Flying Time...

It's almost unfathomable to me that Baby Bird is already almost a year old. A YEAR! Seriously? In fact, it's been almost exactly a year since that fateful doctor's appointment where we discovered that I had a placental disfunction that was causing high blood pressure for me and was likely going to result in an early birth. Without question, the month that followed was the most frightening of my life but I can't begin to quantify the daily joy that has filled our lives since she was born.

We have been entirely blessed with a relaxed, happy, goofy and altogether chill little baby. She sleeps well, she eats well and she is thriving in all ways. She has a big toothless grin that is plastered across her face almost all the time except when that face is being washed, which from the sound coming out of her, you'd think was akin to some kind of torture. She loves the cats and they mostly tolerate her.

I still look at her with a sense of disbelief that she belongs to us and that we created her.  It still seems like a crazy miracle. 

There have been two other babies born in the family in the last year and I am looking forward to this coming summer with great anticipation, already seeing visions of three little ones playing together outside. What a difference a year makes to the shape of an extended family!! When we all get together, we talk about poop a lot. 

In about six weeks, I'll be going back to work.  My feelings about going back are by no means consistent. I have moments where I feel almost ready and moments of definite dread.  We have a spot for BB in a day care in Prairie Hamlet and I'm not actually particularly worried about her ability to adjust to this new situation at all.  I'm sure that it will take a few days, but I know she'll be fine.  We'll be starting her out at the day care full time but the hope is to move her to three days a week later in the summer and to have WH stay home with her for the other two. I think that this will be a great thing for both of them!

In the meantime, I am trying to work through a long list of household projects that I wanted to get done before I go back.  The approach for now is to take on one project per day. Yesterday, the project was sorting through all of the many baby-related resources that we've acquired in the last year, throwing away duplicates and filing the rest.  I had hoped to take on further paperwork sorting today, but a sick baby may waylay that plan.

I also plan to blog more, as a means to both work through the conflicting feelings associated with going back to work and get back into the swing of writing. There is a significant amount of writing in my work and I'm badly out of practice.

And with that, I hear the sad sounds of a snotty baby bird waking up...

Looking to the weekend

Tomorrow, along with being the feast of St. Michael and every single one of the blasted angels, is our birthday. I say 'our' because WH and I were born on the same day, but eight years apart. 

I don't think that a birthday has ever before snuck up on me quite so quickly and unnoticed as this one.  I think that having a baby naturally makes a person a little bit less self-involved so I haven't had a lot of time to think about turning thirty-three. 

We have decided to forego presents this year. We've both run out of time and besides, we're about to take on a significant renovation in our basement so we don't feel like we have a lot of extra money to be spending on gifts for each other that we don't really need.  We will go out on Sunday, taking in a concert in the afternoon and then going for dinner.  Miss A will spend a delectable afternoon with her Auntie.

Otherwise, we'll spend a nice weekend together as a family.

It'll be perfect.

Happiness

One of the new things we've seen with Miss A in the last month is a developing list of things that make her happy.  Ever since she first smiled she has smiled a lot, but we are now starting to see patterns of specific things that bring out her biggest and broadest smiles and giggles. 

Foremost on the list this week, it seems, are FEET.  Her own, her dad's, her mom's...  she's not biased like that.  Last night, in the bath, I sat her up and splashed my foot in the water.  PEALS of laughter.  And then I splashed her feet in the water.  DOUBLE PEALS of laughter.

She is also developing an increasing happiness at the sight of the cats.  They continue to be pretty ambivalent about her, but she smiles at them when they come in the room, she follows their every movement and if we're lucky enough to be able to get her close enough to stroke one of them, she squeals with delight.

And we - her mama and papa - are also on that list, thankfully!  First thing in the mornings and when she wakes up from her naps, she is always thrilled to see one of us come through the door of her nursery.  We get the big smile and she kicks her feet as hard as she can to show us how excited she is to be getting up to face the next part of her day. 

On sleeping

I love my daughter very much. She's more fun every day, she's happy and she's doing all kinds of new things that are so exciting to witness.

I also love when she's asleep.

We are in the process of transitioning her from three naps a day to two. This has meant more general crankiness as we approach nap time -- because she's been awake for longer -- but it also means wonderful long naps, often two hours long. She also goes to sleep at 7pm and sleeps through until at least 3 or 4 am every night.

