Isadore

lately, i feel like i have been not able to appreciate where Isadore is at....people ask "how are the girls?" and i say "Mayan is great--she is learning to swim and really brave in the water...she is reading like crazy.....her training wheels are off her bike! oh, and isadore......isadore is very three." the girls is cuter than a button (which is sometimes her saving grace) but i do spend the greater part of my day saying "please don't kick the dog, he doesn't like that..." "let GO of the cats tail!" "who drew on the wall?? pens are for PAPER ONLY!" if she doesn't like what we are saying, she immediately juts her bottom lip and crosses her arms and stomps off. i say "Mama and Papa are not being unfair, we are looking out for you...you may be disappointed but you don't need to be rude." or as she would say "wude." her toddler accent cracks us up--our favorite phrase: "do dat daden!" (do that again.)


she frequently finds her strength in being one of her characters that she has created. often it is a ninja (all black clothing with her "N is for Ninja" shirt) or a kitty, or the ever-popular kitty-ninja. then there is Strong Girl, which she created after seeing the Strong Man competition on TV, and merely requires her changing her clothes into short-pajamas (you know, the kind that shows off her muscles) and then she goes around the house lifting kid chairs and such. the other day at music class she insisted on carrying a heavy basket of instruments, and, as she did, saying to all the other moms in the room over her shoulder "i am Strong Girl, after all..." like she was reminding us of the identity that her long sleeves and pants concealed. another fun one is "Lil' Kick"--not sure how this one developed but she wears a very spangly blue and purple tutu and a witches hat. oh and black rain boots. just now she ran in wearing pink from head to toe and said "Hey, mom, look at me! My name is Pink!" i must say, since she really isn't a girly-girl, it was a surprising change from all black.




a few days ago while me and Blake were waist-deep in house projects, little miss found some kids scissors on the kitchen counter. later blake came upstairs and asked "who found some hair and left it on the kitchen floor?" (it is not unusual to find haircut reminents in our house as blake likes to save them) but the more i thought about it the more i thought...that is probably fresh hair--so i scanned isadore's head and sure enough she had gotten a good chunk of front hair. this was disappointing as we've been growing out her bangs forever and they are juuuust getting to where they are long enough to stay in her pony tail. "isadore!" i said in my best mommy-is-serious voice. "you may not use scissors on your hair. if you want a haircut you have to ask us--and then mama or papa or a hair dresser will do the cutting." big tears welled up in her giant round blue eyes "but i weally want short hair..." "well, i understand, honey, if your hair was in your face....but next time PLEASE ask." "okay, Mama." she wiped her tears and i kissed the top of her head--then as quickly as i could grabbed Blake's arm and pulled him into the bathroom where i could finally let my laughter go. between the uncontrollable giggling, i confessed, "i didn't want to lead on....but....it actually looks.....really good!" it wasn't complete but she has a great face for bangs so it was hard to be really upset. we don't have a decent pair of haircutting scissors and asking a three year old to keep their head still while you chop hair near their eyeballs with dull blades wasn't easy--it is still very crooked, but she looks like a doll.

then yesterday, while mayan was at her music class, isadore and i had 40 minutes to kill somewhere in the neighborhood.....the sun was out but the temp was in the lower 30's even though the wind chill made it seem less. even so, we braved our first stroll around Laurelhurst Park, a centrally located park just off Burnside, with great walking trails and a huge pond in the center. i dug around the car for gloves and hats and decided that we were well-equipped enough to do a quick walk around. i kept a steady pace while Isadore "was so three" all around me...only this time it was okay to be three. she galloped wildly and then would halt the minute something off the path caught her attention, and change course. she found the perfect stick which became her constant companion for poking piles of leaves and bushes and pointing to dogs. she kicked pine cones and, with rosey wind-kissed cheeks, would call out to me excitedly every time she saw something of interest ("Mommy!! Look at that duck!!"), asked a bazillion questions ("why isn't the pond moving??--it was frozen), and made simple observations ("the dog is kicking up dirt....that lady has wheels on her chair....") and personal statements ("I'm not afraid of dogs anymore!") basically she just didn't stop--and something clicked that hadn't in a while. suddenly, *three* wasn't so annoying--*three* was actually pretty cool, and magical, and special, and in this moment, suits isadore perfectly.

sunday sail

after weeks of rain (and snow) and uncommonly cold temperatures, the sun came out, blue sky prevailed, and it warmed to a comfortable 50 degrees. i attended a sweet mama blessing so blake, downright giddy all morning at the prospect, brought the girls to the boat. although there was no wind, they motored out and enjoyed a great few hours on the columbia. this is a photo of a man in his element.

