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Wonder

Amber on November 28, 2011 7 Comments

Why does a mother drag herself out of bed before 7:00am on a Saturday, and rush her groggy six-year-old through breakfast? Why does she pry her protesting three-year-old off of herself as she grabs her older child’s hand and runs out the door? The easy answer would be that she was invited to a media event at the local aquarium, which started before the doors opened to the public. The mother in question didn’t feel up to wrangling both children single-handedly, so she took the one who was least likely to dart off.

All of this is true. But that’s only the superficial reason. After all, being invited to an event and actually attending the event are not the same thing. So why does one drive through the early-morning rain, while listening to an endless string of questions from the back seat, when one would really rather be sleeping? Why does a parent put on 3D glasses and stand in line for cookies they can’t eat (because of the gluten)? Why does a mother make an origami jellyfish, or spend far longer than she would like examining every single thing in the gift shop? You could say she’s doing it for her child, and that’s true, but it still wouldn’t uncover the true rationale.

I accepted the invitation to see Luminescence at the Vancouver Aquarium. I watched a 16-minute version of The Polar Express and learned that electric eels aren’t actually eels, they’re fish. I watched lights bounce off of paper jellyfish and added milk to my daughter’s hot chocolate until it was the perfect temperature. And I did all of this because, for just a moment, I could see pure wonder on my child’s face. And when I did, I felt that wonder myself. I lived vicariously through my daughter’s joy, and it reminded me of something inside myself.

Moments like these are the real reason we have children. They’re the real reason we put up with the mess and the inconvenience. They’re the real reason that we go out of our way to accept invitations to events that we know our kids will enjoy, even if they require us to get out of bed early and endure a little bit of wetness. And they’re the real reason we tell stories about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. These moments are what make it all worthwhile, and we’re forever chasing them. Those moments of wonder, when we see the world through new eyes.

What lengths have you gone to, to see the wonder in your child’s eyes?

Tagged With: Beautiful BC, Bloggy McBloggerson, Navel Gazing, Parenting, Things to do

How to Snag a Parent Blogger

Amber on June 24, 2011 7 Comments

Yesterday, I got up on my high horse and explained why I wouldn’t use my platform to promote McDonald’s. I stand by what I said. The idea of aligning my personal brand with the McDonald’s corporate brand doesn’t work for me, so I’m not going to do it. I’m not even going to apply to do it. Although I do understand why people like my friend Karen are applying, and I hope they choose her.

The fact that I’m passing up this one campaign doesn’t mean I’m immune to PR pitches, though. Because I’m not. Do you want to know how to lure me in? It’s not by sending me a press release outlining how awesome your cleaning product is. It’s by offering me the chance to do something fun with my kids. Like, say, offering free tickets to the new show (cough Birds up Close cough) happening at the Vancouver Aquarium.

Because what parent can resist this?

Or this?

If you can convince me that my kids will even be learning something by attending, well, you’ve really got me. It’s now my solemn parental duty to attend, especially when it supplements the unit my daughter’s class did on birds of prey this year. Just think of the enhanced education she’ll be receiving!

Throw in free food afterward, and let my 6-year-old go back for seconds of the chocolate mousse, and I will kiss the ground you walk on.

Hannah's face after 2 bowls of chocolate mousse

And to cap it all off, who could resist a freaking baby beluga? I am not made of stone, people.

Here’s the point I’m getting at – I don’t think there’s anything wrong with brands connecting with bloggers, and hoping for a little bit of cross-promotion. We all just have to make our own decisions about what does and does not work for us. And if you throw in the chance to share a moment with a baby beluga, well, that never hurt anyone, either.

What do you think makes for a great evening out with your kids? Do you find baby belugas as irresistible as I do? And do you have a killer recipe for chocolate mousse? Please share!

PS – I’m still looking for your feedback. So please, take a moment to share the love and complete my reader survey. I’d really appreciate it!

Tagged With: Beautiful BC, Bloggy McBloggerson, Navel Gazing, Things to do

Midwifery, Birth and Maternity Care in BC and Beyond

Amber on June 18, 2011 2 Comments

I have been doing my podcast for a few months now. And the longer that I do it for, the more interview opportunities pop up. It’s like anything else – as you gain experience, you get better at doing something. So when I got a press release in my inbox letting me know that my birthday was the first ever BC Midwives’ Day here in British Columbia, and it concluded by letting me know that Ganga Jolicoeur, the Executive Director of the Midwives Association of BC, was available for interviews, I jumped.

