Teddy at Two Months

Teddy, you've been out in the world for two months now. How are you finding it? I can tell that you enjoy your milk. Those cheeks are evidence of your big appetite; they seem to get bigger everyday! Your little smiles and coos make me forget, if only for a moment, the long nights of frequent feeds. For a maman that's so small, I'm amazed by how big my little boys get.

After some intensive soother training, thanks to your papa, you've decided to like your sus-sus. I have to admit that it has been handy for putting you to sleep. Putting you to sleep is one thing but keeping you asleep is another. I know that you are only two months old so I don't have big expectations. It would be nice, however, if you would grunt a little less at night. Sometime I do feel like I'm sleeping with a little bear. A Teddy bear.

A Cabin on the Lake

The lake. Still frozen.

My parents-in-law live in a cozy cabin on a nearby lake. When you are there the world feels like a different place. The air is fresher, the skies clearer and the sun warmer. It's a little paradise.

Whether it's winter or summer we love to spend time at Memere and Grandpapa's home.

The little ones usually play outside for most of the day. Sometimes all that fresh air makes them falls asleep unexpectedly on a chair or couch.

There are always new things to discover and opportunities to relax and visit. We hope that we'll be able to visit Memere and Grandpapa at this cabin on the lake for many years to come.

Trucks and Chiropractors

After receiving an order from my physician to rest, eat and get some help, I've been doing just that. My parents-in-law have been so wonderful in helping me out this past week. I am so grateful to them. I have been feeling a little better this week and that makes me hopeful that if I continue down this path things will eventually return to some sort of normal.

While it has been a time a relaxation and recuperation we have had a couple adventures this week. One was an adventure to the chiropractors. My neck, lower back, shoulders, elbows, wrist... most everything has been feeling sore so I decided, after some encouragement, to visit the chiropractor for the first time. I wasn't sure what to expect and was nervous about going.

Wait, I'm pretty much nervous about everything these days so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that I was nervous about the chiropractor. But, I went and discovered that all those things I mentioned above were quite out of alignment. After my first visit I felt better, not completely better, but better enough to admit that it helped to get prodded by a chiropractor.

Our second adventure was much more fun. We went to an event hosted by our local library called 'Touch a Truck'. Various trucks were parked outside for little ones to look at and touch. Monkey was very excited to see these big trucks up close, even Sweetpea enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun even if the crowds made me feel jumpy.

Anxiety and Me

With only four posts by mid-April it's clear that things have not been normal. In fact, I have been on a downward spiral the last few weeks. I have been struggling, trying to swim and sinking fast. There have been so many factors that have caused me to feel stressed and overwhelmed lately. Renovations, new baby, mastitis, back pain, and now putting our house up for sale. These are just a few things that have been somewhat stressful.

Unfortunately when I become stressed I react by feeling anxious, usually it passes quickly but lately it has utterly consumed me. My anxieties usually revolve around health, of myself and of my children, but mostly myself. I have taken some steps towards reducing my anxiety, and I hope these things will help. Daily walks, reading...

I've also started to pray the chaplet of divine mercy each day. It helps me focus on something other than my anxieties. It's actually quite a beautiful prayer, especially when it's sung.

 

How do you cope in times of stress? I've already cleared the cupboard of cookies but any other suggestions would be nice.

Selling Our First House

Over the last year we've talked a lot about selling our house. When we moved into this house we planned to be here for five years and that five year mark is fast approaching. We've decided to put our house on the market next month. That give us a couple weeks to finish renovation projects and make our home nice for the next owners.

We aren't exactly sure what we will do after selling our home. Yes, eventually we will buy another home, but we don't want to rush into buying just any house. After selling our home my parents have graciously agreed to let us live with them until we have found another home.

To be honest, I'm a little overwhelmed by by the idea of selling our house right now. I know that the timing is right, but Teddy is only six weeks old and I don't have much extra time for getting the house ready to sell. I did manage to pack up some of our stuff to make the house feel less cluttered. Thankfully my Husband has been more than eager to get things done. Just this past weekend he re-shingled the roof with friends and family.

Phew! I hope the house sale goes smoothly.

Easter Weekend

For the last five weeks we've been making the transition from a family of four to five. I have to admit that many of our Lenten goals and Easter traditions went to the wayside this year. However, we did have a lovely Easter celebration with my family. It was a special time for us, and probably the last time in a while that we will all be together. My sister will be going to South Africa at the end of the month and my brother will be joining a forest fire fighting crew up North.

