• Meet Me
    • Why If By Yes?
  • Meet Perfect Husband
  • Meet The Babbies

If By Yes

~ the musings of a left wing left hander with two left feet

If By Yes

Tag Archives: parties

Owl Is Officially Apple. I Mean, 2 Years Old.

09 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by IfByYes in From The Owlery, Life and Love

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

parenting, parties, toddlers, turning 2

Well, I don’t think Owl’s birthday party could have gone much better.

We ended up deciding to go with the miniature railway in Burnaby, since it was a cost efficient option (the party space and tokens for our train rides, as well as our guests’ train rides came to a grand total of $80) and we’re glad we did because the weather was gorgeous.

I admit I was a little worried because we had 4 families drop out at the last minute (two due to illness, one because of a changed work schedule, and the last because they had a vet appointment for their rabbit scheduled smack in the middle of the party times). We went from expecting 13 kids to expecting 5 all in the space of 24 hours.

 

But on  the bright side, the kids who could come all happened to be ones who were in Owl’s age range (a 2.5 year old, a 4 year old, two 15 month olds, and a newborn who doesn’t count because she slept through the entire party).

Even better, one of PH’s old friends who lives at an awkward distance and tends to drop out of our lives for several years at a time actually came, giving us a chance to meet her 15 month old.

The kids enjoyed the food, the balloons, and the trains, and Owl had a blast.

He was so worked up from his extroverted day that he roared around with his new toys for an hour and eventually went to sleep with a toy train clutched in his fist.

I officially have a two year old. 

He knows his colours (although he still gets yellow and white mixed up at times).

He can recognize certain written words (update on that later).

He speaks in 4 and 5 word sentences (although they’re sometimes unintelligible).

He wanders far from us (but always stops and comes back when we tell him to).

He is occasionally susceptible to logic.

He is starting to say funny things.

He is his own little human being person.

And he had a great 2nd birthday.

A crash course in Canadian politics: Or, why your Canadian friends will be grumpy this week.

02 Monday May 2011

Posted by IfByYes in My Blag is on the Interwebs, Oh The Inanity

≈ 38 Comments

Tags

bloc quebecois, Canada, Conservatives, election 2011, electoral reform, first-past-the-post, governor general, house of commons, in contempt, Liberals, May 2 2011, members of parliament, NDP, no-confidence, parliament, parties, politics, ridings, senate, Stephen Harper, the prime minister, the queen

So, in case you haven’t heard, Canada is having a federal election today. AGAIN.

We do this every couple of years, usually because Prime Ministers have the ability to call an early election whenever they want, and often choose to do so when their approval ratings are running high.

That is not what happened this time. In fact, not only is the Prime Minister unpopular, but 60% of the country never voted for him at all. Ever.

Allow me to explain in a very simplified way. People who want to email me or comment and tell me all the stuff I missed – go easy on me. It’s hard to condense the entirety of Canadian politics into a single blog post. I’m not a politico, I’m a Mom.

(People in the UK, this is all going to sound very familiar to you).

Continue reading →

I am Introvert, hear me speak in a reasonable tone of voice!

20 Sunday Mar 2011

Posted by IfByYes in Damn Dogs, Life and Love

≈ 39 Comments

Tags

conversation, extroversion, introversion, parties, props, psychology, social skills, The Introvert Advantage

I am an introvert.

I am not shy.  I am not quiet. But I am very much an introvert.

It’s a personal pet peeve of mine when people use “introverted” as a synonym for “shy”. That’s complete nonsense. I’m not remotely shy. I am a chatterbox. I smile at people in the elevator. I am comfortable with public speaking.

In high school, when I went to “Dramafest” in Halifax, I wore a black knit hat with very large and colourful butterflies on it. When I was in university, people recognized me by my colourful wool “elf hat” which I wore through the winter. I also had an eclectic collection of scarves. I joined the improv group.

Nevertheless, I am introverted.

Some extroverts think that they are introverts, when really they’re just shy. Some introverts think they’re extroverted, because they aren’t shy.

