mothering soundbyte: separation anxiety

at 3:30am this morning , as the wife is getting ready for work (don't ask): 

me: dude. i can't believe it. it was just the two of us in bed all night. 

wife: i know, eh? how did you feel?  

me: a little weirded out, to be honest.  

wife: yeah. you looked uncomfortable. 

me: really? how?  

wife: you were hugging yourself, like this. [crosses her ams on her chest like a vampire.]

seriously.

just because the pink poppies
in the coop gardens make me happy.

from the kitchen: late night baking

i suffer from late-night-baking syndrome.

which means to say that i bake quite regularly, very late at night (10pm and later, PST), long after my loves have surrendered to sleep.

i adore my little brood, you know i do. you might also know how much i love to involve my babes in the kitchen.

[inhale] but i have to admit, there are times when all i really want to do is fiddle about in the kitchen at my own pace. to do things out of order. to not have to worry about whether some spill, burn, or other imminent danger (which, by the way, includes petty theft of potty training treats) is about to happen to one or both of my toddlers . to know that the extent of the multi-tasking i have to do is listen to an audio book (currently listening to game of thrones, as an antidote to the end-of-season withdrawal). to be able to clean as i go. [exhale]

and i do enjoy the quiet hum of our little apartment this late in the evening. it's the only time of day when i can choose to hear myself think and catch up on pop culture, sometimes at the same time.

so i knit. i clean. i blog. i bake.

(sometimes, i work. but we're not going to talk about that.)

probably in that order... thought not necessarily all in the same night.

and in the morning, if it's baking i've chosen to do before my 2am bedtime, my little family wakes up to freshly baked goods. in the words of the barefoot contessa, "how bad can that be?" (well... there are the effects of sleep deprivation, but that's not what this entry is about.)

last night, i made quinoa banana bread muffins and a nutritious marble cake. both recipes were from la tartine gourmande, and were chock-full of gluten-free alternatives. the results were so delicious, i couldn't believe what i made without wheat flour.

in the lovely light muffins, the quinoa flakes add such a nubbly crunch. and while the marble cake was dense, the flavours were clean and full of flavour.

the kids agree. they liked the muffins a lot.

but the cake was the winner. 

so much so, i found a mauled marble cake carcass right next to the learning tower and the boy's crumb-chunked face.

i wish i had taken a picture before going ballistic on him. i didn't. and i couldn't stay mad for long. it was pretty funny... and the mark of a successful, healthy, and toddler-friendly recipe after all.

growing pains

i mentioned at some point that we’ve been working on the kids’ room.

well, the boy decided last night that he was sleeping in his room.

just like that.

i stayed with him in his sister’s bed-to-be (she’s still nursing after all) until he fell asleep. Then hours later, he fell off his bed.

still.

when I came in to soothe him, i immediately carried him to our bed. he protested and asked me to bring him back to his bed. so I did.

he woke up once more, at which point, I collapsed beside him.

still.

the boy spent an entire night in his own room.

and tonight... tonight the girl is in there too. in her own bed.

just like that: one phase over, another begun.

proud-making and a little heart-aching all at once. on one hand, we can give ourselves a parenting pat on the back. our son is building his confidence and developing a sense of independence. and our daughter, we're giving her permission to do the same. 

on the other hand... i think i need a hug.

mothering soundbyte: momma fail

me: something something something (i can't remember now)
the boy: huh?
me: instead of saying, "huh?" it's better to say, "pardon?"
the boy: pardon?
me: yes. it's just the more polite way of asking someone to repeat what they said. it sounds nicer.
the boy: (something indiscernable)
me: huh?

on the ferry to victoria last weekend

so much for leading by example.

{gorgeous moments}

a friday weekly ritual (modified from its original inception), where i share a photograph or two (or more) featuring my favourite moment(s) from the week. 


my dad was here last weekend. and he treated us to a day trip to victoria so we could all enjoy the royal british columbia museum's dinosaur exhibit. 


it was a gorgeous day. fun was had by all on the ferry and off. 


and this was the absolute best photo i took that day.

because sometimes it really is best to experience the moment than to miss a split second trying to capture it.