Saturday, January 31, 2009

Currently Under Construction


My page is currently going through some renovations and is not finished as of yet!


There are a few components yet to be added or updated so bear with me in the mean time. The header also looks a little silly. I have no idea who that woman is in deep thought on the top of my page ATM. Bethany from Life with Bubba, Chicky and Nika is helping me with a new header and a few other ideas! I'm so absolutely excited! Hence the new LAYOUT!!! So you will just have to come back and see the progress.

Friday, January 30, 2009

NewBean!



Who Told You I Was Charming! >.<



I love Bananas!
I can't leave them alone!
I'm Crazy Bout Bananas, Cause Bananas ain't got no bones!


Ha Ha!





Patrushka's Bunny doubles as a pillow I see!





All Right Which One Of You Jerks Put Me In Here?
Not Funny!
That's It! I'm Calling NANA and Telling on You!


Nice Hair Baby Boy!




















Potatoe Bean

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Bean Sprout!

Just a few Pics to show you how fast the Bean is Sprouting!



This first pic is one of the very first pics ever taken of my lil Bean! Daddy took it on his Cellphone and we sent it to Nana and Granddad right away. Here is a picture from a few hours after he was born. I still have the IV's in my arm so it's still the 2nd of April. His BIRTHday! This picture makes me want to cry. What an overwhelming day.


This is a bunny made by one of my momma's quilting friends named Patrushka. This bunny is wonderful. He is so soft and made of a sort of terry towel. Also, he doesn't have any eyes so I will never have to worry about sewing any back on. We use the bunny to show how big Beany is getting!
This picture is from May 12 or so, 2008.

Here is another picture with Patrushka's Bunny! This one was taken in July, 2008.


And Here! The Bean Sprout in January, 2009!





On the lighter side... 21 Things!

After my total and complete rant about the Lil Truck Of Horrors, I have decide to lighten things up!



21 Things about the Bean!


1) He laughs when you say "Roar!" or "Boo!".


2) He loves Pickles.


3) He can't seem to swallow Potatoes but he loves French Fries.


4) He was 4 lbs, 14 ounces when he was born.


5) He was Born April 2nd, 2008.


6) He was supposed to be born April 25th, 2008.


7) I was induced with him on April 1st, 2008 but he just wouldn't come out that day.


8) He loves to stand and stomp his feet.


9) He has one tooth so far.


10) He has really strong muscle tone and likes heavy work and heavy touch.


11) He is finally starting to notice the Signs that we use with him, Like Momma, Daddy, Hi, Eat, Drink, All done, Duck.


12) He really likes Ice cream, Whipped cream, Yogurt or any other creamy whipped sweetened goodness!


13) He has sleep apnea.


14) He Hates falling asleep and Hates to be woken up before he is ready.


15) He hasn't pulled himself to a stand yet :(


16) He first went camping when he was 6 weeks and started swimming when he was about 8 weeks!


17) He has a collection of turtles in his room from all over the place! D once asked me if I chose Turtles for Hunter Bean because he has DS and turtles are slow but I had picked turtles for Hunter Bean before I gave birth to him and we had no idea that he had DS before he was born.


18) He has been to Vancouver,BC; A road trip to Saskatchewan and lots of places in Alberta!


19) He absolutely loves water, baths and swimming in the pool with his Momma!


20) He hates having his butt changed!


21) He rocks back and forth when someone is singing or there is music that he likes. He will also do this when he is really excited or happy about something, like when Daddy comes home and gives him a big smile.




Little Truck of Horrors

Little truck of horrors

Dare I even write this post?

I take the bus to work. I walk 1 block from the bus to my building. Today, in that time, I was assaulted with an 8 foot x 10 foot billboard on the side of a truck. The image on the billboard was that of an aborted foetus in a pool of blood lying next to a nickel. The foetus was no bigger than the nickel. It took my mind roughly 1 minute to process and clearly distinguish the image. I saw the nickel right away but could not place what all the red and fleshy images were. When I finally realised WHAT I was looking at I stopped in my tracks almost slamming into the person behind me. I’m sure that my mouth was hanging open. My eyes followed the truck as it turned the corner, mouth agape, staring in shock. I looked around at the other people on the side walk. No one else was looking. No one else appeared to have even noticed. I just kept staring at this truck as it drove off and I lost it to the throng of traffic.

