Takes of the Quick Kind

I've finally remembered that I have a laptop and since I have a baby that pretty much refuses to sleep anywhere but on me, maybe I can actually get back into writing! That would be exciting. No guarantees. But maybe.

(He knew I wanted to do something - he woke up as soon as I started writing. Nate took him and Rosie on a walk with the dog and Freddy is still napping, so huzzah!)

Freddy's Birth Story

The last blog post I wrote was over a year ago, with the words, "Trying to get back on the blogging wheel." Haaaaaaaaaahahahahaha!

Clearly, I'm terrible at this, but in the past year, Freddy turned 1 (and now 2), I was a birth sherpa for my best friend, I got pregnant and gave birth to another child, and we dealt with all sorts of other stuff along the way (flooded basement, totaled van, Nate starting grad school...it's been crazy). However, I realized that I haven't written Freddy's labor story, and that needs to be rectified before it starts to fade (especially since I've got another kid in the collection!). So, here we gooo:

7 Quick Takes - Birthday week!

I don't know how quickly I ever really do these. But since I'm trying to get back on the blogging wheel...

--- 1 ---

Little Miss Rosie had a pretty phenomenal birthday. Fresh baked lemon-blueberry scones (that she refused to eat until the next day), poofy dress, the movie Frozen...and snow. Yes, for the second year in a row, there was frozen precipitation, and that makes every March 25 literally since the day she was born to have some kind of precipitation.

That sounds all snarky, but it really was a wonderful day. The only meltdown was over the scones, she had a great nap, she and Freddy played nicely and read tons of books, and her godmother came over and had dinner and watched a movie with us all. Really, a lovely birthday.

Poofy dress courtesy of my mom. Frozen courtesy of Costco (and apparently cheaper at Target. Womp womp).

This might be false enthusiasm, but it's adorable.

You can't see it, but the sandbox she got for her birthday is covered in snow. She wanted to go out and play. Her godmother took her out briefly and built a snowman. Rosie ran in circles and asked to play in the sandbox.

--- 2 ---

Those scones I baked were from a cookbook called My Irish Table that my dad got me for my birthday. If I'm honest, the recipe actually called for orange zest and currants, but as I'm not a huge fan of currants and don't recall seeing them stateside, I switched it up with lemon zest and blueberries. Still tasty!

The author is the owner of several restaurants in the Alexandria area, including a speakeasy (secret location and everything!), so I'm kind of intrigued now. Sadly, I think the fish and chips place is going to be the only one we can afford. But hey - it's Lent, so that works.

Noms.

So far, I've made the potato and leek soup (delicious), batch bread (would probably have been better if I owned the type of pan he specified using), and the scones (twice, though I've not gotten them to rise properly yet). Even if those recipes turned out to be mediocre, the little notes of life growing up in Ireland and the proper ingredients are worth reading. For instance: why does shepherd's pie in the states use beef? Shepherds have access to sheep, not cows.

Cows do taste better, though...

--- 3 ---

Dad was born in Philly to an Irish-born woman and an Irish-blooded American man. One of his prime grievances for St. Patrick's Day is the proliferation of corned beef. As he would say, "That's what they fed the Irish working on the railroads in the US. The Irish in Ireland couldn't afford beef." He and my siblings and I can claim Irish citizenship if we want, and frankly, I've been seriously thinking about it for a while. I don't get to travel overseas much, but there are some perks to having an EU passport that may be worth it. Plus, how am I going to compete in the Olympics otherwise?

I'm going to have to pick up a sport. I'm thinking archery.

--- 4 ---

Back to Rosie's birthday - there was one small issue that happened...

Rosie and Freddy share a room, and Rosie has been known to, um, share things. I've come in to see Freddy covered in every single article of clothing from the dresser tossed into his crib. On her birthday, Rosie decided to shove the bottle of leave-in hair conditioner through the slats to him. Oh, and she either unscrewed or loosened the top for him. Nate went up, saw the light on (Rosie also loves doing that), went in to turn it off, and saw Freddy covered in conditioner - including his mouth.

One phone call to poison control later (after, actually, one call to his nurse mom, who then said, "Uh, you should be talking to poison control, not me.") and we found out that it was probably going to act like a laxative and to keep an eye on him for 30 minutes. He ended up being totally unaffected, thankfully, so I can just shake my head.

Since we haven't seen him yet - hey, Fredders!

He was a sleepier version of this while we waited for that half hour.

PS - Poison control apparently makes follow-up phone calls. Who knew? However, sometimes their note-taking skills aren't the greatest....

Nate: Hello?

PC: Yes, this is poison control. We're just calling to check up on the child who got into the air conditioner?

