This is a post I've been waiting to write. I've wanted to get this up for quite a while, but I've never got around to finishing it.
Some time ago I heard a story that made me realize that I'm not alone as a parent.
Many of our friends have girls. Perfect little princesses. Kids who you can trust in a home with nice things. Kids who would never dream of acting out the Lady and the Tramp spaghetti scene with their siblings.
Our boys are fairly polite and have pretty good manners but they are little fireballs of energy. They will touch and grab and climb and fight and lick and rip and pull almost anything they can get their hands on. And we've learned to live with that. They are boys. We've learned how to deal with them in public and keep them on a very short leash.*
So, when I heard that one of our friends took his daughters out in public by himself and they turned into little she-devils, it made me a little happy in a way. Kinda giddy. Now, I was sorry for him and felt really bad that he had to be alone with the girls when they started fighting and licking products and acting like, well like Daniel and Josh. But it made me feel like we are not alone. Even those kids that seem like perfect angels can lash out and act like kids.
I think I'd rather have it our way. Because the boys are fairly consistent in their volatility, we can expect it and have come up with ways of controlling and redirecting the energy. If it was infrequent and sudden, I think I'd snap.
To the parents in question: I know you are reading this and I hope I've protected your identity well enough. You know we love you and your kids. I'm not really happy that they are bad, but I am happy to know that they have moments of reality. :)
====================
*Not literally. Well, not usually anyway.
Saturday, April 29
Lumberjacks
Last spring we were living in a townhouse and we had a huge tree in our back yard. I don't know if I could have got my arms around it at the bottom. One day, a crew came by and cut that tree down. They stripped the branches off and cut it down to a short stump - that Daniel would later use as a stage. It left little pieces of wood and saw dust in our lawn for the rest of the season.
Today we are living in a different rented home and our landlord came by and cut down a huge tree from our yard. We're getting a little worried that as we move around this country, trees are getting cut down because of us.
He came by earlier this week and removed one of the big branches that was hanging over the roof. But he did this with an electric circular saw. He was standing on a 12 foot extension ladder - and sometimes sitting on the limb of the tree and cutting through these branches as big as my thigh with a carpenter's tool.
Today he came back with a different saw that looked like a hedge trimmer (again with about 50 ft of extension cord). I thought he was just going to clean up some of the mess he made - limbs half cut, half broken off. But he said he was going to trim it down to the fence line. This tree must be older than him and the fence was built around the trunk. His plan was to cut off the remaining branches, leaving the main trunk 6 or 7 ft tall. There was easily twice as much tree above his demarcation point than below but that didn't stop him.
Daniel and I went out to do some errands and when we came back he had found a gas chainsaw and was going to town on the trunk. He told me that he had underestimated how big this tree was and he couldn't get through the trunk with his saw. He said, "I got pissed at the tree and went home to get my chainsaw. When I got back I told the tree I wasn't bringing out my chainsaw just to cut through that one branch and leave it at the top of the fence so I cut the whole thing down."
Now we have a hole in the fence that's over three feet wide with a stump in the middle of it, branches, wood chips, saw dust, and twigs on the front lawn, in the yard, and a mess on the sidewalk and street. The landlord brought his pickup truck to carry away the wood, but like he said, he totally underestimated both the size and strength of this tree.
He actually attracted the attention of a neighbour who came by and wanted to take the bulk of the wood away. He loaded up a trailer - looked about the size of a horse trailer - with the larger branches and pieces of the trunk, but there was still probably 3 heaping loads of tree parts to cart away in the landlord's trunk.
We love this house and our landlord has been great about fixing things for us and taking care of issues, but it's things like this that make me wonder if he's related to a certain crazy neighbour my parents had that gave us endless hours of amusement watching him out the front window.
Today we are living in a different rented home and our landlord came by and cut down a huge tree from our yard. We're getting a little worried that as we move around this country, trees are getting cut down because of us.
