Roadtrip!

John, Mike and I went for a drive in the country, to help Mike cheer up about not getting the job he applied for. John wasn't having any fun at all, so we decided to face his seat forward partway through the trip. Bare feet was John's idea - he started out with socks, but pulled them off. Just as well - it was really warm.

Taking a food, change and wiggle break in a farmer's field.  

The home stretch.

Well, I can't say country drives are a fun with a baby. There were many breaks in farmer's fields.

It didn't help that it was hot. Well, hot for John and I. They said it was about 20, which is hot enough. The tail end of my pregnancy was an eternal hot flash. I remember those last couple of weeks at work, nearly passing out from the heat, even though I worked in an air conditioned office. For some reasons, those hormones haven't fully snapped back to normal, so I'm still always warm. It's been awesome for the winter - we've saved a bundle in gas costs. I'm dreading summer though - especially the hot, muggy summers we have down here. John prefers the cold as well.

To beat the heat, we opened all the windows, which John loved. Whenever we peeked back, he had the wind blowing though his hair and a big smile on his face. He loves it when we blow on his face, so this was just a big version of that game to him.

He did get grumpy now and then - especially once he started to get tired. I didn't bring nearly enough toys to rotate. By the end I was passing back water bottles and pens for him to play with. But I guess all in all, driving with John was tolerable.

The trip was meant to cheer Mike up, which it did, but it morphed into a dress rehearsal of sorts. It looks like we're coming home after all! The plan is to leave Thursday, and be home by the end of the month, as long as all the relations are OK with us bunking in. The union bosses have given their blessing. I still want to fly, but the driving seems to be a deal breaker for Mike. Once we're back at work, there won't be another chance, probably until next winter, so I caved. Hopefully, it won't be as big a nightmare as I think it's going to be. Travelling 2,000 KM with a baby - each way. Why does he want to do this?!

Anyway. Now I just need to plan the logistics of this. Do you guys still have lots of snow? If so I'll just leave the stroller at home. We have a portable crib, and my parents have a high chair, so all that's taken care of. Not sure how baby food will work on the road. I guess I'll get some of the jarred stuff? Maybe we can get a little cooler for it. Who knows. At least I don't have to worry about bottles! The house and cats will be fine - Adrian will still be here to keep the kibble flowing.

Holy moly. This is going to be a challenge! Though it will be nice to come home for a visit. We'll give you all a call to plan out the details.

John is doing great. He's been figuring stuff out lately, which is fun to watch. He can open and close doors now - probably from watching the cats do it, becuse he uses the same technique as them. It has brought a whole new dimension to peek-a-boo. I'll be cooking dinner, and he'll sit in the kitchen doorway. If I look down at him, he'll close the door really quick, with him on the other side. He giggles away on the other side, then slowly opens it and peeks around. If I'm still watching, he'll squeal and hide behind the door again. It's pretty funny. He plays peek-a-boo with Mike a lot, too. We'll be in bed and he'll pull a blanket over Mike's face, then pull it back down, then back up, and down, giggling the whole time. He's a master of the light switch - he's figured that one out. He's working on the bathroom taps - they're lever style. He's watched me use them a million times and now he's trying to turn the water on and off himself. Hasn't managed it yet, but he's a real hundfull while I brush my teeth now, because he's constantly lunging for the faucet. That and flushing the toilet. If I need to use the washroom, I'll often take him with me and let him play in the tub, rather than let him roam unsupervised, or abandon him in his crib. When I'm done, he always tries to flush for me, but he's not strong enough to do it yet. He likes to watch the water swirl around. Totally mesmerized by that. He wants to help me cook too, but I don't know how to help him feel a part of that. The ECE teacher at the Early Years Centre said to give him a plastic tub and spoon and let him mimic, but he knows it's not real - he wants to help with the real thing.

In other news, the strike lives on...and on...and on... The guys just rejected the company's "final offer." It was actually the first offer, but they claim they won't budge. The union thinks it's trash and won't budge either. So, it's going to be a looooong strike. One of the key reasons why Mike wants to head up - there's no chance of going back to work anytime soon. He thinks the strike is the reason he lost the job, as well. At least that's what he hopes - the plan is to apply again for future openings, so if he didn't get the job because of him, not the fact that he's on strike, then it could make the plan impossible.

In the meantime, the drywall has been abandoned. Typical. It will stay half finished until the next job opening, when he slips into panic mode to get it all done. I'm determined not to have it that way. The only stressor was the house. It was a wake-up call that we need to start now, so that doesn't happen when the time to sell comes - which might come sooner than we think, if this strike goes too long. There's lots we can do that costs little, or nothing, but will make a huge difference. My first pet project is the upstairs bathroom. We discovered that the wainscotting on the bottom is real wood, but has been painted so many times, it looks like cheap panelling and there are huge patches where it's chipping and flaking. The paint is so thick, there's no covering that up with new paint - you can see very clearly where the paint chipped away. There's about 15 layers of paint, at least, so I'm scraping it all down to get the grooves back. It looks so much better! Once it's re-painted, it'll look brand new. Wainscotting is such a trendy look for bathrooms right now, it's worth the effort to fix it. It's neat to see all the different colours. A lot of beige, tan, sage, dusty rose. Every room in this house hs been pink at one time or another - I really hope not all at the same time! I had a peek under the floor as well. Those of you who've seen it know we have two different types of flooring down. One half of the room is lino - the other is peel 'n stick tile. I can't get under the lino yet, but the other side has four layers of lino, all installed one on top of another! That's just what I can see from peeling back a corner - there may be even more, each one uglier than the last. It's such a small room, it won't be that much to replace the floor when the time comes - we worked out we'd need 56 12-by-12 tiles, if we went with tiles. We don't now how to get flooring around the tub and radiator feet, though. I guess they have to come out while it goes down, but Mike isn't keen on anything that requires a lot of lifting.