I have since looked into this vehicle and found the article linked above that was published in the FFWD (read Fast Forward) weekly August 9th, 2007. Apparently this lovely truck is a product of The Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform (CCBR).

Now, I understand completely the gravity of the pro-life/pro-choice debate. I just don’t think that the unsuspecting public, meandering off to their daily grind, should be assaulted and bludgeoned with such imagery.

In the FFWD weekly, the writer of the article, Jennifer Wiley, notes that Executive Director of the CCBR, Stephanie Gray says the trucks are meant to target an “older audience wherever possible, but in this case, parents will have to use discretion and possibly use a truck sighting as an opportunity to teach their children about what abortion is.” Now, I’m sorry, but picture THIS!

You are walking down town with your 11 year old son, who is slowly starting to become an adult. He asks adult questions, he says he wants to start shaving (even though he doesn't have to), he wants to watch all the old movies that scared him as a kid so that he can “face his fears”, but mostly he is starting to see things differently. He is asking ADULT questions.

“Hey Ssej?”
(Pronounced Sedge. That’s what he calls me, Jess backwards, I’m his Quasi mom)

“What’s on the side of that truck?” or “Why is there a dead thing on the side of that truck?”

You know, I don’t know exactly WHAT he would ask me but I would not have a clue as to what to tell him. A bad picture? An advertisement? I don’t know? Regardless of our exact word for word conversation, I would NOT use the image on that truck as an opportunity to talk to my son about ABORTION!

Stephanie Gray - “Until women are more horrified with abortion than they are currently terrified of a crisis pregnancy situation, they are going to go to the abortion clinic every time. I think people will be really surprised by the trucks, because it is something they haven’t seen before. But if there is nothing wrong with abortion, the images shouldn't bother them.”

I am honestly PISSED at this!

I am pro-choice. I think there are far too many children being mistreated by mothers, fathers, parents who never wanted them, can’t afford to take care of them or shouldn't even be allowed to have children. I think there are far too many situations in which women become pregnant, not by choice, and are then in no position to raise a child alone. I realllllllly don’t want this post to turn into an abortion debate but the comment that “if there is nothing wrong with abortion, the images shouldn't bother them.” seems completely asinine. There is nothing wrong with people dying of natural causes either but I don’t go around showing giant billboard photos of the elderly after they have died from a stroke or a heart attack or simply passed away of old age. I personally don’t like the Catholic Church and the pedophilia that seems to run rampant within the church but I don’t post giant billboards of young boys being molested to bring the issue to the attention of the masses.

To Stephanie Gray – There are some things that I, as Jane Q Public, should not be FORCED to see. I understand that you want the issue to be addressed, but frankly, fuck you. I don’t need a dead foetus to set me off and ruin my day! This kind of imagery is something that can be used in anti – abortion presentations where in the audience is consenting.

On the CCBR web site there is a list of Frequently Asked Questions about Abortion Imagery in CCBR Presentations. I really did not want to link to this site but I see the hypocrisy already.

Question #2

2. Will the audience be warned about the imagery?

Yes. CCBR speakers inform the audience, within the presentation, prior to showing the graphic abortion imagery. Individuals are told how they can avoid looking at the images (by closing one’s eyes or looking down) if they choose not to watch. Furthermore, where the facility layout permits, lights are turned down so others in the audience are not aware if an individual avoids watching. Finally, there is no sound besides instrumental music, so the audience also will not even hear any sounds related to the abortion procedure.



How come I was not warned?



I think I’m done ranting about this issue. I don’t see how bombarding the unsuspecting public with graphic imagery is the way to convert people to your cause. I’ll play the devil’s advocate. Why not consider the children walking down the street who will have the image of a foetus burned into their memories, confused about the whole issue.

!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Summer Time And The Living's Easy

UHG! So my last post reminds me of the holiday trailer! What to do? What to do?

So this is our DUTCH SWINGER! And I don't know what to do with it. I absolutely love the swinger. It was purchased in 1973 by my grandparents for roughly 2000$ and has been handed down through the family and has wound up in our hands. It's never had bugs, mold, or rodents. It's in mint condition considering it's age. The stove, fridge, furnace, sink and electrical all still work perfectly. There are tons of little cupboards and closets and drawers for storing all our dishes, utensils, pots, pans, books, games, toys, linens, towels food, beer (can't forget beer) and any other useful or useless goods we decide to drag along with us on week long camping trips. It's Ugly! I'll give you that. And it weighs more than our truck (see diagram 2.0).

