Rainforest living is NOT for the faint of heart!(At least I think it was one of these, a skink, not this one in particular. But whatever it was it was at least 12 inches long!)
Cheers :-)
- Rainforest Mommy
* Pictures are from the Mongabay website.
Monday, August 30, 2010
This...
...walked across my house on Saturday.
Rainforest living is NOT for the faint of heart!
(At least I think it was one of these, a skink, not this one in particular. But whatever it was it was at least 12 inches long!)
Cheers :-)
- Rainforest Mommy
* Pictures are from the Mongabay website.
Rainforest living is NOT for the faint of heart!(At least I think it was one of these, a skink, not this one in particular. But whatever it was it was at least 12 inches long!)
Cheers :-)
- Rainforest Mommy
* Pictures are from the Mongabay website.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
I'm Distressed!
I think I am going to die or cry or something!
I've just come back from enrolling Matthew in school!
Granted it's pre-school and he'll only go two half days a week and I keep telling myself it's a glorified daycare setting, it's still school with a curriculum and a uniform! And for two mornings (or afternoons - I'm not sure yet which class he'll be in) my baby will be away from me. Out of my sight. Doing things I'm not aware of. Learning, hopefully.
I'm distressed!
But because of Matthew's speech delay his pediatrician has recommended enrolling him in some form of social group with children his own age. And where we live this is the best solution but I hate, hate, hate, the whole idea of it! I mean, Matthew is only two and a half years old. He should be at home for at least another year and a half, right?
The only upside to any of this, other than the whole point of it that being with his peers might bring along his speech, is it's only two half days and if after a while it doesn't appear to be helping and he really hates it too I can always take him out. It's being paid for on a month by month basis so there is no obligation for him to keep going.
Yesterday, my mother, younger brother and his family and I went to Chetumal, Mexico for the day but because the adoption is still not finished Matthew is unable to leave the country. I left him at the babysitter's house with her many, many, brothers and sisters, there are twelve children in that family ranging from 20+ down to eleven months. We got back too late last night to pick Matthew up so I got him this morning. The babysitter says he had a great time, which Matthew agreed with. She says he played happily with all the children, didn't cause any trouble and SPOKE to the other children. Specifically, she says he said "want more" and "play" so maybe this is exactly what Matthew needs and maybe, I hope, he will really benefit from the experience.
But I am still distressed!
Cheers :-)
- Rainforest Mommy
I've just come back from enrolling Matthew in school!
Granted it's pre-school and he'll only go two half days a week and I keep telling myself it's a glorified daycare setting, it's still school with a curriculum and a uniform! And for two mornings (or afternoons - I'm not sure yet which class he'll be in) my baby will be away from me. Out of my sight. Doing things I'm not aware of. Learning, hopefully.
I'm distressed!
But because of Matthew's speech delay his pediatrician has recommended enrolling him in some form of social group with children his own age. And where we live this is the best solution but I hate, hate, hate, the whole idea of it! I mean, Matthew is only two and a half years old. He should be at home for at least another year and a half, right?
The only upside to any of this, other than the whole point of it that being with his peers might bring along his speech, is it's only two half days and if after a while it doesn't appear to be helping and he really hates it too I can always take him out. It's being paid for on a month by month basis so there is no obligation for him to keep going.
Yesterday, my mother, younger brother and his family and I went to Chetumal, Mexico for the day but because the adoption is still not finished Matthew is unable to leave the country. I left him at the babysitter's house with her many, many, brothers and sisters, there are twelve children in that family ranging from 20+ down to eleven months. We got back too late last night to pick Matthew up so I got him this morning. The babysitter says he had a great time, which Matthew agreed with. She says he played happily with all the children, didn't cause any trouble and SPOKE to the other children. Specifically, she says he said "want more" and "play" so maybe this is exactly what Matthew needs and maybe, I hope, he will really benefit from the experience.
But I am still distressed!
Cheers :-)
- Rainforest Mommy
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Eight Questions; Eight Answers
Mommy's Nest posted these questions on her blog and invited her readers to answer them too.
1. Have you ever seen a ghost? If you have, what's the story behind it?
I've never seen a ghost but I have felt them many times. In my apartment in Toronto there were two of them. One had a evil aura about him and I often had nightmares whenever I felt him. The other was just the opposite and always made me feel calm.
