Audiologist in Training?

A number of you who follow me on Facebook might recall that I had a special day trip to Vancouver with my oldest, Rachel. It was such a special experience for both of us as she'll be heading to Kindergarten this Fall! I thought to take her along with me to my annual Cochlear Implant Checkup so she would have a better understanding of how I hear.

Heather, my audiologist (or audie as many call it for short) was delighted to have my 4 year old join us! 

Rachel 'assisting' my audie Heather!

Let me paint for you a picture what an audiology check up looks like for me. First, my electrodes (inside my head) are tested for low and high frequencies, ensuring that all is working correctly. Next is fine tuning my three CI programs. I actually have them set to what my day is looking like. I usually go from Program 2 to 3 and then to 1. You'll see why:

Llama Llama Red Mama

My 4 year old's preschool class recently had a field trip to a miniature Llama farm, about 15 minutes away from the school.

It was the BEST. This was our second time there as they did it the previous year.

I used to have a University Professor (you know who you are) that was obsessed with Llamas. I didn't get it until after I attended this farm, and learning more about them.

Llamas are "freaky looking" - as quoted by another parent who was in attendance, but they are also pretty darn cool.

Posers :P

Lavinia, one of the owners of Millstream Miniature Llamas (the farm we went to) was wonderful in explaining to the preschool group where Llamas come from, what they normally eat, and how they behave in social situations. Even my 2 year old tagged along and kept pointing at the Llamas saying "oooh! Llama!"

#hardofhearingmommyproblems

Something really funny happened tonight.

And I just have to share.

We are sitting down, eating a nice dinner - chicken cordon bleu, I might add. Then, my near 2 year old has this 'lift-off' body movement.

I have no idea if this video will work - but it's pretty much summarized in this post

My husband, who sits next to her, is in a fit of laughter.

I look at him, and ask - what's so funny? I don't get it!

C: You didn't see that?

Me: See what?

C: That 'lift-off' movement from Sarah? 

M: Yeah sure, I did. But what gives?

C: You didn't hear that?

50 Years in Canada

April 14, 1968 - my father and his family set foot for the first time in Canada. 

Today marks the 50th anniversary. I am forever grateful to my Papa and Grandma Betty for taking that leap of faith to move their family of six to a country they had never set foot in. 

I only know my dad's version of their move - I am sure my uncles would have more to say!

My Papa and Grandma Betty with their 4 sons. L-R: Uncle Michael, Uncle Patrick, my Dad (in the pink shirt), and Uncle Robert

As I understand, they moved from Hong Kong as they were unsure what their hometown would be like once the Communists arrived (takeover took place in 1997). They chose Vancouver as it would be closest to my Grandmother's sisters, in nearby Seattle.  It was also a close decision as they could have moved to Australia, where most of my Papa's family was.

Mops and Hearing Loss

Do you know what my biggest pet peeve is about my vacuum cleaner?

It is LOUD!!!

Okay, okay. I probably shouldn't complain about actually being able to hear - hard of hearing mommy here. Arguably, from mother to mother, naptimes/bedtimes are the PRIME time to get anything done/clean/accomplished.  

My attempt at a selfie with my newest friend

JUST a mommy

At Sunday school a couple of weeks ago, my daughter Rachel was sitting with her peers.

After doing their "thankful' prayers to Jesus, somehow the topic of what their parents do came up. Some of the kids had parents who were professionals, others did blue collar jobs, etc. Most of them had mothers that worked.

Then my daughter says, quite loudly, "My mommy is JUST a mommy!". No mention of anything else.

Brändi Dog

In 2010, my then boyfriend (now husband) Curtis and I had an amazing opportunity to go to Fiesch, Switzerland for a two week Hard of Hearing Summercamp. We arrived at the Jugehorig (the Swiss member for the International Federation for Hard of Hearing Young People) Summercamp as strangers, and left the camp with 40 plus new friends. 

The whole group on top of Mt. Eggishorn at Sunrise

It was such a great experience that I'd recommend it to any hard of hearing person interested in it! Whether it's your first time meeting others who have a hearing loss, or simply reconnecting with old friends, the summercamp brings people from all over the world to hike, play games, and learn about each others' cultures.

Many nights, Curtis would be found playing this popular board game called Brändi Dog (or Dog as we call it). I was often fast asleep by 9pm in my dorm after a very long day! I actually didn't get a chance to play the game until 2015, when two of our friends from Switzerland came to stay with us for a week and brought the game for us at Curtis' request.  (Thank you a million times over Laura and Claudio!)

Hearing Aids aren't like Glasses

Each day I wake up, put on my trusty hearing aid in my left ear and my trusty Cochlear implant in my right ear.

Then I go about my day.

