life at 3...great as can be!

In hindsight the past 3 years have been a blur...but in the day to day time doesn't move that fast. I have recently done a review of this blog from the beginning...to reminisce on life with our wonderful girl so far, and felt a bit overwhelmed at all that has happened in Sasha's lifetime...glad I have this blog to remember it all, hehe. And even more glad to have a loyal audience of loved ones who find it all worth following!

To mark the transition of her 3rd year, we had a gathering in our common room. The brilliant sunny day allowed us to open the big doors and with the park right beside us the play time was inside and out. Sasha had a great time and here you can see her jumping for joy with her balloon :)

We were super lucky to have Fraser in town for the weekend, and gladly put him to work playing with Sasha so we could get stuff done, and he also helped with our corn dog assembly line, while I finished the best cake I've ever made...a double layer chocolate brownie cake, blueberry and blackberry filling, with berry creamcheese icing...mmmmmmm. so yummy!



A handful of children for Sasha to run around with and a dozen grown ups to enjoy their energy made this a party full of fun. One friend from her day care was able to come, and she also lives around the corner so I was super happy for them to have some bonding time outside of the child care. (and she looks to be a big fan of Keyan too, hehe) Her friends Merlin and Nolan made it too, and little Dianne who I haven't seen since she was a wee babe...so beautiful! I miss my friend Julie, and though she had to work it was faboo to see her hubby and little girl! We were also happy that Che could be there for the fun...and if you wonder about the bandaged hand (now in a cast...he "had an organ fall on him - and it wasn't a kidney." haha) But he can still play his ukelele so its not all bad ;)



First thing she wanted to do after her post-party nap was to read her new books, then dress up in her new princess costume jewelry. She has now worn all her new cloths, played with her new dress up stuff, and loves all her new books! A very memorable 3rd bday for her, and she truly seems to be a happy camper overall which makes me a happy mommy :)

Now...here's the recap, with lots of pics, to cover the rest of the month of April:

Our family friend Kevin was in town from Scotland during his stop over en route to Whistler for a week of skiing. We had a lovely dinner at Dad's, and Sasha just adores him as you can see from the playtime action and farewell hug pic...awwww!


The next big event was the Grand March for Housing which had a great turnout. We didn't make it to the rally, but we ran into many folks we know (like Mike, in the top hat, doing his salsa dance on the sidelines), got to boogy down the street with the Carnival Band, and for a while got to add our voices to the masses who came out in a call for more affordable housing - now!



We made it a fair bit past Carnegie where Mark works, before Sasha finally tired of all the walking (and the march started just before nap time, so our plan had been to go as far as we could before she became uber crank from fatigue)
Once we left the march we ended up on an adventure walk along the seawall on the way home...and stopped for ice cream too! I love the pic of Che playing his uke on the rocks with the olympic village in the background...


The beautiful weather this month has made it possible for us to get lots of work done in our patio garden tiers. While Sasha has fun on the patio with the water and dirt, we have planted swiss chard, artichokes, carrots, zucchini, parsnips and beans so far. We'll see what ends up surviving the season ;)

She still loves to change the diapers of her teddies and dollies, and take the to the doctor (aka mommy or daddy) for tummy aches. She prefers taking pics with my camera and using hers as a gameboy since it has a matching pairs, tic tac toe and picture puzzle games.Her favorite thing in the world these days is being daddy's little girl. (the pic of Mark and the spoon was taken by her) It's actually hard not to take it personally some days when she disses me with a "you're not my friend. I only want to play with daddy. you can go away now." ouch! But then there are the days when I'm the favorite and all is well, hehe.



Granma Penny found a little scooter for Sasha and she loves it. Did not take her long to find her balance on it...she really is a quick learner of all things (well...potty training is a whole other matter. lots of pee success...and this week a fair bit of other success as well...almost there)


We had a great long weekend over the Easter break. She loved the easter egg hunt and we had a fun adventure to get to Granma's for the family dinner involving a walk to the skytrain at Main, a skytrain ride, a fun seabus ride, another bus and a quicky walk. Worked up a good appetite and Sasha was so excited to see her cousins. :)


random good time at work. easter monday. how to crack a coconut...and pose for your success shot ;P

Other non-photo-worthy news includes a little health update on the girl. She had a really bad spotty bum for a while and a trip to the doctor provided a prescription for some antibiotic cream which seems to be doing the magic of clearing it. Though I'm still searching for understanding on what lead to it to begin with...

