Tired of Smiling

2009-08-20T13:03:00.001-06:00

Please see my new blog:

www.silversistersstudio.blogspot.com

Cheers!

gisele

Peridot Peas are back!

2009-08-20T12:56:00.004-06:00

Remember this:

Well, now it's this:

Thanks to Roxanne for suggesting it be made into a necklace. Just listed in my store. Get 'em while they're fresh!

more todo

2009-06-24T15:41:00.002-06:00

note: I have a new blog at www.silversistersstudio@blogspot.com
This one is closing down soon.

TO DO

Set Up

Shop banner and avatar. Done!
Write a bio, shop announcement. Announcement done. will redirect to blog for bio.
Figure out cards (packaging – to display the barrettes on.) Done, and printed.
Figure out shipping packaging. done. need to buy plastic bags.
shipping charges. done.
Set up blog done.
Make blog banner. done.

Upkeep - ongoing

Shop:
Taking photos (weekend)
Uploading photos (hubby)
Listing items
Shipping orders (!)
Etsy forums?
Promotion?

Blog:Take photos (weekend)
Upload photos (hubby)
Write posts (on a regular schedule – once a week??)

Other thank actually listing items everything is set up and ready to go! Feels good to see all those dones on the list. I have some time off next week so will probably list the first items then. I'm also trying to get ready for the farmer's market. Sent in my application form last night and am hoping to get in this weekend. It may not be enough time, but it's worth a try.

Here's the todo list for the farmer's market:

figure out table. done.
send in application form. done.
make signage.
put barrettes on cards.
design and print out business cards. (opt. for this weekend if I run out of time.)
figure out which items will be listed on etsy and leave them at home!

I have friday off so guess what I'll be doing!

2009-06-22T15:08:00.001-06:00

I just can’t do it. Can’t shut this blog down! It’s a good friend that never expected anything of me, and I can’t give it up just yet.

I’ve started my new blog at:

http://www.silversistersstudio.blogspot.com

and will be weaning myself off of this one soon. Please join me at my new blog.

A Hard Days Work...

2009-06-19T14:50:00.004-06:00

TO DO

Set Up

Shop banner and avatar. Done!

Write a bio. not done.

shop announcement. done!

Figure out cards (packaging – to display the barrettes on.) Done!

Figure out shipping packaging - figured out - still need to purchase bags and envelopes.

shipping charges Done!

Set up blog. Done...mostly.

Make blog banner - Not Done.

Next:
buy envelopes and plastic bags.
buy printer ink.
print off cards
take pictures.
list items!

blog. on new blog. (yay)

2009-06-18T07:34:00.002-06:00

Aquarius
JAN 21-FEB 18
Your plans will be bigger and
bolder than ever, but in your
haste to get started you could
overlook an important detail.
Take your time and get it right.

It was possibly the most ackward situation of my life.

2009-06-16T14:23:00.001-06:00

In the elevator with one of the VPs from work and he asks me why I’m not coming to yoga anymore. “It’s not in the budget” I said (I’d rehearsed that – I knew this might happen). He looked surprised. “It’s just not in the cards right now.” He said your health should be your number 1 priority, and I said I agreed. I said I have a nanny to pay for and “Life is expensive”. I said I’d be back. I was sure glad when the elevator reached the bottom, and I hope he realizes how awkward that conversation was. Especially after receiving pay cuts last month. Actually it went fairly well – I held my own - but I’d rather not talk to the VP of our company about my financial situation.

2009-06-12T21:39:00.000-06:00

Setting up an etsy shop.

2009-06-11T10:17:00.001-06:00

I’ve been considering setting up an etsy shop. It just seems like a good way to sell the barrettes I’m making. I had dismissed the idea before as it’s a big job and I don’t have a lot of extra time to devote to another project. Then I got thinking - the parts I’m really worried about I just need to ask for help on. Pictures. You can see my blog hardly has any pictures on it. Here’s the situation: I work in an office full time and spend 2 hours each day commuting. When I’m at home my time is 100% kids and family and making sure our lives don’t completely fall apart. I have 2 young kids, one of which doesn’t sleep through the night, and a busy life. I don’t get to the computer most days. I check my email over the internet, check out blogs etc. and write the occasional blog post here all from work. The one thing I can’t do from work is download pictures. Hubby, on the other hand, doesn’t have to go to bed as early as me and gets lots on computer time – you can see where I’m going with this – he’s agreed to download pictures for me and upload them to the internet somewhere so I can post them from work. (updated: I tried this and can’t seem to get them to upload to blogger correctly..... something to figure out.)
The other thing I need help with is making a shop banner and avatar. I’m hoping to find a smart friend to help out with this (have a few in mind). This may not be as difficult as I thought – there are all sorts of “easy” guides out there.....but I don’t have photoshop, and I suck at figuring new technology stuff out.

I wrote most of the above yesterday when I was all excited about the idea. And then I woke up on the wrong side of the bed, got up late, stepped on a tack, realized that I hadn’t made lunch the night before, got into a (minor) scuff with the hubby about bathroom time and coughed up a lung all before 6am. Do I really have the time and energy to deal with an etsy shop?? Why am I doing this again? Right now I’m about 50/50 again. I think it’ll be fine once I get things set up and then you put in as much effort as you decide to put in. It’s just all overwhelming in the start, and I don’t really know what to expect in terms of time and energy commitment. I keep reading stories about people’s successful shops, but they’re all full-timers, so they HAVE to spend all that time promoting their shops to generate enough business to keep a full-timer going.

I forgot to mention the blog. One of the best ways to promote your etsy shop is through a good blog. Etsy is getting big, and you can’t think that all you have to do is set up your shop and the orders will start pouring in. You have to spend some time promoting your shop. A good blog has lots of nice pictures. Works in progress, ideas, it shows people what you’re working on, what you’re thinking about. People who make a point of shopping handmade are interested in getting to know the person who made the product.
This blog isn’t that. This blog is personal. It’s for me. I’ll have to make a new one. A prettier one with a little less complaining (only a little), and a whole lot more pictures. Even if I just update once a week, that’d be ok, I think.

Back to scheduled programming, here’s the list of things I’d have to do to set up an etsy shop. Everything I’ve thought of so far anyway. This is what I started with for this mammoth post. A simple list.

TO DO

Set Up

Shop banner and avatar. (Help!)
Write a bio, shop announcement
Figure out cards (packaging – to display the barrettes on.) (in progress, with help from sister J)
Figure out shipping packaging and shipping charges

Set up blog
Make blog banner

Upkeep - ongoing

Shop:
Taking photos (weekend)
Uploading photos (hubby)
Listing items
Shipping orders (!)
Etsy forums?
Promotion?

Blog:
Take photos (weekend)
Upload photos (hubby)
Write posts (on a regular schedule – once a week??)

All Right! I'd better hit publish on this before I think of more to write! Please, please, please feel free to comment if you have any thoughts or experience on any of the above. I'd really appreciate the advice.

Cherry Blossoms in Calgary!

2009-06-04T13:01:00.004-06:00

Finally! After reading about spring on everyone else's blog it's here - Cherry Blossoms are out full-force now! Also in the forecast, snow, but let's focus on the cherry blossoms, shall we?

I don't even know where to start, there's so much been going on.

First of all, we managed to survive relatively unscathed the birthday/recital week. A busy week flanked by 2 weekends of mayhem - running this way and that getting people places they needed to be. Survived it even with kids being miserably ill. Last weekend, in particular was the worst - the baby screamed for two days and two nights while I held her. She screamed harder if I put her down, like to go to the bathroom, heaven forbid. Dearest husband is still sooo sick - I keep phoning him from work just to make him run up the stairs - I'm that mean, yes.

I always have to keep myself from laughing TOo hard at little kids' dance recitals. It's not graceful or coordinated at all. But cute - at least they have that going for them.

For the big kid's 5th birthday we went to a honey farm. Good fun. Bees are so interesting. Everyone got A. lego. It seems we should have communicated with eachother a little... But the lego is getting plenty of use, so who's to complain? I forgot how much fun lego is.

No news on the business front. I haven't had any time to craft anything lately as ferrying people all over and dealing with sick people has all but eaten up all my time. I have tomorrow off and am planning to spend the whole day sewing new barrettes. crossing fingers!

And now back to work which is mayhem, too!

Don’t Chew Gum Outside, People!

2009-05-29T09:20:00.000-06:00

Serious Consequences Could Ensue!

My 5 yr old and I were having a chat last night. She wanted to warn me about chewing gum outside.

“You should never chew gum outside.”

“Oh, why?”

“Because a big animal will come up and hit you in the stomach and knock you over.”

“Really? Did you see that happen?”

“It was on TV” She was serious.

Apparently there’s a pretty dramatic commercial on TV where a guy gets hit in the groin by a ram and spits out his gum. All the guys I tell this to know exactly what I am talking about. We don’t watch much TV, and she’s only 5 so she really thought this might happen. She was worried about big animals lurking behind the bushes, apparently, watching for gum chewers.

I told her that sometimes what you see on TV isn’t real – it’s just a joke. I said I had never seen that happen and didn’t expect to see that kind of thing. I think gum chewing in the out of doors is pretty safe. We both agreed that it would be pretty weird. I wonder what other things she believes that she got from unreliable sources.

We had a conversation last year about commercials – she thought they were shows, too. So we had to have a chat about how they are trying to get you to buy something. Of course, it all looks like great stuff, and she wants it all. She even said that one day: “I see lots of cool stuff they are trying to sell me on TV and I want to buy it all!” I think that was before Christmas. So, we’ve had some beginning conversations about things not always being as great as they make them seem on TV, and how Stuff won’t necessarily make you happier (she doesn’t quite believe me), and about we can’t buy EVERYTHING we want. Phewph. What must it be like to not know this stuff yet – to take the world at face value?

First Sale and firm Direction...

2009-05-13T16:19:00.001-06:00

Oh, man, I am blown away!
I sold 4 barrettes this morning to a coworker. 2 leaves and 2 silly monsters. What a confirmation that I am going in the right direction!

I met with my friend who’s shop I was thinking I’d sell these in last night. In the end I decided not to put them in there just yet. Here’s the thing – I can not make large volumes yet (hello – full time job), and I think I can sell everything I can make myself – between showing friends and people I meet to maybe even setting up a table at the farmer’s market (a great way to enjoy the farmer’s market without spending a bundle, by the way! Ingenious, I know.). Since I can make more money off of each sale if I do it myself that’s what I am going to do for now. And, as of this morning, I have almost paid for the supplies I bought. Almost. OK, maybe halfway, but still…

So here’s what my friend had to say:
-There’s nothing like this available locally – and from the sweater felt (which she loved and thought it was a good angle) nothing available at all.
-Pink outsells every other color. The people who buy this type of thing are dressing their girls up in cute and princess. That’s the market. She suggested crowns. I don’t think I can do that (moral issues – princess=gag), but I get the pink thing.

P.S. I promise promise promise pictures soon… They’re even taken already I just have to get onto the computer at home… I don’t know why that is so difficult

2009-05-12T09:18:00.001-06:00

All right, we’re in full-on development mode now.
The first order of felt arrived last week and I couldn’t have been happier. It was recycled sweater felt (take a wool sweater, wash it till it shrinks, make something with it and sell me the scraps). I bought a bag of small scraps which are the perfect size for my mini-projects. This way I was able to get so many more colors and textures – each piece is so very different. I just love the depth and variation of color in this felt... it really is lovely to work with.
I spent the weekend making barrettes and am finally going to show them to my friend with the store to see if she wants to carry them. I’ve been very encouraged by the response I’ve gotten from everyone I’ve showed so far – I think I’d have lots of buyers even if it doesn’t work out to put them in the store. And I get more for them if I sell them myself, too.
The second batch of felt that I had ordered came in last night. I was sadly disappointed. I mean, its nice stuff (100% wool in nice bright colors) but it just pales in comparison to the sweater felt I have been working with. I think the sweater felt is just more “me” if you know what I mean. Thankfully, it’s exceedingly less expensive to buy the sweater felt, so I’m glad I didn’t fall in love with the expensive stuff.
My mom came over last night with some wool that my grandma had carded. One piece had been the stuffing for a quilt that mom took apart and it’s probably been washed so it’s partially felted already. The other stuff is lovely fluffy wool that I’ll need to felt. Now I need to figure out how to dye wool and then I’m set for life on supplies. I’m pretty nostalgic about grama – she was a pretty special person to us, so it’ll be good to be able to use her felt. I’ll be pretty careful with it, to be darn sure.
The bird design that looked so cute on paper was a complete flop in real life. I couldn’t figure out how to embroider the beak and the whole thing turned out pretty shapeless. I’ve given up on the bird for now. I’ll think on it some more. The monster design has to be my favourite. I can be as goofy and colorful as I want. I’ve got 2 of those already, and a third one in the works. The hearts work well – I figure little girls will like those, and I finally figured out a flower design I like. The leaves also worked out really well – especially after the first one and I realized I need to space the stitches out farther. These appeal more to adults (to buy) to be worn by any age. There are a couple of funny ones – like the heart that is just plain red (ok, in a lovely soft wool) but when you look at it up close you see that it is a broken heart, and also there’s a bone – like Pebbles used to wear in her hair. I don’t know if anyone will “get” those two, but they make me smile. I am for sure making a bone for my baby. My goal was to have a dozen completed by the end of the weekend and I think I at least did that.
I wasn’t originally thinking of selling on etsy but might consider it now, since what it turns out I am making (you never know what it is going to look like until you start) is significantly different from what is already available. We’ll see. I’m not at that stage yet. Next step, sell some stuff and make more inventory. In no particular order.