MG

MG is Mayan Grace, and she is one cool kid. i have been appreciating her coolness in extra amounts lately. watching her in swim lessons today was pretty amazing--i just didn't know she was getting so comfortable in water. she just kept dunking her head under for seconds at a time, popping up and wiping her face, then diving right back down again.

i am still working on my video technology issues, but here are some cute pics and the doll we made with a matching pillow and quilt. she designed the pattern and stuffed the doll, and i did the rest....the doll's name is Mayan and has green eyes and light brown hair--it's her mini-me.

random thoughts to tide you over

i am mad at technology as i filmed something awesome on my camcorder and cannot get it onto my laptop. i really want to do a post about mayan. she is blowing our minds right now. leaps and bounds, my friends, leaps and bounds.

our house in bend sold, but it is a bitter sale. i have been in tears about it for days. it's hard to let any house go where you made so much history, but also to have to let it go long-distance, to have other people dealing with your stuff, and mostly to have the final numbers be so misleading and much of the process go down with you in the dark. right now i hate banks (greedy), title companies (incompetent), and real estate agents (selfish.) not sure what i need to do to move on. getting teary again, on to other things.....

watched a surprisingly funny movie yesterday: the heartbreak kid with ben stiller. the surprise was not that a ben stiller movie was funny because i love him but that i don't really remember hearing anything about it when it first came out. certainly not oscar worthy or anything but i'll tell you, blake and i laughed so hard during one scene that i was not sure i could recover--it was like being really stoned and laughing so hard at something that at some point you leave your body which is seizing with laughter, laughter so violent it's becomes silent and painful--and you look at yourself i just pray to pull it together. anyway, we liked it.

my mom called me today very excited to announce that she was "going green." i wondered what that meant to her and she explained that her first major change was to switch to eco-cleaning products. this made me very happy! she often cleans homes for extra cash and she admitted that today with her *new* products she for the first time left the job not feeling ill. it really is amazing how toxic traditional cleaning products are--not only their impact on the environment in production and but mostly their impact on the environment in which they are used (your home!) her next step is to switch to reusable grocery bags, and she also had never thought before that thrift shopping (which we have for years done together) is really recycling. we both agreed that our country just makes WAY TOO MUCH new stuff. its overwhelming really, but we are just used to it. so props to my mom, and props to Oprah for doing a show on it which inspired her.

we are completely addicted to our new raw milk source. i have never drank so much milk in my life--when i was younger i was intolerant to it, then when i grew out of it, i just didn't like the taste. but now nothing hits the spot like a huge glass (or two) before bed--it's better than dessert! we are now drinking twice as much as we thought we could, two gallons a week and at $10 a gallon that is a VERY spendy habit!

coming soon: the doll that mayan and i made together (she made the pattern), mayan's new skills (too amazing to reveal without footage!) and our really cool new sign at nomad....

random belly

these aren't the best...but i've had requests!

22 1/2 weeks

23 weeks

for the last few days i have been feeling yucky--again! no big appetite, nauseous, tired....flash back to first trimester (and much of the beginning of the 2nd.)

i am 24 weeks today, and as much as i hate to speculate b/c i think it is fruitless...i am starting to think this might be a boy! it is possible this extended yuckiness is just this baby, this pregnancy and completely unrelated to gender, but i gotta say--it's making me wonder.

the other night i had a dream that i gave birth to a baby that was a perfect 8 pounds. that was a good dream. i would be shocked if i had a baby over 6 pounds since i never have. then again i had just read someone's birth story and their baby was a perfect 8 lbs., so i was probably just integrating the information into my own dreams. ah, the mystery of it all!

mama-baby wishlist

mama's eyeball hurt from surfing the web for baby products. yeah, on the third baby, at first i was like, cha! we don't need anything...got my boobs and i will just use some hand me down cloths for wiping up messes...plus i saved some stuff from the girls. but you know i am product hound by nature, and i love looking at the different products and making comparison, honing it down to just the right piece.

but i also don't like to have a little or this and a little of that...i like to find one item that is simple and perfect, then buy 10. makes life easier when you are digging around the laundry and baskets. also i am completely dedicated to wholesome products--i have carefully chosen things that are either organic (but not fancy) for close to babies skin, natural fibers, and made in the US or by reputable companies. i plan on keeping the new baby wrapped in simple goodness as long as i can--at least the first few weeks and months. since i don't know what we are having, i am sticking to unbleached natural white. nothing shows off a baby's purest beauty than clothes and diapers that don't stand out. downright edible.


i am taking care of the basics right now, things i need a lot of and am very picky about--tops and diapers, and wool covers. i am planning on doing cloth diapers but also part-time ECing (elimination communication), to cut down on diaper use, so i don't need many covers (i want to know as soon as baby is wet, not hide it) and would prefer wool pants when necessary. also i will have plenty of prefolds around. i don't know why i never discovered the beauty of these before--just caught up in the excitement of fancy cloth in my first time around, i suppose--but they are great for diapering, burping, spit-up, changing dipes on, and any type of mess. they make great cleaning rags when they are retired from bottoms, too. these items are the most important.


then there are other things, i hope to get to...or just get. think of it as a bloggy baby registry. here's is mine and the baby's wishlist:




#1) wool puddle pads. not picky about these, they are just super handy to have around. this is the one we have now (isadore's is slipped under her sheet to protect her mattress from accidents.) i saw really beautiful green one at the local Zoom Baby Gear....


