MEGO: My Eyes Glaze Over

Archive for the ‘Family and Friends’ Category

Mobile Picture Monday: Airplane Face

Jul 12, 2010 A Good Laugh, Family and Friends, Short and Sweet

Before taking a flight a few weeks ago we took the kids to a restaurant that is also on the flight path near the airport. We sat in the window and watched planes take off and land. At one point a 767 flew by the window, thundering and massive. The two year old shook with excitement and had the funniest expression of shock. We called it his “Airplane Face”. And, today it is a face he does on demand. When on the same trip the pilot allowed the two boys into the cockpit he was happy to provide them with a demonstration of this face. I didn’t get that on camera- but here is his Airplane Face.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Mobile Picture of the Week: Me and a Black Eyed Pea

May 3, 2010 A Good Laugh, Family and Friends, Short and Sweet

Yes, this is Will – I – Am…

Popularity: 1% [?]

New Years Resolutions – A Quarterly Review

May 1, 2010 A Good Laugh, Family and Friends, Random Thoughts

I started out the year with an incredible list of “to-do’s”. I wouldn’t call them resolutions, because those aren’t a part of my belief system. Well, perhaps the truth is that I have never been terribly good at keeping them. So this year, I decided I would have “objectives”, and even looked up tracking calendars and considered sharing a Google Calendar with a friend so that we could keep each other in-line.

So, what was on that list.

Lose weight ( I will not tell you how much, do not ask).
Read a book a month.
Write a blog post every week

There may have been others – but let’s review how well I did.

Lose weight
The intention was to join a gym and go at lunch hour twice a week. Then go once on the weekend. I have yet to join the gym. Why? – lunch time at work is spent working.

Read a book a month
This should have been easy – I have a snazzy new Kindle and about 50 books i haven’t read on it. I have finished Tribes, and half of Linchpin. (Yes, I appear to be on a Seth Godin trip).
Why have I sucked the big one on such an easy task? Night time is for watching my PVRd shows (Lost, Lie to Me and Law and Order) and ummmm working.

Write a blog post every week
See above.

So chalk January, February, March and part of April up to bad organizational skills, an unfair workload, and an obsession with keeping my inbox under 50 emails – and let’s move on. The plan is – i have my blog live again and the summer opens up opportunities of sitting in the sun with my book as the kids play freely in the yard. As for the gym…well I might need more motivation for that. Perhaps, a first step will be taking the Wii Fit out from under the coffee table.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Mobile Picture of the Week

Sep 14, 2009 A Good Laugh, Family and Friends

I want Blueberries, and I know how to get them

Popularity: 38% [?]

Tags: A Good Laugh, food, kids, photo

Mobile Picture of the Week

Sep 6, 2009 A Good Laugh, Family and Friends, Short and Sweet

Out for a Sunday drive at Centreville

Popularity: 42% [?]

Tags: driving, family, kids, pictures

Camping

Sep 5, 2009 Family and Friends, Vacations

Every year since 2002 my husband and his work friends have gone on an annual camping trip. The first year they went it was just the “boys”. In 2003, the girlfriends started attending, and starting in 2004 the wives arrived, and in 2005 so did the kids.

IMG_9585-1 Over the years the camping trip has obviously changed – both the attendees and how the days played out. Certainly the men still pretend that they are cave men and can do anything – like start fire (argh!) And, the women try to find free time to relax and read a book. But, now with kids on the trip it is less about relaxing and more about finding activities to keep the kids busy.

At the end of August we went on the annual trip – and this year including the kids there were 25 of us. Over 7 or 8 campsites. We left the baby at home with his grandparents since neither of us wanted to spend the weekend chasing a crawling baby through the sand, soot and woods. We were looking forward to taking Bear for a canoe trip, hike, and swim at the beach.

We were able to accomplish one thing on that list.

Unfortunately, this summer has not been kind to us. We have planned weekends away – but they never work out as planned. This one was no different. Friday we arrived set up, had dinner with friends and then hit the air mattress (we camp in style). We woke up on Saturday morning and discovered over cast skies, and of course this was followed by RAIN.

Bear and his friends didn’t seem to mind and chased each other around in the mud with their umbrellas. We grumbled but made delicious eggs and bacon (they always taste better when camping!).

A trip into town for coffee, ice and firewood was next – where we discovered that everyone else had decided to the same thing. I counted 36 people in line at Tim Horton’s. It was a long wait – but Bear was kept happy by promises of chocolate Timbits

IMG00122-20090822-1400 Back at the camp site we gathered the troops and headed on a hike while it wasn’t raining. It was mild out – which made for decent walking weather, but the winds were high along the beach. There wouldn’t be any swimming at the beach this camping trip, the sun wasn’t out and the water was chilly and the waves were powerful. No canoeing it turned out either – after we finished the camping trip Bear got a fever….so day 2 ended up being our final day as we packed up the tent and gear and headed home.

There is always next year.