2009-05-02T07:59:00.003-06:00

Hopefully you're not sick of embroidery yet!
OK, this is so silly! This is the pillow that started it all off - I made it for my dad from a picture that my daughter drew. I only really knew one stitch, and only had 3 colors of embroidery thread. I was so proud of it at the time!

First, the picture that I worked from:

And the finished piece:

Now I have my water soluable pen and that would make something like this SO much easier.
I still like it in a nostalgic kind of way.

waiting on supplies....

2009-05-01T07:34:00.004-06:00

This is the tough part. The calm before the storm. I'm waiting on supplies. I've been using the down time to work up some designs. I figure I really only need 4 or 5 good designs to start - each piece will be different because of the hand stitching anyway. I've got a heart, a leaf, a funky little bird, and a silly monster. I'm also working on a flower but am having trouble making a shape I like. Sounds silly, I know, how can you not figure out something as simple as a flower shape? Well, I just haven't been inspired yet. I've ordered some felted reclaimed wool scraps off of etsy and am trying to order some 100% wool felt also off of etsy. I wish I had a local supplier for that. I'm also spreading the word that I'm looking for old wool sweaters that I can felt up and use. Keep your eyes out at the garage sales and thrift store bins.
My sister has generously offered to design some cards for the barrettes to go on. She's so good at that kind of stuff, I am lucky to have the help.
And since I know I'll be busy once the supplies arrive I am trying to finish off some of the projects I started earlier. A cute tank top for elder daughter - I am embroidering a flower garden on it (pink of course!). Also embroidering some club decals for the family (bought a nifty water soluble pen for this) and I still need to get back to the dragonfly I started a while back. I've since figured out the secret to using silver thread - double it and knot the end - then it doesn't fray and fall apart as you use it. I think the dragonfly will become something for me - I never keep any of my stuff for me.
Ah, sigh, to be an artist.

Oh What Fun!

2009-04-23T15:41:00.002-06:00

So, I got into a conversation with a friend who owns a consignment store the other day.

“If I could find a local supplier for these, I would love to get them locally”. They were cute little embroidered barrettes.
“Hey, I can do that!” I thought to myself as I walked out determined to find the one piece of felt in the fabric bag and start a cutting and sewing frenzy.
I feel like I’ve just been waiting for an opportunity to come along, and this may just be it. It’s funny because I’ve been doing a bunch of embroidery lately, just goofing around. I’ve always done some sort of art, I just can’t help it.

I have a couple of samples made up and spent the lunchhour today making designs for more. I want them to be a little modern, not just cutesy. It’s hard designing something that you’re going to sell. I can make something for me, no problem, and I can make something for someone I know because I think of them and then create something they would like but making something to please someone I don’t even know is tougher. And they have to like it enough to spend money on it so there’s a little pressure. I started out with cutesey designs but found them uninspiring. I realized that if I don’t like the designs it’s unlikely anyone else will either. Even if they follow a set formula (flowers and hearts).

So, I’ve taken a new approach – I’m making stuff that I like – I’m pretending I’m the customer. Finally I have some designs I’m excited about!

Other Details:

I’m trying to figure out how much felt to buy when I don’t even know if I these will sell yet. I haven’t got a big budget for extra art supplies. But, really, it’s inexpensive compared to just about every other hobby.
The other thing is the name I came up with Is taken – Silver Sisters. I was quite attached to that name – it is in honour of my 2 daughters who have silver hair. I really like the sisters theme, there’s something in that that really resonates, but I have to go back to the drawing board. I don’t know anything about the business side, so will have to learn it all at some point. My plan right now is to make some samples, get some good designs, talk to my friend who will sell them and then eventually put some in her store on a trial basis. If they sell then I’ll figure out the business stuff. Develop a great product first and then worry about the rest.

Oh what fun!

Being a grown-up sucks

2009-04-17T10:08:00.002-06:00

Usually if I haven’t posted to my blog in a while it’s because I’m thinking big about something and am figuring out how to post about it. This post has had a lot of titles in my mind – Being a grown-up sucks, Taking off the Blinders, Budgeting isn’t for sissies, The Next Obsession…. Ya, so I’m not good at naming stuff, but also, this post is about a lot of things.

This post is about budgeting. I know, I know, the topic du jour. I was thinking about the going back to school thing and the main reason I can’t see it happening is because of money, and I can’t help thinking that if we had less debt or better control of our finances or something we could figure out a way to make it work. And I’ve been wanting a good budget for a while now (years…) but didn’t know how to actually do it. We made several full-hearted attempts and were pretty good at figuring out just where all that money went but didn’t have the tools to stop it from happening again the next month. I even used spreadsheets. I had graphs showing how quickly the money went out and how slowly it came in. So, I was telling a friend at work about my silly becoming-a-midwife dream and she showed me how to do it – budget that is. I started with the spreadsheet from this site and went from there (I know, it’s totally corny – I haven’t even really watched the show, but you have to start somewhere.). The key to this spreadsheet is the number at the very bottom. You fill in your fixed expenses and income and the difference has to pay for everything else. Kid’s classes, house and car repairs, gifts, clothes, food, coffees, gum, everything. And you take it out in Cash (I know, does anyone even use that anymore? (see here)) and when it’s gone it’s gone (i.e. you stop spending. I guess that’s the important part.).

And now this is the part where I thank my friend for all that bad budgeting advice because now I have a budget and I have to stick to it and being a grown-up sucks! It’s a very tight budget because we have debts and a nanny to pay for but I can’t ignore it because it’s reality. I don’t have more money than I have. It’s like when you’re decluttering and you can only keep as many books as you have bookshelves for. Physically. And now that we know what the number is we can’t go back to blindly, naively, innocently spending away.

So, I’m having weird internal debates like how many times are we planning on going swimming this summer because I REALLY need a new bathing suit (ahem to avoid unfortunate pool incidents…) but is it really worth spending money on it?

Now, I feel like a total dweeb even talking about this because everyone budgets, right? How have I not figured this out before now? Honestly, I have no idea.

OH, by the way, here are a couple of helpful websites I found in my mad driven web search:

http://gailvazoxlade.com/blog/
http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/
http://www.daveramsey.com/etc/cms/index.cfm?intContentID=4055

and finally, what to eat when you figure out you have no money:
rice and beans, please
and what to do with all the time you'll save not shopping for things you don't need:
upcycle this

And because I feel I need to lighten this post up a little, here's a couple of places to look when you start to get depressed and to take your mind off things:
http://craftfail.com/
I wish I was this creative

idea paint!

2009-04-08T11:41:00.002-06:00

idea paint!

ok, this is just too cool!
dry erase board paint.....

and you can order a free sample (here)

I just ordered one, I'll let you know if it actually comes. I can think of so many uses for this stuff, I might need more than one can... painting a wall (or two) in the new trailer, painting a big rectangle on the kids' bedroom wall, a big rectangle in the kitchen....

What's an Old Sould To Do?

2009-04-02T15:39:00.002-06:00

Someone said I had an old soul today. What a lovely compliment. Really.
Truth is I just feel old. OK, let me begin again. Have you ever met someone who is doing what they are meant to do? I’ve always been envious of these people. My husband is one of them. He’s been fixing vehicles before he could even drive, swapped out 9 engines before I let him buy an engine hoist. Mechanics is just in his blood. Well, when I went to university I had the hardest time figuring out what to do. The world opened up before a vast chasm of possibilities. So, I did the only sensible thing to do – faked it. I went to school and took a bunch of courses that sounded interesting and then took more of the interesting ones until I had a double major in linguistics and sociology. Not the most useful thing but what a fun degree. After that I temped and got an admin job and eventually worked my way up to the job I have now. I went where the current took me. And it’s a good job, don’t get me wrong, and I always think it’s funny I ended up working with engineers.
But something strange happened this week. Well, it was the catalyst, really, as there have been many signs that have been building up and up and up until now I can’t ignore it. The thing that happened this week is that a local college announced that it will be starting up a midwifery program. Even as I type this my heart jumps – midwifery, oh, how I want to do this! I think I could be really good at this, I am passionate about it. I remember when my friend had her baby last month and I rushed out to her house to deliver herbs and it wasn’t the usual cooing about the cute little baby, the empathy for the mother rose and I had to help her.
And then reality hits – if only I’d figured this out 10 years ago – oh, it was so easy to go to school then. It’s the money that’s getting me, and not even tuition, but my family needs my income every month. It’s impossible. I have a family, responsibilities, debts (student loans from last time, even!). But nothing is really impossible, I know, I just can’t figure out how to be able to do this. How do people manage to go back to school when they’re older? If only I knew. And so I feel old today. Not an old soul, but old and out of options.

I'd love some input here, anyone. Any thoughts?

This is the one with all the pictures

2009-03-22T12:44:00.005-06:00

This was supposed to be the post with all the pictures of all the fun stuff we've done lately but not blogged about because it needed pictures. Well, I finally got to sit down at the computer this weekend for a couple of minutes and downloaded these couple of pictures. Meanwhile youngest angel daughter unrolled a whole roll of cherry flavoured dental floss and elder angel daughter got into the bottom drawer of her dresser and toppled the whole thing over on top of herself. But at least I got my pictures. See what lenghts I go through? The rest of the pictures will have to wait until I get more dental floss.

These first ones are the dolls I made for Christmas for DD's dollhouse. She was suitably impressed. I made them all on my lunchhours at work from stuff I already had (or scammed off of other people).

This one is the princess. DD was all into princesses this year (yes, she's 4 and a girl and her favourite color is pink. surprised?)

This one is the baby. It might be hard to tell, but they all have streaks of white hair just like my girls and their dad. I was proud of the brown hair on the baby- I found that piece on the floor in my office. I know not everyone would think that is cool.

I decided I want to be the redhead.

This is a shirt that I painted for my brother in law for Christmas. He's a computer guy. I hope he actually wears it someday...

And this is the shirt that I painted for another brother in law. He's a comic collector. As an aside, I learned a valuable lesson with this project - stain resistant means paint resistant also.

There's a third shirt in the series that I don't think I got a picture of. It is for the third brother in law. It is a windshield with a bug smooshed on it (sewed on wool bits), and the tag says one one side: "sometimes you're the windshield" on the other side: "sometimes you're the bug"

My thumb was sore yesterday from embroidering, so it can't have been that bad of a weekend, right? Sometimes I get caught up in the disappointment of all the stuff I'd like to do but can't. This post is to remind me that we have done an awful lot of cool things lately. There are several times more pictures back home on the harddrive that didn't make it into this post. Like the morning we had stewed blueberries for breakfast, the birdhouses, several more shirt paintings. We're just not as well documented as some people, but it doesn't mean the richness isn't there. Sometimes I have to remind myself.

Is it too early to think about summer road trips??

2009-03-18T08:22:00.005-06:00

I found this Mary Poppins bag idea while blog surfing this am. We do a lot of road trips, so I'm filing the idea for later. Our baby (now 15 months, is she still really a baby?) doesn't have a lot of patience for travelling. She's always on the move, so sitting still in a car seat isn't her idea of a good time. Hopefully we can think of some ideas to keep her amused while we travel. Ideas anyone??

And, hooray, my first post with "no misspellings found". That deserves a cake or something.

Error: Universe not found. Contact your system administrator.

2009-03-17T07:56:00.004-06:00

I have this dream life where everything is modern and beautiful. I drive a small fuel-efficient car that is silver. Groceries are still carried to your car in paper bags with baguettes sticking out the top which can then be made into princess dresses for precious little children in glorious afternoons filled with crafting and reading books in the sun. Life is filled with simple and homemade and family (like this), and I'm cool enough to buy stuff off of etsy. Oh, ya, and I have this kitchen. Yes, this kitchen is my alternate reality. Look how clean and calming it is. A universe that doesn't require paperwork, balancing priorities or too too much effort.

sigh. one can have dreams, right?

