Did Someone Steal Thursday?

Somehow it's Friday. Can someone tell me how that happened?

It's been quite a week. I'll share more later. My brain is all befuddled today. Or maybe I can't write about it today because I'm surrounded by children and the aftermath of an afternoon full of crafting. My brain can't breath under these conditions. We made macaroni pictures and painted rainbows with water colours. Not a bad Friday afternoon.





Shabbat will be here soon and I'm looking forward to dinner with Matt. We usually have a family meal on Friday nights, but some weeks we do the blessings with the girls, feed them, ship them off to bed, and then enjoy a dinner with just two of us. And I'll tell you, it's awesome. Speaking of child-free dinners, Matt and I have--wait for it-- a date planned for the end of March. We have found someone to look after Alyce and Shira (since my family refuses to move here and provide us free child care) and we are practically already running out the door.

I'm still working on my list, but I'm happy to report progress. I'm also excited to share that our parsley is growing! We are hoping for our own home grown parsley for Passover this year, though we were a little late getting the seeds planted. My assistant gardener and I were a bit behind schedule, though she was eager to work once we got started and even made a sign. The sign makes me smile, but what we could really use is a protective shield to prevent Pomegranate from eating it. He can be a real jerk sometimes.





So, are you going to tell me what you're up to this weekend? We have a low-key couple of days planned--some spring cleaning, some boxes for Goodwill, some college basketball, a foot rub (Hi, Matty). I'll also be spending my weekend getting to know some new food blogs, thanks to Babble's list of the top 100 Mom Food Blogs. The photos alone.

Enjoy the weekend! I hope to see you around.

A Fortunate Baker

Internet, I would like to introduce you to a recent acquisition of mine. You might be familiar with it. Maybe you even have one yourself. But I wager that no one loves theirs as much as I do mine. If you would prefer not to spend your time reading a love letter to a mixer, you might want to move on. Perhaps to this post, as it is one of my favourites. We'll see you later then.

I have coveted the Kitchen Aid stand mixer for years. I haven't always been a baker, but once I became familiar with the high of the perfect muffin or cupcake (some people speak of a runner's high, but I prefer the one induced by the combination of flour, eggs, and sugar), I knew we were meant to be. Me and the Kitchen Aid, that is. A graduate student budget, however, does not allow for kitchen purchases of this sort, so I waited. And waited. I didn't even include one on our wedding registry because I feared our generous guests might roll their eyes, What kind of graduate students do they think they are? Kitchen Aid stand mixers are for professionals. Or for people who have savings accounts. But my mum, always the keen observer, saw that my kitchen was a hollow shell without one, and last year she offered to gift me with one of my very own to celebrate the completion of my PhD, maybe in a year. I should have known then that if my greatest motivation for writing my dissertation was a mixer, then I was probably in the wrong field.

Fast-forward one year. Having mourned the loss of my plans for a PhD, I began wondering when I would afford my Kitchen Aid. I certainly wasn't going to ask mum about her promised gift, since I hadn't fulfilled my end of the bargain. But of course, since I have the most generous mum on the planet, out of nowhere last week she told me that she'd like to buy me one. Of my very own. Mum, it is so, so, so beautiful, and very, very, very red. Thank you for knowing how happy it would make me, and I only wish you lived closer to enjoy some of the baking. Oh yes, there will be baking.

It arrived yesterday and I certainly couldn't go to bed without trying it out. Just a little spin. I decided to try these millet muffins from the soon-to-be-released, Super Natural Every Day, by Heidi Swanson. I had never eaten millet before last night, and maybe it was the magic of my new red mixer, but these muffins were perfect. The millet is a bit crunchy, and the muffin was light and not too sweet. I think you should find yourself some millet today and try these out.

Now if you'll excuse me, my mixer needs a little polishing.
Thanks, mum xxx

A Monday List, On a Tuesday

It was a long Monday. The first third of the day was pretty glorious, actually. I was all by my myself at the office, drinking my coffee, getting work done, by myself. Did I mention I was by myself? My happy little bubble burst when I arrived home to trade off with Matt, who looked as though a certain preschooler had been working him hard. He gave me that face--you know, the one where he both loathes me for having left him with The Children and loves me for returning home. I'm not sure if he actually spoke to me before sprinting out the door.

