Vancouver(ish) Tribe: September's here and there's a nip in the air

[flowmom]

welcome lower mainland mamas!

(and mamas to be)

All local mamas are welcome here! Visitors are welcome to pop in too. We are brought together by our passion for conscious/thoughtful/attachment/respectful/wholistic/natural parenting, not always agreeing on the path but agreeing to respectfully discuss, share, and learn together. Feel free to join in the conversation and introduce yourself!

This is our thread for chatting online, discussing issues relevant to the Lower Mainland, and arranging meetings in real life. If you have issues and questions that are not specific to the Vancouver area, please start a new thread in the appropriate MDC forum (e.g. breastfeeding, discipline, health, etc.). You can also post a link to your topic in this thread if you are requesting input from your tribe members. This allows us to

1. adhere to MDC guidelines;
2. keep questions and responses organized; and
3. reduce thread traffic and allow readers more control over which discussions they engage in.

Meet-ups are sporadic and include gatherings at parks, Science World, and people's homes. Anyone is welcome to suggest a gathering time/place. Meet-ups are either announced in the meet-up thread in the Canada Forum or here.

Remember that to get email notification of new posts in this thread, you can post to this thread to subscribe or you can use 'thread tools' and click 'subscribe'.

Please note that our Vancouver(ish) Tribe has other threads in the Canada Forum, including:

• Vancouver(ish) Meet-up thread
  
• Knitting Group Thread: look in the Canada forum
  
• Vancouver(ish) Doctors for Children
  
• Vancouver(ish) Dental Resources for Children
  
• FAQ: Greater Vancouver Area Liveability and Affordability

[robugmum]

Happy Autumn everyone!:

[Ellp]

Subbing. (Don't have anything else interesting to say... need tea first...):yawning:

[widemouthedfrog]

hello everyone! We've been back for a couple of days now. Sorry to have missed the big do. Good luck to everyone preparing to go places!

I finished my marathon (slowly) but I finished it - it was VERY windy and rainy. I have my gold medal, anyway! Iceland was lovely, kind of wish I'd done it solo as an adult because of the potential for doing crazy nature activities. Photos coming as soon as I have a chance.

I'm finding three to be more trying than two was, in terms of dd's desire to do things dd's way, right now. Even impossible things, like "I need a double stroller for my dolls, and I need it now." This sort of thing caused us quite a number of tantrums on our trip. There is a lot of raging against the machine (mom) in our house lately.

We're heading out to Maple Ridge today to visit my grandparents - the last time we tried, dd got pneumonia. Hopefully there won't be too much traffic ~9:30 am . Hopefully we'll find some corn, too!

Kudos to the canners. I am going to try to do some pickles next weekend - low carb and dd and I both love them. I've never done them before.

Oh, and this summer was way too busy. My strategy for next summer is the same as Christmas - keep to a minimal number of social engagements so life is not quite as stressful. Everyone figures since dh is off work, I must not be busy either - but it's my busiest time of the year! This means we are going to try and be more social on weekends throughout the year so we get to connect with everyone in our lives - so if anyone's up for Saturday events, just let me know. If we end up doing anything really exciting like the Langley apple farm, I'll post on the meetup thread.

[artparent]

robug, i object! it is still summer for almost 3 weeks!

widemouth, congratulations on finishing your marathon, that's amazing. i found 3 far more difficult than two. no such thing as terrible two around here, it is the 3 that is so hard - wanting to be a baby, no a child! no, a baby! now!

ah yes, looking forward to that..hopefully i'll just be used to it

*

[tiffani]

Wow! congratulations Tricia!! what an amazing achievement!!

and yes, 3 is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay harder than 2, and in our house, 4 was just as hard -- but also a lot of fun in so many ways, so don't despair!! My only piece of advice is to not fall into the line of thinking "well, if they're doing THIS at 3, just IMAGINE what they'll be like at 15!" because 3 and 4 year olds are just plain crazy and how they act at 3 and 4 has no bearing on how they will act as teens or adults. You don't need to "fix them" at this age -- 3 and 4, I think is a time of really intense learning about how to get along in the world, and while they need a lot of gentle guidance, remember that this is the learning phase, and you can't expect them to act like civil human beings -- trust that they'll get there with your gentle help, and they will!! You're not trying to raise a well-behaved 4 year old, you're trying to raise a caring, empathetic, independent, happy, healthy adult, and that's a long way off!! rome wasn't built in a day and all that...

