Today's Forecast: Global Warming!

This morning, March 7th 2009, I woke up to this. As beautiful as it is, yesterday was warm and sunny, the blossoms were out and it was lovely. Today it is cold and everything is white. Just goes to show that global warming is very really and affecting us right now. We need to cut back and take care of our planet. Or things like this will happen more and more and only get worse. There are many places in the world were this is a reality and it's spreading like a disease. It is fixable but we need to restore the natural world.

A few giveaways!

Kathy at Woman to Woman Childbirth Education is giving away a copy of Breastfeeding with Comfort and Joy: A Photographic Guide for Mom and Those Who Help Her. I haven't read it yet but I would love to have the chance to read this book and share it with all the mommies I know! Click here to enter! Giveaway ends March 20th.

Win a free Bumgenius 3.0 Diaper! This is a valuable All-In-One cloth diaper that you can use for yourself or give as a gift to someone expecting a baby! Go check out Hot Belly Mama's Blog for details on how to win this wonderful All In One Cloth Diaper. Hot Belly Mama will announce the winner on March 30th, after her 30th birthday!

Here is the direct link to her blog:

http://hotbellymama.blogspot.com/

Good luck!

New Title

I decided to change the title of my blog today since there was some confusion regarding West Coast Addict. I'm not an addict (except maybe to my location on the planet) and I think people were misunderstanding my meaning. So I've changed it to Life on the West Coast for now until I can think of something a bit more catchy.

Baby Sign

Baby sign is something I've been familiar with for about 6 years now. My cousin started using it with her daughter from about 8 months on and continued it with her second child. And while my sign vocabulary is very limited, it was great for understanding what the child wanted when they wanted it. It eliminated the awkward moment where you are holding someone else's child and they are asking for something like a bottle using their own little code word of bubs or boo or whatever and you can only stand there and guess if they want their stuffy or a pacifier or mom or what. It also eliminated that frustrated crying that the child inevitably starts when they don't get what they want because I don't know what they want. Phew....so exhausting.
Yesterday I spent the day with a friend of mine who has a 2 year old and a 1 month old. The 2 year old was shy at first so I spent a good 2 hours snuggling the baby (which thrilled me to my toes, I love when they are that small. He slept the whole time mostly and made the cutest dreaming faces, I didn't want to give him back). Finally the older son came around and wanted to play and to my delight he knew baby sign. It was so lovely to communicate with less barriers. It really affirmed my decision to baby sign with my children. It just opens the lines of communication earlier in life and helps jump start intellectual development. And there is the added bonus that if they ever come across someone who is hearing impaired they can moderately communicate with them as well.
If you are interested in Baby Sign check out http://www.babysigns.com/ for more info.

Finally a Good Movie

So after a whole bunch of really disappointing movie rentals, we went to the theater and saw a great movie called Coraline. It is a youth film from Disney but I think it is fun for adults too. It is a great story and is amazingly done in some excellent stop-motion animation. Coraline is also the first stop-motion animation movie to be done in 3D which only adds to the magic of the film.
The story is about a young girl who gets relocated to Oregon when her parents move for work. When she becomes bored with her new life and her uninterested parents she explores her new house. One day she discovers a door to another world where she meets her "other" mother in a world that seems perfect. But is it? I won't say anymore, I don't want to ruin it. I highly recommend this film to anyone.
A word of warning though. Even though it seems to be a kids movie is it pretty creepy and children under 11 or 12 may find it too scary so please be aware. I've pretty much said to my friends with kids that if their children could watch the Nightmare Before Christmas without being afraid then they should be fine in this film.
On a final note I would recommend skipping the following films because to be honest I wanted my money back: Blindness, Miracle at St. Anna, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Tropic Thunder.

Spring is just around the Corner

We had a gorgeous day here in Victoria today. It was so sunny and warm. I actually sat outside in the sun in a sun dress and sandals and knitted.
It's almost confusing. It snowed here last week and has been sooo cold and windy, so when I woke up and saw the sun outside my window I didn't know how to dress. But it had to be around 10-12 degrees outside. It felt good to bring out my deck furniture and walk around the yard. I have some really beautiful purple crocuses and some lovely snow drops. It felt so much like spring I smiled all afternoon and I am so excited for more days like these.

Working on the Knittin' Skills

Up until now I have had very basic knitting skills. Basically I could make scarves and that was it. So today I bought myself a knitting book and some double ended knitting needles. And now.....I can knit in a circle! It took me a while to master having 5 needles going at once but it looks good. However I'm thinking I'm going to get a set of the circular knitting needles and see if that is easier. I was going to make fingerless gloves but now I'm thinking I may just go for it and make a little set of baby pants. We will see how it goes. But I am feeling quite proud that in one day I learned a totally new skill.
I've already set my sights on another skill I want to master (even though I haven't really mastered the other one). The book has instructions on how to do a cable knit, so I think that will be my next task. It does however seem to require yet more tools so we will see how the funds are when it comes time to try it.
Anyways, I will post pictures of my masterpiece when it's done. Feel free to give advice if you have some; I'm always ready to learn more.