8 July 2009
summertime in the city

Filed under incidentals

Helloooo! Where does the time go? Seriously? Motherhood really is a full time job. Who knew! Loenne is napping, I should be cleaning. Oh, well.

There isn’t much new in my world. Maybe that’s not entirely true. . . I went to Manitoba with Loenne and my Mom about 10 days ago. It was my Grandma’s 88th birthday, a good reason to go visit her and see family. Loenne got to meet a good majority of her Manitoba relatives, and her awesome Winnipeg “Aunties”. I was nervous about flying with her for the first time, but she did great! I nursed during take off and landing, and she pretty much slept the rest of the time.  My Dad is a pilot for Air Canada, so I’ve flown stand-by my whole life,which is amazing, but can also be trying at times. Since I was flying with my Mom who taps into my Dad’s seniority- we were put in business class on the way there!  Luckily, I had dressed Loenne in a 3 piece suit just in case, so she fit right in. Here is the little sweetie sleeping on the plane.

Loenne and I with Grandma

My Grandma lives in a Senior’s Complex where she has her own apartment. There is usually a puzzle on the go in the lobby on her floor. My brother Marc and I killed it one night. OOPS! Puzzles are fun. I have fond memories of doing complicated puzzles with Grandma as a kid. Marc was telling me about his “puzzle club” that used to happen back in the day. It involved a friday night, a case of beer,  a brand new puzzle, and a few friends- and no going out until the puzzle was done. Now that’s my kind of party. I am not sure if it’s the tiny bits of satisfaction when you place each nagging piece, or the easy, idle conversations that happen around the puzzle that I love. Regardless,  maybe I will pick up a puzzle and let it take over my dining room table for a week, for old times sake.

We stopped on the highway so that Loenne Prairie and I could take a picture on the prairie- something for her baby book. Maybe we will have to do that every time we go back.

We’ve been home for a week, and have eased back into our cozy routine. I’ve been reading The Baby Whisperer books, and trying to follow some of her advice. Mainly- adding structure to the order of a baby’s life. Basically- Eat, Play, Sleep, repeat. The eating lasts about 20 minutes, the playing about 40, and the napping is up to her. I don’t think I was making her nap as much as she needed before.  Now during playtime, as soon as she starts getting fussy it’s time to quiet down and ease into a nap. She seems happier.

We had a BBQ with friends this past weekend, which was a hilarious fun time as usual. Everyone brings some meat to grill, and I make a few salads. I made four this time around, all from the Canadian Living website. I made a Cucumber Herb Salad, a Sweet Pickle Potato Salad, a Mediterranean Pasta Salad, and Green Bean Barley Salad. The Potato and Bean/Barley were the biggest hits with the crowd out of the four, but over all I think the group was complimentary and a good variety. It probably took me about 4 or 5 hours in total to make all of them.

Loenne wore her BBQ shirt- we bought it a few months ago and have been impatiently waiting for the big day when she would get to show it off! It’s covered in hamburgers and hot dogs, of course.

The biggest hit for me at the BBQ- and something that I can’t stop thinking about, was the double dutch! My friend Katy brought a couple skipping ropes and the ladies double dutched in the street. I couldn’t get the hang of it! I tried to jump in about 20 times but had to accept the fact that it wasn’t for me.  I think I would basically stop breathing and pretend I was hiding whenever I tried so maybe that’s why I sucked. Here is a picture of one of my attempts. Can you see the fear? Dom thinks these pictures are hilarious.

Hopefully this works- here is a video of the masters in action. I’m so jealous! I wish I could secretly practise, but you need rope turners.

That’s all for now. I really should be cooking and cleaning. If I’m going to be a stay at home Mom, I should still try to be the best I can be! On that front- I MISSED RHUBARB SEASON. So disappointed in myself. I had plans. Pickling season better not pass me by.

2009-07-08  ::  adrienne