A Day at Home

Daycare is closed this week and I have a dilemma. On the one hand I have to stay home with Toby and I have no vacation time so I am not being paid today. On the other hand I get to stay home with my sweet baby boy.

The latter definitely wins out :-)

However this dilemma was thrown into a new light when someone sent us money anonymously in the mail with a note saying "Thanks for brightening my world." The amount in the envelope just happens to be a days pay.

Thank you whoever you are. I feel truly and supernaturally blessed by this action.

In the meantime I am having a wonderful day with Toby. We walked to the farm stand and bought fresh peas and broccoli for his lunch and supper.

We played in the garden, Toby ate his first dirt while I was busy fixing the damage caused by the deer that visit us.

We went for several walks in the neighborhood and checked things out.


We ate duckies. Wait, no, Toby ate duckies.

And shoes, he ate shoes too.

I managed to get some laundry done, pack his clothes for our upcoming camping trip, talk to my parents, read part of a really good book and read the resumes I needed to read for church.

Then there were many cuddles, kisses, giggles and smiles all day. He really is a happy little chappy and with Husby home within the hour, I believe this has been the perfect day. Hope your day has been just as good.

Out of time

I have no time at the moment so I leave you with two things.

1. I am currently reading "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World" by Joanna Weaver and so far it's amazing, so accurate and insightful for my life as a mother in this generation. More on that later

2. Nanny is coming!

Little Golden Book Baby Shower Bunting (say that three times fast!)

I have discovered a new love of Masking Tape.

Take three little Golden Books

Desecrate them

Affix to Masking Tape

Carefully

It won't always be pretty, air bubbles abound

But oh how wonderful the finished result

These are for my best friend's baby shower on Sunday and I am absolutely in love with them. They were so incredibly easy and quick to put together (once Husby cut the little Golden books on his industrial cutting machine at work!). They look fantastic even with a few air bubbles in the tape here and there. The Beautiful thing is that I can recreate this with Scrapbook paper for other events, fourth of July Bunting here I come. Only now I need to find masking tape in a host of colours as I'm sure I'll get sick of tan!

Baby Shower Games

I love free stuff.

I love easy stuff

Free, easy stuff is perfect.

I'm a big fan of the free crochet pattern, the free download, the free Doughnut on Doughnut Day.

So here's my first online freebie. Baby Shower Bingo - 48 unique cards. They print on 8.5x11 paper and you can jazz them up as you like. I have mine done with a Little Golden Book theme. Use backing paper, stickers, colored paper and you have a unique game.

I made personalised ones for a friends shower this weekend and a few tweeks is all it took to get them a little more generic though they are definitely still only for a baby girl. A few more tweeks (weeks!) and I hope to post the boy version too!

48 Free Bingo Cards for a baby girl baby shower.

To EP or not to EP

What to say about what I did?

I have been trying to formulate this for a while but the words don't quite sum it up. Nothing can quite capture the commitment, the struggle and the stamina but here goes nothing...

When Toby was born I wanted to nurse and so I did. The lactation consultants in the hospital weren't very good but I am a quick study so we got the hang of it. My friend at church is an ob nurse and lactation specialist and she walked me through a lot of the finer points and soothed me through the emotional upheaval it can cause. But then we reached a point where I was just bursting into tears whenever he nursed. He was eating well, he was happy, he was an expert nurser, I loved having him so close to me. But nevertheless I would cry. And not just cry. These were inexplicably sad sobs. We figured this couldn't be good for either of us and so started to put in a few pumping/bottle feeds everyday. When three days of simply pumping and bottle feeding went by Husby asked if I shouldn't just nurse him instead of heating a bottle. I burst into tears. I knew at that point that I was done Nursing. Toby was about three weeks old.

Though I was done nursing I wasn't finished yet. I had my Medela, I had zombie pumped through the night and I knew I could do it. So I pumped and I pumped and I pumped. I figured anything I could give him would be a blessing and when I ran out we'd just fill in with formula, I was 100% formula fed and I turned out just fine. When I realised I was a cow I set myself a six month goal. Six months old and he could switch to full time formula. I was still a cow at six months and had developed quite the routine so I didn't stop, I kept going. I pumped every three hours for twenty minutes, this usually meant seven times a day and was more often when I was still on maternity leave. I did this for eight whole months and a few days.

Toby was nine months old last week and still has only had three formula bottles in his lifetime. Our freezer is still full of little milk pods. A few weeks ago I decided I was done, I do not want to bring my friend Medela with me on our camping trip this July (when for refrigeration sake he will be having formula!) I am now pumping every other day for ten minutes in the morning. Ten minutes in 48 hours instead of 280 minutes in 48 hours.

