A Month of Friends

Our Month of Friends began when Auntie Nicole, Uncle Darren and Carys arrived on January 22nd. We were all looking forward to their visit and even though the daddies had to leave us early on Sunday, Nicole and I had a wonderful time just hanging out in the house for the week with the kids. We didn't really do that much but here is what went down:

• we had a wicked stuffed pork dinner with extremely large flights of good red wine (we were being deliberately pretentious and it was fun). Hanan and Dave joined us and I am not quite sure how the babies slept through the hysterical laughing that went on. We finished the night off with the homemade coconut ice cream mentioned in one of my last blogs. It was a big hit.
• we had Sara over for dinner on Saturday night. I laboured over Asian cuisine and, well--let's just say I won't do that again. It is much easier and more enjoyable to make something like the pork when you are having guests. Things that require perfect timing are very difficult to juggle when you want to socialize with friends. I didn't burn anything even though the smoke alarm would beg to differ (it went off many many times while the babies were in bed. And yep--they slept through it).
• we went to swimming lessons which really only last 5 minutes because the water was freezing cold and Rowan was very unhappy. So was daddy.
• we tackled Coras with 4 adults and 2 babies and 2 strollers. It must have been entertaining to watch us trying to squeeze in to the booth and then leave making sure we had all of the soothers, the clothing etc. Going out has never been so much fun!
• we drank a LOT of coffee.
• we did a LOT of dishes.
• we fed a LOT of food to the babies but forgot about ourselves almost every day.
• we sang "Zoom, Zoom, Zoom" so many times that it is permanently etched in my brain.
• we laughed so hard that no noise came out.
  
• we cried a bit too. Motherhood has made blubbering mushies out of Nicole and I.
• we had a visit from a ghost.
  
• we went to Chapters where poor Carys almost boiled to death.
• we made homemade pizza and devoured the entire thing. Partly because it was delicious. Partly because we were starving.
• we talked to Jenn P sitting in Toronto and to John in Bath over Skype which inspired Nicole to go out and get her very own webcam. We plan to have coffee together sometimes. We'll probably sing "Zoom, Zoom, Zoom" the entire time.
• we had a day of barf.
• we sat in amazement of the kiddies and talked about everything baby just like all new moms do.
  
• I taught Nicole to cast on and to read a pattern (sort-of). When she asked what she will do when she gets to the next part of the bunny hat and she is stuck I responded: "We'll Skype!". Ha! I bet those crafty people who invented Skype didn't intend it to be used for knitting instruction.
  
• I finished a toque for the "cause". That's a scarf and a hat done and added to the pile-that-will-be.
• we played with so many baby toys and somehow invented new ways of doing so every day. Who knew playing could be so much work!
• we made gross looking baby food. We learned that Rowan adores mango (yes, I know--he isn't supposed to have it until after 6 months or so) and Carys loves this disgusting concoction of pasta, sweet potato and cottage cheese. Thank god I am not a baby anymore.
• we watched as Carys went from pulling her self up and standing for a few seconds on her own to walking around the ottoman. Okay, we actually missed the walking part the first time she did it because we were busily typing away on our laptops. When we looked up she was at the opposite end of the ottoman! She also went from fairely quiet and content to a little angel with a mind of her own when she was here. It was fascinating to watch her take the toys away from Rowan and to get upset when Nicole had him on her lap. She knows exactly what she wants and she demands it. Stimulation did wonders for the babies. It made me feel a little better about the idea of daycare oddly enough. I think Nicole felt the same way.
  

Wow, now that I think about it, we had a pretty full week. Rowan and I were sad to see our friends go but we know we will be seeing them again soon. Next up-- Auntie Jenn arrives on Monday! And then Dawn, Ashley, Trevour and Liam arrive on Thursday for a few days. What fun!! We'll see what kind of trouble we can create with them at Winterlude. God, I can't wait to be able to feed Rowan a beaver tail and see the jam all over his face. I bet Liam LOVES them...stay tuned.

Here are a few photos of Rowan and Carys "enjoying" each other. Sadly we didn't get a photo of all of us together.