Mmmmmm...

2009-03-10T08:23:00.003-06:00

1 cup milk
1/4 cup brown rice uncooked
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp. (or more) honey

Put in little dipper crockpot before bed. Top with chopped pumpkin seeds, raisins and milk and savour individual serving of steaming hot rice pudding for breakfast in the morning.

Lunch Today and Thoughts on Slow Food

2009-02-26T12:57:00.003-07:00

Today’s lunch was super quick to make. In fact, I had already gone to bed, too tired to think about packing a lunch, resigned to the fact that I would have to forage at the buffet in my office building. Finding myself up with a grumpy 1 year old at 3am I decided to “make lemonade from lemons” as it were, wandering around with a baby strapped to my back and pack a lunch. I just realized that it’s all premade so it was a super-quick and nutritious lunch to make.
Today’s bento has cut up chicken sausage – mmm… a favourite for sure – we had extra after supper one night so I cut it up an stuck it in the freezer. Actually, I cooked it and then held it back in the kitchen because whatever gets put on the table tends to get eaten. I also have 2 mini-banana muffins which were also frozen. The baggie said “sweet” so that’s promising. I probably actually put sugar in them. There was also homemade berry jello with blood oranges in it. For veggies I have cut up cucumber – precut in a container in the fridge – and baby carrots. So, all homemade and good for you, and all premade.
I was on a roll (and baby still not asleep) so continued to make a breakfast bento and a snack bento. Oh, ya! I may be tired today, but I am well fed. The snack bento was very similar to the lunch with a couple of pieces of sausage and cut up cauliflower and cucumber. The breakfast was superb – frozen strawberries dated “August 2008” and a frozen mini-quiche, again from the freezer, made from my friend’s “happy chickens”. Mmmm... summer strawberries and happy chickens - does it get any better than that??

I’ve been thinking a lot about the food we choose lately. I haven’t bought strawberries in the winter in a couple of years – they just taste like cardboard – but it wasn’t until this year that I really started to pay attention to what vegetables and fruits are in season. I’ve recently read “The 100 mile Diet” and have realized that to eat locally here means finding food in the summer and freezing it for the winter. Hence the August strawberries. Man, were they good. And hit the spot in the middle of winter when it seems like we’re in the middle of another 100 year ice age. Of course, I think I could plan to hoard away enough food to get one person through the winter, but I’m shopping for 2 kids and a nanny (who cooks, too) and a husband who hasn’t changed his lunch since junior high school. So it’s an uphill battle, to be sure. We all have our challenges.
I’m not thinking this way to change the world or anything big like that, it just doesn’t make sense to me that we insist on eating produce from Chile and China when, with some attention and planning, we could be eating far better quality stuff from actual farmers around here. It just makes more sense. I just found the Calgary slow food site which has a fantastic directory for sourcing local foods. I think some field trips will be in order this summer!

Thinking about Celebrating.

2009-02-23T11:55:00.002-07:00

Seriously – it’s the end of February already!
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and planning and scheming as of late about celebrating with our family. It’s almost Ayyam-i-ha time which is a 4 day long Baha’i celebration. The great thing about being a Baha’i (ok, not the only great thing) is that we don’t have so many traditions. Sometimes this is a pain in the butt because we don’t have a way already figured out to celebrate things, but this leaves us the freedom to make the celebration what we want. I’ve been trying to figure out how to do this for a while now. I grew up in a Baha’i family and we were pretty haphazard about celebrating. We tried various things from decorating mom’s jade tree to odd stealing gift exchanges.
Now that I’m the matriarch of my own little family (haha) I’m yearning to create some great memories for my family. Here is the product of my brainstorm this year:

4 types of things we’ll do:
Decorate
Celebrate
Community
Family

goals:
anticipate
flexible
fun
creative/ thoughtful
tradition
fresh

not:
consumerism
Christmas (my pet peeve – this is not Baha’i Christmas. Plus we also celebrate Christmas with other family, so it’s a big deal for me that this is distinct from Christmas.)
fussy
difficult
burden/obligation

Ayyam-i-ha is 4 days – why not take advantage of that?
4 Things:
1. fun activity
2. gift
3. service project
4. ?

I found 4 sturdy boxes with lids to decorate - they’ll contain something special for each day – a gift, a clue for a scavenger hunt or where to find something that wouldn’t fit in the boxes, materials to do some activity etc.

So, this year our 4 things are:
1. for A. – craft materials.
2. for A. - letters stamps.
3. community party at our house. this is our service project this year.
4. family trip to a nearby provincial park.

I don’t know why but the gifts are just for the kids so far. This only seems unfair when I think about it too much. I don’t have any gifts for the baby yet because I can’t figure out what to get her – another toy? I wanted to make some new booties for her but I ran out of time.

birth!

2009-02-20T15:17:00.002-07:00

My friend had her baby yesterday. A 10 lb baby girl. And wow, what a courageous birth it was. She laboured hard all night with no drugs, only to agree to a c-section in the morning because she had stopped dilating. After a little gas to calm things down while they waited for the doctors to get ready she finished dilating and pushed out that precious 10 lb er. They shipped her off to the city hospital for repairs which turned out to be less extensive than the country doctors had thought.
Now they’re all holed up at the grama’s house for a few days or recovery. I talked to the baby’s grama who has been a good friend for years. It’s pretty cute; she’s in a post-baby fog for sure. Having never been in labour herself (4 c-sections), she read, during early labour, the birthing book I had given the mom. She thanked me for the support and I was a bit taken back. She said no one else had been as supportive of natural birth. I thought it was a sad commentary that no one else had talked to her about that, because I hadn’t really done a lot. Loaned some books, that’s all, really. It made me realize that the little things I say make a difference – that sometimes people really are listening and hear what they need.
So, I’m going to bring over some herbs – callendula and comfrey for the mom’s bath, and stinging nettle and red raspberry leaf for the milk. It’ll be hard not to stay and visit and ooh and aah and be completely overbearing.

This Lesson is about Excess

2009-02-18T11:49:00.001-07:00

It took 4 days away from work to realize this. I have to write it down quickly before I forget. The problem is excess. And I speak personally here, but I think others can probably relate. Since I’ve started working again I snatch and steal every moment I have with my kids and partner and family I love, gathering up as many moments as I can like melting snowflakes. And now I see that I’ve been gathering other things as well, in an attempt to feel whole – food, “stuff”.
I could tell it was happening – I knew I was eating everything I could get my hands on. I could justify buying almost anything. It wasn’t like me, but I couldn’t stop it. When I was off work last year with the baby I had settled into a calmer approach to life. I skipped cake because I knew there would be more another day. Now I gobble it up, not wanting to miss anything. There’s an urgency about life. Not wanting to miss anything, but in process, missing the point. My goal is balance, and on the outside, I think this life looks like balance, but why can’t I let go and stop consuming, stop needing more? Because it’s not really balance. Or it’s balance, but something else is missing – the calm that balance was supposed to bring.
I feel like I need to let go, but am afraid of what that would mean. I still don’t want to miss anything.

wow, has it really been 9 days since that last post?!?

2009-02-12T13:25:00.001-07:00

Life has just gotten a little crazy at work. I was on a (very useful) project management course Monday and Tuesday, barely in my office because of meetings yesterday and finally taking a deep breath today! I don't really get near the computer at home much anymore. I check my email on the Internet from work and then download and delete at home on the weekends.

There are tonnes of pictures on my camera that are just waiting for me to have a spare moment to download them. Sadly, the green line problem seems to still be there, so I need to figure out where to take my camera to get cleaned. Professionally. Because Dearest Mechanic Husband almost gave me a heart attack with what he tried to do to it last night (see this post about the ill-fated ipod). I took some pictures last night that I am really excited about. A., who is really becoming a beautiful girl, rather than a little kid, had her hair done up in a bun with flower barrettes all around it. With my fast 50mm lens I was able to catch the picture indoors at night without a flash. The colors turned out fantastic - oh, I am so happy! Except for that darn green line through every picture that i really need to figure out.

I also discovered an exquisitely simple "recipe" for non-wheat pizza crust. This one comes from a good friend who also can't eat wheat. Her recipe is 1 cup spelt flour, 1 cup milk, 1 Tbsp oil and a pinch of salt. Well, I've already alluded to my inability to follow any recipe, so this is my adaptation which everyone in my little family just loved. Pizza is the one big thing I really missed when I went off of wheat. There's just no substitute.

Simple Pizza Crust
Approx: 1 1/2 cups spelt or other flour.
1 cup milk.
a little salt a little baking soda.
1 Tbsp oil.
mix until it forms a dough. pat onto baking pan. Top with a little olive oil, Italian spices, an garlic powder.
Bake at 350 until cooked.
Top with pizza toppings and bake again until cheeze is gloriously melty. Yes, melty is a word.

Other news: R. (14 months) started taking steps on her own the day before yesterday. It was great fun. We all laughed and played and she teetered around. Until she crashed and thumped her head. She was a little more cautious after that and wasn’t taking steps on her own at all yesterday. She’s also started doing something a little disturbing. You know when babies are going to cry and there’s a pause first and you know the longer the pause the louder the cry will be? Well, R. holds her breath like this until she passes out. She’s only out for a second or two – long enough to take a breath in – then she looks confused, like she’s forgotten why she’s so upset. Apparently this is completely normal, though somewhat disconcerting. It was downright frightening the first time it happened because she was in the bath. She had just figured out how to open the shampoo bottle and had closed it on her thumb. So, I see the deep breath in, go to un-pinch her thumb and she flops face-first into the water. I hauled out really quickly, thank goodness, I don’t know what would have happened if I’d been farther away.

Oh, ya, and it's my birthday today. So far, So good.

2009-02-03T08:09:00.002-07:00

If I only win one thing this year let it be this from here.
Both are blogs I click on every day for inspiration (and distraction at work).
t.

2009-01-30T16:01:00.002-07:00

If it wasn't already 4:02 and I have to get out of the office I'd be gettig out the credit card and ordering this book. This is exactly the direction I want to head with our family. I've been reading the Soulemama blog for a while now along with quite a few others along the same lines and am feeling like I've found home. So, here's a blog post so I don't forget where to find this new inspiration.

Pursuit

2009-01-30T14:45:00.001-07:00

It was during one of those teething nights when the nightmare pursued me. Baby was restless, waking up every half hour or so wanting to nurse, and not really happy with that. I was so absolutely exhausted. This was the fourth night in a row with no sleep. It was one of those nightmares that picks up where it left off when you fall back to sleep, so you wish to not sleep or try to fill your thoughts with happy things like puppies and visions of fields of wildflowers and sunshine and laughter. I kept on waking up and going back to sleep, so the nightmare lasted for several hours.

It was a cannibal that pursued me. It chased me and I ran and I hid and it never quite caught up with me. The dream was rather frightening, really, me skulking around in the dark, being hunted. Almost being caught and devoured again and again. Eventually, as I rolled over to feed and calm the baby once again, I thought of my uncle counselling my mom about killing nuisance crows, and came up with a way to deal with the cannibal. We crushed up some pills and soaked a big red steak in that and then put it out in the garbage for the cannibal to find. Finally the cannibal was sedated for a moment. Of course, we reasoned that it would be a good idea to restrain it, should it wake up and renew the pursuit, refreshed from the nap. It was precisely at this point that the greater meaning of the dream became absolutely clear. Like a curtain lifted, I understood immediately. We restrained the now drooling cannibal in a child’s car seat bucket. I suddenly recognized the cannibal to be my own baby, drooling from teething and literally eating from me all night long.

What a horrible night.

2009-01-23T07:32:00.002-07:00

Why I am glad it's freaking cold here:

At least we don't have this problem.

It's currently -25C. Water froze long ago. Only things with thick fur coats live at these temperatures and most of those hide in dens and sleep until mother nature gets a little more reasonable. I feel like hunkering down for a bit with a good book and a cup of something warm and soothing wrapped in quilts in an overstuffed ottoman.

Happy Winter Everyone.

Sometimes you just need to take a deep breath.

2009-01-21T09:47:00.000-07:00

Take the other morning for example.
I am trying to leave the house for work early in the morning on one of those really cold days. You know the kind. Where you just want to shrink down into your parka like a turtle into it’s shell.