My afternoon was spent alternating between Alyce bouncing (literally) off the walls and me trying to convince her that we should watch her new DVD, Cars. Please, Alyce, I heard myself saying, just try watching it for a little while--maybe you'll like the cars, when I knew that she really just wanted to watch Rainbow Brite or The Little Mermaid. That Alyce only seems interested in princesses or girls in dresses that she can imagine are princesses, slightly depresses me. Sometimes I wonder if maybe it's not a gendered thing at all. Maybe she is just a kid who likes dresses and tiaras and royal romance and not talking cars. Maybe it has nothing to do with all the other princess-obsessed girls. Maybe Disney hasn't gotten her. Maybe you should all just stop laughing at me and let me live the dream for just a little while longer.

We made it through 30 minutes of Cars. A record.

I tried to get to this post last night, and I did manage to write a few lines, but the evening got away from me, mostly in the form of a kickboxing class at the Y. All I have to say about that is that I was gifted with the opportunity to observe my twice-pregnant belly in a wall of mirrors for sixty minutes! Jealous? Even my trusted yoga pants weren't strong enough to hide it. But no matter. I made children and I choose to proudly bounce around pretending to kickbox no matter how squishy I feel. I adored my belly while pregnant and I'm not going to turn my back on it now.

But the entire point of this post was supposed to be about my list of things to accomplish this week. In honour of Monday and my love of lists, I was hoping to share my vision for the week. (If I refer to my to-do list a vision, I'm hoping it will lend a air of excitement to my otherwise mundane list. I'm thinking big, if you will, because I have so much do get done.) So here it is:

1. Two babies have been born in the last four months and I have not actually spoken to my friends to wish them well and ask how the two babes, Balan and Paige, are doing in the world. Sure, I've sent them messages, but we've been playing phone tag in hopes of an actual conversation. This week I will talk to my friends, both of whom I miss terribly.

2. Write a blog post where I actually discuss what is going on with my job/lack of job/future plans instead of just posting photos of The Children. Or Hille.*

3. Finish and submit some article outlines for a parenting website I might be writing for in the future. Details to follow, but only if they are good details.

4. Spend some much needed time outside. I'm hoping to convince a friend (you know who you are) to find a trail somewhere for a good walk.

5. Organize the craft/project area of the living room. Alyce home full-time=lots and lots of projects. I love them as much as she does.

Five seems a reasonable number. I'll start there.

Anyone else care to share their own lists?

*I don't want to ignore The Children, though, so here are some photos from this morning, in and around breakfast:

Have a great week!

She Swims

This little girl is ready for her first swimming lesson.



It started a few weeks ago when we mentioned that she'd be starting lessons. Will I get a new swimsuit because I've grown? Yes, Alyce. A brand new suit. Will I be able to splash? You bet.

A few days before her first lesson, we packed her bag. I was excited for her, but also a bit anxious. I hated swimming lessons. Loathed them, really. Now, I loved to swim and could spend hours in the water. But for me swimming lessons weren't about enjoying the water, or even really about swimming. When I think about swim class I am immediately flooded (sorry) with insecurities about my body, my inability to crawl forward or backward--don't even get me started on my elementary back stroke--and most of all, my general disinterest in learning to hold my breath. Why would I want to stay under water when the air that I need to breath is right here, on the pool deck. At summer camp I was in the same level swim class four years running.

Speaking of summer camp: One year I had a particularly sadistic counselor-in-training who had me convinced that the water on the other side of the ropes (the area of the lake in which we were permitted to swim was marked with rope) was filled with piranhas. On the second last day of camp she pushed me over the rope into the piranha-infested waters. I screamed, she laughed. I should really look her up.

Back to my Alyce. I want her to learn how to swim and I hope that she loves her lessons. The Talmud, Matt tells me, obligates parents to teach their children how to swim. Alyce knows, because I seem to tell her all the time, that my most important job in the world is to keep her safe. She understands that it's my job to protect her from falling down and getting hurt. If only she knew that I also really want to protect her from feeling bad about her own body or anxious over never quite landing the right stroke. I want to protect her from ever feeling inadequate.



But my obligation is bigger than this. What I really need to do is get Alyce ready to face the world on her own. I can't protect her from feeling inadequate or awkward or clumsy. I just can't, as much as I might want to. What I can do, I hope, is give her the confidence to learn how to swim in spite of the other feelings. I will get excited for swim class right along with her.


