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Baby's Developmental milestone of Talking on 2008-05-31 13:41:48 |
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Hi, nice to meet someone else blogging on their baby's development.
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Tips for dads on bonding with your baby on 2008-05-31 13:40:15 |
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Good ideas there. My husband lovede our baby but found the intrusion into our lives, especially with colic quite hard to handle. But at 5 and a half weeks, he got the first real smile and that was just amazing. Now he does the swimming class, take my son shopping on Sundays in a baby harness and is currently sitting on the floor singing "yumy, yummy, yummy!" as he feeds my son his diner!
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My own top 10 mini rules of blogging on 2008-05-30 17:15:54 |
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Thanks badlydrawnstickman
it was responding to a post by Angelfeet on her blog that got me thinking, and I realised that I automatically consider some things outside my scope for blogging... so there's definite value in reading other people's blogs!
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Sheepish blogging, or writing for a familiar audie on 2008-05-29 15:16:58 |
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publish and be damned.
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I Got Puked On - But Couldn't Be Happier! on 2008-05-29 13:17:46 |
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Nothing wrong with a bit of baby sick... most of my clothes ended up with some on the shoulder, though of course I was told by the health visitors that "it's possetting not being sick" if it's only a tiny bit. And you wonder why I got annoyed...
I'm really pleased you can breastfeed as your body adapts its milk to your baby's needs (amazing thing that) and should be really helpful.
If it's straight forward for you that's fab - I found it really tough, my son even harder and we mixed fed from day 3 as a result.
I completely understand what you mean. Felt a bit rejected when he refused point blank, but it was his choice and he loves me (I posted on this as I did get a lot of pressure to only breastfeed... "bottlefeeding with love and other insults")
PS dads seem to wear baby sick like a medal in the early days...
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New age nursery rhymes on 2008-05-27 17:00:47 |
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Hmm. That piggy one's not one I know. But nursery rhymes can be a great way of teaching history:
- Ring-a-ring of roses (the Great Plague 1665);
- London's burning (1666, which killed off the plague);
- Little Jack Horner (Henry VIII dissolution of the monasteries)
and so on.
Kids actually tend to respond well to cruel stuff (look at the bad treatment of Harry Potter by his aunt and uncle, anything written by Roald Dahl etc.) and in part this is good for them because it helps them deal with anything they experience in life that's less than ideal.
And in fairy tales and nursery rhymes, usually the bad guys get their comeuppance. At least in the versions I know.
Will take a look at your site, and continue to read here with interest.
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Fog in the Channel, Continent Cut Off on 2008-05-27 16:06:35 |
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Hooray, another Eurovision blog entry! I thought it would just be me.
You're right, it's just not as much fun as even just a few years ago and without Terry Wogan you wonder how it can be in future...
BTW what mines?
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Once a worrier...always a worrier... on 2008-05-27 15:42:25 |
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congratulations! Just so happy for you.
Don't worry, most of us feel like that when other people hold our babies.
It takes a bit of getting used to, especially if you've got a very tiny baby as they look so fragile... took me until about 10 weeks to accept his aunts and uncles, health visitors etc. weren't going to drop him!
Next hurdle once you've been home a few weeks is childcare, going out without him, even for a few hours.
in the meantime I wish you decent sleep, easy feeding and tolerable nappies!
Take care
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My Poor Rib Cage! on 2008-05-26 18:00:47 |
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Oh I remember that. Adam's speciality was punching - v cute at 20 weeks, downright painful at 38 weeks!
I used to rub where he was doing it but to try to get him to move elsewhere but he just took that as encouragement cos he liked touching hands.
Hope it's all going well for you.
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Inconsistencies in Christians Views: Homosexuality on 2008-05-26 17:40:50 |
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Blythe, I'm interested in why you wrote this posting.
I'm christian and generally supportive of gay marriage in the form of civil partnership (which is what it's called here in the UK).
I know things are probably different here compared with the US.
Here, I suspect that a lot of the christian attitude towards being gay that you may have come across is actually about the numerous partners... which is condemned for heterosexuals too.
This is a difficult issue for Christians and it's not clear exactly what the christian view of homosexuality is or should be. I know there are other christians who will disagree with me here so I'm going to put a bit more detail.
There are some christians that think that it's better for everyone who can to have the committed relationship that they want with whichever consenting adult feels the same way. Others think that God's design is two sexes that complement each other and because there's sin in the world it's not all working according to God's order, but in the mean time temptation should be resisted.
Still others think it's really clear cut, citing Leviticus as you do, but also St Paul's letters.
But then others think St Paul was talking about the Greek practice of using gay sex in the worship of some Gods. And BTW St Paul (who had been married) was of the view that it was better to be celibate than to be married! I wonder if his marriage hadn't been happy...