I love those sleeping hours.

I love that I can take some of that time to have adult conversations with WH or with other family or friends.  I love that I can take some of that time to catch up on housework or other items on the to-do list. I love that I can take some of that time to sit in front of the television. I love that I can take some of that time to sleep myself!

And I love that when she wakes up from her nap or wakes up in the morning, she's back to her usual rested, happy and delightful self.

God bless sleep.

Randoms on Motherhood

Just a few random smattering of thoughts from the first (almost) six months of A's life:

• While there was a great deal about her challenging beginning that was  difficult for WH and me, there was much about the experience that was positive.  We got so much wonderful care and tremendous coaching from the nurses in the NICU, all of which provided us with a wonderful start when we finally got to bring her home.  
• She's a wonderful sleeper (knock on wood) and that is a relief to me.
• There is nothing quite so empowering as discovering that she is growing! 
• I have a New Mom's Group here in Prairie Hamlet that is run by the local health centre.  Nurses come each week and give a lecture and answer questions on a variety of topics, including growth, development, teething, sleep, nutrition, local resources, injury prevention, etc.  Judging by the questions asked in the first couple of sessions, if all the classes were called "Eating and Sleeing cont.," we'd all be happy.  I'm also amused by how many of the questions are phrased as follows: "My baby does X; is that normal?"  Commonality of experience is comforting. 
• There is nothing quite so humbling as being thrown up on. 
• God Bless You, Mr. Jolly Jumper. God Bless You. 
• I've been interested by how one redefines success as a mother.  Coffee, a shower and breakfast?  That's a successful day. 
• The cats have been totally ambivalent to the new family member.  She, on the other hand, is now very interested in them! 
• She is very alert and spends lots of time simply looking around and taking in the world.  For this reason, I'm excited to start her on solid food, to get to be a part of all the new experiences that entails.  I recognize that they won't all be easy or enjoyable experiences, but I'm glad that we get to witness them! 
• We took her camping this weekend and she loved it.  The temperature dropped to about 8C at night and with all her various bundlings, she was a complete champion. 
• She is, quite simply, the niftiest thing I have ever come across.

Updates

It's astonishing how quickly maternity leave is flying by.  Miss A is already a shocking five months old!  WH, A and I have spent a really delightful summer together, including a little bit of travel, some great visits with family near and far and beautiful weather! 

September now approaches and the name of the game will be routine and making the very best use of my time!

To that end, here's what's been on my mind:

• More cooking, better eating! 
• No "background" TV
• Quality time with my husband and good quality time at that.
• Quality time with our daughter and good quality time at that.
• A potential basement renovation to make the most productive and fulfilling use of the space that we own.
• Eliminating extraneous "noise" around us.
• Quality time with extended family and friends and good quality time at that. 
• Being just a little bit more thoughtful and a little bit less reactive all the time. 
• Teamwork. 

Catching up, catching up

Well, my dear friends, aside from being a negligent blogger, life continues on apace!

We are now almost 28 weeks pregnant, so just at the beginning of our third trimester. I feel bigger every day, and every time that I think that this baby can't get any stronger, he/she delivers a kick stronger than any I've felt before. 

I have absolutely loved being pregnant.

Relative to many, I think that I have had a pretty easy pregnancy.  Some morning sickness that extended almost all of the way through my second trimester, but nothing too bad or too disruptive to every day life. I've been lucky  to have had no medical complications (knock on wood) thus far. My doctor is confident that the pregnancy and the birth will be straightforward and low risk.  I have grown and gained weight at pretty standard rates and the little one has done all the things he/she is expected to approximately when he/she was expected to do them.

So we have had lots of time to simply enjoy the experience, for which I am immensely grateful.  I try to spend some time every day just watching my stomach move or feeling the kicks and punches and rolls without doing anything else.  Just taking that time is part of a general intent in my life to uncomplicate and slow down before the baby comes. 

Slowing down seems to have resulted in more time for things like cooking, planning the nursery, shopping and reading, all of which I'm enjoying.

I wouldn't go as far as to say that life isn't busy, but it's a very fun and interesting kind of busy!

Hope to blog more in the near future about it!

This weekend

We are nearing the end of WH's latest examining trip to Closeby Province and I am very, very ready for him to come home.  After he's home, the only travel in our near future involves both of us, together, and I can't wait for that.

