Posts by bluebirdmama
Anticipation
I work part-time in a midwifery clinic as the office administrator. In this position, I get to see a lot women, partners and children as they go through the months leading up to the birth of their babies. I welcome them to the clinic, offer tea, tell them about the lending library, show them how to use the scale and the pee test strips. I see the couples as they wait for their appointments to start. I watch them gaze at the wall covered in baby announcements. I hear them giggle as they both try the scale. I listen as they discuss a book choice or show pictures to their toddlers. There are a lot of reasons I like my work but I must say that it’s such a privilege to be the quiet observer of this third trimester anticipation. Whether it’s a first time mom or a seasoned veteran, as she approaches her due date it seems all these couples/families slip into this otherwise unseen state. It’s a mixture of trepidation and excitement, wonder and worry. And there is nothing like it. No other life change brings anticipation like this. Not a new job. Not a move. Not even getting married. Welcoming a new (unknown) family member changes your life—for the rest of your life. It’s exciting. It’s scary. There’s no way to prepare for the emotional impact of welcoming a whole new individual permanently into your heart. It’s exciting to meet them for the first time and it’s an adventure to watch their little personalities emerge over the coming years. But there is also apprehension about how your life will change, how your family will adjust, and about who this little one will be. To me, that sense of anticipation is the epitome of the magic of pregnancy. Maybe it’s the glow people talk about. Last year, when I didn’t know if we’d ever have any other kids, I would watch the mamas and envy them. I’d been there twice before so I recognized well that look of joyful expectancy. The funny thing is when I was in the middle of it, living it, I ended up taking that feeling for granted…until it was gone and life went back to normal and then I recognized it for the first time. Now, every time I see a pregnant woman, I see that anticipation just oozing out of them. Even the calmest and most nonchalant of midwifery clients, even the quick glance of a stranger on the street, reveals a woman waiting for a life changing event. And here I am now, just about 34 weeks pregnant with my last baby, sore and uncomfortable and tired, and full and round and heavy with the weight of all that anticipation. Only this time, I’m aware of it, I’m honouring it, I’m reveling in it because I know there’s nothing else that compares to this and I know that this is my last chance to live it completely. How about you? Do remember that feeling from your...
Read MoreHere we go…
The PNE in Vancouver has a wooden rollercoaster that is close to 60 years old. I’m not a rollercoaster expert so maybe they all work this way but I thought it was pretty cool when I learned that this rollercoaster works entirely on gravity. The first hill is big and steep; the train is hauled up to the very top ever so slowly. It rounds the top curve and then hurtles down the slope below. From there, the ride just goes on it’s own by the grace of momentum and gravity with no mechanical help. I’ve had this unmistakable feeling in the last few weeks that my life is on a similar course right now as we wait for this third baby to arrive. The last few weeks, we’ve been getting ready for Christmas and Aaron’s birthday: organizing gifts, planning meals, cooking & baking. The year ahead has been pushed to the side but all the while I’ve had the underlying sense that we were all being firmly tugged up a long hill. And this frosty, sparkly morning, this first day of 2011, as we packed away all the Christmas decorations and wished each other Happy New Year, I felt the ride crest the hill. I find myself in that brief moment at the top, peering down the precipitous drop in front of us, giddy and terrified about the free fall that lies ahead. No turning back...
Read MoreCrafting My Life Guest Post
“The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire; the size of your dream; and how you handle disappointment along the way.” – Robert Kiyosaki I’m excited to say that I’m guest-posting on that very theme over at Strocel.com today as part of Amber’s awesome Crafting My Life series. This is one of my favourite things on her blog and I’m honoured to have been able to contribute. She’s busy putting together a Crafting My Life e-course and I highly recommend that you check it out. And in the mean time, I hope you enjoy my post today. I have a dream. This dream began as a talk about what my husband Aaron and I envisioned for our retirement; then it morphed to include what we hope to provide for our kids as they grow up. A random conversation evolved into an elaborate picture of what we want our life to be like and I’m serious when I say elaborate. …Read the...
Read MoreWordless Wednesday
This is my 2 year old daughter nursing after a late afternoon swim in Klein Lake on the Sunshine Coast this summer. I am now pregnant with our third child and Noa weaned a few months after this photo was taken. This is the last photo we have of her nursing.
Read MoreStocking Stuffer Idea
I have to preface this by saying that I do not represent Usborne and I did not receive free product or compensation in return for this review. If you’re looking for a last minute stocking stuffer for the 5 year old in your life, I highly recommend Usborne’s 100 Things for Little Children to do on a Journey. My son received this as an early Christmas gift from his grandparents and we love it! This little gem consists of 50 double-sided activity cards and a pen. The cards are laminated so the marker wipes off and the activities can be done over and over again (move over colouring/activity books!). When the pen runs out, any old dry erase pen works just as good and the cards are easily wiped clean with a tissue or paper towel. There are a whole series of these activity cards and I’m sure the other sets are just as fun. Some of the other sets are more clearly geared towards travel, with activities like spotting things out the window, or older kids like the brain teaser set. Though this particular set is supposed to be things to do on a journey, there’s nothing about it that makes it only a travel game. In fact, we haven’t been on a journey yet and our cards are getting heavy use at home every afternoon. This lovely portable little box has also been brought along every time we’ve eaten out at a restaurant since we received them. The cards themselves have a range of activities with everything from drawing prompts (similar to the Taro Gomi colouring/drawing books which we also love, by the way) to simple crossword puzzles. Because Rain is pre-literate right now that means the cards will have longevity. It should be quite a while before the cards are too simple for him. Other activities include mazes, spotting the errors in a picture, connect-the-dots and more. Even our 2 year old loves them. We call them black out cards because she loves to colour every item on the card until it’s completely blacked out and then wipe the card clean and start again. She will do this for sometimes half an hour at a time! I’ve seen these cards for between $10 and $12 CAD everywhere from amazon.ca to Costco to our local toy store. They shouldn’t be hard to find near...
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