He came by earlier this week and removed one of the big branches that was hanging over the roof. But he did this with an electric circular saw. He was standing on a 12 foot extension ladder - and sometimes sitting on the limb of the tree and cutting through these branches as big as my thigh with a carpenter's tool.
Today he came back with a different saw that looked like a hedge trimmer (again with about 50 ft of extension cord). I thought he was just going to clean up some of the mess he made - limbs half cut, half broken off. But he said he was going to trim it down to the fence line. This tree must be older than him and the fence was built around the trunk. His plan was to cut off the remaining branches, leaving the main trunk 6 or 7 ft tall. There was easily twice as much tree above his demarcation point than below but that didn't stop him.
Daniel and I went out to do some errands and when we came back he had found a gas chainsaw and was going to town on the trunk. He told me that he had underestimated how big this tree was and he couldn't get through the trunk with his saw. He said, "I got pissed at the tree and went home to get my chainsaw. When I got back I told the tree I wasn't bringing out my chainsaw just to cut through that one branch and leave it at the top of the fence so I cut the whole thing down."
Now we have a hole in the fence that's over three feet wide with a stump in the middle of it, branches, wood chips, saw dust, and twigs on the front lawn, in the yard, and a mess on the sidewalk and street. The landlord brought his pickup truck to carry away the wood, but like he said, he totally underestimated both the size and strength of this tree.
He actually attracted the attention of a neighbour who came by and wanted to take the bulk of the wood away. He loaded up a trailer - looked about the size of a horse trailer - with the larger branches and pieces of the trunk, but there was still probably 3 heaping loads of tree parts to cart away in the landlord's trunk.
We love this house and our landlord has been great about fixing things for us and taking care of issues, but it's things like this that make me wonder if he's related to a certain crazy neighbour my parents had that gave us endless hours of amusement watching him out the front window.
Get-togethers
Amber had a group of ladies over tonight for a "book study". I put that in quotes because only one of the six ladies actually found the time to read the book this month, so I doubt the discussion was really related to the story.
Anyway...
I got to put the boys to bed. We watched a movie in Daddy's bed and then I read some stories and tucked them in. I actually lay on the floor in their room for a while.* While I was resting with my sons, I could hear the laughter and joyful discussions down the hall very clearly.
It took me back to when I was about 8 years old. My parents would occasionally have people over to chat or play games or whatever. These "get-togethers" as I called them would often last way past my bedtime but I couldn't fall asleep. I was too nervous to go down the hall to say anything but I was uncomfortable enough that I wouldn't fall asleep until after everyone left.
I remember sitting in my bedroom doorway, or crawling down the hall a ways and sitting with my back to the wall, just listening to what was going on. The more I tried to ignore the sounds, the more my ears focused on them and wouldn't allow me to fall asleep.
It was weird though. As I was laying on the floor listening to the laughing coming down the hallway, I had that same weird feeling. Like I was trapped in my room and I couldn't come out, but I also would never be able to fall asleep. I felt like I was 8 years old again.
The boys did better than me. At least I think they did. Daniel was a little restless but he usually is at bed time. Josh was likely asleep before his head fully hit the pillow. That's my boy!
=====================
* Grammatical Note: (Because I'm just that weird. Feel free to skip this part if you aren't as bizzare as I am.) That sentence was difficult to write. Using the word "lay" instead of "laid" as the past tense of the intransitive verb "to lie" is correct but it feels awkward. Really awkward. Like, I mean I want to go up and change it to laid right now so people will know what I am talking about.
Anyway...
I got to put the boys to bed. We watched a movie in Daddy's bed and then I read some stories and tucked them in. I actually lay on the floor in their room for a while.* While I was resting with my sons, I could hear the laughter and joyful discussions down the hall very clearly.
It took me back to when I was about 8 years old. My parents would occasionally have people over to chat or play games or whatever. These "get-togethers" as I called them would often last way past my bedtime but I couldn't fall asleep. I was too nervous to go down the hall to say anything but I was uncomfortable enough that I wouldn't fall asleep until after everyone left.