Eldest Daughter is starting to loose it. “Mommy, I will sure miss you when you’re gone. Mommy, you know why I’ll miss you? Because you’re not here.” And then the tears start and the lower lip gets all puffy and we start the 10 minutes of hugs at the door. “ok, last hug, mommy has to go.” “ok, last hug, daddy is waiting” and I’m inching closer to the door. By the time she starts really sobbing I have one foot out the door and cold air is swirling around us. She is begging for “one more hug”. She pleads “Mommy, make me feel better mommy” and she’s frantic now and I say “I don’t think I can make you feel better sweetie” and now she is blubbering and I have top make her repeat it twice “Make me take a deep breath, Mommy”.
OK, this is different, I think. So I bend over in the doorway, cold air rushing around us and hold her in my arms and tell her to breath deep and we stay in the doorway, breathing deeply together for a minute until she’s calm enough to finally let go. And I move out the door into the world and she retreats back into the house to have breakfast in her pyjamas.

Making Broth - The Lazy Way

2009-01-12T15:31:00.004-07:00

I keep seeing instructions for making stock by boiling huge post of bones on the stove for hours. Just to keep the record straight, there really is a better way to do this, folks. A lazier, easier way.

Get out your crockpot. Fill it with bones (eat the meat first.) and vegetable scraps (I have a special bag in the freezer to collect vegetable scraps for the next time I am making stock. If you don't have anything collected add at least add one carrot). Fill the rest with water and add a splash of vinegar. Put the lid on, turn it on to low and walk away for 12 hours or so. It really is that easy. After 12 hours strain the liquid out and discard everything else (it will be tasteless anyway). I like to store my broth in med sized zipper baggies in the freezer. Then I can pull one out whenever I decided I need it with no forethought or planning whatsoever. My kinda convenience...

One more thing - I like to put the bones and soggy vegetables into a big zipper bag (with tongs) before discarding because I don't like smelly garbage. It's to save the dogs' sanity, really.

I'm a little bit of a nut about my stock. Just to show how much of a geek I have become (thanking all the engineers I am blessed to work with) I took the ultimate step at thanksgiving and measured the longest turkey bone before going to the store to purchase a new crockpot. I wanted to make sure the bird bones would fit. Yes, I know. There's no going back now.

Now, you might wonder what to do with all this wonderful stock now that you've made it. My favourite use is to cook rice in it. Adds flavour and nutrients. It's also good in stews, soups and sauces. If you eat couscous or quinoa you can use that as the cooking liquid. Of course, there's always chicken noodle soup...

4 yr. old Does Bento

2009-01-08T15:46:00.002-07:00

lunch packing time has become a special mother-daughter time in our house. It's usually done after the baby is asleep and daddy is watching tv downstairs or in the garage, so it's just me and the big kid left. She's taken to packing a lunch or snack for her and the nanny while I pack mine. (Baby has to forage, I guess) At first I led the way, but she's not concerned with rules and form, so now she leads the way and I just help out. They can always suppliment from the fridge at mealtime.
The first one she did by herself had a container of yogurt, a whole avocado and a mandarine orange. Only two of those items fit in the box at one time, and the lid wouldn't fit on with the yogurt in there. So we cut up the avocado and split it between several people's lunches, included the orange and put the yogurt (and spoon) on top of the box after the lid was on. Today's bento snacks were more minimal. Cherry tomatos in sauce cups (2 tomatos fit inside one one oz. cup with minimal squishage), Half a slice of cheeze, 1 cube of honeydew and one cube of cantelope. good thing it's only a snack.
Oh what fun it is to prepare lunch with my 4 year old. Life is good.

Mmmmmm.... Purple Potatoes!

2009-01-03T17:57:00.002-07:00

I did not tweek any of these photos. I swear. Aren't these potatoes lovely??
They made me think of Disposable Aardvark's all purple lunch.

This is a Shepherd's pie with Turkey cut up on the bottom layer mixed with leftover gravy. Then there were leftover carrrots and frozen peas, topped off with mashed potatoes. I think it tastes even better with mashed sweet potatoes but others in my house find that just a little too wierd.
Here is a picture of the whole thing finished and in the oven. I actually ended up pulling it out of the oven soon after that as we were invited over to the inlaws for supper. One less meal to figure out this week.

Things to do with Leftover Turkey

2009-01-03T08:27:00.004-07:00

In honor of the turkey I bought because it was on sale last week, and I couldn't resist:

supper:
turkey quesadillas
turkey tacos
indian butter turkey
fried rice
turkey casserole (peas and noodles)
shepherd's pie

lunch:
turkey salad (mayo, grapes)
turkey salad with pesto
turkey rice wraps or salad wraps
fried rice
Pasta Salad
turkey barley soup
turkey noodle soup (for sickos)

freezer:
turkey bits for baby
turkey bits for fried rice
turkey bits for turkey noodle soup

and, of course,
stock with the bones

On Food

2008-12-29T13:00:00.003-07:00

I found a nice little summary pocket guide here on the foods that have the highest and lowest pesticide exposure. Did you know that (according to their website) you can cut your pesticide exposure by 90% if you avoid or buy organic the top 12 offenders?

Interestingly, I found that a couple of things I always buy organically are on the best list, so I am going to reconsider buying these organically (onions, avocado, broccoli). Of course, this only looks at how much pesticides the end product has, not how much is poured onto the plants and into the soil. Buying organic is almost always better but can be awfully expensive.

I'm also trying to figure out how to eat more local and fresh foods. The 100 mile diet where I live takes a lot of effort. Our growing season is so darn short that most of the year almost nothing is in season. I've realized that probably the best way to do this is preserve food from the summer to eat in the winter - isn't that what our prairie ancestors did? So, hopefully I can plan things next summer to put the best summer fruits and vegetables in the freezer and we can rely on stuff shipped from Peru a little less. Another idea I had was to grow food indoors. Our house is just too small right now and the light's not very good for indoor gardening... I'm trying to figure out if I can do this even on a small scale. Herb pots, anyone?

What weird thing did your kid ask for?

2008-12-29T07:58:00.004-07:00

I am wondering what the weirdest things people's kids have asked for for Christmas. This one asked for a Japanese encyclopedia which he reads for hours on end. Mine asked for a doll potty for her doll house. What did yours ask for??

I had the best Christmas yet. Took the week off work and spent the whole time with my girls. We made things, played, baked, and played some more. The baby's getting to be a real nut. She loves stairs and is getting safer on them, thankfully. She is one determined little booger. Her current obsession is my drawer in the bathroom. She sneaks up there whenever she can and tries to open and empty the drawer onto the floor. We put the step stool in front of it which she hasn't figured out a way around yet, but now she steps onto that and opens daddy's drawer. It's only a matter of time before she figures out that if she gets off of the stool she would be able to open his drawer all the way, and then - I am picturing it in my head - Party Time!

A Bento Post with Pictures!

2008-12-28T07:49:00.003-07:00

Angie asked for bento pictures so here they are! We went out off-roading this weekend with the whole bunch of us so I made bentos for me and the girls.

contents:
mine: baked hashbrowns, diced turkey leftovers, boiled egg, broccoli slices, apple slices, boiled egg (from my friend's happy chickens, yum!), blue cheeze (just because) and mango jello with a strawberry in the middle. (there were lids on the blue cheeze and jello, I just took them off for the photos.)
DD1: (bottom): boiled egg, honey orange (these things are teeny tiny), cut up apple, hashbrowns, broccoli slices. We added a strawberry (from frozen, not pictured) after she asked for mango jello with no jello.
DD2: (top) hashbrowns, cubed broccoli, cubed apple, egg yolks. Later we added some cubed turkey because there was some left over after daddy made his sandwich. she is such a big protein eater, I'm not sure this lunch would have quite done it for her.

Cooling hashbrowns. Now I have leftovers for another meal. Cooling before packing is one of the bento rules - if you don't you get condensation all over the inside of your box and everything's soggy. Also, we dipped the apples in emergen-c so they wouldn't brown.

My lunch was packed in a 800ml lock and lock box which is too big for me. I am usually careful to pack less calorie dense things in this box because it's just huge. The kids' lunches were packed in 296ml boxes. They never eat it all, but I can't find smaller boxes (that I like) for them. I use this size box for my breakfasts at work and it is just perfect. (To figure out what size box you should be using go here. I am nursing and find a 700ml box to be just about right most of the time)

verdict: when it's really cold out cold food is cold. this would have been a good lunch in the summer. Auntie A's thermos of soup looked pretty good....

The mango jello was Divine.

Special gifts for my special girls.

2008-12-28T07:07:00.002-07:00

Special gifts for my special girls. I got bitten by the crafter's homemade bug big time this year. I made (or am still making) quite a few of our christmas gifts this year. I decided to make something special for each of my girls. This one is for the baby. It's an ugly doll. She didn't turn out at all as I imagined, but I think she has spunk. Kinda like the recipient. Dontcha just want to just poke her eyes out?
She's made from an upcycled brown faux-suede skirt. Her hair is made from some wool that my grama's grama brought from the maritimes when they moved west. It's old and it's family. I love that the doll has red hair. So much fun. Part of the challenge of this project was to use materials that I already had (or that other people already had). The whites of the eyes are leftover material from my wedding dress. Auntie J gave us the ribbon on the foot - it's velvet - and the stuffing. Thank you, Anutie J!

I love her teeth. They're meant to look like R's teeth when I made the doll, but she keeps sprouting more teeth, so it doesn't look like her anymore. DH suggested adding broken glass to the ends of her fingers to make her more realistic. What was he thinking?

You might just get Pizza Casserole

2008-12-19T12:36:00.004-07:00

A new family favourite was born this week. Pizza Casserole. This one is so easy and adaptable, it'll have a place on everyone's weekly menu.

Bottom Layer: Noodles (cooked - I used small penne but was thinking small shells would be ideal) and Crushed Tomatoes. Spice as you would pizza sauce which for me means lots of Oregano. Use lots of spices or you won't taste them at all. I used Rice noodles which always end up a little mushy when baked, but it made it edible for me (yay wheat intolerance), so I didn't complain. Neither did anyone else. It couldn't have been too bad. Don't use too much noodle mixture (an inch in the bottom of your casserole dish at most). This dish is about the toppings, not the noodles. Think Pizza.

Layer #2: Half a bag of spinach. This layer has nothing to do with actual pizza but is a good way to add more greens to the meal. It bakes down into a paper-thin layer.

Layer #3: Toppings. I used a generous layer of Mexican spiced beef (ground beef and chilli powder and tomato sauce), and yellow and red peppers (frozen from the summer harvest...yum). Feel free to go wild. Feel free to go vegetarian or make your own favourite pizza. I'm trying to think of gourmet toppings to use next time.

Layer#4: Cheeze. Lots of stretchy mozzarella. What pizza would be complete without cheeze? OK, I know, I know, but we're not in Italy, are we? I also added bacon bits and cheddar on top to simulate one of our favourite pizzas.

Bake 1/2 hour (or until cheeze looks melty) in a casserole dish at 350.

I'm embarrassed at how easy this is. I ate it 4 times last week - 2 suppers and 2 lunches. And I wouldn't be surprised if it shows up again on next week's menu.

friends

2008-12-16T09:27:00.003-07:00

There is so much going on in the blogs to think about. Really good conversation. I love it.

I can't get out of my head Angie's post about the basis of friendships. She's talking about authentic friendships that are based on something more than "child raising, cooking, where to get the best snow gear, or how to save money at the grocery store". I can't quite figure out how to respond because I like hearing about the day to day of how everyone is managing. I like to know how other people are responding to the same challenges I am. Or hearing about what it's like to be living in someone else's shoes. I think you can see a lot about people from how they face life's challenges. We get a glimpse of who they are. I see this in some of the photography blogs I follow - pictures of ordinary things that are beautiful in themselves - because I can see the beauty in the everyday.
At the same time, I get what she is saying, we can be so superficial, and I know I have some friends who really listen to what I am saying and know me for who I am, and others who just listen to the words and keep things on the surface.
I am stumbling on my words here, and the thought feels half-formed, but I didn't want to let it go. I read Angie's blog a lot and she talks about ordinary things all the time, and I'm wondering what a friendship would look like without that.... what if every conversation was only about "deep" stuff? I think that would feel superficial, too.
In fact, now that I think about this, I know someone like that, and it feels like we have nothing in common, even though we really, really do, and it's an awful lot of work any time we converse. Sometimes I feel like I'm not good enough when I talk to her about how our life is going because I can't tie it all back to some underlying life-theme. I've learned to be guarded about what I say because I might be asked to delve deeper. I even tried to talk to her about it once and she didn't get it. She didn't see any importance in talking about day to day life. Darn it, I give up!

