The Sassy Missus

Midwives by Chris Bohjalian

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I absolutely loved this book. I had a hard time putting it down.
I cried at times, and held my breath at others. The trial kept me on the edge of my seat until the end, never giving a hint to which way the trial would go.
The characters were so well written that there were times I would forget that they weren't real and found myself wanting to find out more about Sibyl Danforth's story.

If i could give this book more stars, I would.

I love many fairytales and would be hard pressed to pick just one as a 'favourite'. They are all pretty awesome in their own rights.

I know many people have issues with fairytales, especially Disney ones. They fear that the princess phase will turn our little girls into whiny ladies who think that they need their prince to save them.
I don't think that's true at all.
While most Disney fairytales do have the princess, damsel in distress, prince saves them story to it, there are also other levels.

One of my favourite Disney fairytales is The Little Mermaid.
I have had people ask how, how can you like a movie about a girl who gives up everything for a prince. Who leaves home, her friends, her world for him.Who practically sells her soul for him.
Easily, i don't see that in the story. What i get from the story is that Ariel wanted, more then anything, to be human. She had that dream before she saw Eric. Against all odds she went after that dream. Yes, she also got the added bonus of Eric, but the big story is she followed her dream, even when everyone else told her she couldn't do it.

Tangled was much the same way. Rapunzel went out into the world to live the dream of seeing the lanterns. She was scared of the world and overcame those fears to grab her dream.

Cinderella was locked in a room, but she went to that castle not just to get her prince, but to dance at the ball.

And let's not forget Tianna- she got her restaurant.

In my mind fairy tales teach our children that dreams are attainable, you just have to go after them.

Woman, Uncensored: Would you circumcise your daughter?

" In a time where we've fought for the rights of minorities, children, and women, we've left one portion of our population out. We've trampled on the human rights of our baby boys, and we've done it holding our heads high and justifying ourselves. "

A lot of my friends status' on fb today are about how much they hate the snow. I may hate it sometimes, especially since no one seems to remember how to drive in it. 
Then, when i see something as simple as children giggling in the snow, ready to throw a snowball, or make a snow angel, i remember people who don't get four season the way we do. Who don't get to experience the simple joys of making a snowman, or seeing it glisten when the sun hits it just right. Then i remember how truly blessed we are to live in a country where we experience all four season s that nature has to offer.

"Each year, the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch that he thinks is the most sincere. He's gotta pick this one. He's got to. I don't see how a pumpkin patch can be more sincere than this one. You can look around and there's not a sign of hypocrisy. Nothing but sincerity as far as the eye can see." - L. Van Pelt (& Charles Schulz)

I’ve been quiet about it, mostly because I've been too busy to keep up and feel like i don’t really have a ‘right’ to say anything without really knowing…. but.. reading the news the other day got me questioning the whole movement here.  I feel like i'm missing some important piece to the puzzle.

Why?
Why, when the protestors here have someone in power, in government (The mayor) willing not only to listen to them but to actually sit down and ‘work with them’ to work out something together, are they still protesting so hard.
Isn’t the point to get someone to listen to them? To get someone to start changing things?
Well, they have it. What do they want now?
They want the mayor to ‘bend the rules’ to allow them to camp in a public park overnight?
What makes them special snowflakes?

“People don’t necessarily have to … live in the park to get attention,” Fontana said during the town hall broadcast. “The rules are for everyone. … The law is the law for everyone.”

They have been told they could protest there between 6 am & 10 pm, and a nearby church has offered to allow them to camp out on their private property, and still a lot of them are upset by this?
I just don’t get it.  They have someone willing to listen. Willing to help make the situations of joblessness, homelessness etc better, why not work with him instead of being stubborn?

“I believe in peaceful protest,” Fontana told the occupiers after about 50 of them all but took over his virtual town hall meeting Thursday at the Covent Garden Market. “I want to work with you.”

Dear protestors in london (ont) : Your protest has been heard. Now it’s time to go and actually do something to help.  Putting up tents and breaking bi-laws isn’t going to help joblessness and homelessness in this city. Sitting down with Mayor Fontana is at the very least a step in the right direction.

" I think they're really starting to prove that they just want to have a camping trip.They wanted the mayor's ear, they've got it, even an offer of bi-annual meetings with the group. But now, after getting that, they're still demanding their right to hang around in a tent in a public park."- Found on the occupy london page

I joined a new page on fb geared towards parents of four or more kids, and they have ‘community questions’ for the moms & dads of many to answer. You answer as a comment, but i thought the question was blog worthy (especially, since i haven’t blogged in forever)
[via 4 kids or more]
do you believe in giving your kids individual time? And if so, how do you make the time?

As a mother of four kids, under 10, all in various stages of development, this is a loaded question.
my response:
Do i try to make equal, separate, individual time for them? Of course i do. Does it always work out? Not always.
Am i going to beat myself up over it? Nope.
A long time ago, when i was still a mother of two, i read a quote somewhere that stuck with me.
It said “Treating everyone equal does not mean that everyone gets the same, it means everyone gets what they need” and it works, even for parenting.
Not always do each of my four children get the exact same amount of time, but they do get the time they individually need, and with the same amount of attention, love and patience.
It may mean that my #2 gets 15 mins of a story, but #1 only gets 10 mins of serious talking, #3 gets a story and snuggle for 20 mins while #4 gets 30 mins of nursing and snuggling. I don’t think the time is going to be what they remember. I don’t think #1 is going to grow up thinking about how he only got ten mins of my time on friday while #2 got 15. I like to think what he’ll remember is that his mom stopped, and listened, uninterrupted when he needed me too.
Quality, not quantity, i guess that’s what we do.


I’m not saying that #1 *always* gets the least, or Lady Girl the most. I’m also not saying that it’s always like this.
What my point is, i’m not going to hate myself or feel guilty if they don’t all get exactly the same amount of individual time everyday.