Anyway, I had better go. I have lots of laundry and packing and stuff to do.

The loooong wait continues

We're still waiting to hear about that job. With every hour, it's looking more and more bleak.

Mike is still holding out some hope, though. Every other time he's been offered a job by these guys, it's been a Thursday or Friday call, to report to work on Monday morning. But there was supposed to be a whole other step - the reference check. We think, either he's lost the job and they're notifying the losers last, just in case the winners decline, or they just pulled up his employee file and called his managers as references. Depending on who they talked to, that could be a very bad thing.

He thinks the strike might compliate things - that they might be worried about the union reaction to hiring a picketer.

Sigh. And I was just starting to get excited about this. But hey, if he doesn't get it, he can always try again later - jobs do come up now and then, I'm sure. Until then, we'll just return to life like normal. And hey - we have drywall, so we're ending up ahead either way!

The long wait...

Fast asleep in his portable crib, while Mike hangs drywall upstairs.

Haven't heard anything more about the job. However, it does start next Monday, so we're expecting a call today or tomorrow. He had the interview, which he felt didn't go terribly well. It was one of those horrible "Tell me a specific example of....how you boosted the team...improved your company...etc."It caught him a little off guard. The second round is a reference check, so we're just waiting for them to call for his references. We've decided if he gets it, he's going to take it.

Drywall is going up in the back room upstairs. It looks really nice - even considering the fact that Mike doesn't seem to know what he's doing. They say you marry a man who reminds you of your Dad, but that's certainly not the case with Mike's handyman skills. I've lost count of the number of times in the last couple days I've said "my Dad does it this way..." He doesn't seem to appreciate the help, though.

John's OK. The drywall was hard on him. He had to sleep in a different bed, in a different room, away from the noise. For such a creature of habit, it was hard. Not to mention the many times I couldn't respond to his cries right away, because I was in the middle of carrying drywall, or something.

The doc appointment went well. John's growing perfectly. He's 76 cm long and roughly 22 pounds, buck naked. Still on the top end of the spectrum, so all is well.

He checked John's ears for me, but they're fine. He figured he's just got a touch of a cold - no big deal.

He gave him a shot. Health Canada just made it free. I think he said it was for pneumonia. (No idea if I spelled that right - this program has no spell-check - I'm sure you've noticed.) He goes back for a booster in two months. Doc West said he probably didn't need it, because he's nearly out of the danger period when illnesses can kill him, but he gave it to him anyway, just because he can.

John is such a character. Doc West was running really late - very unlike him. His is the only clinic I know that runs on time. I had to amuse John in the examination room, so I let him explore the floor. He kept crawling up to the door, peering around the edge to look at all the people in the waiting room down the hall. Eventually they noticed him and started chucking. He pulled back and snickered, then did it again - slowly peering around the corner, until they laughed. After a few times, he got really brave. He flashed me a look, then scooted full throttle across the hall to the nurse's station, to the delight of his fans. (He has such a thing for nurses. In a room full of women, where only one is a nurse, he goes for the nurse every time - even nurses he's never met before. It's kind of creepy.) His fans were all very disappointed every time I pulled him back into the room, but he's so small and the docs really fly down that hall - I had visions of him getting kicked or stepped on. I imagine it would have been pretty funny to see from the waiting room - a baby's eyes peering around the corner, then him streaking across the hall, wearing nothing but a diaper, to the nurse's station. Then, the whole place got to see him buck naked, as I scooted from the scale back to the room. I was holding him out at arms length, hoping he wouldn't pee on me. The waiting room got a real kick out of that too. He was quite the little celebrity by the time we left.

I've been taking John out to the yard bit by bit. I discovered why he didn't crawl in the grass last time - he doesn't like how it feels on his hands. He'd put his hands down, then recoil as soon as he touched the blades. I was so cute! He eventually got over it, though, and started booting around the yard, to the horror of the cats. Until now, the yard has been their domain. Crawling on the grass brings a whole new set of perils. I looked away from him for a second to pet one of the cats; when I looked back, he had a huge clump of grass sticking out of his mouth. I pulled it out and washed him up as much as possible, but he still drooled mud for the next hour. That isn't the worst thing I've found in his mouth. Yesterday, he was sitting on the floor, with this really strange expression on his face. Then he opened his mouth and this huge glob of plaster fell out - probably tracked down from upstairs.

On the strike front, the strike lives on. The guys were advised to vote no on the last offer, so that's probably what they did. Supposedly there's a new offer out now, which they should be voting on soon.