Bento lunches:

2008-12-10T10:43:00.003-07:00

When you follow the rules sometimes that makes things easier.
I've been making bento lunches since returning to work in November. For the most part they have been a haphazard mix of whatever I could scrounge up in the fridge. All be it, a yummy hodgepodge, and they certainly filled the hole, but lacking an underlying organization.
Then I read Just Bento's post and decided to try the 1:1:2 guideline. 1 part carbs, 1 part protein and 2 parts veggies. That's 1/4 of the container carbs, 1/4 protein and half veggies or fruits. Roughly. (You notice I call it a guideline rather than a rule...I'm not so good with rules)
Well, how much simpler that makes my lunches. They're more elegant now, and quicker, too. Probably about the same yumminess as before, but there is a zen factor in getting in your groove.

"OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!"

2008-12-08T08:19:00.000-07:00

A lot of things would change if I were Emperor. I was going to go for Benevolent Dictator but thought Emperor sounded more vague. Easier to do right.

We’d put all the grumpy people on one floor. I think the grumpy floor would be really quiet. They'd probably all hide in their offices. They’d probably like that. Until they all filed out into the elevator, then look out.

Do you think we could put all the people who actually like donuts on one floor? Then the rest of us wouldn't have to face them every time we go by the kitchen.

I've been practicing:

"OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!"

pretty good, eh?

I get to be the queen at home sometimes... you know, the princesses’ mom...
It's more of a figurehead role, though, mostly for show, the princesses get to have the real fun. As Emperor I'll really get things done. Plus the wardrobe is more promising (think The Emperor's New Clothes… could be interesting).

I have it all planned out.
I'd make things and take half-fuzzy pictures all day long and when I got tired of that I'd go for long walks in the woods and drink fancy coffees with good friends. I mean Emporial Advisers.
And I'm sure I'd just wear jeans. But I'd splurge for ones that fit. And nice shoes. Definitely nice shoes.

I don't want to go too crazy as emperor. You know, save some for social programs (like coffee dates for everyone - let them eat cake.). Yes, everyone in "the land" would be happy. There would be puppies and butterflies and children skipping in fields. Why not?

Ahhh....one can dream, can't she?

All funded by exorbitant taxes. Naturally.

I am really going to have to learn to spell emperor right if this is going to work.

Spelt Cookies

2008-12-05T08:43:00.002-07:00

Here is a recipe for spelt cookies that I am dying to try. It's from my newest favourite blog of a mom-artist who just had a little baby girl. She's one of those people that I mentioned earlier whose life I want to be.

1 spoon and 1 plate and 1 cup and 1 fork

2008-12-04T13:59:00.003-07:00

Kids are so funny with their Christmas requests. Last year A. wanted a dollhouse, and she got it. But the ponies don’t fit on the furniture so this year she is asking for a doll for the dollhouse. Just one. I think she thinks she is more likely to get it if she only asks for one. And she wants 1 spoon and 1 plate and 1 cup and 1 fork. I told her that I had looked in the stores and couldn’t find any of those so she might not get it for Christmas. She told me that was ok, she wanted Santa to get it for her.
Well, I found it today – whole miniature placesettings, and yes, I splurged and got a whole set for 4. (They came in the box together.) There is even a turkey and a cheese tray and a miniature jellyroll. Then I spied the toilet and my heart skipped a beat – a Toilet! I’m not sure who designed the original dollhouse, but they forgot the toilet. It was missed immediately. This is a big deal. Where are the dolls supposed to go to the bathroom? There were three lamps and a wardrobe and even a footstool, but no toilet. Hmmm…..anyone who’s spent any time at all with preschoolers knows that toilets are very important.

Oh, I know all this miniature stuff is bound to be lost in a day or two, and I’m hoping none of it gets ingested by baby sister, but now the dollhouse will be complete – after I finish all the dolls, that is! I’ve come upon a stumbling block with the dolls – teeny tiny clothes are very hard to make. You basically have to sew them on. So I am getting creative and everyone’s wearing wool sweaters and tights. At least the hair is going well except that I don’t have any brown yarn so everyone either has blond, orange or white hair (I’m skipping green). Works for me, my kids have bits of white anyway, so I’m hoping to pretend I meant it that way. They’re an eclectic crew, and I promise to take (and post) a picture when they’re all done - probably Christmas Eve knowing me (pressure-prompted, anyone?).

Now I just have to figure out how to make a princess dress with yarn and embroidery floss. Wish me luck.

2008-12-03T15:33:00.007-07:00

Oh, I wish I had time to blog all the stuff I am thinking of!

Christmas is coming and I have, once again, committed to making too many gifts. I just can't stand buying something ho hum when I can make something I'm really happy about giving. Nothing this year is as complicated as the birdhouses we constructed last year. I did learn from that. Of course, I don't think an unplanned birth will mess up the production schedule as it did last year (Can you believe it's almost been a whole year?!). I hope everyone likes what they're getting. Nothing is very big and it's all a little quirky and full of heart. I tried to stick to stuff I know how to do like painting and stuff that doesn't need to be perfect - like ugly dolls.

Also related to Christmas I wanted to post about lessons we're learning about advertising and buying stuff. Being 4 makes one so much more aware of the world. I'll blog about this later. Because it's ongoing and completely appropriate for the upcoming holidays.

Also on the list to blog about:
toothy babies that I miss so much,
a wonderful nanny,
(pink and sparkly) good times shopping with a preschooler,
other blogs I read whose lives I want to copy,
bento goodness,
and a rant asking people to stop asking if I'm glad to be back at work

And since no one in real life seems to be discussing it, what the heck is going on with Canadian politics?? I picked a fine year to start voting, let me tell ya. I can't stand politics at the best of times, and now they're talking about a Frankenstein-type coalition coup. I've heard pretty big rhetoric from both sides and am worried about our politics degenerating to one big squabbling match and power grab. That's certainly not what I voted for. I don't think that's what anybody voted for.

Vegetables save the world....again.

2008-11-20T14:19:00.003-07:00

ok, go to u-tube and check this out. I think animated vegetables are the ONLY way to get a serious message across. I am surprised they aren't used in the corporate world more often. I think more people would come to department meetings if the managers all got a little creative.

Why I wish I had a small(er) camera, and what I love about bento this week. Yes, they're related.

2008-11-18T08:35:00.006-07:00

I want to post so many things with pictures but never seem to get to the computer at home anymore to download some. In fact, there's not a day that goes by that I don't wish I had my camera with me. Yesterday it was first to capture the crane rising into the fog with building half torn apart in the foreground. It was such a juxtaposition between magnificent rising into the clouds and broken down-ness that I was intrigued. Progress and destruction. Renewal and decomposition.
Then as we drove home and got to the top of the hill the sky lit up above the mountains in bright pink firey clouds and the town was completely engulfed in billowing white clouds. It was surreal. And we descended down into the clouds and my driving partner commented that now it was night, and I thought that no one down here knows the magic thing going on up above. And soon it became unbelievable even to us that there was anything other than what we were seeing down below.

But this post was supposed to be about bento. I was reading this article (I love the title: finding my balance) yesterday and thinking about the bento lunches I've been packing lately. They're rather a hodgepodge of whatever will fit into the spaces in the box. A yummy hodgepodge, I have to say, and I've been so happy with them, but today I created something that is simpler. My lunch is calming. And I wish I had a picture because describing it is pretty lame. I can't wait for lunchtime, and have been showing everyone at work my geeky bento creation.

Creating bento lunches has been an unexpected joy - I love making them. It satisfies my need for creativity. I hope it doesn't loose that appeal.

Ho Hum. I can't believe I've never posted about photography before. Or at least used the tag. If I had a teeny camera I could tuck it in my pocket and snap pictures at will. And download blog ones at work. But would I ever be happy with that?

Bendy Dolls!

2008-11-14T07:30:00.003-07:00

OK, you asked!

A. randomly commented the other day that she needs dolls for her doll house. I thought she was having fun playing with her ponies there but apparently they are too big for the bed so it doesn't really work. So I looked up dolls on etsy and found these bendy dolls. Then I found a tutorial on making them yourself, and voila, now I have something to do every lunchhour between now and Christmas. Here are more examples of finished dolls, and I couldn't resist bookmarking these pirates.

Mine don't have feet. I'm trying to do it without buying much extra materials. I figure I have lots of craft stuff at home to use (even though we purged a lot...doh!). (More on this these another time, I'm trying to retrain myself into using what we have rather than buying the solution to our problems. Like I said, more later.) I did buy some pink fabric and wooden heads, though. I didn't have any fabric that's pink and that's A's favourite color right now.

I just put a head on the doll that I made last week and it didn't fit! I think if I don't wrap the neck all the way up the head will fit. He needs clothes. He'll look better clothed. Then you won't notice how odd his body is....oh, they're going to look pretty eclectic! The green fuzz of the pipecleaner sticks through a bit. I may have to wrap him again... maybe striped legs...
Oh what fun. I'd like to make a boy, a girl, a kid and a baby for sure (you know, our family). Then, if there's time I'll add a pirate and a fairy and maybe some aunts or gramas. (And maybe another baby, har har) I have some lovely white wool so someone's going to have white hair.

And this is what I am thinking of making for R. (now 10 months old):
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13879490
Should be easy enough as it's random. I'll sew on eyes instead of using buttons so she doesn't chew them off with those razor teeth and swallow them. She would so that.

We'll see if I have enough time for all the projects I'd like to do!

Sauce Cups and G-F pasta- An Interesting day

2008-10-17T22:42:00.002-06:00

I finally made it to the wholesale club store to find my sauce cups. I have become enamoured with bento boxes of late and am collecting the equipment and supplies to make them when I return to work (only 2 weeks left ; (
Much simpler than hunting around for cutesy Hello Kitty gear I perused the tupperwear aisle at my local grocery store using, and using these guidelines, picked out a couple of tupperwear boxes that fit my needs. For sauce and dip containers I bought some 1 oz take-out containersat the wholesale club. And voila! We're in business. Problem is the little containers come in packages of 250. For my needs, 25 would be plenty, so I'm wondering where I can unload a whole bunch of extra sauce containers. I mean share the love.

Also, have to rave about Chianti's restaurant. They have Gluten-free pasta and bread. I forgot what it is like to be able to order whatever you want off of the menu. I had the seafood special and it was spectacular.

ok, too tired to type anymore.....

Risotto!! Easy, Delicious and Good For You!

2008-10-08T22:02:00.004-06:00

I have found the perfect risotto recipe!! Perfect in every way. Easy, Tasty (even hubby likes it, and he doesn't like either of the main ingredients in anything else.) and best of all it's super Healthy!!!

I'm not sure how much of a problem it is for copyrights to post a recipe here. I do recommend buying the whole book as there are tonnes of yummy healthy recipes in it. It's called
"The Ultimate Healthy Eating Plan
that still leaves room for chocolate"

by Liz Pearson and Marilyn Smith

(Liz Pearson's website is here. She has a new book out, Ultimate Foods For Ultimate Health, which appears to be the old book updated with new chapters added. I hope it still has this recipe.)

For those of you who haven't made traditional risotto from scratch, know that it's a labour intensive project. Yes, project. You have to stir and stir and stir for at least an hour. You get a book and a stool and sit at the stove and stir. It's made mostly of white rice which is nutritiously little better than Styrofoam. There's butter and heavy cream involved, which I'm not totally against, just not so good for the waistline - and I'm trying hard to get me one of those back. waistlines, I mean.

This new risotto recipe is nothing like it's predecessor.
Brown rice, Butternut squash. Simmer for an hour.
You don't even really need to stir it until the end when you add some high quality Parmesan. Brilliant! Absolutely Brilliant.

Nanny Saga

2008-10-08T21:38:00.005-06:00

Well, it's been a busy month. Since getting back from holidays we've been looking for a nanny. Yes, it's really been since the end of August and we're still looking. We interviewed a lovely girl named Rose who was working in Taiwan, but originally from the Philippines. We decided to hire her and started the paperwork. She was originally hired by the family in Taiwan to take care of an elderly man with Alzheimer's. Really, she worked in their day care/school, though. Her contract stipulated that if the gentleman passed away the contract would be terminated. What do you know, before she could get her visa application in to come to Canada, the guy died and they sent her home. 6 weeks before she was supposed to come here. I'm told it's a 2 year process for her now to get out of the Philippines again.

So we interviewed some more and found a nanny from China who is already here in Canada and is looking for work. We met her, interviewed her, offered her the job, had her over for supper, gave her a contract and she emailed back the next day to set up a time to sign the contract. An hour later she emailed back saying she's gotten another offer from a Chinese family in the city (she really wanted to work in the city) and had to decide which offer to take. You can guess how this story ends.

So now we are STILL looking for a nanny. I still think a nanny is the way to go for us. Not having to get the kids up and out the door by 6am scores big points in my books. Having someone clean the house scores big points. Plus, it will be the same cost as putting 2 kids in a dayhome.

