Ten Things

Ten things I'm grateful for today...

1. My husband. Happy birthday, sweetheart. Thank you for showing me what unconditional love looks like. Thank you for allowing me the privilege of watching our son dissolve into a fit of giggles as his Daddy plays with him. And, most of all, thank you for not running far far away when I told you, perhaps prematurely, that God told me I'd marry you someday. I hate to say it, honey...but I told you so.



2. My son. There aren't words for the joy that you have brought me. I now understand what they mean when they say that to be a mom is to forever have your heart go walking around outside your body. I love your smile, your giggles, your cheeky grin as you run out of my reach, your eager desire to be involved in everything I do, your warm body snuggled against me each night, your oh-so-serious face and expectant eyes as you politely sign "milk" when you want to nurse - oh, darling, I just love everything about you.



3. My Saviour. Sometimes it hits me - what You've done for me, the grace You've shown to a miserable wretch, the love beyond knowledge. Other times...oh, Lord, You've been so merciful to me even while I've so often gone about my day without giving You a second of my thought or time. Fill me anew with that longing to know You deeply, to spend time in Your Word, to seek You in prayer. Create in me a clean heart, oh Lord, and renew a right spirit within me.

4. Chocolate. It's only fitting that chocolate be on the list, considering how often it has got me through a stressful day.

5. Whiteboards. Oh, the unspeakable joy of wiping away yet another completed task from a long whiteboard to-do list.

6. Kindred spirits. In a society that values convenience over knowledge, it is such a blessing to have those who understand why you choose to do things differently.

7. My sister. I was so mean to you when we were kids. Mom always told me to be nice to your siblings, as they'd be the only ones to stick around when you were older. I get it now. Sometimes it feels like you're the only person who has remained a constant in my life. No matter how long we go without getting a chance to talk, I always know that as soon as I pick up the phone or write an email, you'll be right there, same as always, ready to chat as though we've done so every day of our lives. No matter what I've done, you've never treated me any different. You're the only person who has ever been like that to me. I don't tell you this enough, but I love you and I deeply treasure your friendship.



8. The sun. Blue skies, green grass, red flowers. Long rambling walks with my son, stopping to inspect every ant and leaf that catches his eye. Slowing down.

9. Green smoothies. Sliced apples. Watermelon. Farmers' markets.

10. That increasingly rare gem - a truly good book.

I feel loved

Spring? What spring? It went straight from winter to summer here in about a week. I'm not complaining! The boy and I have been going for long walks and playing in the park - well, to be more accurate, we've been sitting in the park. My beautiful little non-walker has issues with touching both the grass and the sand which he has yet to get over. I guess I should count my blessings - in time I'm sure I'll wish he would stay in one spot for even a few seconds!

Anyway, this warm weather has finally brought the return of yet another wonderful summer event - the organic farmers' market.

Granted, ours is a year-round market, but unfortunately I've been car-less this winter (my husband takes our car to work on Saturdays) and just couldn't convince myself to make the cold trip by bus. So I slightly shame-facedly started shopping at our local grocery store again, still buying organic and avoiding processed foods whenever possible.

Did our grocery bill ever jump! Apparently I am an impulse shopper and am not safe anywhere that offers more than the farmers' market does. What's that, lemon meringue pie? Why, don't mind if I do! Brownies? Toss 'em in! Sugar-filled juices and iced tea? Heck yes!

Well, today I decided that it's warm now, I have no excuse not to take the bus to the farmer's market each Saturday. I kinda-sorta-justalittlebit hoped it would rain, but alas, it's another beautiful day.

After making a mad dash to the ATM to pick up cash, we caught the first bus, my son cuddled on my front in a mei tai and my denim bag loaded with plastic bags. We got off one stop too late, ending up on the wrong side of the road...and missed our transfer by a few incredibly irritating seconds.

Harumph.

We walked part of the way, then sat at a bus stop and waited so as not to miss the next bus too. Finally we made it to the nearest intersection and walked the rest of the way, stopping on a patch of gorgeously green grass to move the boy from my front to my back.

First stop, the fish the lady. She remembered us! She commented on how big the boy is now, then sold us our usual salmon. We worked our way through the market - raw crackers for munching, sprouts for wraps and fake sushi, kale for green smoothies, apples, potatoes, and soup - then went to get the rest of the meat (yes, we're still very happy meat-eaters, and my husband just reminded me the other day that he fully intends to stay that way).

