tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59441812024-03-23T12:29:39.234-06:00Strong as a KnoxBlogging through travel and adventure and now into motherhood in suburbia. Not sure yet which is more scary.KneuroKnuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875942054080298411noreply@blogger.comBlogger447125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944181.post-19189695420461192092011-05-06T14:23:00.001-06:002011-06-02T18:50:32.152-06:00Declan Patrick: Part ThreeAs if I wasn't tired and depressed enough, it started to snow on Thursday, April 28th. And I mean snow. It was blizzarding outside by the time I arrived at the hospital. Brian dropped me off (I still can't drive for another week) and he and Paisley waved to me as I carried my nursing pillow into the hospital. I was getting to know the doctors, the nurses and the drill pretty well and while I KneuroKnuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875942054080298411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944181.post-73162628309321318062011-05-02T14:04:00.008-06:002011-06-02T18:43:20.050-06:00Declan Patrick: Part TwoBy day two in the NICU, Declan's sugars weren't getting any better. Also, I was fed up with my nurses and having to waddle (and I do mean waddle - a c-section on day 2/3 is NOT a pretty thing) across the postpartum unit and over to NICU every three hours and through the middle of the night. (Also, did I mention how much I hate hospital food? Ugh.) But mostly, I was starting to feel frustrated andKneuroKnuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875942054080298411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944181.post-84169245958574526682011-04-30T20:37:00.011-06:002011-06-02T18:32:25.728-06:00Declan Patrick: Part OneSo, despite my doctors assurances (she actually used the words "zero percent chance") that I would never make it to my scheduled c-section date of August 23rd, I did. It felt like forever and all of a sudden, bam!, there we were. We dropped Paisley off in Okotoks on the Friday and Brian and I went for a nice dinner and went to bed knowing that in the morning we would be having a baby. Very KneuroKnuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875942054080298411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944181.post-69930714995814796212011-03-25T09:17:00.010-06:002011-03-25T09:57:05.762-06:00To Paisley: 38 Months OldI am nearly 35 weeks pregnant now and so I am very aware, with every twinge, that our family of three will soon become a family of four. I am excited to meet this baby and start the next chapter of my life but I am finding the concept to be bittersweet. I have loved this time I've had with you - just you and me. We spend every waking (and many half-waking, should-be-sleeping) hour together and KneuroKnuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875942054080298411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944181.post-18720528375188759902011-01-21T08:55:00.003-07:002011-01-21T09:26:47.939-07:00Fat & FitnessIt seems like every day I hear something about obesity. The newspapers are full of interviews with alarmed statisticians and staggering numbers. I've heard interviews (in the past week alone) with fat people, former fat people, doctors, nurses, urban planners and health advocates, all pontificating on how we got here and how we are going to fix it. Naturally it is something I think about a lot KneuroKnuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875942054080298411noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944181.post-1851579040827125752011-01-05T15:39:00.000-07:002011-01-05T15:47:16.591-07:002011Wow. Nearly 6 months since I last posted here. That's pretty lame. I have to admit that although blogging more regularly is one of my New Year's resolutions, I don't feel particularly inspired. I will give it a try for the next few weeks and see how it goes. As far as updates go, there are plenty!1. We moved! In September we moved into Arbour Lake - a neighbourhood just 10 minutes down the road KneuroKnuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875942054080298411noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944181.post-74316346545092256712010-06-13T15:54:00.002-06:002010-07-03T16:00:54.627-06:00A New Pair of SexOften in the mornings, Brian will bring Paisley into our bed if I am still asleep. Most days she proceeds to poke me, prod me, yell "Wake up Mama!" into my face and generally bug me until I get out of bed. On lucky days, she will lie beside me and cuddle with me for awhile. I wake slowly but happy to have her next to me. We chat, she kisses me and we sing or play little word games. Yesterday, KneuroKnuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875942054080298411noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944181.post-71563564499723519672010-03-30T20:56:00.003-06:002010-03-30T21:14:53.534-06:00Low SchoolFacebook has reconnected me with a lot of old friends from high school. It's been nice to see how everyone is doing, but strange to see so many people who I still remember as teenagers, having babies of their own. I was happy