Big Words, Little Girl

Are 14 month olds supposed to have words like purple, turtle, apple, stinky, all done, and thank-you? I'm sure they are, but now I truly understand how all parents can think that their kids are the smartest ones around.

Moving on to more important things...

Last weekend, I was playing with Evelyn in her bedroom when, out of the corner of my eye, I spied the great 8-legged beast travelling at break-neck speed across the curved portion on her bedroom ceiling.

I have a problem with spiders. And I have a big problem with killing spiders that are above me because of an uncontrollable fear that it will fall on me - dead or alive.

Anyway, I muster up the courage to squish it with a washcloth, and only make partial contact with it's sickly little body before it falls. And I can't find it.

Then the unthinkable happened. I was putting Evelyn down for a nap later that day and THE THING CRAWLS UP THE WALL outta nowhere on it's 5 remaining legs.

It didn't get away that time. But, I am scarred for life.

A Tragic Event

A school bus full of passengers has been forced off the road by what appears to be a giant foot. Several passengers were thrown from the bus and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

The Perils of Parenting

This post was inspired by "Age of euphemisms" at www.dooce.com

A penis is a penis. It's not a pickle, a peanut, a weiner, or a PP. It's not a Twinkie, or any other frosted dessert. It goes to follow that a vagina is a vagina - plain and simple. In fact, after having Evelyn, I made Cory practise saying vagina until it could escape his mouth as naturally as any other word.

I am always dumbfounded when parents encourage children to nickname their body parts - partly because I am completely anal, and partly because of the definition of the word itself. To me, nicknames are used as a term of endearment or ridicule - and who wants to associate either of those with a child's sexual organ (regardless of whether or not they know that their Twinkie is really a penis)?

Renovations and Make Work Projects

Here is the tiled table top. It still needs to be grouted!















Here's Cory working on the fence.

My misadventures in technology

A strange chain of events rendered my home PC inoperable over the Victoria Day weekend. Without getting into too many boring details, it seems that my secondary hard drive was failing, for reasons that may never be known.

Stranger still is that a few other people around the office had similar problems. And the common sentiment is that "a virus can't affect hardware like that!"

Those of you who know me are privy to the fact that ANYTHING ELECTRONIC I BUY breaks shortly after the one year mark.

I hope to be up and running soon and update you all with exciting photos of fence posts, a tiled patio table top to die for, and other random thoughts as I see fit.

The Evolution of Gender Roles and Other Stuff

Over the last 2 or 3 decades, the steadfast roles of mom and dad have undergone an unprecedented transformation. Dads are doing more – a lot more, but so are working moms.

In fact, with both parents working, and 2.5 kids in daycare, and maintaining the home and eating and sleeping, I often wonder what quality of life most people are experiencing.

Where is the real value in that lifestyle?

I know I am lucky. I am truly lucky to be with a man who doesn’t prescribe to the stereotypical idea of ‘the man of the house’. A man who, for instance, gets dinner ready the night before so that he can spend the day focusing on Evelyn, rather than the never-ending lists of things to do around the house.

Where the hell am I going with this?

We’ve chosen a different way. We’ve released ourselves from society’s insatiable desire to consume consume consume. We’ve made decisions that put our family first and give us time to live our lives.

In the end, will it matter that we didn’t have a 50” HD Flat Panel LCD TV in our rec room so I could sit inside on my ass night after night and watch TV? Doubtful.

In the end, will it matter that we chose for me to return to work (as the higher wage earner) and Cory to stay home with Evelyn so that we actually raise our child ourselves and spent meaningful, character building, time together? I’m sure of it.

What rejected crayon colour are you?

Visit http://www.blogthings.com/rejectedcrayonquiz/ to find out.

I am a rather unappetizing:

It happened.

Sunday:

I am in a vile mood as a result of a few events I won't discuss in detail. Evelyn is getting ANOTHER tooth and is attached to me the ENTIRE day. Cory wants to put a post in for the fence and asks "Do you mind if I do this now? Or do you want me to play with Evelyn for a bit?", he then looks at my face and says, "I'll play with Evelyn for a bit". I say "No no no no no no" in a kind of sing song manner and right after Evelyn pipes up with "No no no no no no no" in the exact same pitch and meter in which I spoke it.

Guess what her new favourite word is?

The Artist's Way

When it comes to home renovations and my series of creative/functional projects, I'm the idea person. Everytime the words "You know what we could do..." escape my lips I see Cory's jaw tighten and his body stiffen. It tooks us months and months of heated discussion to come up with a fence design that met both our approval. So when I came home with my latest project (an antique wrought iron patio set sans table top) I conceded to Cory's sentiment that the tiled round top I had in mind was just way too much work and that a square top was the way to go. We've got most of the materials, and now just need to come up with the tile design. We'd like to avoid having to cut tile, so we'll see where that leaves us.

I'll update later with pictures.

The Giving Tree

This is the tree in my yard. I've always had innate appreciation for trees. This could be the tree under which all fairy tale creatures run amok. This tree is Cory's living project -- he has a 5 year plan that is intended make the bulk of the tree smaller so that we can keep it longer (otherwise it'll grow right into the house). I think this tree needs a pet monkey.

Check out The Giving Tree. Although it's not the same without the illustrations (in which the tree visually conveys different emotions at different points).

Slapstick (to the face)

I was in the shower this morning when I started thinking about Kurt Vonnegut's novel Slapstick. I read it over 5 years ago, and although it touched me at the time, it has a different meaning now. It's funny how people you barely know can treat you with more kindness than your own family sometimes.

Of course I've treated people poorly in the past, but I also own up to my mistakes and try to compensate for bad behaviour.

I find it odd how some people react to those of us who REALLY behave in accordance with our own personal morals. They get angry, and wonder what your problem is. I think when you believe in something and apply it to your life, it's something to admire (as long as it isn't destructive to yourself or others).

I'm not sure how I feel about posting pictures of my daughter online. But, I figured a picture of her feet couldn't hurt.

Tropical Curry Delight

I made up the name, but stole the recipe from Cory's mom. It's magically delicious:

- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 1 tbs spoon curry
- 2 diced green onions
- 1 can crushed pineapple

Mix it up well. But then:

Cut tortillas into small tringles, and season with oil, thyme, and rosemary. Bake for 10 minutes or so at 350.

Yum.

The Rooster's Beak is Born

I've been thinking about starting a blog for way too long - in fact I have some interesting graphics relating to this blog title that I rigged up while drinking a few glasses of wine 4 apartments ago. I think I'll dig those up and finally put them to use.

I'm a creative writer, at heart, but have been away from it for far too long. If I'm not writing a contemporary masterpiece, then maybe at least I can get back into the swing of writing via this blog.