Nate: ...HAIR conditioner. Like, shampoo.

PC: Oh! That makes a lot more sense.

PPS - My MIL said that she was on a first-name basis with poison control with one of my BILs. Crossing fingers for that not happening here.

--- 5 ---

I was hoping that this extended cold would have two effects: 

1. Limit the bug population. 

2. Severely damage the Bradbury pear trees, preferably so much so that they would die or have to be taken down.

I'd heard that the bugs were suffering, in particular the stinkbugs (which don't stink when you squish them, btw. They are stupid, easily catchable, and easily squishable - completely useless insects, frankly, since they aren't even serving as a food source for most critters around here). However, saw one, very much alive, today in the kids' room. Also, we've had ants for a few days now. So 1 is sadly proving untrue.

As for the Bradbury pears - well, the ones behind our house seem to be fine and budding, so smelly trees will soon be here. At least they're pretty?

--- 6 ---

My best friend's due date is fast approaching. She's planning a homebirth with the same midwife that delivered her husband (!) and I get to be there as a gopher/extra encouragement. I'm pretty stoked, though I've only been on the actively laboring and birthing end of things. Even more fun - she isn't so sure she's going to be past her due date anymore because things seem to be starting to happen already. Yes!

Maybe I'll win the baby pool!

--- 7 ---

Gotta start and end with the birthday girl. Here's proof that my daughter is a bit of a freak:

For those unable to understand toddler or who are unfamiliar with children's literature, that would be Rosie reciting the end of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, which, frankly, is hard for me to keep track of sometimes. The very last page is the response to, "Children, children, what do you see?" and is a recitation of everything in the book: "We see a brown bear, a red bird, a yellow duck, a blue horse, a green frog, a purple cat, a white dog, a black sheep, a goldfish, and a teacher looking at us."

That's what we see!

For more Quick Takes, go see Jen and others at Conversion Diary!

7QT: Rollercoaster style

So, wow. I haven't written in a while. Things have been a little on the crazy side with holidays and life and stuff (I'm super articulate, too). What better way to get caught up than to just dump it all into some quick takes? In chronological order, though. Gotta keep the flow.

--- 1 ---

My 10-year high school reunion was last week. I was kind of excited about going, not having seen a bunch of people for so long, but it was in a bar and I'm an old lady, so I ended up leaving earlier than I would have liked simply because I couldn't hear anyone at all. How am I supposed to catch up with peoples' lives when I'm trying to figure out if they were talking about human resources or racehorses?

I like big bundts and I cannot lie

I couldn't resist.

Anyway, I found a few cake recipes that I want to remember to try at some point, and if I put them on people's walls on facebook (or even post them directly to mine) I'm never going to find them again.

So.

Pumpkin Cake with Maple Frosting and Apple Cider Caramel

I actually have NO idea why I want to try this one so badly - I don't have a huge affinity for pumpkin or maple flavors. But something about it screams fall and I just want my house to smell like that. I asked my BIL if he'd be my guinea pig since Nate isn't a pumpkin fan, either. Perhaps I should make it to take down to my in-laws on Saturday when we go watch the 50th anniversary Doctor Who special since we don't have cable.

Five Favorites: The Zoo!

I took Freddy and Rosie to the zoo for the first time on Monday. Since it was Veteran's Day, both my dad and my FIL had the day off, so they, plus my mom, MIL, BIL, and SIL, were able to come. We would have taken advantage of the sequester to take them before it got cooler, but, well, the zoo got closed then, too. Luckily, the day was sunny and clear, even if it was chilly.

I have to say, I enjoyed the zoo much more as a parent than I have in the past as a teenager or childless adult. I mean, I've always liked seeing the animals and learning about them, but seeing the wonderment of a child is kind of awesome. That said, here are some of my favorite parts of the trip.

WIWS Take 1!

You know how you can guarantee awful behavior at Mass? Brag about how well they did last time.

Today was rough. The time change did a number on Freddy. By the time we hit 12:15 Mass, he was way overtired and refused to fall asleep until about 5 minutes before the final blessing. He spent most of Mass in my arms screaming or arching or otherwise making life difficult, so please don't quiz me on the readings or the homily, because I missed all of them. Rosie was a peach, though, and even though she might not have been super quiet and demure, she was at least adorable (dancing and clapping in Nate's lap during the hymns, occasionally singing and chatting in a little voice).

And since the kids were up a little earlier than normal, Nate took them on his walk with Freya so I had time to ::gasp:: take a shower and pick an outfit without any kiddos around! And, even more shocking...I kind of felt cute! What the what. So hey, why don't I actually try to take a picture for "What I Wore Sunday" link-ups?

