Late Summer

Thank goodness for the nice weather staying around this year.  It's helping to make up for those miserable months of June and July when things SHOULD have been nice.  It's also making the end of the pregnancy a little easier because we can spend so much time just hanging out in the backyard.  I grab a cushion and a magazine for me, and Delphinium puts on her pink crocs "all by her own" and we're all set.

There are just so many wonderful things you can do in a good backyard.  I turn the hose on just a trickle, and she fills and refills the watering can.  I'm sure some plants are getting far more than they would like while others go dry, but oh well.  The slide also remains popular, and she is forever saying "watch me Mommy!" when she reaches the top of the ladder.  Another favorite is her big Tonka truck.  It gets pushed all over the place with much grunting because "it a big job for me."  Last, is the sand box.  For some reason she usually saves it for the end of her outside time.  It's endless fun to dig holes, fill them in, dig more, and then bury things in them.  Thus far we have remembered to keep the lid on when not in use, so the kitty hasn't been able to make any "donations."  Soon, soon we'll be staring mournfully out at the rain, so it's good to get out now.  Extra bonus?  More time for more tomatoes!

Vaccines Please

Hey There.  Did you get your shots yet?  You know the annual flu one (I haven't yet) and the Pertussis one that we all need boosted every five years (I did this one)?  While the flu has been causing concern for a few years now, they are now both considered unusually dangerous.  Pertussis is sweeping Washington state in part because there are so may parents here who refuse to vaccinate their children.  My tiny new baby is going to need all the help she can get to avoid getting infected in those months before she's old enough to have the shot herself.  Please, please do not be the moron who puts everyone else at risk!

Jokes

In the grand tradition started by her eldest cousin, Delphinium has suddenly become obsessed with jokes.  She was first introduced to them a few months ago, and now her passion for them knows no bounds.  The first brush with humor came in the form of the ultimate toddler joke invented by Uncle R. many years ago.  He analyzed the parts of jokes that elder niece enjoyed, and came up with something certain to amuse.  "Once there were two kitties walking along, and then one of the kitties fell on his butt!"  That's it.  That's the whole joke.  And it absolutely cracks them up.  The first time Delphinium heard it she laughed so hard she fell down.  Here are some other jokes she loves:

Knock knock
Who's there?
It's me a potato!

Knock knock
Who's there?
Ice
Ice who?
Ice cream!

Here are a couple of jokes she's made up after hearing some others:

Once there were two kitties walking along, and one kitty fell on a peanut!

Knock knock!
Who's there?
It's me a carrot!

Now imagine hearing these jokes (and more) for the entire duration of a two hour car trip.

Great Granola

Have I mentioned this before?  Hopefully not, and if I have, I can only repeat myself because this stuff is amazing.  This is the Alton Brown recipe for granola, and for once, he does not over-complicate.  In fact, this could not be a simpler process to produce something so scrumptious.  The flavors are mostly from the nuts and the coconut, but you could add any number of spices and/or dried fruits to change things up.  Why be limited to raisins and cashews?  It takes about 1.5 hours, but most of that time the trays are just sitting in a low oven making the house smell incredible.  Granola at Whole Foods costs between $4-$7 per pound, so you have to give this homemade recipe a shot.

36 Weeks Pregnant

Now that I'm 36 weeks pregnant, I should start to get that wonderful sense of relaxation that comes from knowing your baby is more in the "safe" zone for being born.  Were she to arrive today, her chances of survival would be extremely good.  That being said, nobody chooses to have an early baby without a reason.  Ideally all babies would arrive on their due dates with no surprises either way.

Unfortunately, my body is not being so cooperative about that whole 40 weeks idea.  Lots of Braxton Hicks contractions are making life a little interesting.  Every time I do something physical, especially if it involves my core muscles, I get one or more contractions.  Put the toddler in the grocery cart?  Contraction.  Lift the stroller into the car?  Contractions.  And on it goes.  I've been trying to take it easy and only to the minimum, but sometimes, by evening, I have to rest on my left side in order to get things to calm down.  Stand up for any reason and they return.  

Now the doctor's put me on "restricted activity" where spend most of the day on the couch, but I can still get up to do the necessaries such as make lunch, change diapers, and visit the facilities (every five minutes!).  It's certainly better than bed rest, but still not much fun.  Mostly the major enemy is boredom, hers and mine, and we are doing our best not to miss walks and outings.  Thank goodness she's got two days of school to amuse her this week.  Otherwise we might both climb the walls.  Thank goodness for Daddy who is doing is absolute best to keep us together.  Still, he will have to go to work sometime, and then the lack of fun may begin.  

First Day of School

I truly cannot believe I'm writing this post.  Didn't I just write about Delphinium's delivery sometime last week?  Apparently not because now she's off to school at the ripe old age of two and a half.  We wanted her to continue to play with other children even though I won't be able to do a mommy and me class with her this year, so school seemed like a good choice.  Thus we found ourselves, one bright September morning, walking her in to her first day.

We'd already been several times to check things out and meet the teachers, but this was the first time I would be leaving her.  She suddenly looked very small to me even though she was wearing her most grown up jeans, pink plaid button-down, and pigtails.  Luckily SHE had no reservations about where we were or what was about to happen.  There were kids!  There were toys!  There were farm animals!  There was the promise of snack!  What's not to love?  I had to call her back to say goodbye.  No tears were shed on either side.  That's good right?

I took myself off to the grocery store trying not to let the sense of dislocation impact my driving.  Then spent the next hour staring at the shelves and finding it extremely hard to make choices.  When I picked her up again, she was a little shell-shocked by all the stimulation, but still happy and excited.  She told me all about snack (blueberry bar!) and the other kids (what they names?) and the real live parrot (he say "Wow!" to me).  She absolutely wanted to go back and do it all again soon.  Here I am left with this odd combination of pride at her success, happiness for her happiness, and sorrow for what is gone.  Strange times indeed.  Maybe I need to throw a tiny infant into the mix just to keep things interesting.

Toddler Quotes

1)  Me: Those are humming birds.  They make a sound like this zzzzzz (imagine a very bad impression of a humming bird).
Her:  Really?  They sound like bee?

2. Mommy!  This part of table little bit grubby.  Need wash.

3. Mommy, why we need car seat?  Why you wear seat belt?  Why I no sit in front?  Why we go in car?  Why I asking why?

4. (She likes to go through the litany of who eats what in our family) Her: Who eat fish? 
Me: Daddy and P. and Bobby
Her: Who eat coffee?  
Me: Namma, Bobby, Daddy, and Bel.
Her: Who eat vegetables?
Me: Everybody!
Her: I want to eat a monkey!

QUICK Summer Pickles

Love, love love this recipe for quick pickles!  They are not kidding about the quick.  When I remember my mom's generation doing pickles, it always involved sweating over huge pots and/or bathtubs full of ice.  As much as I adore pickles, I've never had the guts for all that.  This recipe could not be further from the hassle.  You take all the ingredients (cukes, spices, salt, vinegar, garlic, water) and plop them into a mason jar.  Shake well, and then you put them in the fridge.  Then, three days later, you begin to have some really fantastic pickles.  Super crispy (still like a cuke!) but with lovely briny flavors.  The big girl keeps requesting pickles for her afternoon snack.