It feels absolutely wonderful to be blogging again after a very long hiatus. Thank you to Mama V for introducing my two bundles of joy who arrived in December - Master Q and Miss V.
Taking care of newborn twins and a very energetic two-year old, along with having to cope and address some serious medical concerns for Miss V, has not left me with much time to think about blogging or knitting or yoga or anything else that I enjoyed in my prior life.
However, about two weeks ago I started to think about a knitting project that I left unfinished while on bed rest. Last week I started taking notice of my knitting bag sitting in my closet. Then I decided to I take out my knitting bag. It sat on our bar for the rest of the week and I thought about knitting every time I passed by to go to the kitchen.
This week I actually started knitting again (inspired by a few emails from Mama J about her current knitting projects). I decided to start knitting during Miss V's early morning feed from 2 to 3am. It is one of the few times the whole house is quiet and I don't work with Miss V on her feeding therapy (I let her sleep through the feed so she gets her rest). The first night the only thing I accomplished was figuring out where I left off and what I was doing and by that time Master Q had awakened and was ready to feed.
The next night I knit two rows and I was hooked all over again, just like when we knit our first hat project with Mama N over a year ago. Knitting again has really made me feel rejuvenated. All week I couldn't wait to get back to my knitting. It was so nice to throw my mind into something else and I find knitting really helps calm and center me.
Today I finished knitting the Debbie Bliss Stripey Hat for Master Q. It felt so gratifying to accomplish something. Master Q really needed a hat too. He has outgrown all his newborn hats and all the infant hats are pink, which Mister T says will not do for Master Q.
It rained all day today, but in the late afternoon the storm ended and the sun and blue sky reappeared. I took Miss L and Master Q out in our new Phil & Ted's Sport double stroller and we walked over to our favorite neighborhood park near the Presidio. It was the perfect opportunity for Master Q to wear his new hat. In the photo above he is also wearing the lovely cardigan that Mama N knit for him. Miss L enjoyed jumping and splashing in all the puddles at the playground and Master Q hung out in the stroller bassinet.
I'm going to go now and search for new patterns on Ravelry. I'd love to knit a rattle for Miss V and I need to start working on a birthday present for my mom.
So happy to be back knitting and blogging with my dear mama friends!
Most of you know that I'm an ice cream addict. I've tried so hard to stay away from it recently because I know that I can't stop until I eat the whole tub! I just keep thinking of all that sugar and fat going through my milk into Master T. But today I felt like some ice cream and I recalled a quick recipe that my mother used to make. It's super quick and super easy. It's also low fat, and doesn't contain any of the nasties that commercial brands contain.
All you do is freeze a tin of low fat evaporated milk. Allow to soften slightly, add a 300ml tub of low fat double cream, approx. 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tsp natural vanilla essence and whip with a hand mixer but not too much - you don't want whipped cream. Freeze. Once frozen allow to soften slightly and then whip again. I just used a fork and then froze again until firm and ate! The more you freeze and then whip the fluffier it becomes but I found just the once was fine.
Just omit the vanilla and add any flavour. I'm going to grate some dark chocolate and add cocoa. Can't wait!
As some of you know I threw Mister TS a 35th birthday dinner party a few weeks ago. Over the years of being together I have started to plan way in advance for his birthday as it falls just 5 weeks after New Years, a week before Valentine's Day and now during the week of our wedding anniversary. When he tried on and admired a watch back in December while we were Christmas shopping I bought it quickly without him knowing and kept it hidden successfully. While resting on my laurels I invited his 2 best friends from college and their wives for dinner on the saturday of his "birthday weekend" and when all said they could make it I sat back and relaxed about the birthday plans. Mister TS gave me the new Thomas Keller Ad Hoc cookbook for Christmas and was dying for me to make something from it. I chose a menu included some of our favorite things: butter lettuce salad with bacon and blue cheese dressing (mine), buttermilk fried chicken (his) and something we had never tried Leek bread pudding. That is where I think I lost my mind. Fried Chicken for 6 fried chicken lovers? And I had never done it before? I had confidence, probably too much.