7QT: Today, all day!

I'm sure that I could be more creative with this title, but honestly, my brain is a little fried, and it's somehow both already and only 11:00 pm. So let's get this party started!

7QT: Media edition

So I normally don't put in too many pictures because, well, I'm lazy and either forget to take said pictures or just don't get around to uploading them from either my camera or my phone and all of a sudden it's been 2 months since I took that really cute picture/video. Well, not this time. Nosirree. We're gonna have stuff in here!

And now, my first 7QT!

Another linkup! Who am I??

--- 1 ---

Freddy is big enough that trying to keep him in the infant prefolds is an exercise in futility. If he isn't soaking through it in 10 minutes, it is a pain to get it on and make sure everything is covered. I'm convinced that while it's harder to clean girls, actually getting the diaper on boys is...a challenge. So to the next size up we go! Now I only have to pack one size of diapers in the bag!

It (Sometimes Literally) Takes a Village

I have a low supply.

I learned the hard way to trust my instinct on this one. Every single stinking lactation consultant, doctor, and blog written by either an IBCLC or doctor or will say, "Even if xyz are happening, you probably don't have a low supply." Even if you're checking off every thing on their list, it's probably not low supply, because it's very rare that a woman cannot produce enough milk because it's a supply and demand thing.

Well, I'm that anomaly. It happened to an extreme with Rosie last year. She ended up losing almost half a pound between her 4 and 6 month check-ups. I look back at the pictures and wonder how I didn't see that she was losing weight. The truth is, I did see it. I just was told that I didn't and wanted to believe that I didn't.

Average-ish Day in the Life

I know, these average days are generally boring, and that's probably a good thing, but there's gotta be a constant to compare the anomalies to, right?

We needed groceries, so after breakfast and Freddy's mid-morning nap, we headed off to the grocery stores (I regularly shop at 3 different grocery stores - that's an entirely different post - but we only hit 2 today) and got back as quickly as possible so I could make a phone call discussing responsibilities for this new part time gig I have. I brought in the perishable groceries, tossed Rosie in her crib well past her normal naptime, and crossed my fingers that she and Freddy would stay quiet for my call.

Oddity: Rosie refused to nap. She spent 2+ hours in the dark in her crib playing and chatting and occasionally yelling about how unfair life is. Normally, she'll quiet down after at most 30 minutes and go to sleep, but not today. After the call, I waited, hoping she would sleep, but I had to admit defeat around 5 or 5:30 (also well past when she normally wakes up, but I had to try). However, she was in a super snuggly mood after I got her, so Nate took Freddy on Freya's walk and I got to enjoy some rare cuddle time before I got dinner ready (SUPER simple today - bread I made yesterday, brie, and apples).

Rosie spent most of dinner laughing because....well, I'm going to go with because she was high from sleep deprivation. Everything was funny, and she was leaning over one side of the high chair cracking herself up over nothing. Children are clearly the best entertainment and this is the reason people had so many before electricity and the invention of television.

Before we put her to bed, she decided that she wanted to go to town hugging and kissing Freddy. Rosie's idea of hugging is more like strangling, so we have to keep an eye on her ("What did you do??" "I don't know! I was just hugging him and all of a sudden his head popped off!"), but it is so heartwarming to see that she really does care about her little brother. When I was pregnant, I was terrified that there would be regressive behavior and battles over attention and coup attempts, but I've been very pleasantly surprised.

I have been blessed with pretty easygoing children. They have their moments, and while Rosie was not pleased that we were walking away from the different sample ladies at Costco and Freddy was tired and telling everyone about it at Wegmans before finally passing out in the carrier, such moments are the exception. I'm sure now that I've written that they will prove me horribly wrong. Here's hoping they only prove me wrong at home.

This photo is about 2 months old, but it gives you the general idea of their personalities.

Finally, a story about Nate that I already posted on FB. If you don't know, Nate is a bit of a sleepwalker and talker. Sometimes he'll just kind of mumble or look around, but sometimes I get absolute gems like this from last night:

Nate: [moves arm so that it's almost in my face] [intense stare]

me: ...

Nate: [swoops arm around in a loop to the other side]

me: What are you doing?

Nate: Reading.

He glared at me when I laughed at him, but luckily he has no memory of any of it.

Plus, look at that face. How could you possibly not laugh?
Full disclosure: this picture is from right before Rosie was born. Imagine a lot more exhaustion and joy.

So there you go. A general idea of how a day might go, and thankfully without any pictures of the house, because it's an absolute mess. I could probably do something about it now, but I have the rest of a glass of wine calling me instead. And if it calls, I must answer, and answer it completely uninterrupted, unlike my showers, sleep, and meals.