Someone has Discovered that Her Desk:

Is good for looking at jewels. 

And for playing with new toys. We went to the thrift store this week and she latched onto a football and a pearl necklace. Sweet to the end of time.

   

Windy Indoor Wednesdays

Devilish baby taking the cushion off the chair. Again.

Also - no more squished up baby dolls under our heads on the couch. 

Or on the floor.

Vegan Before Six

We're trying something new this week. It's called vegan before six - no animals or things that come from animals until supper time. Pretty neat, no? We need to eat more vegetables, like a lot more vegetables than we do now. Last week I had graham crackers for lunch twice. And here's what I ate on Wednesday: peanut butter and jam on toast (breakfast), avocado and cheese on toast (lunch) and peanut butter and banana on toast (supper). Oh hi scurvy. 

So I give you this week's lunch menu:

Thai tofu and veggie rice wraps

Curried chick pea and quinoa wraps 

Black bean, avocado and tomatillo salsa wraps 

Scrambled tofu (like a vegetable omelette but with tofu instead of eggs) 

Apple cinnamon swirl pancakes

Avocado and tomato on toast 

Breakfast stays pretty much unchanged since it's impossible to tire of eating oatmeal every single day. I love that stuff. I tried it with almond milk this morning (and blueberries and cinnamon) and it was amazing. I still haven't sorted out the complexities of soy and since we'll be eating more soy than normal (tofu) I figured almond milk was the way to go for breakfast and coffee. 

I'm looking forward to the new dishes we'll be trying this week. Every so often I find myself (and by association the little bear) eating with no intention - the closest cooked thing (see: graham crackers) fills my belly when I'm hungry and busy. When the busyness persists so does the arms-reach eating. 

Here are a few fun vegan recipe sites if you're interested: Vegan Lunchbox, Fat Free Vegan Kitchen and Oh She Glows. And an article about the vegan before six notion.

P.S. Frances is only coming along for parts of this culinary adventure - the more veggies part. She loves milk, cheese and yogurt and we love that she loves them. 

Saturday Morning

Watching dada's puppet show.

So skeptical of the stories we tell.

Favourite Things: Sixteen Month Edition

The dance shuffle she does when she’s excited about something: really fast but wiggly running on the spot

The way she asks mama when the mornings are still dark and we’re just waking up: part checking to see if I am there and part checking to see if it’s okay to get up and play

When she walks over to the kitties to offer them a drink from her straw

Her new two syllable words, especially Ernie, honey and happy

The way she will grab something away with all of her fierce toddler force just to be able to give it back to you because, you know, it's yours after all

Oh and: 

The reprimand (pointing and no-ing) she doles out to spilt milk and snacks. Bad milk and snacks. Don't jump out of my hands onto the floor. Bad. 

Her sniffing of the hand rail on the way downstairs every morning and motioning that it's stinky. Nothing else all day needs smelling - just the hand rail. 

Warm Fall Babies And Woe

The many wonderful wardrobe possibilities ushered in by these cooler faller temperatures. Frances has a closet full of thick warm dresses just waiting to be paired up with equally warm thick tights. There are few things as satisfying as the thought of a wee one toasty down to her toes as the wind and rain tries to beat down our door.

Onto the woe. 

That hair. That sweet mess of mostly, but not all or all the time, curly hair reaching out to all corners of the earth. 

For the most part we've grown used to its sometimes comical and always untamable ways. We're used to the parts that stand straight up, the multiple overlapping cowlicks, and those little hair nests that appear after every single night's sleep. It's not until we get to the park or the grocery store that I think perhaps she is being mistaken for a street baby. 

But what to do? She hates barrettes. If I knew then what I know now there'd have been a big glittery bow in her hair the very moment the doctor said it's a girl. Maybe then she'd not still be ripping them out as if they were cleverly disguised tracking devices planted on her by a foreign intelligence service. 

I've tried parting it to each side. To the back and to the front. All to no avail. Last week I came across this. A seasoned mama of curly haired babes with much wisdom to impart: Look, people, I know you’re just trying to be nice, but “IS HER HAIR NATURALLY CURLY?” She’s three. Do I look like a pageant mom? I’m pretty sure painting a badger’s toenails would be easier that curling a toddler’s hair. The good news is that us moms with curly haired progeny can bond together over products, techniques and styles that most moms never have to worry about. Having a child with curly hair could easily be considered a lifestyle. 

I like her already. She has much to say on the care of curly baby hair because there is much to know and do. For instance, curly hair shouldn't be shampooed everyday. It should be shampooed as infrequently as is manageable since curly hair gets dried out easily. It should, however, be conditioned with every bath or shower. It should be blotted not rubbed dry. Curly hair should be trimmed often and at a professional salon. There is an art to properly cutting curly hair (sheepishly tucking the kitchen scissors back into the kitchen drawer now). Finally, it should never (never ever) be brushed. Fingers and wide toothed combs only. 