A few weeks before the party one of the wives mentioned that her Mister was going to the Super Bowl. What? It turns out he forgot about the birthday dinner!! I then enlisted my closest friend and her husband to keep it a group of 6 (more festive than a group of 4) and she was happy to oblige and loves fried chicken perhaps more than my husband. Two days before the party I received an email from the forgetful friend saying that he cancelled his trip due to the crazy weather and would be able to attend! Now it is a group of 8 and I begin to truly panic. I decided at that moment I needed some help so that I could prep it all and have someone else fry the chicken when necessary. I started to come to my senses a little bit and asked a fellow school mom who is a private chef if she knew of any students that could come help me. She asked around but did not have anyone! It is now friday morning, the day before the party and I have a morning class and meet up scheduled with some of our Mamas and Masters and a client to see in the afternoon! Luckily plans that morning changed (as plans with the Masters frequently do) so Master D and I went to Whole Foods together and got everything we could possibly need for the weekend menus. The fried chicken and butter lettuce salad became our meal for Super Bowl Sunday and I bought a beef tenderloin for 8, greens and the ingredients for the leek bread pudding.
At 1:00 pm friday the chef friend emails me and suggests I call the French Culinary Institute to ask if they have any students that can help. I call right away and a very nice woman takes my call as if this is a routine matter. She takes my information, what I need and puts a message on the school and alumni message board. By 1:35 I had 2 phone voice mails. I decide to call 1 over the other because I like his name and voice best. It turns out he graduated 2 years ago and is working as a private chef. He has worked at a few nice restaurants in the city (including Jean Georges) but prefers private chef work. He has the Thomas Keller Ad Hoc cookbook and likes and is familiar with my menu! At this point I am so relieved and happy I hire him to cook the whole meal start to finish and clean up. He came at 4:30 (after a trip to Whole Foods for a few last minute ingredients I didn't have) and left at 10:30 with my kitchen spotless while we were eating birthday cake. Everyone stayed until 1 and loved the meal, especially and most importantly Mister TS. And for the first time of my lengthy dinner party history I enjoyed every minute of the evening and even got to partake in the cheese and wine before we all sat down. It was heavenly and not expensive. This is a great way to have a dinner party for a special occasion rather than getting a private dining room or large table somewhere. We saved a lot by drinking our own wine and even with the food and chef costs still wound up ahead(as compared to a restaurant.) I highly recommend for your next special occasion!
Just wanted to share this fantastic dish with you. I just made it for lunch and it was a hit. It includes all Master R's favorite foods, peas, sausages, pasta, cheese and tomatoes and is quick to throw together. Despite the sausages it feels healthy and virtuous. Enjoy!
Since I've made the decision not to have a fulltime nanny something had to slip. And it's my diet. My diet has been crap lately. I'm lucky if I can grab a slice of toast and protect it that from Master R's greedy fingers.
So I signed up for Pure Package meal delivery service. I get 3 meals a day plus two snacks. The food is all fresh and I'm really enjoying having meals ready to just rip off the cover and scoff. Only the evening meal requires heating. The portions are huge, sometimes too big. But I feel virtuous knowing that I'm getting the required fruit and veg. If I go out for lunch I just give Mr M the meal I've missed.
The only issue is that sometimes I just feel like a slice of buttery raisin and fennel toast and a cup of tea. And that's exactly what I'm having for dinner tonight. Bon appetit!
It is quite interesting the number of boys we have between us. Out of the 8 mamas only Mama H is lucky enough to have not one but two girls. The rest of us are blessed with little boys. Personally we were really wanting a boy first. Mr M is just a boy boy if that makes sense. Second time around he wanted another boy. I really didn't mind. Again, Mr M got his wish. We'd like to have a 3rd and it would be nice to have a girl. I'd love to make beautiful little dresses for her and paint a room pink. But if number 3 was another boy I really wouldn't be worried. Boys are such fun too.
Last night a documentary aired on four families all desperate for a girl. One family had 8 boys while the others had four boys each. What I found disturbing was the desperation of these mothers. All the fathers were fine with it. Sure, it would be nice to have a girl, but they had healthy children so what's the problem. The mothers were a different story.
One mother went as far as saying that to her not being able to have a girl was the same as a woman who can't conceive at all. A dreadfully selfish and almost disgusting suggestion in my opinion. This woman was blessed with four very beautiful and healthy boys and was bemoaning this fact! The documentary showed her discovering she was pregnant with number 5 and accompanied her to the 18 week scan to see the sex. It was a boy. She sobbed openly in front of her boys about not having a girl. How will these boys grow up, especially the poor little boy number 5?