2. What is your most embarrassing moment?
One time at a hotel I asked the guy at the front desk where I could find a fancy restaurant. He told me and then proceeded to explain where it was. After a while I piped up that I knew where it was and that I lived here. Everyone just gave me weird looks but in my defense after he told me the name and the general area where it was I knew exactly what he was talking about but still I should have just kept my mouth shut.
3. What was your best job and why?
I freelanced for a company in Markham, Ontario, for a few years off and on. I always loved working there because the camaraderie in the office was great.
4. What was your worst job and why?
I worked for my uncle for a while but I could never do enough or do anything good enough to suit him. I spent a lot of that year crying and was never so glad as when I finally quit.
5. If you won the lottery, what would you do with the $?
First I'd pay off my bills, then I'd immediately intensify my search for a baby girl to adopt. Then I'd share a portion of the money with my family and friends and invest the rest.
6. Have you met any celebrities? If you have, what's the story behind it?
I haven't really met any but living in Toronto I saw quite a few out and about. I saw Lou Diamond Phillips in the lobby of the Four Seasons, Adam Arkin and William H. Macy standing around while a scene was being shot for some movie or other, and Michael Douglas, Katherine Zeta Jones and Kurt Douglas when Michael and Katherine introduced Kurt before he did a reading from his book.
7. What is your favorite childhood memory?
One time my mother came home and told us if we were all in the car with the house clean in ten minutes we'd go to Edmonton for the day. (We were living in Calgary at the time.) We headed up and spent the rest of the day at West Edmonton Mall. When we left my mother decided she didn't want to drive home so we started looking for a hotel. It turned out Duran Duran was playing in the city that night and all the hotels and motels were completely full. Eventually my mother asked the receptionist if we could borrow some blankets and their bathroom and spend the night in the parking lot. The receptionist asked if it was for my mother and her husband but my mother said it was for her and her three children. The receptionist told my mother to hang on and when she came back she said the hotel was full but if we wanted to we could stay in the boardroom and that they'd bring in a cot for her and sleeping bags for us. So we did. It was great. In the morning my mother decided she didn't want to go home that day either so we ended up spending three days in Edmonton although that night we had a regular room.
8. What's your biggest regret?
My biggest, and only, regret is after my grandmother had her stroke I didn't get home in time to tell her goodbye in person before she died. This is only tempered by the fact I did speak to her on the phone after the stroke. She died on March 24, 1996, and I graduated from college that year and she wasn't there to see it. I guess that's really two regrets.
Feel free to play along and post your own answers if you'd like.
Cheers :-)
- Rainforest Mommy
1. Have you ever seen a ghost? If you have, what's the story behind it?
I've never seen a ghost but I have felt them many times. In my apartment in Toronto there were two of them. One had a evil aura about him and I often had nightmares whenever I felt him. The other was just the opposite and always made me feel calm.
2. What is your most embarrassing moment?
One time at a hotel I asked the guy at the front desk where I could find a fancy restaurant. He told me and then proceeded to explain where it was. After a while I piped up that I knew where it was and that I lived here. Everyone just gave me weird looks but in my defense after he told me the name and the general area where it was I knew exactly what he was talking about but still I should have just kept my mouth shut.
3. What was your best job and why?
I freelanced for a company in Markham, Ontario, for a few years off and on. I always loved working there because the camaraderie in the office was great.
4. What was your worst job and why?
I worked for my uncle for a while but I could never do enough or do anything good enough to suit him. I spent a lot of that year crying and was never so glad as when I finally quit.
5. If you won the lottery, what would you do with the $?
First I'd pay off my bills, then I'd immediately intensify my search for a baby girl to adopt. Then I'd share a portion of the money with my family and friends and invest the rest.
6. Have you met any celebrities? If you have, what's the story behind it?
I haven't really met any but living in Toronto I saw quite a few out and about. I saw Lou Diamond Phillips in the lobby of the Four Seasons, Adam Arkin and William H. Macy standing around while a scene was being shot for some movie or other, and Michael Douglas, Katherine Zeta Jones and Kurt Douglas when Michael and Katherine introduced Kurt before he did a reading from his book.