#2) a baby hawk. believe it or not, babywearing mamas, i have never had a mei tai. we have an ergo backpack (which has been waaaaaay used) but the mei tai seems so much more adjustable and snuggly for a newborn. plus look how COOL they are now. it's almost too hard to choose one, but i would probably end up wearing it pattern-side in, anyway (so as not to clash with my outfits--lol!). i like the charcoal trim best. here are some of my fave prints:

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#3) organic nursing pillow with removable cover. i used this a ton with the girls, then sold it on ebay when i *thought* we were done. but mine was a boppy and it always kind of bugged me that it was made from all polyester. of course they have a natural version.




#4) nursing tanks. pretty handy-dandy for nursing in public (or NIP for all you who don't know) my friend danielle just told me she can get these half-off! all. over. it.



#5) snugglewool blanket. because it has a fabric backing instead of leather, it can be easily washed. we would use this all. the. time.




#6) video baby monitor. i am not one for thinking technology is essential to raise a baby but, ya know what, we have a really big house! we had the just-sound one for the girls which was fine but i did get nervous when i didn't hear a peep for a long amount of time.





#7) wet bag. for putting dirty dipes in on the go. sounds boring but it's necessary. just need a small one. the two i like are not pictured--melon and pink dots.




#8) newborn padraig slippers. we have these in every size from toddler to kid. but the newborn ones didn't come out until after Isadore was too big for them. they are the BEST! the insides are soft sheepskin, and they are washable, too. and what about a pair of slip-ons (medium/grey) for mama...? :-)






#9) the best baby socks ever. maggie's organic. they don't fall off like other baby socks. and they save adorable baby toes from being eaten 'cause baby toes are so. darn. edible!




#10) a handknit blanket from a skillful mama:) kind of like this or something like it, only in charcoal grey, with a cream, yellow, or purple trim, or something equally unisex and cool.

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all this "preparing for the baby" and shopping had brought things to a whole new level of reality for me. i have plenty of time to go but i am well over half-way and it may sound silly but it is starting to sink in. no more sleeping 10 hours straight with no interruptions. no more milk-less boobies. no more family of four.....we'll be a family of FIVE! more than anything though, it's the reality that we are going to meet a new person, OUR new person. once we see that face, we'll say of course that is what our baby looks like! and once we find the perfect name we'll think, how could it be anything else? once we fall madly in love, we will wonder how our lives ever were without this new being....just like it was falling in love with each other, and with Mayan, and then Isadore. *sigh* it's all very exciting....

merry ___________.

we had a handmade, thrift shop holiday.



those plastic store-bought crowns are not only cheap and ill-fitting, they are probably toxic (ours was flaking gold paint)--so i decided to design a pattern and make them from gold fabric. next time i might add "jewels"...who knows, but they turned out great!



Breana and i went to Red, White, and Blue in Gladstone last week. i wasn't looking for anything in particular (except books, which they bag up and sell for cheap)...and i scored some great costumes (which all went with the crowns!), and a small red "doll" radio flyer wagon, and two huge stacks of book. also a vintage star trek game for Blake and a sailing book.


The only thing i bought new was a kitty calendar for Isadore--or "titty" as she would say. Lol!

what luck! a cowardly lion costume...as most of you know Mayan is a huge Wizard of Oz fan.....

well, portland enjoyed a somewhat "white christmas"--it snowed here for a good hour. of course, as ex-central oregon-ers this was not a huge thrill for us, but i guess the kids and most longtime pdx-ers were pleased!


i made my traditional egg and bacon pie this morning, as well. it's a nigella lawson recipe that i have made every dec 25th for the last five years. it's delish for breakfast or a lazy dinner (she suggests it with cornichons and beer and some television)...it's even good cold. give it a try!



pastry:

1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour (i used 1 cup whole wheat pastry and 2/3 cup white)
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 butter
3-5 Tbs ice water (it took more for my crust)

freeze fats and flour in the freezer for 10 minutes. then put in the food processor and blend into a "flaky rubble." add the ice water, one tablespoon at a time, until ball forms. divide into two discs and wrap each in plastic wrap--refrigerate for 20 minutes.


filling:
2 1/2 cups, or 18 oz of pancetta or bacon, cut up or chopped up into small squares
1 cup onion, chopped
pepper
2 or 3 large eggs
1 green onion, finely chopped
2 Tbs chopped italian parsley


in a saute pan, cook up the bacon and onion, peppering well. in a small bowl whip up the eggs, green onion, and parsley.

when discs are ready roll them out, and line a pie plate with one. fill up with the bacon mixture, then pour the egg mix over (it will puff up quite a bit.) top with the other rolled out pastry, and cut slits for steam to escape.

put on 300 degree oven for 30 minutes. remove and let cool--it's best just above room temperature.