Throughout all of this we have been in contact with numerous agencies. Only one has actually been the least bit interested in actually helping us out - she is the one who found Rose, our first choice. You'd think they'd be more interested in our business; I'm not sure why they're not.

I'm beyond frustrated. I'm loosing hope that we will ever actually find a nanny. I feel like I'm wasting my time looking for a nanny. Third time lucky, maybe? Right now we'd take just about anyone. Axe murderers, tile setters, anyone.

Humpty Dumpty

2008-09-22T08:29:00.001-06:00

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall;
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the King's horses
And all of his friends
Went to the store
to buy glue
to put Humpty together again.

Lessons learned from decluttering.

2008-09-03T08:41:00.004-06:00

We're going through a drawer in the kitchen and I realize that my darling daughter really has been listening to the clutter banter and is, indeed, smarter than me.

kid: i think we should get rid of this.
mom: it's a pastry blender, we should keep it.
kid: but you never use it.
mom: it's for making pie.
kid: you never make pie.
mom: I'm just not ready to get rid of it yet!

Truth is I used to make pie before I had a full-time job and kids. I used to watch tv, too. i don't miss the tv, but someday, maybe 20 years from now, when the kids take less effort on my part, I'd like to make pie crusts from scratch again. I'll cook bran muffins for my husband, too, and volunteer, and maybe write poetry.

TOYS...we are overrun with them.

2008-08-25T10:15:00.007-06:00

Kids toys are always a problem.

I just found an interesting blog post here about one mom's struggle with toys. She's so right, you know, you buy some expensive thing and the kids end up playing with the cardboard box it came in.

We have toys in 3 areas in our house. And they areoverspilling the containers.

One of those areas is the TV room. Kids watch tv in the tv room, not play with toys, so I'd love to get rid of this area as a toy dumping place. What do you do with used toys you want to get rid of?? It makes me sick to throw everything away, but I don't know of a charity that takes used toys.

I know some people who have everything (adults) and I noticed that they give eachother gifts of things to do at giftgiving times. A hotel stay somewhere, theatre tickets, that kind of thing. I think we should do this for kids. Zoo passes or a trip to the science center would be much appreciated in the midst of the toy chaos of birthdays and christmas.

But of course, I'm just as guilty as anyone for buying my kids stuff. Just look at my house, it's full of stuff I've bought. And I know in my head that stuff is not going to make us any happier, and yet I buy more of it everyday.

Recently A asked if we could sell all her toys so I could buy her new ones. We made a deal that if she got rid of 6 toys I would buy her one new one. we shook on it and everything. She found 11 toys in the end and it was definitely worth buying one extra to see them all go. What a good lesson in letting go. So I got on one of the bulletin boards and offered them free for shipping. It went less smoothly than imagined, but at least we didn't have to throw them away.

Now we just have to tackle the other 97 stuffies.

Egg Poacher

2008-08-14T22:30:00.003-06:00

I'm not sure why the picture is sideways (I tried to fix it, but my computer is obviously smarter than I am). In response to Jess B's query this is the Egg Poacher I mentioned in the previous post that needs a good home. Used once so is in great shape still. You fill the bottom with water, put eggs in the little cups (non-stick, of course) and cook on the stove. Voila. Perfectly round poached eggs. (Comes with real instructions, too.) Needs a new home because I'm a little too 'Jamie Oliver' for this. I have no idea how many years I've had this (maybe 5?) and only used it once, so it's being evicted. Sorry, it's me not you, Egg Poacher.

phogh update and project get my house back...

2008-08-14T20:13:00.006-06:00

well, we're back from holidays and only lost 3 fish. Under the care of a good friend, the other 4 have weathered the storm and looks like they are here for the long haul. phewph. I thought about those silly water children every day I was away. I take being a fish mommy seriously. very seriously. probably too seriously.

Holidays were good. we came back early. the jeep broke. drive shaft and axle shaft. Good thing my husband's a mechanic. We're glad to be home.

I arrived home with new energy and excitement about getting our house in order.
I'm trying to feed that fire now. You see, our house is a bit of a clutter pit. yup; we'll never be neat freaks. But this is it, our house needs to shape up or ship out. and I have until i go back to work to do it. I'm pretty proud of the fact that I managed to clean out all but one shelf in the kitchen closet today. It's beautiful. Glorious empty space. well, a little anyway. One cupboard down, rest of the house to go. Truth be told, I was looking for the mini crock pot I got for my birthday so I could make a batch of rice cereal for the baby (who is currently squirming on my lap). I never did find it, but we won't have to buy dry cereal for a long time. Or maybe the food bank will get a donation, i haven't decided yet.

Want Some Stuff???

If anyone wants an egg poaching set, I have one to give away. It's a nice one, we just don't eat poached eggs. Also a large floral brown chair, assorted books, a mop head, kids toys, a loving dog and misc. yarn and crafty stuff. There's too much stuff to list, so if you know I own something and you know of an alternate home for it let me know, or if you're looking for something let me know.

Is there any hope for my fish, and anything else I can do?

2008-07-31T23:15:00.004-06:00

Just when I think I'm going to abandon this blog something comes up I need to write about. It's the fish.

I have 5 Angelfish, a rainbow shark and a pleco. I've had most of them for about 2 years without problems.

I noticed this morning that the tank was cloudy (white) and all the fish (except the pleco) were at the top of the tank gulping air. The pump wasn't working. I quickly did a 50% water change and cleaned the pump which started working again. I switched out the old carbon filter for an ammonia filter thinking it was an ammonia problem from not having cleaned the tank soon enough. All the fish started swimming around as normal again.

I come in this evening and the tank is super cloudy again and 3 of the angels are dead. The other 2 angels and sharkfish are gulping at the surface as before. I did a 30% water change (It's not good to change too much, right?) and added some aquarium salt.

Is there anything else I can do? Are the rest of the fish doomed?? Does anyone out there know about any of this stuff??

ferraby lionheart

2008-07-01T23:14:00.002-06:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQyZk1mgQDQ&eurl=

this is a cute little music video.
yes, there are still nice people out there.

g.

No Junk July - Ammended

2008-07-01T17:50:00.005-06:00

OK, I've been thinking it through and am ammending the No Junk July to include everything else. I will not purchase anything that is junk. No stickers, no toys at the dollar store, no magazines.....I will think long and hard before bringing anything home. My life doesn't need any more junk.

Actually I don't think this part will be really hard. I don't THINK I buy a lot of junk to begin with, but it's the summer, and I tend to buy silly things on and in anticipation of holidays.

g.

No Junk July Begins Today!

2008-07-01T13:29:00.002-06:00

No Junk July begins today!
No junk food for a whole month. Should be doable, right??

The hard part will be travelling and camping which we do a lot of in the summer. Actually I'm planning on being away a lot this month, so this should be a good reminder to plan to have decent food on hand rather than having to resort to gas station "food".

g.

Favourite Bowl.

2008-06-23T11:59:00.004-06:00

Coming home from a potluck I was ballancing 2 bowls and a backpack in one hand while carrying a baby bucket in the other hand while looking behind me at the 4 year old. Well, it didn't work, the bowls slipped and crashed onto the sidewalk. There was quinoa salad everywhere and jagged reamins of my favourite large serving bowl. I use (used) that bowl for everything. We got it as a wedding present 10 years ago, and, looking on the bright side of the tragedy, I should say that it did last 10 years which is pretty good.

And the thought came to me as I stared at the remains that this is just like motherhood. Trying to carry too many things at the same time. Eventually something is going to slip. Hopefully my partner will come rushing out to help clean up when it does, just like he did with my favourite bowl.

Egg Pizza!

2008-06-18T08:59:00.004-06:00

post #101 is a recipe. This is my new favourite that I just invented last night.

Egg Pizza. For everyone who likes pizza but doesn't like crust.

I used a 10 inch cast iron pan and added a good dollop of butter in the bottom so it didn't stick. I used this pan so that I could saute some yellow peppers for toppings first and only have dirtied one pan. You could also use a quiche pan, and it would be prettier but make sure you do something so it doesn't all stick to the bottom.

6 eggs - mixed up. you don't have to beat them, or add anything else. Just put them in your pan and stick it in the oven. The egg should form a thin even layer on the bottom of the pan. This is your crust. Cook until the egg just sets (you're going to cook it some more later.). If you overcook it will be rubbery.

brush on tomato sauce
sprinkle oregano, italian spices and garlic powder.
add toppings (mine were sauteed leeks and yellow peppers)
add cheeze (I always use part-skim because it's less oily. Add Monteray Jack for extra flava.)
I added mushrooms on top. They make for a less mushy pizza that way.

Broil until cheeze is nice and brown. Serve to family and wait for the compliments to start coming in. This is serious pizza, baby, you'll all need forks for this one.

Even Mr.Picky Carboholic Husband liked this one. He sceptically took one piece to begin with and then went back for seconds. He knows to be suspicious of my cooking. 4 year old Darling Daughter ate quite a bit, too, probably thanks to all that cheeze.

A whole long rant to say that a little show of respect every once in a while would go a long way.

2008-06-14T23:29:00.005-06:00

It's 11:30 at night and this is exactly how I am feeling. Being the mom is very lonely sometimes, yet I crave to actually get time to myself.

The hubby and I had a discussion a couple of weeks ago that is still bugging me.
We've been married 10 years and I'm still trying to get my way and it's still not working. When will I learn to just give up and give in?
The issue is mealtimes and dishes. Well, that's just part of the issue, but it's where I'll start. Growing up, it was always the rule in my house that the person who cooked supper didn't have to do the dishes. And we always said thanks to whoever had cooked us the meal. Always. It's just polite. It's acknowledging that someone went through to work to cook your meal so they were exempt from doing the dishes.

No matter how hard I've tried I can't get this to stick in my house. I cook almost all the meals and then the dishes are still there in the morning. Sometimes we get busy and they don't get done for several days (I know, I know, the horror! The secret's out; I'm not Martha.). Then hubby grumbles and does them, we have a discussion about how wouldn't it be easier if they got done every night, and I am supposed to be eternally grateful that he does dishes once or twice a month.

This brings me to the conversation that's still bugging me. Apparently I am not doing enough around the house. Possibly true. OK, probably true. But I don't accept responsibility for everything that needs to be done around here. To which my husband says "But I did dishes last night". If he hadn't grumbled and sighed and said that wouldn't it be better if I just did them every night, implying that it really was my job, then I would maybe buy the argument. I did laundry the whole time he cleaned the kitchen. In fact I always do the laundry. And put both kids to bed. And cook all the meals, and grocery shop. And entertain and take care of 2 kids every weekday, weekend, evening and through the night. When I want to do something I think about how I am going to do this with kids along. It must be nice to be able to take off and get stuff done without having to first figure out what about the kids. To run into a store to grab an item and not have it take a half hour. To take off for an entire day without figuring out childcare first (take off for an entire day? now, that's a pipe dream.). It must be nice to read a book before bed every night, not worrying about having to take care of the children demanding attention. Of course, I say this all with rather a lot of sarcasm, but, you know, it would be nice, every once in a while, to be thanked instead of grumbled at for not having done enough.
Maybe I would start my own company, too, if I had spare time.

Now, DH is probably fuming by now, if he's even managed to read this far without his head exploding, and I must say he is a hard working guy who loves his family. Really, you're only getting my side of the story. I'm sure he'd tell you I'm lazy, sitting on my butt all day surfing the internet while he brings home the paycheck. I think I've addressed all that above. All I'm saying is that a little show of respect every once in a while would go a long way.

2008-06-05T13:26:00.002-06:00

Things I want to remember about May:

Nerds up the nose
Doing whatever A wanted on her birthday
that great picture I got of R.
the AHA camera moment - learning how to meter differently
the shade of green of the new leaves
A. and her new friend camping

Things I don't want to remember about May:
getting ready for camping
2 kids pooping on the same couch at the same time

Hummus

2008-06-05T13:25:00.000-06:00

1 can chickpeas
1/2 lemon (juice)
2 TBSP olive oil (or more if you need it thinner)
2-6 TBSP ground sesame seeds or sunflower seeds (opt.)
2-5 cloves garlic
salt and pepper to taste

whir it all up in a food processor until smooth. Add more oil if it won't move. My mom adds chopped up kalamata olives for fun and it's yummy. Obviously this is a throw-it-together-till-it-tastes-good recipe with amounts varried as you like. You can also add roasted red pepper or roasted garlic for something different. Someone I know uses yogurt instead of the oil. I haven't tried that yet.

My 4 yr old loves it. I like it with cucumber slices.

poop

2008-05-08T21:40:00.003-06:00

I try not to blog about poop too much. I'm sure I'd regret it later and alienate readers now, but this one is priceless.

