Staff Meeting Today

Today has been a pretty good day! Theo has been having fun with me at work. Unfortunately we also had an all staff meeting that I had not initially been aware of. Which is still fine, although it was a little difficult for Theo to play or sit quietly. There were so many people in the room and things to check out! And to talk about of course! :)

Despite all the 'enticements', Theo was a really good boy over all!! He sure kept everyone entertained!!! At the end of the meeting we had a staff lunch, which was really fun. AND, my son ate carrots!!! He NEVER eats carrots! He did today and loved them! I was so happy. So for lunch today he ate a sandwich, sandwich meats on the side (a whole pile of them), soup with potato and carrots in it, and who knows how many cup cakes (I know, but I'm not telling! *grins*). He was a very good eater today! And it was pretty funny; I had set him up with his lunch and was getting my own when he yelled for me across the room if I wanted some cake (he was into the cup cakes by then). It was very cute! Everyone smiled! :)

When my co-worker Tracy asked how old Theo is, I told her that he was two years and nine months old. Theo piped up at that point and said "I'm two and a half actually!" Everyone was very impressed and laughing! Theo was also laughing and happy that everyone was happy with him!

Right now Theo is in his little tent in my office not napping - much to my dismay. But really, why am I surprized after all the cup cakes he has eaten today!!! Even if they were the mini cup-cakes.

Status Update Just In!!!! Theo fell asleep around 3 pm!!! Wooooohooooo!!!!

It Breaks My Heart

This video speaks for itself. It brought tears to my eyes. How can this type of thing still be happening? How can Starr and others like him want to foribly divorce these couples just because they are same sex couples?...oh, it makes no sense! I'm neither naive nor innocent regarding homophobia in the US or Canada, but I really had thought that we as humans (in North America, large parts of Europe, etc.) were for the most part/in the process of being beyond this type of discrimination! We should be at least!


"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

For those of you that want more information on what is going on regarding Proposition 8 in California, please have a look at:

http://www.couragecampaign.org/page/s/divorce.

And in the same vein, but for your viewing pleasure, here is Sean Penn's 2009 Oscar acceptance speech.



I truly admire this man for his politics!

Please oppose Proposition 8 in the US! Please take a stand against hate and a stand for EQUAL RIGHTS for EVERYONE!!!

Sleep Training and Snow Sculptures

So we've been having a really though time getting Theo to nap or go to sleep at night lately. He just does not listen. Sometimes it takes absolutely forever for him to go to sleep.

We did not do the sleep training while he was younger and still lie down with him (first to read a story and then once that's done to stay with him until he falls asleep) at night. That may have been a mistake. So now we're at a loss as to what to do. Theo sometimes gets really upset and starts kicking and yelling when we ask him to do what he doesn't want to do. I mean upset for a small one is really quite different than upset for a bigger kid, but it's still quite tough to deal with. So what do we do now???

It just took me nearly an hour to get him to nap - and he was exhausted, but fought it all the way. He's asleep now and looks like an angel! :)



Maybe next weekend we really have to put our foot down and start sleep training now - which is tougher now that he is older. Please keep your fingers crossed for us. It's going to be a tough one. Theo is quite strong willed (go figure - we are too!).

Other than that today has been a great day already. We went to Jacques-Cartier Park for the last day of Winterlude celebrations. In that park they have gigantic snow sculptures and really amazing ice slides the kids (and adults for that matter) can slide down on! It was great fun! Theo also got to sit on a snowmobile, visit the tent of the Junior Rangers, sit in a snow machine of sorts and on a four wheeler. Theo had an amazing time and we did too! And the crowning moment was when Theo realized that he could also have a Beavertail and some hot chocolate there! He was SO happy!!! Here are some pics of our wonderful day!!!
























And this is a very happy Theo on the way home!

My only complaint is that the military had a rather strong presence within the park. I mean seriously; why do we have to have a tank and various other military vehicles there when the city has any number of amazing and in some cases antique fire trucks and other vehicles kids would line up for extended periods of time and hyperventilate over???

It really bothers me how kids are exposed to military vehicles and the adoration of all things army/military at such a young age. Personally I believe that war is murder, war is ugly and war is not something desirable!!! There are any number of things we could focus on and have our kids focus on instead!!!!!!!