Fortunately, I have good friends taking care of me while he is away.  Yesterday, I went to two baseball games in which the son of our friends, J and D, was playing.  LittleJ is five and just about the cutest thing you've ever seen (trust me), and I had a wonderful time watching him play. It's amazing at that age, you know, because from the beginning of the first game to the end of the second game, I could almost SEE him learning things and then applying them.  They have a great format in Prairie Hamlet's league; they play two innings, all the kids get to bat each inning, half the kids play in the field each inning and the other half go out into the outfield and practice their batting.  The kids get four swings at pitches thrown by a machine, and then they get to hit off the tee.  So it's a great balance between ensuring that all of the kids have a positive experience while still learning the skills of the game. 

Too much fun, and it was a beautiful day, and this morning I can see all of the places where I missed the sunscreen.

Last night, I attended Prairie City's high school theatre awards and was thoroughly inspired by the quality of young talent that was on display.  Our friend D, father of the baseball pro mentioned above, is a drama teacher in Prairie Hamlet, and his students' December production of a Christmas Carol was many times nominated.  And, in the end, were the successful winners of the awards for best set design, best costumes, best featured actor (for the young man who played Jacob Marley) and best lead actor (for Scrooge).   It was a great thing to witness!

I'm having a quiet morning today, still in bed at 11am sipping my coffee with Mama Cat asleep under the covers, purring so loudly that she's actually vocalizing.  Also pushing laundry, so it's not totally lazy.  This afternoon is a Princess-themed birthday party for J and D's daughter, S, so I guess I have some wrapping to do.  And I just heard the dryer buzz, so I should move things along in that direction too.

Hope you're having a relaxing weekend!

Hey look!

It's a blog! Fancy that...

Anyhoo, WH is away for the next couple of weeks examining piano exams, bless his heart, so Chorus is on her own. Of course, I have Mama Cat and Baby Cat, who, somewhat inexplicably, take up the same amount of space on the bed as WH, including his portion of covers.  I actually woke up at one point last night, sat up, looked at them both and said, "Seriously??" They didn't seem embarassed.

Here we are in June and the weather has been beautiful for the last couple of weeks, but tonight there is a frost warning and a chance of snow.  Harumph.  I have brought the potted annuals inside and covered the tomatoes and the herbs with pillow cases and that will have to do.

We have had an exciting spring in the garden here at one-oh-six, spending the equivalent of two car payments on perennials for the new garden that WH built me last year.  We have this new obsession with hostas; it's quite cute.  We also bought 5 trees and as soon as WH is back from his adventure, the trees will go into the ground.

I hope that you're all doing well!

I am addicted to...

... HGTV.

A couple of recent stays at home during the day have meant finding that HGTV is a really inspiring and lovely way to spend TV-watching time.  And as a result of countless episodes of home buying and home decor shows watched in the last couple of months, WH and I are a little bit more motivated to complete some of the home decorating projects that have been trickling along since we moved in.

We went to an antique superstore in Prairie City and found a really nice antique buffet.  It needs a little bit of refinishing work but otherwise, it's exactly what we've described wanting for a long time.  It's dark wood, with cabinet space big enough to hold our liquor cabinet, small drawers for wine stoppers, corkscrews, coasters, the guest book, etc., and a big drawer for linens.  It fits in really nicely with the space and we love it!

Today, we tired to do some more antique shopping for decor items but the local store wasn't open so instead we went to Home Sense, where we found three large wooden candle holders to put next to our fireplace downstairs.  Then off to Michael's to buy nice big candles for them!

We are now also on a pretty active search for artwork for the walls in our living room. We were looking at a design website this morning that had a neat shelving idea that we think we can do on one of the big and currently-bare walls in our upstairs family room, but we really want to do a couple of similar modern-ish paintings in the living room. We're also looking for either a long and narrow painting or for a series of repeating decor pieces to go over the fireplace.  We don't have a mantle but we're trying to think a little bit outside the box for the fireplace space.  A mantle is a possibility though too!

We have interest in three-dimensional decor pieces for smaller wall spaces, things like plates or masks.


It's fun! We're having a good time!

