The Louvre from the water was super impressive – it just kept going and going and going! This picture isn’t even all of it!
Hmm…
At first glance, I thought this was Professor Sprout. But the little blue guy that she’s holding is making me second-guess that idea. No matter what, I love her cosplay!
Any thoughts?
Top 5 Silly Things all Parents Do
Every child is different and every parent is also just as different, but there are some things we share.
5. Attempt Escape
Everyone has days that they just want a few seconds of quiet where no one is asking to climb you. Kids are awesome, but they’re draining and sometimes you just need to hide. I’ve been known to take my phone into the washroom and maybe spend a little extra time.
4. Hear a Boom and Freeze
You’ve been there. The child just falls, hits something, knocks something over, or goodness knows what. You freeze and wait for the scream, cry, shout, or other loud reaction.
It’s a “do I need to intervene” or “should I wait for them” kind of moment.
3. Not Sleep
Yes, kids like to stay up and wake you at all times. Some are worse than others, but that’s not always why we’re tired as parents. Sometimes you wake up early to get some work done or go to bed late to watch something without having to name each jelly bean’s colour and flavour.
2. Cringe
This is doubly dangerous. Everyone knows kids love to repeat things. One “What the Heck” and they’ll be chanting it for weeks. We went to a party where one of the adults peppered their speech with the F word in the way that I like to spread peanut butter. Dragon walked around for three days chanting “Fok fok fok”.
What people rarely tell you is that it works both ways. They’ll use a turn of phrase or tone and you’ll suddenly be saying, “Oh, yes!” to the waiter. I’ve been told it only gets worse.
1. Secret Snack
There you are with a warm ball of energy on your lap and you’ll want a cookie. You can share your favourite cookie or you can sneak one the next time they leave the room. It’s not just that you don’t want to share, it’s probably not good for them, it’s messy, and gosh darn it they’ve had enough sweets.
My cookie!…
Did I miss anything?
Éric
Blush: Surrogacy in Canada
A few weeks ago, an article on surrogacy crossed my timeline. It was incredibly interesting to read; to get the perspectives of both the surrogates and the intended parents.
www.surrogacy.ca
The article states, at the end, that there is still a lot of misinformation surrounding the topic of surrogacy, and that the ethics surrounding surrogacy and gamete donation are still under debate.
Let’s clear up some misinformation:
In Canada, surrogates do not get paid. In fact, it is illegal to be paid to be a surrogate. There is usually allowance for expense reimbursement, and if the intended parents and surrogate agree to do IVF instead of traditional surrogacy (most surrogacies in Canada are done through IVF) then the expenses of that are paid by the intended parents. The bulk of expenses for surrogacy seem to be for legal fees and IVF.
Another myth is that it is hard for the surrogate to give up the baby at the end of the pregnancy. It has been found that, for the most part, the surrogates have no problems with this, as they are fully aware straight from the beginning that the child they are carrying is not theirs. (source)
If you do wish to either be a surrogate or have a surrogate, do your research. Evaluate your options. No matter your decision, I wish you the best!
If you’re enjoying the Blush blogs, consider learning more with Blush: The Card Game from Renaissance Press.
References
Top 5 Differences between a baby during pregnancy and after being born.
Hello Baby loving folks,
The way we treat babies inside is slightly different than outside. Here’s a list of the top five differences according to my observations.
5. Input and Output
Oh the joy of not caring when or how a baby eats or poops. While pregnant no one really thinks about it much except for how cool/weird a process it is. But once the baby’s out EVERYONE tells you how to do it and how you’re doing it wrong.
4. Kicking
Sometime soon after birth kicking goes from a joyful, “OMG” moment to an annoyance and eventually a real pain. Tiny toes and fists hurt.
3. Control to Judgement
When the birthing parent is pregnant there are laws, rules, and pressures to make them do specific things. In most cases, it’s to protect the baby. Unfortunately, sometimes they prioritize the baby over the birthing parent instead of protecting both.
However, once the baby is out, the health and mental health of all parents is often ignored or considered secondary to the baby. Resources that would be available before disappear and the laws change completely.
2. Abstract to Concrete
The ultrasound, the kicking, the heartbeat, and even (for some) the growing of the baby is all sort of unreal and abstract. You’re afraid to believe and it all seems like a big prank.
Then the baby arrives and you have a baby… Like it’s there and it needs you to do stuff. Where are this kids parents? Wait, that’s us… And you now that you believe, you’re afraid. It eventually settles back to real from surreal, but it’s always a little bit of a shock.
1. Love
The thing that’s growing has your affection, a deep feeling of attachment, and terror. It’s completely impossibly there. But you don’t Love it yet.
Then it comes out and your heart melts at this tiny, wrinkled, screeching, proof that you don’t know what you’re doing. And sometime between holding them and going home you realize you’d die or kill for them. But you don’t Love them yet.
I’m not sure the exact moment it happens, but sometime after the birth and before the first year, they smile, or wiggle, or something else and you suddenly feel like squishing them or howling in joy, and just like that you love them.
Did I miss anything? What do you think?
Éric
Golden statue
We were constantly amazed by the quantity and quality of incredible artistry on display in the city. There was so much that I have no hope of remembering what they all were.
Brienne of Tarth
Game of Thrones is back for its FINAL SEASON (season 8) in TWO days! Who is more excited than Brienne of Tarth?
OMG this armour!? Is amazing!?
Nominate us for the Aurora Awards 2019
Hello My Imaginary Friends,
Last year The Travelling TARDIS was nominated for an Aurora. It’s eligible again, as are a few other of our products. So go make yourself an account here and nominate your favourite works!