Which are you?

Introversion is about what you find easy, and what you find difficult. Your average person finds going to parties to be easy, and studying to be difficult. I am the opposite. I would rather study for a difficult test all night than go to a party full of people I don’t know. And it’s not about shyness. It’s just that talking to people is hard work, whereas studying just takes a certain amount of concentration, which is fairly easy.

The introverted brain works differently. An introvert has more brain activity than an extrovert, which makes it sound like we’re smarter, doesn’t it? In fact, the majority of gifted children do classify as introverted, but being an introvert doesn’t necessarily mean you are smarter (nor does being gifted make you introverted).

Counteracting our high levels of brain activity is our slower method of processing. It takes introverts longer to process information than it takes extroverts.

This has several consequences:

1. Introverts contemplate their actions for longer before they actually perform those actions. In other words, introverts look before they leap. Introverts are the thinkers and philosophers of the world, but they might get eaten by a tiger while they think about what to do.

2. Introverts don’t converse as easily as extroverts do. It takes them longer to process what has been said to them and to formulate a suitable reply. This often results in introverts being somewhat socially awkward because they aren’t good at the witty repartee… one of the many reasons we hate parties.

3. Stimulation overloads the introverted brain much more easily. While extroverts leap around looking for something to occupy their swift but underused brains, introverts are trying to prevent a blue-screen-of-death situation in their overloaded mental processor. So while extroverts are off installing surround-sound systems and racing off to mosh at a concert, introverts are trying to hole up in their bedrooms with a book and some dim lighting.

Ultimately, extroverts are stimulation seekers while introverts are stimulation escapists. Since extroverts outnumber introverts by three or four to one, it means that introverts are seen as “weird” and get assigned labels like “shy”. After all, the only reason an extrovert would rather stay home on Saturday night is shyness. Shyness is a horrible affliction, in the eyes of extroverts. A shy extrovert is desperate for human company, but afraid to seek it. Very sad.

It is to this miserable state of being which most introverts are mistakenly assigned by misunderstanding extroverts.

In actuality, while shy introverts do exist, they don’t suffer much from it. They wouldn’t want to go to a party even if they were brimming with confidence. Talking to people, especially strangers, is simply hard work. Loud noise and flashing lights are unpleasant, overwhelming and ultimately exhausting. It’s not fun, if you’re an introvert. Fun would be a quiet night in with a couple of friends who are used to the odd way you phrase your sentences. Fun would be a hot bath, a cold drink, and a good book.

Introverts suffer through mixers and bustling night clubs the way that extroverts suffer through War and Peace.

In The Introvert Advantage, the author recommends using a “prop” to help make interacting with strangers easier. I totally use this strategy.

One of my favourite perks of being a service dog trainer was access to dogs who were allowed to go into public. I could take one of my dogs to the movies, to a restaurant, and to a party full of strangers.  I would be stopped again and again by curious strangers who wanted to know about the dog. This is not something you want if you are shy. But I am not shy. I am introverted. So I thought it was great.

A prop, like a cute Labrador or a funny hat or interesting jewellery, gives you something to talk about with strangers. Suddenly talking to a stranger becomes much easier. I had my service dog speeches down pat, and I rattled them off effortlessly when I was stuck talking to a stranger. Perfect Husband could have mouthed my answers along with me. Easy!

I miss having a dog always at my heels, but the Babby is proving almost as good a prop. I was at a baby shower yesterday, filled with people I didn’t know, but who wanted to talk to me about my baby. I wasn’t even exhausted by it, because Babby made things easy.

You can trust me, any party I’m invited to? I’ll be bringing the baby.

Much easier and less exhausting, that way.

One of my pre-Babby prop-babies, who I got to see at the shower yesterday!

The only thing that confuses me is this:

Babby seems to LOVE going out into public and being stimulated by others. He gets bored and fussy at home. Does this mean he is an extrovert?

Extroverted? Or just... not shy?

 

I’m an introvert. PH is an introvert.  How on Earth did we produce an extroverted child, and is this going to cause us problems later on?

