Name that topic!

After realizing (no, the "z" is not an error) that more than one week has passed since my last post, I desperately want to blog something. Unfortunately, my creative juices are following the Book of Genesis today ("...and on the 7th day, He rested"). So, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to turn on the t.v., and whatever is on, I'll blog about. Here goes...

"Ireland has more drunks per capita than people." - Peter Griffin to his dog, Brian, prior to landing in Ireland.

Family Guy was on. I'm not going to write about the show. My personal opinion is that it's pure genius, in case you cared. I'll write about Ireland. Might be a short blog considering I've never been overseas.

To start, let me share some interesting facts with you about the 'Emerald Isle'.

1. There are no snakes in Ireland. My mom would LOVE it there!! I'm not a fan of snakes. I just found out this week that we have a family of snakes living underneath out front porch. My Baby Daddy ran over one the other day (unintentionally)with the lawnmower, but it got away. Great. Now I'm having visions of a severely scarred snake getting his/her vengeance on us. "Snakes on a Plane Part II: Dartmouth Destruction."

2. Today’s population is about 4M, considerably less than the 7–8M estimated in the 1830’s. This is a rough estimate, but holy cow! Apparently the huge decrease is due to the Potato Famine of the 1840s, as well as the approximately 2 million people who emigrated from Ireland in the 1930s. Fair enough. When I visited New York City several years ago, I felt the Irish influence on the city. Plus, St. Patrick's Day is a monumental event in North America. Irish descendants actually book this day off work and get totally polluted. I'm part Scottish and part Hungarian, and I've even done it. Such a fun day! Speaking of emigration, isn't EVERYONE in North America (except for the Native Aboriginals) an immigrant? Thought so.

3. Ireland is not a member of NATO. Wow. That's interesting. Here's another random fact (not related to Ireland): Five thousandths of a mm is the tolerance of accuracy for LEGO moulds. You know you're going to use that one in your next ice-breaker situation. That's cool.

What I love about Ireland: U2, Colin Farrell, Guinness and Boddington's beer, and The Cranberries.

So, there you have it. My random blog on a surprise topic. Hope you enjoyed it.

Sláinte!

How I spent my summer vacation (2008).

I'm home! I've just returned from a quick trip to Denver, CO. My Baby-Daddy (B-D from here on in) had to go on business, and I have family there - so we tagged along. What a great trip. I've been so lucky this summer with people coming to visit me, or having the opportunity to go and visit others.  Here are some highlights:

June: My best friend, Amanda, and her husband, Joe, came to visit for the last week in June. It was amazing. Neither of them had been to N.S., and neither had met BB1. We had a blast touring around Hali, and just hanging out.

July: I had a cavity replaced (thank you, Dr. MacKenzie!), my friend Lynn had her bachelorette party, and I got to go to Ottawa for two weeks. The trip was really special to me for a bunch of reasons. I had a chance to introduce BB1 to my grandfather, which was v. important, and emotional for me. I also got to go out for my best friend's birthday (WICKED fun time!). I had a chance to spend lots of time with my brother, which was pretty cool. He's 11 years my junior, and we've never been at the same points in our lives...ever. We did have a chance to hang out and grab some beers, though. He's a great guy.

August: August was my down-time. I was home pretty much all month, enjoying our home, our doggy, and of course time with BB1 and B-D. I managed to nail down daycare for BB1, and also confirmed my RTW date once MAT leave is done. (October 6) Oh! I also raised $1,000+ for my Support for Breast Cancer Research Run (to happen October 5, 2008). so thank you to all my sponsors (and there's still time to donate)! My Dad and Jan came out for a visit, too.

September: The whole family (sans chien) travelled to Denver from August 30 - September 4. What an amazing time! My cousin and her husband had box-seat tickets for the Rocky Mountain Showdown football game between CSU and CU (It's great, to be, a CSU Ram!!). We got to eat out at some great places, went to the Denver Zoo, REI, Red Rocks, Mount Evans, Buffalo Bill's grave, Boulder...super-fun trip. We spent the first few days with my cuz' and her husband (thanks Carissa & Zach for the hospitality!), and the last half with my Aunt and Uncle. What a spectacular city. 

Here's hoping that all your summers were sunny inside and out!

To work or not to work; that is the Mommy question.

I'm in a pissy mood. I'm battling the age-old (well, maybe the ERA-old) question of whether or not to return to work after my maternity leave ends. My immediate gut reaction is to stay home. Some people dream about their wedding day...you know the type. They have their dress, invitations, napkins and registry earmarked in some super-organized Monica Gellar-Bing portfolio-thingy by the time they're 10. Well, my big childhood dream was always to stay at home and raise my babies. You may be thinking, "well, get your act together and make it happen!" Easier said than done. Not only would my family immediately become a one-salary family, but our day-to-day habits would immediately change. I am as much a product of our consumer culture as you are, dear reader. I like having the freedom of getting my hair done every 8 weeks, or buying a pair of shoes, or a great bottle of wine. But that would immediately change. Which is fine...I won't die if I can't buy "stuff". What about Baby Boy #1 (herein referred to as BB1), though? Will we not be able to afford tee-ball, soccer, portraits, clothing, et cetera? What you've just read is a sample of what's been going through my head. So, if I return to work, we can do more stuff, and BB1 is going to be able to participate in things with his friends. If I believe that last statement, I worry that underneath it all, I value stuff more than staying at home.
However, if I stay home, will I be shortchanging the family? I'm not the primary breadwinner, but I contribute a solid salary, plus benefits.
We're definitely planning to expand the fam-damily, so if I return to work, it will be for a short period of time (n.b. until I'm due to give birth to Baby #2). After B2, I'll not return to work until all babies are in school full-time.
I know many people don't even have the luxury of pondering this question, but I also know that this is much more than a "champagne problem." Do I really want a stranger to see BB1 take his first steps, say his first word(s), and so on? No way.
I read somewhere that the minute a baby is born, it's a long slow process of letting go. This must be the beginning. Sigh.