The beef man and lady remembered us! We picked up a few different cuts of beef along with the obligatory whole wheat cinnamon bun.

The chicken man remembered us! We picked up chicken breast and pork chops.

I felt so loved.

And I forgot what a great atmosphere the farmers' market is! Everyone offering to help you with this or with that, grinning at your kid instead of giving you a weird look for wearing him, smiling and talking cheerfully - and all sorts of guilt-free deliciousness just waiting to be snatched up!

After downing a glass of delicious green juice, we headed back to wait for the bus. All in all, a very successful trip and for about half the price we'd been spending at the grocery store all winter. Going by bus turned out to be no problem at all - looks like we'll be resuming our weekly trip to the farmers' market. Ah, summer. How I love thee.

Not a good day for soup

I found the most delicious soup recently.

I randomly noticed Baxters soups at a trip to our grocery store. The butternut squash and red pepper soup jumped out at me and quickly made its way into the cart. It just looked so good - and, to top it off, I actually recognized all of the ingredients in the ingredient list. No garbage, just food.

Well, the boy and I shared this delicious soup for lunch one day and had to grab another can next time we were out. This time we tried the winter squash and carrot soup.

I was all set to eat it for lunch the next day. I opened the can. I tried to get the lid out. And then I tried some more. And some more.

Well.

The lid finally came out.

Along with half the can of soup.

Head to toe, I was covered in orange winter squash and carrot soup. The kitchen looked as though a pumpkin had exploded. The stove was covered. The floor was covered. By some miracle, though, the little man crouching on the floor beside me was completely soup-free. I was glad he was the only witness to my new orange wardrobe.

But there was still half a can of this delicious veggie goodness, so into the pot it went while I cleaned up myself and the kitchen. When it was ready, I plunked the little man into his highchair and greedily sat down to enjoy what was left, along with some toast. It was as delicious as the first can was.

Ah, and if only that could be the end of the story. But no, there's more. As I went to brush the toast crumbs into the empty bowl, my sweet darling perfect innocent little son kicked the bowl right out of my hands. Sadly, the bowl did not survive the fall.

Le sigh.

As I cleaned up the second big mess of the night, I had to ask myself: As delicious as that soup was, was it really worth all this trouble??

(Oh, who am I kidding. You know I'll be tossing another can into my cart next time I'm out.)

Happy Birthday, Baby

My baby turned one yesterday.

He's practically all growed up.

We had a wonderful day. We started the day with the usual - books. Some mornings I don't even get so much as a good-morning smile, just a yawn and a stretch and a roll over to the bassinet to grab a book and start looking at it.



That's okay. I'm a big girl, I can handle it.

After a shower, Crazy Mommy got Baby all dressed up just so she could plop him down in front of the microwave and start snapping pictures. Exactly one year ago - to the minute! - my baby was born. (Okay, you can't tell, but the microwave says 11:03.)



He weighed 8 lbs 9 oz and was 20 inches long. Now he weighs 20 lbs 10 oz and is 31 inches long. He went from floppy little newborn to this...



...in practically no time at all.

After Crazy Mommy took pictures of Baby sitting in front of the microwave, we headed outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. Since it was his birthday, we decided to take his throne (okay, his stroller) for only the third time since he was born. We had a few things to pick up at the mall, including tape (to wrap his last present after we ran out last night), potatoes (for stew that evening), and an Anne Murray CD (to be included in my mom's Mother's Day gift parcel). We had such a nice walk and, for part of the way, a nice nap for the boy.

Then we came home, and Mommy grabbed the camera. Dun-dun-duh!









I totally made this 1. I has mad crafting skillz.


"Here Mom!"


"Okay, I'll keep it!"


My boy is just too cute.


And oh-so-serious.


We're done being serious now.




Eventually I decided that probably I had enough pictures. Time to get stew cooking in the crock pot and make a birthday cake! It was his nap time, so up on Mommy's back he went.



That took the rest of the afternoon. My little boy napped, then we played until Daddy got home. Present time!



Present opening is Very Serious Business.


The baby crayons were a big hit.


Here's Daddy "helping" the little man get a present out of a gift bag...


...and here's the little man diving out of the way before it fell on him.


Oh yes, and here's the little man in the bag.


Watching Daddy cut into a present from Great-Uncle.


Daddy specifically went out to buy this book for the little guy's birthday. I thought it was really sweet. It was one of his favourite books as a child so he wanted his son to have it too. Here he is telling Baby all about the awesomeness of the Pickle Truck.