It is liberating, I have more time at work now, more flexibility in my schedule. I don't miss twenty minutes of Toby time when I get home. I don't have to relieve myself so fervently in the morning and so can get in on some of those snuggly early morning feedings that Husby grudgingly/willingly took on. But I also no longer get a twenty minute break from the world every three hours to sit in my room and read a book or pop a dvd onto the portable. There were times that this was such a blessing, when visiting family for a long time, when faced with a bout of mummy-exhaustion.

Breastfeeding from what I know, is not the norm in England. Half my friends do and half don't. Over here all but one of my friends Breast fed. Is it a cultural thing or do British mothers just not talk about it (or blog about it)? EPing (Exclusively Pumping) is a curious beastie. There is only one book that I know of, one or two websites that I could find, and no support. It wasn't something I was offered as an alternative when I was in fits of tears. It was the boob or the bottle of formula, not a combo boob/bottle deal. A friend of mine was having difficulty nursing but still wants to provide for her daughter. I am happy to be able to offer a little advice and a ton of support for her decision to EP and I hope that others considering it find this blog and contact me.

I am proud of what I have done for my son. Husby is proud of what I have done for my son. And Toby, well he's a chunky monkey!

And what do I do with that extra time you ask, well here he is...

On my bookshelf

Aside from My First 100 words and Ralph the Rabbit I am (still) reading Volume Three of The Forsyte Saga. Despite my initial impressions this is a wonderful book, made brilliant by one of the greatest and most compelling female characters ever written. In the vein of Elizabeth Bennett, Dinny (Elizabeth) Charwell (pronounced Cherrel) is a breath of fresh air in the saga and in her society. It is taking me a long time to get through however because I am consistently distracted by the bright and shiny! It's also a big book and doesn't fit in the purses I have been carrying with me of late. Yes I am one of those people who take a book everywhere they go. Even though I now have a nine month old and park benches are no longer for reading and reflection but climbing on and chewing. During my Postgrad year I spent a vacation while the campus was empty sitting in front of Keele Hall reading Middlemarch, see that stone wall? That's where I sat. I studied English here and my department was housed in the attic (servant's quarters) of Keele Hall.

When I moved to Maine I had to find new places to sit and read. Deering Oaks Park when we lived in Portland and Willard Beach when we lived in Cape Elizabeth.This week I read this article and am now carrying To Kill a Mockingbird around with me as it has been years since I was captivated by Tom Robinson and Boo Radley. Hopefully the trip to Damariscotta with my in-laws tomorrow will allow me some time for Atticus Finch. You remember Damariscotta? It's where my sister in law moved forcing Toby into daycare ;-) she lives with the Puffins now.

Bad things don't happen for a reason.

I'm a card carrying Christian but that's not what this blog is generally about. Today, that's what it is about. Read on if you like and if you don't care to then know I am praying for you regardless and will see you back for some crafty British humour tomorrow.

Bad things don't happen for a reason. There is no impetus behind death and destruction. When someone gets Cancer, or loses a job, or is in a car accident there is no reasonable being controlling the situation. However if we don't take the bad things and let God work good in them then not only is there no reason but there is no point. God is the point and he can work wonders in every situation if we just let him.

This is Palmer...

Palmer was a missionary working at our church this summer. He had come up from Tennessee because he has a heart to reach people for God, and this year God asked him to come to New England. This past week he has been at Bike Week in Laconia, NH camping out with three other college kids and making pancakes for bikers everyday. Showing them God's love through some good ole southern cooking! Yesterday afternoon when they were driving "home" a lady in an oncoming truck veered into the wrong lane and hit them head on. Yesterday evening Palmer was in surgery and last night he was welcomed home by his Lord and Saviour.

Last night a girl in our local grocery store was told who Palmer was and why he was here. Last night my facebook page proclaimed who Palmer was and why he was here and invited over 200 friends who didn't know his God and mine to call me if they wanted to know more. This morning all the other assistants in my office were told who Palmer was and why he was here.

One of the girls who came up from the South with him said last night that Palmer had a heart for the lost. Not just to see them come to know the Lord but to help them take their first steps. Not just to rack up numbers like an evangelical who's who list but to help people find the reality of a living God in their daily lives.

I said hello to the missionaries on Sunday Morning, but I never got to know Palmer or the others who are still here. But I mourn with them for a young life cut short and will not let his purpose in life die with him. This may be a senseless act of destruction but my goodness I intend to make sure that everyone I meet knows who Palmer Maphet was and why he was here. Then they will see the point.

Thank you

Our regularly scheduled programming will resume tomorrow.

To do list

There seems to be many of these lists in the blogworld but emmy-pie lovely inspired me today for no reason other than that while looking at her wonderful shoes I noticed her timed to do list. I love it!

Even though I don't get school vacation it is nonetheless about to begin and that seems like a good time frame for my own to do list. It also ends just before Toby's first birthday which will provide a whole new set of things to do.

