Arriba Arriba Undalay Undalay!!

I’m nervous! Nervous about packing everything, nervous about the flight, nervous about getting up at 3:30am! Was I this nervous at the final hour of a trip before Little E?

We are staying at a very simple 3 star resort. Most members of Daddy C’s family have stayed there at least once, some have stayed for nearly nine years now, so we call it the family resort. I’m excited to check it out!

BUT, I’m really worried that there won’t be Internet! I may have to hiatus from writing for a week; PLEASE don’t forget about me! I will let you know as soon as I’m back and will give you a full (and colourful) update of the trip.

So for now, adios amigos and much tequila laced love…

Foodie Friday!

I made bean burgers for Little E the other day, and since I neglectfully forgot about Foodie Friday last week (slap of the hand) here is the recipe that I altered from Rebar cookbook (a fab Victoria vegetarian restaurant):

1 can of organic black beans (15 fl oz)

¼ of a red onion

1 clove of garlic

1 cup of uncooked Kale

¼ tsp of ground coriander

¼ tsp of ground cumin

¾ cup of cooked quinoa

¼ cup of bread crumbs

Fry the Onion until transparent, add the Garlic, Coriander and Cumin and sauté for a further minute then add the Kale and cook until bright green and slightly wilted. Let cool.

Put all but 1/3 cup of the Black Beans, the cooked Quinoa and the cooled Onion mixture into a food processor and blend until mostly smooth. Add the blended mix to the remaining Black Beans, Bread Crumbs and mix.

Form mixture into 10 palm-sized patties and dredge in Oat Flour. Fry in a lightly oiled pan and serve. (Little E likes avocado slices on the side ;)

Pretty in Pink

Tickity tickity tak goes the sound of my fancy shiny nails on the keys.

New hands and feet, fresh for Mexico in 2 sleeps!

Update on the three major deeds to be done before liftoff…

Passport – ordered – to be ready for pick-up tomorrow (Friday) morning - better be!

Sun screen – Ombrelle for babies, apparently great for sensitive skin.

Bathing suit top – borrowed from Sister/Auntie Soph. I couldn’t face the mall, or the boobs under fluorescent lights. (You will get a glamour shot on a Mexican beach instead).

For now I hope you’ll settle for fluorescent pink toes…

Flip Out!

Little E went to gymnastics today!

I asked her to do the ring routine we have been practicing with the triple flip dismount, but since we were only dropping in she thought it more polite to let the other babies show her around.

They have it all!

Jump Gymnastics in Yaletown have classes for all ages and I swear it helps with agility and crawling/walking/triple flip skills. The little girl who invited us was quite advanced.

It was a good thing Little E didn’t pull out her stops because we may have been squashed by the superior abilities of the mini gymnasts that were gracing the mats.

We’ll be signing up for the next session for sure!

http://www.jumpgymnastics.ca

Still Teething!

Half hour naps again!?!

I thought we were past that!

With Little E’s penchant for cruising, I was thoroughly enjoying hour to hour and a half naps. It was so nice to be able to get things done without having to intervene between Little E and floor hits.

She just woke up after 25 mins. This has been the first time that I have been able to do an altered version of the nap routine* and put her back to bed…we’ll see how long it lasts…

Fourteen minutes.

Could this still be teething, almost 2 months later??

* Regular routine is: nurse, change, dance to a few songs in the kitchen till she falls asleep. Short form is: nurse, bounce in the dark bedroom and down she goes.

I'll take it Straight!

Straight No Chaser pretty much rocks! Well harmonizes is more the word, but they were awesome! I wish I’d mentioned this ahead of time.

They had such great stage presence and they made the evening really interesting by having a different fellow introduce songs, each with a comedic twist. Their renditions of familiar tunes with entertaining choreography make it a pleasure to watch. I had a grin plastered to my face the whole time and secretly hoped they saw me in the audience since I'd straightened my hair specially.

