Reading

I love books. I am a book addict. I would rather be reading right now. I read Slaughterhouse V whilst Breastfeeding at 3am. So one of the first things I did with Toby when we got him home from the hospital was begin reading to him. The hospital gave us many board books but we started (and are still working on) The Wind in the Willows and Toby and the Secrets of the Tree.One of my dear friends from College who still lives in England sent Toby some books that her son enjoys. He's a year older than Toby. These have been great as since Toby started reaching for things we had to lay aside our reading to prevent tearing/chewing/snotting.

That's not my teddy is a touch and feel book and is one of his favourites. It can calm him down and make him giggle, it always makes mummy smile.

Recently though, it has been replaced in his affections by Dear Zoo which is a lift the flap book. Once he realised that he could lift flaps and open doors he was sold. My friend also bought the animals from the book for her son and I think that will be our next level of interaction with Toby.

On our recent trip home there were books I knew that Toby had to have in his life and so we got these...


And of course the Grandaddy of all board books as far as I am concerned...

We would have purchased this one too but my dad gave Toby the copy I had when I was a child.


When he's a little older I will have to get him this...

Instead of this...


Go forth and read!

Too hot in Maine?

When deciding where to study for a semester while in college I took many things into consideration. Proximity to a Broadway show, proximity to Disney World, that sort of thing. In the end I had it narrowed down to Appalachian State or the University of Southern Maine. The deciding factor? I dislike hot weather. Not only am I fair skinned but I do not operate well in the heat, I get cranky and miserable and so do those around me. I didn't realize that Maine in the Summer is a vacationer's paradise. It gets hot here, did you know that? Land of snow and ice has hot summers. I worry what this will do to my ability to function as a mother since usually I just shut down but now I have a little one to worry over.

Toby doesn't like the heat either. We drove around in the car for an hour after bedtime this week just so that Husby could set up the AC for the summer - Toby's room was 85 degrees!

Even with the AC I think it's too hot in the house but then I remember... we live in Maine... in the countryside... on 2 acres... we have a garden... Toby loves the garden...

...he loves playing with the grass...

...and trying to crawl on it...

...he loves hanging out with dad...

...but mostly... he just wants his mummy!

I may be hot and cranky but this is a good life :-)

Wandering in Walsall

While on vacation Husby likes to set off from where we are staying and just walk around exploring. He had chance to do this in my home town on this trip since everyone was so occupied with the baby. He took the camera with him and captured a few things I had wanted to share with you wonderful people.

This is the street where my parents live, theie house is the one touching the right side of the picture - the white door is hidden by a giant Holly bush my mother has cultivated. Walsall is like this for miles around, everyone living so tightly together. My college town was like this too and when I moved off campus I lived in my own house like this. I would not change a thing about my childhood but when I talk about how much space I have to live in up here in Maine this is my frame of reference.

This is where my Great Grandmother went to school, where my mother went to school and where I went to school. It is well over a hundred years old and is about two hundred yards from my Parents house. I love this building and all the stories, Ghost and otherwise, that people have about it. Whitehall Infant School. I was here from four years old to eight years old. It's where I met my best friend of 24 years, where I fell in love on the playground, where my handicapped friend and I used to chase the boys with her unformed hand laughing at their fear, where I watched Tadpoles grow into Frogs and where I hid an egg on the top shelf in a classroom one day and forgot about for the rest of the year.

Thoughts on traveling to England with an 8 month old - part two

The best advice and the worst advice we received about traveling with an infant.

BEST: Our Doctor told us to bring new toys with us instead of familiar ones so that Toby would be engaged instead of comforted on the plane. We almost didn't need all the toys we bought with us because once we got to the toy phone that's all he wanted, all he still wants actually.

WORST: A dear friend told us not to bother with a stroller. We liked the advice because we didn't feel like hauling it around. We ended up bringing one home with us from England and what a difference it made. Having a reclining stroller meant Toby got a nap in the airport on the way home whereas on the way there he was awake for 8 hours straight which made for a screaming fit while taking off.

BEST: Bring plenty of diapers, wipes etc but pack enough for one diaper change in a smaller bag that is easy to store in the seat pocket. Replenish after each change and you never have to worry about taking the big bag into the small bathroom on the plane.

WORST: Don't buy the extra seat, he'll sit in your lap just fine. Admittedly we couldn't really afford the third ticket but my what a difference the space would have made. Toby loved sitting in my chair and I think this would have been better than all the new toys we took with us. He also hated being in my lap for extended periods of time, very restrictive for an inquisitive little boy.

Things I miss about England...

England, unlike Maine (I cannot speak for the rest of the US), is made for walking. I can leave my parents front door and walk for miles and get to any number of places. I can walk into town, to the grocery store, to several parks, to my Grandmother's house, to my old school or I can just walk for the sake of walking. All of this I can do on pavements (sidewalks) without having to step into the road except to cross it. When I leave our home in Maine to walk with Toby I can walk in the sand or on the road unless I drive somewhere to walk. I miss this about England. I miss it even more now that I have a son and an English stroller complete with zip on rain cover.

Having said that I spent most of this weekend strolling around with Toby being passed by one or two cars and loving the Maine countryside. In England I'm generally walking on busy streets overshadowed by buildings. Hmmm better view here but better access there. Now if only I could combine the two...

Thoughts on traveling to England with an 8 month old - part one.