I have had two midwife-attended births myself, and I am a great believer in the midwifery model of care. I appreciated the time that my midwives took with me, addressing my concerns, answering my questions and asking for my input. I felt empowered in birth, which was immensely valuable for me personally.

Once I connected with Ganga we couldn’t stop talking. I broke the interview into two parts to make it a little more manageable. In the first part, which is included in this post today, we talked about issues in maternity care, as well as other issues facing midwives, and the women they serve. Hint: we need more midwives! We also need more spaces for midwifery students.

During the interview I mentioned an article about birth in remote, Northern communities, and if you’re interested in birth it’s definitely worth a read. So be sure to check out Birthing at home: It takes a village
(which isn’t actually about homebirth, but birthing in your home community, which isn’t always possible for women in remote areas). It highlights a lot of the problems that people face when maternity care isn’t readily available to them. Midwifery care presents one possible solution to these complex situations.

If you’re interested in birth, babies and midwifery, you’ll want to listen to this interview. And you’ll also want to come back next week for the second part. Or subscribe to my podcast in iTunes, and make sure you don’t miss a thing!

Interview with Ganga from the Midwives Assocation of BC, Part 1 [ 24:40 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tagged With: Beautiful BC, Childbirth, Interview, Podcast, Politics, Pregnancy

What I Love About Vancouver

Amber on June 17, 2011 16 Comments

I wrote yesterday’s post at 4:00pm on Wednesday. As I’m writing today’s post, it’s now 10:30pm on Wednesday. The Canucks didn’t win the cup, and in a case of history repeating itself, rioting has broken out downtown. It’s still in progress, and I don’t know how it will all play out, but I’ve seen enough to know that it’s not good. I was sad enough already about the Canucks losing, but this is really just adding insult to injury, and it makes my heart hurt.

My amazing and inspiring friend (and Crafting my Life interviewee) Joyelle sent a tweet not that long ago. Here it is:

I love it. I think I’ll take her up on it. I’m not sure how yet, but I’m trusting that when I wake up in the morning, the right thing will come to me. I’m going to let my inner woowoo out to play. But for tonight, I think that I need to remind myself what it is about this place that I call home that’s so fabulous. Because while I have never lived in Vancouver proper, make no mistake about it, Vancouver is my city. I was born in Metro Vancouver, and I’ve lived my whole life here(excepting one four-month work term in Ottawa). It really is a fabulous place, and I am thrilled to call it home.

So for myself, and for a hurting city, here it is:

What I Love About Vancouver

We are inclusive and we value diversity.
We know how to celebrate – and we really can do it safely and responsibly.
We have Stanley Park. It’s bigger, no one can take it away, and it’s named for the same guy as the cup.
My friends are here.
We care about the earth.
Its beauty is unsurpassed.
You can visit a sketchy warehouse and leave with bags of local flour, because we value sustainable food systems.
Green grass in January.
Funky little places where my kid can have the ‘best treat ever’!
The PNE.

While things look bad as I write this post, I know that tomorrow we’ll dust ourselves off and re-balance our karma. Because we’re Vancouver, and we are crunchy granola hippies who know from karma. The actions of a few criminals cannot quench the spirit of our city, or the people who live in it. This is not a proud moment for me, but I know that it is not the whole story. And I have faith that we can and will do better.

Now, tell me – what do you love about the place that you live? I’d love to hear!

Tagged With: Beautiful BC, Love Letters, Navel Gazing

Vancouver Birth Lounge

Amber on January 23, 2011 9 Comments

I have been talking about Crafting my Life pretty much non-stop around here. I’m working hard to set the example that self-promotion is OK, because it is. I’m borrowing inspiration from Danielle LaPorte’s fabulous “radiate and state the facts” philosophy. But, that’s not all I’m working on.

I still have a book dream! If you haven’t heard about this, or you’ve forgotten, my big book idea involves collecting stories from first-time parents who welcomed their baby while living in Canada. I’m looking for pregnancy stories, birth stories, adoption stories, breastfeeding (or not breastfeeding) stories and stories about adjusting to life with a newborn. I’m collecting these stories because I believe that stories are important, and because I believe that there are very few books or resources that speak to the Canadian experience.