SNC are 10 guys who met in 1996 in college in Indiana and have been singing together ever since. This was their first Canadian tour and it sounds like they had a great time – Go Canada!

I wouldn’t be surprised if they came back, and if they do, check them out! In the mean time, their newest album is called With A Twist.

http://www.sncmusic.com/

Sun and a sad song

Well, I was going to launch into how I was having a sad day today, but I just sat down after nursing Little E and putting her down for a nap and I feel like everything has become right in my world.

It’s not her fault you know; we all have sad days. It’s just that I can’t blame mine on PMS right now so I have to look elsewhere…

It could be that I just got around to washing the lucky bird poop out of my hair after failing to win the lottery. Or it could be that no matter how short I cut my nails in order to start fresh, they just keep breaking.

More likely it’s that life seems to be moving so fast right now, and the one day Daddy C has off this week we have spent rushing around “getting things done”. I read something this morning (somewhere on the New York times website?) that claimed no matter how close a family is there can still be a feeling of loneliness. I suppose that’s kind of how I feel today.

I apologize; I should have inserted a disclaimer about this post potentially affecting a perfectly good mood. Instead I will leave you with this…

It’s a sunny beautiful day, and tonight I’m going to see Straight No Chaser (a male a cappella group – yummy). I will give you the low down on that tomorrow.

p.s. as promised last night, here is a photo of our fabulous friends Ric and Nads. They are probably contemplating how they got themselves into inviting us along to Trinidad this winter – weeeeeee!!!!

Kitchen Floor Talk

On the way to our music class play date today, a bird shat on my head.

If poo on your person is lucky, then call me lady luck because I just happened to roll Little E’s stroller right through a pile of dog poop immediately afterwards.

I bought a lotto ticket – 43 mill, we’ll see…

Daddy C and I had a discussion about public speaking tonight. We now have all of our meaningful adult discussions on our kitchen floor since Little E’s bedroom is right beside the living/dining room. Daddy C is taking a course and his instructor announced that if you were one of those people deathly afraid (not just throw up in your mouth a little, but loose your voice pass out kind of scared) of public speaking then you would never get over it.

I beg to differ.

If we enroll Little E into activities where she has to present (music, dance, toastmasters ;) and force her to speak to the waiter/ress directly, instead of through me, then I believe she will get some good practice and be well on her way to press conferences by age 4.

Daddy C just came in from taking Jake for his pre bed pee and told me he stepped in dog poo. Consider me wealthy.

Buddies with Bulgur

Ahhh downtime. Here on the couch eating left over brownie with ice cream, (really not the best idea when feeling Little E’s illness coming on) but I feel really virtuous after the soup I made for dinner!

Bulgur is my new best friend - with a carton of organic chicken broth coming in close second. I whipped up a delicious and nutritious soup that would cure what ails ya for sure.

The guilt rant from yesterday was spurred on by thoughts of weaning, and then thoughts that my thoughts of weaning were stifling my milk supply!

I looked into it though and feel much better about nursing Little E until she naturally slows it down, especially since I will be at home with her. The World Health Organization says 2 years is optimal, so we shall see what Little E says.

I was thinking (with a friends inspiration) of doing a little segment on the side called The Choices We Make and featuring different topics regarding our babies. I think the first will be Breastfeeding…stay tuned!

I mean, how could I wean this little face J ?

4 Words

I feel so guilty about not writing yesterday.

Last night I came home from choir so tired and this morning woke up feeling kind of under the weather. (Of course this was the day I had to order a rush passport for Daddy C).

So, I just decided to let it go and write extra hard tonight.

There are 4 words that describe my life post Little E: Guilt, Love, Stain, and Release (as in Let Go). What are the pre E words – I’m scared to say, I’ll feel guilty…

Feeling not quite myself, I wrangled all of the gear required for an indeterminable time trapped in a government office, with a baby determined to move and stumbled out the door.

