Reading Time: Dad is Fat

I was looking for something light to read, so when I heard John Oliver going on and on during The Daily Show about how great Jim Gaffigan's parenting/comedy book, Dad is Fat, is, I quickly downloaded it. 

The chapters were a bit short. I think it would translate well to the stage in a stand-up routine, but it felt a bit bald on the page. Maybe the audio version would be a better way to experience this book.

There were a few things I loved about Dad is Fat. The first is his description of living with his five kids in their two bedroom NYC apartment. There is an entire chapter dedicated to the intricate process of putting all of his kids to bed that blew my mind. There are crazy descriptions of getting his kids to their different schools around the city on the subway and taking all five of them to the park by himself with no car, which just shows what a commitment it is to live and raise your kids in New York City.  

The second thing I loved is Gaffigan's descriptions of his work and romantic relationship with his wife. She is his co-writer and producer. Every page is a testament to his devotion to her, and it makes his so gosh darn like-able. 

He writes:

"Jeannie was unlike any woman I had ever met or have yet to meet. She was part girl next door, part superstar, part insane-asylum inpatient. Jeannie was the oldest of nine children and when I met her she was directing a Shakespearean play with a hip-hop score featuring about fifty inner-city kids. For free. Here was this funny, sexy, smart woman who was passionate about her art and, for some reason, children. Working with kids inspired Jeannie's creativity, and being with her inspired me. It was an amazing relationship. Jeannie literally wanted to take care of me, and in turn I had this crazy, almost biological desire to provide her with, well, someone to take care of."

Aww. 

What are you reading this summer? I have a few more books I'm just finishing that I want to write about, but I'm always looking for something interesting to read before bed. I get bored easily, but ebooks have made it possible for me to read eight things at once without a cluttered bed side table. I love it, but because I'm reading so many things at once it takes me ages longer to finish a book. Oh well. 

Have a good weekend!

Neighbourhood Friends and Family Resource Center

published in The Packet

Every evening my husband asks me what I did all day. My answer to that question can be dull. I know my husband won’t show nearly enough enthusiasm about my recently organized and alphabetized spice rack, or the fact that I’ve figured out how to make scrambled eggs in the microwave. I’ve come to dread answering that question, unless I have an unusual answer to give. 

What did I do today?

Today I went to a pajama party, had a picnic lunch on a hockey rink floor, and tried to keep our toddler from stalking a person in a giant bear suit.

I have the Neighbourhood of Friends Family Resource Center to thank for this.  Today was their Family Fun Day at the CEC. They invited families from their centers in Clarenville, Southwest Cove, Swift Current, Come by Chance, Arnold’s Cove, and Random Island for a day of kid-friendly pajama-themed activities.

The children decorated pillowcases, played I-Spy in the sand box, frosted cookies to look like cookie monster, had their faces painted, and their bodies temporarily tattooed. They pranced around in their pajamas (Spiderman pajamas are really hip with the kiddos these days), played with hula-hoops and giant blocks, and were treated to a concert by Terry Reilly. Parents were given identification kits for their children sponsored by the Eastern Region Committee Against Violence, and a chance to suggest a name for the new childcare centre currently being explored by the NFFRC. The children also got a free book to take home with them and story-time at the end of the event.

My daughter’s favorite aspect of the event was Lil’ D, a gigantic teddy bear some poor, sweaty soul was dressed as to take pictures with the children. My daughter wasn’t a fan of pictures with Santa, so I wasn’t sure how she would react to a seven-foot bear. After scoping him out from a distance, shaking hands with him, and cuddling on his lap for a picture, she decided Lil’ D was her new best friend.

After meeting Lil’ D, she wanted nothing to do with any of the other activities.  She’d say bear, rush across the arena to the photo area, and barge through the line of kids waiting to get their pictures taken, so she could introduce herself to Lil’ D again. I’d snatch her up before she photo-bombed some one else’s family picture and try to distract her with another activity, before the whole process started all over again. This went on for over an hour. Once Lil’ D was gone, she’d forlornly walk around the rocking chair he once sat in whispering, “Bear?”

We were both exhausted by the end of the event, but all in all, it was a wonderful day. 

The Neighbourhood of Friends Family Resource Center is an incredible organization. I think their community outreach, their passion for children, and their accessible programming is a tremendous asset to the community. There are few free programs like these where I am from. I’ve added it to my list of awesome Canadian things I think the United States could learn from. It’s right up there with Canadian maternity benefits, chips on credit cards, and gravy on French fries.

Tumblr!

Hi all!

Are any of you on Tumblr? I'm kind of new to it, but I'm already in love.

So many interesting varied things to see and learn in a quick glimpse.

I've been reblogging the things that tickled me in some way on my own tumblr page. It's mostly links to articles that fascinated me, old pictures of my historical heroes, quotes that amused me, odd maps, and the like.

