Andrea Mulder-Slater

by Andrea Mulder-Slater You know how whenever you stub your toe, you inevitably spend the next few days whacking said toe into table legs and bed frames before running over it with your office chair because you aren’t paying attention, mostly due to the fact that you are stuffing chocolate chips in your mouth before your preschooler figures out where you are hiding? Maybe it’s just me. How about when you’re about to walk into a crowded room, wearing your new black pants, feeling rather Sophia Loren, only to have your old lady briefs slip up where they shouldn’t, right after you catch yourself tripping over your own heels? Not that either? Well, trust me, it is inexplicable and also magical – but not in a good way. I think it has something to do with magnets. Or maybe sound waves. I don’t know, really. My memory is fuzzy when it comes to Grade 10 Physics. In fact, I may not have taken that class at all. In any case, I had one of these magnetic moments at the grocery store th

by Andrea Mulder-Slater “Do you want to know how to rest a chicken?” The 4 year old was in the back seat of the car, busting with new found barnyard animal knowledge. The answer was yes. Geoff, Jan and I did want to know how to rest a chicken. Because, why wouldn't we? Let me back up… If there’s one thing I’ve learned about my daughter in the short time I’ve known her, it’s that she loves critters more than chocolate, jellybeans, avocados, onions and canned sardines combined. Yeah. I don’t know whose child she is either. And she’s not choosy. Insects, amphibians, invertebrates, crustaceans, rodents, canines, felines, bovines, equines and poultry all generate the same level of adoration from the tiny person who, since she could speak, has consistently declared, “When I grow up, I’m going to be a veterinarian, because I take good care of animals.”    If I could, I would fill our home with as many dogs and cats as we have rooms. But I can’t. And here’s why. My kid is