Domestic G

My whole entire house smells like cauliflower.

As I am sure you know, this is not the most pleasant of smells. Its kind of a cross between a dirty bathroom, and a full diaper-genie. Which, in retrospect, are kind of the same thing...

This lovely odor is the end result of me being all domestic and stuff and making my own baby food. 2 weeks ago, I made broccoli. And that first foray was really based on my mum telling me that it was something that I loved as a baby. And since its not something you can buy, I was interested in seeing what V though of it.

He loved it, which just motivated me to make more....

One of my good friends and I have been discussing making our own food recently. Actually, we have been discussing it to the death. Going over every little teeny tiny detail of the process. I even went and bought a book.

Sadly, every recipe says the same thing.... "Chop finely and steam for 10 minutes, then puree..." And thats how you make baby food. I am so glad I spent $20 on that book.

It is terribly satisfying though. I feel domestic like I have never felt before. I might even go and buy an apron!

So 2 nights ago, it was sweet potatoes, and tonight I made cauliflower and cheese. I freeze it all in ice cube trays, so its in easy little portions (somebody elses clever idea). I haven't had a chance to feed him any of these latest creations, but he will eat them soon.... I am already thinking about what will be next...

M thinks I am being too adventurous with the food, but I just don't want it to be boring. I have this dream that V will have as an adventurous palate as we do.

Although, thinking back to life pre-M, I remember when I thought that Mexican food was too spicey. When M and I lived in Japan, he used to cook some hawt things and that is where I think I learned to appreciate those more risque flavors. And probably living in Japan expanded my tastebuds as well.

I was placed in so many situations where I just had to eat things. I remember one time where I was invited to one of my students housewarming parties with my boss. I didn't realize that the woman whose house I was invited to was quite high up in the company. And that all of the other guests would be very rich businessmen that she worked with. And that her brother was a very well-known sushi chef who busted the bank preparing a divine meal for her most beautiful new house.

I was introduced to sea urchin (something which still makes me think of damp sponge when I think back) and chicken cartilage (which makes my teeth flinch and my tongue spasm in memory).

Later meals with different students put me in close proximity with things like spicey fish guts and fried crickets.... (neither of which I ate..... strategic exit to bathroom each time, leaving M with a clear path for both).

Bascially what I am saying is that I would like little V to grow up with an adventurous appetite, something I hope to encourage with delicious things that I have made myself...

Clearly I am on my way to being a total Domestic Goddess ( capital letters all around).

I probably need to go out and buy that apron...... and maybe a hat...

Big pants

Today was a long day.

M has a new internet class that he's taking that is apparently way more demanding than the last class was. It means that he spends all day Saturday closeted away in the bedroom on the desk-top, typing away.

So Saturday is my 'single-parent' day.

This morning, it started at 5 am. V, clearly, has not learned that the weekends are sacred and he should sleep until at least 7 am. No worries.... as soon as he can understand I will be sure to teach him about how sacred Saturdays are.

He's so jolly when he's up in the morning, its almost ridiculous. Even though its 5 am, its hard to be 'unjolly' in return. So its a very happy start to the day for both of us. And I am sure for Daddy as well (since he is usually still sleeping).

I took him out shopping with me, as his little plump bum needs bigger pants. For some reason, I find it hard when I am out alone to bother with the stroller. So I end up carrying him with me. It's a thin excuse for me to get my hands on his little body, something I don't get to do enough of during the week. I end up with one very sore arm, as he is a heavy little man...

He is so obsessed with not lying on his back, that even changing his diaper has become a Herculean task. It's like trying to pin 4 octopuses down with 2 hands, legs and arms wiggling everywhere. Oh, and some screaming as well..... awesome....

He just wants to flip over onto his tummy, and no amount of whistling, toy-shaking, singing, tickling, raspberry-blowing or other distracting measures worked today. And this is hard when there is a poopy bum involved.

Every diaper change today ended up with me covered in a fairly heavy sheen of sweat. It's like a total body work-out to wrestle your child to the table and tape a diaper onto their little bum.

So, thankfully, today he was tired.... probably from being up so early..... and he went to bed early. And so I am going to bed early....

Looking forward to Sunday.... I am going to make M change every single dirty diaper, while I lounge on the sofa and eat grapes...

Southern Romance

For a change, M has joined me on the couch for Friday night! Usually he works, but since we have some family in from out-of-town, he took the night off to have dinner with everyone....

We are currently embroiled in The Wire, Season 4.... who knew I would ever be this into a cop drama? But we can barely watch anything else right now...