The mother with 8 boys was now in her mid forties and had been trying for a couple of years to fall pregnant again but it was just not happening. She had largely accepted it.
Two of the mothers, one in the UK, the other in the US, underwent PDG, a IVF type process of selecting only the female embryos for implantation. The practise is illegal in the UK so the British mother travelled to Spain for the process.
It was the second attempt at PDG for the American mother. Unfortunately for her it failed once again. She sobbed openly in front of her boys about not having a girl and her husband was clearly concerned about how this negativity would effect their boys.
It does have a happy ending. The British mother had refused to marry her partner of many years until he gave her a girl. After 4 beautiful boys and a single round of PDG she gave birth to twin girls. She had her fairytale wedding with the young daughters as bridesmaids. The disproportionate attention she gave to the girls while ignoring the boys was disturbing. She highly recommended gender selection as a way of building a balanced family.
Gender selection is actually legal in many US states. What are your views? Will it create an unbalanced society or just enable people to create a balanced family?
Ask any new mum and the biggest concerns are going to be feeding and sleep - both their own and their babies. I read so many books on sleep and had formed a very strong feeling against any form of sleep training. I was definitely in the Dr Sears camp (cosleep until baby is ready to move into his own bed) rather than the Dr Cohen approach (at 8 weeks place baby in crib at 7pm, close the door and open it again at 7am). However all that changed with Master R was 7 months old.
I was going back to work on a 2 month contract with Goldman Sachs. The Sunday before I started I met with Mama V and complained that I didn't know how I was going to continue to cosleep with Master R, wake during the night for feeds and make a good impression at work. Mama V told me I was just going to have to use the cry it out method (CIO). She shared her experience and urged me to consider it. What sold me is that she said Master K was a much happier baby as a result often waking of a morning to sit in his crib playing happily with his toys - a stark contrast to Master R who awoke screaming most mornings still tired.
That night Mr M was travelling for work so I resolved myself to the task. After a bath and story we lay down together for a feed and then put him in his crib at 7pm. Prepared for the worst I was surprised when he only whimpered for 15 minutes before falling asleep. Shocked I waited for him to wake up. Finally at 10 he awoke crying but again he only cried for 10-15 minutes. He woke again at 11 and I thought this was going to continue all night. But once again after 15 minutes of crying he fell asleep again - for the rest of the night! The next night he only cried for a little while before sleeping the whole night and then every night since, except for a the odd night of course.
So now I'm a convert. I see anti-CIO parent's kids who still wake during the night at 4 years old and I'm so pleased that Mama V encouraged me to do it. Now however, it's Master T's turn. He's 5.5mths old - where has the time gone? It's not so easy. He feels like a little baby and seems to young to just cry. We've started CIO, a modified version of it anyway. He falls asleep during feeding and was waking again after 1-2 hours. But a week ago I started letting him cry. It hasn't been as quick as Master R, but so far it's working. Master T mostly sleeps through until 10:30-11pmish when I come into bed and wake him up. In the next couple of months I'll move him out of our bed and start working towards a full night of sleep. Two kids sleeping though the night, won't that be bliss!
What do you think? Did you or didn't you use CIO or a version of it?
Master R is obsessed with cooking. He stands up on his little stool next to the bench and insists on mixing and of course eating. An idea I stole from another wonderful blog is to have a cookie of the week. The mama blogger lets one of her 3 children choose a cookie and they bake it together. With no classes on a Tuesday it has become bake day. I'll try to post what we've baked and share the recipe.
These are an old favorite passed down from my grandma. ANZAC biscuits* were developed to send to the Australian and New Zealand Army Core while serving in Gallipoli.
*Biscuits are not savory like in the US but are just the British word for cookies.
ANZAC biscuits 1 cup plain flour 1 cup dessicated coconut 1 cup oats 1 cup dark sugar 125g butter 2 tbs golden syrup (you can find this in some stores around Battery Park) 1 tsp bicarb soda
Preheat oven to 180C/350?F. Combine all dry ingredients. Melt butter and golden syrup and add to the dry ingredients along with bicarb soda dissolved in 2 tablespoons of boiling water. Mix well and using a teaspoon form into balls - careful they really expand. Bake for about 10 minutes until golden.
