13 months

What 13 months means

lots of cruising around on furniture
Taking 2-4 steps- (12 have been counted on occasion...) it is still so much more efficient to crawl
climbing stairs- if someone has forgotten to close the gate
practicing "uh oh" just like his cousin
eating every kind of food
signing for Pat-a-cake song
overcoming bad cold/cough- incredible snot sneezes
going to bed without nursing for both naps and bed-time
delighting in doing things that he knows are "wicked"!
delighting in being called a scamp and a scallywag.
more clingy to Mum
7 teeth
darling giggles.

sleeeeeep

Sleep seems to be something that I only get in short chunks these days. I suppose if I started sleeping when Timo goes to sleep (7:30 PM or so) I would get a good stretch until about midnight. After midnight though Timo likes to sleep only for a few/couple hours at a time. Clearly things need to change regarding this but since waking up always happens when I have the least reserves to deal with it I am finding that just getting up and comforting him/nursing him is my only option. However, I have just cancelled 3 of my days of childcare in the Bay Area because Martin and I have a plan to send Timo home with Martin 3 days before I get back to Spokane. That will mean 2 nights of me, alone, sleeping. The thought it just glorious. And also terrifying. How will it all work out? When I get back will there be 3 adults and one 13 month old with sleep deprivation instead of one mum? Here's hoping I can pump enough milk to leave for the brave back at home.
I must sign off now, I have to get pumping before Timo wakes up....

betwixt seasons

As I told you before we have had our first snow. It seemed impossible that it could happen as the days had been so warm and the leaves were still on most of the trees. Just like last winter the tendency around here is to snow, thaw and freeze. It did a bunch of that but now it has melted (apart from the snowballs in the backyard) and now most of the trees have given up their leaves and we get to see the cover of unraked leaves that has been languishing under the snow (not so nice...).

Even with the snow I am glad to say that my garden is still producing veggies for us and I got to pick carrots and kale from under the snow drifts!! I had to wear gardening gloves so that my fingers didn't freeze in the snow. Seems kinda miraculous that I can still be eating out of my garden!! Yippeeee!
Here are some pictures from about a month ago. I love how these plants change their colours in a rainbow fashion.

house of sick

On Sunday someone asked me how my household was doing and I said that remarkably everyone was very well and we had had very few fall illnesses. I should have been knocking on wood or crossing my fingers or something because that night started a range of delights! Mimi was sick (stomach) (what she always gets) and that meant a VERY interrupted night for us. She stayed in bed/at home for 2 days. Ami has a very bad cough (the one he always seems to get) and I am sporting a rather horrendous sore throat (also the one I always get). Timo has been cranky and he is either getting a new tooth or he has some ache that he can't tell us about.
This too shall pass.

Guest post by Mimi- from Sunday

Today we got up and we put on our clothes. Then we ate breakfast (piece of toast). Then we had a walk and we went to church. I went to junior choir. We practiced singing. I forget which songs they were. Then I went to children's church. Then we had our morning prayers. It was fun. Then we sang songs and they were... I forget! Then we had our story and we had snack. It was chips and apples. Then Cathy brought down the bells and the cross. Then I holded the bells. It was fun. Then we went upstairs and we processed down the aisle. Then we played a story. It was fun but i wasn't involved in the story. Not everyone was involved. It was if you knew how to read. Then I sat with Miranda and Matthew and we had fun with my crayons and my pages. And soon the service was over. And in the middle of the service i did the labrinth. It was fun doing the labrinth.
We had enchiladas (leftover). [ed. for dinner]

Mimi and Miranda with their choir uniforms!

wait! i forgot one part!!We had pumpkin pie!!!!.

Bazaar

Today was the day of the big Christmas Bazaar across the street. I have NOT officially joined any "ladies groups" at church but somehow my friends belong to a "guild" and they invited me to join them for events/meetings/outings. (is this how people get into cults?!) The whole "Guild culture" is big here. There seem to be endless Guilds who do all sorts of socializing and raising of money to give to those who need it. I heard today that the "Service League" (the first and most "overarching" group) was in existence before the Cathedral was and they raised the equivalent of 3 (or maybe it was 8) Million dollars in the '30s (mid depression..) toward the creation of the building. 
 
This was all done with 5 cent luncheons and garage sales. Not to mention Spring Balls, Summer Balls, Winter Balls etc. Those gals loved to dance I guess and they really knew how to get MONEY!!. Today the guilds are of various sizes and raise funds for those less fortunate.
The guild that I am associated with is called the St Catherine and St Frances guild. The guild had almost died out (quite literally) but it has been re-membered by a few youngish Moms.
My friend Becky took on the role of leader, creating everything necessary to make our booth at the Bazaar successful. The St C and St F guild made and sold the traditional secret recipe Champagne Mustard, dry soup mixes and an assortment of other things that we thought people might purchase. However, Becky was VERY sick today so she wasn't able to attend. That meant that the rest of us who could be there (2-3) attended ALL day. I have new sympathy for folks whose job means that they are on their feet all day on a concrete floor. I also am super appreciative of living across the street and popping home for this or that or just for taking break from the place.
My kids were super great today. Helping out and having fun all day long. It was too bad that it was such a gorgeous day outside today but hopefully we raised a good amount of funds and that people who need help will benefit from our efforts.