Logan Airport in Boston is a wonderful place. If you have a small child or are pregnant (as I was last time I made this trip) you get treated along with the first class travelers. Speedy lines, speedy service, benefit of the doubt. I carried Toby through the old scanner and didn't have to go through the invasive one. They looked at my Breast milk in cold storage and then gave it back to me. They didn't ask what my Medela was, they just assumed. We were given priority boarding on the plane and Virgin staff were wonderful in heating Toby's milk and bringing the sky crib for him to sleep in. The airport kiosk even let me return the Dramamine I had bought not realizing I couldn't use it while Breastfeeding. There are several areas in the international departure zone with rocking chairs that were quiet enough for an over tired infant to relax in. There was even a nursing room that I could use but also a changing station in the main bathroom in case the room was occupied.

Heathrow Airport in London is a parental nightmare. If you have a small child or are pregnant you get treated along with everyone else. Never mind that everyone else would probably prefer you to get pushed through to avoid the potential for a screaming child at any moment you make him stand in a line for ten minutes. I carried Toby through again but this time they made me drink from two of the three bottles of Breast milk and they made us open the sealed jar of baby food and taste that - may I just say right now - yuck! There is no where in Heathrow to find a quiet spot for a baby and while nursing and changing stations were available there was no changing station in the regular restroom so if the changing/nursing stations were occupied you were out of luck.

The biggest disappointment from the motherland came from the security check officers. After making me drink my own milk and eat pureed vegetables they confiscated the ice packs we use to keep Toby's milk at a safe temperature. They confiscated my baby's ice packs! We tried to argue with them but it all came to naught and we were told that we could buy new ice packs from one of the stores in Heathrow (Heathrow is like a mini mall once you clear security). We went to the recommended store only to find out that they sell nothing of the sort and that no one in the airport did. We went back to security and were told we had been misinformed by their staff. We were then told to ask a cafe for some ice so we could fill our fabric cool pack with ice that would melt and leech out of the bag within an hour. We were also given the option of putting the milk in the on-board fridge once on the plane. Two hours without refrigeration later and we were on the plane being told that it was illegal for them to put personal property in their fridges. Having been lied to by security staff I was more than impressed by Virgin flight staff who filled containers with dry ice for us to use to keep Toby's milk safe for his consumption. For shame Heathrow airport. For Shame.

41%

While waiting for the Pears to finish steaming in my Beaba tonight I was reminded again why I make the time to prepare Toby's food.

We fed Toby jarred baby food while in Boston airport on our recent trip to England - much easier to store than fresh. Then when in England we bought more to feed him at Heathrow. We didn't in the end, Customs made me taste it and it was so vile I just couldn't do that to him!

I was about to throw the jar away when I noticed the label. I guess British companies have to label their food slightly differently as not only were the ingredients listed in descending order but they showed percentages. An entire jar of mixed vegetables was only 41% vegetables. Three different Oils, potato flour and water made up the rest.

Wow!

We are about to switch to Formula for my sanity but I don't think the switch to jarred baby food will follow.

Dreaming of Maine

I am AWOL. Right now I am sat in my parent's living room drinking a cup of tea while Toby sleeps. My mum is driving to Oxford to pick up my niece, my dad is hard at work at his toy store.

Yesterday we went for another long walk. This is halfway up my parents street. Husby did not like Bombay Mix.

Things I wish I had more time for...

Ana Paula's first book introduced me to Amigurumi and I still enjoy her patterns though I tend to adapt them to my own style now, I thoroughly recommend anyone buy both her books - they are fantastic! Speedy (the turtle) was my first ever attempt and now that I'm more proficient I cannot believe how long he took! I also forgot about his eyes until I was done and had to stitch them through the whole head. The octopus was made with a thinner yarn that I'm not so fond of and my goodness making that many legs was atrocious!

My most adventurous endeavor was the Thanksgiving Turkey's of 08 - this isn't even all of them - I had to make two more on Thanksgiving morning!

My first attempt at a design was this Robot, he was a funny little fellow to make but husby wanted a robot so here he is.

My second design attempt was Piddles- he was a lot of fun to make and I wish I had written the pattern down.

Then using the Turkey pattern and on a Holiday roll I designed my snowman - this one I remembered to write down and some day will type up to offer as a freebie for anyone out there who wants it.

I am working on a new design right now, I get about three rows done a day between playing with Toby and cleaning the house, but I am so excited by the new colours of Red Heart yarn I bought. I am also writing it down as I go this time!

Oh Lollychops thank you for bringing Teal into my life!

The Cake Pop

For those not fluent in Bakerella, this is the cake pop:



Bakerella is a Cake Pop Goddess. Visit her site and see her stuff (such as this picture, which is hers, not mine, all hers). She has created an art form out of box cake and frosting.

I am no Bakerella.

I am however the daughter of a highly experimental chef and would like to point out that mere hours before I had created an unbelievable off the cuff dish containing chicken, buffalo sauce, and all manner of fresh vegetables held together with biscuits.

But I am no Bakerella.

My first foray into cake pops produced a messy kitchen and lots of swearing but cake pops nonetheless.

My second attempt however, oh dear.

I didn't like using the sticks last time and didn't want to buy the Bakerella recommended cupcake candy moulds this time. I opted for paper cases. I figured if I pushed them tightly enough together they would hold shape right?

That proved wrong very quickly.
So I figured I'd just do cake balls. They went okay. But after just a few I ran out of my yellow chocolate.

No problem. I had made two batches of pops so I had two batches of chocolate. I was going to make some white chocolate pink with some red dye. But my red dye had expired. So I used fondant. Purple Fondant.



I'm a contractor - I made concrete - I made purple chocolate fondant concrete.

Husby got back from the grocery store in the middle of all this and was promptly sent back to pick up a cake that will now be my offering at the Church Baby Shower tomorrow. No cake pop explosion for us.

Help me Bakerella Kenobi - you're my only hope!