Counting down...floating up.

Getting more and more excited. 26 days to my "guess date" but only 18 days to the "official" due date. I am feeling fairly large but certainly not as big or as ungainly as last time. I think I've been eating better this time (except for my love of those little round lindt chocolates that Steve keeps bringing home because I don't ask him to stop!) So physically I'm feeling great. 37 weeks, baby is head down and getting ready, Brendan is keeping me active so I'm not lazing about as much as I did last time.

Emotionally though- that's another story. This pregnancy has been a crazy roller coaster ride of hormones and emotions. The overall picture is good though- we're on the up and feeling more excited and positive about this upcoming birth every day.

So what were the worries? The fact that our last birth experience was so difficult to come to terms with (not sure I'll ever fully be at peace about it) and that this time it is even more important to us to have a natural birth combined with a feeling that the odds are stacked against us in the form of a grumpy obstetrician, a hospital with the typical hospital policies we can't stand, a note in my last hospital record mentioning a superbug which equals different treatment (more on that later) and the worry that the baby was transverse for weeks on end... and bla bla bla.

So why is it better now? I have managed to find and get the support of the only certified midwife in the province who will help me to stay out of the hospital for as long as possible. Steve and I spent some time with a woman who worked miracles and has helped me release a lot of my worries and channel my anger about last time into positive thoughts. The baby is now head down and I feel he's getting ready for the big day. However, the thing that played the biggest part in making me feel like my usual confident, happy self was my blessingway last night.

It was suggested and then organised by a friend at my Wednesday playgroup. I was thrilled because I had no desire to have a typical baby shower and had read about ceremonies that were more about celebrating the birth of the mother as well as the baby, about women showing their support and encouragement to the mother, sharing positive thoughts and energy...
It was a wonderful experience and I wish that all women could have the same thing. It's something that our culture has lost over the years and I hope we can bring back. Nine of us sat in a circle, each woman shared something, words, a poem, a story, a song, and each brought a bead to make a birthing necklace for me.
It might all sound a bit hippyish to some but it wasn't cheesy at all- and certainly never uncomfortable. Just the opposite, the atmosphere was calm and peaceful and relaxed and everyone enjoyed it. Afterwards we ate fruit and chocolate and some pastry goodies Steve had cooked for us and kept the celebration going for a while.

I felt completely rejuvenated and excited afterwards and still haven't come back down to earth!

I'll get a photo of the completed necklace on here when I can.

Powerful stuff, this!

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Love this video!

I can't believe it's already November 6th. 25 days to our due date of December 1st but I'm preferring to say baba no2 will arrive "sometime around the first week in December"- it's up to the baby, I don't want to put any pressure on either of us!
Brendan is currently bouncing on the sofa and shouting "where Alma gone?" at the top of his voice. We are reading a couple of books about new babies and talking about it a lot but I can't wait to see what he makes of it. He loves Alma and they play together all the time, but occasionally I'll look around to see him carrying her by her tail or throwing her off the sofa- don't worry about her, she comes right back for more so obviously isn't traumatised by it but I wonder if he'll try to do the same with the baby. Although I hope the baby isn't born with a tail.

Have to write about Halloween. Although I was a little reluctant in the run up, Halloween never having been a big thing in my past, we totally got "into it". I made costumes for Steve and Brendan and they went trick or treating just on our street as daddy and baby dragon. The trick-or-treating thing still baffles me though. Out of about 50 items Brendan received (from about 10 houses- some give little bags with stuff in them) there were only 4 or 5 that I would let him eat. Just out of curiosity I looked up some of the ingredients of the particularly dubious looking sweets and found all sorts of nasty chemicals- who wants to feed petrochemical products to their kids and toxins with suspected links to all sorts of health problems- if people knew what was in their food sometimes euchh! (sorry a bit of a rant) So we have a tub of candy on top of the fridge (some of which even Steve won't eat).
For our part we gave out stickers and some halloween jokes and colouring pages (with a few chocolates for the scary teenagers- I'm a chicken!). They went down really well with most kids- even some older ones. Although Steve did get one group of boys about 10 or 12 years old who said they didn't want stickers, "we just want the sugar!" Steve considered running to the kitchen for some sugar and dumping a handful in each of their (huge) bags. Or just throwing at them. The amount of stuff all the kids were collecting was madness. It's out of control!! :)

Lots of fun though. Can't wait to make more costumes next year!