7. What is your favorite childhood memory?
One time my mother came home and told us if we were all in the car with the house clean in ten minutes we'd go to Edmonton for the day. (We were living in Calgary at the time.) We headed up and spent the rest of the day at West Edmonton Mall. When we left my mother decided she didn't want to drive home so we started looking for a hotel. It turned out Duran Duran was playing in the city that night and all the hotels and motels were completely full. Eventually my mother asked the receptionist if we could borrow some blankets and their bathroom and spend the night in the parking lot. The receptionist asked if it was for my mother and her husband but my mother said it was for her and her three children. The receptionist told my mother to hang on and when she came back she said the hotel was full but if we wanted to we could stay in the boardroom and that they'd bring in a cot for her and sleeping bags for us. So we did. It was great. In the morning my mother decided she didn't want to go home that day either so we ended up spending three days in Edmonton although that night we had a regular room.
8. What's your biggest regret?
My biggest, and only, regret is after my grandmother had her stroke I didn't get home in time to tell her goodbye in person before she died. This is only tempered by the fact I did speak to her on the phone after the stroke. She died on March 24, 1996, and I graduated from college that year and she wasn't there to see it. I guess that's really two regrets.
Feel free to play along and post your own answers if you'd like.
Cheers :-)
- Rainforest Mommy
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Wordless Wednesday - Roarrrrrrrr
To see more Wordless Wednesday posts visit my other blog CoconutPalmDesigns or go to Wordless Wednesday.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Post It Note Tuesday - Let's Play!
On a side note, no pun intended, Post It Note Tuesday is for sale over at SupahMommy. The person who buys this Meme will be helping a good cause because part of the proceeds will go to Jaden Duttine, Squeezing Out Childhood Cancer. Check out his story here: Jaden's Journey
Cheers :-)
- Rainforest Mommy
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Wordless Wednesday - You'd Think I Would Learn
It's not showing up very well but yes, that's sever sunburn.To see more Wordless Wednesday posts visit my other blog CoconutPalmDesigns or go to Wordless Wednesday.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Tasmanian Devil No More
A few weeks ago if someone had asked me to describe Matthew in one word I would have said "impossible". He was so manic all day long and half the night I was ready to tie him down to a chair or something. He honestly gave the term "bouncing off the walls" new meaning. He was no longer just bouncing, he was slamming into the walls repeatedly. It was horrible and somehow he was worse when we went out in public. Even my mother, who is usually much calmer than me, was at her wits end and told him she no longer enjoyed going out with him.
Then it finally dawned on me. He used to be like that, manic, bouncing off the walls and impossible to deal with and then someone commented that there was a lot of MSG in the ham on the pizza he was eating. I really started paying attention to the foods he was eating when we were out and had stopped giving him pizza altogether.
But slowly, I stopped thinking about it and the week leading up to the latest insanity he had pizza three times in a matter of four or five days. We were out a lot that week and it was something easy to grab on the go. Plus, I really like pizza.
I immediately stopped giving him pizza or any processed ham. I started reading the labels on everything I was buying (which is loads of fun as the packaging is often in Spanish and I don't speak Spanish). Within one day, Matthew was half as manic and within a few days he was behaving like a child again and no longer like a Tasmanian Devil.
So, there is a direct link between MSG and Matthew's ability to be focused and stay calm. Today, we went grocery shopping. Every single tin of Campbell's soup I picked up has MSG in it. So did most of the different tomato sauces I use to make dip for his tortilla chips. And so many other things we barely got any groceries. Thank God it's not in oatmeal or he'd really have a problem since that's his favorite thing to eat!
Are there any foods that send your children right over the edge?
Cheers :-)
- Rainforest Mommy
Then it finally dawned on me. He used to be like that, manic, bouncing off the walls and impossible to deal with and then someone commented that there was a lot of MSG in the ham on the pizza he was eating. I really started paying attention to the foods he was eating when we were out and had stopped giving him pizza altogether.
But slowly, I stopped thinking about it and the week leading up to the latest insanity he had pizza three times in a matter of four or five days. We were out a lot that week and it was something easy to grab on the go. Plus, I really like pizza.
I immediately stopped giving him pizza or any processed ham. I started reading the labels on everything I was buying (which is loads of fun as the packaging is often in Spanish and I don't speak Spanish). Within one day, Matthew was half as manic and within a few days he was behaving like a child again and no longer like a Tasmanian Devil.
