Pirate Party

A few weeks ago we attended a Captain AJ's 3rd Birthday party.  They went Pinterest crazy and really did up the pirate theme.  They made really cute decorations, had buried treasure in the sandbox, and there was even a pirate ship! 

Riesling spent most of her time in the sandbox.  This girl loves the combination of getting dirty and digging.

She made sure to venture over to the pirate ship mostly to retrieve the laundry basket that was holding the foam "swords"(I've totally trained her to think folding laundry is a super fun game).

The invitation requested that guest wear there favorite pirate themed attire.  What's more fun than playing dress up mostly to please a 3 year old? 

I searched our closets and came up with most of what we needed.  I topped off our little outfits with a trip to the craft store for a few foam eye patches (which no one actually ended up wearing) and a few red bandannas.  On the inside of the package for the bandanna was a huge list of about 50 "uses" including: make a bikini, measuring tool, tourniquet, cover a cigar box for a purse, spruce up tennis shoes, emergency diaper, and create a child's footstool.  I was cracking up reading the list.  Seriously bandanna sales must be hurting in today's economy.

Papa

Riesling got some new PJ's.  She is really excited about the crab on the front.  She pats it and smiles, like she's made a new friend or perhaps she is lobbying for a new pet.  This morning she insisted we try to call her Papa to show him her crab jammies.  She was saying "PaPa" over and over again and patting her little chest.  I got out the iPad to try and Skype with him and she got SUPER excited.  It's funny how she quickly learned to associate the iPad and Papa.  She likes to hold onto it really tight and give the screen kisses right on his face.  So sweet.  Anyways, since it was only 7am Papa was not available to for a chat so we had to settle on taking a few pictures and sending him and email....

Monday...

"Children and mothers never truly part- bound in the beating of each others heart."

~Charlotte Gray

Happy Mother's Day

 My first Mother's Day, 2012

Riesling is a very practical little girl.  A relaxing stress-free breakfast in bed kind of Mother's Day is so unrealistic.  That's not what being a mama is all about she said.  Staying up all night for two straight nights with a screaming crying baby and drinking 45 cups of coffee is so much more realistic.

Poor Riesling is getting in her bottom first molars and she has a crazy cold thing going on (possibly related?).  She started with a little bit of a runny nose late Friday evening but it progressed into something massive right around bedtime (of course!). She was up ALL night Friday in complete misery.  Jim and I felt so bad for her.  Something was obviously wrong but she couldn't tell us exactly what it was or what she needed. She didn't want to be held; she didn't want in her bed, our bed, or the to be put down; maybe she wanted to nurse but she couldn't because she couldn't breath through her nose; she was squirming and wiggling and crying and flailing around for hours on end.  Sometimes you feel so helpless as a parent. Jim even went out in the pouring rain at 2am to buy baby Tylenol (which she spit out at us...smart girl we didn't want to give her toxic pharmaceuticals anyways). 

It was the worst night we've ever had with her EVER.  At least when she was a wee little newborn she could easily be calmed with nursing or rocking.  Sometimes I would end up sleeping in the rocking chair for a few hours but that's not so bed compared to a 25+lb mini toddler thrashing around in the middle of the night.  

She was bit more cheery throughout the day Saturday but not really her old self.  She was run down and obviously not feeling well.  Saturday night was a little bit better than Friday but definitely not a restful night.  She wanted to be asleep sooo bad but she would start gagging and coughing and wake up really upset.  Friday night I tried to force her right back to sleep which seemed to make it worse. So, I realized that when she was that worked up I needed to remove her from the night night atmosphere.  I tried to calm her down with a trip to the kitchen for water or just a walk down the hallway for a minute, then I back in the bedroom and to rock or nurse her in an attempt to get her back to sleep.  It was mildly successful and I got a wee little bit of sleep.

Sunday morning Riesling and I joined Jim in the kitchen while he made breakfast....

 

Jim made eggs and special hashbrowns for me.  We both got started on our coffee IV drip and the rest of the day was actually quite enjoyable.  Riesling was a bit snuggling and lovey which is kind of nice on Mother's Day.  We planted flowers, did a little finger painting and spent a lot of time together as a family.  Tired or not the day must go on, right?!

Random Thoughs for a Thursday

*We have this SUPER annoying chirping night bird in the tree in our backyard, which is right outside our bedroom window.  The darn thing gets started just as the sun goes down and chirps constantly until dawn.  I swear it gets louder as the night goes on.  I think it even gets louder as the week goes on.  Right now the thing seems to have followed me downstairs into the living room.  There is no escaping.  If I start writing weird poetry,  rambling on about the coming of a new lord, the end of times, or speaking in cheeps and tweets you'll know that the damn bird has slowly chirped away my brain leading to insanity.

*Riesling feet smell so bad sometimes.  Seriously how does such a little sweet girl have such sweaty stinky feet?