Back across the pond

A good time was had by all at Naomi and Sam's wedding in Gilling just a couple of days after we arrived in the UK. Of course the wedding day itself was fantastic but we also loved being able to help out with preparations the day before. Steve helped to move tables and chairs and set up while Caitlin and I arranged flowers. I then left with Brendan to make a short stop at Easingwold School to see the old gang before going to collect Paddy and Jo at Thirsk railway station. We then met all the Skehans at the Fairfax for a pub dinner and then Caitlin, Paddy, Jo and the three of us stayed at Eimears lovely house in Wombleton. All in all a busy day.
The next day was the highlight of our trip this time. Pre-wedding drinks at the Fairfax where Brendan had a short nap in the buggy. (He didn't sleep again till about midnight!) The church service was beautiful and then we walked or drove up to the Castle for the reception. Everyone was grateful for the gorgeous weather, especially considering the British summer had been wet and cold until September. The food was lovely, the dining room and whole building were just perfect. Lots of fun, dancing, singing, good speeches, games, playing rugby outside, great cake (made by Glynis) and lots more. The singing and drinking continued at the Fairfax- we didn't want it to end. Jo, Steve and I finally bundled the VERY drunken Caitlin and Paddy into the car and headed home to Eimear's for a well needed sleep.

We drove up to Scotland and stayed with Nicky, Fi, Niamh and Aedan for the week while we went back and forth to the flat in Glasgow to work on it. Niamh, Aedan and Brendan had lots of fun playing together and we had a good trip to the zoo. Steve worked like a machine and painted, fixed floorboards and skirting, did a bit of plastering and generally achieved more than the average two people put together (as usual). We then moved Paddy out and cleaned the whole flat from top to bottom before signing with a letting agent. It was all worth it as new tenants moved in the day we returned to Canada so the flat should now look after itself for a while (fingers crossed for no major problems).

Also got to visit Kath, Lee and Ella in Dundee and Phil in Tayport. Ella is just beautiful and Kath is a wonderfully natural and easy going mum- it is so exciting to see us all grown up and mummy's now!

Helicopters, Dragon Boats and a Canoe!

It has been a very busy few weeks with Steve's work. Last weekend, CFB Gagetown was honoured by Fredericton with the ancient Roman tradition of Freedom of the City. Soldiers from the base paraded through downtown with bayonets fixed and drums beating. Steve was in the lead helicopter of a four ship flypast which apparently brought the roar of the crowd up a notch as they came down low and loud along Queen Street in a diamond formation.

The following day was taken up by the McInnes Cup Dragon Boat Races. Steve was on the Base team which did fairly well. They placed fourth overall and came within one second of winning the Premier's Cup in their division. Brendan and Siobhan came to watch in the rain and had a good time until Brendan got a little too damp while playing in the puddles.

One of the biggest highlights of the summer had to be picking up our new canoe. Ali and her dad Harvey put in a lot of work and built us a cedar strip canoe for our wedding gift. It has all sorts of different woods such as BC cedar, NB cedar, mahogany, birds eye maple and oak. She has beautiful lines and is light enough that Steve can put it on top of the Jeep by himself. We took it out a few nights ago for its first paddle. We took it down the Oromocto River and she paddles fast and true. We've already received several comments from friends and bystanders. Thank you very much for our special gift.

A Garden Update

Well, it has been a few months since we started the garden and it's doing really well. We've been able to 'harvest' green beans, yellow beans, radishes, turnip, sweet sugar snap peas, carrots, little onions, zucchinis and tomatoes.

As for our herbs, we've been taking advantage of rosemary, thyme and oregano.

With the end of the season approaching fast, we're just waiting on the last batch of carrots, onions, tomatoes and eggplant.

We're really looking forward to next year.

Visitors From The UK Part II

Bernadette, Lucy and Aisling arrived on the new direct flight from Gatwick to Fredericton.