Upon arrival, since I was the last one in the elevator, I realized smugly that I would be the first out and straight into line to hurry up and wait, and yes! I was!

There weren’t even that many people in the waiting room (Wed. 9:45am not a bad time) so I was feeling really positive.

Unfortunately, when ordering a rush passport the one in need must be there in person.

Drat!

Thank goodness Auntie Soph works in the same building. We had a terrific $20 coffee (parking and coffee combined) and a short visit at her place of employ and off we went home empty handed.

Daddy C will go tomorrow before work. Hmmph. Release G, release.

A red wine toast tonight to our dear old friend Clancey – cheers old boy.

Cruisin and Romance

It’s Valentine’s Day so I’m going to try to keep this short. But so much happened today, I couldn’t neglect my beloved blog!

Little E is cruisin for a bruisin; actually two today. She is determined to stand and move on her shaky little pegs. It’s amazing that one week ago she was holding on to Daddy C for dear life while he urged her to take even one little step, and now she drags herself over to the chair or coffee table at any chance she gets and pulls herself up to standing. From there it’s either crash or triumph.

It was triumph this evening when our champion bedtime babe alerted us by way of cat like howl that she was not at all asleep. We agreed to go in and check on her right away (since we had already endured the sleep training with success) with plans to reiterate the goodnight sentiment.

We walked in to find Little E standing in her crib holding onto the wooden bars with great pride smiling ear to ear and chuckling upon our arrival. We stifled our own pleasure as best we could and lowered the mattress. Back to bed little miss…ooo what a smart little baby!!

Here are some photos of today’s celebrations…

Cute Little E, Little E’s card to Daddy, Husband C’s flowers to me and the delectable dinner I made for our short lived romantic evening…yummy seasoned lamb shanks and super fudgy brownies (I'll give you the recipes on Friday).

2010 Again

Little E must have been wondering what was going on outside of her watery home during the span of the coming week this time last year. I was a hyperactive, lunatic!

We just finished flicking back and forth between the CTV reminisce of the 2010 Olympic moments and the uber-flashy Grammy awards. Where I can finally be proud of our Neil Young winning an award in the best rock song category after 41 years of rocking and 33 studio albums – it’s about time!!

Anyway, I am a goose bumpy mess of emotion once again. It seems I well up a little more easily these days.  And just in case you didn’t get enough of it last year, here is a little taste of that catchy little Olympic ditty…

The two-week countdown!

Mexico here we come!!

It's the two-week countdown doodle loo doo, doodle loo doo doo...

We are flying out to Puerto Vallarta on February 26th for one week with some of our best friends, so very excited!!

Three things need to be done before we go: passport renewal for Daddy C, sunscreen purchase for Little E and a bathing suit purchase (and maybe a couple of other cute little items) for Mama G. I hope to give you a positive recap (and if you're lucky some photos) on the absolute success of these missions next week.

In the mean time, to celebrate, we have had two tequila toasts, one brunch and a whole lot of squealing.

May the Schwartz be with you

I feel cosmic lately. Like my third eye is 20/20. Is that a side effect of motherhood? I don’t mean eyes in the back of my head, I mean more in tune with people…maybe it’s what they call empathy.

We were reflecting on parenthood tonight with a couple of kindred spirits who are in the process of conception. Not like Monty Python styles in the restaurant, but planning baby as much as something so magical can be planned. And I’ve concluded (back me up mom’s) that I’m more in tune: that the 10% of my processing brainpower has actually multiplied and my reflexes have quickened.

I suppose scientific types could attribute these feelings to something else – like relativity to my pregnancy vibe. But I say, I’ve changed.

Daddy C will back me up on this.

Inspired by Valentine’s Day, our music play date today consisted of the lovely Colleen organizing a cookie decorating, card making session. As Hallmark as the elusive Saint’s day is, it’s appropriate for how I’ve been feeling lately. One of my best friends sent me this Shakespeare quote: "there are greater things in the heavens and the earth than are dreamt of in your mythology".