No more fun, thanks

15 Sunday Nov 2009

Posted by IfByYes in Life and Love

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

conference, introversion, introvert, lazy day, montessori, parties, reading, Sunday

I’m having the laziest day evar. I just put on my clothes, and it’s THREE PM.

This is why I wanted a yard. The dogs peed before I even had to get dressed.

It seems ridiculously extravagant to still be lying on the bed reading in my bathrobe well into the afternoon, but I needed the rest. Yesterday wasn’t really a day off. I had to go to a conference to keep up my continuing education credits with the AHTA, so it was like another work day. Spending a day surrounded by total strangers does not make for a restful time. Although it was actually a lot better than I thought I would be. It reminded me that I am, and always will be, a product of Montessori:

I find structured labs where I have to follow structured activities (many of which I do not find educational) rather stressful. It usually involves a certain amount of interaction with the people in your class, which in this situation would be total strangers. It also requires that you shoulder a certain amount of responsibility. Here I am, doing something for the very first time, and I’m just supposed to fetch supplies and follow instructions on my own, instead of being personally taught and guided.

That is what I was expecting of the wet labs at the conference, but they weren’t like that at all. They basically treated us with a “you paid to be here so come on down and get your money’s worth” attitude which I highly appreciated. We were allowed to wonder around, watch demonstrations and do as much or as little hands-on practice as we felt comfortable with.

…Which meant that I played with the goniometer, but just watched people use the Gulich. I waved my hand over the Pulsing Magnetic therapy bed, and let them attach electrodes to my arm to feel what muscular electric stimulation feels like (WEIRD). They gave me full control over how high I turned it up, which meant I felt quite comfortable cranking it up quite high, trying to get my hand to twitch. Then I helped myself to the peppermint and tea trea muscle relaxing oils.

If they had created a structured lab, I would have hated every minute of it, even while learning. But this was actually quite pleasant. This is what Montessori school was like. They didn’t FORCE us to learn. They set certain goals, like you had to do a minimum of one math activity, one English activity and so on, but from there on the choice was yours. They assumed that you wanted to play and learn, and so it never occurred to any of us to fight it.

So really the conference was great, just what I would have wanted. But it was still an exhausting day for an introvert – strange place, strange people, strange gadgets…

Then Perfect Husband and I had a party to go to that evening. The hosts are good friends, but a lot of the people there are strangers. Which meant more socializing with strangers.

See, it’s not that it was a bad day. I learned a lot, and then had a nice, fun evening out talking to some really cool people and breaking my heart over an incredibly adorable blond boy, who seemed fascinated by my husband and kept dragging him around by the finger saying “night night?”

But for an introvert? That was NOT a day off.

After an eight hour sleep and then another five hours of reading lazily, I finally think I have the energy to face the day.

And it’s raining.

Syndicated on BlogHer

I was syndicated on BlogHer.com

NaNoWriMo!

Contact Me

ifbyyes AT gmail DOT com

Subscribe Using That RSS Thing

RSS Feed RSS - Posts

RSS Feed RSS - Comments

“Facebook” Me (it’s a verb now, apparently)

“Facebook” Me (it’s a verb now, apparently)

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 318 other subscribers

I’m a Twit!

  • I Don’t Think I Mean What You Think I Mean ifbyyes.wordpress.com/2018/10/08/i-d… 4 years ago
  • The Cliff ifbyyes.wordpress.com/2018/09/01/the… https://t.co/0Xn1FFKHrF 4 years ago
  • RT @lynchauthor: AAAAAH that's so amazing thank you! Can I cross post this to my tumblr? twitter.com/Kefka73/status… 4 years ago

This Month, On A Very Special “If By Yes”…

January 2023
M T W T F S S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031  
« Oct    