I'll usually get stares from people who don't know me (because, mom bun), and I'll often catch them looking one of my hearing assistive devices.

Once in a blue moon, someone will ask me: "so hey I guess you can hear me Ok then?"

"No, not really" I reply. Then go on to say, "my hearing aids aren't like glasses. They don't cure hearing loss." Then I leave the conversation there, in hopes that they'd ask more questions. Most of the time, I get a shrug and we part ways.

Travel Post Part 2: Disney World

This story picks up from our departure from a 10,000 person ship to... the Magical land of Disney World!


This is where the exhausting part began. I think in some ways it took me close to two weeks to actually recover from this leg of the trip. Sometimes, by noon my pedometer would be reading 25,000 steps already taken!

At Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party - a very expensive date!

We stayed at a gorgeous VRBO in Kissimmee, Florida - a mere 15 minute drive from the Magic Kingdom, which is the furthest of all the parks at Disney World. I legit just clicked on the link there and the property is 99% fully booked for the next three months!

Our home for 10 days - we loved it! Can you see my daughter dressed as Merida?

Travel Post: Our trip to the Caribbean (Part 1)

Better late than never, that's what I tell myself with each blog post I do. Sometimes I get all gung-ho and do multiple blog posts in a few weeks, and then there are times when you get caught up in life and the blog takes a backseat.

That's perfectly OK in my book. Be prepared for a flurry of blog posts for the next short while!

To recap, my parents celebrated their 40th anniversary this past September, and to celebrate, they took us on a 1-week cruise to the Caribbean and a 10 day stint in Florida, where we had the opportunity to do Disney World!


To date this was probably the most exhausting trip I've ever taken, with the 5800km road trip we completed earlier in March (read the blog posts on that here) coming in second place.

Exhausting as in: 
-My feet are so sore and yet, I keep plugging along.
-My days started at 630am and didn't end until 10pm...
-I fell asleep each night with no issues (if you know me, it can sometimes take me a LONG time to fall asleep!)
-Teething, fevers, colds = WHY do they have to happen during a holiday!?
-Flying with kids. Yikes.

However exhausting it was, it was all absolutely worth it. Here's an overview.

Hearing while Swimming

For my birthday earlier this year, my husband gifted me with something very unique...

A Nucleus Aqua+ kit!

What is that you may ask? Just look at this photo:

I spy with my little eye a Mama who can hear!

What's so special about this photo? Aside from my really cute little 1 year old, who was attending her first ever swim lessons? (We live on an Island, so naturally the need to learn how to swim is important) I can hear for the very FIRST time in water. In water. 

Mia, the Wildlife Photographer - Doll Review

A month ago, a friend and fellow blogger alerted me to the Irish-based company Lottie Doll's Mia, the Wildlife Photographer doll.

My first impression upon learning about Mia? This is a doll I wish I had when I was growing up.  

From a Parent's Perspective
As a hard of hearing mommy who wears a Cochlear Implant, this doll had a unique feature to it - Mia, aside from being fashion forward has a Cochlear Implant (!!!!!!!!! cue my jaw dropping!!!!!). 
 

My head shot of Mia. Isn't she gorgeous!?

When the doll arrived, I was in awe with the detail. It's smaller than a typical life-sized doll (18 cm tall), perfect for my 1 year old's nimble hand - though intended for ages 3 and up. My 4 year old loved how she could pack it easily in her backpack to take for show and tell at preschool. Her exposure alone to several preschoolers who likely don't know what a cochlear implant is powerful already.

My daughters love playing with Mia's hair and showing off her Cochlear Implant

Goodbye HOH, Hello Deaf Sleep

As part of my work, I have recently become very fascinated with how Hard of Hearing (HOHs) people sleep. When we go to sleep, we essentially become deaf - meaning we are completely oblivious to all sounds (in my case I am).

Specifically, the differences between how HOH kids sleep versus HOH adults. This brief article will be based on my personal experiences as I haven't heard all the stories out there about HOH sleeping patterns. I'll start with the kid version of myself.

This isn't me, but I like to think I was that cute once. (Photo credit: Pixabay.com)

Kid Monique (let's assume ages 4 to 18)

• Night light: I used one until I was well into my teens! Am I embarrassed by this fact? Maybe only slightly. My blinds were your basic shutter blinds - no black out curtains involved!
• It was essential as I am a visual person and not being able to see my surroundings as a hard of hearing person left me feeling nervous.
• Heavy blankets: I liked them from the get go. Even though it's not recommended for young kids, I enjoyed them because it meant I could wrap myself in a cocoon - and then eventually kick off the sheets as the night went on.
• Having mom and dad stay in the room with me until I fell asleep (ok - this only went on until I entered intermediate school, thankfully!)
• Mom always helped me put away my hearing aids - knowing that they were tucked safely away gave me a sense of security. To this day, I have never ever worn my hearing assistive devices to sleep. It's just way too disruptive!
• Mom was my alarm clock.