Peace and love for the weekend!

Foodie Friday - Turkey Meatloaf

Here is a recipe for finger food (thanks to the fabulous Julia!) that Little E can’t seem to get enough of - since she’ll only eat things she can hold.

p.s. (I substituted the egg for flax substitute - 1 TBS of ground flax, 3 TBS of water mix and let sit for a few mins. And I substituted breadcrumbs for cooked quinoa)

Ingredients:


1 lb ground turkey


1 whole egg or 2 egg yolks, beaten 


½ cup pureed carrots
(or grated)

¼ cup applesauce


¼ cup unprocessed natural wheat or oat bran


¼ cup bread crumbs
pinch of basil
pinch of garlic powder

Directions:

Place ground turkey in a large mixing bowl. Add the egg/yolk, carrots, applesauce, spices, breadcrumbs and bran. Mix well - If this mixture appears too dry, add more carrots or applesauce. If this mixture appears too wet, add more bran and/or breadcrumbs.

Place mix into a lightly oiled (olive oil) loaf pan and bake at 350F for approx. 45 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean. **You may wish to cover with foil to prevent the top from burning

When finished baking and cooled, remove loaf from pan and slice as you would for bread. Break into small bits for finger feeding or Mash or chop gently

This recipe may also be made into "Turkey Sticks" for Toddlers and older babies who are able to handle more textured/chunky finger foods.

Thank you frozen burger!

I am in bed at 7:50pm and couldn’t get here fast enough! Who am I? Mama extraordinaire that’s who!

Let me just say, I would like to meet whoever invented canned beans, clap her on the back in congratulations and say “thank you”! (Though you probably should’ve lined them with something other than plastic).

I made unintentional Thumb Chili today. It’s kind of like stone soup, only the magic ingredient is part of my thumb. We didn’t get to eat though because despite soaking the beans for 48 hours, simmering them for 45 mins and then slow cooking them for 6 hours they were still pretty crunchy. So, I ate the most delicious frozen (barbequed) burger on a toasted cheese bun. Daddy C had an organic chicken dog and went to yoga. The Thumb Chili is back on for another 10 hour round.

Yesterday I mentioned the end of my maternity leave…I still have a couple of months, but I have officially revealed my intention to stay at home and not to return to my job.

I am surprised by my emotion surrounding this decision when all along I knew this is what I wanted.

I suppose on one hand, the assurance of a regular paycheck was pretty nifty and I feel like I’m quitting my job without being completely sure of what's coming next. And on the other hand, I’m heading into a whole new lifestyle. No more coffee breaks, drinks after work, or dressing for the office.

…YAY!

Change is exciting G.

One last thing…since I forgot my camera on my outing today I will try to paint a quick picture out of words.

Little E on a swing for the first time, a poker face, a lounged position with one leg slightly up and the same arm resting casually on the swing bucket. She is swaying slowly and scanning with hidden fascination the high-pitched activity of the other kids in the park. Every once in a while giving me a little smirk as we come face to lips on the upswing.

She is so cool!

Ladies Who Lunch

Right now I am sitting on my kitchen floor at 10:13pm in the dark because Daddy/Husband C and Little E are in bed – it’s way past my bedtime!!!

I was just over at my girl’s house having a glass of wine with my other fine mommy friends discussing…everything baby of course. It is my life now.

It has been such an amazing and eventful day!

It’s funny though how when life is quiet I get incredibly antsy and (I hate to say it) bored. I pity myself for lack of stimulation. And when I’m busy, I can’t believe how time flies. But man, I’m wiped, I need some down time!

Was at my dear friend’s house this morning, learning about the next stage of childhood while guarding my coffee from being spilled and Little E from being used as a human sofa.  My girl’s little man is completely mobile and full of beans.