So here we go...

Finish scrapbooking Toby's First Christmas/Thanksgiving, our 2009 trip to Acadia and at least get up to his three month pictures! (phew)

Have at least one knitted Christmas present made

Re-order the downstairs closet currently hosting all our junk

Take Toby to Long Island Beach - Long Island Maine is a world unto itself

Submit one of my finished stories to a magazine

Read a book!

Start my children's book

Allow Toby to stay overnight with his Grandparents

Visit my friend in Boston

Get my hair permed or cut - do something with this long stuff that hasn't been touched since December 2008!

... let's see how long it takes me to realise how unrealistic this all is!

Linking up

I'm linking up today with carissa over at lowercase letters for the first time. My life is so random and disjointed at the moment and when I saw her blog again this morning it seemed like the perfect time for my first Miscellany Monday.



ONE Saturday night we got the evening off. Grandama and Pepere came over to sit with Toby, well to sit while Toby slept, while Husby and I went out with friends for the annual joint Birthday celebration. We went to the Hibachi for Seafood and I had my first drink since we started trying for a baby in August 2008! I have been dreaming of this Margarita and it was absolutely perfect!

TWO Sunday morning our friends of the night before played with Toby while Husby and I went to church. I still missed the service because I was in the pastor's office crying the whole time but I feel rejuvenated now and am reminded of how much support I have in my life. Whoever said Hormones regulated by the time your baby is nine months old?

THREE Husby and I are going back to our Tuesday night small group tomorrow. Toby will sleep there and then come home with us when we are done. So excited to be claiming pieces of our lives back.

FOUR I am almost done with my friends baby blanket for the upcoming shower and am excited at the storybook bunting I am going to make (and blog about) this weekend!

FIVE School gets out tomorrow but I work in the Superintendent's office so I don't get summer's off :-( It is nice and quiet here sans staff and student though.

SIX I turn 29 on Thursday and am looking forward to a sandwich from my favourite place - Henry VIII's. Oh yummy beef!

SEVEN I love all my blog friends even though I know we will probably never meet and I look forward to seeing what's going on in their lives every week.

EIGHT I know some HTML but can't for the life of me remember how to get the Miscellany Monday image to be central and it is driving me CRAZY! I have a little OCD when it comes to making things symmetrical - HELP!!!

My Maine Garden

This is the garden by the driveway

These are the delicious Maine Blueberries growing in the garden by the driveway.


We inherited these when we got the house. I love stepping out in the morning and grabbing a handful to go in my oatmeal. This year Toby gets to pick them and eat them. I will then have a blueberry baby. Incidentally that is what Husby and I called him when I was pregnant because of the baby book's obsession with using fruit to describe how big he was. Blueberry Baby was the one that stuck with us.

I love having Blueberries in my garden, just another reason to love Maine. That and the 6 acre Blueberry farm just down the street!

Doctor Husby

So this is a borrowed picture...


But this one is all mine...

Dr Who?

So this is a borrowed picture...


But this one is all mine...

Oil Spill

Husby asked me a question this morning revealing a gap in my knowledge. Why is it that I thought this was an unmanned oil rig? Why is it that the media seems to have forgotten the 11 people who died on April 20? I googled it and it took narrowing my search to "gulf oil spill 11 dead" to get any information on those victims. I had to know that 11 were dead to find out that men died that day. I found this piece on CBS News from a few weeks ago.

Today I have to think about these people and their families

Donald Clark
Stephen Curtis
Blair Manuel
Gordon Jones
Roy Wyatt Kemp
Karl Kleppinger Jr.
Shane Roshto
Dewey Revette
Aaron Dale Burkeen
Jason Anderson
Adam Weise

As much tragedy as this continues to cause to the eco-system and economy it hasn't really affected me up here in Maine. I know and feel that terrible things are happening but today I have to know and feel for Michelle Jones who will shortly give birth to a second child without her husband's support, who will not see her 6th wedding anniversary. I have to know and feel for the families of these men whose very foundation has been shaken. This is what I pray for today. The dolphins and shrimp fishermen can wait another day.

To paint or not to paint

I love a freshly painted room but I am an awful decorator. My mum came over when we bought our house and had me Spackle one room while she stripped another. Well needless to say I used more Spackle than was necessary, more Spackle than exists in the state of Maine on any given day, and she had to scrape everything off and start again. I was given a can of half used paint and asked to paint the gloomy stairway into the basement that nobody ever sees. Thoroughly dejected when I was through I came upstairs and she let me start painting the trim in the spare room. She watched me apply four or five strokes before taking the paintbrush away and telling me to put another coat on in the basement.

Now I don't mind being a decorating dunce because my mum is a rock star. She had Toby's room done while I was still thinking about the colours we'd just chosen.If I need to decorate just give her a plane ticket and a brush and it's done.