Some really cool tips are presented here for parents with kids with a hearing loss on how to achieve much needed sleep (and actual adult time in the evenings): Tips for establishing a bedtime routine for deaf children.

Happy 15 years!

Today marks the 15th anniversary of my partnership with a certain piece of technology - my cochlear implant! I am very thankful to have this wonderful partnership as it has been of huge benefit to me, despite a rocky start with it.

With Cindy Gustin, my audiologist on my switch on day. (Can you tell I looked like an impressed 17 year old?)

I was activated 15 years ago for the first time. After taking a month to heal. My 17 year old self was smart enough at the time to keep a journal of my initial journey. On this day in 2002, I wrote:

An Advantage or a Disadvantage?

Is it an advantage or a disadvantage for the hard of hearing person if they don't hear a fart?

Case in point: my husband recently told me that he often farts in front of me - especially at night when I don't have my hearing assistive devices on. The only time when I do know if he farts without my hearing assistive devices on is when there's a huge stink involved.

Other case in point: We were watching TV and out came this big boom. Me = "what on earth was that!?!'" Husband = *snickering* "I farted" Me = *face of disgust and groan*

So what do you think? Advantage or disadvantage?

I vote advantage. Ignorance can be bliss.

Ava Scribe

If you're deaf or hard of hearing, you'll know that reliable transcription (voice to text) services are valued, and often comes at a hefty cost! This article is about a new transcription app that a new audiologist friend of mine introduced to me not long ago. It's called Ava Scribe (I'll call it Ava for short)! You can find it on your iPhone or Android devices. I have a Samsung, so that gives you a bit of perspective where my technology use is at.

The logo for Ava Scribe

At first, when I heard about Ava I was intrigued. First off, it's free (yay! But there is a slight catch... more on that later), and had the ability to transcribe conversations in real time. Wow. For the deaf or hard of hearing consumer, this could be life changing. 

Journey to Alaska

Oops. There goes my #mombrain.

I just realized I forgot to write about our adventures to Alaska! A week after we returned home from our month long road trip, we found a smoking hot deal to go on an Alaskan cruise on Holland America's Nieuw Amsterdam! A bucket list trip for my husband, who has always wanted to do that cruise.

In front of our ship in rainy Juneau

Fresh from unpacking, it was a strange feeling to be packing again - except this time we had to bring warmer clothes (sweaters, toques, extra pants!) and evening clothes for the dining room. I'll be honest...we actually brought slightly more on our 1 week cruise to Alaska than we did for 4 weeks in California! Weather makes a huge difference. Though note to self: glad I brought more underwear this time.

The four of us hunkered down in a single cabin, mom and dad in a queen size bed, toddler in a pull out bed and babe in a pack&play. There wasn't much room to spare. Originally our stateroom was set up in a much more space efficient configuration (pack&play was placed next to our bed), giving us ample space to move around. The biggest problem for us was that there was no outlet nearby. Most cabins only have one or two outlet spots for hairdryer and cell phone use. This is usually located in a very obscure spot, far away from the bed. 

What's the importance of having an outlet nearby anyhow, you may ask? 

The Biracial Cochlear Implant

My Cochlear Implant is Biracial!

When you're out and your rechargeable battery dies... 

And then your SPARE battery dies...

My last resort was my husband's SPARE battery!

All I can say is: thank goodness I have a hard of hearing husband.

Enjoy this hot weather everyone!

A HOH Wedding

Wedding season is on! And a few of my fellow Hard of Hearing (HOH) friends are getting hitched. 

They've also been asking me what kind of accessible services I had at our wedding, in 2011. This is a great question, as it could mean missing out on important things - in particular the wedding vows! Now who would want to mess up on that anyway?

Communication Access Realtime Translation, or CART for short, is our preferred method of verbal translation. CART can produce over 200 words per minute, and is to date, the fastest translation system we Canadians can access. In essence, the Captionist operating a stenograph machine translates what's being said in verbatim - similar to what you would find in court reporting.

Hear By the Sea

Five days ago we wrapped up CHHA's 35th Anniversary in Sidney, BC, a mere 15 minute drive away from our home. With approximately 130 participants, it was a great opportunity to network, meet new (and old!) friends, and listen to a presentation with minimal difficulty. Captioning and hearing loops were provided for all sessions!

I did not see whales... but thankfully we see them for free on our many ferry rides!

Many of you know that I also met my husband at the very first Canadian Hard of Hearing Association's (CHHA) National Conference that I attended in 2008. That conference was also in partnership with the International Federation of Hard of Hearing People's Congress. In a way, CHHA has become a part of our lives.