I remember sitting in my bedroom doorway, or crawling down the hall a ways and sitting with my back to the wall, just listening to what was going on. The more I tried to ignore the sounds, the more my ears focused on them and wouldn't allow me to fall asleep.
It was weird though. As I was laying on the floor listening to the laughing coming down the hallway, I had that same weird feeling. Like I was trapped in my room and I couldn't come out, but I also would never be able to fall asleep. I felt like I was 8 years old again.
The boys did better than me. At least I think they did. Daniel was a little restless but he usually is at bed time. Josh was likely asleep before his head fully hit the pillow. That's my boy!
=====================
* Grammatical Note: (Because I'm just that weird. Feel free to skip this part if you aren't as bizzare as I am.) That sentence was difficult to write. Using the word "lay" instead of "laid" as the past tense of the intransitive verb "to lie" is correct but it feels awkward. Really awkward. Like, I mean I want to go up and change it to laid right now so people will know what I am talking about.
Growing Up
I just had a dream.
Some friends came over to visit and they were holding Andrew. After a while, one put him down on the floor - standing - and said, "Go. Walk to Daddy." And he did! He took the 8 or so steps to me.
I didn't even know he could stand up on his own. I said, "He can't walk. He's only 3 months old. Why would you even try that?"
Maybe my baby is growing up too fast. Maybe it feels like he's gonna be a year old before I know it. Maybe I want him to come to me.
Or maybe it was the chicken wings I had late last night.
Some friends came over to visit and they were holding Andrew. After a while, one put him down on the floor - standing - and said, "Go. Walk to Daddy." And he did! He took the 8 or so steps to me.
I didn't even know he could stand up on his own. I said, "He can't walk. He's only 3 months old. Why would you even try that?"
Maybe my baby is growing up too fast. Maybe it feels like he's gonna be a year old before I know it. Maybe I want him to come to me.
Or maybe it was the chicken wings I had late last night.
Monday, April 17
Reading Books
I don't think I've mentioned it yet, but Daniel is reading.
Not just reciting books he's had read to him hundreds of times or recognizing his name. This kid can actually read. Real books. We got a new Robert Munsch book from the library the other day and he could read the whole thing with just a few little helps per page. And once he learns a word like "appliance" on page 2, he'll remember it on page 7.
I don't know what to do with him. I was apparently reading too before I got to school but we lived in a small town so there weren't the multitude of options that we have here in a city of a million people. I want to keep up his love of learning, but not push him into things he's not ready for.
We'll see what looks good in the fall. Maybe music or gymnastics or soccer or something else. Should be exciting.
Not just reciting books he's had read to him hundreds of times or recognizing his name. This kid can actually read. Real books. We got a new Robert Munsch book from the library the other day and he could read the whole thing with just a few little helps per page. And once he learns a word like "appliance" on page 2, he'll remember it on page 7.
I don't know what to do with him. I was apparently reading too before I got to school but we lived in a small town so there weren't the multitude of options that we have here in a city of a million people. I want to keep up his love of learning, but not push him into things he's not ready for.
We'll see what looks good in the fall. Maybe music or gymnastics or soccer or something else. Should be exciting.
Ringmaster v.2.0
Joshie brought our family back about 27 years last night at Easter supper. He was sitting at the corner of the table (not eating - as usual) and playing with his vegetables. He had a pickle and a baby carrot standing up and called out (louder than he was expecting I'm sure), "Ladies and gentlemans, welcome from Veggie Tales!"
My whole family started laughing out loud. When I was about his age, I thought I was a ringmaster and would go around the house welcome all the ladies and gentlemen to the circus. It is pretty cool to see the boys doing things we did as kids.
My whole family started laughing out loud. When I was about his age, I thought I was a ringmaster and would go around the house welcome all the ladies and gentlemen to the circus. It is pretty cool to see the boys doing things we did as kids.
