog posts for hear and over at Hamilton Birth Revolution, I've started my christmas list and am making notes about Sean's christmas list and I've got a list of goals.

The list items can be sorted into different notebooks or into lists with headings and you can links and I think you can even put screen grabs or image copies into the list item.

I think it's brilliant. I've even got it widget-y-like on the bottom of my firefox window where it will sit waiting to be initialized. You can leave it closed or you can open a notebook and have that be a little status bar at the bottom or a page, a little work window or open the notebook up into a tab.

I'm in love!

Frugal Recipe: Granny's Mince Stew

Everybody loves cheap, easy, nutritious meals, don't they? Well, if my Google returns are any indication, they do.

So, here is a new frugal recipe for you:

Granny's Mince Stew
Serves 4

1/2 lb lean ground beef (save the other half for another recipe, another day)
2 lg or 4 md potatoes, cubed/chunked
2 carrots (or a handful of baby carrots), chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 md onion, diced
water
salt & pepper to taste

In a large pot (not a stock pot, but not a little sauce pot either!) brown the ground beef with the onion. Add the veg and potatoes and top up with just enough water to reach the tips of the potatoes but not cover them. Set on a light boil at med-low heat with the lid on for 20 mins or as long as it takes to cook the potatoes through. Serve on its own or stretch it a bit with the addition fo a starter salad and some bread or rolls.

Variations: use chicken legs or thighs, always cheap, instead of ground beef. Bil it up as usual and serve chicken legs whole. Granny says you can doa lamb chip like this, too, just chop up the lamb, leave any bones in until finished cooking and then fish them out.

There you have it: easy, nutritious, fast. Yum!

Godzilla vs. The Scooby Gang!

I walked into Kieran's room and discovered this little scene set up at the foot of his bed. You can imagine why I had to photograph it!

"Run Scooby, run!"

PS: Those are Scooby Doo themed Hotwheels cars that Sean gifted Kieran this summer. You can't really see it but the left-most car is actually the Mystery Machine.

Back From The Garageless Sale

It's 11:30pm here and we've just arrived home from the Garage-less Sale.

Wow!

Sean and I weren't expecting much. We had brought a truckload of stuff (vinyl, magazines, cds, concert t-shirts and a few crafty things of mine) and there weren't many people there. But somehow we made money!

A couple of special edition Mojo magazines, a couple of my old Bitch and Bust magazines, a couple of books which were mostly music related, some vinyl and some concert t-shirts = $71! Can you believe it? We couldn't.

While my knitted items (wrist warmers and a capelet) got lots of interest, I only sold one beaded bookmark. I've resolved to make some changes for next time - becasue we were told there would be a next time:

• make a display stand for the bookmarks
• wear a pair of the wristwarmers to show them off, and
• make some of the raggy flower brooches, ala momcast

I think that'll improve the amount of money I bring in.

The thing that surprised me the most: no interest in the scifi paperbacks! Even at $1 a book! I really thought the indie kids would be more scifi friendly.

Overall, Sean and I are pretty happy with the results and can't wait till next time. Not a bad take for a few hours on a Sunday night!

The Latest Regular Projects

I've decided I'm not going to make any new crafts for the Garage-less Sale at Absinthe tomorrow. I'm just going to spend the afternoon tomorrow finishing off a couple of neglected projects to sell (seaming, some edgings, weaving in...).

I'm going to let some of them go at vastly discounted prices, just so I can get them out of my life and bring in a few bucks. I'm going to get rid of some of my stash items that I'll never use. Really just boring yarn - nothing special. But, someone might be able to use my castoffs at a cheap price (about $1 a ball/skein).

Since I'm not going to be making anything new for the sale, I won't have to feel guilty for working on my regular projects.

These socks are for me!


I picked up the wool on a recent trip into Toronto. Sean wanted to go to Rotate This! and I wanted to go to Romni Wools. We split up, each with a $20 limit and I found this single skein of Super Soxx sitting on top of a sea of Regia sock yarns. I couldn't find its cousins, no matter how hard I looked. If you've been to Romni then you know what that must be like - it's insane in there! Like a barely controlled wool explosion.

Anyway, I just fell in love with the colours: autumn-y gold and brown and pink and maroon. Ahhhhhhhh, lovely. I had to save this one for myself.

I owe Kieran a pair of mitts. I bought a nice little orange and cream striped pair from a little old lady but one has gone missing. So, he and I dived into the stash and found these two skeins of chunky wool.


It's Berger du Nord Shetland that was given to me by a friend about a dozen years ago. I have nearly a dozen skeins that she had left over from her fascination with colourful Kaffe Fasset projects a few decades ago. Kieran and I thought the grey and pale blue would go nicely together. I long for orange, though.

Finally, I want to make Sean a new scarf. I found four skeins of Phildar Poile Bavadere 220 at a Value Village a few years ago and they've been waiting for a project. I think the colour scheme is sufficiently manly enough for my gentle husband, if the texture a tiny bit on the fuzzy side.