Quiet Morning

I'm enjoying a quiet morning at One-Oh-Six today.  WH is at church while I stay home recovering from a minor surgical procedure that I had on Friday.  I'm feeling better today than I did yesterday, but still a bit sore, especially when I twist or stretch more than I should. 

Thanks to my best friend, who stocked me up with an excellent selection of trashy magazines, I have caught up on all of my celebrity gossip and I have satisfying chocolates close at hand.  I'm not pushing myself too hard, but I think that some laundry is in order.  Today is a day for shuffling around the house at a leisurely pace, I think!

I had my second shower this morning since the surgery and I still can't get all of the iodine stains off my skin.  They sure don't skimp on that stuff, which is probably good. 

The cats aren't sure what they did to be so lucky to have humans home for long periods of time over the last couple of days. They are celebrating by sleeping deeply. That seems to be their default response to any situation, now that I think about it.  Happy? Have a deep sleep.  Sad? Have a deep sleep.  Hungry?  Meow a lot and then have a deep sleep.  Sleepy?  Well, that's definitely deep sleep time.  They are nothing if not predictable.

Anyway, let the shuffling begin!

Production

I like being productive. This morning, I got up not-too-early but not-too-late, made it to the local decor store before it was a frothing maelstrom of Christmas shoppers, got all the shopping done for our friends, got to the grocery store before IT was chaos, got home before lunch, wrapped presents, did laundry, etc.

And I have more to do this weekend that I will happily do! And I can go to bed tonight knowing that it was both a restful day and a useful one.

I'm just waiting for WH to get home from a caroling gig at a shopping mall in a town close to ours. We have been having the most incredibly busy December, so I think that we are looking forward to an evening ...

... pause for cat to get comfortable in my lap...

... at home together. I took some pork tenderloin out of the freezer earlier, so there will even be dinner. Hallelujah.

And now I hear the dryer buzzing its completion, so back to it!

More good decisions

I am taking Fridays in August off.

Four long weekends in a row, all lovely opportunities to sleep in, golf, get the last of the summer housework done and maybe get out of town for a couple of days, depending how the housework goes.

So this morning, I'm sitting in bed at 9am having a cup of coffee (coffee in bed is one of my favourite things), with cats on either side of me, contemplating getting my oil changed and doing some serious cleaning in the basement. It doesn't sound very glamourous, but I am grateful to have the extra time to do the things that need doing!!

Good decisions

The husband and I made a really good decision last winter. We got a cleaning lady. Two cleaning ladies, in fact! For the purposes of this blog, I think that I shall refer to them as our Angels.

One of the difficulties of my having a day job and WH having a job that requires a lot of evening hours is that there really isn't a lot of time that we spend together at home during the school year. We made the decision to employ our Angels because we didn't want to be spending most of what little time we're both here cleaning the house. The Angels come every two weeks and do the floors and the kitchen and the bathrooms, they dust and brush the cat hair off the couches, they empty and clean the garbage and compost bins... they really are amazing. Having them has also provided a good disciplinary practice for WH and I. The night before they come, we go through the house and do all the tidying, put everything away, and sort through any piles of "stuff" that have accumulated in the last two weeks. The practice goes a long way to keeping us in control of our space, which is so gratifying.

Last week, we came home after the Angels were here to find the house full of flowers. Turns out that one of our cleaning ladies is an award-winning gardener, and she had brought flowers from her garden for our house. She left a note offering ongoing access to any clippings from her perennials. How kind is that?!

August Ramblings

It's so amazing to me that August has rolled around again. What happened to July, or to May and June, for that matter?

WH and I are having a really lovely summer. We had a great trip east to visit his family, a trip that included TWO baseball games, lots of swimming, lots of laughs and lots of relaxation. We have golfed a lot, eaten good food and drunk good drink. I can't remember a summer that I've loved as much as this one... and so much of that happiness came from simply sitting in the sunshine. And now we've reached that part of the summer where the mind can't help but start to poke at the things that need to be done before September, the choir to-do list, the last yard work, etc.

In an effort to make the most of the last few weeks of summer, I've opted to take Fridays in August off, which should allow us to get a few more rounds in and to spend some dedicated time on the yard. We'll be digging out a flower garden in the back yard, planting a few trees and replacing the garden space next to our front door, at the very least. We may get around to a few more cosmetic details while we're at it.

I hope that your summer is going well and that you, too, are getting a chance to enjoy the sun!