Christians aren't perfect. Some of them forget that but really they know that they are sinners, but that forgiveness is there if they ask and try to live Jesus's way. Sometimes they feel called on to say difficult things or as questions that make people uncomfortable. I'm sorry if the latter is the only side of christianity you've experienced, without the love and support.
But I do know what I think about Leviticus. It's a book of laws, set out to try to help God's people live the way he wants us to live. It's written by humans.
But the whole Jesus thing is that he said that the laws that had been set out to try to live the way God wanted, but weren't doing the job. So he fulfilled it - hence why as christians we're not all sacrificing lambs and doves, growing beards, covering our heads in church etc. as is also in Leviticus. And there's no inconsistency.
Actually, in Europe most people wouldn't campaign for the slaughter of anyone - we don't have the death penalty... ;-)
So there we are, several reasons why there's no campaigning for execution for GLBT people.
Somehow I think that even if you don't repy to this, some other bloggers might...
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5 day old baby on 2008-05-24 11:37:15 |
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Congratulations! The labour sounds very draining, hope you are feeling a bit better.
I hope you do get a chance to get a bit of sleep - everyone says sleep when the baby sleeps but it's just not that easy in reality, I remember.
My son is now 7 months, the first 12 weeks were really hard as we had colic too but the first smile, the first laugh etc. make it so much better but it does get easier honest...
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My First Cuddle on 2008-05-24 11:17:42 |
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Hi Stanley, it's lovely to meet you, even so soon.
I'm really glad you are enjoying your first taste of cuddles and I bet there'll be many more of them to come over the next few days.
I hope you are eating well (even if it's only a little bit at the moment), and sleeping lots so that you get nice and strong and can go home soon.
Take care.
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Rebellion and the late developer on 2008-05-19 14:32:21 |
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Woohoo! There really must be something in the air... or is 30-mumble the new 17?
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F*ck you, Facebook!! on 2008-05-09 13:36:11 |
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Sometimes web servers can be really stupid.
Did you know that a pensioner named Willy Humphries was told that both parts of his name were unsuitable by his internet provider? (No one as far as I know has yet identified what a humphrey is and why it is offensive...)
And that Essex and West Sussex County Councils in the UK were unable to receive emails from other Councils for ages because the word sex was identified in their names by the sending servers and branded explicit?
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hmm.. on 2008-05-09 11:52:37 |
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weird in a good way?
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Global Food Crisis & Government Neglect on 2008-05-09 05:34:05 |
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This is interesting - feeds into the whole food debate... but what is your view on it?
For me, while we in the West are worried about organic and food miles (heard Gordon Ramsay today? Idiot) the rest of the world is worried about how to afford the next meal. The question is whether GM is really the answer to higher yields (if it is introducing a terminator gene should be outlawed). I feel a blog entry coming on... :)
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Don't let reality intrude, people on 2008-05-09 05:21:10 |
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thank you! Thinking about abstract concepts is important - it's what makes us human :)
Nice blog you've got going, BTW
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Acting your age on 2008-05-07 18:19:21 |
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Sorry, you may well be stuck with this feeling.
I feel 15 too inside, but I've somehow managed to gain the child, husband, mortgage, car etc. (still scared of the car though).
It's a constant marvel to me that I'm allowed to do all this.
Feels like there ought to be a licence or something.
Sometimes feels like at some point I'll have to go back to school, that that bit is still real and we're playing at being grown up. Then my son wakes up and reality reasserts itself.
I have friends that are renovating barns and building extensions, who actually know what a catoniaster is and how to grow it! How have we turned into our parents?
But if you do feel like being a punk, 15 is the right age to do it. All that pent-up agression, the need to stick safety pins into oneself and dye one's hair improbable colours is best done when the skin isn't sagging and the dye is not labelled "covers all grey".
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Un jour, j'ecrirai ... un jour on 2008-05-06 08:02:41 |
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J'espere qut tu continue a ecrire meme ici que dans les cahiers. Il n'y a pas besoin de blogger tous les jours mais j'ai trouve qu'un fois commence, les mots s'ecoulent. Bon chance.
(J'espere que tu peut me comprendre je ne suis pas francophone et il n'ya pas des accents faciles a trouver sur mon clavier!)
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| Posted in
Semi-date... on 2008-05-05 14:19:45 |
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Txt is great - compress your thoughts into 140 characters or less :)
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The Beast on 2008-05-04 14:18:12 |
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Hi, sorry me again. I'm finding your writing fascinating.
Just to say there are now 27 Member States in the EU so all 27 flags are flying.
Gordon Brown is the UK Prime Minister - he visited the US a few weeks back but you might not have noticed because the Pope visited at the same time.
Your flag does not fly outside the EU institutions buildings for the same reason as India and China's flags are not there - you are not members.