Happy Baby
Andrew is turning into a much happier baby now. We got him some medicine that helps control his reflux and we are getting smiles much more often now. It is so cute.
The other cute thing is that he is soothed by music. He can be in the worst, grumpiest mood, crying and screaming and if Amber or I sing him Faithful One by Brian Doerksen, he will either be cooing along or asleep by the end of the chorus. It's so nice to have a pleasant baby in the house. :)
The other cute thing is that he is soothed by music. He can be in the worst, grumpiest mood, crying and screaming and if Amber or I sing him Faithful One by Brian Doerksen, he will either be cooing along or asleep by the end of the chorus. It's so nice to have a pleasant baby in the house. :)
Friday, April 14
Good Friday's Feast
Appetizer
What movie soundtracks do you own?
Mr. Holland's Opus, a John Williams collection, Lion King
Soup
How much cash do you usually carry with you?
I always try to have $2.12 in the van for slurpees but I barely ever carry money with me.
Salad
Are you more comfortable around men or women? Why?
Kids. Yeah, it surprises me too, but there have been numerous times at Bible study, where I end up playing with the little ones instead of talking with the parents.
Main Course
What is the most mischievous thing you remember doing as a child?
Burning stuff. I remember putting a candle on the picnic table and spraying various aerosol chemicals through the flame to see what made the biggest fireball. Endust works pretty good.
Dessert
Who is the funniest member of your family?
Daniel was having a playdate with a bunch of kids last week and drew a picture of a boy. You could tell it was a boy because he had a penis. That makes me laugh every time I think of it.
What movie soundtracks do you own?
Mr. Holland's Opus, a John Williams collection, Lion King
Soup
How much cash do you usually carry with you?
I always try to have $2.12 in the van for slurpees but I barely ever carry money with me.
Salad
Are you more comfortable around men or women? Why?
Kids. Yeah, it surprises me too, but there have been numerous times at Bible study, where I end up playing with the little ones instead of talking with the parents.
Main Course
What is the most mischievous thing you remember doing as a child?
Burning stuff. I remember putting a candle on the picnic table and spraying various aerosol chemicals through the flame to see what made the biggest fireball. Endust works pretty good.
Dessert
Who is the funniest member of your family?
Daniel was having a playdate with a bunch of kids last week and drew a picture of a boy. You could tell it was a boy because he had a penis. That makes me laugh every time I think of it.
Monday, April 10
Itchy
I've been really busy lately but I feel bad that I haven't been updating as much. I'll try to post little things when I think of them.
-----
Last night, getting ready for bed, Daniel was hopping around his bedroom picking at his underwear. I got him into his bed and he was still flailing about like a goldfish on the counter. Amber went to kiss him good night and he said, with great distress, "My bum is itchy! Please scratch it!"
Amber said laughing, "No, you can scratch your own bum."
Daniel replied, "But I don't have any fingernails!"
-----
Last night, getting ready for bed, Daniel was hopping around his bedroom picking at his underwear. I got him into his bed and he was still flailing about like a goldfish on the counter. Amber went to kiss him good night and he said, with great distress, "My bum is itchy! Please scratch it!"
Amber said laughing, "No, you can scratch your own bum."
Daniel replied, "But I don't have any fingernails!"
Sunday, April 9
Friday's Feast on Sunday
Appetizer
Name a trait you share with your parents or your children.
The amazing McInnis Melon. A head that will never find a hat that fits. At least 4 generations now.
Soup
List 3 qualities of a good leader, in your opinion.
Servanthood
Vision
Compassion
Salad
Who is your favorite television chef?
Alton Brown
Main Course
Share a story about a gift you received from someone you love.
Amber has given me three beautiful boys and continues to give by staying home with them and raising them to become great, loving men.
Dessert
How do you react under pressure?
I twitch and either shut down or fly off in rage. I try more often to zip-push-bar and lock the emotions deep inside.
Name a trait you share with your parents or your children.