The Wire, Lost, Chuck and The Conchords are our current favorite things to watch (and I am heavily addicted to Grey's Anatomy as well).

Another very long and miserable week is at an end. I swear the last 2 weeks at work have been the worst ever. Every emergency that could possibly happen has..... even things I never thought possible (plastic fork stuck in throat? Seriously?!). So this friday is a beautiful thing, as is this weekend.

V is currently very on the move. Its all he wants to do. Don't even think about sitting him on your lap.... thats a no-go. He wants to be on the floor, sitting up waving his little hands around. And you NEED to be paying attention to him while this is all happening, or he gets very upset. Which makes me laugh.... it always makes me laugh when he gets mad.

It has been so cold in FL these last 2 weeks, cold like I never imagined possible in the South. So cold that M had to scrape my back window with a credit card this morning. Coming from a North-Western Canadian perspective, I would never imagine the South being like this...

I used to imagine traveling down here. It was my ideal destination in the US, not Florida, but the 'South', and all those southern things that you read about in books and see on travel shows....

Spanish moss, bayous, swamps and gators, plantations, New Orleans Mardi Gras, over-grown cemeteries, antebellum, mint julips, drawling accents, fried chicken, extra polite manners, the word 'ma'am', jazz bands, hot and smokey nights, crawfish, hound-dogs, pick-up trucks with hound-dogs in the back, possums, handsome men in white suits, beautiful debutantes in white dresses with colourful sashes, horse racing and gorgeous big hats.....

But lets face it.... living down here, the reality of the south is not like my technicolor dreams of childhood.

It's not as romantic as I made it out to be.... I mean, parts of it are (as romantic? Well, I CAN be pretty dramatic......). Really, its more like :

* flea markets with karaoke and beer starting early on Sunday mornings
* Waffle House (awesome waffles though)
* Corndogs
* dirty, slightly broken and dodgy fairs (or is that all of them?)
* funnelcake
* Dixie flags waving proudly from enormous trucks and teeny broke-down cabins
* Endless barbeque restaurants
* Sweet tea
* watermelon and boiled peanut stands

Where did all of that romance go? What's wrong with my imagination and the reality?
It's still there, but you find it in pockets and corners and in areas where you never imagine it would be. That Southern romance is harder to find than I thought it was.

This morning however, when I walked out to my car with V and found my car's windows neatly scraped clean (by my husband's citibank card)... that Southern romance was closer than I ever thought. M has assimilated nicely after 17 years down here, or perhaps its his proper Italian upbringing.... His sweet gestures are appreciated more than he probably ever knows...

Mmmmmm

My husband is a sexy beast.....

Really, its true. He just asked me if I was going to be writing about him tonight, to which I replied "Of course! You are my favorite topic!".

He can build a mean-ass sandwich. Looking at the sandwich he just made, actually, and comparing it to the one I made for myself I feel very inadequate. I have sandwich envy.... His looks like something that came from TooJay's deli (a lovely NY-style deli down in FL)...

He once told me that he fed V something 'tan' for dinner, which annoyed me to no end. Tan?!? What the heck??? Like 60% of baby food is tan.... Now, however, when I think about it, it makes me laugh....

He makes me laugh endlessly...

He constantly feeds the dog strange things like lettuce, wasabi, pretzels, Grand Marnier.... even though I constantly tell him not to, he does anyways...

He never remembers to cut his hair. And his hair grows in a huge 'poof' when it gets too long. It doesn't grow down, it grows up.

He always wins when he argues with me, which annoys me to no end. I usually forget what the whole point of the argument is about half-way though.... He does not. In fact, he remembers everything AND asks for examples too.....

He bought me 30 presents for my 30th birthday, which was the sweetest thing ever.

He works his ass off for his family.

He is the best teacher. I think that he was maybe born to be one. He works in a school that is in what could only be described as the ghetto. He's tough and fair, and buys books for students that can't. And I admire the hell out of him for teaching where he does....

We have never had a serious fight. Probably because I lose every fight (although I am never wrong...... how does that work, you ask? No idea....... but it does). I repeat, I am never wrong but I lose every argument we have.... M is a skilled negotiator. Again, so annoying...

Soul mate...... silly word, but I feel the truth in it. The choices we each made led us to each other. And I think its amazing that we fell in love in Japan, actually got married and now live in bliss (if slightly sleep deprived) in Florida.

He makes super inappropriate jokes, which make me giggle (inappropriately of course)

Apparently this is a never ending list....

We argue endlessly about the most ridiculous things.