The Day of Barfing and Poop Explosions

It's 3:40 pm and so far today we have cleaned up at least 8 piles of puke out of Jenny, Bailey, Carys and Rowan. Rowan has also had 2 very big poops full of fruit. Needless to say, it has been a very messy day. Luckily, the puke is not because of illness. Instead, it is entirely food related. We caught Jenny who was freely eating out of her dog food bin last night. She had a disdended tummy that couldn't take it anymore. Bailey barfed because he ate Jenny's puke (or so we think). And well, the kids just can't seem to go a day without throwing up a large portion of undigested milk or food. I'd say they too are overeating. I didn't know life could be so messy!

Rub-a-Dub-Dub, Two Babes in The Tub

Rowan couldn't have asked for a better first bath buddy than Baby Carys.

The Ones We Love and Miss

I have always felt my grandfather's presence around me since he died. He always seemed to be close when there were big events going on which is why I thought it was strange that he didn't make his presence known when Rowan was born. I know, you are all thinking: "WHATEVER!". My rational self is saying the same thing too. But, here is a true, real-life story that happened today. Imagine me and Nicole sitting in the living room, working on our computers. We were chatting here and there and I don't know why, but I blurted out:" You know, I think Rowan sees my grandfather". She got a creeped out look on her face because she had a story to tell me too (which I heard and well, you can ask her about it because it is her story not mine).

The feeling that Rowan can see Grampa has been with me since he started smiling. As you know, Rowan is a very happy baby who loves to smile and giggle. However, there are only 2 things that make him smile-- people and Puff. He doesn't just randomly smile at things. In fact, he doesn't even smile at the TV which fascinates him. But, occasionally when we are in the living room, out of nowhere, he looks over my shoulder, at the white wall and gives a HUGE smile to something that is nothing. Or something that I think is my Grampa. When this happens I ask Rowan if he sees Grampa and if he does, to please say "hello" and "I love you" for me. It is the strangest feeling. It scares me because I am not prepared to see the dead even if the dead is someone I love and miss dearly and yet, it also makes me happy because I know how much Grampa would have loved to have met Rowan.

Anyway, I explained this story to Nicole. She didn't laugh. I went on to tell her about how I thought Grampa once whistled in the car immediately after I had just told J about teaching Grampa to whistle on that very stretch of highway between Ottawa and North Bay. We were both stunned. And here is where it gets especially creepy... Not 15 minutes after we stopped talking about ghosts did Nicole hear a man's voice say through the baby monitor "What, what is it?". I didn't hear it but didn't question what she said she heard. Seconds later, through the baby monitor again we both heard: a clear whistle.

Ice Cream Minus the Cream Part

Jen's Fakin' It Coconut Ice Cream:

Ingredients:
* 2 cans of coconut milk
* 1 can of coconut cream (it's normally found in the drink section, used for making pina coladas)
* 6 egg yolks
* 2/3 cup of sugar

Mix the coconut milk, coconut cream and sugar in a saucepan on medium until the sugar has dissolved. Beat the egg yolks until fluffy. Place the yolks in a new saucepan and add 1/4 of the coconut milk mixture and beat. Add remaining coconut milk and heat on medium/low for 10 minutes. Do not allow to boil. Refrigerate overnight to thicken. Prepare the ice cream in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Freeze. Make approximately 12 small servings (or 4 Jack-size helpings).

Variations:
Try adding a mashed banana and dates to the mixture during freezing or cashews. I bet a lot of other goodies would work too.

Chopping Broccoli...I will Not Be

It's official, Rowan hates broccoli. He gagged and gagged until he barfed. Good thing I am a good catch. It didn't make it past the bib. Sweet potatoes are next on the menu.

Tweet, Tweet, Tweet

Rowan reminds me of a hungry little bird when we feed him his cereal. I didn't know it would be so much fun to watch him want to eat this way. Initially I was reluctant to give him anything but breast milk because I thought it might take away from *our* time, as selfish as that might sound. But it hasn't taken away from anything. Instead, it has given us something else to look forward to and now Daddy can participate more too.

Here are Rowan and Daddy both learning to use a spoon.