Her actual bday on the 30th included a follow up with the eye doctor. Good news is she seems to be fairing well with the new lens prescription which was weaker than her last. Though they want us to patch her eye for 2 hours a day now until the next appointment in early August.

I too have been back to the doctor for a physical and have begun the first step in tests to re-examine my kidneys and my pituitary as my body has been quite wonky lately. Headaches that last about 3 weeks (5 since September) and crazy chronic joint pain despite my new addiction to stretching multiple times daily. Healthy overall with good blood pressure...so no worries folks. I'm pretty sure the end analysis will be that my stress has been exasperating things with my poor little gland and once life is all smooth and easy everything will be just fine. lol. but seriously...no worries.

between my awesome daughter, family and friends I've no complaints...other than that pesky job search...but I'm keeping myself busy with positive distractions:

-a girls nite out with Kirsten and Kristen with food at Rhizome and quality time over drinks...becoming a regular thing now these ladies nites - hooray!

- still working at my guitar skills and playing my songs with joy almost every day. also have words coming to another melody that has been in my head for ages...this one is for Sasha.

- I am now a part of another green team - this one for our co-op! Excited to work with Sarah and Jim and work towards positive change on all garbage, recycling and other green ideas for our home environment. Crazy how garbage has become such a huge focus in my life!

- and my ultimate distraction in life comes from the documentary. as you could guess from this post not starting with "Yippee! We're now workin with the NFB!" you may have gathered that they did not choose to help us with the development of our project. But I am full of gratitude for the time the production committee spent discussing our proposal, and to Teri who I had a great dialogue with all their feedback. A lot of it was very positive, and it sounds like a few years ago they would have brought us in for an "investigate" at least (where they provide some pre-production development funding and production support for starters and full development if you get past the investigate stage) Competition is tough and money is tight...and we aren't quite polished enough yet to garner these precious funds.

So we have had time to reflect on what we need to do: create something that speaks "amazing cinema" and help the character not get lost in the politics of the subject. A couple of things really gave me confidence: one, they love the idea and believe the subject matter is compelling and very much worthy of being a documentary project; and second was Teri's comments that she felt, based on my passion and determined voice, that I am up to the challenge of producing this piece, and that she knows one day she will see our film on a screen and kick the production committee for not grabbing us when they had the chance. Nice little dose of ego-boosting ;)

And even better - Tanya and I had a superb brainstorm night recently to bounce ideas on the story and how to make it more cinematic...and I really and truly think we've got it now! I'm even more excited than ever!!! And you will hear more soon enough. For now just know that I'm happy with the outcome of our submission last month and more confident than ever that we will succeed with "Educate Me!?"

This time of the year Vancouver, like most places, is ridiculously beautiful. I love that Sasha was born in this time of renewal and beauty. With the tune "What a Wonderful World" playing in my mind, here are a few pics of the amazing world we walk through every day between home and daycare...5 blocks within a very nice place to live. And smell the floral perfection of those lilacs soon blooming in the air. sweet :)

China Creek hill (across from her daycare), the Means of Production community garden, and a view from the hill outside our home. We may not have the view out our window...but we see it everywhere else!!




couple of fun video clips this month:
play at granpa's


wheee down the slide

march madness

brace yourselves...another very full month of life to recap. it's so hard to remember a month once its over. ;)

What's new with Sasha? she's had another bit of a growth spurt and last we measured a few weeks ago she was over 39 inches tall! So now we've moved up to the next level of car seat and she is no longer constrained in the toddler seat. a month 'til her 3rd bday and she is as tall as most of the 4 and 5 year olds in her daycare.

Speaking of daycare, her teachers have told us recently that she has really started to come out of her shell now and is making friends, socializing well and having a lot of fun. yay! She was pretty shy the first while but now she likes it so much she often gives Mark a hard time about going home at the end of the day when he picks her up, hehe.