But I DON'T WANNA GET RID OF IT!!!!
(To be read in a really whiny temper tantrum-y sorta voice).

There is a nice lil bunk bed for Sam that he loves snuggling into, kind of like his own private penthouse. The lower double bed is uncomfortable compared to our queen at home but I would prefer that to sleeping on an air mattress on the ground ANY DAY! The kitchen table is great for cards or for entertaining. For crummy, rainy nights when eating at the picnic table just isn't pleasant. The storage alone keeps me sane the whole time we are camping. I hate storing things in Rubbermaid bins and duffel bags all weekend. Just knowing where everything is and having a proper place to put things make the whole domestic aspect that much easier. And to be able to boil a pot of water and wash dishes at a proper sink is really nice especially when you are cooking and cleaning for four people. The security is nice when you have a baby. I don't have to worry about "What will we do if it starts raining?".

Well! The issue here is that D would rather sell the Swinger and get a nice tent so that we can do some more off the beaten path camping. Every time we take the Swinger out it's an event! The cost of gas last summer was frigging ridiculous and it was costing us upwards of 500$ for gas, camping site and extras every time we took it out. If we don't use the Swinger we don't necessarily need to stay in Official camp sites and we wont need to pay the stupid gas prices to haul it. As I said it weighs more than the truck and it's not cheap to pull!

Diagram 2.0


My Boys Camp in Style Yo!
This is a pic of the Bean May long weekend 2008. This was the weekend we picked up the Swinger and used it for the first time at Wasa Lake in BC. Beany is lounged out in the shade. It was a very hot weekend. He was about 6 weeks old here.


Ha ha! Sam took this picture below of the Bean's Belly button. I should do a post of some of Sam's better pics. He takes some really good pictures. He has a totally different perspective on things. I think this is partially due to the fact that he is 11 and still has an imagination! He He He.

And this is one of my fave pics ever! Sam holding his lil baby brother. They both look so peaceful and happy to be in one anothers arms!! /cry



The Lil Bean slept in a laundry basket that weekend. He was still so tiny and it was pretty cold at night, but the laundry basket was a perfect lil bed for him. Nice and cuddly and warm for him. See his Sleep Sheep! :D It makes white noise like a Mothers heart beat, Whales, The Ocean or Rain. Nice night time sleep pal.

All Snuggled up!
Ha ha! Momma and her Sleepy Bean!
Another Great Pic of Sam and His Lil Brother Bean!
DADDY and The BEAN! Laxing!! Look how big D is compared to the Lil Baby Beany!




So I really don't know what to do! Financially, it makes sense to get rid of the Swinger. I see D's point completely. It's not the most convenient beast of a trailer to haul around but I don't know if i want to give up the convenience that it affords us when it comes to storage, security and sleeping arrangements. I suppose I will have to make a decision before too long. I want to get started camping this May again! If only we had a nice newer holiday trailer that wasn't so god damn heavy and old! Perhaps D would be more willing to haul it around. I'll keep you posted.

I See Bean See!

My Post Titles are So silly!


BEANY!

We went to the Alberta Children's Hospital today to have Hunter Bean's eyes checked. He followed the lady and her fancy pen light, showed her his pretty blue, albeit, crossed eyes, and I'm sure made her day with his charming smile. We were lucky too. D said he would meet us there at 2:45 after our appointment but he showed up early and spied us having a hot dog in the cafeteria. We were excited to see him. Seeing Daddy is always exciting and watching Beany's face light up when he sees D is so great! Not only did we get extra time with Daddy but our appointment that was supposed to be an hour long turned out to only take 15 mins and we were able to go to the mall and have a coffee with him before I had to rush off to work, so that was a nice surprise. We have a follow up appointment on Feb 6th to see the actual Ophthalmologist. Today was just an assessment to see how soon he needed to see the Doctor I suppose.