The amazing McInnis Melon. A head that will never find a hat that fits. At least 4 generations now.
Soup
List 3 qualities of a good leader, in your opinion.
Servanthood
Vision
Compassion
Salad
Who is your favorite television chef?
Alton Brown
Main Course
Share a story about a gift you received from someone you love.
Amber has given me three beautiful boys and continues to give by staying home with them and raising them to become great, loving men.
Dessert
How do you react under pressure?
I twitch and either shut down or fly off in rage. I try more often to zip-push-bar and lock the emotions deep inside.
Friday, March 31
Another Feast
Appetizer
Name 3 things that you think are strange.
Soup
What was the last ceremony you attended?
Church this week, or possibly Adam and Beckie's wedding in July?
Salad
What is one lesson you have learned in the past year?
God will make a way.
Main Course
Tell us about one of your childhood memories.
OK
Dessert
If you could extend any of the four seasons to be twice as long as normal, which season would you want to lengthen?
Since we're just coming off winter now, I'd have to say summer. I don't like cold very much.
Name 3 things that you think are strange.
- The Segway Human Transporter
- The popularity of smut on TV
- The Third Way
Soup
What was the last ceremony you attended?
Church this week, or possibly Adam and Beckie's wedding in July?
Salad
What is one lesson you have learned in the past year?
God will make a way.
Main Course
Tell us about one of your childhood memories.
OK
Dessert
If you could extend any of the four seasons to be twice as long as normal, which season would you want to lengthen?
Since we're just coming off winter now, I'd have to say summer. I don't like cold very much.
Friday, March 24
Delurker update 2
For those of you who are interested, Amber and I ended up giving the $40 from my delurker experiment, along with some more of our Ralph money to a new church plant opening up in Calgary's deep south called Journey Church.
p.s. Thanks to Heather (the anonymous voyeur) for the link.
p.s. Thanks to Heather (the anonymous voyeur) for the link.
He's so happy
It's really sad actually. Andrew has been such an upset baby that it's a treat when he's quiet and staring off into space. He will often have a bit of a scowl, but if he's not crying, Josh will come over and give him a kiss saying, "Awwww! He's so happy!"
Andrew has actually started smiling a bit now. It's great to see him in a good mood and smiling with his huge dimple. He's getting ticklish too, so it won't be long before I can make him smile whenever I need that little pick-me-up. :D
Andrew has actually started smiling a bit now. It's great to see him in a good mood and smiling with his huge dimple. He's getting ticklish too, so it won't be long before I can make him smile whenever I need that little pick-me-up. :D
Not Josh!
I am still doing it. Actually more than before. I was good for a while, but it's been terrible for the last week or so. I call my newest son Joshie ALL THE TIME!
In that last post, I actually typed Josh at least 4 times and had to go back and change it to Andrew. What's the matter with me?
In that last post, I actually typed Josh at least 4 times and had to go back and change it to Andrew. What's the matter with me?
Sick baby
Monday:
Took Amber and Andrew to the doctor for a checkup. We were a little concerned that Andrew had been throwing up and crying a lot more than the others. The doctor told Amber to lay off the milk products and leafy vegetables and come back in a few months.
Later that night Amber spoke to a friend who had a baby who had very similar problems. She ended up being diagnosed with reflux. Amber also knows lots of other babies with the same problem so we had considered it. She checked out a list of symptoms online and determined that it was very likely what Andrew had.
Tuesday:
Andrew woke up after a miserable night and was tugging at his ears. Amber called the doctor back and made an appointment for the morning. I took him in and the doctor was pretty sure he had reflux too. He refered us to a specialist and gave Andrew a prescription for his ear infection.
Wednesday:
The doctor's office called and said they got us an appointment with the specialist for June 5. The receptionist knew this was unacceptable and said she'd have our doctor call in and get that bumped up.
Mere hours later they called to report that they could get us in tomorrow. Dr. T. means business.