Stomach Flu Again - Ugh!

Yes, you have not gone cross-eyed and are reading things incorrectly. I got it again late in the afternoon yesterday. It was awful. I'm feeling better and contemplating what might be ok to eat right now. What I want is greasy chicken - yes, that's right! But what I will have will likely be much tamer! *smirks*

I feel like I'm cursed! How many times can a person possibly get sick in such a short time period??? But at least it wasn't another typical flu (with head and chest congestion and body pain). My hope is that Theo won't catch this. Let's keep our fingers crossed. Jamie had this stomach flu, now I've had it...what are the chances of this skipping Theo? I really hope that he is lucky and doesn't get it!!! His immune system is like Jamie's so there is a possibility of escape - I hope.

On another note; Jamie and Theo did all the shopping together today. After that they went to the Experimental Farm to visit the animals. And Theo outdid himself today. He was very brave and even let a cow lick him. From what Jamie said he wasn't scared at all - he was maybe even a little brazen with all the things he was trying (that he used to be too scared to do!) and did not want to leave at all! They were there for three hours having fun! Jamie found out today that Theo DOES NOT like rootbeer - yet. :)

Over and out for now - must forage for safe food!

Oh, and I think that Theo's teenagehood has started early. :(

Obama Day

I don't really have anything to write about today...

US President Obama is in town, but all people got to see was the cars in his entourage. That's pretty much what I expected. I didn't even go to the Hill to look. First of all I was at work on a teleconference call when they pulled in on the Hill and also, it's snowing and I can see most of this on TV later. Am I being apathetic? Not really I think. I just had a few other things to do.

In addition - today makes me think of the last Bush visit and the 15 000 people that came out to protest. It was an amazing day that day! The way people came together to have their say. It seems positive the way I'm describing it. I'm a bit at a lack for appropriate words on this one today I think. For me it was positive as I was working on legal support for the demonstrators that day and arrests were low and following those that were arrested through the system was relatively easy for once. The numbers of protestors were high obviously, the politics expressed were diverse and it seemed like a...united front against a common enemy if this makes any sense. The atmosphere to me felt supportive or at least neutral - from those watching on the sidelines from the office buildings for the most part. I remember sprinting past my own office building and how my coworkers were cheering me on! It was pretty funny. But I was also surprized. I didn't know they were supportive of me and what I had been doing. The energy of the day was charged. The organizing had gone very well, the speakers did their thing and did it well - even if the Jack Layton show that day got a bit out of hand (even if I personally vote and generally support the NDP it was a bit much). All in all it was a good day. I don't think I'll ever forget it.

Today was in comparison in some way like a friendly media event. But that's ok also. Maybe Obama will make positive changes...but so far his track record on things that matter to me smells a bit...Afghanistan, Palestine/Israel,... But then on the other hand we have him as the first African American US President, the order to close Guantanamo Bay, his efforts at attempting to improve the US economic system (incl. the issue of pay equity), his initial efforts on the climate change front (although he seems to think that coal mining is ok and that the use of coal is a form of producing clean energy - let's not even think about the effects of mountain top removal coal mining - ugh!), his efforts or at least the intent at improving the US health care system. For me things are hanging in the balance at the moment. Ok, that's overstating it. But I guess I'm skeptically hopeful. More skeptical than hopeful. Let's see how things will progress...let's hope they don't regress...

On the other hand, my friend Michele is in town from Nunatsiavut and it was sooooooo great to see her! She is one of my dearest friends and I wish that we could see each other more! But it is what it is and Facebook is a good way to keep in touch. Anyway, we were on the conference call together and after that headed out for Moroccan food for lunch. It was really great food and we had a fun time hanging out! I threatened to cook for her when she comes back this way again! :)

Theo woke up in quite a good mood this morning. It was very nice. We had breakfast together and then Jamie and Theo drove me to work. And then they headed off to daycare (Theo took his super hero cape with him to daycare today to show it to everyone - he calls his cape his 'super hero' - he kind of leaves out the 'cape' part - *smiles*) and then Jamie drove himself to work. That's pretty much our routine in the mornings.