Presents!






We got him a set of wooden blocks, baby crayons, a Kleen Kanteen sippy cup and several books. My parents got him a praying stuffed rabbit, three sets of books, and a Moody Bear cloth book. My in-laws got him a sweater (knitted by my MIL) and a few books. He got the plush balls from his Great-Uncle, the plush picnic basket from my sister, and a cheque from his Great-Oma.

Lots of new books!


"Mom. Seriously. It's time to cut my hair."


And then!! The birthday boy stood!! By himself!!

But stoopid Mommy was too busy squealing like a girl over the fact that her son stood up by himself to remember that hey, I've got a camera in my hands, maybe I should take a picture! By the time I managed to think that and get the camera up, this is all I caught:


Daddy was cheering for Baby and laughing at me. The boy was like "whatever guys. I got blocks."

Then it was cake time. Turns out I'd never make it as a cake decorator.


This was a carrot cake with a no-sugar cream cheese frosting. It tasted better than it looks.

I love this picture. It looks like Daddy's stressing out about his son reaching for candle. In reality, though, he was trying to show the boy how to blow out the candle. The boy wasn't paying any attention, as you can see.


He wasn't so sure about the cake.


In fact, he thought the candle looked more appetizing.


Eventually he gave in and tried some cake.


"Mom! Mom! Let me slime you with my gross hand!"


"Dude. That cake was gross. I totally dropped it on the floor."


Funny, he wouldn't stop pestering me for some of mine at lunch today! We shared a big piece. It's full of carrots and applesauce and apple juice (just pretend that's healthy) and raisins and wheat germ (I didn't even know what wheat germ was before now) and no sugar, so I didn't mind him eating it.

After cake it was time to settle down for the evening. Mommy looked terrible but wanted a picture with the Birthday Boy:


Daddy and I watched a movie (Juno!) while the birthday boy crawled around the bed and eventually went to sleep. And so ended my son's 1st birthday.

I loved being pregnant with him. I loved seeing him on the ultrasound, sucking his thumb and bouncing up and down. I loved feeling his kicks. I wasn't so fond of his incessant hiccoughs, but I loved watching my stomach move. I was convinced he was a boy before he was born, but I kept reminding myself that he could be a girl so often that when it turned out he really was a boy, I was almost surprised. I had a hard time at first feeling like the baby that had been inside me and the baby they handed me were one in the same, but wow, did I ever love him. I loved his first smiles at 3 weeks, his first time briefly sitting at 6 weeks, and his first laugh at 8 weeks. I was so excited the day he rolled over at 9 weeks. I loved watching him admire his hands at 12 weeks and I grinned myself silly after his first long belly laugh that same week. I startled him with my clapping when he figured out how to pull his hanging musical toy at 15 weeks. It was so neat to see him really learn to sit by himself at 19 weeks. We had so much fun at his first swim classes and storytimes, and less fun during his first cold and fever. When his first tooth came through at 23 weeks, I had no idea six more would come through over the next 10 weeks. He pushed up onto his hands and knees at 26 weeks and was crawling a month later. I grinned like a fool the first time he reached up for me at 29 weeks. At 35 weeks he could pull himself to standing and started cruising along the furniture. I loved watching him learn new things - waving bye-bye at 42 weeks, pointing to things and telling "stories" about them, opening drawers and cupboards at 43 weeks, turning lightswitches off with ease by 44 weeks, clapping at 47 weeks, briefly standing alone at 48 weeks, saying "uh-oh!" at 49 weeks, taking lids off and on at 51 weeks, and signing "milk", dropping the circle in the shape sorter and handing things to people when asked all by 52 weeks. It's been so much fun watching him learn and grow. I've learned so much myself since his birth.

Happy Birthday, Little Man.

Do you know your local farmer?

So I've been working on improving our eating - and shopping - habits for a while now. I had been buying nearly all of our food from a local organic farmer's market, but unfortunately when the deep winter hit I just couldn't keep it up anymore. Back to the supermarket (and, consequently, higher food bills) for us. Le sigh. I still tried to buy as much organic and unprocessed food as I could. I was thrilled when our supermarket started stocking "free from" meat, which claims to be raised without antibiotics, etc etc. I can't say I have a huge amount of faith in it, but it's an improvement nonetheless.