For all you curling fans - what the heck was with the worlds this year! They squeaked into the finals, only because of some fluke misses by the other teams, then creamed Scotland in the final. I don't get it - but at least it wasn't boring!

Happy birthday to Mike!

Mike is another year older today, though the run of sleepless nights he's had lately has aged him much more than that.

As some of you know, he applied for a new job on a bit of a whim. Getting it and accepting it would be a fairly momentous change, but we're unsure if it would be for the better or the worse. We've been endlessly debating the pros and cons, but it's an agonizing decision, because it's so balanced either way.

He has a job interview this afternoon. He had a short pre-interview on Tuesday, which he felt went very well. Now, if he gets the job, we're not sure if it would be a good idea to take it. It's so hard to tell the difference between cold feet and a genuinely bad decision. He's thinking it may come up again next year, giving him more time to emotionally prepare for the shift, but he's worried turning it down right now will hurt his chances of being accepted in the future. Or, he could just as easily be rejected and we're here agonizing over nothing, which, knowing us, is exactly how it will play out.

Sigh.

On the strike front, a new contract has been drawn up. They're voting on it this afternoon. It's not good for guys like Mike. Not only will he get no pay raise at all - only the guys at the very top of the pay grid will get a raise, and a nice one at that - but they've closed the loophole which allowed Mike to work overtime through the slow winter season, while permenant guys were capped at 20 hours a week. That means the part-timers will be scheduled for full-time before the temps are even offered work, which probably means lots of temps being laid off in the fall. That would probably include Mike. Gotta love the union - screw over the young guys to get a settlement. I just have to note, most of the guys who will benefit from this contract didn't even turn up on the picket line. Mike, who will probably lose his job over it, has been there nearly every day. So much for "solidarity." We'll know in a few days how everyone voted.

Either way, the new piece rate company is up, running, and taking away work Mike and his co-workers would normally do. They cost the company less in labour, so there's no reason to think they'll vanish after the strike, which just raises the chances for layoffs. In the long run, that new company may cost the company more; those guys have to buy their own tools and wire, and are paid per job, so I can't see how they wouldn't skimp on materials and quality, unless mistakes are taken off their pay, which would just be cruel. It's all very scary. Maybe even scary enough to be a point in the new job's favour, if he gets it.

Adulthood blows. Too many big decisions, with big consequences. Does he stay with the status quo and hope for the best, or take a huge leap of faith not knowing if it'll end up better or worse? It's hard to know.

John is doing OK. I don't think he's feeling well. He had a runny nose yesterday and he's been clawing at his ears; one of them does look a little red inside. It's hard to tell - he doesn't have a fever, but he has been grumpy the last couple days. I assumed it was teething - he's been biting a lot lately. He bit my hand so hard the other day he broke skin, and when he's got a teether, he bites down really hard with the gums just beside his teeth. He's loving this pink rubber octopus Mike's parents sent, because the legs are the perfect shape for reaching those gums. Rubber-grip, retractable pens are even better, but people look at me like I'm a terrible mom when he's chomping on one of those. In private, they're a life-saver - just never try to take one away from him. He flies into a full blown tantrum.

Thankfully, he already has a check-up scheduled for tomorrow morning (his nine-month birthday - yay!) I'm going to ask the Doc to take a peek in those ears, just in case. Not a very good time for an appointment otherwise - John is looking a little rough. He has a cut on his ear, from some fall or other. It got a little infected, so it's all red and bruised. Polysporin has been helping, but he keeps wiping it off with all his clawing of ears. His knees are bruised from crawling and he's got a rash, probably caused by the runs, which is probably caused by the cold he seems to have. All in all, with all his cuts, bruises and the rash, he looks almost abused. Obviously, he's not. I just hope the doc doesn't think anything is up. Bruised knees are OK for a crawling baby, right?

He spent a couple of hours with sitters last night - "auntie" Laura and "grandma" Joan, whom he hadn't seen since Christmas. I was nervous, because he is a little strange around people now. Some days he's fine with people - other days he burries his face in my chest to escape them. We haven't actually left him alone with anybody since my parents were here, and they were hardly strangers by then, so we had no idea how he'd react. But he was fine! They said he fussed a bit for the first few minutes, but they took him to the park to play on the swings, and he settled right down and had lots of fun. When we went to pick him up, he was laughing and having a great time! That makes me feel a lot better about going back to work - he'll be OK without me. He can drink from a sippy cup now too! It only took him about two weeks of regular daily use to piece it together. I started by just sticking it in his mouth and pouring in water. After a couple of days, he started opening up for it. Then asking for it (with grunts and gestures - he's so much like Mike.) Then he started helping me hold it. Then one fine day he grabbed it from me and chugged back all by himself! When he put it down, he had a huge smile on his face! Now he won't let me help him - he's a big boy now, he doesn't want my help!

I hear him waking up - gotta go! Wish Mike luck with, well, everything. Votes, interviews, sound sleep; you name it, he needs luck for it.

Spring has come...and gone

The first snowsuit-free day of the year! John and I headed off to the park after strike duty. I was going to let him go nuts on the open field, or see if he's big enough for a baby swing yet. Sorry about the missing top of head - camera slipped.