At home she continues to love playing daycare and naptime, and the one role play game she seems to be favouring more lately is doctor. every time someone she knows gets sick or hurts themselves, she will be nursing us and all her dollies for the same ailments. recently Grandma Penny hurt her back and then all Sasha wanted to do was fix our backs "is your back a little bit sore? here. let me help your back, come see me at my doctors office." even if you say "no thanks, I feel great" she'll reply with "no, I think your back hurts and you need to see the doctor. come on" LOL. runny noses, flu bugs, bandaids for cuts and bruises...she has either spent too much time at doctors appointments, or she is going to follow in her Aunty Karli's footsteps as a healer. :)

Though she has been exposed to the computer on a rare occasion, this was the month that she finally realized just how much fun she can have with online games at cbc and pbs all by herself. Now she asks for computer time every day!! I usually indulge her most days for a 1/2 hour and play with her while marveling at all the things she can do on her own! Most of the games involve letters, words and other skills while providing fun, so the preschool stuff I'm not too worried about. It just set in the reality that she will likely be like all other kids and want more games, etc from now on...a baby no longer. Fortunately she seems ok with getting off the computer (though sometimes we need to ask a few times) and will close the windows and get down when asked.

She has always been a pretty good questioner of all things, but she has finally hit the big "why?" stage...why? why? why? It's really hard not to get to the point where you just respond "because, that's why" when I run out of answers. Determined to nurture her inquiring mind though, I love her curiosity! ...even when patience runs thin from constant third degrees to my knowledge base, hehe

Early in March we had a great time at Keyan's carnival birthday party. My fave pic is Sasha's expression in defending her sundae. this girl likes her chocolate and ice cream. she says who needs a spoon? lol


This year was our turn to have Che for march break, though he spent the first few days at his grandparents cabin up the sunshine coast. Nice treat to have him show up with a big bag of prawns caught that morning before he came home! mmmmm, fresh prawns from the straight!

Overall the weather wasn't so great so we kinda hibernated for the rest of the week. We enjoyed another family swim at Brit, and when the sun finally shone over the weekend we got good and dirty and cleaned up a large portion of all our tiers, tilling the soil and getting ready to do some planting. I have a regular at Brit pool that has been so generous in sharing seeds from her own garden and I can't wait to watch some food grow on our patio again! Mark and Che also got distracted throwing a plane back and forth over the fence while I made lunch. I love our kitchen window overlooking our patio!


here's a cute random shot of Sasha and her friends hogging our bed. once in a while she comes up early in the a.m. and joins us for some snuggle and extra sleep time. but, it doesn't leave much room for us when she spreads out as you can see.

After the break, Che and his band "the Cheese" (as they play cheesy music, hehe) performed at his schools talent show. Unfortunately we didn't find out about it 'til the night before (still working on those communication gaps...) so I wasn't able to go, but Granma came and picked up Che and Mark and the reviews were that his band is awesome. And thankfully his mom recorded it so we can all enjoy the show! He's a natural on stage, and his ukelele skills have come a long way...i'm looking forward to my chance to check them out live! Too bad they only got to play one song (a long line up for the evening, 26 acts, 21 of which were hip hop or some other dance routine. next year hope they'll aim for some more balance in the line up)

Sasha and I had a moment of performance this month too. I ended up doing an interview for the CBC for their coverage on a new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives on BC's Growing Gap. The report is not only about the income inequality gap that exists today, but also covers information on how our generation earns less than our parents generation. Factor in inflation and the majority of us have less spending power then folks back in the 70's had. The video segment that made it to the 6 o'clock news included 30 sec of footage of me and Sasha playing on the playground across the street from her daycare, and a 10 sec soundbite from me "I was under the impression that things are supposed to improve from one generation to the next, and when I see what things are like for my generation it makes me worry for what Sasha's generation will be dealing with". Read the summary, full report and find other resources on BC's Growing Gap: Family Income Inequality, 1976-2006. And I have a copy of the news clip if you'd like to see it sometime (the CBC doesn't archive vid clips on their site very long so too late to see it now online)

My brother-in-law arrived in town for his first visit with us just a couple of hours before the interview at the park with Tanya Beja, so he got to watch the whole thing. Sasha is crazy about her Uncle Fraser, and now that he is working with a trucking company based out of Surrey he will be a regular visitor. Wonderful to have him stay with us while he's in town, and look forward to a time when Manda comes across country with him for a visit too! Here's Sasha in his truck, showing him all her bath toys and getting him to read a story to her and all her stuffies. (A cute little vid clip of Sasha revealing all her treats in her bag to be seen at the end of this post) :)


One thing I've been up to since the fall that I haven't written about is Team Green Brit. Last summer when it was a quiet time in the Info Centre at Britannia, I got bored and needed a project. Brenda let me take over a bulletin board for a space where Brit staff could share resources on all things "green" and sustainable. My idea was simply to provide a space where we could see what all of our small individual efforts looked like collectively.