Thursday:
The specialist agreed that he has reflux and said that a milk allergy thing isn't the problem so Andrew got a prescription for Baby Zantac and Amber got a prescription for cheese and ice cream.
So, Andrew has reflux - just like his daddy and his uncles. My brothers and I have developed issues with pop and other things over the past few years. But now he has this medicine and hopefully he'll get over in a month or so.
He's already seeming better. Less crying, less clingy, less spitting up. Sounds good.
Took Amber and Andrew to the doctor for a checkup. We were a little concerned that Andrew had been throwing up and crying a lot more than the others. The doctor told Amber to lay off the milk products and leafy vegetables and come back in a few months.
Later that night Amber spoke to a friend who had a baby who had very similar problems. She ended up being diagnosed with reflux. Amber also knows lots of other babies with the same problem so we had considered it. She checked out a list of symptoms online and determined that it was very likely what Andrew had.
Tuesday:
Andrew woke up after a miserable night and was tugging at his ears. Amber called the doctor back and made an appointment for the morning. I took him in and the doctor was pretty sure he had reflux too. He refered us to a specialist and gave Andrew a prescription for his ear infection.
Wednesday:
The doctor's office called and said they got us an appointment with the specialist for June 5. The receptionist knew this was unacceptable and said she'd have our doctor call in and get that bumped up.
Mere hours later they called to report that they could get us in tomorrow. Dr. T. means business.
Thursday:
The specialist agreed that he has reflux and said that a milk allergy thing isn't the problem so Andrew got a prescription for Baby Zantac and Amber got a prescription for cheese and ice cream.
So, Andrew has reflux - just like his daddy and his uncles. My brothers and I have developed issues with pop and other things over the past few years. But now he has this medicine and hopefully he'll get over in a month or so.
He's already seeming better. Less crying, less clingy, less spitting up. Sounds good.
Thursday, March 23
Feast 86
Pretty short one this week. I don't know if the questions are simple or tough, but they didn't draw much out of me.
Appetizer
How would you describe your personal comfort zone?
Amber and the boys
Soup
What is your favorite tree?
Apple tree
Salad
List 3 foods you'd like to include in your dinner plans for tonight.
I'd love to have roast, potatoes, yorkshire pudding
What did I have? Frozen meatpie, popcorn, apple
Main Course
What is the best advice you've ever been given, but didn't heed?
I was advised numerous times to follow my dreams and do a job I like, but it took me years to heed it.
Dessert
On a scale of 1-10 (10 being highest), how much attention do you feel comfortable receiving from others?
Maybe 2.
Appetizer
How would you describe your personal comfort zone?
Amber and the boys
Soup
What is your favorite tree?
Apple tree
Salad
List 3 foods you'd like to include in your dinner plans for tonight.
I'd love to have roast, potatoes, yorkshire pudding
What did I have? Frozen meatpie, popcorn, apple
Main Course
What is the best advice you've ever been given, but didn't heed?
I was advised numerous times to follow my dreams and do a job I like, but it took me years to heed it.
Dessert
On a scale of 1-10 (10 being highest), how much attention do you feel comfortable receiving from others?
Maybe 2.
Friday, March 17
Feast 85
Appetizer
What job would you definitely not want to have?
Cedar shingle cutter. Aside from the deadly (to me) dust, it involves having your hands inches away from a 6 foot diameter blade spinning so fast you feel the wind pushing you away and you could cut off your arm way before you noticed it.
Soup
Oprah calls and wants you to appear on her show. What would that day's show be about?
Good questions this week. How about Families With Freakishly Long Streaks of Male Babies Being Born
Salad
Name 3 vegetables that you eat on a regular basis.
Carrots, cucumber, and broccolli, brocolli, broc... mushrooms
Main Course
If you were commissioned to rename your hometown, what would you call it?
Ralphiston
Dessert
If you had a personal assistant, what kind of tasks would you have them to do?
Cleaning. Dishes, laundry, bathrooms, definitely cleaning.
What job would you definitely not want to have?
