Weight

We went to the midwives today. She was a little concerned about Diego's weight gain. Last week she gave us some feeding tips and we've been diligently force feeding (this mostly involves sitting for a long time and being patient - not shoving things down his little throat - so you don't worry) and it paid off. 11 oz in 8 days! He's almost up to 9lbs now and I'm beginning to feel it in the back. Time to start doing upper body weight training.

We went to the midwives in the sling - on the bus - in the middle of a snow storm. Thanks to Gretel for the sling (!!!) Diego traveled very comfortably. I felt very proud of myself and happy with my continued decision to be a one car family. I think I'll treat myself to some expensive ice cream to celebrate.

First Night Out

This weekend we went to my mother's house. Our first night out and pretty uneventful. The only hiccup may have been that we didn't bring enough cloth diapers - luckily I brought some disposables as a backup. The best part was Monday morning when we went for a skate. Mom baby sat and Rafa and I escaped for an hour and a half on the lake - lots of sun. The lake froze over smooth which has only happened three times in my life time. Pretty special.

It requires just the right combination of cold and lack of snow. We had a wonderful skate - an hour on the lake with lots of sun and came back to find...
Happy grandmother and passed out, quiet baby. Life is a wonderful thing. Thanks to whoever decided that February should include a 'family day'.

The Muffin Man

Under the advice of Kendra I have become a muffin manufacturer. They make wonderful one handed emergency rations. To make this possible I found a recipe for a muffin mix. Here it is for Jenn.









Muffin Mix

8 c. flour (can be white or mix whole wheat and white)
3 c. sugar
3 Tbs. baking powder
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. nutmeg

Combine in a large bowl and store in a cool, dry place. (See the fine decorative jar which I bought at Value Village)

Muffins:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
3 c. baking mix
3 TBsp. vegetable oil
2 eggs
3/4 c. milk
3/4 c. flavour (berries, raisins, choc chips, etc)
Bake 20 min.

I've found, depending on what kind of flavor you put in that the recipe sometimes needs a bit more liquid. I've also found that if you are adding raisins or other dried fruit it is better to soak them first.

Enjoy!

We're fine

Jenn called day before yesterday - worried because she hadn't heard from us. Thanks Jenn!! We're doing great though. I haven't written anything because the days still blend into one another and I'm tired enough that most of it passes in a haze. There is not much to report as a result. A few noteworthies. I went to my first mom's group, which was nice. A group for mom's of kids 0-crawling, very low key and pleasant. Isaac and Sue were here and did lots of nice cooking. We're planning on going to Arden this weekend, as a sort of 'dry run' for our trip to pick up Rafa's mom in two weeks. I got my serger fixed and bought a new sewing machine to replace mine (I'd dropped it and the repair guy gave me a really good trade in on my old mechine, making it not much more expensive to buy new). I went to school to visit my students briefly. We're sleeping around 5 hours a night in little chunks and I sometimes get in a nap.

That was all rather random - and interspersed but that's the way things are these days. Here's a pretty face to enjoy....
or maybe not so pretty - but very amusing.

Recent Land Marks!

A short list of recent land marks and successes.

1. A walk to a friends house for a real, out of the house visit! I was a little sore by the time I arrived. Luckily it took us a while to get organized and get there so by the time we were ready to leave Rafa could come and get us. A perfect first walking adventure - the kind you walk to and get picked up from. We had a nice visit with my friend Corky - who also just had a baby - and her two little girls.

2. A two hour morning nap! Gretel - we`ve discovered that if we get Diego sleeping in the sling we can shorten his `T minus put down time`significantly by just putting him down with the sling. So - he is officially living in it, basically 24 hours a day. Thank you!

3. I am wearing blue jeans today! They are not my pre-pregnancy skinny jeans, but some I bought to alter and then never bothered. Still - I am very proud of myself.

4. Diego is digging the fishy chair for short periods of time - which gives me time to make some food in the kitchen. (I had a shower today too, we are getting pretty good at making all this work, if I do say so myself.)