I've been reading as much as I can on nutrition in the meantime. I am amazed at the power of a simple change in diet to completely turn around one's life, particularly in children. So much of what is currently labeled as attention deficit disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, learning disorders, and just plain misbehaviour could be entirely "cured" by a few changes in the way the child eats. It's sad to think how many children are put on medications instead.

One excellent book I've read recently is Grub (they have a website here), which really drove home for me the importance of not only eating organic and whole, but also local. As such, I've been scouring the local farmers' webpages looking for a steady source of meat, dairy, eggs and produce. I've been considering Community Supported Agriculture, but I'm not entirely convinced as that would only get us through the 17 week harvest season, leaving us with 35 other weeks during which we would have to find another supplier. I would prefer to find one or two farms and buy from them year-round.

Eating local would also mean eating more of what's in season and less of what is not. Up here in frozen Canada, that's not so much fun. I've been having long, drawn-out fantasies of moving to California and having an abundance of great produce "in season" year-round. But for now I live in Canada, not California, so the winter months will require a fair bit more creativity.

My priority right now is eating whole foods, mostly organic, and, when possible, buying local.

Aside from whole, organic, and local, I've also been working on eating more raw foods. I'm not (right now) interested in going 100% raw - I'm not even interested in becoming vegetarian or vegan - but I know that adding more raw foods is definitely a step in the right direction. And so I've started having a "green smoothie" for breakfast or lunch each day. My current favourite is (roughly) a cup of frozen sliced strawberries, one and a half bananas (my son gets the leftover half), a big handful of spinach leaves, and a half cup of water. Delicious.




Frozen blueberries with banana and spinach is also good.



And, just for fun, last night's dinner - crock pot carrots, potatoes and chicken. Yum.

Too cute not to share

My Little Kangaroo

Babywearing has saved my sanity. I can't imagine what I'd do without it. There are few days where my son doesn't end up in a carrier at some point - on my back while I do some housework, cuddled in a wrap while he's teething or sick, bundled up nice and cozy while we go outside. It saves struggling with a stroller through the snow or onto a crowded bus or around a busy store. It saves lugging around an awkward heavy infant seat. It allows me to have two free hands while still keeping baby close when he needs it. It makes naps easier for those babies (like mine) who don't sleep well alone. It just makes life so much more peaceful and simple.

Worn babies also benefit from this, mentally, emotionally and physically. Mentally, they spend more time in a quiet alert state and receive more stimulation. Emotionally, they quickly develop a sense of security and trust, becoming more attached which, in turn, allows them to become independent earlier. Physically, newborns adapt better by being so close to their caregiver's heartbeat, breathing, and voice, and older babies develop a better sense of balance.

Ring sling

First up, our ring sling. This is great for quick trips - fast and easy to get on and off. Because it's a one-shoulder carrier, however, it's not great for long trips, especially for older/bigger babies.

This particular ring sling is a Didymos wrap, Lena print, turned into a ring sling by Sleeping Baby Productions.



Sleeping after a walk this summer


Front, side, front



Mei tai

Next, our mei tai. This two-shouldered carrier is great for people who find wraps too challenging. They can be worn easily on the front or back, and are generally faster to put on than a wrap. Definitely a husband-friendly carrier.

This particular mei tai is a Kozy brand, Windsor print.



Sound asleep



Wraps

Wraps are my favourite. They are so versatile. They can be worn on your front, back or hip in a nearly infinite variety of ways. We have four wraps - a soft stretchy one that's great for cold weather and for newborns (a red Moby), a short one that's good for taking places to wrap there (an Ellaroo LaRae), a thin one that's great for warm weather (an Ellaroo Christiane), and our new (to us) German woven wrap that's nice and supportive for my growing boy (a Paul Didymos). Four wraps is not a necessity - one would do easily. I'd pick a long woven wrap if I have to pick just one. There is a learning curve to wraps, but perseverance and practice is so worth it in the end. When I can scoop up a crying baby, flip him onto my back, wrap him up and get back to cooking supper in no time at all, life is good. Wraps are our most commonly used carrier. I personally prefer them to mei tais because I find them to be cozier and softer.

My son, several months ago, in our Ellaroo brand, Christiane print.


More recently, same wrap.


Our new German woven wrap, Didymos brand, Paul print.


And back home, rosy-cheeked, after a walk in the cold.


Hanging out on mommy's back




A great place to learn more about babywearing is thebabywearer.com, particularly their forums.