Awwww...

He didn't even make it to the park. Along the way, we had to stop for a train passing through town (John's first train!) I guess he found the rhythm soothing. By the time the last car passed, he was out. (That's the jacket you sent, mom and dad - it's so cute!)

So, that was our spring. Today, the sky is black, the air is cold and there's thunder, lightening and snow. I'm glad I got him out for a long walk on the first day warm and sunny enough for just a jacket - no thick snowsuit or piles of blankets - even if he did sleep through most of it. He had a good time. He's been OK with the stroller facing forward for a while now - he knows where I am, and peers around frequently to make sure I'm still there. A few months ago he would have screamed his head off to be facing away from me. But now he looooves facing forward - he sits right up and looks all around. He loves to watch people who are walking dogs.

I let him sit in the yard while I did some yard work the other day. He had a blast! He thought the rake moving around was hilarious. He ran his fingers through the grass and ate a leaf - it didn't taste very good. I tried to convince him to crawl, but he wasn't interested - he just wanted to sit and watch me work.

Mike took a break from the strike yesterday and today. He may take tomorrow off too. World curling is on, after all. Curling is the only time Mike yells at the TV. He's a little irritated at Ferby right now - they actually lost to Germany.

On the strike front, negotiations will be resuming tomorrow with a provincially appointed mediator. It's always good news when negotiations are underway - I really hope he or she can help.

John joins the war effort

Doing his bit to get Dad back to work.

Well, it was inevitable. John and I have joined the strike. Not on the front lines, of course - we've been recruited to man the office weekday mornings. Mike was scheduled for office duty today, but they had a shortage of guys on the picket lines so he asked me to fill his place. The office, it seems, is a bit of a hot potato - everyone would rather be out picketing. However, someone's gotta do it, so I said I'd take it for them as much as I can. John enjoys it. It screwed up his naps a little, but it's a cool new place to explore, and there's nothing dangerous to eat. And every now and then someone comes in and makes funny faces at him, so it's working out alright so far. After our first morning, John and I have each logged more time to the strike than the majority of the guys who actually work for this company. Apparently someone's pet dog has put in more hours on the picket line than anybody, other than the picket captains. The organizers are pretty irritated by the whole thing, but all they have to do is make a schedule of where and when people need to be and the attendance problems would vanish. They're working on that this weekend - though, they said that last weekend too.

The strike is turning ugly. Lots of cut cables, vandalism, fires, thousands of people mysteriously knocked out of service in the night. (I guess all the guys are out prowling for cables in the night, leaving them too tired to picket during the day). The new piece rate company is here and running now. There was some talk in the meeting - all dead serious - that when one of the workers is spotted they are to be chased off with wooden stakes. Most of the energy is spent hunting down and tormenting scabs and managers. Telephone and e-mail terrorism campaigns were officially launched, sparking sinister cheers from the crowd. It's a lot like being part of a really dirty political campaign. It's dozens of guys living out their "if I were quitting this stinking job tomorrow, I would..." scenarios. Very dangerous. Hopefully, this won't last long. And hopefully, more will join in! Where are the 90-odd percent who voted to strike!? Mike voted No, and he's still putting in more time than most. Oh, and don't worry - Mike isn't getting involved in any of the illegal stuff. It sure is keeping the police busy, though!

He can stand!

An old favourite - John at 10 days old. Back then, just turning his head was a big deal - he couldn't even smile. Check out the colour of those eyes - it's not a camera illusion. They were actually a dark slate grey when he was born. We couldn't tell where his pupil started, they were so dark. It took a couple of months for them to lighten up to blue.

He's come so far! As you may know, John has become quite the little cruiser lately. As long as there's something to hang on to, he prefers to get about on foot. A few days ago, he walked from the table to the chair to Mike. Mike was holding him up, then let him go - and he stayed standing up! It was only for a few seconds, before he wobbled and fell, but he was standing all by himself! We did it a few times, but now he won't play along. We don't think he likes it, because now whenever Mike holds him up, he bends his knees.

The nurse predicted that he'll be walking before his first birthday - she just may be right!

He's become a very good crawler as well. The days of slithering along the floor have ended - he's up on all fours now. Preferred destinations include stairs and the bathroom, so I've got to keep doors closed and an eye out at all times. He got so upset when I wouldn't let him lick the toilet brush. It has since been banished to the upstairs bathroom.

His other destination is often Mike, which Mike is loving. John will often boot it to the door when he hears dad's key in the lock, or he'll head to the office, if Mike's on the computer. It's really cute.

He didn't start crawling on all fours suddlenly. There was this weird between stage, when he was up on his hands, but would propel his body forward with one foot, while sliding along the other knee. It sort of looked like he was pushing a skateboard or scooter. However, all fours is much, much faster, so he's switched over.

The strike goes on. It's an every day thing, so no trip home for Mike. He only needs to work 16 hours a week to get strike pay, but so few guys are turning up, he's decided to take up the slack and get out there every day, as many hours as he can.