What do we have that’s eligible
- The Sign of Faust by Éric Desmarais eligible for Best Young Adult Novel
- Devices of Desire and The Teapot Chicken eligible for Best Short Fiction
- Travelling TARDIS eligible for Best fan writing and publication
- Nights at the Round Table, Season 5, S. M. Carriere eligible for Best Fan Related Work
What are the Aurora Awards?
The Aurora Awards are awards “for excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy works and activities.” They are administered by the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association.
It’s a fan voted award in the vein of the Hugo’s, but with way more awesome people.
You’ll have to join the CSFFA for a pittance of $10 before you can nominate anyone. Once you’ve paid, you can nominate 5 works in each category. You can nominate works from now until May 26th.
The extra bonus of joining the CSFFA is you’ll get a voters package that includes most of the works that make the ballot. That’s 8-10 novels plus a bunch of other awesome stuff.
Good Nominating and Thank you in advance!
Éric
Shazam film locations
Like the majority of superhero fans, I recently saw Shazam.
By recently, I mean last night.
And then I dreamt about it all night.
There are two ways I could re-live the movie: go see it again (tempted…) or go visit the film locations.
Fortunately, Shazam was mostly filmed in Canada – and not on the West Coast (which is always a beautiful spot to film for outdoorsy shots, but VERY far away).
That’s right, Shazam was filmed mostly in Toronto and Hamilton, with the major shots of the city skyline shot in Philadelphia.
This article says that Shazam is set in Fawcett City, but either the author got that information from the comics or the movie changed its mind, because it is actually set in Philadelphia (for the most part). Other than that, the article has a great list of the film locations and when they were used in the movie.
Have you seen the movie yet? What did you think?
If you wish to visit the film locations in Shazam and need travel assistance, you know where to find me!
Jen has retired from working as a travel agent. Hope you’ve enjoyed Fandom Travel.
The Ghost Who was on Fire – Heroes, Legends, Fairies, and other Absurdities
I asked Dragon for a prompt. She wanted a story about a ghost that was on fire.
In a realm of magic, in a time of heroes; there was an empty house with a lonely ghost. What felt like ages to the little ghost was only a few months and eventually the house was bought and another family moved in.
The little ghost was young and didn’t appreciate the new owners, especially the little girl who moved into his room. She changed the colour of the walls and added stickers of dragons, princesses, and flowers.
“Stop changing my room,” he said to her.
Now, some people would be scarred of a ghost suddenly appearing, but not this little girl. She simply shrugged and replied, “No. It’s my room now.”
“No, it’s mine,” he said.
“Mine,” she replied.
They went on like this for a long time until the little girl became angry and stomped her foot saying, “Listen here. This isn’t your room anymore, this is mine. You’re a ghost. You’re dead.” He deflated, quite literally, and hovered on the bed crying. He cried and he cried and after that, he cried some more. Feeling guilty, the little girl added, “I’m sorry I yelled. Maybe we can share the room?”
“No. You’re right. I’m dead.”
“Shouldn’t you move on then?” It’s common knowledge, or at least it was to the little girl who loved reading ghost stories, that ghosts move on after they’ve accepted their death, unless they have unfinished business.
“I can’t, I’m too cold.”
That must have been his unfinished business. She decided to help him and find a way to make him warm again. But how?
The first thing she tried was to wrap him in her warmest blanket; it fell right through him. She made it into a little tent and he said it didn’t make a difference.
The second attempt was based off what she used to warm up her feet. There was a small heating vent behind her father’s desk. When her feet were cold, she’d stand on the vent and let the hot air warm her up.
She brought him downstairs and he positioned himself over the vent. They waited for the hot air. She was about to go try and reach the thermostat when the air turned on. The little ghost hovered in place for a few seconds and then was pushed by the air higher and higher until he was squished on the ceiling. The sight made the little girl giggle and giggle until she was flat on the floor.
When they had both peeled themselves off their respective surfaces, the little girl had an idea.
“We need something hotter. Something really hot.” She knew she shouldn’t play with matches or lighters, but since no one could see the ghost, she didn’t need to light anything.
They waited until just before dinner and when her father lit up the barbeque, she said, “Now go in there.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?” he asked.
“Yes, but you’re a ghost remember.”
“Okay.” With that, he flew at the barbeque and bounced off of it into the snow.
“Iron,” she said and smacked her forehead. “Ghost don’t like iron.” She’d learnt from her ghost stories that salt and iron kept ghosts out of places.
“Wait until he opens it!” she ordered.
The little ghost shook himself off and waited for the barbeque to open. He flew inside and when the lid closed, he was trapped.
When the lid was opened again the ghost flew out screaming, “Ow ow ow.” Inside his translucent skin were embers from the fire. He flew around in circles and finally dove into the snowbank again. Little spots of embers melted the snow in an odd pattern.
Back inside, in her room, she watched as the ghost shivered, still hovering over her bed.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“It’s okay. You tried your best.” The little ghost’s words were punctuated by shivers.
They stayed where they were for a few long quiet moments and the little girl started to cry. The ghost’s whole situation seemed hopeless. Between sobs, she said, “Maybe you could stay here and we could be friends?”
“You want to be my friend?” The surprise in his voice made her giggle through her tears. Giggling and crying are closer than most people want to admit.
“Of course I do… Hug?”
In response he nodded and she wrapped him in a big warm hug. It wasn’t until after she was holding him in a hug that she was surprised she could feel him.
Slowly, his shivering stopped and he gave a big sigh. “Thank you. I needed a friend. I think I can move on now.”
They both said goodbye at the same time and he slowly faded away, moving on to the next great adventure.
The moral of this story is simple: A warm, consensual hug can make everything better.
Heroes, Legends, Fairies, and other Absurdities are the expanded versions of stories I’ve told my children at night before bed. They’re short, silly, and were completely improvised in the telling.