Flooding in Calgary and Uttarakhand

It saddens me, our egocentric ways in North America and how this is encouraged through media coverage. As with most Canadians and especially because of living in a metropolitan rainforest I've watched in disbelief as Calgary slowly tries to recover from the massive flooding this past week.

But did you know, 1000 people died in a flood that wiped out homes, roads, bridges and communication in Uttarakhand India the same time flooding was happening in Calgary?! Why have you not heard about it?

While Calgary is making sense of the damage from the flood, Indians are preparing for a mass cremation for the flood victims. While local citizens are helping each other in Calgary creating a sense of community, a helicopter rescuing flood victims in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand crashed killing everyone. Are our tragedies in North America worth more than the lives of 1000 Indians?

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57591049/india-rescue-helicopter-crash-leaves-at-least-20-dead-on-top-of-more-than-1000-killed-by-monsoon-flooding-landslides/

Recipes to keep you in the 1950's.

Finally! A course for new mama's that can be a real use of time. Why, when she is not cooking, cleaning, and changing diapers she can be sending recipes to all of her friends and family.

Really?! This course has such potential. Do you think the dads & cis males can share recipes too?

What about teaching how to use icloud and to coordinate all of your gazillion photos to save time so when the moment does come up you too can sit with your feet up sipping a gin and tonic with all the other new parents.

This course was offered 2013 spring session.

Resources - Local and Websites

There are so many resources that complement some of the services that I provide that I could spend an entire website compiling them. To mention a few seems so limiting but here goes a small attempt: (you may need to copy/type them into your browser)

Useful Resources:
 * Anxiety BC - Useful on-line info for individuals, parents and children. http://www.anxietybc.com/
* Empowering Girls books and resources (great for all genders)
 http://www.amightygirl.com/ (“The world's largest collection of books, toys and movies for smart, confident, and courageous girls.”)
* Legal terms in plain language www.legalglossary.ca
* BC211 is a telephone “Red Book” to search for social, community and government services. Simply dial 211 and an operator will be happy to search for a service for you - free.
* Disaster Response Preparation: http://www.getprepared.gc.ca 

Pregnancy & Infertility
* South Community Birth Program: http://scbp.ca/about-us
* Pomegranate midwives: http://www.pomegranate-midwives.com/
* Prenatal Genetic Screening. It’s your choice. Provincial Health Authorities www.bcprenatalscreening.ca
* A blog on life without baby, infertility experiences: http://lifewithoutbaby.com/blog/
* Supporting single mothers towards personal and economic independence - YWCA Vancouver www.ywcavan.org/singlemothers
* A single mothers by choice yahoo chat group (SMC) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SMCVAN/
* My fertility choices - information straight up. Canadian. http://myfertilitychoices.com/ 

Parenting:
* A ebook for children on transforming bullying and family tension into harmonious relationships:   http://www.giraffejuice.com/
* Parents on the Drive - yahoo chat group for families living around Commercial Drive
* Rainbow Families - yahoo chat group and social organizer for LGBTQ parents
* Daycare safety ratings for Vancouver lower mainland www.vancouversun.com/daycare
* BC Women's Hospital Women Abuse Program and Immigrant Legal Tool Kit http://www.immigrantlegal.ca/directory/bc-womens-hospital-health-centre 

Multiple Births (twins, triplets and more)
* Multiple Births Canada: Support for parents of multiples http://multiplebirthscanada.org/
* Vancouver Twins and More Society - http://www.meetup.com/Vancouver-Twins-and-More/
* Twins, Triplets and More Resource Guide  http://www.nursing.ubc.ca/PDFs/TwinsTripletsAndMore.pdf
* Yahoo chat group: Vancouver Twins and More 

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Two Spirited, Transexual, Intersex,  Queer, Questioning, Asexual, Ally:
* Trans Youth Families Allies:  http://imatyfa.org/index.html
* Rainbow Families - yahoo chat group and social organizer for LGBTQ parents
* Canadian Teachers Federation - “Challenging Silence, Challenging Censorship” and “Supporting Transgender and Transexual Students in K-12 Schools” publications www.ctff-fce.ca
* LGBTQ Multiples: Support group for queer parents with multiples or for LGBTQ multiples.
* HOMINUM is a informal discussion and support group to help gay, bisexual, and questioning men with the challenges of being married, separated or single. The group meets every Monday evening around Metro Vancouver. For info and meeting locations call Don at 604-329-9760 or Art at 604-462-9813
* Mental Health Support for transgender children, youth and their families (Gender identity and diversity): http://www.ementalhealth.ca/Vancouver-Island/Transgendered-Children-and-Youth-Information-for-Parents-and-Caregivers/index.php?m=article&ID=8888
* It's Conceivable: Planning families - http://itsconceivablenow.com/2012/01/22/donors-dosies-thoughts-dos-don%E2%80%99ts/
* LGBTQ parent resources (Toronto) - http://www.lgbtqparentingconnection.ca

Local Professionals:
* Olive Branch Consulting - Leanne Harder: Education, Mediation & Program Evaluation www.olivebranchconsulting.com
  
Other Fun Stuff to keep life light:
* Cafe Press - "products that express the things you love" http://www.cafepress.ca/
* Sticker Monkey - Who doesn't like stickers?! http://www.stickerjunkie.com/
* Baby books for every family (same-sex parents, adoption, single parent, twins) http://www.babysakes.com (look under "special families" - what they lack in name they make up with a great product)
* Some creative and fun camping tips:  http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/camping-hacks-that-are-borderline-genius (I loved the pilsbury dough wrapped around a marshmallow and can also recommend cinnamon buns in an iron plan over the fire).
* And some fun ideas for the kids: http://www.buzzfeed.com/alannaokun/creative-and-inexpensive-ways-to-keep-kids-busy

A good sign!

Remember when it use to say 

"CAUTION MEN AT WORK?"

This is a good sign!

Vancouver, BC.

This one, however, at a popular box store throughout North America got the sign right " CUSTOMER WITH CHILD" however got the image wrong. Please, do we still consider families only consisting of a mom, dad and 1.5 children?

Vancouver, BC.