Putting on my aspiring birthy-baby-author hat, I want to tell you about a local Vancouver event that’s sort of up my alley. It’s BirthFest 2011, presented by the fabulous Birth Lounge collective. The collective got together out of their desire to create a community of care for expectant and new families. There are midwives, childbirth educators, a mama-run cloth diaper shop, mom and baby fitness instructors and more. All the kinds of people who make my hippie mama soul sing.

Their website says:

We’ve all heard that “it takes a village to raise a child,” but how many of us know what our village really has to offer? Local families are invited to discover their village with the wonderful support offered by members of Vancouver’s Birth Lounge.

See? My people, creating a village.

I’ll be dropping by this free community festival, and if you’re local, you might want to check it out, too. Here are the details:

When: Saturday, February 26, 2011 from 11am – 4pm
Where: Britannia Community Centre, Gym D
What: Shopping and services from over 50 vendors and organizations

To community, and babies!

Tagged With: Beautiful BC, Breastfeeding, Childbirth, Pregnancy, Things to do

Farm Fan

Amber on November 19, 2010 14 Comments

From time to time I get contacted by journalists asking for interviews on various topics. I think it’s mostly because I’m so active online – if they Google a certain term, they’re more likely to find me than most other people. When someone sends me an email asking for me to share my opinion, I feel intensely flattered. I love sharing my opinion. I think the very existence of this blog speaks to that.

In spite of my love of talking about myself all over the internet, I feel very hesitant to ask other people for interviews. I’m worried that I will be bothering them or something. I know we all have busy lives, and the idea of me dropping out of nowhere to ask to talk to someone feels like an imposition. I’ll give an interview to pretty much anyone, but somehow I don’t think people will want to talk to me. It’s a lot easier to think someone else is awesome, than to think you’re awesome yourself.

But then I came across Skeeter Farm one week at my local farmers market. They are a small, newish, local farm, and they were at the market for the first time. With watermelons. I’ve never seen anyone grow watermelons locally – I was fairly amazed. I took their brochure. I checked out their website. I read their story. I was fascinated, and I had to talk to the farmers. So much so that I got over myself and sent an email.

Luckily, the lovely Amy responded kindly, and agreed to host my family at the farm. I had a lovely talk with her. I saw the land, and the remnants of the growing season. I signed up for their 2011 CSA. My children tromped through the corn and my talented husband was kind enough to make a video. And he didn’t even complain ~~too much~~ about my poor interviewing skills, so yay for him! This is the first time I’ve actually requested an interview, so I accept the learning curve.

So, what did I learn? I learned that it’s OK to reach out and get in touch with someone awesome. I learned that what really gets my pulse racing is local food. And I learned that you can grow a watermelon locally, even if you don’t have the best plot of land. All good and valuable lessons, I say.

Have you ever sent an email to a total stranger because you just had to talk to them? Who was it, and how did it work out for you? I’d love to hear all about it!

Tagged With: Beautiful BC, Bloggy McBloggerson, Food, Navel Gazing

A Date with Hannah

Amber on October 18, 2010 23 Comments

On Saturday, I was invited^* to check out The Pod, a new art studio for kids in Vancouver’s Commercial Drive neighbourhood. Which is a lovely, vibrant part of East Vancouver, and not really earthy at all (cough Annemarie cough). Since my 5-year-old daughter Hannah considers herself to be a great artist, I couldn’t turn it down. And so Hannah and I headed out of the suburbs and into the city for some quality one-on-one time. And of course, I crossed my fingers the whole way that I wouldn’t have to do any tricky parallel parking. Luckily, I did not. Crisis averted!

We managed to find the studio and arrived on time. And we discovered that on this beautiful fall Saturday, we had the whole place to ourselves. I suppose that all the other children were out enjoying the weather. Suckers.

Hannah arriving at The Pod

We met Carlin Sandor, the creator of The Pod. She has a background in art, but worked for the government for years before she was laid off. While doing childcare to make ends meet, she was struck with idea of an art studio for kids. I love that she’s on her own Crafting my Life journey – I groove on people doing their Thing. And this is her Thing. She has dreams of expansion, and knitting circles, and sewing groups for teenagers, and a thriving centre for people of all ages to come and do art and handcrafts together. On so many levels, Carlin is singing my tune.

We made purses using bubble mailers and hockey tape. Before opening The Pod, Carlin did a bunch of focus groups with parents. There were two main themes that came out of those – make something useful, and don’t use glitter. I feel those parents – glitter is lovely, but evil.