Tonight is the first night that I'm going back to stained glass class in a couple of months. I'm really looking forward to it. I haven't really done any work on my latest project since the last class I had attended. Should be great fun.

And here I thought that I didn't have anything to write about today...

Over and out for now!

Welcome to US President Obama by the Ottawa Raging Grannies!

For today's blog post I thought that I would show you a video by the Ottawa Raging Grannies that I received today. It's a welcome (with a purpose) to US president Obama who will be visiting Ottawa on Thursday.



And you'll be proud to know (Theo) that your Grandma is the third Raging Grannie on the right side!

Today I Created a Super Hero! :)

Actually, today I managed to sew a red velvet cape with a peace sign on it for Theo. He was thrilled and did an exploratory flight right away! It looked great on him! He was so happy to have it and I was so happy that he liked it!


Exploratory flight :)


Posing for the camera - Mommy was very proud! :)


More posing!


Flying down the stairs to show Daddy his super hero cape!!!!!! :)

Over and out for now.

Letter to Obama from an Israeli Human Rights Activist

Here is another very powerful video titled "Letter to Obama from an Israeli Human Rights Activist...", which has been widely posted by Eva Ferrero.



I think this is a very powerful letter/video and that it is very important to support activists such as this woman. It is also important to pass postings such as this one on so that as many people as is possible get to see this other view of what is happening in Palestine. The international media on average certainly does not give the world the whole picture.

Oh, and Happy Valentines Day!

An Office Visit!

Today Theo came to my office with me. It was fun. We set up his little tent, he got out all the toys from his toybox and watched a movie on this portable DVD player I had bought for cheap at a pawn shop. He was having a great time, although at one point I was not entertaining enough. But that was ok. It was almost lunch time so we went to the kitchen to have lunch. Theo had a great time meeting my co-workers there and after that went downstairs with my co-worker Christina to the restaurant in the basement of our office building to get a treat! He was VERY happy and then came back upstairs to play in my office again.

Later on Theo sat on my lap and watched some National Geographic kids clips on my computer while I was on a conference call (I presented first so that I could mute us out for the rest of the call and just listen). Overall things went very well today.

However, napping did not come easy during this visit. In fact, Theo didn't fall asleep until about 3 pm. He was having too much fun in his little tent with his toys! We ended up going for a walk around 3 pm, which is when he finally fell asleep in his stroller. Right now he is back in his little tent having a wonderful sleep. I might not be leaving for a little while (it's almost 5 pm right now), because he is still so sound asleep.



I'm really glad that I brought him to my office today!

Over and out for now.

Sparrows And Another Theoism

It's close to 8 pm and Theo fell asleep on the way home from daycare. Not good news. He'll wake up soon and then be going and going and going until who knows when. Wish me luck please!!! Although it's not the end of the world really. It just means that he won't want to get up tomorrow morning. Oh well, I can relate.... :)

And I have one more Theoism to write about. The other day a friend of mine asked Theo if he had any pets. Theo responded by saying that he had a mole, a slug and a bat! He got this from a book titled 'Who is Your Favorite Monster, MAMA?' by Barbara Shook Hazen. It's a fantastic book - and it has been a great way to make Theo less afraid of monsters - which he has on occasion seen in the dark corners of his room or under his bed.

In this book there are three Monster children; Bruxley (the oldest boy), Harry (the middle child), and Bronwen (the baby). Bruxley knows that Mama Monster loves him, Bronwen knows that Mama Monster loves her. But Harry thinks that Mama Monster loves his brother and sister more than she loves him. And so the story goes on. Harry also has three creepy beasties (aka pets); a mole by the name of Tiny, a slug by the name of Slimy and a bat by the name of Whiny. Theo just loves these three beasties (especially Whiny - he always points to Whiny's picture in the book and tells me that Whiny is his favourite!) - and totally surprized me when he told my friend that they were his pets (instead of talking about our dog Loup and our cat Chloe)!

When I read this book to Theo at night he absolutely loves it when I insert his name into the following passage from the book, in which the monster momma croons...

“Euuu, my cute little monster child, I love the way you warm my wild. I love your warts and baby bristles. I love your nails as soft as thistles. I love your fangs and furry nose. I love you, Theo, head to toes.”

