Don’t know where that post title came from but I’ll keep it.
Didn’t take long for me to get bored with WordPress.com. I like to play with css too much and why pay to do so here when I can host it on my own domain that has already been paid for?
So we’ve packed up our tent and moved on over to http://CampingOut.TracyRosen.com Come and join us for a chicken liver cook out (so delicious).
Tracy & Jack
Wait. Already I lie. Let me rephrase that to my first sewing project with my new (to me) sewing machine. We all know about the actual first project… (and if you don’t, you can read about the disaster here)
Yesterday, Jack and I travelled about 30 minutes up County Road 23 to Vankleek Hill, where Rachel of The Fabric Box had offered to teach me how to use my machine and to guide me through some little projects. Let me tell you, she is patient! Darling Jack had slept through the night for the first time (yippee!) the night before. I’m wondering if that accounts for the Senor Crabby Pantiness of yesterday. Of course the day I decide to sew he decides he wants to be in my arms or else scream. So between me having to nurse him into submission and the actual store clients who wanted Rachel’s time, it took us about 4 hours to do something that could probably have taken even me under an hour to make! Rachel kept reassuring me that it was ok, babies cry. But I can’t help it. I wanted him to be a perfect angel for us! In any case, at the end of the afternoon she told me she has a whole collection of dinosaur stuffed animals she wants to give him so I guess she really didn’t mind the fussiness.
I decided to go simple for my first project – a cover for his very boring white plasticky changing pad. I figured it would have a pillowcase effect. Easy peasy. But no. Rachel wouldn’t let me get away with just that – “You’re going to make a pattern!”
But first I had to choose the fabric.
Have you ever gone into a fabric store to choose fabric? That took a little while. But I finally decided on this, isn’t it cute?
Rachel suggested I use muslin for the bottom since it’s less expensive and you don’t see the bottom anyways. In my case you kind of see parts of the bottom at the sides but it doesn’t look horrible with the fabric I chose. She also said that I’d be putting in a zipper, which almost made me faint but it worked out fine and much nicer than velcro or just folding a side under as was my original ‘plan’ (I use the term plan very loosely).
I’m going to be honest. I basically sewed (not so) straight lines. Rachel cut and pinned and showed me what to do. Wait, I did do some pinning after she had done one side. But hey – it was the first real thing I have ever sewn! I’m not counting the wonderful (not) basting of pant hems I have done nor the impromptu skirt I made from scraps of plaid material in my mother’s basement when I was 15 – so punk rock. I actually wore that skirt to school once. Boy were my folks proud 
And I am certainly not counting those denim shoes….
So here it is from many angles!
Finished project on Jack's bureau, where we deal with diapers
What is that dangling? Yes - a zipper!
bottom
Corner with zipper
One more view for the heck of it
Yesterday was a big day, big as in Jack and I left the house at 8:30am and didn’t return until 7:30pm. We had doctors appointments in Montreal in the morning, then visited with Bubbie and Zaidie on the way home, before continuing on to Cornwall. Also big as in he received his first vaccinations yesterday! And he went to his first physio session in Cornwall (Yay to Ontario for providing these sessions free through OHIP).
Physio for a 2 1/2 month old? When Jack was born his delivery was assisted with both forceps and a vacuum, even though I had a c-section. I’ve been told by his doctor and lactation consultants at the Goldfarb Breastfeeding Clinic (Jewish General Hospital) that traumatic births like that can lead to torticollis, of which he has a mild case. He was seeing a chiropractor in Quebec, Valerie Lavigne of Chiro-Familial in Kirkland, who is WONDERFUL. But when I discovered that Ontario offers what he needs for free at a closer location, I had to switch. Now we are working with Mike Major at Cornwall Physiotherapy Clinic. I’ve met him twice now and both times he was gentle and caring towards both me and Jack and has offered suggestions for what I can do at home, as well.
On a slightly chilling note, especially given that Jack’s dad is a long distance truck driver, we passed by this horrific scene on the way to Cornwall.
Truck Crash on 401 photo taken by Artist Michael Cartwright, click image for source.
Definitely a big, long, full day.
Last night was Dinner Club. Once a month I get together with 9 friends for a warm evening that we all not only look forward to but need in order to stay sane! Sometime during the month someone sends out an email saying it’s time, we decide on who will host and what the theme will be, choose what part of the meal each of us will bring (except for the host, all she does is provide the house!) (which is sometimes a great opportunity to actually clean said house comme il faut – I know I certainly appreciate that when I get to host).
It really is magical when good friends make getting together a priority.
Last night’s theme was Thai – holy delicious food! (Wait, Lori – are Margheritas Thai? 
I had the best of plans to make a Mango sweet sticky rice dessert but decided to nap yesterday afternoon instead so bought some mango ice cream, sliced up the mangos, and voila – dessert! (btw, PC Mango Ice Cream is quite delish)
I’ve been a part of the dinner club for 4 1/2 years. I became a part of it in a unique way that has convinced me that certain things are definitely meant to be. 5 years ago this coming September my friend Liane invited me to her house for dinner club. She said that sometimes a guest is invited to join them and I was excited because I had heard so many great things about it from her and few other friends who also did dinner club. 2 weeks later Liane fell down in her dining room and never got up. There was no question for me that I would continue with dinner club and every month I thank Liane for having invited me to dinner that September. I can’t imagine my life right now without it. Really.