But the last paragraphs where you are looking to America to be less isolationist are really interesting. Despite whatever parallels you might try to draw with the Roman empire, Europe is not a military state conquering by force (with the solidly neutal position of several Member States the military capactiy is limited and operate as peace keepers as in Kosovo - NATO is still the predominant military alliance for most EU member states).
Most of the populations of the EU Member States are not looking for the EU to be a superpower (the surveys that demonstrate this are called eurobarometer). but they do see a coherence of values and benefits in trading and acting together. As you rightly point out, the UK is part of the EU.
And EU leaders generally do not want America to be isolated either but part of a thriving world community.
So who, in accordance with your title, is The Beast?
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Newts or mad hair - choosing London's Mayor on 2008-05-03 17:12:56 |
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Boris got it. Promises to pay for his ideas through more efficient administration. Politicians often say this all over the world, many then end up spending more money on outside consultants, who are of course lovely people and sometimes former administrators. This should be interesting. Or interesting times.
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Revelation on 2008-05-03 17:09:32 |
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Revalation is fascinating isn't it? Did you know some people thought it was an allegory for the Roman empire at the time of writing? There's some fantastic tapestries depicting scenes from Revelation on show in the Chateau at Angers in France. If the end of the world is really as they show it it's going to be one bizarre and scary time.
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The European Union on 2008-05-03 17:05:06 |
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Ok, I'm intrigued. I noticed this is your second post on the EU.
Who is the President of the EU?
There isn't one, there's several. President of the Commission, President of the Parliament and (if the Treaty of Lisbon is ratified in all 27 Member States) a President of the Council of Ministers. Then the central bank has a President too.
There's no one President who holds the power - the most powerful roles are probably Commission President because the Commission initiates legislation (ie they write the first draft like a civil service) and the forthcoming Council President role because Ministers from all the Member States meet together to take joint decisions depending on their area of responsibility (ie environment ministers talk together about the environment, transport ministers on transport etc.) and that Presidnet's role will be to resolve conflict and set timetables.
Not all of the Member States subscribe to all of the policies (the UK for example is not part of the Euro - the common currency).
While some of the institutions have Headquarters in Brussels there is no central government. The Commissioners meet there but they are not a government - there's very little that they can agree without also getting agreement from Ministers from the Member States and also from the democratically elected members of the European Parliament. The European Parliament meets both in Brussels and Strasbourg. And the Council of Ministers meets in Brussels and Luxembourg. The Heads of State and Government from all the Member states meet together 4 times a year, usually in Brussels to set the strategic direction.
The EU started as a free trade area but it because clear over time that a level playing field between the Member States required some wider agreements (as just one example lorry drivers tired from driving across the continent need breaks so that people at the end of their routes are not disproportionately affected by accidents caused by tired drivers). There are some areas (trade, environment) where these countries have decided you can achieve more by agreeing to work together, not because any one of theme could nuke or fight the others into non-existence. The Court that can overrule national law has been doing so since 1974 - if you are going to agree to rules they need to be enforceable, equally, everywhere.
At the end of the day, there are still some people who see the future of the EU being as you portray it. but that's not the majority in Europe, and it's not even the majority of those inside the EU institutions any more. The new former Commmunist member states in particular feel they've fought too long and too hard to be themselves to be subsumed into another superstate and as the direction of the EU needs their agreement as well as those of all the other Member States I think it's highly unlikely that that is the ultimate destination now. So what is the EU and what is it for? It's a unique journey in pooling sovereignty for mutual benefit on equal terms.
You are right America does not belong to the EU. I'd be interested to see an application. Geography need not be an impediment to this (see past applications from Marocco, current negotiations with Turkey etc.) but shared values are important e.g. abolition of the death penalty as barbaric, no Guantanemo bay equivalents etc.
I could write now but I expect you have some questions or issues you'd like to talk more about? I'm happy to help where I can.
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Left-Handed girls on 2008-05-03 16:38:31 |
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Thank you. I take my weirdness and revel in it. hope you do too!
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Eyam on 2008-05-03 16:35:15 |
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When I was at school we did a production of the play "The Roses of Eyam" that tells the story.
I played the tailor's daughter and was killed off very early on.
But the weird thing about going to Eyam is you can see the names of the characters we played there, for real. It reminds you that these were real, ordinary people and of the amazing sacrifice that they made.
I'm glad you loved the place.
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I could VERY soon be homeless on 2008-05-01 12:31:06 |
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Hey, this is a really distressing situation. It happened to my husband and some friends of his when they were younger - so yes you can find yourself homeless and must never let the baliffs in!
Please get yourself down to a legal advice centre if you've not already done so - they're free and used to dealing with this sort of situation. Good luck and keep us posted.
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