The New West picnic today is in Queens' Park, and it's the biggest homelearning picnic, but we aren't going this year. The Jericho picnic is on thursday, and jasmine gave great directions on the www.vancouverhomelearners.ca webpage. scroll down a bit... anyone who is considering homelearning is welcome! well, actually, *everyone* is welcome, but being a homelearning event, most of the conversation will be of that nature...

[beaner&tiegs]

Oh yay, widemouth, on finishing the marathon, that's awesome! And I'd LOVE to go to Iceland one day - I'm sure it was beautiful! Oh ya, 3 is WAY more intense than 2, didn't you get that memo? This too will pass, this too will pass!!!!

Thanks so much Ksenai, from us too - so nice to see everyone in person! I'm DETERMINED to get a momma's night out before we leave as well, so we can all sit at a table and chat fairly uninterrupted. I'll throw out a few dates soon.

We're going to try to go to Jericho on Thur for the picnic - I have a friend flying out at 2 that afternoon so after dropping her off at the airport it might be noon before we get there. What is the actual time of it, and when do other people think they'll be there?

I'm impressed by the tomato canning, and a bit jealous that we didn't do it last year!!!!!!

Okay, off to continue plugging away at the house........hope everyone's first day of the school year is going well, so much anticipation and excitement at this time of the year. I have so many happy memories of new clothes, new books, new pencils - I feel the need to get some for the girls! Perhaps for Thur morning before the picnic!!!!!!!!!

Have a great day!

[tiffani]

A mom's night out would be great!! Those pesky kids make visiting difficult sometimes...

the Jericho picnic "starts" at 10:30, but we may not be there until about 11 or 12 ourselves, as we have to do a few things that morning before we can go play...

there are usually people who like to go early, and others who arrive late and stay late (as you know, erica, just filling in that blank for others ) but most people get there around 11:30/12, wouldn't you say?

[dawncayden]

subbing...not much to say. I'm feeling good this week. Did I mention I blacked out on the skytrain last week scary stuff. Low blood pressure at its finest

[tiffani]

oh my garsh, dawn, that sucks!! you've had a rough few weeks!!










I'm so procrastinating right now.....

[leoheart]

Hi Vancouver Mamas,

I hope it's okay to post this here...

I am an occasional lurker and rare poster here, but I would love some help...I just found out that my family dr, who I really liked, is closing her practice to become a fulltime OB. I know it's unlikely, with the lack of family doctors in BC, but if anyone knows of a great family doc (pref female) who's accepting patients I would really appreciate a pm! I will also post in the vancouver doctor thread, but thought probably more people see this thread.

thanks so much,
Yzobela

[gr8fulmom]

we have had an insane weekend... Lucas got very sick starting on Thursday with croup like symptoms. My dr was out of town so we went to the walk in clinic on Friday... they said it was croup. He looked worse on sat and I was not comfortable with his breathing so back to the walk in clinic this time croup and anitbx... by sat night I was scared.. his breathing was so laboured I could see him struggling in his ribs with each breath... and when he cried it was like he stopped breathing altogether... so off we went to ER where they gave him an oral corticosteriod and a few steroid/ventoilin masks... by the time we saw the ped at almost midnight he was much better and after going through everything thoroughly with us we decided that it was croup... just pretty severe and he sent us home... Very scary couple of days for us!! since then his breathing has been better but he is complaining a lot about his throat (larynx) hurting. Yesterday he slept all day and woke up to complain and cry then back to sleep... very tiring for us! The thing is that nothing else really makes sense except group but he is a little old to get it (usually under 3yo get it) and its out of season (not common in the summer) and I don't understand why his throat is still hurting so much... he does seem somewhat better today and is talking an dplaying with his bros which is nice to see... so I am trying to be hopeful but still feel a little worried

A moms night out sounds good!