*With new seasons of MadMen and Game of Thornes on I have to admit that I'm missing cable just a weeeee little bit.  I try my hardest to look away from the billboards and internet advertisements.  I don't want to know anything.  Don't you dare spoil it for me!

*I honestly had at least 10 random things to write about but I can't think of anything with this god damn f*cking bird chirping in my brain......

Crockpot rice pudding

This was one of those things I just got a craving for so I looked up a few recipes online and just modified according to what I had on hand. It was really easy and delicious (plus vegan & gluten free!). I think even less sugar would have been fine.  The coconut milk adds a little sweetness plus I personally don't need a super sugary dessert.  Just a little touch of sweetness.  You can definitely adjust the sweetness to your preference.

 

1 can coconut milk
2 1/2 C. Almond milk
1/2 C uncooked rice (not instant)
1 C. Raisins (optional)
2 Tbsp good quality maple syrup
1/4 C. Organic cane sugar
1 Tbsp coconut oil *
1 stick cinnamon **

Lightly coat crockpot with oil or cooking spray (I used coconut oil). Combine ingredients. Cook on high for 4-5 hrs. You can serve warm although I prefer it chilled.

*I'm not sure that it's necessary but a lot of other recipes I looked at called for margarine or butter so I added for good measure.

**I have no idea why I had a whole jar of cinnamon sticks but you could definitely substitute with ground cinnamon. 

Fresh Air

While Jim was on 'stay-cation' we decided to take advantage of the extra time together and went for a family hike. 

Before we bought our house we lived really close to to an amazing set of hiking trails within the Wissahickon park system.  We would go there pretty much every weekend year round and sometimes 3-4 times a week in the summer.  We spent hours and hours talking over our goals, our careers and our plans for the future; getting married, buying a house, starting a family.  I can remember saying a million times, "I know we just talked about this...." We both liked hearing our goals spoken and knowing that the other was still on board or had been listening to the latest update in our grand scheme.  All those hours walking together really helped us keep an open line of communication.  I think it's one of the reason we rarely argue.  Even know when there is tension between us or we don't agree a few laps around our neighborhood will usually clear the air. 

It's a little bit of a drive to get to the park from where we live now, so we don't get there as often as we'd like.  But on the few occasions we've been there since Riesling we make sure to reminisce like boring old parents and tell her of the good ole days.

Garage

I haven't done much of a home improvement update lately.  I guess because there really hasn't been much going on worth talking about.  Don't get me wrong, we've been plenty busy but it's all small stuff....and half finished.  For example, I've been working on a frame wall up the stairs since the end of last summer (I really need to get that one done!)  We did clean up the basement and get it painted and converted to a playroom but I've been waiting to share pictures until I get some details (curtains, pillows, wall art, etc) done. A lot of my effort has been focused on sorting through random stuff, getting organized and freeing our home of all the unnecessary junk.  I love purging!

A few weeks ago Jim took vacation days to make a long weekend and help us get some projects off our list.  A big one was cleaning out the garage.  Unfortunately I didn't get a 'before' picture but this is what it looked like after Jim hauled everything out into the driveway.

When we moved in 3 years ago we did nothing with the garage except throw a bunch of junk in it.  I don't even think we gave it a cobweb sweep.  Over the years and many many construction project the garage went from bad, to really bad, to 'oh man I can't close the door'.  We were stacking piles of demolition materials, drywall, tiles, glass shower doors, wood planks & boards of all sizes and who knows what else.  It basically became a dumpster with the exception of small area left for the lawn mower.  Several times we emptied out the materials (once into a junk removal trailer and several times with MANY trips to the curb). We were pretty much left with a lot of small broken up pieces of crap, nails, mice, random stuff we didn't know what do do with and lots of dirt.

Even though I don't really intend to let Riesling play in the garage, I knew she would end in that direction just out of curiosity. I didn't want to be worried every time the door was left open about her stepping on glass or picking up a rusty nail.  Plus we need a spot to store her array of hand me down outdoor toys (she even has a little tricycle!).

So we shipped Riesling off on a playdate for a few hours and set to work.  It so disgusting!  We had to wear mask and cover our faces because of all the dirt, mouse poop, and general grime. 

The previous owners built on the garage later.  It's attached but no entrance to the house. They basically never finished it.  Instead of hanging drywall there are random pieces of plywood nailed up haphazardly, random hooks, beams, shelves, and 'closets'.  It's a mess but we didn't have time to deal with that stuff.  I was pleasantly surprised by what a little cleaning and organization did for the place.

We still have a few items that we're trying to get rid of on Craigslist and a few that we just don't know what do with but all in it's a functional garage at this point.  Plus there is plenty of room for that Mustang convertible!

Let's walk the dog. Again.

Monday...

 Happy Earth Day....

"When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.

~John Muir