Considering that Master D has only had a babysitter once in his entire life, he is turning into a remarkably independent child. He recently started insisting on walking everywhere, which was fine as long as I could keep up, but suddenly he is a sprinter and he careens around stores as if they're race tracks. He searches for opportunities to dash away from me, and when he finds them he wastes no time looking back to see where I am. I worry that he will run into elderly people and knock them down, or rush out of a grocery aisle into another shopper's cart, or simply run into the arms of some predator who sees that I am a few yards away, unable to keep my toddler out of harm's way.
So, the party is over! Yesterday, at the airport returning home from our annual trip to visit my parents in Florida, Master D was tethered to the monkey leash he dreads so much. Passersby all admired it, and giggled, and asked me where I found it, but Master D just howled and screamed, "NO MONKEY!!!!" over and over again. I explained that it was for safety, and that it was dangerous when he ran away from me, but my explanations only seemed to make him hate the monkey more because they reminded him of the freedoms he had lost. So I let him cry, and I went about my business at the ticket counter, security, etc.. People stared, and I wished I could explain that I am usually an attentive and caring mother, but I consoled myself with the fact that he was safe.
We had a similar experience at our favorite grocery store today. It has always been the best because it boasts TV Car Carts in which Master D can pretend to drive and watch "Bob the Builder" at the same time. All the other stores have Car Carts, with steering wheels, and we thought they were a big deal until these tricked out babies came into our lives this summer. At first, I relished leisurely shopping trips that allowed me to saunter down every aisle instead of beelining to the hummus and string cheese. But its novelty has started to wear off lately so we only shop once a week or I leave Master D with daddy. Today, even after two weeks without our dear carts, the magic was gone. Master D climbed in excitedly, seemed glad to see "Thomas the Tank Engine" pop up as the first show, but quickly started climbing out and demanding to walk.
I tried to negotiate with him - we could go see the fish tanks if he got back in the cart. He could ride the mechanical horse after our shopping if he got back in the cart. He could have turkey sausage for dinner if he got back int the cart. He could have chocolate in the car if he got back in the cart. Mamas, nothing worked. He just kept trying to run, and I kept picking him up and trying to bribe him. So he started to cry and throw himself on the ground, in full tantrum. People stared, and tried to get by us, and finally I just hauled my kicking, screaming toddler out of the store and put him in his car seat.
I never see other kids doing this, so I know I must be to blame. Perhaps it's because he always cried in his stroller as a baby, and I dreaded the stares and comments as we walked down the NYC streets, so he never learned that sometimes we just need to run errands. Maybe I have let him walk so many times that he thinks I will always cave, and that walking in stores is his god-given right. Whatever the cause, I need help! We will be eating frozen chicken nuggets for dinner tonight because our post-vacation refrigerator is bare. Where have I gone wrong?!
So- we are back from our Argentinian 5 week adventure. Traveling with two was quite a challenge- especially on a sightseeing/non "veg at the beach" vacation. Naively, I didn't think it would be all that different from our day to day life. On the weekends in NYC, we go out for lunch, spending the afternoon in some type of activity. I was in for quite an awakening.
Things I learned:
In traveling with small children, expect the unexpected and be flexible. There is no routine- things changed from day to day. They won't nap when you want them to- if we got a stroller nap- we would take take advantage of the time to see something you want to see or eat. We found we revised our "schedule" every few days and tried to go with what worked best for the boys.
We were lucky also that Master A was young enough that he didn't require constant activities, museums, etc. just for him. He was at an age that he was happy just to run around outside wherever we went. However, that also meant he liked to run out of restaurants. We tried a lot of outdoor restaurants in our neighborhood but even that proved to be too hard. He's just an age where he won't sit in a chair or high chair. After many meals of taking turns eating and chasing Master A, we learned to go at his "naptime" and just wait until he fell asleep in the stroller to have a more relaxing lunch. If he wasn't asleep when we arrived we would just walk in circles around the restaurant we wanted to eat and pray he would fall asleep. If he did, we went in. If not, we skipped it. Some days were better than other with the boys and we learned just to adapt. Naptimes changed and our schedule was rearranged.