I thought she'd be hesitant, but she wasn't. When her teacher called her over to sit by the pool for the first time, she let go of my hand, looked back at me just for a second, and then promptly forgot any anxieties she might have been feeling. She jumped in the water, learned her kicks and scoops, and asked for her next lesson the second the first one was over.

And now my Alyce is a swimmer.

Because I Can't Keep This to Myself

No babies were harmed or even mildly annoyed in the making of this photo.

I hadn't expected to be back here today, but I couldn't sit on this. Matt had the girls this morning while I was at work and I'd asked him to stop by our local food co-op for a few few things. Shopping with two is no easy task, and I appreciate how he improvised when all there weren't any carts for children to properly sit in, you know, with leg holes and straps. I also appreciate that Alyce is shopping with her umbrella. I appreciate a lot of things about my crazy family.

A Good Day

Alyce now reads to me and Shira while I'm nursing. Thanks, Alyce.

I think I've mentioned that it's been a challenge to nurse Shira these last two weeks while we've been transitioning with Alyce home full-time. But I think I've been going about it the wrong way. I've been trying to continue nursing Shira the way I did while Alyce was at school--quietly, on the bed, with few distractions. I'm sure those of you with multiple children are howling with laughter and enjoying that last little bit of my innocence right about now. Unless I actually strap Alyce in a chair in front of a movie (and even then I have doubts), I have no hope of distraction-free nursing time for Shira. So I am letting go of any expectations and accepting the chaos. Until I made this decision I had found myself at odds with Alyce, trying desperately to convince her to give me and Shira some quiet time, and ultimately, I think, making Alyce feel left out. I caught her little face falling and it's just not worth it. I will just have to trust that Shira is getting enough milk. If I looked really hard I'd bet I'd find some extra milk tucked in her arm rolls. She's the resourceful type. She'll be fine.




Shira is compensating for these changes by demanding round-the-clock access to cheese quesadillas. Seems a fair trade. I also enjoy cheese quesadillas, so we're both happy.


We all had a great day yesterday. We had some friends over for a play-date in the afternoon and Alyce was over the moon excited and proud to have a new friend over. I wish I could bottle Alyce's excitement over asking her little friend, do you want to come play in my room?, and give it away to anyone who is having a down-in-the-dumps day. I think it might immediately cure all ills. Once the girls were in bed at the end of the day I abandoned Matt and The Cats and enjoyed a wonderful dinner with a friend and her insanely adorable son, Finley. Considering that I had even made it to the gym in the morning and cleaned the bathroom, it was a pretty fantastic day.

Finley, a seasoned dinner companion, seemed to enjoy our company.

I'd love to know what you're doing for the weekend. Is spring in the air where you live? I remain optimistic.

So She Grows Another Tooth Just As I'm About To Fall Asleep

How is anyone going to get around to sleeping with this red cheek showing up?

Some babies drool, some scream, others develop glow-in-the-dark rosy cheeks. This particular rosy cheek is courtesy of Shira's third tooth (first on the top), that has finally made an appearance after months of these cheeks. Speaking of cheeks, my mum told me this week that my grandmother's cheeks were so rosy as a baby that her mother was regularly accused of putting rouge on her. Rouge. As if Shira would sit still long enough for rouge. It seems that while Alyce received her name, it is Shira who carries on my grandmother's glow. How lovely.

Her new tooth isn't quite keeping Shira awake, so to speak, but it is keeping her nursing. Before I realized it, Shira was in bed with me last night for an hour. We were both mostly sleeping, sometimes awake, and always comfortable. See, that's where I get into trouble. She wakes up (last night it wasn't until two or three) and the zombie version of myself scoops her up and brings her to bed. She starts nursing and I'm back asleep in a few minutes. I have, since the moment she arrived, loved sleeping with Shira, as though I grew her just to keep me warm at night. While Matt and I love the idea of having our grown-up, child-free bed, if sleeping with Shira in bed with us meant that we'd all get a good night's sleep, we'd be happy to change our bed habits. But when she's not teething, Shira is a terrible sleep partner. It's true.




I expect another teething babe in bed with me tonight. I realize that this is doing very little for our efforts at sleep-training, but I've had enough experience with tooth pain in my own life to say no to her. Once again, she's playing me like a sucker.