to leave high school and Fort McMurray and anxious to start a new life somewhere else. In hind sight, I was probably too anxious. Sometimes I wish I had stayed more KneuroKnuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875942054080298411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944181.post-28283615086229247072010-03-17T21:21:00.003-06:002010-03-17T21:41:18.448-06:00Here Today, Blog Tomorrow...I miss my blog. I miss the feeling I get when writing a post - like all my thoughts are pouring out onto the computer, leaving me cleansed and at peace. I miss the rush that would come when I hit the publish button. The sense of connection that came with each comment. I have written for many reasons over the years; to share adventures with loved ones far away, to work through muddled thoughts KneuroKnuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875942054080298411noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944181.post-31411453347496520092010-03-04T10:20:00.001-07:002010-03-04T10:20:36.250-07:00Weak but Detectible...If this blog showed up in the emergency room doorway, it would most likely be pronounced dead on arrival. No pulse, no life, no activity. I am sad to say that I myself may have even agreed until recently. But now, now I am determined to keep this thing alive. Why? I don’t really know. Maybe as a self-serving outlet for my own ramblings, maybe in an attempt to stay connected with the handful of KneuroKnuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875942054080298411noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944181.post-5815910853401357792009-10-15T06:32:00.006-06:002009-10-15T07:27:47.576-06:00Vegas!I had two main objectives when I booked our trip to Vegas. Most important was spending time with Brian. Uninterrupted, having fun, adult time. The second was to go shopping. I am happy to report that both objectives were met with fervour.I had never been to Vegas and so I am really happy I got the chance to see it. We know a lot of people around here who make Vegas a yearly event and while I KneuroKnuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875942054080298411noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944181.post-5105115702283689572009-10-02T13:01:00.012-06:002009-10-03T15:37:53.830-06:00To Paisley: Twenty Months OldAs I write this, you are upstairs sleeping and I am using this quiet time to organize myself for an upcoming trip. Your Dad and I are going to Vegas in a few days and will be leaving you for the first time ever. At night, when it is dark and I am trying to fall asleep, bad thoughts enter my head. I don't want to leave you. I am terrified that something will happen to us and that I will never see KneuroKnuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875942054080298411noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944181.post-2444010025221111292009-09-23T21:19:00.003-06:002009-09-23T21:47:05.170-06:00Weighty IssuesI read this article lately and my immediate reaction was to call bullshit. I do not believe for one second that the rising rates of obesity can be blamed on genetics, and furthermore I am getting frustrated with the slow but steady normalization of fat that is happening in North America. I don't mean to be disrespectful to those who are overweight and feel sympathy for them - it is not easy to KneuroKnuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875942054080298411noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944181.post-30692573155136399452009-09-13T11:27:00.003-06:002009-09-13T12:35:39.662-06:00Another Brick in the Wall?I'm glad Paisley is only 19 months old because at this rate it's going to take me years to figure out what we are going to do about school. We have discussed the idea of home schooling Paisley and are pretty torn about it. Home schooling is such a touchy subject and one that seems to really divide people. I can't tell you how many times I've heard people make comments like "They're weird that KneuroKnuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875942054080298411noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944181.post-85477213705953579452009-09-02T16:19:00.002-06:002009-10-03T16:44:39.727-06:00The Girls of SummerKneuroKnuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875942054080298411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944181.post-20258262571999650382009-09-02T12:58:00.003-06:002009-10-03T16:15:14.621-06:00To Paisley: 19 MonthsRather than write another post this month I decided to let you speak for yourself, in your own words:KneuroKnuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875942054080298411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944181.post-77850704513693149652009-08-27T07:41:00.004-06:002009-08-27T07:49:30.363-06:00Harper Needs to be Extradited Back to HellI can't believe this and this, and hey, how about this?! The Harper government is without a doubt, the sneakiest most mean-tempered government I've ever not voted for. I couldn't believe they were even appealing the Omar Khadr judgement the first time, now they are taking it to the supreme court? And in case