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11.21.08

A worthwhile cause…

I’ve only volunteered a couple of times in my life.  I mean, I guess I’ve offered to help out in the past, but I’ve barely sought out opportunities to help out in my spare time.  I probably never thought I had enough of it…

And there are no shortage of opportunities out there.  In Ottawa you can visit www.volunteerottawa.ca where you can search by interest or just browse a list of posts to find something you think you might want to do.  I imagine every city, town and community has there own network that can be checked out, if you have a few hours you want to spare.

I’m not sure why I checked on the day I did, but I found an opportunity to help out with the Gingerbread Event for Mothercraft Ottawa.  I recognized the name from when I was pregnant.  A friend told me about their free pre-natal yoga classes, which I then signed up for and attended.  But Mothercraft is so much more than that.

The program that the Gingerbread Event is fundraising for is called the Birth and Parent Companion Program.  Having known several women in my lifetime who could have or have benefited from programs like this, it reminds us how important they are….and that we should support them in any way we can, no matter how small.

My Sunday starts early.  I have to arrive by 6 am, and then I will spent the better part of the day building gingerbread houses.  It’ll be a long day, but really, I’m not sure I’d consider this work.  I only wish I could bring Jaia along who I know would adore every part of building the houses (and eating the candy).

I once had a friend who was a regular volunteer.  She actually spent two or three nights a week working at a distress hotline answering the phones.  I always envied her courage and her commitment.  Choosing to volunteer for something like that can’t be easy.  But she loved it.  She used to say that if you aren’t passionate about your job, do something you are passionate about in your off hours.  And she did just that.  And at the end of her days, she felt like she had made a difference.  And she had.

And that makes it all worth it.

Filed in: Life
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November 23, 2008 - 10:06 pm

Kristin - I give blood every 90 days or so…does that count as volunteer work?

November 24, 2008 - 9:06 am

Shannen - I think it does.

November 24, 2008 - 11:49 am

Kris - I can’t say that it’s totally selfless because they have great cookies.

December 8, 2008 - 6:18 pm

Jessie - Wow! That’s so cool that you volunteered for that. I did it last year. Who knew it could be such hard work!! I was out of town this year so I was a no go. Anyway, the cool coincidence part of it all is that my dear friend Jess Dwyer runs that Birth-Parent Companion Program!! She’s awesome. One of my girlfriend’s who has 2 kids actually volunteered to be a Birth-Parent Companion and she found the experience to be absolutely incredible. Totally something I could see you being AMAZING at if you were ever interested… Just putting the bug in your ear!! Anyway, maybe this isn’t the venue for it, but LET”S GET TOGETHER!! BEFORE Christmas. I think we need to make a lunch date. Stat. I haven’t been avoiding you, I swear. It’s been CRAZY busy at work…

xoxoxxo
Jess

December 8, 2008 - 10:31 pm

shannen - I adore you, Miss Jessica. Imagine we randomly ran into each other there…next year?

Lunch is definitely in order. We have much catching up to do…

11.20.08

Missing the warm weather already.

We were robbed of a decent summer.  Our fall *kinda* made up for it, but now that I’m having to leave the house in coat, tuque and mitts every morning, I’m truly missing the warm weather.  Not even the HOT of summer, but the warm of early autumn.

And it’s only beginning.  We’ve had one big snow fall so far and the temperatures haven’t even been that bad.  But they will be. 

And I’m not looking forward to it.  I don’t like being cold.  And I don’t ski.  Or snowboard.  Or skate.  Or watch hockey.  There is nothing in winter that I have to look forward to except the Olympics every four years.  And if winter only rolled around every four years, I would be more than excited to experience the cold and see the snow.

Until then, I’m just going to have to concentrate on the fabulous things that happen during winter so I can have a chance at making it through to the other side as unscathed as possible.

  1. Christmas.  This year we are spending some of our time in Ottawa, some in Saskatchewan, some in Alberta, some in BC.  Yup, it’s the 4 province holiday celebration.  And as much work as it is to get from point A to point B to point C to point D, I love that our travels allow us to see all of our huge, gigantic, extended immediate family  within a two week span.  it’s busy, but so worth it.
  2. Lisa and Willie’s Wedding Extravaganza.  They will be flying in with their little Pearl to celebrate their marriage with all of their closest friends.  And to make this one even more fun, it’s black tie.  Dress, already picked out.  Excitement, already boiling over.
  3. Jaia’s second birthday.  This year we’ll be celebrating in Saskatoon with Dan’s side of the fam.  We’ve decided on theme and I can’t wait to get to work on the invitations.  I’m thinking champagne for the grown-up’s loot bags – I mean, it is New Year’s Eve, after all. 
  4. My birthday.  Usually low-key as everyone is typically still in recovery mode from the holidays.  But still…it’s my birthday.  Who doesn’t love a birthday?
  5. A potential visit from Auntie Jen in February.  Always awesome.  Fingers are crossed.
  6. And of course, starting some new family holiday traditions, while continuing some of our favourites from the past:

 

 

Filed in: Big events | Holidays | Jaia | Photos | Travel
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November 20, 2008 - 5:37 pm

Auntie Jen - Oh I *will* be visiting in February, no doubt about it. Just have to get on booking the flight!