Cedar shingle cutter. Aside from the deadly (to me) dust, it involves having your hands inches away from a 6 foot diameter blade spinning so fast you feel the wind pushing you away and you could cut off your arm way before you noticed it.
Soup
Oprah calls and wants you to appear on her show. What would that day's show be about?
Good questions this week. How about Families With Freakishly Long Streaks of Male Babies Being Born
Salad
Name 3 vegetables that you eat on a regular basis.
Carrots, cucumber, and broccolli, brocolli, broc... mushrooms
Main Course
If you were commissioned to rename your hometown, what would you call it?
Ralphiston
Dessert
If you had a personal assistant, what kind of tasks would you have them to do?
Cleaning. Dishes, laundry, bathrooms, definitely cleaning.
Friday, March 10
Feast Eighty-Four
Appetizer
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how intuitive do you think you are?
Intuitive, eh? I'll say 8 - but I have a feeling most people will disagree with me. ;)
Soup
What is your favorite kind of gum?
Grandpa gum. Wrigley's Doublemint.
Salad
Name a CD you own that you would never get rid of.
Now that I've dumped most of my CDs into iTunes, I could get rid of any of them. I guess I wouldn't want to lose the CD of my grad recital.
Main Course
When was the last time you said something you didn't mean?
I've thought about this for about 4 hours and can't get a good answer.
Dessert
What is the sum of the numbers in your birthdate? (Example: 3 + 2 + 1 + 9 + 7 + 9 = 31)
33
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how intuitive do you think you are?
Intuitive, eh? I'll say 8 - but I have a feeling most people will disagree with me. ;)
Soup
What is your favorite kind of gum?
Grandpa gum. Wrigley's Doublemint.
Salad
Name a CD you own that you would never get rid of.
Now that I've dumped most of my CDs into iTunes, I could get rid of any of them. I guess I wouldn't want to lose the CD of my grad recital.
Main Course
When was the last time you said something you didn't mean?
I've thought about this for about 4 hours and can't get a good answer.
Dessert
What is the sum of the numbers in your birthdate? (Example: 3 + 2 + 1 + 9 + 7 + 9 = 31)
33
Podcasts
I've been listening to a lot of podcasts in the last month or so since I got my iPod. Podcasts are short audio broadcasts, designed for people on the go. They have shows about everything and by all kinds of people - professional and amateurs. I thought I'd share a few of my latest favorites.
Two Boobs and a Baby
This is a podcast by Dave and Heather. She's from Tenessee and he's from Toronto and they have a four month old baby boy named Sam. It's really cool to hear them talk about being first time parents and trying to figure out what to do with this new little addition. They were kind enough to mention me in their last episode, so I want to help them out and encourage my parenting friends to stop by and visit them too.
Daily Breakfast
This is a podcast by the enthusiastic Father Roderick, a Dutch Catholic priest who does a weekdaily show that is perfect for my morning bus ride. It's about half an hour and he talks about North American culture, movies, TV, books, food and health, has a little bit of music and a thought for the day. It is a very positive start to the day and never fails to be interesting and exciting.
For those of you who are new to podcasting, it's very simple to listen to these. You can go to their websites and download the latest episode - or any archives. You can listen to them on your computer, or copy them to a portable mp3 player. You can also use a variety of software programs to subscribe to the podcasts and have the new episodes downloaded automatically every day (and in my case dumped into the iPod).
Two Boobs and a Baby
This is a podcast by Dave and Heather. She's from Tenessee and he's from Toronto and they have a four month old baby boy named Sam. It's really cool to hear them talk about being first time parents and trying to figure out what to do with this new little addition. They were kind enough to mention me in their last episode, so I want to help them out and encourage my parenting friends to stop by and visit them too.
Daily Breakfast
This is a podcast by the enthusiastic Father Roderick, a Dutch Catholic priest who does a weekdaily show that is perfect for my morning bus ride. It's about half an hour and he talks about North American culture, movies, TV, books, food and health, has a little bit of music and a thought for the day. It is a very positive start to the day and never fails to be interesting and exciting.