And here's a secret.... I love arguing with him.
Well, really I just love him...

Super Stealth!

I had one of those Mummy-moments this past weekend...

I had wee V in my arms and was sitting him up on his changing table. He's very excited about sitting up these days, and slams his arms up and down violently in pure joy. While he was doing this (and reaching for the venetian blinds at the same time) my heart became overwhelmed.

And I started to cry. Just a little bit....

I love my husband very much, but what I feel for my son is something completely different.

Its this crazy all encompassing, totally consuming, so ridiculous, breathtaking, overwhelming unbelievable love.

It sneaks up on you sometimes and takes you by surprise.

It's like a super-stealth ninja...

It creeps along the rooftop and attacks you when you are least expecting it.

Really parenthood is amazing at times, it opens you up to things you maybe never thought you would experience. Such deeper emotions, feelings I feel but haven't felt to this depth...
It's pretty freakin' cool...

Aftermath

I am on a TLC mini-marathon right now, just finished "17 and Counting" and am now moving on to "Jon and Kate Plus 8".
8 children is a lot. 17 kids is just plain silly, but my mind is just boggled by the fact that the mum is pregnant with number 18. I am not sure that I would want my lady bits repeatedly stretched out for, like, 20 years. Actually I am sure that I wouldn't. Ever.

I am currently considering baby number 2. Not for now, just planning for the future as I like to do. I am looking around 2010 or 2011 or so. I've already picked names (Mike just shakes his head every time I bring the subject up).

I am pretty sure 2 is my limit, kid wise... so watching these shows, especially the one with the 17 children, I have such a hard time imagining when Mum gets to sit down. As I barely sit down now with 1, then 17? I can't imagine.

V is currently recovering from a nasty cold. His first, I might add. And my first experience with kid-cold. V thoughtfully shared his cold with both M and I (such a good boy, sharing already!), and we were brutalized by it. I swear it knocked us both down worse than anything else. Not that I got to sit down when I got knocked down either. It basicially was a "go to bed at 8 pm thing"

Also my first proper experience with a nasal aspirator, oh and also with copious amounts of mucus. Hurray! Plus, of course, some projectile vomiting on top of all of that. So really, it was such a pleasant week.

M and I were so worn out by Wednesday that we embarked on my favorite thing ever, needless bickering brought on by exhaustion! Awesome!

And are still worn out today. Hopefully we will be on the full road to recovery tomorrow...

Friday night tea party

Its friday night, and my glass of wine and I are watching some crappy movie on telly. As per usual.

And as per usual, I am enjoying the movie.

And it IS crappy. The Mummy Returns. Why?! He didn't need to come back. It doesn't get any better the second time. Brendan Fraser's hair just gets a little thinner and more hair-plugish looking. Remember when he was in Encino Man and everyone thought he was so hot (or maybe that was just me........). Ahhhh, the 90's........ awesome....

Things I remember from the 90's..... (a la Facebook's 25 things list)

• I made my own bellbottoms using material from my Mum's scrap bin
• I tried to learn Danish, but all I remember is "I have to pee"
• Bell Biv Devo was awesome
• I used to drink that sweet pink wine (I think it was called Mateus?) Paint varnish!!
• I ordered a pig heart from the deli I worked at to use in a Halloween Horror house I helped with
• I moved in with Talia, best room-mate ever!! (except of the parts when she didn't clean.....)
• I listened to a lot of Peter Tosh and Bob Marley
• Mum hid my Peter Tosh cd behind the cd case as it had pictures of pot plants on it and she didn't want Granny to see (or thats what she said anyways)
• I had (at different times) purple, fushia and jet black hair
• Some lady in a hair salon pierced my belly button with an ear-piercing gun and charged me $40
• I watched The Shining for the first time, and then had to walk home from the theatre in the dark, alone, down an un-lit street.... creepy...
• I met some guy who's name was actually 'Coyne' and he grew a lot of weed, and had dreadlocks. And I met him in the ferry line-up.
  
• I tried to dreadlock part of my hair, but it just looked like a hairball, and so I cut it off...
• I learned how to fillet a whole fish.
• I also learned how to completely debone a chicken
• I actually made a booty-call
• Popular colours for living room decor were dark green and burgundy (I know, as I made my own cushions)
• Star Trek was really popular
• So was Pearl Jam
• I met one of my best friends then, and she still is....

I am sure that there are other wonderful things about the 90's that I can't remember right now. Perhaps you can? Feel free to post coments re: the 90's to this post

And Happy February!!!