Most Popular

  • Poor Ron: In Which Everyone Completely Underestimates Ron Weasley, Even His Creator (Part 1)
    Poor Ron: In Which Everyone Completely Underestimates Ron Weasley, Even His Creator (Part 1)
  • Blog Tag: In Which I Answer Questions And Posit My Own
    Blog Tag: In Which I Answer Questions And Posit My Own
  • Show Your Breasts For Amanda Todd, Or, In Which I Finally Deal With Amanda Todd's Death
    Show Your Breasts For Amanda Todd, Or, In Which I Finally Deal With Amanda Todd's Death
  • Rowling vs Meyer, Round 4 -  How Can I Describe Meyer's Writing?
    Rowling vs Meyer, Round 4 - How Can I Describe Meyer's Writing?
  • The Cancer Principle: Depression is Okay, Abuse Is Not
    The Cancer Principle: Depression is Okay, Abuse Is Not
  • Be It Ever So Humble
    Be It Ever So Humble
  • Why We Don't Want Our Son To Think He's Smart.
    Why We Don't Want Our Son To Think He's Smart.
  • Poor Ron, Part 2: In Which I Explain That Ron Is Perfect For Hermione
    Poor Ron, Part 2: In Which I Explain That Ron Is Perfect For Hermione
  • In Which We Attend The Quidditch Global Games 2014 and are Blown Away by Awesomeness
    In Which We Attend The Quidditch Global Games 2014 and are Blown Away by Awesomeness
  • I Don't Think I Mean What You Think I Mean
    I Don't Think I Mean What You Think I Mean

Look Through The Vault

By Category

  • Autism (1)
  • Belly Battles (20)
  • Damn Dogs (35)
  • Early Writings By A Child Genius (9)
  • East, West, Home is Best (42)
  • I'm Sure This Happens To Everyone… (122)
  • Life and Love (635)
    • 30 Posts To 30 (24)
    • Fritter Away (11)
    • From The Owlery (89)
    • How is Babby Formed? (227)
    • Me vs The Sad (72)
    • The House Saga (27)
  • Life's Little Moments (59)
  • My Blag is on the Interwebs (91)
    • Memes (15)
  • Perfect Husband (87)
  • Pointless Posts (73)
  • Polls (6)
  • Shhh, I'm Reading (55)
    • TwiBashing (21)
  • Uncategorized (2)
  • Vids and Vlogs (22)
  • We Are Family (30)
  • Well (1)
  • Well, That's Just Stupid (83)
    • Oh The Inanity (15)

Blogroll

  • A Little Pregnant
  • Also Known As The Wife
  • Are You Sure This Is A Good Idea?
  • Bub and Pie
  • Built In Birth Control
  • Clicker Training, Mother F***er!
  • Daycare Daze
  • Don't Mind The Mess
  • Dooce
  • Emotional Umbrella
  • Fail Blog
  • Held Back By My Spanx
  • Hodgepodge and Strawberries
  • Ken and Dot's Allsorts
  • Kloppenmum
  • Light Green: Life As Activism
  • Magpie Musing
  • Mommy By Day
  • Mr Chicken and the Ninja Kitties
  • Not Always Right
  • Passive Aggressive Notes
  • Postcards From Oblivion
  • Reasoning With Vampires
  • Sweet Salty Kate
  • The Angus Diaries
  • The Domesticated Nerd Girl
  • The Problem With Young People Today Is…
  • The Salted Tomato
  • The Squeee
  • The Urban Cowgirl
  • Unable to Relate
  • Wings And Boots

You Can Has Blog Button!

If By Yes If By Yes

Member of:

For Women

BlogHer.com Logo

Follow my blog with bloglovin

If By Yes - Find me on Bloggers.com

Vote For Me!

Good Blogs - Vote me to the Front Page!

The Latest Talk

Charles on TuTu Cool For School
Mamma_Simona on I Don’t Think I Mean Wha…
Traxy on Fifty Shades of Oh, Holy F***,…
IfByYes on Fifty Shades of Oh, Holy F***,…
Laura H. on What I Would Like to Say to Je…

Pages

  • Meet Me
    • Why If By Yes?
  • Meet Perfect Husband
  • Meet The Babbies

  • Follow Following
    • If By Yes
    • Join 141 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • If By Yes
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...