Made in Manitoba

We ate a very local meal for supper today. It consisted of grass-fed steak from a ranch a few miles south of town, beans from our subscription gardening bucket and potatoes, cucumbers and snap peas from our own garden. Even the steak rub spices were from a local company (not produced here, but assembled here) and the butter was local. The only things that weren't were the salt and pepper we added at the table and the olive oil that The Music Man mixed with the spices to make the steak rub. It feels good to know we can do that.

I haven't been posting much (obviously). Partially because I don't get much time at the computer these days and partly because I haven't had anything I felt compelled to write about. Life is pretty much just ticking along. The Little One is already over seven months old and busy crawling and pulling up on furniture and mostly tormenting his brother. He is super cute (if I do say so myself) and has a great disposition. But he's already hard to keep up with. I think this one will be walking before I know it.


Monkey spends most of his day rescuing his things from the mouth of The Little One. This week he is going to VBS at a friend's church. Yesterday I had to stay with him the whole time. Today he went to one station without me. Maybe by the end of the week I'll be able to just drop him off. He will be doing some sort of preschool again this fall, but we're not entirely sure what yet. He is a super kid and he makes me smile. A lot.


Between the heat, humidity and mosquitoes we can barely play outside these days, but our summer has been good so far. A few upcoming plans will be changing (Like Monkey's sleep over in Grandma and Grandpa's camper) because Grandpa broke his arm. Word of warning - don't try to ride your bike while carrying three large zucchini. We're still planning a small trip to (the other) Grandma and Grandpa's cabin. And our local festival is coming up at the end of August.


Well, I'm going upstairs now to see if The Music Man is up for another episode of Battle Star Galactica (which he recently bought on DVD much to my chagrin, but which I am now totally hooked on). Cheerio!

We're getting eaten alive!

How's your summer going?

We really are over-run with mosquitoes. But we are still managing to enjoy our summer so far. We've already been to the beach a few times (I still can't believe I live in a town with a beach), but I don't think I'll be walking to the beach again any time soon. Up a VERY steep hill, pushing the bike trailer with two boys in it is not actually my idea of a good time. Good exercise, yes. Good time, no.

Our garden is coming up nicely. Except for the pumpkins. And the lettuce has been eaten by slugs, so I'll replant that and hope the rest of the summer is a bit drier.

The Little One is developing like crazy! He has his first tooth. He has "eaten" his first food. And he is already doing the army crawl. I'm going to have trouble keeping up with this one.

Have a great weekend.

Two

I washed sheets today.
We have been cohabiting with a virus for the past week and I thought everyone needed to go to sleep tonight on a surface relatively free of contagion. It seemed as though it ought to be sunny today, so that I could throw the windows open dramatically to air out our rooms. However, one does not generally throw windows open in a dramatic fashion when it is cool and rainy. again.

The Little One is over five months old already. He is busy doing all those things a five month old should be doing. (I think. I haven't actually been checking "the book" like I did with the first one.) But it's been a tough week. Besides both boys and myself being sick. Being a mother of two has been, in the words of a wise friend, basically kicking my butt. I'm just not cutting it. My fuse is far too short and my creativity far too low. (Who was it that said something about parenting being about when you are at the end of your rope, somehow finding more rope?) I feel like I am destined to a life of keeping one child happy while the other is miserable until a timer somewhere goes "ding" and I switch. Rinse. Repeat.
I have actually had a couple of people tell me lately that the adjustment from one child to two is the hardest and that adding subsequent children is much easier. At this point I am choosing not to believe them.

Of course, it's not all bad. Both boys are sleeping now.
On clean sheets.

Better be quick...

These pictures won't last forever...

Ringing in the New Year...

...with a Baby Boy!

JPK was born in a VBAC Home Birth on January 1st 2010 at 6:15 am. Weighing in at 8 lbs 13 oz and measuring 21 inches long, he decided to make things a bit difficult for mommy by having both his hands beside his head. So although his birth was "natural" in that we didn't use any drugs, it was certainly not intervention-free. It involved...

*a five hour labour
*the midwife breaking my waters
*a fourth degree tear PLUS
*an episiotomy (this was neccessary to prevent further tearing)
*30 minutes of pushing
*a trip to the hospital to repair the tear (the midwives are only allowed to repair lesser tears)
*in the ambulance, because I couldn't sit up without nearly fainting (I was a bit dehydrated and quite hungry)

So, that's the birth story in a nutshell. I might write more about it later, and possibly post a picture or two of my beautiful new boy. Monkey is doing so well at helping and loving his baby brother, and I am so proud of him.

Happy New Year to you all!

here's hoping...

that we don't have a baby this weekend.

We don't plan to. It's just that my midwife is away in Saskatchewan for the weekend, so Murphy's Law would dictate that it would happen now. (we would still have access to a midwife, just not one that we know, or who lives as close by).

So, we're aiming for anytime AFTER Monday evening. Just so you all know.


in case you didn't know, or forgot, our actual due date isn't until January 1st.

Christmas Appreciation 101

with Professor Erin K.



Christmas, like all good things, is best enjoyed in moderation. By following a few simple rules you can ensure that your anticipation and appreciation of the Christmas Season is maximized. Please do not think that I am a Scrooge. Far from it. I am a true lover of all things Christmas. I just happen to see the folly of our society's tendency towards earlier and earlier Christmas-y-ness.

Let's begin.

Christmas Music
Recorded Christmas music may be listened to as of the 1st of December. For the days preceding Dec. 1 but following the beginning of Advent there is an opportunity to listen to music that is less Christmasy. (example: Loreena McKennit "To Drive the Cold Winter Away")

There are a few exceptions to this rule. If you are doing Christmas baking or working on homemade Christmas gifts prior to this you may listen to Christmas music, if it helps you get in the right mood.

If you are feeling desperate for Christmas music and Advent is still days or weeks away, try Christmas Music Substitution. For example, if you traditionally listen to Canadian Brass Christmas, try listening to another Canadian Brass album. Or if you prefer A Charlie Brown Christmas, try a Vince Guaraldi album. This really does work. Also, an album of madrigals stands in nicely for an album of carols.

Exterior Decoration
Set up exterior decorations as late as your autumn weather will permit, but you should not light exterior decorations until the first day of Advent.

Interior Decoration
Decorating for Christmas inside your house may begin as you see fit beginning on the first day of Advent. The Christmas tree should be erected later in the month, but not so late that you do not have time to enjoy it prior to Christmas Eve. Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should the tree decorating happen in between answering the door for Trick-or-Treaters on Halloween. (yes, the music man knows someone who does this)

Well, class, I think we have made a good beginning. I hope that you are able to fully Anticipate and Appreciate Christmas by following these rules. Class dismissed.