Snack Food

When this is what is taking up your days and nights it sure is nice to have some help around the house. We've kept the Monster in daycare for the time being. It gives me some crucial bonding and nursing time with our new baby and some quiet for Hubby to get some work done (his office is at home, in the living room). Since Elena's arrival we've had both moms down for visits. My mom planted my garden and did some cooking. And Hubby's mom did a whole bunch of baking for me.

My mother-in-law made a couple of batches of muffins and some cinnamon buns for us. First she made these chunky banana bran muffin. They look nothing like Ina's on the show or in her picture, but they sure are tasty. She also made a wholewheat peach muffin, in both "Susan" size (what I call her muffins because she refuses to fill a muffin tin and makes small muffins) and these mini ones with a new muffin tin she bought me for my birthday last week. They are good, but I need to modify the recipe a little before it's perfect.

And now I have treats to eat in the middle of the night while my baby eats her fill.

Tacky Love

Add a glass of water, a magazine, and the camera and this is my almost constant companion these days. It sits beside me while I nurse. It seriously is one ugly lamp, but Hubby and I love it.

The Baby Before the Quilt

Well, the quilt did not get done. It has sat in the basement for a few weeks now as our little one did indeed arrive a bit early.

Elena joined us on May 13, after about 30 hours of labour. Well, technically it was 30 hours because my water broke on the Monday, but I didn't actually start active labour until almost 24 hours after that. Long story short: it was hell and a bit a scary, but we welcomed our second little girl with a successful VBAC late in the evening.

The last week was spent getting breastfeeding established, entertaining visitors (flowers are fine, but food is better), and watching her for jaundice. We had one return visit to the hospital for a night under the billi-lights, but all is seemingly going well now. I am not recovering as quickly as expected after a vaginal birth, but I have to tell myself that it is still a better recovery than a c-section delivery. The doctor assured me that my healing is going well. So, as soon as my pain subsides (tearing needs to heal) then I get get back to the basement and finish this adorable creature's quilt.

My Creative Family

My copy of Amanda Soule's book, The Creative Family, arrived this week. I've devoured it the last two mornings as the Monster and Hubby slept and I did not have to work. I LOVE this book. I was afraid it would be a book of "twelve projects to do with your kids", but it is anything but. It really is about nurturing yours and your kids' creativity; how to exploit and celebrate the natural tendencies of children. And what excellent resources in the back!

On Thursday I came home to this image on the Monster's table. Yes, she has her own table positioned between the dining room and living room. Here we take snacks, host guests, and colour with our 'marks' and 'pepe'. It must be markers, of course. Crayons only get dumped for a game of 64 pick-up and pencil crayons are just not as appealing. It might have something to do with not getting marks on our hands with them! Or, as you can see, on the table itself... I refuse to clean it off as I love the way it looks and shows her exuberance for colouring.

When she decides it is time for colouring she pulls out one of the old school chairs that sits on either side of the table, opens a marker - our favourite colours are yellow, pink, and green right now - and makes some tentative marks. If either I or Hubby are nearby she gets off her chair walks around to the other one, pulls it out, pats the seat and says, "Shit down, Mommy, shit down." (Yes, that is how it sounds.) So we sit down with her and she promptly tells us what she wants us to draw. Lately that's been "hoppies" (that's a hoppie that Hubby drew in the photo) and fish, sometimes a baby. We also both like to just doodle graphic images of dots, stripes, or squiggles.

In the coming weeks I hope to take so much of this messy paper and make some cards. Heck, it's time to celebrate her creativity! Besides, Dido (my dad) is fighting cancer, my boss is in the hospital awaiting a heart transplant, and there are lots of other people around that the simple act of receiving real mail, especially that decorated by an unabashed toddler, is sure to put a smile on their face.

Slow and Steady

It turns out I likely had a stomach bug last week. Cramping in one part of the gut causes cramping in another... My husband likes to point out that I probably still have a few weeks left. Thanks Hubby, for the painful reminder.

At least it gives me time to make some more progress on the Baby Quilt. I had the quilting about half done then spent the hour of American Idol on Tuesday ripping out half of that. The quilt has a center medallion in the quilting pattern and what I had done just didn't work for me. I should be able to redo that during the Monster's nap tomorrow.

I Should Have Napped

The baby may be coming soon as the contractions are coming faster and with a little more fury. Unfortunately, for me, they aren't amounting to much as they usually stop after a few hours. Soon enough.

After a bad day yesterday I should have napped while the Monster slept, but I really wanted to get the baby quilt basted. That's the nice thing about baby quilts, they don't take that long to baste. Now I just have to settle on the quilting pattern and I can get to it. Baby quilts also get quilted fast! I might have it done before the bambino arrives...