In the morning he pickets one of the work centres, to prevent non-striking techs from the parent company from getting out on time. They're allowed to delay each truck by 15 minutes. Then, he's part of the flying picket team. Basicly, these are little teams of groupies, only mean. They hunt hunt down techs from the parent company out in the field, then picket right in front of the customer's house. When the tech leaves, they follow him around, setting up pickets wherever he stops to work. The logic is, those techs are essentially scabs, because they've been assigned work normally contracted to Mike's company. They're also hoping for some sympathy from our city's rabidly pro-union population.

Things are turning a little ugly. There's some evidence that the parent company is expanding their new non-unionized, piece rate contractor to the striking region. Not cool. I feel sorry for the guys in that company - if they start working here, they're going to be facing some serious hostility in the field from ALL the unionized techs, whether on strike or not.

The parent company has also denied the purchase of Mike's company to the media, but according to the stock exchange, the sale has already gone through. Not sure what that's all about.

All in all, it looks like it's going to be very long and very bitter, and there's a pretty good chance there won't be a company left when everything's over. It wouldn't be the first time this company shut down a whole division over a labour dispute. No matter what happens, good luck trying to keep the union out of that new company. I bet the union bosses are in there already.

Life on the line

John, checking out his own website. Maybe one day, he'll start posting himself.

Today is day one of Mike's new job as a picketer. I dropped a very nervous, agitated Mike off this morning. He's not a big fan of civil unrest - at least not the public kind. We have no idea when he'll be allowed to go home. He doesn't know who his leader is yet. He doesn't know when he has to go back. He has nothing for lunch, because he didn't want to stand around with a bag. I wonder if picket lines are catered. I suggested to him that we make a little wee picket sign for John, so they can hang out together on the line. He didn't see the humour.

John's doing well. We're plunging ahead with the transition to finger food, now that he seems ready and eager. He's doing well in terms of chewing and swallowing, but he's getting caught up in his tray-to-mouth technique. Dry things, like bread, are no problem. But I tried little chunks of cooked carrot a few days ago and it was a disaster. I was making dinner while he munched and every time I looked over, more pieces had vanished. He kept emptying his tray, so I kept putting more out, thinking he was doing very well. Then I finished the rest of his dinner with a spoon and lifted him out.

Left behind were dozens of tiny carrot pieces, wedged between the seat and cushion. I can't blame the guy - I remember doing the same thing as a kid to food I didn't like. I pity the person who bought one of my childhood homes - they would have found a pile of abandoned food and soggy vitamin pills I had chucked down the basement stairs. Thank goodness for dirt floors - it probably all became compost in the end.

I guess we'll jus stick to the dry stuff for a little while. Did you know that if mixed with a small enough amount of water, even baby cereal can be a finger food? We discovered that one last night, as John smeared himself and every surface within his reach with blueberry oatmeal. He had grabbed the bowl from my hand and was trying to pick up the goo inside, only to have it run out between his fingers. I added more cereal to make blueberry oatmeal balls, which he could pick up and eat by hand. Very messy, but he enjoyed it. Mike won't stay in the room when I'm feeding John anymore; he can't handle the mess. I let John "feed himself" with the spoon, and get his hands right in there. I'm definitely much more lax with the table manners, which usually results in a very sticky baby. Happy, but sticky.

Though, even Mike gets in on the finger food fun sometimes. He likes to send me little "gifts" through John - usually in the form of whole kernels of corn. It's amazing what counts as fun once a baby is in the picture.

Strike update, as promised

This is a little talking drum, also sent by Mike's parents. He wasn't sure what to make of it at first, but it didn't take him long to figure out that it lights up when he hits it! This was sent along with his Tiny Tory T, a new spring outfit, and some meat, jam and chocolates for us. Thank you!

OK. Here's why the strike happened. For our purposes, the big "parent company" will be called PC, Mike's company, the subcontractor, will be called MC and the union will be U.

Alright. The last time we left off in the saga of contact negotiations, PC had decided to buy back MC. U was delighted. Talks resumed, with all three parties at the table. Things were supposedly going well, but after a few weeks, U started to get grumpy. They felt the process was too slow, and that PC was starting to dig in its heels on important issues, like wage.

To add a little pressure, hoping to speed the process along, U launched stage two of work-to-rule. It banned any training - including the new guys hired for summer, who are currently mid-training. It also banned team meetings, overtime, unsupervised conversations with managers and pagers from being left on outside a shift - that was two days ago.

Under these conditions, talks resumed. Everyone was a little agitated by then. U was mad because things were stalling, and PC was mad because U was playing hardball.

One thing to note, the sale of MC to PC was conditional on a collective agreement being reached. At yesterday's negotiations, PC kind of snapped. They accused U of being too inflexible, and questioned why they ever thought buying MC was a good idea. Some very colourful language was exchanged, then PC stormed out of the room. A great start to the day. THEN, MC started yelling at U, calling them selfish and accusing them of risking the company's future for some stupid perks. More loud, colourful language, then MC stormed out.

U, hurt and alone, pulled a "screw 'em all" tactic against both PC and MC, and called a strike right then and there. It was an impulse call, made in the heat of the moment.