that isn't bad enough they are sneaking around trying to change the humanitarian and KneuroKnuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875942054080298411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944181.post-22763827193216844782009-08-23T19:53:00.000-06:002009-08-27T07:59:12.377-06:00Yowzaa!This is my eyelash curler with half of my eyelashes still in it. I slipped while curling and let me tell you, it hurts. And now my eyelid is half bald.There is nothing so agonizing to the fine skin of vanity as the application of a rough truth. ~Edward G. Bulwer-LyttonKneuroKnuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875942054080298411noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944181.post-38259272425973164452009-08-20T11:27:00.000-06:002009-08-27T07:50:02.613-06:00NakedI have never really been shy when it comes to being nude. As a child I loved being naked and even as a teenager would often wander around in my undies (much to my brothers' horror). It didn't take me long however to realize that many people, particularly in North America, did not share my level of comfort with exposed flesh. By high school I understood that one could only really be naked in the KneuroKnuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875942054080298411noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944181.post-26211636694175653102009-08-03T13:28:00.006-06:002009-10-03T14:09:33.324-06:00To Paisley: 18 Months OldOne and a half!? How did we get here? Some days I can't believe how quickly this has all gone but for you it must feel like a lifetime. Ha! Ha!Okay, seriously. You are getting so big and as much as I hate to admit it, you are no longer a baby. You can run now and turn on the lights and are starting to talk. You point to kids younger than you and say "bay-beee" with delight. Every time you do it IKneuroKnuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875942054080298411noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944181.post-49562100112190810992009-07-13T11:14:00.005-06:002009-07-13T11:35:34.109-06:00Juggling. Badly.I've never set out to be an overachiever or a supermom but I do have high expectations of myself and like to stay busy. I'm good at multi tasking and time management and so I manage to always have a clean house and a home cooked meal and a (fairly) clean kid. Sometimes I am almost embarrassed to tell people what I've been up to because I see the look on their face. "Oh. You're one of those." WellKneuroKnuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875942054080298411noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944181.post-39150029956873212742009-07-08T12:40:00.012-06:002009-10-03T13:38:13.157-06:00To Paisley: Sixteen/Seventeen Months OldThis is your first combined newsletter and I'm not planning on making it a regular event. The last couple of months have been so busy and hectic and by the time I sat down to write your 16 month post you were nearly 17 months old!Now that it is summer you spend as much as time outdoors as you can. As soon as you see the door you start to point and scream and vibrate with excitement. Sort of like KneuroKnuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875942054080298411noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944181.post-33129291945434604092009-06-23T10:50:00.001-06:002009-07-05T20:06:42.990-06:00Eating Bon Bons...The choice to stay at home with Paisley was an easy one for me. I always knew that if I could afford to do it, I would. Having said that, I totally recognize that not everyone can do it and that not everyone wants to. We are making some major financial sacrifices to do this and I personally am taking on a lot of risk. A recent remark by one of Alberta's politicians brought this issue of working KneuroKnuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875942054080298411noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944181.post-14900663058017098542009-06-04T07:42:00.002-06:002009-06-04T07:56:38.216-06:00TreadmillWe had a long talk last night. About our life and the fact that we are in a rut. It is hard to avoid. Our life contains a toddler and a restrictive work schedule on Brian's part. We are not unhappy but we are not overly happy either. We just are.Just being is something that Brian and I have fought against, both as individuals and as a couple, from the very beginning. We travelled, we ditched KneuroKnuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875942054080298411noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5944181.post-9419751365174320472009-06-03T13:35:00.003-06:002009-06-03T13:45:07.509-06:00The BlogosphereJen recently wrote about her struggles with the state of the blogosphere and the status of her own blog within that community. I too have struggled with this recently. Since becoming a Mom I have less time, and lets face it, less interest in blogging. I feel like I have less to say that would interest people. It was easy when I was travelling and I had some weird and wacky adventure every week. KneuroKnuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03875942054080298411noreply@blogger.com2