Just realised I haven't posted this yet- it is so hard to keep these things up to date!
We had a great time with Bernadette, Lucy and Aisling. Highlights included lots of boating- Lucy got the hang of waterskiing and they both had fun being towed along on the tube. I wasn't there but they tell a story of Steve taking them, barefoot, into a swamp where they were attacked by a million, huge, ferocious, man-eating mosquitoes which took chunks out of them and made them itch for weeks!We also went to the market, swam in the pool a lot, enjoyed the sun (the weather was a hundred times better than the month before when A-M and C were here. We went to a couple of parties which was interesting- gave them a chance to meet some Canadians.

It is just interesting to see/hear other people's perspective on what is similar and different between here and the UK. I meant to keep a record of all the things I noticed when we first moved here but never got around to it. It's amazing how quickly many of those things become unnoticeable and you just adapt. We still may write a list sometime, for fun. Having spent over 3 years in the UK Steve is just as aware of the differences as I am. We laugh at stuff regularly:)

A Summer Of CISV Activities

Well, July was a really busy month when it came to CISV. There where 3 main events which proved to be very interesting.

The first was the CISV Village which was held at Magaguadavic Lake. The pre-camp preparations inlcuded Steve's help with the set up of the Army modular tentage and terrain upkeep (what?-ed.) while Siobhan helped with the arts and crafts cabin. Even Brendan got to help out by attempting to drive the front loader. There were kids and leaders from 12 different countries. The Camp itself was an excellent venue for the kids. There was a beautiful white sandy beach with an onshore breeze which took the edge of the blazing sun. Mid-way through the camp, there was an open house where each group presented their country through information stands, skits and songs. It was a lot of fun and interesting watching all the kids.

Upon completion of the open house, this is when our second event took place, Siobhan, Brendan and I got to host 2 kids from the Camp, both 11 years old. They were Mustafa from Turkey and Mathias from Sweden. From Friday to Sunday, the boys where kept busy swimming, boating, going to the Farmers' Market, Science East as well as bowling and video games at Kingswood.

The last big event which was the most intensive for Siobhan was the local Fredericton CISV and MCAF mini-camp. Siobhan hosted 16 kids for 4 days at Greer Creek Lodge with Catherine, her assistant. The 4 days were packed with loads of activities, swimming and discussions along with all the chores of cooking and cleaning. Brendan even took part in the 4 day event and loved every minute of it. As for me, I helped out on the first and last night.
(Should we record Brendan's close call with calamity? He "escaped" (out the front door which was left open) and headed straight for the water. A good ten minutes after seeing him last I noticed he was missing and ran straight for the water too, yelling at the others to search the lodge and around. But there he was, standing right on the water's edge, happily throwing rocks in, minding his own business and enjoying the sunshine. Anyway, I cried and cried and have never loved him so much!)

Anyhow, a busy month which lead us into a busy, busy summer.

Visitors From The UK Part I

Summer has finally arrived along with our guests. Our first guests from the United Kingdom where Anne-Marie and her sister, Catriona. Although they came for a 'relaxing' holiday, it didn't take long before Siobhan had a fun filled schedule built. After a quick tour around Fredericton, they were off to Grand Manan Island for 2 days of camping, walks and whale watching. From there, Steve meet up with the four of them at Fundy National Park. Over the three days, we hiked the Copper Mine, Caribou Plain and a couple of others we've forgotten the names of. Once back in Fredericton, some last minute shopping was done and Anne-Marie and Catriona got in some horseback riding. Their trip ended with a weekend in Halifax. We had a good look around town, caught some shows at the International Busker Festival and did the tourist thing and drove the coast down to Peggy's Cove.
All in all we had a fantastic time- thanks for coming!

Our first attempt at growing some veggies.

Check out our first edible produce of the year!! Brendan promptly took a bite so he's already learning about where our food comes from.



Below is a photo of about one third of the whole vegetable patch. We're trying lots of different things... green and yellow beans, peas, carrots, onions and leeks, cabbage, courgette, butternut squash, aubergine, tomatoes, watermelon, pumpkin, okra and, of course, the radishes.
We've probably grown about three quarters from seed ourselves and the remaining quarter were transplants bought at the market. So far so good, although the first beans we transplanted don't seem to be doing very well.