So, there is a direct link between MSG and Matthew's ability to be focused and stay calm. Today, we went grocery shopping. Every single tin of Campbell's soup I picked up has MSG in it. So did most of the different tomato sauces I use to make dip for his tortilla chips. And so many other things we barely got any groceries. Thank God it's not in oatmeal or he'd really have a problem since that's his favorite thing to eat!
Are there any foods that send your children right over the edge?
Cheers :-)
- Rainforest Mommy
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Wordless Wednesday - Mmmmmm Lunch!
To see more Wordless Wednesday posts visit my other blog CoconutPalmDesigns or go to Wordless Wednesday.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
I'm So Excited!
And I just can't hide it!
(Sorry, that song, and don't ask me the name of it or who sings it, just popped into my head.)
So, I'm really, super, excited. Late last year I bought a second house. It's a small wooden structure, 12 feet by 20 feet, and it's been sitting out here since December 12th. I'll always remember the date it got set up because it was my 35th birthday.
Maybe I need to explain all this. Please bear with me. Houses here are often wooden structures that are built offsite and then delivered when they are ready. My first house is 18 feet by 20 feet and it's one big room and the bathroom. When I first moved here and had this house built I lived alone and it worked out well. However, as Matthew has gotten bigger we've sort of outgrown the space. I'm really good at jigsaw puzzles and have managed to keep the house looking spacious with all our combined "stuff" but we just need more room.
So, I bought the second house. It was built by old style Mennonites who have no electricity and run their saw mill with horses. It's all very cool to see. After it was delivered though I hit a small financial snag and connecting it to the first house was put on hold for a while. That while is over.
I placed the second house at a 45 degree angle to the first one not really thinking about how much floor space that was going to put between the two houses. And then just because I like to be difficult I had the new house set two feet higher than the first one. (Actually that was so that I'd stop hitting my head when I went under the house.) In the end the front corners are about 4.5 feet apart but the back space is 20 feet wide. Basically, I've tripled my house size.
The first house will be divided into two bedrooms and the bathroom and the second house will be the kitchen and family room. The space between will eventually have a roof and grill to enclose the whole thing. More decks will also be added on to the front and back and possibly the side as time and money permit. I'm also going to start saving again to add one more house, again at a 45 degree angle to the second one, and the accompanying decks.
The construction of the deck should be finished tomorrow, weather permitting. I'll post pictures in the next few days.
Cheers :-)
- Rainforest Mommy
(Sorry, that song, and don't ask me the name of it or who sings it, just popped into my head.)
So, I'm really, super, excited. Late last year I bought a second house. It's a small wooden structure, 12 feet by 20 feet, and it's been sitting out here since December 12th. I'll always remember the date it got set up because it was my 35th birthday.
Maybe I need to explain all this. Please bear with me. Houses here are often wooden structures that are built offsite and then delivered when they are ready. My first house is 18 feet by 20 feet and it's one big room and the bathroom. When I first moved here and had this house built I lived alone and it worked out well. However, as Matthew has gotten bigger we've sort of outgrown the space. I'm really good at jigsaw puzzles and have managed to keep the house looking spacious with all our combined "stuff" but we just need more room.
So, I bought the second house. It was built by old style Mennonites who have no electricity and run their saw mill with horses. It's all very cool to see. After it was delivered though I hit a small financial snag and connecting it to the first house was put on hold for a while. That while is over.
I placed the second house at a 45 degree angle to the first one not really thinking about how much floor space that was going to put between the two houses. And then just because I like to be difficult I had the new house set two feet higher than the first one. (Actually that was so that I'd stop hitting my head when I went under the house.) In the end the front corners are about 4.5 feet apart but the back space is 20 feet wide. Basically, I've tripled my house size.
The first house will be divided into two bedrooms and the bathroom and the second house will be the kitchen and family room. The space between will eventually have a roof and grill to enclose the whole thing. More decks will also be added on to the front and back and possibly the side as time and money permit. I'm also going to start saving again to add one more house, again at a 45 degree angle to the second one, and the accompanying decks.
The construction of the deck should be finished tomorrow, weather permitting. I'll post pictures in the next few days.
Cheers :-)
- Rainforest Mommy
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Wordless Wednesday - Xunantunich Mayan Ruins
To see more Wordless Wednesday posts visit my other blog CoconutPalmDesigns or go to Wordless Wednesday.
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