Tricia... congrats on the marathon... I am so proud of myself for continuing my learn to run prorgam. Yesterday I ran 40 min and including walking covered a distance of 9.25km and I felt great! such a change from when I started 7 weeks ago!! some of us are talking about doing the sun run in the spring

[Piglet68]

You're invited to my thread in the parenting forum:

Tired of making TWO dinners every night

[Storm Bride]

Jen: That sounds scary....glad Lucas is feeling better, and I hope his throat recovers soon. While it does seem a bit out of place for it to be croup, diseases aren't always very predictable. Sending good vibes in his direction and hoping he bounces back soon! : Lucas

Well, we started our first day as an "official" homelearning family. I registered both dd and ds2 for basic swimming lessons (we have an in-complex pool, we live on the coast, my stepdad owns a sailboat, and has a waterfront cottage where we vacation - swimming seems very necessary!) at the local Rec Center. The kids got in a half hour of playground time, then we came home and dd wanted me to go over her "big big" atlas, and answer questions. This ended up with a quick overview of where rubber comes from, including comparing an encyclopedia map with the children's atlas. She enjoyed that, and I'm feeling much more confident about my ability to handle this. The ideas are starting to click in my head, and I think we can put together a reasonable learning plan (we're doing Self Design this year) that suits her approach and interests...I'd wondered. Can anybody recommend a good source for educational videos on bugs and worms and slugs and spiders and...etc? DD really wants to learn more about them. I'm planning fairly regular "nature walks", but I also want something a little more concentrated.

I think it's going to be a challenge to balance ds1's busy high school schedule with the more relaxed style we've got going on at home...but nowhere near the challenge it would have been to balance his schedule with their school schedule! This whole chapter is starting to look a lot more exciting and interesting, and a lot less scary.

I'm currently watching ds1's gf's younger sister (she's 10) while the teenagers are at school. DD and ds2 adore her, so that works out okay.

[tiffani]

Jen, that's crazy!!! poor little guy! good to hear he's feeling better, hopefully he's through the worst of it!

Lisa, that's awesome! good to hear you're feeling confident -- it's really very easy to homeschool young kids, you just follow their interests and it truly does all fall into place. The library is a good weekly outing for videos (eyewitness videos from the library are awesome for bugs and such) and books -- it's free, it gets you out of the house, and you'll come across other things that spark other interests, and the ball just rolls on and on...

leoheart, I'll pm you...

[Len]

Tricia congratulations on finishing the Marathon!!! I want to hear all about Iceland, and see pictures too!

We're one of the minority on this group going "back to school" today, but it was good! Although I must say that DS1 learned A LOT this summer, stuff he was really interested in, spent TONS of time reading and at the library.... oh and we used the olympics as an excuse to learn geography, politics, society, and even math.... so I feel like I homeschooled a little during the summer .

Question for Ksenia, re: Avalon organic butter.... how do you know, when you buy one, what month it was made on? I was wanting to stock up on june's as you rec'd but the guy at the store didn't have a clue and there's some numbers in the package which I can't make anything of....

Kudos to the tomato canners as well

[VegMomma]

Hey mamas!
A few months back (I can't for the life of me find the thread right now) someone (Misseks? I think it was you? Maybe...?) recommended Dr. Angelo Mazzarello to me, but said that she might be able to squeeze us in, even if the receptionist said that he's not taking any new patients... We just called, and he's not, apparently, so if my mystery poster could help me out, that would be amazing. If not, I might bump up the doctor thread...

Thanks in advance!
xo

[juju_mom]

Hi everyone. It appears there is great sense of community and friendship among you ladies. I am a new mother to a four month old. Hope there is a meetup soon, it would be great to meet some other moms.

[dawncayden]

Originally Posted by VegMomma

Hey mamas!
A few months back (I can't for the life of me find the thread right now) someone (Misseks? I think it was you? Maybe...?) recommended Dr. Angelo Mazzarello to me, but said that she might be able to squeeze us in, even if the receptionist said that he's not taking any new patients... We just called, and he's not, apparently, so if my mystery poster could help me out, that would be amazing. If not, I might bump up the doctor thread...

Thanks in advance!
xo

Kate tried for me too, but he's fully booked up

juju mom

[tiffani]

welcome juju mom!!

I pm'd leoheart, but it looks like maybe others are looking for a doc as well? I'll just post here, though I know there is a thread for this elsewhere... edited to add: I tried to update the doctor's thread, but you can't post to it now -- I think it's been archived? or maybe it's just being worked on and will be back on track soon... anyway...

The practice at 8th and Laurel, the practice of the fabulous Dr. Nardia Strydom, has at least one new (really nice, we met her last week) doctor, who may or may not be taking new patients... worth a try... 604.874.0261 I'd go for any of the doctors in that practice, as I think they're all somewhat similar, fundamentally... and their reception staff are really helpful and efficient.