- It seems wrong to be so annoyed by snow this early in the winter. I have to walk Ava to school in the morning and home in the afternoon no matter what, so I need to just buck up and quit whining. But really… January 8th and 4 blizzards already??? Better than a nasty windchill I suppose, but people, shovel your effing sidewalks!!! People with strollers are trying to walk on them!
- Since moving to Chicago, I have become a total jerk about being green. Really. Jen, you had my respect before, but it has grown exponentially now that I know how hard it is to live sustainably in a major city. I can’t just dump my scraps in a big old pile in the yard, growing my own food will take serious work and hunting down of resources, I have little control over the heat, hanging clothes when we are already hurting for space sucks… yadda yadda… excuses excuses. Sorry. I will get better. I will buy or build an enclosed compost bin. I will hang clothes whether I like it or not. I have every true intention of seeking out at least one community garden plot this year. If nothing else, I will be able to grow some herbs to dry and some tomatoes to can. Everything else can come from CSA or farmer’s market. We’ve been eating way too much meat, too. But we have hardly eaten out at all. Maybe once-twice per month. (And I have been saving the containers to re-use when I bring meals to new mamas.) The not driving must count for something, right? RIGHT?! If it is withing 3/4 mile we walk. If the weather is too crappy to walk, we don’t go that day. I use the El once or twice a month for a meet-up, or I carpool with other moms sometimes. We are getting rid of cable, too. (But not my beloved internet! I need you, facebook!)
- Emma had her first formal paid-for activity yesterday. Tumbling. She loved it. Chicago Parks District classes are CHEAP. $15 for 10 week class (one hour/week). Ava starts Mexican Folkloric Dance tonight. So fun!!!
- I have finished two scarves. Not bad for a beginner, methinks. I think I am going to knit one for myself and maybe a hat, too, although I am not sure how beginner-friendly a hat would be… I have a friend who has offered to teach Ava to crochet, too. If I had this many totally awesome friends in Michigan, I would never have left. For real.
- I think I might start baking my own bread. Lots of my mom friends insist that it is cheaper. I am skeptical, but I do like making bread so I’m gonna give a try. Today, my goal is two loaves of honey wheat bread.
- I am still ambiguous about career plans. I know I could get into teaching within 2 years, make decent money (ie: be financially secure)… I know I would be good at it and be relatively happy doing it but… holy God, I just want to be a midwife soooo bad! It is my calling. CPMs are not legal here though, and I feel like it will take me years to get my foot in that door and earn the trust of an underground MW. Then more years actually apprenticing. Do I want to wait years to have a job? Not really. No. Yeah, I could go the CNM route in a few years but DO NOT WANT. AT ALL. I don’t believe that pregnancy is a medical condition and I don’t want to be immersed in a culture that treats it as such. Gah. So, DePaul, here I reluctantly come.
- Last but not least, Eleanor’s new favorite word is thumb. As in, “My mitten! I want my flum! My flum in the hole!” It cracks me up. (And can you believe we have met 3 other Eleanor’s since moving here? I told John that we are naming our next kid Gwar. Not there is gonna be a next kid, but you know what I mean.)
January 6, 2009
In bullet form, cuz am too lazy for story telling today
Posted by nessa under Uncategorized[4] Comments
January 6, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Jealous of the classes for the kids.
I hate baking bread.
I just resigned my public school teaching position today.
I hate cold weather so I would be sitting on my butt doing nothing!
January 7, 2009 at 3:38 am
I don’t do cold well. Even in this stinking hot weather we are having right now (it was 38C – 100F in the shade where I was today) that doesn’t sound attractive to me.
Anyone who walks strollers to and from school in blizzards deserves tons of green cred in my book!
All these people talking about knitting is creating a strange desire to try to learn again – against my better judgement! Perhaps it is a good thing I seriously don’t have time for it at the moment.
January 7, 2009 at 9:24 am
Dude, you do what you can do. I have fewer kids and a really good-sized apartment and I slide on stuff a lot. My worm bin is still on hiatus from the great mite explosion, I’ve started using the dryer for diapers instead of hanging them b/c they get so stiff on the racks, and I still haven’t managed to grow any food despite actually having a balcony to hold containers (when it’s warm, that is.)
It sucks about the CPM deal. I loved my CNM and was really happy to be able to use a midwife at all with Lucy’s heart defect but there is no reason that births without complications should require that medicalized sort of approach.
January 7, 2009 at 9:42 am
MT, Sorry to hear about your resignation. At least you know that teachers in your field will be in demand.
Ariane, if you decide to pick up knitting, there are some great videos on You Tube. They really helped me!
Jen, I hate the stiff diapers too. I do like to dry those in the dryer. The thing about the CPM/CNM thing is that I do NOT want to work in a hospital. I would want to do homebirths only. The CNM would be a very expensive and unnecessary route even if I didn’t have epistemological issues with it. I am glad that CNMs are out there for people like you who want a natural birth but need access to the hospital just in case. There are plenty of women who can likely enjoy a natural birth but aren’t good homebirth candidates and they deserve options.