11.19.08

Who would have thunk it?

Last night Dan had a work event to attend and so Auntie Lizzie and I were the only adults home for the evening.  Jaia was up to her usual tricks: lotsa reading and colouring and drawing between pyjama time and bed time.

And then, at about 6:45pm, she comes over to me, grabs my hand and says, “Mama, come Jaia’s room”.  “Nap time”.  Then she turns to Auntie Lizzie and says, “Night night” as she heads in the direction of her room.

My jaw hit the floor.  My 23-month old daughter asked to go to bed.  And she wasn’t kidding.  She climbed right in under her cozy duvet and requested her current favourite bedtime story: Freckleface Strawberry.  Since it is currently my own favourite as well (and pretty well the exact story of my non-acceptance of my own freckleface), I gladly obliged.  And then, 3 books in, she rolled over and waved me away.  I was excused.

Dan thought I was making it up.

But then tonight, a repeat.  A new trend or just a phase?  Only time will tell.

Filed in: Jaia | Life | Milestones
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November 21, 2008 - 8:08 pm

Alicia - Oh wow!!!! Tell me you made it three nights!!!!

That’s fabulous!!!

11.18.08

Decor dilemmas.

I am not frilly.  Nor am I lacy.  And as much as I like kittens and puppies, I refuse to decorate with them.  This, in combination with having a baby (toddler) girl becomes a problem.

Throughout our house, Dan and I have chosen decor based on simplicity, clean lines and neutrals with pops of colour.   And thankfully, our new house was VERY tastefully painted before we moved in…well, the main living areas were anyway.

Exceptions: 

  • The main bathroom is a deep green which desperately needs to be changed.  But since we are planning on gutting that bathroom in the next couple of years, I can live with the green for now. 
  • The basement is light blue and steel grey.  It’s a basement and has few windows.  Dark paint would not have been my choice and is up high on my list of things to change/fix.
  • Jaia’s room.  It’s light blue.  I could dress up the colour, but I won’t.  I don’t like blue walls.  It’s a personal preference – but I’m just not that into blue.

And that brings us to the point of the post.  Since we moved in I have been trying so hard to come up with an idea for how to decorate Jaia’s room.  Her nursery was cute, but a little boring, and I wanted to do something really fun this time around.  You are only a kid once, right?

The first piece of the puzzle was the bedding.  I searched and searched but nothing I found was quite right.  I even contemplated making my own but quickly remembered that I don’t know how to sew.  And then a random search one day brought me to a website where the perfect bedding was ON SALE!  I bought it immediately and couldn’t be more pleased with it.

And now, with colour palette decided on thanks to the bedding, we were one step closer to coming up with an idea for the wall colour/style.

But nothing came to mind.  Nothing that I was 100% sure of, anyway.  And here we are, 6 months into living in our new house and the walls are still blue.  And they remain, but for one, completely blank.  It seems very ‘unfinished’.  And it turns out that I’m VERY non-commital when it comes to paint colours and wall hangings.

And then yesterday, I found it.  I was scouring websites to find something, anything, that might inspire me.  And finally, months into my search, there it was.  An idea.  A real idea.  I can’t wait.  We are starting this weekend and hopefully, in just a few days, we’ll be done.  And Jaia will finally have her perfect (or make that my perfect) room.

One more thing scratched off the list. 

Filed in: Decorating | Jaia
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November 18, 2008 - 1:35 pm

Kris - And I am very excited to see the finished product, having seen some of the proposed ideas. Can’t wait!

November 18, 2008 - 5:20 pm

Auntie Jen - Is it wallpaper? Wallpaper has come a long way since the 80’s.

November 19, 2008 - 9:22 am

Kris - Yes…and can we all just stop for a second and give a moment of respect to the years of 80’s wallpaper.

Oh…the velvet. The textures. The style.

November 19, 2008 - 12:19 pm

Shannen - I have a close relative (no names mentioned) that may or may not still have some metallic wallpaper up on the wall.

No, my design inspiration does not involve wallpaper. It is colourful, but it paint-based.

Picutres are coming soon to a computer screen near you.

S

November 19, 2008 - 12:24 pm

Sonja - I’m intrigued and demand more clues!

11.18.08

You'll shoot your eye out!

Awesome.

Jaia has a new poofy purple snow suit.  I’m tempted to bundle her up, take her out and push her into a snowbank just to re-create that classic moment.  But I won’t 🙂

Filed in: Adventures in Ebay | Nostalgia
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November 18, 2008 - 10:00 am

Shannen - That’s insane. If I’m going to be paying that much to stay in a famous house, it would be Brenda and Brandon Walsh’s house…and they better be there to stay with me.

November 18, 2008 - 11:23 am

Kris - “Randy lay in the snow like a slug. It was his best defense.”

Classic.