Felt Like Blogging; Didn't Have a Theme...

That is precisely why I'm doing a meme.

(What do you think of that little poem?)

From the Saturday 9.

1. What is your favorite thing to do alone?
Read mostly. Or watch a film, but I usually prefer to watch films with someone, even if it's just Fifi. So, yeah, read mostly. In the bath especially.

2. What is your favorite thing to do with your best friend?
Hmm. That's tough, because I'm not sure who to call my best friend. Scott, of course, is my bestest, bestest friend, and I like just sitting around talking with Scott, about anything and everything (and everybody). But as for girl best friends, my oldest bf lives in America, so we don't really do anything together anymore! (We used to sit around talking too.) Here, I don't really have a girl best friend, but my friend Sarah is probably the closest to that, and we like to make cards together. And Carol and Maria are my best mummy friends, and we like to go on walks or sit in cafes and drink tea and coffee. There's my very thorough answer.

3. What is your favorite band?
My sentimental favourite is Tripping Daisy. My current favourite is probably Belle & Sebastian or old style Pedro the Lion. I don't get out much in the music scene these days.

4. What is your favorite song?
I don't think I have one, unless we're talking hymns, and then my favourites are O Sacred Head Now Wounded, I Know Not Why and A Mighty Fortress is Our God.

5. What is you favorite part of your job?
My favourite part of my 'job', ie teaching baby signing, is seeing the babies faces light up as we sing songs they love. I love when the babies clap and squeal at the end of songs - and in the middle of them!

6. What is your favorite TV show, on now?
I don't have TV so to speak, but if that show Pushing Daisies is still running, then that's my favourite.

7. What is your favorite TV show all time?
Ooh, that's a hard one. Let's think of which box sets I own: Scrubs, That 70's Show, Felicity, Gilmore Girls, Jeeves & Wooster... I suppose those are my favourites.

8. Who is your favorite actor?
These days I've got a major crush on James McAvoy. It used to be Ewan MacGregor. Love the Scotsmen.

9. What is your favorite film?
Again, hard to say. I love Moulin Rouge, Life is Beautiful and many others. Unlike with books, I love movies, whether daft or serious. (Books have to be really good and literary, or I can't get through them.) Though I hate movies like American Pie or Another Teenage Movie or whatever that was called. I hate stupidity films; but I can totally enjoy romantic comedies. I mostly appreciate really well done, thoughtful films.

Angel Food Cake

I really need an occasion to arise in which I can make an angel food cake. I'm desperate for some yummy white cake with strawberries and whipped cream rolling over the sides. Oh, YUM.

I also want to make some chocolate chip cookies and a chocolate cake. The cake would be covered in homemade peanut butter chocolate icing.

And an apple pie. A buttermilk apple pie, to be exact.

I'm not pregnant or anything...

I've Become a Mommy Blogger

Okay, for starters, I think Facebook is dumb, but I've actually enjoyed finding randos from the past, so there's something okay about it.

So today I was looking at my own profile and went to my blog from it, and I realised just how uninteresting I've become. All my Flickr pictures are of Fifi, all my blogs are about being a mum... I'm BOR-ing.

The worst thing is, as I realised this and determined to change it, the only thing that came to my mind was 'Review a book. I just read... oh yeah, I just read "Childbirth Doesn't Have to Hurt".'

But I also read 'News of a Kidnapping', which is about the abductions of 10 journalists by Pablo Escobar in Colombia in 1990, which gives me some cred, right?

But in general, yeah, I'm really sorry for what I've become as a blogger. Oh, who am I kidding? I was never that exciting to begin with!

I like you loyal folks who read regardless. I'll work on my material, I promise.

1000 posts!

I just realised that 3 posts ago (including this one), I reached 1000 posts on here! Wow! What a lot of rubbish reading you people have been through (if indeed there is anyone at all who's been with me since the beginning... Amanda maybe.)

So just a few things today.

-First, Tesco does nursing bras now!! For a fiver each!

-Last night I had some crazy dreams. There was this really muffled up conspiracy theory dream where all the characters kept changing - the endangered person started out as Amanda, then turned into my 'ex-husband' (starting out as a guy I knew from school and turning into Dean from Gilmore Girls), then my ex-husband turned into the killer and Scott was my new boyfriend and this guy from church turned into the ex-husband, then the ex-husband turned into a rando called Thomas... NO IDEA. But it was a stressful, scary dream.

-We were supposed to go strawberry picking again yesterday, but after driving all the way there (about a 20 minute drive), we found it was closed because the family was at a wedding or something. Very disappointing. Must go this week before strawberry season ends.

-If the weather stays good today, Scott, Fifi and I are going on a hike. I hope Bump doesn't wear me out too much.