Then, out on a walk with my lovely friend/neighbour to Burgoo where we enjoyed soup and a glass of wine, talked babies and business. Little E slept for part of the restaurant experience which was so very thoughtful of her, then shared some of my chowder with her stroller when she woke.

Throughout the day I have been having mixed feelings about the end of mat leave approaching. This is a post in itself! 

But for now, I am so grateful for the connections I’ve made with some amazing women that I am assured will last far into our children’s lives.  

Still Healing

Adventure? Pthwaaaaat!! (My print version of a raspberry)

Baby fighting flu is similar to me fighting flu except that I can’t just lie around watching movies between NeoCitran fixes.

We didn’t get to partake in the hike today because Little E was still sleeping, so needless to say by 2:00pm I was feeling incredibly restless! It’s amazing how time can still pass on days when I feel like we’re not doing anything.

Sometimes I struggle to “stimulate” Little E, and I feel guilty – especially when I’m trying to sneak in some of my own projects while she is getting some quality alone time…she’s not really alone though! She’ll be on the floor right beside me with a vast array of toys spread throughout the house. Still it’s Jake she likes best; I think he would appreciate my constant attention on Little E more than she would.

Well, not feeling totally inspired today except that this evening presented us with an incredible sunset and alpine glow.

Fevers and Vomit

We have survived Little E's first day of the flu.

It all started last night with the Super Bowl sized vomit, and carried on through today with a fever and a breakfast barf. Poor little girl.

It's amazing how memories of my mother's care resurface and I learn things that I thought I already knew now that my child is sick as opposed to myself.

For instance...

From the Pharmacist:
"A fever of 39.5 or 40 is cause for a visit to the doctor (38.2 is mild)
If she barfs food, don't feed her
Babies are resilient"

From my Mom (GG):
"Lots of liquids
Let's just try a little food to see if it stays down
BRAT is best (banana, rice, apple sauce, toast)"

Yes, but along with becoming a parent come feelings of concern, guilt, fear and the dreaded unknown.
Is she really ok? Did I feed her something toxic? Will she die??? Why didn't she let me know she couldn't eat breakfast?

I know that the fever is actually good. It's the body's way of fighting off the badies and it keeps us stationary and resting. So, I think next time I will do what I do for myself and try to hold off on the medication (I gave Little E baby Tylenol). It just made her think she was better and gave her some gusto to try her new standing trick. Since she just had a mild fever I could have monitored it and given her lots of liquid so that she had the chance to fight it herself.

Mind you, those pesky parental feelings may overtake my logic...we'll see.

Super Bowl Sunday

Baby’s first Super Bowl!

Neither Daddy C nor I are really football fans, but yeesh I’m competitive.

So, once I’ve decided whom I’m routing for (Packers) watch out (Steelers) cause I get loud. I think Little E is already used to my rising blood pressure and enthusiastic cheers (Go Packers!) cause she was in utero for the big hockey wins for Canada during the Olympics.

It’s 14 / 3 for the good guys right now, but these photos may change by the end of the game...

 

Winners!!!!! We won!!! Go Packers!!!! 

Oh yah! My competitive cat has been stroked. I have given a gentle metaphor because Little E had a violent vomit with 2 minutes left in the game that sent us both to the showers early…so I didn’t get to gloat in a hideously loud voice about the quality of my team pick.

More importantly my little baby is now clean, warm, hydrated and safe in her bed.

Go Packers!

Girls Night Out!

What a treat!
Out with the girls last night and wow did it feel great!

It was like I’d never dressed up and gone out before – I was giddy.  I am so lucky to have such a fabulous and diverse group of women in the same stage of mommy hood.  

Since I’m feeling a little frayed around the edges tonight I won’t make this too longwinded…I need to save my breath.

But, it’s amazing what a night on the town will do.

I couldn’t help feeling guilty the next morning though since I was not in my best perky mommy state. But I reckon a night here and there is good for my psyche and in turn keeps the mom/woman balance in check (even if my milk is slightly sour for a short time) I’m pretty sure Little E won’t be damaged, that will come later ;)

Food for thought

Food food food: a necessity, an obsession, a social opportunity, an erotic tool, a gift.

