Working with Discretion

Since Hoss is a breast feeder it makes things alot easier for travel. As long as he and I are together and we can find a place to sit, we're all set. This has been great for our camping trips, shopping trips and, of course, our trip to Niagara Falls. Even for everyday activities it has proven to be convenient for any schedule we may be trying to keep - including Sundays for church.

Hoss is still wanting to eat every 2-3 hours during the day, and I had started out trying to adjust the schedule if we had plans to leave the house. Just a little 'tweaking' of the timeline to be able to go out of the house and not need to feed him while we were out. This could cause quite a bit of frustration for him and myself - not to mention my husband who would be sitting outside waiting for us to finish nursing and come dashing to the car. I could not remember ever doing this with Duck, who was also breastfed. Finally I came to the conclusion that I had not done this with Duck because it was better to let her eat when she wanted and not interfere with that natural scheduling. So now, that is what Hoss and I do. We nurse everywhere.

Let's see...McDonald's, parking lots, beaches, campgrounds and church. The only place that has given me pause to reconsider this practice is church.

Now, I am very discreet. In the sanctuary of our church, there is a back corner fireplace with a love seat beside it. If Hoss needs to eat, we sit back there and no one needs to know it. It helps that our pastor preaches without his glasses and therefore can't see the front row of the congregation, never Hoss and I at the back! (There was that church we visited while camping where the pastor was caught a little off guard when looking at the back row and seeing me sitting alone with a poncho draped over myself and two little feet kicking out - quite the look crossed his face)

So what has given me reason to reconsider this whole set up? Hoss has yet to learn discretion in the process.

Hoss loves to nurse. Hoss loves to eat, period. His love of eating is easily understood by the yummy noises he makes (breathe, mmmmm, breathe, mmmmm, breathe, mmmmm, etc.) Several people in the back row of the congregation can be seen with their shoulders shaking as they laugh silently about the sounds emanating from the back corner.

All in all, everyone has been generous in seeing Hoss' habit as cute rather than annoying. A little blessing in belonging to a small church where everyone knows each other well enough to be open about such things.

Of course, how could anyone be annoyed at this:

Autumn Vacation

Our recent, generally annual trip to Niagara Falls was wonderful. Just like camping, we went on the trip with the understanding that if Hoss didn't manage well, we would head for home. Just like camping, Hoss enjoyed the trip as well as the rest of us. Travelling this far south in the fall means the flowers in Niagara are still blooming beautifully. This the town clock in Niagara on the Lake:Part of our tradition is to stop by a particular market that has jams, jellies, salsas, etc. made from their home grown produce. It is ridiculously exspensive, but they have free samples. We make our way around the store and try everything. Generally I buy some salt water taffy from them, but this year they decided not to make it! Very disappointing, but the samples were still good:For the first time, we visited Fort George on the Niagara River. The replication of the fort is pretty cool. The history behind the war of 1812 is all over Niagara, of course, but the fort (and the tour inside) makes it come alive to see how soldiers and their families lived during that time. The old guns and armoury is neat to see, too: You've heard the phrase, 'go soak your head' - seriously, at this point Duck and her dad were alone with the camera. I have no idea what they are doing:

For country bumpkins like us the hotel is just as much part of the vacation as visiting outside the city. Duck was quite the pool shark after a few games. We always pick a hotel with a good pool area and free breakfast - those are essentials:

Even though we have a video of Hoss in the pool for his first time, we don't have a picture. This however, is what he looks like after a day of heavy 'partying' with his big sister:

We are very thankful that God gave a baby that will travel with us to our usual haunts. How relaxed is that?

Summary of Summer

It has truly passed by in a flash! Here we are enjoying our usual vacation time in September/October and I don't remember much of summer - I guess that can be expected when it was spent in so many hospitals. So here is a quick picture summary of our activities of late:

First day of rice cerealA birthday party IN Algonquin Park. The family throwing the party works in the provincial park for the summer (dad is a bush pilot) and most of the festivities were held in the plane hanger - cool! The kids had face painting done.Hoss is known as of late as 'the pickle', so that strange thing on his forhead is...a pickle!Even after the party was over, we camped at the homestead of the host family for a couple of nights. Well...OK, we stayed in a trailer with full kitchen and indoor plumbing. Not really ruffin' it for first time camper Hoss.We took a semi-school trip to Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons, in Midland, Ontario. Long drive, but neat day. Here is my husband with a fox hat.Taking Hoss means having to find places to breastfeed. We're hiding in one of the display houses here - and take a few people by surprise when they realize what I'm doing!Here's the real camping trip. We spent three nights in a tent, but had good weather and a good portable heater!Don't let the smiles fool you...these two puberty queens can be really scary!

An autumn wedding. Two young people from our church who actually did it God's way! They met in the fall of 2009 and followed through on their convictions in courtship/purity. A real blessing to finally see it done right!Two beautiful children standing in the receiving line. OK, I'm biased.

And there you have it. Our summer in a nutshell. I have several other posts that are half written - sooner or later I'll finish them and get them out. Hope your summer and autumn has been a good to you, too!