Hannah colours before the class begins

Carlin shows Hannah what she’ll be making

Hannah cuts some tape, with a little help

Measuring Hannah for her bag’s strap

Hannah loved the studio. She was really quite disappointed that we only got to do one project. She wanted to make a robot and paint a rock and use the fabric scraps she found. Put a 5-year-old into a crafting paradise, and they could go all day, I think. Carlin graciously let Hannah take a piece of styrofoam home to use in a project. This piece of styrofoam has become Hannah’s Most Precious Thing. When I later asked her what her favourite part of the day was, she mentioned the styrofoam. 5-year-olds are really very cool, and sometimes surprisingly easy to please.

Hannah tucking her Most Precious Styrofoam into her new purse

When we were done at The Pod, we couldn’t just head home. We made our way to Commercial Drive and found a lovely bakery café. I had a chocolate croissant and a cup of tea, and Hannah had a gigantic brownie and a cup of hot chocolate. She informed me I had chosen the wrong thing, because apparently the brownie was the best ever. She kept telling me how this was a great day, and how much fun she was having just the two of us. And I told her the same thing, because it was fun. Time alone with Hannah is tragically rare for me. Having a 2-year-old in tow nearly all the time has that effect. Just watching her enjoy herself was really pretty awesome.

Hannah and her chocolate

After we finished up at the café, we stopped in at the vintage shop next door and ogled melmac dishes, old suitcases and gorgeous teak sideboards. Hannah settled on a vintage Hello Kitty mug. I managed to restrain myself, but I still sort of regret not buying the set of pastel melmac egg cups. They were just so pretty. Bygones.

It was great to get out and do 5-year-old stuff with my 5-year-old. To make art and explore a very cool neighbourhood and discuss the politics of kindergarten. I’m glad I did it. I hope to do it again soon.

Do you get one-on-one time with each of your kids? How do you swing it? And what kinds of stuff do you do? Tell me all about it!

^{* To be clear, we did not pay to attend the class, although there was no requirement that I blog about the experience.}

Tagged With: Beautiful BC, Bloggy McBloggerson, Kids, Parenting, The Pod, Things to do

Fair!

Amber on September 3, 2010 17 Comments

I mentioned a couple of days ago that my friend invited me to the fair, more properly called the Pacific National Exhibition, or just the PNE. The PNE is a Vancouver tradition going back 100 years. I love it, and before I had children I made it a point to go every year. I have entered draws to “Win a House, Win a Car!” I have eaten fair food and ridden on the rickety wooden roller coaster. I have watched chicks hatch and seen pigs race.

And then I got pregnant and took a long hiatus. The idea of taking small children into the big, bustling crowds scared me. Not to mention the many and various opportunities for whining that the fair presents to children. Rides we’re not going on. Treats we’re not buying. Games of chance we’re not playing. Old time-y portraits we’re not having taken. Oh yes, I could make a list as long as my arm filled with ways that taking children to the fair could go Very Badly Indeed.

Waiting outside the PNE gates

But. But. Having children in general can go Very Badly Indeed at anytime, even if you never leave your house. And it can also go Very Well Indeed, even when you least expect it. It can take something that is merely fun and make it amazing. Like, say, Christmas. Christmas was fun before I had kids, but now it’s something else entirely. Maybe the fair would be the same? There was really only one way to find out.

Watching the baby chicks

And so I found myself waiting outside the gate for my friends and their children. And then I found myself inside the gate with said friends and children. And we could barely contain the palpable excitement from the little ones. In fact, we couldn’t containt it, we could only ride along as they succumbed to the fair experience.

What would a fair be without carnival games?

We saw animals. The kids played farmer and got free chocolate milk. We ate junk food. We danced along with Dal Richards, who has been at the PNE for more than 70 years. We saw the Superdogs. We let the kids play a fishing game. We saw a monster truck. We nearly lost at least one of our children about 17 times. We left before things got too crazy, but not before buying even more junk food on the way out.

Jacob playing farmer

Hannah practices her roping

Was it kind of insane to take the children to the fair without my husband for backup? Probably. Was it worth it? I would say so. The PNE is such a huge local tradition. I love that about it. I love that you can go back every year during the last 2 weeks of summer and do it all again. You can eat the same food and see a lot of the same shows and walk through the same barns. And I want to share that with my kids. Yes, it’s a lot of work. No, I don’t get to see things on my schedule or at my pace. But it’s the PNE all the same.