Now that I’m a mommy providing healthy food is at the top of my mind every day. What to feed Little E???

I need a variety of options since she is determined to feed herself, and having not yet mastered the spoon (or any other formal eating utensil) it needs to be finger friendly.

With the help and inspiration from many friends I will make Fridays Foodie…

Here is a recipe paying homage to the Lunar (Chinese) New Year thanks to Hannah!
We'll be eating this tomorrow night!
(I'll probably substitute the honey for Mirin - it's actually a Japanese sauce but it comes from rice/sake and it's sweet. Little E has had walnuts with no problems so I'm not worried about giving her some of the chicken and sauce over quinoa or noodles) 

Cashew Chicken
Serves 6

3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch strips
3/4 cup orange juice
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
4 green onions, cut-up
3 large carrots, cleaned and sliced
1 celery stalk, sliced
1/2 cup cashews

In a small bowl, combine juice, soy sauce, honey, cornstarch and seasonings. In a skillet or wok, heat 1/2 tablespoon oil until it almost begins to smoke. Stir-fry vegetables for several minutes until the onions become fragrant. Remove veggies from skillet and heat another tablespoon of oil until nearly smoking and stir-fry chicken strips until browned and tender. Add cooked vegetables, cashews and sauce mix. Continue cooking until sauce bubbles and thickens. Serve over hot rice.

Sh*t my kid would like to ruin

Now that I am actively seeking adventure in my everyday life, I feel like Little E is actively trying to set examples.   

  

She manages to find everything that I should have hidden from her little grip and party with it for the moments (seriously!) that I am out of sight: Ecxema cream bottle, plastic diaper bag, Jakes jowls (see yesterday), rug tassles, any little speck of nasty on the floor…how does she do it?

She doesn’t even officially crawl yet – unless you call the military crawl official and she's fast.

I saw a great segment on Rachael Ray the other day. She was speaking to a woman who founded a website and has now written a book describing different “adventures” that babies/kids had partaken in without parental supervision.  It’s called Sh*t My Kids Ruined

If you have any examples of this I would love to see them!!!

Here is a photo of Little E attacking a rib bone.

Seek ye adventure and ye shall find…

First of all, Daddy C assured me that this post was not inappropriate, so...

Little E’s heart beats like a frickin hummingbird (at least how I would imagine a hummingbird’s heart to beat – never actually felt the dear little pulse).

That would explain her incredible ability to circumnavigate the room while I work on my post porridge push. Thinking I have a good couple of minutes to extricate while Little E plays with her Fill and Spill (new fave toy), I emerge triumphant to find a Little hand in a big jowl.

Good thing Jake moves a little slower these days ;)

If you haven’t seen Babies yet, you will rest easy to know that in other cultures it is perfectly acceptable for babies to inspect the inside of a canine mouth. Daddy C calls our Little E the ear, nose and throat specialist.

Go girl!

Oh Deer Lake

What a beautiful day today!!!

I am so mad at myself for not taking photos! Yeesh! Blog lesson number one, photos from now on!
Little E and I joined 4 of our friends for a walk around Deer Lake in Burnaby today. If you haven’t been there you should check it out, it’s really pretty. There is a boardwalk around the swampy bits and the path wanders around some perfectly placed houses and heritage sites (really great location for an outdoor summer concert too!).

The only challenge is the size of the boardwalk when escorting a gaggle of babies and one big dog. It took our group a couple of turns to become familiar with the doggy dance.

We came across two rather ferocious husky types on one of the winding boardwalk corners. The owner geared up for the passing by dramatically winding the leashes around his arms and pulling them in close. I mustered as much courage as I could and marched past, luckily with no incident.
Someone should invent an app for that - maybe there is one...Ferocious Dogs Up Ahead App.

I would subscribe!