As a result, no-one is prepared for a strike - the deadline wasn't until April 9 after all. Mike's union meeting last night was basicly telling everyone that story, and how they regret not holding off a bit - at least until after Easter so everyone could get the paid holiday. But, what's done is done. They don't have anything prepared beyond a loose plan. They aren't going to do anything until Monday - by then they'll have a schedule to distribute and everything else in place.

I've never been part of a strike, so I don't know what's normal, but this union is going to be doing some petty low things, in my opinion. Flooding e-mails and phone lines, picketing manager's houses, that sort of thing. They told everyone to keep it as unrelenting and harsh as possible, because it will make the strike as short as possible. The last three strikes were 7, 11 and 18 weeks long.

That's about all we know for now - we'll know a lot more on Monday. We don't know what kind of time committment this wil be - they'll schedule everyone for 15-20 hours a week, but he may have some blocks of time off. Who knows.

I kind of side with the company on this one - with everything but wages. Mike told me what the company offered and it's a joke. However, the union is digging in its heels on some really stupid things. They want Easter Monday off. Who gets Easter Monday off!? What are they, bankers? Some of the other things they want would be nice - they want a shift premium for the evening hours, which the PC guys get. I can totally see that - in the winter, they're working outside in the cold AND the dark. It deserves a shift premium. We'll see how things play out. Hopefully it will be very short. It looks like "short" means a couple months, but if that's the best they can do, I guess we'll have to live with that.

Happy Easter everybody! I'll keep you posted as things unfold.

My Tiny Tory

This is so funny - this was sent in an Easter care package from Mike's parents - it says "I'm a Tiny Tory." We howled when we opened it up! He's ready for his next meeting!

He's going to turn NDP in his rebel teen years, I just know it. Not sure how he feels about the Conservatives now. I imagine he's pro-life - I think that's probably the big issue in the infant wing of the party - but I like to think he's in favour of gay marraige, so the whole social end is a little off for him right now.

Mike had yesterday afternoon off, so we went to hang at the mall for a while. John had a blast. He was squealing away, laughing at the people walking past. You'd think I never take him places. We took him to the pet store - his favourite store, by far. He had a good time playing with a cocker spaniel puppy - they were pawing at each other through the glass. No puppies for John, though. Mike wants a dog-free life. I think that will change - in a few years, it will be two or three against one. John liked the kittens, too. And the blue fish- he was totally captivated by the little blue fish.

The convention did derail Mike's anti-smoking campaign a bit, but I think the events of today will spell its doom for some time.

I have good news, and I have bad news, from Mike's job. The good news is, Mike just got a raise for his one year anniversary - a buck an hour, with another buck added every six months from now on. Not too shabby.

The bad news is, he's on strike. Yup, just like that. Out of nowhere. They went on work-to-rule yesterday, which is why he had the afternoon off. They put all training off limits, and he was scheduled for a training session. He got all the way there and the union told them all to leave. However the rules state that a worker needs so many hours notice to have a shift cancelled, so all these guys were flooded onto the job board. Mike offered to take the day off, so there wouldn't be such a huge surplus of workers. They have to pay four hours for a cancelled shift anyway, so they told him to work the four, then go home.

Today, he got a call from his manager that talks broke down and a strike had started. The union set a strike deadline of April 9. However, management felt they were being pushy and uncooperative, so they left the table. So, the union decided to strike immediately - that was 11 a.m. This was all from his manager, not from the union, so Mike decided to go about his day until he was ordered otherwise. He went to leave for work as unual at 1, but his van wouldn't start. He had to get it towed to the company's garage. While he was there, he got the official paige to stop working. So, now his van is basicly impounded, which he's not too happy about. His manager is stopping by in the morning for a quick chat and to pick up his tools. Totally against the union rules - he's not allowed to have any meetings with his manager without a union rep there to observe - but Mike doesn't care; he really likes his manager.

He's at a union meeting right now - I guess to get the picket schedule, go over strike pay and stuff like that. I'll post again tomorrow morning and let you know how things are going.

This probably derails my plans to come home with John. He said we'll have to see what happens at this meeting tonight, but I doubt the trip will happen now. He'll want to come, and will probably have the time, but the union bosses may not OK it, and the strike could end at any moment, so on a practical level, it would be difficult at best. Besides, even if he could come, he keeps insisting we drive and we don't have the money needed for gas and hotels for that. He managed to squeak through his convention for practically free, thanks to some unique circumstances and much sharing of resources, so we still have most of his convention money, but it still isn't enough for a long road trip like that. Besides - we kinda need it for the mortgage - we put a lot of creditors on hold for that stupid convention. Who's side gave him this complete lack of logic and reason? I mean, we have air miles. We can just GO, with little money needed, and ha can be back in less than a day if he gets called back to work. It just makes so much more sense to me. *sigh*

Anyway, I'll post again in the morning with another picture of John and a strike update! Exciting times!

Just say no to green beans

The face says it all. I don't know why I waited so long to try green beans, but I'm sure he's wishing I'd waited a little longer! Poor little guy.

Blech! 

Sheesh - had to work hard for this one. he won't sit still for anything anymore! I have a bunch of pictures of him trying to climb up the wall, or crawl off. I have a picture with nothing but a bum, snapped as he zoomed out of the shot. This is a new knit outfit sent by Great Grandma W, caught just as he was about to lunge for the space heater. 