We are very fortunate to have such a beautiful hospital to take him to. His eye doctor, the Down Syndrome Clinic, the RSV Clinic and the baby massage classes are all at the ACH (Alberta Children's Hospital) and it's an absolutely beautiful hospital. It's a very warm, colorful and enjoyable place to take your children and I always look forward to our appointments there even though it is 2 hour / 3 bus ride for us from home.


Every other Friday we have a drop in at the Down Syndrome Clinic where Hunter Bean gets to see his Dietitian, Occupational Therapist, Growth and Development Specialists, Speech Pathologists, etc, etc, etc. I'm always so proud to take him and the ladies there just adore him.

Ha, We were looking at his lil tooth today and it's the furthest thing from straight! Which is just terrific because I went through the whole braces, bionator, head gear, retainer thing and wow how it sucked. So I reallllllly reallllllly hope that his teeth are nice and straight and not like mommy or daddy's! Arg! Ce la Vie! It is what it is.

Regardless of glasses or braces, he will be a handsome boy. His brother Samuel is a good looking kid and will be a real ladies man when he gets to be a teenager. I'm sure we will have all kinds of girls calling the house for Sam. :D If only he would listen to us when we tell him that girls don't have cooties, that they are actually pretty cool.

We are slowly teaching him how to cook so that he will be able to impress all his GF's to come. So far he has mastered Oven baked Pizza (Delicio), Itchiban (Ramon noodles), Canned soups, Nachos baked with cheese in the oven, and he manages the Microwave quite well. AND BOY OH BOY can he and his Dad make a KICK ASS Banana Bread! I'm very proud of how Sam's cooking skills have come along since he moved in with us. He was not really interested in learning to cook and was nervous even opening the oven, but now he shows signs of confidence. He makes his own lunches, whips up bowls of oatmeal in the morning for breaky, has made macaroni a few times for himself. WOOT! He'll have bachelor food mastered by his 12th birthday and we will be able to start teaching him the finer things like the BBQ this summer! Wont that be great, D and S out on the deck, Bean crawling around in the grass, steaks on the BBQ, corn on the cob, potatoe salad and a beautiful summer evening! I'm looking forward to it already.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

WTB OCD FTW!

Ha most of you wont understand the title of this particular post!

Want to buy Obsessive Compulsive Disorder For The Win!


My blog layout! That's what this is all about!

I have just started this whole blogging thing and I must say, as you may we be able to tell by the number of posts I have and the rate at which I am constantly changing things around, that I am completely enjoying the whole blogging experience. Additionally, I find myself in love with a lot of other blogs as well. Some people have the most beautiful layouts, creatively designed headers, and fantastic fonts. Some folks have fascinating slide shows and videos, while others like to keep is simple and merely have a wicked cool knack for writing. Either way I just can't get enough. The stories of families, mothers like my self, new to all this, raising babies like my own, with similar soft almond eyes and drooly chins. The honesty and hilarity that some people pour out onto their pages! LOVE IT! But what's a girl to do when she just can't settle into her own lay out!

I know, I know! It's like raising kids. You get better at it with time. I expect that. Actually, this is like my breastfeeding stage of blogging. LOL! I gotta go through the uncomfortable and painful task of getting used to it before I can get really GOOD at it. Then, once I know where everything is (even in the dark), things should fall into place and fit a bit better. I also think the layout and theme/style of a persons blog take a little time to develop and mature. Do I like pink, is it realy for me, maybe not, hmmm, mauve seems like a good fit, nah! what about a blue? Teal? Is teal even a color?

I have also noticed that quite a few people have blog layouts and designs done for them professionally so everything looks very, well... professional and uniform and I really like that. I'm one of those anal - retentive people that will keep fixing and fiddling with things till they are perfect, which in turn just mucks things up!

So I'm not sure what to do at this point. I fear that if I spend too much time farting around, changing things like fonts, backgrounds, headers and columns that I will just ;

a) Irritate people who are trying to keep up with me (not that there are many, Hi Mom)
b) Make a mess of things
c) completely lose sight of the entire purpose of this blog
d) get bogged (read Blogged) down with the useless details and never actually find the shoe that fits

If anyone has any suggestions please feel free to post them. I am interested in how people found the right fit or style that they are using now. Or are you another one of those people who is constantly rearranging the furniture, like myself?

For now I think I will just take it easy and let the blog mature in it's own time, much like my lil Bean Stalk!

Canada needs a Prenatal Diagnosed Condition Awareness Act

Please Check out and perhaps sign this Petition.