-In honour of my 1000th post, here's a copy/paste of part of my first ever Blogger post:

I had a girly-day on Saturday. One of those days where you just feel sad for no reason. When you're in your car and a good song comes on and you turn it up loud hoping it will make you feel good but instead you just burst into tears. Then you reach your destination and park, and you think the tears have subsided but as soon as you turn off the engine you burst into tears all over again. And you lay your head on the steering wheel hoping no one will park next to you and look at you, or hoping someone you know doesn't come outside and see you. I had that kind of night. I just felt very very sad. But it felt good to cry, man. I haven't cried in a while. So i think a good cry was in my system somewhere and needed to get out. So I'm glad i had a girly-cry-night. When I was finally done, I went over to Clunk's house. But then i was super-sensitive to everything anyone said to me- I almost cried like five times, over something Lincoln said, something Tony Tost said, something Tommy said, etc etc etc. And Clunk was my hero of the night because he noticed something was wrong and asked me if i was ok and whatnot, that i seemed timid and not myself. That's always nice, to be noticed just a little when you're feeling down.

Other than that, the weekend was great. I saw the Matrix with Shane, saw the Tickle on Friday, Ryan came home and emailed me (and i've missed him so much, which is totally dorky bec we're just new friends and he's only been gone a week- but i really miss talking about Jesus and John Calvin with him), AND, best of all, practiced with Sharkie on Sunday. :) I'm gonna be singing backup with them on May 31st- hahaha. It's gonna totally rock.

And now, for my big important Development Group meeting- I'm getting introduced as the new Report Writer.

Blast from the past! I miss Lincoln.

Roller Coaster for Mums

I'm really chancing it here, taking time out of Fifi's precious nap to blog. But I do it for the fans.

As if all the obvious things about being a mum isn't tiring enough, today I've thought of another reason we are always so tired. The emotional roller coaster we ride all day long are extremely draining. We go from cheerful to exasperated to loving to cross to proud to disappointed - all before lunch!

This morning, little Fi woke me with her bright-eyed grin to ask 'Daddy?' with her hands outstretched (sign for 'where'). Daddy had slept in her room since he has a cold, and Fi was confused as to where he was when she woke up. It was really cute. She convinced me to get out of bed, begging for her morning 'ba' and 'go' (banana and yogurt). I wearily but smilingly fumbled out of bed and down the stairs to feed her her breakfast. After breakfast she wanted to draw. She then tattooed herself with her markers. Daddy and I had a good laugh.

Once it was getting dressed time, though, she turned into Fifi the Grump Monster. She moaned and whined and kicked and refused to be dressed. Grrr.

We dropped Daddy off at work and came home to play. We made big construction paper gloves and played with them. I had fun playing with her and really cherished the fact that I get to spend so much time with her.

She played with her lunch, but didn't eat it. I tried to remain patient. Sometimes we just aren't hungry, right? She then told me she needed to 'poo', so I brought her through to her potty and stripped her tights and nappy off. She sat on the potty, stood up, looked in, nothing there, sat back down, repeat. After the third or fourth time of standing up and looking in, she pooed. On the floor. Again I had to force myself to remain patient. It was just bad timing, I reminded myself as I calmly if not grudgingly cleaned up the mess.

It was then I received a text that her playgroup was being canceled for this afternoon. No! I desperately look forward to playgroups as a chance to let her run free and get myself a cup of tea. She was already getting pretty sick of being inside (awful rainy day today), so I scooped her up and took her to the shop where I was planning on buying a new DVD player. She helped me carry some of the equipment around the shop and was very cute and endearing, with her hands full of electronics and her sad little scraped up nose. She 'helped' me pay, and we moved on to the shop next door for a browse.

In the shop, she kept running away from me, but only a short distance where I could still see her, so I didn't let it annoy me. But when we were checking out, she kept trying to run out the door into the street. I kept doing my best 'FIFI. NO!' She would look at me, grin mischievously and take another step. 'FIFI, I SAID NO. COME HERE NOW.' She'd run back to me... then run off again. I was so annoyed with her! The lady at the register looked sorry for me and helped me keep an eye on her as I paid, but Fifi kept testing me. Finally, I grabbed my shopping, chased Fifi down and gave her a swift smack on the bum (which I hate doing). She just giggled and shouted, 'Bad!' and smacked herself on the backside again. Stupid nappies! That's when I smelled another poo in her nappy. Great. I was annoyed, cross and exasperated all at once.

In the car, she tried to reconcile herself to me, but I just ignored her cute intentions and told her 'Mummy is very cross with you for being naughty and running away.' She fell asleep in the car, and by the time I got home, I wasn't annoyed anymore, just tired and desperate to keep her asleep. I almost didn't manage it, but now she's asleep, and I'm halfway through a cup of tea, and I'm starting to relax.

After this it's on to the obvious mummy-tiring stuff like cleaning up the construction paper mess we made this morning.

Wedding Pics

Having been a bridesmaid in the wedding, I didn't get the opportunity to take many pictures, but the ones I did take can be found here.

Wedding Day

Today my sister-in-law (Scott's sis) is getting married. Hopefully there will be many pictures. Best wishes and congratulations to the bride and groom!