I'm testing out the Yarn Harlot's One Row Scarf pattern. She created it for a worsted weight handspun she recently made but it would translate well into many weights. The pattern, a simple two-sided affair, doesn't stand out as well with the fuzzy 220, which has a varied fibre content: 40% acrylic, 24% mohair, 21% wool and 15% nylon. But, I suppose a subtley patterned fabric is best for a man's scarf.

The beautiful needles in the picture were a gift from the wonderful Dragon Knitter, frequent commenter and one-time Secret Pal O'Mine. They might be a little too grippy for this particular yarn, but they're the perfect length for this un-wide project.

My next goal: to design hand holding mittens for when Kieran and I are out walking this winter.

Gotta Craft

Sean and I signed up for an indoor garage sale at a local club. It starts Sunday night at 7PM at Absinthe nightclub in Hamilton, Ontario. It was free to sign up for a table but browsers and buyers must pay a nominal entrance fee.

I'm going to spend today and tomorrow finishing up a few crafts and finding some stuff to sell. Sean will probably have some band t-shirts and maybe some MOJO magazines. I will probably have some scifi paperbacks on the table. I don't know what else to sell. Maybe some old toys we bought that are worthless on eBay.

Hope to see you there!

Out Of The Mouths Of Babes #584

Kieran is sitting at the kitchen table ssslllloooooowwwwllllllyyyyyy eating a dry bowl of Triple Berry Oatmeal Crisp. It's the only thing he will eat for breakfast these days and I always insist he finish the bowl. It's been taking about an hour to finish every day.

While sitting there, he is playing with trio of small Hello Kitties he found in my collection of useless junk. As he plays with them, he is singing a song. The song is more of a chant, really. He is singing the same line over and over again.

At first it's like background noise. Then, my conciousness gets a hold of the mantra and is shocked into recognition. I turn away from the computer and look at him, singing this one line, over and over.

"What are you singing?" I ask and Kieran repeats, exactly as before, this phrase:

"My second race. My second race. My second race."

Except Kieran doesn't pronounce the "s" sound very well. It comes out more like an "f", which is a little ironic, as he can't pronounce "f" either.

I think about it for a moment and decide, he is indeed saying "second" and not "fuckin'". My chest unclenches.

Happy Halloween!

Hello? Anyone still there?

What a couple of weeks! Busy, nerve-wracking, lifestyle changing. But, enough about me, let's look at the kids!

This was the first year I procrastinated getting a costume ready for Kieran. Usually, for the last two years, I've just bought a costume and Kieran wore it. This year, I wanted him to have more input.

Over the last month of inquiring into what he wanted to be, Kieran has replied: robot, dalek, TARDIS, spaceship, ghost, zombie and, finally, truck. Realising that I had a single day to get a costume together, I had Sean procure some boxes and a tape gun and we purchased a set of tempura paints. I had a look around and found this tutorial.

That's right folks, I don't have a creative bone in my body. I merely work off other people's ideas. Well, it was the night before Halloween!

And, for the record, I would have been more creative with the paint, but Kieran fell in love with the example and begged for me to pain the airplane blue and yellow.

As we did last year, the cousins gathered at my sister Colette's house. Colette made an excellent supper for the four kids who eat food (one is still eating only nectar of the gods boob juice) and six adults!

Here she is: Emily! You may recall that this was the baby of my first doula client. She's a little extra special to me. Isn't she adorable? She stayed homw with the dads and handed out candy. I doubt she made a peep the whole time; she is soooooo sweet natured!

You see that look on Gavin's face? Well, about five minutes later, he had enough of this hanging out while the big kids whooped and hollered and his mama kept walking away up stairs. He turned back, after two houses, and hung out with the dads and Emily. He sure looks cute in Kieran's old skeleton costume though, eh?

We briefly toyed with the idea of bringing along a wagon. We quickly discovered that Julia and Kaitlyn were having more fun than was practical for walking up and down the street.

After three blocks, both sides, of these girls walking up and down stairs, my sisters vowed to only ever dress the girls in costumes requiring pants. So, next year, look out for little tradespersons, pirates, doctors and firewomen: any costume that does not feature voluminous skirts that get stepped on, tripped over and caught in the landscaping!

And, for my part, I will never again create a costume for Kieran that involves wingspan or large tails. At first, he tried, with plenty of assistance, to join his cousins at people's doors for the time-honoured shout of "Candy! I want candy!" Unfortunately, when he turned to go back down the stairs, he knocked the girls flying. Eventually the poor kid had to stay down on the lawn and wave up at the kind treat givers while his aunt held out his pail and said, "this one is for the little airplane who can't make it up the stairs." A tad humiliating, even for a three year old!

What's with stairs, anyway?! Can't people build house with broad, lawn level front doors?!

At the least, it was the most unique costume we came across on our travels. And it offered plenty of occasions for my sisters and I to double over laughing as wings grazed trick-or-treater's heads and tail fins whacked them in the backs. Poor boy!

A good time was had by all.

And, on that note, I'm going to try to keep up with NaBloPoMo: National Blog Posting Month. That means you should see a post here every day of this month.