"Technological advances in fetal screening are presenting parents -and doctors- with enormous ethical, psychological and social dilemmas. Vulnerable, and with limited or biased information as guidance, more than 90% of prospective parents in Canada choose termination if their baby is diagnosed prenatal with Down syndrome. They may never know there is a world of resources, hope and support out there. In spite of tireless efforts from support groups their information pamphlets rarely reach prospective parents at the time they need it most."

They may never know that the most loving and wonderful community exists. I have never felt such amazing support and understanding from any group of people in my life as I have from those who are involved in the Down Syndrome Community. From parents of children with DS to support workers, Doctors, Therapists, Mothers, Grandmothers, Friends of people who have children with DS, BLOGGERS! What a welcoming and wonderful world it is to be a part of. The fear of raising a child with Down Syndrome completely washes away and is replaced by a feeling of being embraced by everyone who is a few steps ahead of you on the same journey.

I want to thank each and everyone of you in this community for changing the face of Down Syndrome. For offering a hand to those of us who needed it. I hope that I, in turn, can offer my hand, can help someone up, encourage them on their way, and show them how exciting this journey will be!

GONNA NEED A MONTAGE

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Chomping bean!

Lil Baby Bitee Bean!



THE BEAN HAS A TOOTH!!!



It was coming through while Nana was here and that was when we first discovered it pushing through his lil gums, but it has finally arrived.



I would love to preserve this moment by taking a picture of the tiny lil beast peeking its sharp lil head out, but alas and alack, it is such a tiny lil tooth and good luck getting the Teeny Beany to sit through a picture of the inside of his mouth!





Another update of the Bean.



This Tuesday we have an Eye Appointment and the Alberta Children's Hospital. We have been waiting a few months to get him in to see (ha ha) the Eye Doc. He has a tendency to be a lil cross eyed at times and it seems that his left eye tends to be a lil more crossed than the right. I'm hoping that the Eye Doc can help us out with this. I know that if he needs lil tiny glasses he will be THE most awesomely cute child ever! I think that would just be fantastic. I don't WANT him to have glasses. I would rather his eye sight be prefect, but if he needs glasses I wont complain.



Then we have an over night sleep study at the Children's in March. We get to spend the night in the hospital, Bean with hoses and machines hooked all up to him, recording his oxygen levels. I'm not really looking forward to sleeping in the hospital but it's for the best. This way we will get a better idea as to Beanies needs and how best to cope with his sleep apnea.

The sleep apnea is becoming a bit of a pain for him I think. Poor lil guy has been waking up alot lately. I think part of that had to do with the tooth coming through and a slight cold that he had which was making him all stuffed up and runny nosed. The cold has cleared and the tooth has surfaced and he is not waking up every two hours any more but I can tell he is still having issues with the apnea. I wish I could make it better. It's so nerve racking to know you lil boy stops breathing in the middle of the night.

Hopefully we will get him to cooperate with the CPAP machine here soon and he can start wearing it at night. That would make me alot happier.

I will update soon about the eye Doc appointment.


Friday, January 23, 2009

Addiction~

My newest Addiction is

Unringing the Bell

Something about her writing style and personality has me hooked. My newest, greatest pleasure. I love reading new writing styles and hearing new stories.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Thankful Thursday!

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful. ~ Buddha
Five Things I am Thankful For This Week
1. I am Thankful for my job, because even though I don't always want to be here, it keeps the Bean out of daycare and I make great money.
2. I am Thankful for D who is always helpful, hard working and (as always) handsome. He never quits.
3. I am Thankful that Bean is so healthy, happy and such a dream to be with every day.
4. I am Thankful that Sam lives with us. Even though he and I sometimes don't get along, I really love him. He is really funny and has a great imagination.
5. I am Thankful that Nana came this past week to visit the Bean. It is important that they spend time together.

Lil Beany Boy




I'm Not Small
I'm SO Tall!
I could carry an Ice Cream Truck on My Back!





OHHH Bath Time!

LOOK MOMMA! I'M A FROGZORS!


Uh? Are We Done With The Pics Yet Nan!?


I only Ride in Style!


Uh? What's up?




OH HEY!! NANA!!!
I'ma Getchoo!
I GOTCHOO NANA!!