The teeming crowds

Sharing events with your children is worth a little discomfort, I think. I’m glad that my own parents were willing to make that trade-off for me. And so I make the same trade-off for my children. And the reward for me, aside from eating mini donuts and re-experiencing the fair through my children? A good night’s sleep when everyone’s exhausted. $25 for 3 hours of parking is a small price to pay for an early bedtime, don’t you think?

Hannah and the dolphin she won

Me, still smiling as we head for home

In a few days it will be Labour Day, and summer will be over. But for now, we cling to our last days of freedom, and we go to the fair.

Tagged With: Beautiful BC, Kids, Navel Gazing, Seasons

Blackberry Lessons

Amber on August 18, 2010 29 Comments

Here in the Pacific Northwest, wild blackberries grow like weeds. In fact, they are weeds. Just try getting rid of a patch and you’ll find that it’s no easy feat. The plants line roadways and forest paths. In August, the berries grow large and deep purple, and it’s common to see people out with their buckets in parks and along the roadside picking berries.

I flatter myself, but I feel that I am a blackberry picker of considerable skill. And make no mistake, there is skill involved. The bushes have large, barbed thorns. If you aren’t careful, you can get badly scratched up. As a child, I got my finger caught on a thorn that I couldn’t get out. Not. Fun. There is an art to blackberry picking. As I perfected it, I have learned some life lessons.

Blackberries on the roadside in Birch Bay, Washington

Blackberry picking has taught me never to pay grocery store prices for something that grows wild, free and abundant. Why would I pay for flavourless, days-old berries, when I can pick and eat them fresh not 2 blocks from my door? And yet, blackberry picking has also taught me that you can’t get something for nothing. While I don’t have to pay to pick, I do have to invest effort and risk danger.

Blackberries on the vine

Blackberry picking has honed my eye, until I have become very adept at spotting the best berries in a tangle of thorns and leaves. It has taught me to look where other people don’t – down low and up high and in hard-to-reach places. And it has taught me to think ahead by dressing for the task and planning my approach. While a few scratches are par for the course in berry-picking, there’s no need to deliberately court them.

The reward – a bucket of berries

At least once on every outing I find myself snagged on some vines and stuck. And when that happens, I’ve learned how to get myself out with minimal damage. Blackberries have taught me to be slow and deliberate. They have taught me, above all, not to panic. And they have taught me that a little bit of risk is worth the reward.

A jar of homemade jam, so that I can enjoy blackberries all year long

Blackberries reinforce life’s transience. Blackberry season lasts a few weeks at most, and then it’s over. There’s no dilly-dallying if you want to enjoy your share. And when you have a bucket full of berries, you need to act fast because they won’t be that good for long. Make hay while the sun shines, and all that jazz, or your harvest will spoil before you can enjoy it.

Me being me, of course I had to make blackberry ice cream

I love picking wild berries. It feels like a part of my heritage, a piece of my childhood. I feel confident and at ease in a way that I don’t feel when I’m inside working on a computer. I love it. I hope that one day my children, too, will feel that way. That they will learn their own lessons from the blackberries.

Do you ever pick your own berries? What sorts of things have you learned in the process?

Tagged With: Beautiful BC, Food, Navel Gazing

Pity Party on the Beach, Part 2

Amber on August 9, 2010 30 Comments

Last weekend there was this big huge blogger party that all the cool lady bloggers went to. They flew to New York City where they attended panels and parties and met lots of fun people and that sort of thing. And they ate at great restaurants and toured a world-class city and hid in bathrooms and what-not.

I did not go. I wanted to go. I hemmed and hawed. But when it came right down to it, I couldn’t pull the trigger. I didn’t want to fly across the continent and spend that long apart from my not-yet-2-year-old. That was my choice, and it doesn’t mean that I expect you to make the same decision I did.

Just because I was at home in Vancouver did not mean I had to stay indoors and feel bad for myself. Right? So I met up with some other super cool local blogger types and we had a party of our own. It was light on panels, but there was sand and children and lots of therapeutic ointment. (Really! Bring on itchy, burning skin, my 7 tubes of ointment and I laugh in its face.) And BlogHer was kind enough to foot the bill, which was awesome.

It’s true, it wasn’t New York City. But it was pretty fun all the same.