Scott's brother Pete and his wife Rebekkah and their daughter Audrey arrived yesterday. I was worried about how Fifi would take to another little child being on her turf, but she loved it. Audrey was a bit out of sorts from all the travel, so she was a tiny bit less enthusiastic than Fifi, but she was wonderful anyway. Such a cute little girl. It occurred to me that she is Fifi's only cousin, and it kinda warmed my heart. Audrey has about ten cousins, so it wasn't anything terribly special for her, but it was for me. I didn't get any pictures, but over the week I definitely will.

I hope the little ones behave today at the wedding and let us grown-ups have a little fun. I can't wait to see them in their matching flower girl dresses!

Strawberry Farm

Yesterday I took Fifi to a strawberry picking farm to pick strawberries. We went with Maria and Caspar and a couple of Maria's friends and kids. It was pouring down when we were driving to the farm but had stopped raining long enough for us to spend 45 minutes or so picking strawberries.







We had a gorgeous time. Fifi kept eating loads of strawberries, and I felt so guilty about it that I wouldn't eat any and felt I needed to keep picking more to make up for it (which makes no sense). Scott made fun of me later, reminding me that they take people eating the strawberries into the price at the end. After tasting one of those delicious strawberries, I'm so annoyed I didn't eat any!

Tomorrow I'm going to make jam out of them. Fresh beautiful jam. I found hulling the strawberries difficult, but now they are washed, hulled and ready to preserve. Yummy.

For the price of 2kg of strawberries at the farm compared to 450g in the shops, I'm getting all my strawberries at the farm until the season is over.

As Regards Our Scan...

Baby Led Weaning and Bento

When I began the weaning process with Fifi, I decided to take on the 'baby led weaning' philosophy - basically, skipping purees and going straight to finger foods. The idea is that if the baby is allowed to choose for himself what he wants to eat, he will develop a more balanced and healthy approach to eating. He will eat when he is ready and hungry (and he will not choke if he is left to start solids until after six months, when the gag reflex is in full working order).

So we started with sliced pears and bananas and broccoli trees. It seemed to be going nowhere, but that is very normal with baby led weaning. At 10 months, she was still only eating a few things a day; I'm talking one or two peas and a yogurt (spoon fed by herself). I repeated the 'food is fun until they're one' mantra over and over to assure myself this was normal. And she was still breastfeeding and gaining tons of weight and was very healthy, so I tried not to worry.

But after a year came and went, and she still wasn't doing the solids thing, I started to worry. I decided with the next baby I wouldn't do this silly baby led weaning thing, because it seemed to produce picky eaters. (My friend who's kid is the same age as Fifi also did BLW and found the same problems with him.)

But suddenly, it clicked. Suddenly, she started eating. She'd eat a whole quarter of a sandwich. She'd eat a whole banana. She'd eat all the blueberries in a punnet. She started branching out from just fruit and yogurt to breads, meats and the occasional vegetable (though not much more than a few bites on the veggie side of things). Then it increased and increased and kept increasing. The breastfeeding went down too though that had more to do with my diminished supply due to pregnancy than anything else.

Now, the kid is eating us out of house and home. And while she loves her sweets, she also really loves good, healthy food. She's still picky with her veg, but that could be my fault as well, since I'm picky with my veg and probably don't offer it enough! I'm going to chop up some carrots today and steam some green beans and asparagus and bake those sweet potatoes to get a kick on trying harder in that department.

Just Thursday I made a fresh fruit salad for the whole family. Scott put it on her little table for all of us to munch on. Fifi pulled up her chair and proceeded to eat the whole salad. A family sized fruit salad, gone in about five minutes. Grapes, strawberries, bananas, pears and oranges. Gone.

I write this, because today I was just bewildered to see how much she was eating. She asks for fruit and yogurt (and cake) all day long, though she'll settle on almost any alternative you offer, but it still amazes me to see her actually eat her proper lunch. I made a grilled cheese sandwich for her today, and she happily ate the whole thing (minus the crusts). I'm just so pleased.

I also write this to introduce you to my latest craze: bento. Bento is a Japanese thing (see the link), but it's become quite a craze amongst Westerners, some who remain true to the Japanese theme and some who have Westernised it. While I'm afraid that to begin with, I'll be a very Western bento-boxer, I'm very excited about the prospect of supplying my husband and children with healthy lunches, full of well-balanced, bite-sized meals. I bought a bento box for Scott (a manly black one) and one for Fifi (a cute, kiddie blue one). In them I plan to pack anything from fruits and veggies to sandwiches to left-overs, with the occasional cute onigiri, just to be sort of Japanese about it. For Fifi, I can cut sandwiches and fruit into adorable shapes with cookie cutters. Maybe I'll occasionally do the same for Scott, just to make him laugh - and make his friends laugh at him. I'm really excited about starting these bento lunch boxes. It's encouraging me to think very four-basic-food-groups. It's getting me excited about putting lunches together. It's making me feel like a good wife and mummy. It'll be really fun to send the kiddos off to school with bento boxes as well, even though that's many years away. That is, if the excitement doesn't wear off by then...

Anyway, long may the bento live on in our home. And the baby led weaning will most likely get another go with Baby #2.