Then I decided that the copier room was not an inclusive enough as the Brit complex is huge, and the majority of the staff don't use that space...so I created a little blog to share an interactive online space for staff with the same intent as the bulletin board. A debate started up through email over whether or not we should keep our water coolers, which led to me facilitating a vote on the matter, and writing a report for the association board to review, and researching water filtration alternatives as it turned out the majority of the staff were in favour of switching away from the water bottle coolers.

Then I asked what everyone wanted to debate next, and the number one thing was recycling. Our huge complex does not have a comprehensive recycling plan, and the public have next to no options but the garbage (if they don't think to ask staff, which many people do thankfully) So I surveyed the staff again, and am working on another report for the board.

The exciting thing though is that this month we actually had our first team meeting and I am no longer the only keener on this project! Our plan is to start with identifying barriers within the complex, one area at a time. We are making desk-based recylcing kits for everyone in the Info centre, and have many other ideas for the long run. Fun and exciting, and wonderful to bring people together over something positive. :)

Since organizing and outreach, research and report writing have become something I just seem compelled to do, I enjoy the work and seem to come by the skillset naturally, I've been thinking a lot about the kind of work I want to do long term. At some point my hours I've been coasting on at Brit will dwindle to too few to sustain us, so my job search continues (and also a reason I'm extra happy the Team Green Brit initiative has grown so quickly into a group that will sustain it without me) and this month I decided to take a plunge and apply for an organizer position. I figure I might as well see what I'm capable of when it is my job to organize and I can put all of my energy into it, rather than piecing my organizing efforts in a few hours at a time as I'm able...I think I've got the passion and determination to get some good work done.

With some super support and constructive help from my awesome Daub darling friends over brunch one day, I polished my advocacy resume and tossed my hat in for the position of the Living Wage Campaign Organizer position for First Call BC's Child & Youth Advocacy Coalition. I kinda thought I'd at least make the short list, though figured my competition would be too great for me to really win the job. For me it seemed worth it to try, because now I have genuine confidence in the skillset I've been developing, and I'm more confident that I'm finally on the right path towards meeting my potential one day (though still undecided on what that will actually look like...maybe by 40 I'll have it figured out?) It also reconnected my motivation to get CPEN involved with the First call coalition too, which I can, and will, still do at some point.

Funny story on how I found out I didn't make the cut: my friend Jessie asked me to touch base with her, and when I called her she first asked if I was still on good terms with First Call. I had worked there a few years back, but being a non-profit in a funding crunch they had condensed two of us part-timers into one full time position, which I wasn't qualified for having no financial background to be a true office manager type. And at the time, after knowing my job was on the line for about 6 months it was a relief to have it end. That was not stress I liked, and I didn't end up doing the best job I could in my last few months because I was unhappy there. (and I've come to the conclusion that I'm not cut out for desk jobs long term...too much energy) But I loved working for the organization and was proud to be a part of it, and especially loved working with one my all time fave ladies of inspiration Adrienne Montani. First Call is an amazing coalition of organizations that aspire to improve things for children and youth.

Anyways, I then said I was super keen to work with First Call again and had applied for the organizer position, then Jessie says "this is awkward...I was calling to see if you'd be my reference as I have an interview for the job tomorrow" and my response was "well, I guess I didn't get short-listed then!" what a small world. And no wonder I didn't make the cut if I was up against the likes of her. I'm hoping she gets it because she will do an incredible job! Mark and I met Jessie when she was teaching a course called Globalization 101, and over the years I have come to love her and her hubby Marc for their continued inspiration to Mark and I. I could gush for quite awhile over all the things this couple have done that has provided me with positive motivation...so to find out under this circumstance, though Jessie felt awful about being the messenger of bad news, that she is the perfect person for the job really softened the blow ;)

And maybe it wasn't meant to be. After all, I am trying to produce a documentary on the privatization of our education system in my 'spare' time...perhaps my energies are supposed to be focusing on one big thing at at time, and maybe organizing a living wage campaign for the lower mainland is not a challenge I'm not meant to have right now? Well, on the producer front I received some great inspiration from the free panel discussions I attended during the Women in Film Festival early in the month. Wonderful stories from women who have made careers for themselves in an industry predominately full of male success.