She'll be here sometime again this summer and though this time it's mainly to visit Toby I'm sure I can convince her to paint a room or two :-) So how excited was I to get in on the last day of Glidden's Free Paint Samples!

Check it out! I got Deep Dusty Rose for the living room and Tropical Coral - cannot wait to see what room that works out in.

Note I am not being paid by Glidden, they have no idea who I am, I just love free stuff and inspiration!

Things I wish I had more time for (part II)

The Stomach bug hit our house hard this weekend. Thankfully it skipped Toby and took out only one parent at a time but it was a tough weekend. I didn't get to clean anything, the house is in fact slightly messier than when we started because of the sickness. I didn't get any projects worked on this weekend but I also didn't start any new projects which is usually my downfall. Husby realised for the second weekend in a row that he is no longer his own man. That he shouldn't have lounged around last Sunday because he could do all the work this Saturday because this Saturday wifey would have stomach flu and he would be needed as daddy not handyman! That he shouldn't have stayed up till midnight on-line gaming with friends because wifey would wake up throwing up and super dad would be needed at 5.30 am! We are no longer our own people. Which is fine because we have this now...


But still I would like to accomplish something. Some small thing that I start that could get finished. Experienced mothers out there tell me my organisational skills will improve as he grows! Not including the wedding blanket I have to make for my brother in law, the patchwork blanket I've been working on for six years, the experimental scarf, the maternity dress (I'm no longer pregnant!), the Amigurumi spaceship, Toby's vest (that I just keep increasing because he's four months older now and I'm still not more than two inches in) or the countless jars of baby food and delicious things from The Pioneer Woman I want to make, I currently have these priorities...

Toby's scrapbook - note that these are the "leaving the hospital" pages and they aren't glued down yet!

The baby blanket for my best friend whose shower is right around the corner!

My Lollychops inspired amigurumi design.

Roses, oh so many Roses.

This little baby holds notes for our Pastor Search at church that must be diligently worked through... by Wednesday... but it also holds a dozen short stories, a few non fiction pieces and a novel or two all in disarray.

And then this, my books, my library, my passion in life before husby, Toby and crochet entered my life. Will I ever read a book that isn't completely made of cardboard again?

But then if I finished something before I started the next thing I wouldn't be me now would I ;-)

Oh Doughnuts

It's Doughnut Day. The marketing man at Dunkin Donuts is a genius. We don't spend money unnecessarily, we have a very tight budget, but this morning we went to Dunkin Donuts and spent $4 on coffee and cocoa because it's Doughnut day and you get a free doughnut with any medium beverage. This is money they would not normally get from us. We left the house early to do this. Are we crazy? But look at this...

... ooh yummy.

Happy Doughnut Day!

I iron, you iron, we iron.

Ironing is a lost art form. I don't know if it's a college/adult thing, an England/US thing or just the generational divide but I do not iron. When I was in college I would pull the clothes out of the dryer while piping hot and fold or hang my clothes so quickly that nary a wrinkle would I find, a practise that is still my main method of dewrinkling! When I married Husby I put an iron on the wedding registry because that's what you do. I did use it. I ironed his shirts when he sold insurance and wore a suit to work everyday. I watched TBS and ironed. I hate to iron but in this I found some joy. A bride ironing shirts for her husband to wear to work made me happy on some Betty Crocker level I didn't know I had. Then he stopped needing a pressed shirt everyday and the iron fell into disuse. It became even more redundant when I received a steamer for my birthday and my dresses no longer need ironing because I steam them. When my iron broke and my mother insisted that it needed replacing I went for the $6 option instead of my $50 deluxe version because it just doesn't get used - fyi the $6 option is never a good choice, even if you only iron once a year! My mother looks at me darkly whenever she comes over and uses it.

On Sunday Husby went to church without me. I walked into the living room just before he left to find him ironing. Imagine my shock, I didn't even know he could iron! Apparently he was taught in high school. On a side note, why do they not teach these things anymore? So many kids don't get this stuff at home or don't pay attention if they're not being graded. Aren't life skills something we need? By the by Husby doesn't like the $6 iron either.

Well since the iron was already out it reminded me that some of Toby's shirts were wrinkly. Now Toby is tubby but he is still tiny. My Steamer will not fit inside one of his shirts and I would likely burn myself in the attempt so they had been sat off to one side waiting mummy's return to the world of ironing. I would never have believed you had you told me that I would learn to love ironing. But standing in my living room ironing tiny little clothes brought me more joy than I thought possible. Ironing little man clothes, tiny shirts, tiny linen pants, well my goodness. I felt so inspired I even ironed a new skirt that Husby bought me and you know what, I enjoyed that too!

So my mother was right all along and now I need to find a new iron!