For those of you that may be interested in this book, here is a picture of the cover.



This book really is 'FANTABULOUS' (a word Theo just loves to say - it's in this book)!!!!

I have one other thing that I would like to write about today. Well, to show to those of you that read this blog anyways. It's this video that my friend Maha had posted on Facebook today. It made me cry. And it is something to think about...



Over and out for now!

Apocalyptica

I'm in the mood for some interesting music and thought I would share. Here is an excerpt of a 2001 concert by Apocalyptica. The song's title is 'Hall of the Mountain King'. It's one of my favourites! Enjoy!

Very Successful Museum Visit!!!

Today Theo and I once again went to visit the Museum of Nature. And it was a total success! Not only was Theo so brave that he actually went into the dinosaur hall (this has been very scary so far and we have never made it past the entrance to the hall where all the dinorsaur replicas are - no wonder! they're all SO much bigger than Theo is!), we also went to see the chimpanzee exhibit (videos, pics and other replicas - no live animals there) on the third floor and the bird exhibit on the fourth floor! And we found out that there are aquariums in the food court area that the kids have a look at! We had a great time! Here are some pics to commemorate the event!









And here is a picture of the dinosaur hall that Theo was so incredibly brave to finally enter!!!



After that we came home to have lunch and now Theo and Jamie are napping. Later on we're went to visit Aalya and her family for dinner! We all had a really great time! It was nice to hang out with Aalya, Dietrich and their baby daughter Sophia - who is incidentally incredibly mobile for her 11 months! And Theo loved dinner (a chicken stew with dumplings - it was very yummy!), he loved to dance in their living room and pretty much dragged the majority of Sophia's toys into the kitchen to play with them! :)

What a great day!

Winterlude 2009

Today we went to the first day of Winterlude to look at ice sculptures. It's kind of funny. I usually get to see them when they're quickly melting away as I'm usually to busy to go and see them at work and then don't make it there on time. This time the first day of Winterlude is on a Saturday. It was really fun. On our way to Winterlude Theo kept talking about how he was going to see the 'icicles' (aka ice sculptures)!!! We had great fun there! And in the end we also went to get 'fairy tales' (aka beavertails) and then went home for nap time.

Here are some pics of some of the sculptures we saw!











And finally, here is Theo's reaction to my taking his picture during Winterlude! :)




Theo is now napping and I'm catching up on posting on this blog, e-mails and calling my friend Liz.

Jamie is now off with his friends to play computer games for the afternoon. I'm really glad that he's doing that again! He hasn't seen Francis and the others in a long time!

But I have one more thing to say - I'm a little - actually very annoyed right now. With people who think that they can make decisions for me and who think that they know better than I do about my health or what my immune system can or cannot handle. Given that since December I have had pneumonia, two stomach flus, two regular flus (the first one was the precursor to the pneumonia) and a sinus infection I would like all those people to please stuff it!

There! I was somewhat polite about it while still getting this off my chest!

Over and out for now.

Success!!!

I never thought I would write about something like this, but last night Theo finally used his potty for his #2. Yes, you heard that right!!! Read that right, I mean.

Isn't it funny what excites me these days? *chuckles* That's the way it goes when one becomes a parent! Theo and I celebrated with lots of clapping, high fives and a bunch of chocolates (yes, I rely on bribery for this one)!

Wooohooo! :)

Matisyahu - Close My Eyes!

This is really good music and one of the funnier things I have seen in a while! It speaks to a lot - maybe some boundaries are meant to be crossed! Here is the video by Matisyahu singing a song by the title 'Close My Eyes'.



This weekend was a write-off for me again. The past two weekends have been really. I have had the flu (once a regular flu and once a sinus flu/inection) twice in less than a week and a half. So I haven't gotten to do anything with Theo unfortunately. But Jamie has been out and about with him and they have had a great time! They have walked the dog together, gone skating, Theo went to the depot near our house with Jamie and got to see at the machines in their shed. He got to ride on a couple of tractors and just basically had a blast. No pictures this time, but Jamie can attest to the fun that was had!

More later - Theo wants me to brush his teeth.