Check it out!

-Jayme

Learning with Eyes Wide Shut

I haven't been able to scratch much off of my To-Do List lately, but that doesn't mean I haven't been learning things.

For example I learned how to make a Tres Leches Cake, Mexican Rice, Refried Beans, and Mexican Wedding Cakes this weekend in honor of my friend Kelli, who is having her third baby in the next few days.

I learned that living on Starbursts for a week, while frantically cooking and freezing things for a party, lowers your immune system pretty significantly. If you aren't careful you can end up with one eye swollen completely shut, looking like this:

 I also learned that there are not enough doctors at our clinic right now to see patients on the day they call in. So guess which lucky individual got to spend four hours in the emergency room waiting to get a prescription for antibiotic eyedrops?

To be fair, I did have a moment or two when I was by myself reading my I-Pad in the waiting area that I did think, "This is kind of nice. I can just read and not feel guilty about it."

Then my I-Pad died.

 My body is acting out.  I guess I need to give it some attention. You can expect some whiny, I hate exercise posts in the near future.

52:52

Oh my gosh! I made it to the end of Project 52!

Newfoundland is

trips to Trinity Bay.

Thank you Canada and Newfoundland for giving us such a beautiful year! 

My Monthly Pinterest Challenge

I'm not sure what I would do with myself if I didn't have Pinterest and Instagram to entertain me.

Recently, I was going through my Pinterest account and I realized I have 69 boards and 5,636 pins.

I don't really collect quotes or celebrity pictures or anything like that. I aim to make boards that are USEFUL to me, which means I try to actually do or buy some of the things on my boards.

In order to help me do this, I've created a new board.

Sounds a bit counterproductive. But the board is simply a to-do list, where I move pins from various other boards on to it.

So in my July To Do List board I have a few recipes I pinned that I want to try, some workout routines to test, some photos I want to replicate, a few organizational tips to follow, and some craft projects. There are 23 items on the list. I figure if I do one of these a day, I am proving to myself that the (insert guilty gulp here) hours I spend perusing Pinterest are justified.

Then I can move the pins that I did to one of three other boards I have (I'm realizing how insane I sound as I type this). I have a pin fail board, a tried and true recipes board, and a completed projects board.

Next month I can start all over again with a new to-do list.

Does anyone else do this kind of thing with Pinterest? Is it sad that Pinterest is my main organizational tool? Do I need a (brace yourself) Pintervention?

52:51

Newfoundland is

looking out for Capelin fish

and finding other things to do when they don't show up.

This is what we thought we'd see,

but I think we missed it this year. They come to shore to spawn by the thousands. 

Oh well. Maybe next year.

Jayme Bugging Out

Published in The Packet

I tend to be Ms. Suzy Sunshine when I’m around other Americans living in Newfoundland. Whenever anyone complains about the weather, the shopping, or anything, really, I make a counterargument about why our lives in Newfoundland are wonderful. I can’t get over the feeling that we are guests in this province and we shouldn’t be rude, even if it is just to vent amongst ourselves.

Consequently, my American friends find me annoying and unsympathetic. My Canadian friends wonder why I’m so gushy about puffins and moose burgers.

One afternoon, a homesick and frustrated American friend called me and said she couldn’t imagine how anyone could live here forever. Before she could continue, I launched into part four of my aggressively cheerful monologue series, “The Things I Love about Newfoundland!”

“Hey! Did you know there are no snakes in this province?” I asked. “Yup. No snakes at all. In Florida, we have pythons that people kept as pets and then released into the wild when they grew too big. Since they have no natural predator, they are taking over and eating even the alligators! I’m so glad I live in Newfoundland where I don’t have to worry about that kind of thing.”

My friend was silent and a bit bewildered by the shift in topic.

“I love not worrying about snakes, alligators, fire ants, cock roaches, or any of the million creepy crawlies that live where it is hot and tropical,” I continued. “Newfoundland is a paradise! A pest free paradise!”

My friend mumbled something about another call coming through and hung up.

Over the course of a month, my pest free paradise became riddled with pests.

First came the carpenter ants. I did my best to ignore them, because they weren’t biting us or eating our food, but I did not appreciate their invasion into my kitchen.

Next came the black flies, which feasted on my daughter’s neck whenever we tried to play outside. Now, the second she comes indoors she goes straight to the medicine cabinet, and waits for me to unlock it and slather her in Afterbite cream.

I know a few bug bites are to be expected in the summer. At least I don’t have to worry about alligators eating my pets.

Just eagles. 

My Fish and Wildlife Enforcement pal told me they recently found a felled eagle nest with six cat collars in it. 

Yikes.

Lucky for me, I have no cat. I have a dog that loves the water.