This is a basket into which I am eagerly tossing many of my eggs.

Wa-Wa?

We've been treated to another week of lovely colour-changing crunchy-leave warm fall weather. The kind of weather that our summer longings for fall are made of. And so on Wednesday a freshly-napped baby was packed into the car for her first trip to the bail-ard trails. 

Here is how I thought the afternoon would unfold: drive to trail, set baby free, sip on tea while baby enjoys nature and collects a bushel of sticks and stones. 

Here is how the afternoon actually unfolded: drive to trail, discover that the first twenty feet of trail are below water, hike through brush to avoid water, return to trail to discover another lake-puddle, go around lake-puddle, come to a fork in the trail and another lake-puddle, peer down both forks and see two more lake-puddles (what the heck - it hasn't rained in a week), give-up any notion of a hike, set baby down, baby is drawn like a magnet to puddle, rocks are thrown in, mud is played in, much splashing and wading and dirty-getting is done. Oh well, to each their own (ridiculously cute) enjoyment of the outdoors.

Scoop.

 

Testing out the seating-potential of some of the larger rocks. 

On the hunt for smaller rocks with throw-potential.

Thank goodness for (really) warm fall days and washing machines.

Sails Away

Last weekend we took our last sail of the season. Although it's been a warm fall, it's also been a windy one. But that's perfect sailing weather you say. Not so for this still-new crew. Many a voyage has been called off on account of swirling seas that far exceed our skills (and my bravery). 

These gusty days and nights are a departure from the stillness of August and September when we'd make it midway out and then just bob up and down and up and down. Such is the downfall I suppose of a sport that depends wholly on weather. 

All in all it has been an excellent year on the water. We found and launched a boat that we love. We purchased the very last space at the boat club just blocks from our house. We learned to sail and then mastered the basics of sailing on our own in no time at all. We didn't tip or fall out or have to call the shore for help. 

And we've already begun plan next summer's expeditions: a trip to Baddeck, a trip to Ingonish, a few overnights and hopefully the chance to race as crew on some of the other boats in the area. Until then The Indefatigable will be tucked up against the house getting all sorts of cutting-edge upgrades like a radio, a barbeque and a bathroom.    

Skipper out to sea. 

Still not tired of sunny sail photos. 

Skipper back to shore.

The Seven Seas cruise ship. It almost ran right over us. Then all the passengers out on their balconies waved to us as they passed by. It was scary-nice. 

Such hard work. 

This Week:

Bought a turkey and learned about brining. Delicious things await.

Had my first meeting as a board treasurer: less daunting and more fruitful than I was imagining.

Won a whole lot of money for this lovely project.

Brought in my neglected and very cold basil plants. Hoping that they can be coaxed back to life.

Learned that I have in fact had the chicken pox (hello surprise) and won't be needing the vaccine.

Had a girls night out. Kind of. We escaped to Value Village for an hour. It was awesome.

Started making banana bread on Monday. Finished it on Thursday. Am blaming its density on the long gestation. It still tastes great though. I love when I find a recipe and already have everything in the house to make it. I feel like this almost never happens.

Forgot almost everyday what day of the week it actually was.

Found some time to hang out in the online and found this:

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A beautiful bird drawing.

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A beautiful ring.

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Just poke holes in them. Genius.

Babies Aboard

A few weeks ago Frances and Sunny went for their first sail. Not at the same time, we're not that daring. It went pretty much as I expected. After one minute of looking at the sea and realizing we'd left the dock, Frances bounded from cabin to deck and deck to cabin, from bench to bench, and made multiple attempts to climb up on the bow of the boat. Sunny sat beside her mum and dad, had a snack, listened to us talk, stretched her legs from time to time and watched the water. Oh babies!

The baby tether (tied from life jacket to mast).

Look mum no hands.

View of ginormous boat from small boat.

Wave watcher.

Crew.

What We Know

Sweet peanut, 

We know a lot about gratitude. We know that grateful people are happier, less depressed, and more satisfied with their lives. We know that they sleep better, achieve more and are better able to handle and grow from the ups and downs that life deals out. And yet. Yet we struggle to find the time to reflect on the richness that is all around us all of the time. 

Before you were born I would try. I would say this week or this month or this year I am not going to lose sight of how lucky I am. And then school or work would become overwhelming and I'd be up late and up early and it would be a long long time before I even remembered that I'd forgotten to be grateful. 

Since you have come along though my life is filled with spontaneous moments of gratitude. As I watch you play in the afternoon or pick you up for a little snuggle or lay you down to sleep at night I often find myself overwhelmed by the incredible fortune in our life every single day. My heart fills with happiness knowing that there is a joyful bounce in your step, that you are the picture of health and that your days and nights are those of love and laughter.

Thank you little peanut for these unexpected reminders of how much we have to be thankful for. I hope that as you grow you will come to share in these quiet moments of appreciation and these feelings of abundance. They are good for the soul little peanut. Good for the soul.

With much love.