I think I’ve gone a little off topic. C’est la vie.
Back to the lesson from baby Jack. He reminded me about the importance of structure. And how structure is not just about activity but about environment as well.
For the past week or so Jack and I have started a mini-routine where he goes to bed at 8 or so until at least midnight before he wakes to eat. I figured he’d just do the same thing at Lori’s house. Wrong. He did manage to snooze for 45 minutes or so in Tara’s arms but basically, instead of settling down for 4 hours or so he wanted to eat every 30 minutes. But it was the ‘I don’t know what else to do with myself’ kind of eating that I’ve come to recognize in him when he is overstimulated or over tired. He was at a different house with a bunch of people, when usually it’s just me and him at our place.
So what’s the lesson? Remembering that when kids are used to a routine any differentiation from it can be disorienting for them. Important lesson when preparing for a substitute teacher or when dealing with any kind of change in the classroom, new classmates, new teacher, coming back or about to leave for a long break, etc…
Bubbie Day was fun! We got pictures, muffins, delicious lunch, a carpet, and my mother even painted my bureau! No more knotty pine in the bedroom, it’s a crisp and clean (no caffeine) white.
Jack loved hanging out with the Bubbies
Jack, Grandma, and Bubbie
Guess what? The bubbies are coming over today! Actually, one bubbie and a grandma. Little Jack is of Eastern European Jewish (via Montreal), Scottish (via Newfoundland) mix. Poor kid. When he gets that question, that “what is your background” question and answers Canadian, then gets pressed with the “no, no, where is your family really from” question, he gets to rattle off that tale. My mother was always positive the question was asked to find out if you were Jewish or not. And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told, “Really? You don’t look Jewish!”, almost confirming her suspicions. Does that happen to Catholics or Protestants?
Anyways, back to Bubbie Day.
You see, Bubbie doesn`t drive on highways (she`s afraid of the BFTs) so she can never visit me unless someone else brings her. Grandma likes to make an event out of visits, no such thing really as just having a little visit, so this has been in the plans for a while. I think Grandma called Bubbie two weeks ago. As such, my mother has managed to amass a number of items (on the verge of warranting the use of one of those BFTs she so despises) to bring with today, including but certainly not limited to paint and paraphernalia to redo a chest of drawers and a carpet. Oh and of course, lunch. Probably enough to feed a whole fleet of BFT drivers. Don`t forget, Bubbie is the Jewish part of today`s equation.
(Have you figured out what BFTs are yet?)
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For some reason my keyboard has decided to go French on me. Did you know that if you are on a French keyboard you need to type shift-6 to get a question mark? Useful information for when you get stranded in Quebec.
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I`m making fun but I am looking forward to them being here. What could be bad about two people coming over to talk about how gorgeous and smart my Jack is? And bringing food, no less? (ok, I need to stop asking questions. I keep getting É instead of ?) Not to mention how NICE it is to have extra sets of arms to hold him from time to time. I do love living out in the country where this is what I see when I go out my front door
my truck in the morning, April 7
My road in the morning, April 7
but sometimes it is nice to have company who can speak and help out (the dogs, cat, and Jack can`t really do either).
Even though they both say not to worry about a tidy house when they come (well, to be honest, Grandma says that way more often than Bubbie) I`m going to try to tidy now since Jack is still napping. Though I may first have to go for a little drive. Jacob seems to have gone missing. Toby has returned from his morning shpatzir around the yard but Jacob is MIA.
We enjoyed our afternoon volunteering at Directions We spent it helping Marie stuff envelopes as it is soon interview time at the program – they interview students who were recommended to the program by other teachers each year.
Right now the kids are away on a work study program while the teachers will conduct said interviews over the next 2 weeks. We’re looking back to returning then! It feels very good to be there.
I’m starting to think about September. The plan is to return to work then, though it is hard to imagine not spending every moment with Jack! It is not such a cut and dried process. First off, I was on a long term occasional contract – meaning a limited time replacement contract. What this means is that I have no claim to any position at the school board and will need to apply for jobs again! I am qualified to teach French in Ontario so everyone tells me that I will have no problem finding a job…but that may not happen until August or even after the school year starts. That leads me to the next item – daycare! I can not be placed on a daycare list until I have a job. So what will I do with Jack if I am offered a position at the last minute? I suppose I can always drive him to my parents each morning…only a 40 minute drive each way from my place and who knows where I might find work, could be another 30 minutes or more away from me!
I need to stop thinking about this and just go about my business of applying for work and let things fall into place. But it is hard to stop thinking about just the same.
I have begun the work of looking for work by updating my online cv/portfolio.
What really sucks makes this challenging is the suspension and subsequent resetting of my hosting account. All of the blogs and websites containing much of the work I have done over the past 4 years are now reduced to .sql dump files, which I am having a heck of a time gleaning for data. Luckily my old friend Brian says he has a lot of time on his hands and will help me out with the technical process of getting the info. Yay Brian!
I did manage to recover some articles via The Wayback Machine as well as by digging through the dump files (those are sure aptly named!) and have coded them into permanent pages at TracyRosen.com. I hyperlinked them to the ‘My Interests’ section of the CV and even added Disqus commenting so maybe the conversations begun at Leading from the Heart will come back to life one day!
I wouldn’t mind some feedback re: the website. I coded it so I can pretty easily change things (and no silly database required…) to make it more accessible for readers. Lay it on me!