For those of you who are new to podcasting, it's very simple to listen to these. You can go to their websites and download the latest episode - or any archives. You can listen to them on your computer, or copy them to a portable mp3 player. You can also use a variety of software programs to subscribe to the podcasts and have the new episodes downloaded automatically every day (and in my case dumped into the iPod).
Monday, March 6
What do I remember?
An old guy I know recently asked in his blog, "What do you remember? What is the earliest memory?" Apparently his kids have traumatized him and now he cannot remember anything from before he was in his early twenties. (Sorry Dad)
I posted some of this in the comments there, but I got to thinking and decided to not take up all the space on his blog, when I could be plagiarising myself and updating all my wonderful, loyal listeners here as well.
I remember a lot from when I was 5 to 8 or so. And these are what I believe are "real" memories. Not family legends that get told at every gathering and therefore become part of the collective memory, whether we actually remember them or not.*
*Examples that only my family will get: The Mud Puddle Story, The Recess/Lunch Argument, The Baby Lion, etc.
I posted some of this in the comments there, but I got to thinking and decided to not take up all the space on his blog, when I could be plagiarising myself and updating all my wonderful, loyal listeners here as well.
I remember a lot from when I was 5 to 8 or so. And these are what I believe are "real" memories. Not family legends that get told at every gathering and therefore become part of the collective memory, whether we actually remember them or not.*
- Yelling across the highway out my bedroom window at the grain elevators to hear an echo.
- Climbing the walls in the hallway by jamming myself in a narrow spot and climbing up like a star.
- Laying on the bottom bunk with my brother trying to make the top mattress pop off. Hmmm... that seems unlikely at 5 and 3, it must have been laying under the bottom bunk.
- Watching the first episode of The Cosby Show and calling Dad at work to tell him about it.
- Watching The Lone Ranger on some weird machine we rented from the movie rental place. The movie was in a big square plastic disk about the size of an LP case. The way I remember it, you put the edge of the case into the machine and it sucked out a laser disc of sorts, but you still had the case.
- Getting our first computer - a good old Commodore Vic20. My iPod Nano has 419,430 times the memory in 1/250th of the space. And yes, I did the math.
- Mom used to do something with Lysol to clean the house and determined that it must be toxic to kids and made us go outside while the smell was in the air. Now that I'm a parent, I think it may have just been to get us out of her hair so she could clean (and/or watch Another World).
- I apparently was bitten by the neighbours' German shepherd when I was about 6. I don't remember the event, but I do remember being at a friend's house that same afternoon, looking out the front window for the dog and Mom told me not to worry and that he was going to be "destroyed". Parenting Tip - Don't tell a 6 year-old that he has caused a dog to be destroyed. I was imagining something involving dynamite.
- Going to the principal's office in grade 1. Not because I was bad, but I think my teacher had the same idea as my mom - get me out of her hair for a while.
She had given me a crossword puzzle to do and I was stuck on a few words, so she said, "Go see Dr. Garvie". He was actually teaching a grade 6 or 7 class and his secretary sent me in to see him. He took my half-done crossword puzzle, made an overhead and put it up on the screen and had his class help me finish it. - I vividly remember sitting in a band class when I was 6, surrounded by 11 year-olds. I had a trumpet and the girl beside me was trying to get me to play the right notes.
- I remember my first Beavers "camp out". I must have been 5 or 6. We were in the "Combatives Room" at the local high school in our sleeping bags watching "The Littles" and eating raw hot dogs.
- I also remember the goal I scored in hockey. It was my third year and we were playing against Marengo. I happened to be out in front of the net and Quinn Uzelman passed the puck to me. Somehow I caught the pass and fired it into the net. We won the game, due in part to me, 13 - 0.
*Examples that only my family will get: The Mud Puddle Story, The Recess/Lunch Argument, The Baby Lion, etc.
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