Daycare subsidies

Just as a response to Bruce - the subsidy system blows big time.

Households who make less than $45,000 get 100 per cent of the cost paid. Any family over that gets nothing paid. The result is a screwing over of the middle class, including us, who are just above the level. Wealthy people can afford to pay. Poor people get a free ride. Families like ours are just squeaking by, but we have to pay as much as the wealthy families. You'd think maybe we could get PART paid at least, but no. We're treated as though we're wealthy, even though it's going to take nearly everything I have to pay for John's care. It's just really messed up, in a big, big way. I'm floored by the whole thing, really. I'm surprised people have been putting up with this for so long.

I saw Mike on CPAC! His back was to the camera, but those were his clothes, and I know that walk anywhere - it was definitely him. He called just after Stephen Harper's speech and was sounding very weary. He was working on a friend's National Council campaign, but lost. We're a curse - everyone we support loses. I guess that's what you get for always rooting for the underdog. He feels a little sore about the convention, but that's normal, I find. There are always hurt feelings after these things. Peter MacKay's leadership convention was by far the worst, but he's looking better and better these days. Even Preston Manning is looking pretty good. He's actually a good fiscal conservative. Dare I say it - a Red Tory even? At least he is next to all the So-cons out there. Mike was about to step out for some "fresh air" after the last call, so hopefully the tension there hasn't completely derailed his anti-smoking campaign.

John's doing great! Can't keep that little guy down! He's always on his way somewhere. I wonder if he notices that Mike is gone? Probably not, but he'll be all a-wiggle as soon as Mike walks in the door tomorrow!

I haven't mentioned the trip home to Mike since before the convention. His mind has been someplace else lately, and now his body is too, so I'll bring it up again after he's come back to earth. I haven't heard from the Spec, so I'm off till June for sure.

Forgot to mention...

Sorry - got so bothered by the daycare thing, i forgot to mention some of the biggest news! Mike is quitting smoking! Isn't that great!?

He started a few days ago. He's down to a quarter pack a day, and plans to slowly work himself off that. So far, it's going well. He usually tries cold turkey, but it doesn't work for him. he did the gum once, but that wasn't very successful either. This is the first attempt that he really seems excited about, so I think it'll stick.

Just don't mention anything about it to him - it's a sensitive time. I know what he's like and what stresses him, and too much attention about it would drive him back for sure. He just needs to work through it in solitude, without any pressure.

Gosh, this house feels lonely tonight! I spent the whole evening watching CPAC looking for Mike. He got caught up in the convention as wasn't able to phone as soon as he arrived. However, he's phoned several times since, so it's OK.

The Daycare Dilema

Sorry guys - the picture/text problem is back. So, today we do text.

It's been a busy few days. The CPC convention is starting today, so Mike is on his way to Montreal as I write this. He should actually be arriving in the city right now. It's kind of sad to have him gone - we just realized that this is the first time we'll be sleeping in separate cities in the time we've been married. Though, he's already phoned once, so I'll probably be hearing a lot from him. I'm sure the other people in his van were rolling their eyes - not even out of the province and already calling the wife - but it was nice to hear his voice.

John's doing well. Loving his meat. I've started giving him bits of grated cheese too and he really loves that. Little pieces of bread, even. He chews now, so it's working out well. He chews everything - even yogurt. I've tried Cheerios again and he chews them too. He doesn't like them, but he'll chew them. Don't know why everyone gives their babies Cheerios. Probably because they're plain and portable. Just seems to be what's done - and they make great toys, too.

Took John to see the travelling dentist at Parentlink yesterday, but he was a no-show. I wanted to ask about the gap between his teeth, but I think it's OK - the little boy on the cover of Today's Parent this month has the same gap, so I'm sure it's normal.

All the moms marvelled at John's creeping and he put on quite a show. The shyness of a few weeks ago seems to have worn off. He was crawling all over the nurse and up to the other babies, having a great time. He and one of the other babies had quite an in-depth conversation in baby-babble. They both have their "babababa's" down pat. Then, as a showstopper, he decided to go into a jumping fit. For those who've never seen it, John does this thing where he'll prop himself up on my lap, and do little jumping actions. That's my cue. I pick him up and bounce him up and down, so it's like he's jumping way up into the air. He actually does all the hard work - he pushes off the ground with his legs, like a little spring, howling with laughter the whole time. The other moms thought it was hilarious. They all gave it a try with their own babies, but John was the only one who could do the spring action. It's probably from spending too much time in his jolly jumper. Had him weighed as well - he's about 22 pounds, fully clothed. That's right on his usual curve. I was worried about his weight - his appetite was so rediculous for a while there, it felt like I was starving him. The yogurt and meat made all the difference - it's a little earlier than some people say to start, but he REALLY needs those fatty foods. There's just no way to fill him up without them anymore.

Oh, I'm part of a medical study at the university now! It's pretty exciting. They need lactating women and the nurse knows I'm still breastfeeding, so she asked if I'd be willing to sign up. Basicly, it's one of those environmental contaminant studies. I let the university take a urine sample and pump two ounces of my milk, so they can test for flame retardent chemicals. They want to use it to lobby the government to ban the substances. Mike is horrified - he thinks it's bad science to have a political goal in mind for the results before the study even gets going. But I'm all for it, so they're welcome to as much milk as they want. I won't get to find out if my milk in particular is contaminated, but it's for a good cause, so that's just fine.

