It’s been awhile since my last entry. I’ve been sick. Really, really sick with a sinus infection. After finally kicking a four-day fever, (not exaggerating!) and the worst sinus headache of my life, I developed a hacking cough that keeps me (and everyone else) up at night. I’m on antibiotics and my health is gradually improving but I’m still not myself.
One thing I’ve learned over this last week is that motherhood and illness don’t mix. No matter how much I long to retreat to my bed, there is still a mouth to feed, a bum to change, and a pile of dirty laundry to attend to. And now that the little guy is crawling and getting into everything, I need to be on my toes -- not laid out flat on my back.
It’s not the type of job where I can call in sick. I’m on call to read books, sing songs, hose things down after meals, provide cuddles, buy groceries, make baby food etc...
So, I'm doing my best to keep my head up high and think healthy thoughts!
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
The "skinny" on Canadian children
Love is blind. This appears to be true in the case of many Canadian parents. As part of the Canadian Medical Association’s Sixth Annual National Report Card on Health Care in Canada, parents were asked to grade the overall health of Canadian children, including their own children. Only 9% of those surveyed reported that their own child was overweight even though Statistics Canada findings show that 26% of children under the age of 18 are overweight or obese.
Why are some parents in such a state of denial?
Let’s face it -- it’s a hard pill to swallow. What parent wants to admit that their perfect little angel has a weight problem? Besides, the world around them is telling them a very different story. Have you gone clothes shopping lately? Recently, I tried on a pair of size 6 pants that fell down around my ankles. I ended up buying a size 2. There is no way that I’m that small, especially right after having a baby! If you take a teenager who is actually a size 12 but fits into a size 8, therein lies one of the problems. Labels can mislead parents and children alike into a false sense of reality.
On the bright side, the majority of parents surveyed were supportive of proposed initiatives such as mandatory physical education, removing junk food from school vending machines, and getting tax breaks on the purchase of healthy foods. They are all great ideas, but parents have to remember that good health starts at home. Parents themselves need to lead by example by swearing off junk food and exercising regularly. If they don’t, they could be setting their children up for disaster in the form of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, joint problems and a whole host of other problems later in life.
Why are some parents in such a state of denial?
Let’s face it -- it’s a hard pill to swallow. What parent wants to admit that their perfect little angel has a weight problem? Besides, the world around them is telling them a very different story. Have you gone clothes shopping lately? Recently, I tried on a pair of size 6 pants that fell down around my ankles. I ended up buying a size 2. There is no way that I’m that small, especially right after having a baby! If you take a teenager who is actually a size 12 but fits into a size 8, therein lies one of the problems. Labels can mislead parents and children alike into a false sense of reality.
On the bright side, the majority of parents surveyed were supportive of proposed initiatives such as mandatory physical education, removing junk food from school vending machines, and getting tax breaks on the purchase of healthy foods. They are all great ideas, but parents have to remember that good health starts at home. Parents themselves need to lead by example by swearing off junk food and exercising regularly. If they don’t, they could be setting their children up for disaster in the form of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, joint problems and a whole host of other problems later in life.
Friday, August 18, 2006
Friday fun in the sun
For this week's edition of Fun Friday, here are a few pictures from our vacation last week. As you can see, the little guy very much enjoyed his first-ever boat and beach adventures!
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
A picture is worth a thousand words
Or perhaps more than a thousand words, in the case of the photos taken at my family’s reunion last week.
It was like herding cats, trying to get 29 of us to line up for a group shot. Ten of the subjects were between the ages of 8 months and 7 years and couldn’t for the life of them understand why us old people were making them stand still for so long. As you can imagine, it was impossible to get everyone to look in the same direction, smile, and say “cheese”. Instead, we have pictures of kids who are either madly trying to escape from their parents clutches, or making eyes at one another or at the water pistols littering the ground. The parents all have desperate “hurry up and take the picture” looks on their faces. Only the grandparents were actually looking where they were supposed to, wearing slightly amused expressions while watching the chaos out of the corners of their eyes.
The “kids only” photo was ever more hilarious. It took several takes, because parents were leaping in and out of the frame like border collies trying to round up sheep. Between the clicks, I was pulling grass out of my little guy’s mouth. In most of the photos, his cousin is patting his head while his mom hollers from the sideline, “Be gentle with the baby.” The little boys appear desperate to run away and play, and the girls, only slightly more composed, can’t wait to join in the game.
These photos tell the real family story.
It was like herding cats, trying to get 29 of us to line up for a group shot. Ten of the subjects were between the ages of 8 months and 7 years and couldn’t for the life of them understand why us old people were making them stand still for so long. As you can imagine, it was impossible to get everyone to look in the same direction, smile, and say “cheese”. Instead, we have pictures of kids who are either madly trying to escape from their parents clutches, or making eyes at one another or at the water pistols littering the ground. The parents all have desperate “hurry up and take the picture” looks on their faces. Only the grandparents were actually looking where they were supposed to, wearing slightly amused expressions while watching the chaos out of the corners of their eyes.