One of my family's Easter traditions is a treasure hunt. When we were little we were given clues that eventually led us to a treasure. One year the final clue was "I go round and round and get hotter and hotter - what am I?" Can you guess the answer?

I didn't get the memo that we were suppose to dress in red.

As we got older there were times that my Papa tried to shirk his responsibility of preparing the hunt but there was so much protest that he had to give in. Of course the treasure hunt became more challenging over the years.

This year he prepared the most challenging hunt yet. We were given GPS coordinates, a map and a compass.

There were nine coordinates that were in the forest nearby and each place held a clue. Each clue was a question and the first letter of the answer made up the word of the treasure's final resting place.

Where did the snow go?
Walking over branches in huge snowshoes is funny to watch... not so much fun to do though.

It was a beautiful day to be walking through the forest.

My brother found a beautiful moustache.

We found the first three clues and deciphered the letters E, R and Y. That took us about two hours and we had to return home for dinner. We knew that the final word was seven letters long and the location was somewheres around their house. On the way back we tried to solve the final word. I was convinced that it was RECYCLE.

It was my brother who figured it out in the end.

MERCURY, as in Mercury Villager, my parents' old van.

What an adventure!

I hope you had a wonderful Easter.

Yarn Along: A New Normal

Our little family is beginning to find a new normal since the birth of Teddy. Each day feels a little less chaotic and I'm starting to see glimpses of rhythm to our day. I am working on reducing our time spent watching shows, but I think this will happen naturally as the snow melts and we go outdoors more and more.

Making three meals a day is still hit and miss. I didn't freeze meals before Teddy was born because my freezers were already full of meat. Luckily, my friends have dropped off soups, lasagnas and granola with yoghurt and these have been very handy. My slow cooker is getting a lot of use, which would make my sister-in-law proud. Yesterday I made a delicious slow-cooker potato soup.

My knitting last week was abysmal. I gave up on the Pembroke Vest after frogging it a third time. Apparently, I can't read a pattern or knit properly while I have a fever. After putting that project aside I needed something quick and easy to boost my knitting-esteem. Enter the Milo vest, stage right. This vest seems to be my go to project these days. I've promised myself that once I've finished the vest for Teddy I'll make something for myself. Perhaps a cardigan or shawl.

As for reading, I'm working through House at Riverton (still) and reading the little ones books about spring, Mud, The Curious Garden and Make Way For Ducklings to name a few.

To see what others are knitting this week visit Ginny's Yarn Along.

Delayed Quick Takes

While I continue to recover I've had the chance to check out a some interesting things on the internet. Consider this a delayed seven six quick takes post.

-- 1 --

I was happy to hear that the University of Guelph has stopped its research on the genetically modified (GM) pig called Enviropig. You can read more about it here on cban.

We might still see the approval of GM Altantic Salmon in Canada. Think of all the money that could be made by salmon that grow bigger faster, especially at a time when our oceans are being over harvested. GM fish is a scary thought.

-- 2 --

Bird and Little Bird just released volume six of Alphabet Glue. I haven't read it yet, but I've really been enjoying the previous five volumes. Monkey and I have plans to make the Wildflower Seed Pods from volume one this week.

-- 3 --

If you'd like to teach brainwash your children about the superiority of biotenchmology look no further than Look Closer at Biotechnology activity booklet. Your children will learn about how biotechnolgy is wonderful because it "helps" farmers, us and the earth. Just in case you missed the sarcasm, this booklet mentions nothing about problems that arise from biotechnology. Living pollution, loss of biodiversty, monoculture, monopoly, control, health hazard... to name a few... I'm just saying. Oh yes, and this booklet was put together but the leading corporation and organizations in biotechnolgy (Monsanto being one of them). Lovely.

-- 4 --

This Super Simple Easter Basket has been on my Easter to-do list. So have many other things but I haven't had much spare time these days.

-- 5 --

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to sell our home, store or give away our stuff and live a nomadic lifestyle like this family.

-- 6 -- 

Wearing your baby outside when it's chilly can be awkward. You try to wrap your coat or blankets around the baby but you usually loose and trip over the blanket at some point. An amauti seems like practical and warm way to carry a baby in the cold winter months.