Popularity: 39% [?]

Tags: camping, family, summer

Singing Sensation

Mar 19, 2009 A Good Laugh, Family and Friends

Popularity: 86% [?]

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Tags: family, kids, video

Eat Dirt

Mar 12, 2009 Books, Environment, Family and Friends, Parenting and More

image from stock.xchng: lusi Cute Toy

I recall a friend telling me before I had my first child that with your first child you sanitize everything, that nothing gets put in babies mouth without a deep wash, and that bottles are boiled after each use. With the second child she said you stick everything in the dishwasher, and toys that fall on the floor are wiped clean with a pant leg or a wet wipe if you have one handy. By the third you rinse things in the sink, make sure there are no grimy bits and toys are handed back to baby after a stint on the floor.

I have never been a big proponent of “sanitize everything”. We had a bottle sanitizer that we used for about three weeks, and after that bottles went into the dishwasher, or they were washed by hand if I was short on dishes. Toys, get laundered somewhat frequently when I think about it, or when baby goobers on them with peas – but I admit to picking up toys from the floor wiping them on my pants and handing them back to them (and this was with my first child and second- no discrimination!). I always felt that a little dirt couldn’t hurt them. The fact is – it is easy to monitor a baby but what happens when they are two? three? four? I know my nearly four year old often touches some pretty gross things, and puts gross stuff in his mouth when I am not looking (I have caught him chewing the side of those grocery carts shaped like Cars) – so if his immune system broke down at every germ – he would be sick all the time! When I was growing up my parents didn’t Purel their hands every step of the way, or disinfect my toys every 24 hours in case of a stray germ. Guess what, I am a healthy 30-something (seriously, I have to do math to figure my age out – every time!) and growing up I wasn’t sick any more than any other kid. I also don’t have any currently known allergies.

Today I see mom’s carry around hand sanitizer in their diaper bags and purses. Whipping them out at every cough, sneeze or breath. Anti-bacterial wipes are swiped across every surface their baby might dare touch, and then there are the blankets or cart draps that parents sit their kid in at the grocery store. They wash their floors, tables, toys, and even fabrics with anti-bacterial cleaners (yes- Febreeze now has Anti-bacterial spray); and they ensure that NO ONE touches their baby without a scrub down first. I may be slightly exhaggerating the situation, but I find some people are absolutely paranoid – and I kept thinking that all his “clean” can not be good for a growing child’s immune system.

Playing in Dirt

It seems that I may be right, an article in the Ottawa Citizen – Honey, Eat Your Dirt points to new research that proves that cleanliness CAN lead to illness. Everything in moderation people! Even too much hygiene is a problem. According to the article, which references a new book titled Why Dirt is Good by Mary Ruebush, a baby’s immune system is “like a computer that is hasn’t been programmed. It needs to practise responding to bacteria and viruses and other things found in dirt to learn what it should fight and what it should ignore.” Further to this a New York Times article states recent studies and epidemiological observations “seem to explain why immune system disorders like multiple sclerosis, Type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, asthma and allergies have risen significantly in the United States and other developed countries.” So essentially kids raised in an ultraclean environment are not being given the chance to develop appropriate immune systems and will suffer later in life because of it. Dr. Ruebush says that the current fetish for the many (well-marketed) antibacterial products may just be a false sense of security and could “actually foster the development of antibiotic-resistant, disease-causing bacteria.” (NYTimes)

So if you are a Hand Sanitizer-toting, germaphobic, anti-bacterial obsessed parent – what should you do? According to these articles just use less anti-bacterial products. Soap and water is all you need, and a little dirt . So, go – eat dirt. I dare ya.

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3.2

Tags: family, Health, Immune system, kids, Ottawa Citizen, Why Dirt Is Good: How Our Obsession With Killing Germs Is Making Us Sick

Spring Forward

Mar 9, 2009 Family and Friends, Short and Sweet

I bought spring coats for the boys, took the bundle bag off the car seat, and started looking for my sneakers (have to start early the basement has exploded with baby gear!) – so if it snows in the next week – blame me.

I really hope, however, that Spring is here. I can’t wait to see more of this:

Spring Spring Spring

And, less of this:

winter winter winter

At least the clocks “sprung forward!”

Update: Just checked weather….isolated flurries. argh.

Popularity: 20% [?]

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Tags: family, spring, weather

Gone Rollin’

Mar 8, 2009 Family and Friends, Games and Toys, Short and Sweet

We have all been going through a lot of these this past week:

box of tissue: picture from stock.xchng (scol22)

First my husband was sick, then the four year old, then me. We are all feeling much better except for some runny-noses and coughs that keeps hanging on. Oh, and the four year old continues to whine. But, that might have nothing to do with the illness.

So, today we needed to get out of the house. We had missed out on the nice weather on Friday, and of course as luck would have it Sunday was gray, and chilly. We decided to head out to the bowling alley. At first Bear was too cool for bowling (or rolling as he calls it!).