Hello there! I’m Kim – aka: Kim (Basement Variety!), occasional contributor to the blog topics, and frequent contributor to the blog conversations here at Alas. Amp had the idea to provide little bio sheets for people to read, so they could get an idea of the backgrounds and philosophies of his co-bloggers, and now I sit here trying to think of something interesting to say. I suppose I can best sum up some of the vitals by list, so here goes.
I’m 34 years old, wife and best friend to Matt, my wonderful husband, and mommy and best friend to Sydney, adorable and rambunctious daughter #1, and soon to welcome much loved and anticipated Maddox, daughter #2 (expected in mid-October). I’m extremely pro-family, but that includes non-traditional families, just as warmly as traditional.
We live in the household known as ‘The Ennead’ and as Ampersand mentioned in his bio, that includes (but is not limited to) Amp, me, Bean, Charles and Elkins. Occasionally Matt posts as well, but mostly you see him popping up on the Monday baby blogging threads that he and Amp have plotted out behind my back. Corrupting my young daughter and letting her climb too high on ladders and what not. Oh, and scoop kitty litter. Grrr. It’s a wonderful environment and I consider myself very lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful, smart and progressive people. And for those who have ever wondered, there is some truth to the notion, ‘it takes a village…’
There also is extended friends that pop up on the blog that can’t go unmentioned, as they too are like family! They include (but again are not limited to!) Jake Squid, Kip & Jenn, Alsis & Aaron, Kevin Moore and I think some of the Sneadlette’s have been known to occasionally post – then again, you probably don’t know what a Sneadlette is, and telling would take away the mystery.
On Feminism:
Well, that’s sort of a gimme, being that I’m doing posts on a feminist blog, most likely about issues that would be considered pro-feminist in angle. So am I a feminist? Absolutely – socialist feminist to be more specific.
On Parenting:
My husband and I are pro- breastfeeding, attachment parenting, co-sleeping, non-cry-it-out types of parents. We are extremely committed to the welfare of our children and our marriage, and have found that despite what conservatives might try to say, you can be a very liberal, progressive family and still function. In fact, we consider our well-functioning and loving family one of our biggest successes in life, thus far. Thus far with Sydney we’ve attempted to go easy on the gender roles, and instead offer her as much choice and encouragement in her choices as possible. She’s got girl toys, boy toys and gender neutral toys – though truth be told, the toys she likes best are not even toys at all. We named our daughters Sydney Quinn and Maddox (undecided, perhaps I should blog for advice?) after reading about gender neutral names having a positive impact on girl children in particular, but also because we thought they were cool names.
On Politics:
Socialist for the most part, but registered Democrat. The socialism is due to spending time in Danmark for a while and becoming heavily influenced by the socialist model of living standards, and progressive attitudes of the people. I am:
– Pro-Choice, though I do have some reservations about late-term abortions post viability. Ratify CEDAW and CRC now, political schmuck-heads.
– Pro-Universal healthcare. Come on, this should be a no-brainer.
– Pro-SSM and gay rights.
– Pro-Social programs. People need help sometimes, and poor organization and boggling bureaucracies shouldn’t be a reason to not pursue making sure that families and individuals are not suffering under the yolk of what often times are poorly executed corporate actions inspired by the almighty dollar bill.
– Reservedly pro-death penalty (Whoops, where’d that one come from?!)
* It’s a safe bet that if the position is progressive and liberal I likely fall under that umbrella (though their are some exceptions). If you aren’t sure or curious, don’t hesitate to ask!
On Career:
Well, Matt and I are both working towards eventual teaching masters, but currently in the process of going to school to make that happen. Basically our careers at this moment are being parents and students, both vigorously and with enthusiasm.
On Hobbies:
Okay, I admit it. I’m a gamer. We play a wonderful RPG among our friends called ‘The Known World’ every Sunday (theoretically), and also Matt and I play Everquest2. We also played Everquest 1. I enjoy collecting TV shows, especially of the sci-fi variety.
So anyways, that’s me in a nutshell. I realize a lot of it is about my family, but that is a lot of what I’m about. I love my family and my life, as humble as it is.
Me & Syd:
(not the best picture of Sydney, but she gets to show how adorable she is every Monday in the baby blogging!)
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Okay, so what does the (basement variety!) signify, unless you live in the basement of the—That’s it, isn’t it? I’m a total doofus, aren’t I? Seriously, am I right?
Hehe yep. The apartment is garden level. A converted basement. The rest of the household lives upstairs, while my husband, daughter and I live in a two bedroom apartment downstairs. As for how it occurred, there was another Kim posting at the time I started posting with any frequency, and I didn’t want to usurp her handle, so I added the ‘basement variety’ to establish a difference. :)
You have probably heard this a bunch already; I remember playing with our daughter and son all of us togeather in the tub, taking pictures on the fleecy rug, and wondering if they were ever going to walk. Our son is getting ready to get his masters from Cornel and daughter is starting college at U of A. I say that for my benefit as I cannot believe that I was flying them around the room just… yesterday.
They are wonderful at all ages, they just don’t stay small long enough. She is lovely.
Blessings.
I am very interested in your living situation. There is a part of me that has regretted not having kids. Recently a friend of mine with two young kids (6y/o and 2y/o) has invited me to move in with her. I am really close to her children and am thinking it might be good for me to live in a household with some kids. But it seems weird too.
Absolutely what Bean said. Like I said, the saying ‘it takes a village’ makes a lot of sense for me. I see my daughter flourish in ways that I think (could just be parental bias of course) are not necessarily typical for her age range. She benefits from all the unique perspectives of the adults around her, and she’s incredibly cheerful and reciprocal of the love she receives. If you get along with the family, don’t let being weird scare you away from what may be a very positive living environment.
Do take into consideration your own needs though, and whether you could tolerate being around children on a regular basis.
Thanks for the thoughts and advice :)
I am very interested in your living situation. There is a part of me that has regretted not having kids. Recently a friend of mine with two young kids (6y/o and 2y/o) has invited me to move in with her. I am really close to her children and am thinking it might be good for me to live in a household with some kids. But it seems weird too.