The “kids only” photo was ever more hilarious. It took several takes, because parents were leaping in and out of the frame like border collies trying to round up sheep. Between the clicks, I was pulling grass out of my little guy’s mouth. In most of the photos, his cousin is patting his head while his mom hollers from the sideline, “Be gentle with the baby.” The little boys appear desperate to run away and play, and the girls, only slightly more composed, can’t wait to join in the game.
These photos tell the real family story.
Friday, August 04, 2006
Fab Friday!
It's the long weekend at last, which means we're leaving on vacation. Yay!!! We are going to a big family reunion at the cottage. All of my cousins (lovingly called the Group of Seven) will be attending with their families. It should be a rockin' good time!
This will be my last post until the week of August 14. I hope you all have a great long weekend in the sun.
This will be my last post until the week of August 14. I hope you all have a great long weekend in the sun.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
The cup is half empty
I’m in need of some positive energy right now to counter the whirlwind of negative thoughts in my head, including:
- wanting to throw a rock at the blaring boom box outside my window that the construction workers left on while they buggered off for two hours and counting.
- dreading the looks I’m going to get on the airplane when I get on board with a baby on Saturday. The “you better not be sitting next to me” look.
- please don't wake up four times again tonight because I don’t know how I can make it through another day of this!
- I can't believe that the house is already a disaster and the cleaning lady just left!
- Blueberries were a great hit. Too bad most of them landed on the white outfit that I just pulled out of the dryer.
- Is that another milk puke stain on the couch?
- Another 4 Canadian soldiers dead in Afghanistan. Sigh…
- Will they ever finish the deck so we can use our new BBQ?
- There is something soggy in the vegetable crisper. I think it's a cucumber, but I can't be sure.
- What’s that smell?
Oh good, the workers just came back. They turned off the radio and are leaving. I guess that’s one positive thing.
Please send me some positive thoughts. Or, even better, come babysit so I can get some sleep. Now that’s a positive thought!
- wanting to throw a rock at the blaring boom box outside my window that the construction workers left on while they buggered off for two hours and counting.
- dreading the looks I’m going to get on the airplane when I get on board with a baby on Saturday. The “you better not be sitting next to me” look.
- please don't wake up four times again tonight because I don’t know how I can make it through another day of this!
- I can't believe that the house is already a disaster and the cleaning lady just left!
- Blueberries were a great hit. Too bad most of them landed on the white outfit that I just pulled out of the dryer.
- Is that another milk puke stain on the couch?
- Another 4 Canadian soldiers dead in Afghanistan. Sigh…
- Will they ever finish the deck so we can use our new BBQ?
- There is something soggy in the vegetable crisper. I think it's a cucumber, but I can't be sure.
- What’s that smell?
Oh good, the workers just came back. They turned off the radio and are leaving. I guess that’s one positive thing.
Please send me some positive thoughts. Or, even better, come babysit so I can get some sleep. Now that’s a positive thought!
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
No junk mail please!
This blog is only a couple of weeks old and already it’s been targeted by an advertiser (or maybe a scammer – it’s hard to say). In the comment section of one of my articles, I found a comment (anonymous of course) about how I could make $900 a week in easy money. I promptly deleted it. Then, later today, the same comment popped up again in the exact same spot! I have now changed the settings in the comment section to make it harder for spam to get through.
I’ve also started filtering my email. Now, spam lands directly in my deleted folder. Everyday this folder fills up with unsolicited advertisements for erectile dysfunction medications, fad diets, porn... Obviously the people behind these operations haven’t done any market research. From what I can tell, they blanket email every address they can swipe from the worldwide web. Enough already!!!
At least I’ve managed to put a stop to most of the junk mail landing at my doorstep. We now have a sticker that says “No junk mail please.” Even still, from time to time, flyers still manage to make their way into our mailbox. The senders really aren’t doing themselves a favour by disregarding this sign. I can pretty much guarantee that I will NOT support any business that advertises their products or services to me after I’ve plainly asked to be left alone. In fact, I will go out of my way to complain loudly about them to anyone who will listen. The same applies to companies that call me time and time again, even after I’ve repeatedly asked to be removed from their phone list.
I’d love to hear how other people deal with unsolicited advertising. You are invited with open arms to share your comments on this blog (unless of course you are trying to sell me something!!!)
I’ve also started filtering my email. Now, spam lands directly in my deleted folder. Everyday this folder fills up with unsolicited advertisements for erectile dysfunction medications, fad diets, porn... Obviously the people behind these operations haven’t done any market research. From what I can tell, they blanket email every address they can swipe from the worldwide web. Enough already!!!
At least I’ve managed to put a stop to most of the junk mail landing at my doorstep. We now have a sticker that says “No junk mail please.” Even still, from time to time, flyers still manage to make their way into our mailbox. The senders really aren’t doing themselves a favour by disregarding this sign. I can pretty much guarantee that I will NOT support any business that advertises their products or services to me after I’ve plainly asked to be left alone. In fact, I will go out of my way to complain loudly about them to anyone who will listen. The same applies to companies that call me time and time again, even after I’ve repeatedly asked to be removed from their phone list.
I’d love to hear how other people deal with unsolicited advertising. You are invited with open arms to share your comments on this blog (unless of course you are trying to sell me something!!!)
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