But after reading a May Telegraph article by Josh Pennell about giant water bug sightings, I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled for the enormous creatures, dubbed “toe nippers” by locals. Pennell wrote that water bugs rarely bite. Still, I wouldn’t put it past my curious dog to investigate and end up an exception to the rule.

Picture by Josh Pennell. 

Then came the spiders. I’m generally okay with spiders because they eat those dreaded black flies. I am not okay with them having babies all over my stroller.

If I had seen one baby spider, I might have smiled, showed my daughter and even called it cute. But hundreds of wriggling baby spiders trailing threads of web over every inch of the stroller’s wheels, tray and seat was something out of a nightmare. It was more than I could handle. I needed to share my revulsion and vent about the bugs that are driving us crazy this summer.

I called my friend.

“You know what I love about Newfoundland,” I said, brightly. “I’m learning so much about nature. Particularly, arachnids.”

Part four of the “The Things I Love About Newfoundland” monologues is under revision.

Apologies

I'm so sorry I haven't written an actual post about learning things in awhile. I fell down the quilters rabbit hole and have had a hard time popping back up and focusing my energy on other things. I'm going to attempt writing more posts during the week. I have some fun ones in the works about Pinterest, drawing, Spanish, and gardening, in addition to the typical posts about our life here in Newfoundland.

Thanks for your patience!

A Letter to a Friend on Baby Led Weaning

So a friend of mine messaged me on facebook about my experience with baby led weaning. She's considering it for her baby boy, and wanted some information. She might have regretted asking me, because I wrote an essay on the subject. I figured I may as well share it here, in case anyone else is wants some quick information about it. Here is an excerpt from my message.

When it comes to feeding my baby, I LOVED baby led weaning. 

Here's how it works:

You start when your baby can sit up on his own, is suddenly putting everything in his mouth, and is very interested in whatever you are eating, usually around six months.

You continue breastfeeding (or formula feeding, or both, or whatever, lol) as usual. The baby gets everything they need nutritionally from the milk. The word "weaning" is not meant in the American sense of "giving up" the breast, but in the European sense of "adding" complementary foods.

When you baby led wean you aren't really feeding your baby, so much as letting him experiment with food. That's why it is important to keep breastfeeding, and that is why there is no need to measure or worry about how much food they are actually eating. It doesn't really matter in the beginning.

Give the baby pieces of whatever you are eating, minus the salt. Tracey Murkett and Gill Rapley's Baby Led Weaning Cookbook has lots of great ideas.

It seems counterintuitive, but you want to give the baby really long pieces of food they can grip in their fists and bring to their mouths. Ellie's first food was a skinny, four inch piece of steak that she gummed noisily for a few minutes before dropping it on the floor.

You let him eat as much as they want to eat, and when he is bored with the whole thing, you pick him up and put him in the tub, lol. It doesn't matter how much or little he eats, just that he is getting practice with real foods.

Try to give him things that have a natural handle, like steamed broccoli with the long stem still attached, or a banana rolled in a bit of oatmeal (to make it less sticky and easier to grip). Other things that worked great for Ellie, were whole apples and pears that we "started" for her by biting a piece off before giving it to her. You can give him noodles, peas, rice and things that help him work on his pincer grip. Just avoid things that are natural plugs such as whole grapes.

Purees, yogurts, and mashed potatoes are great, too. Just let him go to town with it with their fingers. I've fed Ellie yogurt with a spoon at the airport or other places where it wasn't feasible to let her cover herself in food, but only as much as she wanted. The whole point is to avoid food power struggles. As he gets older, you can let him try using a baby fork or spoon on their own.

Gradually as he gets the hang of eating, things will get less messy, and you won't need to breastfeed as much because he will be getting more of his nutritional needs met by the food instead of the milk.

Ellie gagged. They all do. It is scary at first, but you have to remember that gagging and choking are not the same things. Choking is quiet and dangerous. Gagging is loud and mostly harmless. It is the baby's way of learning how much food is too much food to put in their mouths. I'll admit that in the beginning I kept the baby heimlich and cpr instruction on my laptop right next to me at the table, just in case. I relaxed pretty quickly though.

Here are some instructions on what to do if the baby gags or chokes.

I understand the arguments against Baby Led Weaning. It is really messy, and wasteful, there is no exact science for measuring how much they've eaten, and there is the fear they might choke. Plus people look at you like you are crazy when you give your baby a hunk of bread to gnaw on at a restaurant. I've also run into issues where the health professionals Ellie sees have no idea what I'm talking about when I mention baby-led weaning.

But the benefits really appeal to me. She enjoys eating, and mealtimes for her and us happen at the same time. I think it will help her be a healthier eater in the future because she is exposed to more textures and flavors of food than she would have just eating purees.

And there is no need to only do purees or only do baby led weaning. Mix it up and do what is comfortable for you.

I hope this helps! Let me know how it goes, and give the baby a little cuddle from me!