I loves me some pumpkin

We didn't have a pumpkin for Hallowe'en. I figure next year we will. I guess I was looking for some unbelieveable deal for pumpkin and they all seemed a bit pricey for just carving and then composting. I want to EAT pumpkin! Soooo... last night I roasted 3 pie pumpkins in order that I can have pumpkin for many recipes. I started this morning with pumpkin pancakes. They are the best.

Here is my recipe (all measurements approximate)

1.5 cups ww pastry flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
ginger, cinnamon, allspice
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin (pureed)
1+ cup milk (enough to make it pancake consistency)

hot greased griddle.
makes 24 pancakes- enough for our family of 5 but none for Bodhi!

I plan to make pumpkin scones another morning and perhaps pumpkin pie for tonight. Then I will store the rest of the pumpkin in our massive freezer in the basement.
[The freezer is a story for a post about garage sales in Spokane. Stay tuned!]

pines in the fall

The Pines here in Spokane are really beautiful and when the fall comes they make their presence known in a totally profound way. The dropping of the needles. I have never experienced this before. Massive amounts of needles everywhere. Manito Park has lots of pines and this is what it looked like in one of their parking lots after they had cleared the roads and paths. Amazing.
I wonder what you could do with all that fiber...?

winter?

Today
Timo got a new tooth (#7).
I picked a large number of apples from a neighbor who had a sign out saying neighbors welcome to pick.
I realize the need to reduce the amount of exasperation I seem to have these days. Mostly because I am tired of hearing that tone of voice back from my daughter.
I made Lasagna in the morning. (unheard of early dinner preparation)
We went to the Roosevelt Roundup at the kids' school and it was a super fun carnaval!
Ami won a pie in the cake walk.
I taught an ABM floor lesson class.
And yes. It snowed.

Twinsins in October

Because of my travels to Vancouver we had the opportunity to have another Twinsins reunion. Almost a year since they were born we got together for a meal at C's house. It was so fun to see them together- each with their own way of being in the world. So fun!

ABM in October

October was an incredible month for me and my ABM practice. I took the plunge and booked folks in to do intensive ABM work in Vancouver mid October. An intensive is just as intense for the practitioner as it is for the students! I saw students 5-8 times in 3-5 days. Timo came to Vancouver with me and we both stayed with the E's. H and F looked after Timo while I was BUSY with students. I had the very good fortune of renting space from the generous folks at Jericho Physio who allowed me to work out of their office which is only 4 blocks from the E's home. That made all the difference for my crazy busy days. If I had had to brave Vancouver traffic as well as conduct ABM intensives for folks I would have never survived!
The week after I got back from Vancouver I drove up to Grand Forks BC to do a 3 day intensive with kids and adults there. The work is so powerful the adults really could NOT believe what their new realities were. It was very satisfying and a great working arrangement- working out of my host's aunt's house, mere blocks away. I am planning on going back for another intensive in GF next week. Timo is glad that our GF intensives are only 3 days. I would have to agree with him :)

Fall Fruits

The kids are really getting into the rhythm of their new school routine. It takes less than 10 minutes to walk to school. However we are increasingly getting a bit lazy about leaving enough time to get there. Now that the time has changed I see no reason not to get there ON TIME!!

Yellow plums, pears and a few apples from the urban forest.

can't you just taste these?!

I have had a wonderful time this fall searching out urban fruits for picking and preserving. I found pears (and made awesome dried pears with them) and yellow, little reddish and Italian plums (in the freezer waiting for cobblers) and a few concord grapes. Most recently I have acquired a whole wallop of beautiful Macintosh Apples. We have daily been passing (4 times a day for me!) a yard with 3 little apples trees on our way to school.  One tree had yellow delicious which didn't look too healthy. One tree looked barren and the other was the prize MacIntosh tree. I was watching the apples drop to the grass with no signs of them being used or appreciated in any way. Last week after I picked up the kids I got up the nerve to knock on the door to ask about the apples. The old man who answered said that they weren't going to use them and that we could have as many as we wanted. He said they hadn't sprayed them so they were probably full of bugs. I thought "HUZZAH- no spray"!!! They were gorgeous, hardly any worm evidence, no huge bruises (they were landing on mossy grass) and only a few holes where some buggy friends had taken their fare share. I took as many as I could in the bottom of the stroller. When I got home I determined to go back the next day to gather the rest of the good ones. That I did!!!
I filled a 20 lbs tomato box with my apples. I am very pleased.

Fall in Spokane

It's time to get writing on here!!! You can attribute this inspiration to my sister.
Life is very full and there has been much to blog about but I have been out of the habit. I have used the excuse that my computer not been willing to participate in my blogging habit but I can no longer use that one. I have a shiny new computer to use and it is beautiful! It supports me in all my endeavors.
So here goes...
Since I moved here at the beginning of December last year, Fall in Spokane is something I am appreciating for the first time. I know I have said before that I am enjoying living where there are real SEASONS and I can still say that is true. The amazing trees that I watched change from their wintery sticks into beautiful yellow green buds to glorious green canopies are now dazzling fall colours. We have a stunning maple tree right outside the livingroom window that is shockingly yellow.

We are understanding the work associated with having these gorgeous trees when we have to rake our back yard but it is much better than going to the gym to work out! The kids are troupers and have helped me a great deal.

My favourite tree on the way to school in the morning

I'm playing with my camera to take arty shots!

A Horse Chestnut in Manito Park