Conversations

This morning, at roughly 6am:

Me: Good morning Mama Cat. We are going to put you up for adoption, ok?
Mama Cat: Meow.
Me: We are going to put out a notice today that says, "FREE TO A GOOD HOME. OR EVEN A BAD HOME. REALLY, FREE TO ANY HOME AT ALL."
MC: Meow.
Me: And if that doesn't work, we may just move and leave you here for the new owners to deal with.
MC: Meow.
Me: Or, we might drive you out to the provincial bison park and drop you off to there to fend for yourself against the bison.
MC: Meow Meow
Me: Because bison probably don't care when you get up at 2am and decide to knock golf tees off the bedside table and then chase them around the room. Bison don't care... no they don't!
MC: Meow
Me: They might care when you attack their toes while they're sleeping though.
MC: Meow
Me: Sigh
...
...
...
Me: You're awfully cute, you know that?
MC: Meow.

Weekend in Review

A gooder, I think, all in all...

Helped WH with recording a student recital (nice to hear a genuINE alto, for once) at MHU on Friday night. And by help, I mean arrived after he had set everything up, sat with him in the booth during the recital, put away three things after the recital, and then put my coat on in a meaningful manner... USEFUL! Popped over to the home of some dear friends afterwards to have a glass of wine and get caught up. Much amused by their little boy, who has discovered the little suction cup toys that you press down and then wait to see them shoot up into the air when the suction cup releases. No matter how many times he played, he took great joy in the whole process every time, right up to the peals of giggling at the end. Great joy.

Saturday, we had a very productive Chamber Choir retreat in preparation for a very large project being done in partnership with another chamber choir in the province. We have officially turned the corner with the music, so that feels great! Then back over to the home of the same dear friends to present the little boy with his birthday present. (He's FOUR! Already! Hard to believe I held him when he was only 12 hours old.) Then WH off to record another student recital and me off to grocery shop.

The Sunday morning service at MHU was one of those services where eight things go wrong but in the end, you go home satisfied anyway. There was reading confusion, and psalm confusion, and confusion in the mind of the intercessor about where last weeks' mining accident had occurred (West Virginia... Kentucky... whatev). But we got a smoker of a sermon from our Hon. Ass't that felt pointedly directed at ME (because it's all about ME), so there was much to reflect on that made the rest of the morning's oopsies seem irrelevant.

And then last night, another student recital, one that I'll list among the very best of the (many) that I've heard. Tough repertoire, maturely delivered, demonstrating the most incredible ability to be both restrained and LOOKATMYBIGVOICE that you could possibly imagine.

So a good weekend leading into another long week.

How are you?

Augenblick Update

Surgery went well and recovery is proceeding apace.

I'm a little bit ... bored, I guess, but the fact that the surgically repaired eye is not yet working together with the good eye means that I can't read, I can't really spend any more than 15 minutes on the internet at one time, I can't play any of the games that usually occupy my free time... I can watch TV, however, so that's what I've been doing. And napping.

Tomorrow, I hope to get out for a walk with WH to get some fresh air. Maybe if I'm feeling really ambitious, I'll do laundry!

Speaking of WH, he's been entirely lovely in the TLC department, fetching things to and fro and keeping me laughing and cheerful at every turn. He has also been totally non-judgmental when, to the question of what I want to eat, I have responded with, "Chips. And spring rolls. And tater tots."

Well, my 15 minutes is up...

Augenblick

Some of you may recall this post about about my cataract problem from last April.

Well, tomorrow the cataract is coming out! I have some anxieties about the surgery itself, but nothing serious, and I'm looking forward to having the week that follows off to rest. And I'm very much looking forward to the results, which I understand from others to be pretty much instantaneous. In the meantime, I'm figuring out the pre and post-operative eye drop schedule, which a person almost needs an excel spreadsheet to track. Is there an app for that??

Wish me luck!

Touching Base

Hey there, neglecterinos.

I'm still here.

Life chugs along apace, busy and stressful work, busy but lovely choral responsibilities, fulfilling and happy life at home.

And I am watching lots of Olympics, which I love.

WH is away these two weeks adjudicating in another province so we are learning the wonders of Skype. How nifty is that?!

The cats are the same - needy, but sweet.

And on we go.

I hope to write more profound things in the coming days, but we'll see.