If your child sleeps in a crib at home- and the place you are staying at does not have one- bring one or buy one. Master A tricked us for a week or so- falling asleep pretty easily so we didn't bother buying one for the apartment we were staying. A store to buy a pack & play was going to be a trip to the suburbs that we didn't feel like taking. Once we were about 2 weeks in, Mister R had to lay with him each night till he fell asleep and he would still pop out occasionally. It was a real pain and stressful if we had a sitter. We should have made the trip and bought a crib from the get go.
Babies are the best travel companions. Master L was great- he would sleep in the Ergo for hours while we moved around (thanks for letting me borrow Mama V). I finally mastered feeding on the go. While his sleep was erratic at night- he was very easy and slept well on the long plane rides and while I was wearing him. I wish we had traveled more when it was just Master A and he was a baby.
Go somewhere that kids are not seen as a nuisance. In Argentina, the kids were fawned over and no one blinked if they were crying.
Flights- for long flights- overnight flights are key. The boys slept quite a bit since it was their normal bedtime. On the flight out, they "blocked" an extra seat for us (we bought one for Master A) so we were able to bring the car seat on for Master L- made a big difference. We did bulk head seating on the way back and I don't know if I'd do it again for a night flight. There was room for Master A to get up and move a little- but the armrests don't come up so he couldn't lie down. He was much more comfortable on the flight down. From Buenos Aires, we visited two different areas that required short flights. They were harder- at varying times- had lots of delays. We were happy when our traveling around ended. I would try to avoid moving around if possible. We found that there was also an adjustment to new hotels and Master A became very clingy. Master A became attached to Mister R which was sweet but a pain at times. If he was nervous- he had to be carried around holding on to Mister R in a death grip. We tried to humor him as much as possible and allow him what he needed to adjust- since we were forcing these changes on him. He did not understand that this was a vacation or what was going on.
Renting an apartment was a great way to travel. It was so nice to have two bedrooms and be able to shut the door and still relax in the evening. We got suites in the hotels and would only do this in the future.
A pool was great to have- Master A became a water bug and it was our nightly ritual. We tried to drag Master A out to dinner but he was grouchy and tired if we were out past his bedtime at 7:30 (we had several meals packed up for our hotel room) so we learned to come back to our apartment at night and relax at the pool. I wasn't sure how much we'd use it- but it helped an extended trip feel more like a vacation.
Food- I had a list of nice (not super fancy) restaurants I wanted to go to for brunch or dinners. They were scrapped and our focus became on pizza, empanadas, and helado (ice cream). We started our day around noon or one and would try to go to lunch and one place/neighborhood we wanted to see. In the end, after we saw all we wanted to see, we'd take long walks for food and then hit the park.
Sitters- don't be afraid to use them- once you have someone you trust. We went out a few nights and one full day and one half day. I very rarely use them at home but it was a nice treat and in the end we wished we had started earlier and done it more. Next time, for a shorter trip, I would hire someone to watch the boys while we do some sightseeing- so we'd get more in.
Traveling with two is difficult but fun. The time Mister R spent with the boys was priceless and gave him quite an appreciation into what it takes to just get out the door with both of them. It is doable with a lot of patience and flexibility. Some days you just pack them up, slather on sun block through their crying and wailing and hope for the best. Oh- only send out pictures where the kids are smiling and everyone will think it's a breeze! It couldn't have been all bad, we are already thinking about Italy in September (provided Master R rejoins the working force before then).
A while ago I wrote about my attempts at using real nappies with Master R. Despite my best efforts it wasn't very successful. They just leaked too much. I can't do nappy changes every 1-2 hours. I think he was too active for them.
However, I'm using the same size, large, for Master T with great success! They last for 2-3 hours between changes and look great too. It's so cute seeing him in little red, blue or yellow nappies. I have about 7 sets and just throw them straight in the washing machine as they're soiled. Once I've used them all I just switch on the machine (no fabric softener though as this effects the absorbency). Once washed just throw in the dryer and viola, nappies ready. I really don't find them any more difficult than disposables. I'm also saving money but better still, the environment.
These real nappies are not going to work for the long term but if I can enjoy them for the next few months that's good enough for our pocket and carbon footprint!
We are eight mamas who bonded during summer 2008 spent in parks around Battery Park, NYC with our newborn babies. Now separated by an ocean and land we share the many ups and some downs of being fulltime mamas.
