Free the Fridge Friday!

Its time to rid the fridge of those leftovers! Free the Fridge Friday is what its dubbed in our household. And in the words of 4 year old Cypress, "I like the way it sounds. But I don't like the way it tastes."

Cake Monster

 Quick! Nobodys looking! 

Just one little bite!

 Mmmmm! So tasty! 

BUSTED! I swear it wasn't me!

Dang! My frugal ways!

I couldn't let it go to waste. I just couldn't throw out that top layer of cake or the white chocolate cream cheese layer underneath. So I put it on the cake. The sad thing is that I would rather have an ugly cake, than waste a layer! Its not like I don't have enough cake to go around. For some reason this recipe makes 1.5 tuxedo cakes, but I stretch it to make 2 whole cakes. (But my stretching skills this time around weren't as good since I cut the cake too thin and it broke, hence its ugliness).

Earth Day

This year, for Joel's first Earth Day, we celebrated by lighting candles and playing board games. Joel was enthralled by the candles and even tried to reach out and touch them.

So, what's new with you?

Oh how I loathe this question. It seems to be the most commonly asked question, meant to open up conversation. But I hate this question. I really never know how to answer it. Probably because what's new with me is this:

and this:

and this.

It really not exciting to talk about....or listen to for that matter (except for maybe Joel, but not all the time). I guess I find it hard to answer the question simply because my days are often filled with laundry, grocery shopping, dishes, pumping breast milk, preparing dinner and looking after Joel.

I never really realized how lonely motherhood can be. Days and hours are filled busying yourself around the house, cooking and cleaning. On occasion, you get a break to blog, read a book or take a walk. But mostly my days are filled with tasks that need to get done to make the household run. I purposely try to get all those things done so when Dan gets home, we get to hang out and talk. (Poor Dan, his ears must hurt by bedtime!!!) But the reality is, I don't have anyone to talk to, except Joel, who can't talk back yet. And even when he learns to talk in a year or two, it isn't adult conversation (yes, Joel! that is a doggy!). I remember when I was nannying Cypress and River up at their house in the boonies, that the one time we got to go to a play group, I was so excited to talk with another adult. Yep, that conversation about yeast infections was the best thing ever!

So when people ask, what's new with you? I get discouraged. I wish I had more to share. I wish there was so clever antidote to share other than breast milk stains your clothes. Now I know why mothers often feel as though they have lost themselves. Your entire life is serving and taking care of others.

So for Lent, I decided not to give up anything (although giving up some cleaning and cooking would be awesome), but to add something to my life. I decided that I would try to do things that I enjoy doing. I am trying to blog, read, scrapbook and just relax more. I am trying to stop wasting time on the Internet or watching daytime TV, and do all those things that I've given up for 3 months. This isn't a regimented daily task I must complete. Every parent knows that the best laid plans are often foiled (yah teething!). But just a desire to feel more like person and less like a mom.

Liquid Gold

No, we aren't talking about Starbucks or oil, we are talking about breast milk. We've mentioned before how I've been blessed with an overabundance of milk for Joel. So much in fact, that we've decided to share it. We've decided to donate the 'extra' to BC Woman and Children's Hospital Milk Bank. They use the milk that we donate to feed babies in the neonatal intensive care unit, babies with failure to thrive, transplant patients and so much more. After two months of an intensive screening process, I was finally able to free my freezer from the breast milk we've been storing and donate my first batch to the bank. Normally, they expect a normal woman to pump an extra ounce a day for 100 days to meet the minimum donation commitment of 100oz. I donated what they would accept (no pumping's from Joel's hospital stay) and from when I started pumping for a total of 6 weeks of donations. We were "surprised" to see that I met my commitment.....three times over....for a grand total donation of 325.5 oz. The duty nurse who accepted my donation, was surprised to hear how little Joel still was and made a comment on how blessed I was. I have finally accepted that having an abundance of breast milk is a blessing. Being able to use this abundance has finally solidified that notion in me. When Joel was first born I considered it a curse. Being soaking wet all the time, having to wear dish rags in my bra to absorb the extra milk and sleeping on numerous towels were just some of the perils I lived through. It didn't help that Joel was a lazy latcher (he didn't need to latch to get any milk, he could just open his mouth and it would pour in). Eventually it became a blessing and a curse. I was blessed to be able to help other babies, but was still frustrated with wet tops and difficulty breastfeeding. But time has passed and I have been told countless times that I am blessed to have more milk than to struggle to make enough to feed my baby. I have come to terms with pumping milk into a bottle for Joel to help him grow without drowning in my milk. I have come to realize that this is a blessing. When Joel had his major growth spurt recently, I had more than enough milk for him and wasn't having to deal with a baby who couldn't get enough to eat. What I thought was a curse has turned into a glorious blessing. Even more so, now that we have been able to donate the milk and know someone who might possibly need it for her little boy. It truly is liquid gold!

200th Post!!!

Here we are, post number 200! It's taken us just under 2 years to get here. Looking back over our posts it is very interesting to see how we've grown, the places we've been and all that we have experienced. Having a blog is a journal of sorts, a journal for our lives that we get to share with others. It's been a blessing and a joy to share our lives with those of you that read it and follow along with us. Here's to the next 2 years of posts!

Random Sculptures

I (Dan) have a fascination with all things big, ugly, and odd on the side of the road. I saw this sculpture in Vancouver a while back and wanted a photo. For those of you who can't tell what it is, it is a really big one of those rubber band powered airplanes that you played with as a kid.

I love road side attractions

Joel's Professional Baby Pictures

Special thanks to Matt Schipper for taking these pictures of Joel when he was only 3 hours old. Yep! The joys of having a friend who is also your midwife who is married to your friend who is an aspiring photographer.

Conversations with Amanda and Dan: 3am Style

During those first few sleep deprived weeks after Joel was born, this conversation was born.

Dan: I wonder if warm milk putting adults to sleep has anything to do with warm breast milk putting babies to sleep!?
Amanda: What kind of sick Freudian theory is that?

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Amanda's Thought of the Day:
I often wonder why it takes men so much longer to attend to a crying baby than a woman. At first I thought it was because woman are known to be more nurturing. But I have come to realize that its because their breasts hurt when the baby cries. If a man's nether-region hurt every time a baby cried, they'd go running.
Dan: Or keel over in pain and drag themselves to the crying baby. Its a good thing that men don't have that reaction! (a slight pause) Your breasts hurt every time he cries?
Amanda: Almost every time. Now you know why I get mad when you don't go running to Joel when he cries. It literally hurts me!