I also learned a few new things to help me get through the next couple of years on my own film project. After months of hard work finalizing the story, script notes and proposal package our fate for "Educate Me!?" is once again in the hands of the production committee of the National Film Board. We have officially resubmitted our idea, and I am feeling really confident that we were able to tell the story in a way that will convince them it needs to be a film, and it needs to be an NFB production! I will hear back from one of the producers after they have reviewed, even if it is Teri letting me down while providing more constructive criticism for improvement (she was the woman who gave me all the amazing feedback after my November submission.) If it's not them, it's gonna be somebody...but I'll keep you posted regardless. Fingers crossed everyone!! ;P

April is the month our little one turns 3 years old! She is very excited about her bday party already and wants a blueberry cake...mmmmmmm. details on the her special day and our April adventures in the next post...for now, enjoy a couple of cute video clips :)

vids this month - "my blueberries" and showing some stuff to uncle Fraser

times of transition

I can't believe it...this my 101 post since I began this blog. The contrast of life since I found out I was pregnant (first post) and today is crazy, but in a good way. hehe. And our baby has come along way so far. Here's Sasha before starting her first full day in the over 3's side of her daycare!

A whole month ago...and though she still toys with the emotional dilemma of wanting to be a big girl while she still wants to be "a little bit of a baby", overall she has been a pretty happy camper with the big kids. This will be the first of many transitions for her from the top to bottom of the 'age group' 'experience level', etc. So many hurdles we learn from in life, and so far she has proven adept at these curves in her path.

She tends to internalize things for a bit while expressing her shy side, but once she has made up her mind about something she is amazingly articulate on her thoughts on the matter and how she thinks things should happen. Look out if you have a different way of doing something...you're in for one heck of a debate. lol

The highlights of our February began with a nice damp Chinese new years parade. See how much the kids enjoyed it? Actually they do love the dragons and many other elements...but their tolerence for hanging out in the rain has its limits. as do ours!

Some good news to share on Sasha's progress with her vision. Her new lens prescription is not as strong as her old lenses, so her vision is officially improving somewhat. Now she can't argue with us over the one hour patching a day because we simply say that Dr. K's advice was working and we're gonna stick with it until we hear otherwise. It certainly doesn't hurt, and once the patch is on she forgets about it and would wear it all day if we didn't notice. She's learning to pick her battles. One at a time, hehe

Mark earned some brownie points by organizing a date night for us on Valentines day. First time ever he came up with an idea (live music featuring local talent we haven't seen, at the Main over dinner & drinks, a nice walk) organized it and covered child care for the evening with Grandma...all before telling me a thing! teehee. nice surprise and it was a wonderful night out and sleep in next day much needed.

I've been lucky to have a few other nights out this month (exhausting social life I have I say). An evening of networking, hugging (gotta love a huge room full of people who like a good squish!) and inspiration from the thoughtful speaker Maher Arar at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) fundraiser for our friends at the BC office (celebrating 12 years of hard work busting the myth that there 'is no alternative'! love'em!) Then I finished the month with a girls night out with two of my fave ladies Kirsten and Kristen over fruity drinks and yummy food at the Reef!

In between was a group brainstorm at the pub over bevvies and snacks with our Saucy Side Productions team. I'm feeling super confident in the proposal changes that have developed in the past few months for "Educate Me!?", and very happy to have Flick and Dave as members of our team! We're just about ready to resubmit our whole package...

Most of my spare time this month was concentrated on updating the CPEN web site for launching our 5th Anniversary membership drive! I am thrilled with the progress of our organization, and that the principles express in the Charter for Public Education continue to provide a basis for meaningful dialogue in communities all over the province and beyond. It's quite exciting for me having been a part of it all from the beginning, but I'm even more excited about all the things we'll be doing in the future. You know you can find updates here...but you can also visit the new site - get a membership and be a part of the movement too!! ;)

I feel like I'm working a lot these days, but its all stuff I love...how lucky am I? I'm also lucky to have hours to coast along on at Britannia so I don't have to leave quite yet. With the hiring freeze in the city, a cutback on auxilary hours all over the place, and a horrible time to be looking for work...so I have revamped my resume and am on the hunt for stability in my employment. Hah...what's that?