We went to see the daycares a few days ago. Boy oh boy. Where to start. Let's just say, it's pretty bleak.

There's only four in our area that take babies. We saw three of them. The first seemed OK. It had a good security system and the staff seemed nice. Stressed, but nice. The problems started with the tour. We were led to the first of the baby rooms, and we saw a little line of blank-faced babies, all milling around the gate. It's like those stories you hear about old folks homes (no offence, Vic) where the old people sit by the doors, hoping that someone will help them escape. There was no program happening. The one that's scheduled was a discussion about Easter. What one-year old cares about Easter? They don't understand a word being said.

Alright, that's tame. But it gets worse. In the next baby room, there were two teachers to 6 kids. One lucky duck was having a nap. The two little ones were having a bottle, tying up the teachers. So what were the other three doing? They were all in high chairs, staring at a wall, crayons in hand, "drawing" on a sheet of paper on the tray. Well, I guess that was the dream. In reality, one kid was eating his crayon, and had blue wax all over his face. All three were just staring off into space - or more specifically, staring at the blank wall. Three little blank faces in a row, while the teachers sat on the other side of the room. Apparently, this is their "creative" program. Sure didn't look very creative to me. They could have at least faced them together, so they had each other to look at during this torture. Besides, it doesn't take all your attention to feed a bottle - the teachers could have interacted with the others while the babies were being fed. It was just so sad. So many young minds, rotting away.

They're pretty strict about pick-ups. If you get ther past 6, they phone Child Services on you. I have a busy job. Mike works nights. Traffic happens. That could happen to us!

I left there very depressed. The next one was no better. We happened to go at naptime, so we didn't get to see the "programs" these poor kids were subjected to. However, there was one little girl sitting up, crying in her bed. She was the only kid awake in the whole place - ECE teachers everywhere. And what was her teacher doing? Sitting on the other side of the room doing paperwork. Wow. Even I can take care of John while doing paperwork - this person went to school for this. All I could think was, wow, I'll be paying most of my wages to have some stranger ignore my child. Fantastic.

So, that place was a dud. Oh, and even though it was in a scary inner-city location, there was no security at all. There was no buzzer. No lock on the door. None of the staff even gave us a second look. We just wandered around freely. Complete strangers in the building, and no-one has a problem with this? Probably could have snagged a kid if we were so inclined. We had to ask for help. Some other guy - a delivery guy - did the same thing. He was just wandering around like us. Strange guy, just off the street. Staff wandering past taking no notice. This is NOT OK.

By then, I was downright depressed. This was John's future. Years of being ignored by people who may have a slip of paper saying they know what they're doing, but boy, do they ever not care about kids.

Luckily, the third one was much, much better. It was brand new. It was big, bright. No cramped, dirty hallways here. The hallway was actually a huge open room - they let them run and crawl around in there on cold and rainy days. The windows were big, the staff was enthusiastic. The supervisor had the flu, but the woman who showed us around was so excited to be working there. She said she'd never worked in a place that good. Even the food was good - no mac and cheese. I think enthusiasm is important. People who are excited about their jobs do a better job. Actually, the subervisor just called as I was writing this - we're on the in-take list. She'll have to sit down and plot out how many kids they can take in when, so there's still a chance we'll be put on a waiting list, but it's our best hope for a spot, and it happens to be the nicest spot.

It's just so expensive!!! All of them were about $1200 a month! Youch! We were totally not expecting that! By the time that, and the gas to get me to work are paid, I'll be bringing home a whopping $300 a month. It's almost at that level where I should just drop out of the workforce, but after 18 months, the price starts to fall. But wow. Things are going to be pretty darned rough for those 7 months, while I'm basicly working just to hold my place at work. I'll be contributing next to nothing to the household, yet some stranger will "take care" of John all day. It's not fair. Things may change - they may raise the subsidy rate to a more reasonable level, so middle class people like us will be covered too. But, it's politics. These things take time. John will probably be in school before they make daycare more affordable for regular people.

We looked into home daycare too, but we're just not sure about that anymore. It's $800 a month, but you have less control over what happens. There's no posted activity reports. And most homes have TV's - what if these moms are just plopping the kids down in front of the TV all day? Either way they rot, I guess. One way is just a bit cheaper.

This is the most horrible experience ever. Who dreamed up this system? And who dreamed up those outrageous prices!!!!

Anyway, now I'm depressed all over again. I need ice cream.

A day in the life - a photo essay

I haven't been able to post pictures and text together for the last little while - Blogger has had a few problems. It seems to be fixed now (thank you Blogger support people!), but I had already assembled this photo essay, so it seems like shame not to use it.

I guess you could say this is a fairly typical day, though every day is totally different. And obviously, there are gaping holes. For instance, Mike is around and does play with John, but won't let his picture be taken.

Our feature day starts like any other - John is awake, but wet, so I set out to change his clothes, only to find that I had to get something from the dryer.