My darling daughter (the older one) came downstairs this afternoon and said she wanted to show me something that was "so cute". There were two poops in the toilet and apparently they were cuddling. Awwww....how cute....spooning poop.

OK, it was hillarious this afternoon. Sorry.

The story of How I came to be mopping the purple kitchen floor at 10:30pm.

2008-05-05T22:40:00.004-06:00

We were behind the 8-ball all day. Baby is teething and not sleeping, so I woke up tired and grumpy, and barely moving. We didn't make it out of the house until after 2 in the afternoon, I'll spare you the tedious details. If you don't have kids yet, or think a second one would be fun, quit reading now.

The evening went something like this:

drag child to bathroom. yes, drag.
get out supper ingredients.
convince child that she doesn't need to be in her bedroom to take clothes off.
supervise poop clean up.
cut meat for supper.
cuddle crying baby and attempt to feed.
change diaper.
administer teething drops, finally feed baby.
cut up broccoli for supper.
confiscate scissors.
cuddle crying baby who has flipped onto her stomach.
change diaper.
baby goes to sleep.
start cooking stirfry.
baby wakes up.
keep cooking stirfry.
baby cries.
go to get husband for dinner. he's not there.
get baby.
change diaper.
set table (holding baby).
complain about house being messy. to the 4 yr. old.
eat supper (holding baby).
give husband cold shoulder when he finally comes in.
change diaper.
put baby to bed.
set up crafts for 4 yr old and imaginary friend.
clear table, clean kitchen, do dishes, dole out paint portions.
clean up crafts.
remove alligator from bath tub.
put 4 yr old in bath, and help her scrub off face paint.
put 4 yr old on toilet and have discussion about the finer points of pooping.
do chair yoga with child on toilet.
make smoothee. blueberry.
play hand games with child on toilet.
put alligator back in bathtub.
feed baby.
hear crash.
conversation about spilled smoothee. apparently it's "everywhere" and "dripping on the floor".
regret adding blueberries.
finish feeding baby.
mop floor while daddy reads stories and gets cuddles.
blog about how much fun it is to have 2 little kids.
wonder where the month of april went.

Do you post pictures of your kids on the internet??

2008-04-16T08:38:00.005-06:00

An interesting discussion is going on here (follow the links for some interesting comments) about posting pictures of your children on the internet. You've probably noticed I don't do it. Their father asked me not to, so I don't have to think about it much. I remember a thread on one cloth diapering board I frequent about how people had found an adult cloth diaper fetish site with pictures of THEIR KIDS ON IT. The creeps had copied the pictures from the original site where moms had innocently put them up to show off this or that new diaper. N'uff said. Not my kids.

You'll just have to imagine how darn adorable my two youngsters are.....or visit their aunties' facebook pages....

Tips for carsickness:

2008-04-15T14:21:00.001-06:00

1. gingersnaps.
2. preggie pops.

Monday Menu Plan Day

2008-04-14T20:35:00.003-06:00

1. Sausage and chicken stew with rice
2. wednesday - roast (on big time sale!), roasted baby potatoes
3. "shake and bake" chicken
4. BBQ pork chops
and...
5. tonight - breaded fish, cauliflower, tomatoes with brie. Man, am I ever a sucker for brie....well, any kind of cheeze, actually. This was not the cheapest meal ever, but the brie was sure worth it!

And while we're on the subject of food, I must report on the recipe I linked to last week. Lactose Intolerant friends may want to avoid that one. Wow, was that ever a lot of cheeze, and I really like cheeze. Maybe if it wasn't a pizza where you pile even more cheeze on top the crust probably would have been really good. It held together really well and was quite tasty.

I also have found that my big kid child LOVES hummus. She gobbles it up. She ate it tonight instead of supper. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined she'd like it. So, I guess I'll have to make that more often. Grama D. puts olives in it and it's so yummy, so I bought some of those to try.

Well, I'm getting tired of hearing baby crying (I'm building up my tolerance (just kidding)) so better sign off.

Stubborn Love on a Pedestal

2008-04-09T09:37:00.006-06:00

Maybe you can tell I've been avoiding this blog.

I'm feeling ambivalent about the subject. It's that darn carrier I raved so much about. OK, so, not a rave, exactly, but I did stay up late thinking about it. Yes, I am a geek.
Well, I got it and it didn't change my world. It is good, but not infomercial good. I wrote the support people an email and they said my baby is just too small. They fit better when 4-5 months old. Now, I have small babies, and this one was a month early, so that's 5-6 or more months old, and that's at least 2 months from now. But I am stubbornly determined to use it. And love it, darn it. I will never get approval from the department of labor and finance for a new one, so this is it.

I guess I just thought it would replace everything, but still found myself snuggling the teething (yes, already), screaming baby in the sling last night. Nothing beats a sling for snuggling, but having her buckled to my back sure wins out for long walks. I'm certain I could walk for longer than she could go between feedings and diaper changes. Once we can get the legs in the proper places I'm sure we'll love it more. Because I'm that determined. or shall we call it stubborn.

I'm not a dollar store girl. I'd rather buy one high quality thing than 4 things that I will use up, break and throw out. I find that I'm happier in the long run if I buy less, but higher quality. Usually. Until times like this when I do the research, shell out the bucks, and am disappointed. I have a feeling that I'm only disappointed because I thought the world would change with this one purchase, and then, when it didn't I felt let down. The product itself didn't claim infomercial status, it was me that put it up on a pedestal.

They say the first step is admitting you have a problem. What's the second step??

Meal Plan Monday

2008-04-07T15:26:00.003-06:00

The Plan this week:

1. pizzas. mine will be with this recipe which is wheat free. I hope it turns out, as I've been missing pizza.

2. chicken skewers. was supposed to be with tzaziki sauce but I forgot to buy cucumber, so I'm not sure what kind of sauce, if any, will show up.

3. stir fry. beef.

4. and 5. casserole from the freezer. Because I said so.

The Perfect Couple.

2008-03-30T05:37:00.000-06:00

Monday Meal Plan Day

2008-03-25T16:08:00.004-06:00

I saw this on a blog somewhere (wish I could find it now). Of course, it's Tuesday, but here's the plan for the week:

1. Chicken Meatballs and fresh veggies. This one is fun because you don't use any utensils. A green apple in the meatballs make them moist and delicious. In theory anyway.

2. Wednesday - we always have my sister in law and her husband over, so it's a big meal.
Something with ground beef - either spaghetti or chili or meatloaf. Probably Chilli if I have a can of beans. The beef was on sale and I bought a giant pack of it. I figure I can brown some of it and freeze it for another meal. Use up green peppers.

3. Flank Steak and salad. Also on Sale. Leftover flank steak will be for lunches. I need to find a good spice rub or something for the flank steak. Use big tomatoes and cucumbers.

4. Jambalaya. I have Shrimp and Scallops in the freezer. Will need to cook rice ahead of time.

So there you have it. Four days worth of food.

Ahhh....what will the next week hold??

2008-03-25T11:30:00.004-06:00

I managed to turn about half of my prefolds blue today. A good start to the week, if you ask me.
For reasons that escape me now, I washed my favourite blue scarf (thank you, sis) with a load of diapers. I had dipped the scarf in pancake syrop, and kept forgetting to throw it in with the wash.

Now, the prefolds are blue. With yellow serged edges.

So, now they're in the wash again, with lots of oxyclean in hopes that they return to their former glory. If it doesn't work out I'll just be glad I bought prefolds and not goodmamas. Hahahaha... that's my positive thought for the day.

In other news, the impetigo cleared up right away after dousing with tea tree oil and antibiotics. I have my face back! The scars are going away quickly and i can now go out in public and not get tormented by children. It seems silly, but it was a little traumatic. The best comment was my neighbour who asked if I'd gotten punched in the face. Next best were the looks on the parents' faces as the children at music class attacked. It was a mix of disgust and feeling sorry for me.

Ahhh....what will the next week hold??

One Word

2008-03-19T15:42:00.000-06:00

Impetigo.
Oh What Fun.

Oh, I get excited about the smallest things...

2008-03-17T12:55:00.002-06:00

Here is a peak at the lovely package that arrived in my mailbox.

Yummy!! 50 custom wipes!

I waited 3 weeks for these to come in the mail and I'm so excited that they're actually here! And more colorful and lovely than I even imagined. Now i will never run out of wipes again. There's a box of them in the kitchen for big sister to wash her hands with, and a box on the changetable for baby's bum. I even put a little stash in the downstairs bathroom for cleaning hands and bums that need it down there. All in all, I think I could fill 4 standard wipes boxes with the number I have! Overkill?? Maybe, but not expensive overkill, and useful overkill. Plus the grin on my face is worth something.

bought a baby carrier...

2008-03-17T06:35:00.003-06:00

ok, i am currently hbak - holding baby at keyboard - so can't type much.
so why am i on the computer at 6am and not asleep? well, first off, getting up was not my idea.
but now i have to share my new purchase - i'm so excited i wish i could exclamate.
it's a calyx baby carrier. follow the link. it's a thing of beauty. now's the hard part, waiting patiently by the mailbox.

yes, i know this an ironic post to come after the frugalilty blood-let. i know.

g.

Frugality

2008-03-12T14:04:00.006-06:00

I'm trying to say it nicely, but the truth is we spend more than we have. And I don't just mean our family, I think it's rampant in this culture. Now that I'm on mat leave my income is down to half of what it was before, and we're trying to be proactive about cutting spending before we have no credit left. I realize how silly this sounds. But we all start somewhere, right. Right?

Challenge #1: Think Before You Buy
The idea was to stop buying all those little things we really don't need. My affluent-minded self would see something I liked and just buy it without thinking so much about how badly I wanted/needed it. Now I'm trying to think before I buy and only actually come home with stuff I really, really want. This is harder done than said.
Case in point, I came home from the grocery store on Monday with 2 cookbooks. I really love the cookbooks, but do we really need them?? I'm sure if I hadn't bought them I would not have even remembered that I'd seen them.
As a secondary benefit, I am hoping that the house will suffer from less clutter in the future.

Challenge #2: Eat out Less
Eating out should be a treat, not done because you don't want to cook dinner. We had dinner out the other night with a group of friends, and ended up going over to one of their houses afterwards. I think we all wished we had skipped dinner and gone there in the first place.
Actually, I think we're doing really well with this one. We've definitely cut down a lot lately, and I think it'll make a big difference in the budget.

Challenge #3: Groceries
This is the new challenge. How can I make the grocery bill lower. I think there is quite a lot of wiggle room here. I am an expensive eater. Only the best for my family! HaHa. I've stopped ordering organic delivery groceries. I sure love that company but just can't justify the expense right now. This week I am going to look for recipes that cost less to make. I think Steak is probably out, as is roast chicken for lunches.

The Mister has stopped going out to Tim's for a coffee and muffin every morning - that adds up. I have stopped looking for the perfect diaper cover. I'm not in love with the ones I have, but they will do the job - at least until Munchie is into the next size. Another dozen prefolds would be nice, but I can do laundry every 2 days instead of every 3.

My big addiction is books and magazines. I'm addicted to reading. addicted to knowledge and new ideas. or maybe I just like to look at the pictures. I get home and realize I've bought another book without thinking. Silly girl. We need to spend more time at the library where books are free.

That said, the real sacrifice is still to come. There are a couple of big(ish) purchases I really would like to make, and I still have to decide how badly I want them and see how the the budget is doing in a month or 2 (and consult with The Mister).
One is the baby carrier that I raved about earlier in the blog - Munchie is getting bigger, and the sling is hard on my back for long distance travel. I tried a wrap, but, honestly, though I love how it feels to wear it, it's a pain in the butt to put on. Really rather ridiculous.
The other purchase is a yoga class. I don't know if I've raved about yoga on this blog yet, but it makes a big difference in my life. I feel whole when I do it. And I seem to need a class to do it. A friend is the local Ashtanga instructor, and I really want to take his class for a session.

What's needed is a change in attitude, or focus. Mindfulness about purchases. A. often asks if we can go to a store to buy something when she is bored. I am trying to explain to her that we'll go to the store if we need something, but not just to look around. She doesn't like this at all, but I tell myself that I am trying to teach her a useful lesson about "stuff" making us happy.

And in the end my crazy little hidden hope is that if we can figure out how to spend enough less I will be able to stay home with the kids after my mat leave is over (and that's a subject for another post). I don't really believe it is possible, as most of our monthly expenses are debts, but one can try, right?

KUDMAN

2008-03-12T14:00:00.003-06:00

I wish I spoke whatever language this blog is in. Some of the photos are pretty funny. Like the Bert and Ernie. And I am curious to know what's up with that cake....

We might need a ladder...

