Spring thoughts

My mind is constantly musing. I often wonder about things and people, pondering why and how and hmmmm.. I think it drives Tom a little nuts when I say things like "what do you think they do for a living?" or at an accident site "What do you think happened?" "How should I know?" is usually his response. At which point I say "Well can't you just make something up then to satisfy my curiosity?" I suppose the fact that I took Journalism in College, and worked in the field for several years, was a natural career choice then for me. I remember my friends posting "Brooke-ism's" on the wall of our apt. which were regularly updated. It's funny, the thoughts going around in my mind seem normal but when they come out they seem part hilarious, part revelation to many. I guess I say the things people are thinking but with a little Brooke-twist substitution.


"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing." -Albert Einstein


1. I think it's so strange that people I see once in passing, like while driving, I may never see again. They have no idea I exist and will continue to go on living their life, because it's their reality. What's important to me is my family, and the same goes for them. We would exhaust ourselves if we really got to know everyone in our community, so I guess some people are merely images on the way to our own destinations.

2. I wonder what I would think of me if I wasn't me, but someone else.

3. Do people really like eating escargots, and shrimp, and sushi, or do they just pretend to like it, so everyone else will think they are really sophisticated?

4. I honestly think that a lot of societies mental and emotional problems come from Aspartame, MSG, and Sucralose. I also believe it's a conspiracy on behalf of the Government to market and put gum at the front of the grocery aisle and everywhere you turn. They've also added these chemicals to gum that never used to have it, like Bubbalicious and Juicyfruit. If people are messed up emotionally and physically they need to go on meds. And more meds mean more bucks for Big Pharma. Hmmm..




As you can see I like Einstein, he has so many brilliant quotes. I like eccentric, can't-figure-them-out, kind of people. So refreshing, so unassuming, so rare.

Life is so short and there is so much beauty to explore. I've come to the conclusion that I really just don't care anymore if my norm is the norm, as long as I'm true to myself and living a life worthy of my calling. God has made no two snowflakes alike nor too people, so embrace your "isms" and refresh the world.

"I'm a big kid now!"

Well it's the end of an era. Teo has officially been weaned for over 4 days now, and it's bittersweet. After a very rocky start of establishing breastfeeding, we eventually made a really good run of it lasting 2 years and 8 months!

Teo had a rocky delivery because of the vacumn assistance, so his head was bruised and he found it painful to open his mouth to nurse. We had one successful nurse and then he got frustrated in subsequent attempts. After spending only 15hrs in the hospital we had such a frustrating time at home trying to feed him. He got so hungry and cried all of the time, poor guy, but everytime I tried he would latch and then get impatient for milk to come, and give up and scream with hunger. I was also injured badly through delivery so I had to try and nurse standing up with someone holding him, or lying down. Finally my midwife told me to call Tom in the middle of the day and have him go out immediately and buy a pump for me. She weighed him and he had gone from 8lbs 15oz to 7lbs 15 oz in one week. I got acquainted with the pump which was a whole nother story in itself, and then we tried bottle feeding it to him but it came out too fast for him and he didn't like it.
I then received some amazing advice from another of our midwife's who visited (they wouldn't give up on us!) She brought a syringe and a tube and some surgical tape. We rigged up a contraption so that the the tube was taped to me. We filled up the syringe with my milk and pushed it through the tube so he thought he was getting it from me directly. They also had me go on herbs to get my milk back up since my demand had gone down from him not nursing. During this time I was also seeing a lactation consultant, where we vented our frustration and got so much encouragement and guidance. At the 2 week mark she said "don't give up, just give it one more week, I think he's almost there" I remember my Mom going to the local pharmacy to get some more syringes and the Pharmacist just looked at her funny.
It took 3 full weeks of tube feeding which was an art in itself , and then one morning I had simply just had enough, and I said to him "Teo just take it already" and I latched him on and it worked!! What a miracle and such a relief! I didn't have to sterilize syringes and tubes anymore. I didn't have to tape myself up anymore either. I was free to nurse him anywhere and everywhere and it gave us the freedom to go out to restaurants and enjoy our lives again.

After-Much happier, and look at those cheeks:)

But what a journey it has been. A few days ago I knew it was time, so I started just saying no and substituting with a nuk or a bottle and at first he complained, but then he started asking less and less for it.
It's bittersweet because I miss the closesness and our bonding times, and being able to give him something that no one else could. But it is nice to have my body back, and to not feel like a milk machine anymore! Tom and I are not sure whether or not God has another little one instore for us someday, so Teo may be the only child I nurse. I wouldn't have changed any single part of it. The challenges, the intense frustration, the "ah ha" moments, and the joy of success. It was worth every moment of this journey with my son.

Everything "old" is "new" again.

There's seems to be a current trend these days towards hand-made items and organic foods. Sites like "Etsy" for example show members from all over North America touting their creations for sale via the internet. Everything from the famous triangle cloth banners and jewelry, to wooden toys and personalized t-shirts can be purchased there. These sorts of things were a given when I was growing up. We simply made our own Christmas decorations, we hemmed our own pants, and we baked our own goods. No one ever would have thought you were part of the the "new wave", or have given it a second thought. These were just lessons and ideas of creativity that were passed down by generations from one woman to the next. It's quite ingenious actually that so many stay-at-home Mom's on the internet have cashed in on their creative sides and have thriving businesses, that otherwise would have taken years to establish at Farmer's Markets and little mall kiosks.

And that brings us to Organic foods. The health guru's out there are saying if we want to lose weight we should eat smaller portions and exercise. Oh and choosing organic produce and meat goes a long way to keeping pesticides and hormones out of our body. While I agree that organic in some cases may be better for you, they are acting like they've just reinvented the wheel here. GOD made the first organic chickens, the first organic apple, and the first organic carrot, no one else. It shouldn't be a mystery or a new revelation that fruits, vegetables and meat in their original form, before human altering, are the best way to go. I think it borders on the ridiculous that supermarkets can hike up the price of God-given foods simply because they haven't had anything added to them! Crazy! I think it should be the other way around, we should pay more for added pesticides and hormones as that costs money. Simply letting your chickens run around free, feeding them grain, and air chilling them seems like a no-brainer. Yes, the chickens may be a little smaller, and it may take a little more time but if everyone started buying organic, the prices would eventually be brought down.

Our abnormally large (33lb) non-organic Thanksgiving turkey that didn't fit in the pan.

It kind of reminds me of my Mom saying " I wish I'd kept those shoes or those pants. Who knew they'd come back in style all these years later" I think people just get tired of thinking up the next big craze and simply pull something from the past and repackage it. Our society is partly to blame for this. We shop the middle parts of the grocery store and skip the outer produce sections because we like fast. And I have to admit frozen is fast. I was also mentioning to my hubby as we went out for dinner the other night, "why do none of these restaurants have any openings tonight?" He replied "That's the society we live in, people don't want to cook anymore" Scary..

Carrots we grew in our own garden Summer 2011

Some turned out a little different than other's..

Teo helping to wash them

I'm on a mission lately to try lots of different types of veggies, and find the best way to cook them. We've tried Bok Choy, lemon grass, swiss chard, and we hope to try more.

Whether we use organic or not, and hand-maid or store bought, I'm doing my very best to embody the Proverbs 31Woman. To provide the very best I can and to instill in my son the lifeskills he will need to be a hands-on father and husband, who can cook and clean just like his father.