Even exciting community projects are facing instability...and the garden I so enthusiastically mentioned in my last post has suffered a setback as the lease arrangements fell through. drat. I was really stoked about that, but I think the organizers have some tricks up their sleeves and we've not seen the last of them yet! I'm on their list and eagerly await news on what they're up to next...aside from all the great work Evergreen is already doing! hmmm, maybe i'll just send a note to the Vancouver Greenest City Action Team to ask they look into a new space for them...

At least we still have our awesome tiers around our patio to garden in...so next sunny weekend will involve a mega clean up our garden tiers to prepare for planting our new crops! (our patio has suffered huge neglect and is full of dead plant debris) We learned a lot from experimenting last year, and I'm eager to get an early start this year to maximize our potential food harvest success :)

too many words...need more pics. ok. I'll insert a couple of random Sasha in motion pics: singing in the tub and chasing me down the street. lol


I maintained my commitment to carry through on the weekly actions from my Mothers Acting Up agenda. Ones I accomplished by the end of this month were: buy nothing one day deliberately to feel what it is like to chose to do so...and reflect on www.thestoryofstuff.com -> check (and I have been spreading the gospel of the Story of Stuff for a while now. one of my fave resources, and also my 'polical view' on my facebook profile, hehe); contact your local politicians to make them aware of your support for the Millenium Development Goals around poverty -EndPoverty2015.org and here I will add another great link to check out, the in my name campaign and video), and an education for all children - sendmyfriend.org and campaignforeducation.org -> partial check (joined the online campaigns, drafted note to politicians needs to be sent...gettin' on it); read Dr Suess to children on his bday (march 1st), to teach the importance of compassion, fairness and playfulness -> check...Sasha is a big fan of Dr Suess :)

Next week is the celebration of International Women's Day. I want to express some love & gratitude to all the women of courage who have shaped the positive alternatives for women of my generation. A legacy I aim to build on to benefit my own daughter, and the other young women-to-be in our tribe. And love & gratitude to all the women in my life who have inspired me and continue to do so. Cheers to the strength you provide ladies! :)


I'll finish off my February update with some pics to highlight the wonderfully faboo weekend in Whistler with the ladies of my Petrich clan!

I booked a car for a weekend and Sasha and I had a road trip with Tanta Christa. Monica had found a 2 bedroom suite for us to stay in, and our suite was sweet! Sasha and I slept in a king bed and I couldn't believe with 2/3rds of it to herself she actually fell off the bed in the middle of the night! omg! but she was fine and fell back to sleep in my arms within about 30 sec. like she didn't even notice.

Our cousins supplied a wonderful dinner, an awesome waffle breakfast (thanks to chef Deano), and we all had a great time chilling together and also splashing around in the hottubs and pool under the snow just outside our door. A gondola ride to the tubing park, Sasha's first tube ride - on an icy slope...and her only comment at the bottom was "too fast". wanna go again? "no thanks". so she hung with Monica while I got to do a couple more runs with Cheyenne from the big hills. fun! Lunch in the village before our road trip back to Vancouver...what a marvelous quality time! Can't wait to do that again! :)



(notice the little amount of snow on our first trip up...and the almost whiteout of the snow on our 2nd run!)

Mark missed out on the fun in the snow due to his double workshop Sunday for Board members of our co-op. It was a great learning experience for him, and gave our Board some great motivation to move forward on a bunch of things in the year to come. Seems we also need a plan for transitioning off funding from federal housing grants, as all of these agreements will come to an end by 2020. I need to educate myself a bit more on all of this...glad one of us has the time to be involved in it! And thankful to our family who watch Sasha for us on nights we are both busy working/meeting. I know we go to a lot of meetings because Sasha now includes "meetings" in her repitoire of play activities. "You stay here and play while I go to a meeting" she says...oy. Wonder if she remembers all those Kensington community association, CPEN and other meetings I used to bring her to when she was a babe?

I'll have lots to update on by end of March...the first week alone is full up of fun to come!