2008-03-01T15:17:00.004-07:00

"If daddy makes his Jeep big and big and big then he will need a ladder to get into it."

Ahhh.... How perceptive children are.

I also hope she always laughs hysterically when daddy says the word "minivan". I WISH I had taught her that.

This, by the way, is the fate of the old jeep. Oops. The roof was crushed so it's start-over time. (none of the humans were hurt. we get to keep them.) The parts for the new jeep came in yesterday, which is why this is on the brain. I can't wait till spring and camping and gardening and farmer's market season comes. I've got the spring itch, for sure.

Peace, gratefulbambina.

2008-02-27T10:53:00.004-07:00

Peace, gratefulbambina.

I went upstairs to play with some beads I'd gotten from a group of pregnant moms i'm part of when I realized that one of the beads is from a woman whose baby died during labour. It was accompanied by a poem about being a birthing goddess. If anyone has the strength of a goddess it is the woman who births her child knowing she will never hear him cry or see him smile.

I hope you find peace, gratefulbambina.

(Here is a link to Grateful's blog)

Lunar Eclipse

2008-02-21T12:01:00.003-07:00

There was a complete lunar eclipse last night. Miracuaously, it was clear and bright where I live, so I played around with the camera on manual mode and the tripod and got the following pics. Enjoy.

My Favourite Diaper Cover is from Taiwan

2008-02-17T16:37:00.004-07:00

I finally found a diaper cover I like. But I got it second hand from a friend who got it in taiwan. The only tag says "new born", no brand name or anything. I'm looking for more, so please let me know if you recognize this cover.

outside:
inside:
the two sides velcro together in the front, and then the back part comes up and velcros to the front.
tada! fully assembled on baby:
This is a very trim cover, and although it has a rubberized type of material inside, it's very soft and flexible. Not stiff plasticy at all.

Bad Mother of The Year Award

2008-02-09T15:01:00.001-07:00

Yes, officially, I am the Bad Mother of the Year.
At least according to the people at the coffee shop yesterday.
Now, I've not wanted to blog about potty training because I know my 2 readers probably aren't interested in more talk about poop. One because he's had enough converations about poop to last a lifetime, the other because she hasn't had those conversations yet, and still might decide to have kids one day if we don't scare her off first. But (sadly) the topic bodily functions keeps coming up in our household, so here goes.
Yes, I might be the Worst Mother Ever. That's what the teenege girls who man the coffee shop thought as I nonchalantly conversed with a friend as my eldest daughter bellowed from the bathroom. They seemed genuinely concerned that someone had left their child alone in the bathroom in obvious disstress.
"I was waiting for her to ASK for help" I said as I brushed by them on the way to Rescue.
"One day You'll understand".
Indeed, one day their kid will probably stick out their tongue and say something like "I don't want to be your friend anymore", to which you will say "ok", and walk away, and wait until they decide they need you again. You will wait until they really want it and are yelling loudly. And you'll ge the Bad Parent Award, too.

Officially Cloth Diapering!

2008-02-05T16:01:00.001-07:00

We are officially cloth diapering as of this week! We have 1 dozen prefolds and 1 cover that fits, but we're going for it anyway. I've scored another couple dozen prefolds new, but prepped off of a used diaper site (1 doz. NB orange edge, 1doz. infant yellow edge and 1 doz. brown edge).

I've been a little preoccupied as of late. I finally decided I wanted to get prefolds and that the newborn size would be the best. Then found out that the place that sells that size won't ship to canada. So I've spent far too much time scouring the internet for either some used ones or another solution. In a flash of clarity, nursing the baby early one morning, I realized that if i folded the green edged prefolds I have the other way they fit into the newborn covers. (They are 11x13, and the nb covers are 11 inches long.)

Now I need wetbags, pail liners and wipes and we'll be set. I'm looking for a good deal on wetbags because the beautiful ones I had on the registry are too expensive (see www.happytushies.com). I've already spent a lot this week with my big batch of prefolds. For wipes we're using about a dozen baby washcloths. It's not enough, and I have a line on a WAHM who makes some beautiful ones for cheap.

Oh, ya, and as soon as I find some wool wash I can start using the wool soakers at night. But I'm not getting them dirty until I have the capacity to clean them. So far I've been chicken to use cloth at night, but will have to do it one day. I'll let ya know how it goes...

So, that's why I've not been blogging - too much time spent trying to find diapers! Lame, I know, but what can you do? I tend to get my mind fixed on something and then that's all I think about for a while. I'm sure you can tell because I blog about one thing for days on end, and then suddenly switch to another obsessive topic.

2008-01-29T15:46:00.001-07:00

2 pictures of the day R. was born. A sunset and a sunrise.
First the sunset out the hospital window as we waited in the triage room for a nurse to be available. 6pm. The nurse was there at 10pm and the pitocin started at midnight.

Then the sunrise the next morning. The mister took this picture. I was nursing a newborn at the time. 9am.

It's a hot chocolate by the fire kind of day.

2008-01-27T15:36:00.001-07:00

Beco Butterfly

2008-01-27T12:05:00.000-07:00

Here is the carrier that I want. That I drool over. The Beco Butterfly.
We're fine with the ring sling for now, but as R. gets bigger something with two shoulders would be better. This one is Beauty-full. The new design was just released in January, and I've been waiting to see it. Yes, I'm am mommy-geek.
g.

What!?

2008-01-25T16:59:00.001-07:00

I am, apparently, the only mom in my yoga class who is breastfeeding their kid. Now, I must say, I haven't asked any of them about it, maybe there are really valid reasons, but all of them?? Impossible. I'm a little shocked. I thought it was so mainstream here. Doesn't almost everyone breastfeed their infants?? (or at least more than 20%?) I've seen organic clothes and even cloth diapers, and the moms are doing yoga.....but not breastfeeding? In my books breastfeeding is more important than all of that. The health benefits, alone, are hard to ignore, both for mom and baby.
What gives?

More on The Diaper Saga.

2008-01-20T17:19:00.000-07:00

So I finally decided that the newborn size prefolds would be our best bet (see 2 posts back), based mostly on the fact that Munchie is a good eater and won't be small for long. This was a couple of days ago.
So I go on to the computer, credit card in hand, only to discover that the place with the newborn size prefolds doesn't ship to Canada. What??!? (Apparently "It's not that easy" according to their website. Yes, I don't get it; don't get me started.) None of the other stores carry the newborn size, only preemie and infant. After far too much time on the internet (most of it way too early in the morning) I've come up with what I think is the cheapest solution. You see, newborn prefolds are the same width as the infant size, just a few inches shorter. Infant size is easy to find used, and I even have some, so the current plan is to cut down the infant prefolds I have into the newborn size. I can always get more infant prefolds later. (HAHA, aren't I smart. OK, someone else suggested it.) Now I'm just spending some good internet time finding some newborn size covers. Hopefully I can get some good ones used, and we're off to the races. I'm gunna start with the dozen prefolds I have now, see how it all works out, and then invest in some more. Yes, I'm taking this really slowly. I'm cautious about spending a lot of $$ when I don't know if the system I've chosen will work for us, or if we'll even stick to it. I think we will stick to it, though. I'm stubborn. Really stubborn.

2am - and a warning to all my children.

2008-01-16T02:00:00.000-07:00

Someone please tell my children that I turn into a terrible monster between midnight and 5am. Really. Mean old mom has no patience for anything. Please eat, poop, have nightmares, and get fussy at other times of the day. I'm all yours the other 19 hours, but heaven help you if you wake the monster - consider yourselves warned.

Yes, it's 2am. No, I haven't had any sleep yet tonight. Yes, I think I have a right to be grumpy.

Don't like it? Go suck on a soother.

2008-01-15T09:10:00.000-07:00

Forgive me, I'm new at this, and trying to figure out how to diaper a little little baby. She was born 5lbs 10 oz, and is now probably 6 lbs.

Here's an infant prefold. Ignore the bad snappi job - it was my first time EVER.

Obviously gigantic. There is quite a bit of material folded over in the front.

Here it is in my favourite cover - a minkey Jamtots berry plush. Unfortunately, it's huge on her right now. It's the smallest I have other than a preemie litewrap which won't fit over this gigantic prefold.

Now the question is if I should get some preemie prefolds or nb prefolds. (Go to green mountain diapers if you don't know what I'm talking about.) And of course, a new cover or 2 that fit under 9 lbs. Here (striped preemie) is the one I am thinking of. It says it fits until 9 lbs.

Advice??

2008-01-11T12:11:00.000-07:00

New babies always remind me of little old men.
Maybe it's the sparseness of the hair, or the wrinkles on their foreheads.
Maybe it's the double chins, or the cheeks that hang down past their chins.
Mostly I think it's the way they stare off into space, trying to remember something. I love those sly little grins.

Old souls in new bodies.

Happy Anniversary

2008-01-07T10:08:00.000-07:00

It was either grade 8 or grade 9 Valentine's dance at school that he first asked me out. Things were rather official back then. One of my friends had talked to him and asked me what I would say if he asked me out. I said I thought I'd say yes. She went back and talked to him again, and then he asked me to dance. I don't remember the song, but it was something slow. And that's how it all started.

We celebrated our 10th anniversary this week.

We "went out" for a couple of years in high school, but, you know, when you meet the person you are supposed to marry at age 14, but you're horribly immature and not even close to being ready to get married, things are doomed. I'd say we broke up, but really, it was me that broke it off, and him who would never give up. I like to joke that I married my stalker. That's not really how it was, but he just wouldn't give up on us. It drove me nuts, to tell you the truth.

I think it's a good idea to spend some time not in love with the person you eventually marry. You get to see them as they really are, not through the optimism of romance. You know what you are getting into.

Eventually we got back together, but it wasn't the official thing it had first been. We just spent more and more time together, and then more and more time together and then ALL our time together. We gently fell in love again.

I was 21 when we got married. He was 22. I still lived with my parents, and was halfway through university. We had to wait until one of us got a job so we would have somewhere to live other than mom and dad's before getting married. His job wasn't stellar (he hated it), but it paid the rent. The first few years were tough. We had no money, and even less money management skills. We always seemed to slip between the cracks of everything there was to help people with low incomes. We lied on our student loan applications just to get enough money to put food on the table. I think I was rather tough on him, too, because I knew that we were building patterns that would last the rest of our lives. A young idealist, I wasn't about to be stuck in the housewife role, cooking and cleaning, but I'd certainly let him do all the mechanics, and dirty work.

I could go on and on, but I have a 2 week old and a 3 year old, and precious little time for reminiscing. Ours is a long and twisted story, with plenty of ups and downs. We've come a long way, baby. Long gone are the conversations, hopefully joking, about if we split up I'd get the computer and you'd get the truck. Do you believe in fate, destiny? This is just the way it was meant to be. I feel it in my bones, like you always have. Happy anniversary, honey.

2007-12-29T10:06:00.000-07:00

I have a feeling that things could have gone so much worse. Many doctors (in the states at least) won't even allow a VBAC induction, so I think we are fortunate that we even got to try. I was worried about what it would be like to have an induction - I've heard the horror stories - but ours went incredibly well. I wouldn't say it was the perfect birth because, to me, that happens out of the hospital with just me the mister and the midwife (not a room full of 10 people cheering you on), but it really was a great birth in spite of it all.

The midwife says that she thinks that sometimes when a baby needs to come out quickly mother nature steps in and gives you a quick birth. Our fluid level wasn't just low, it was almost non-existent. They broke my waters and no water came out. They weren't sure they even got it. Later there was one little trickle, but no other water ever did show up. No one knows why. They speculated that maybe there was something wrong with the placenta (hence quick induction), but the baby did fabulously, and the placenta looked great when it came out (We got to look, it was really cool. Mister says it's like a big liver, which is a good analogy, as it functions much like a liver. A liver with a bag attached.). Who knows what would have happened if we'd left her in there to cook a little longer. Maybe she would have been fine. Maybe not. We decided to induce when we did because we knew she was doing really well, and had the best chance of tolerating labour. Maybe she would not have tolerated it a week or two later, and we would have ended up with a c-section. I think, given the information we had at the time, we made the best decision possible. That's the best you can do.

The midwife says that "Little Munchie" is doing better than lots of full-term babies she's seen. She's very healthy, no jaundice at all, eating really well, and pooping up a storm. I feel like I'm in a dream. One where I'm grinning all the time. And napping. Oh, the napping. I am a lucky girl.

2007-12-27T08:44:00.000-07:00

You know, this VBAC thing is so many million miles different from my first baby. It's day 5 and I'm smiling! And walking around. And talking to people without bawling. I feel grounded. And I feel so much more connected to my baby. She feels familiar to me. I haven't once asked to give her back to the doctors.
It's a good place to be in.