j a n u a r y t h i r t y - f i r s t

A friend asked me the other day "What's your absolutely most prized non-living possession? (not your kids!)"

What a good question! And aren't I lucky to have the kind of people in my life who are curious to know such things? I have good friends.
Two things came to mind. The first was this locket. It's over 110 years old, and belonged to my great, great, great Grandmother. It's been passed down from oldest daughter to oldest daughter. I inherited it on my wedding day.
The other precious item is Suzie Chocolate, my handmade doll. My Omi (grandmother) made this for me when I was a little girl, and shipped it from Germany for Christmas. She can never be replaced, and holds a special place in my heart.

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Last night I was talking to Dove about how I want my life to be full of soft places to land. Every room in the house, soft places to land. And I want to be a soft place to land for our children, our family and my friends.
This little gift to myself is a good start.

. Am I ever glad I have the sweetest husband ever, because I am going to live in this sweater. I wish you could feel how soft it is. Just come over and feel me it. So very, very soft.

Shopping on Etsy is a pleasant experience. If you haven't tried it yet, I encourage you to do so.  Especially while living in a small town, where boutique shopping is not an option. I mean, did you see the adorable note that came with it? It's a piece of art! The personal touches make me so happy. This is the first time I've bought myself clothing on Etsy, and I'm thrilled to bits with this sweater! I want some of their comfy pants, too. In time, in time.

j a n u a r y t w e n t y - n i n t h

You're so TINY, Opalina Ballerina! You fit in a shoe box!!

j a n u a r y t w e n t y - e i g h t h

j a n u a r y t w e n t y - s e v e n t h

cereal box and the gaming boy.

j a n u a r y t w e n t y - s i x t h

j a n u a r y t w e n t y - f i f t h

Opalina Ballerina loves sucking on cloth, so these sucking pads that I bought from redcharlotte on etsy were a terrific purchase. I love how bright and cheery they make my carrier.

j a n u a r y t w e n t y - f o u r t h

 

Watch him grow:

Jan 3 2012

j a n u a r y t w e n t y - t h i r d

Found the recipe for this on Pinterest. Laksa. It was delicious! Very much like Tom Ka Gai, but with rice noodles instead of chicken and mushrooms.

j a n u a r y t w e n t y - s e c o n d

I'm standing at the sink, cursing under my breath about how much I despise washing dishes, and how nobody could possibly hate it more than I do, wishing it were just over already..when I feel something touch my leg.
Slowly, her little arms curl around my leg as she leans into my body and with a sigh, rests her sweet head on my knee.

I hold my breath, and wait, taking in the moment. I no longer feel the warm dish water on my hands. My mind is flooded with love and gratitude. My eyes well up, and I look down. Yes. My daughter is hugging me. She has completely wrapped herself around my leg. Not in that pulling, tugging way her brother would at this age when he wanted me to lift him. Not in a fearful way, or an excited playful way. Just, hugging.

Just to feel close to her life source.
Just for the comfort of Mamma.

I don't think my heart can bear it. It's too much! Yes, this is definitely the moment where it combusts from over-filling. "How did she die?" They'd ask. "Oh, it's tragic. Her daughter hugged her leg, and she exploded from the inside from too much love"

Today's photo is paired with a photo of her at two weeks old, after coming home from the hospital. She's only 5 pounds in this picture. That's a newborn shirt she's swimming in. Today she's still tiny, and a wee 18 pounds. I'm sure if I could find that tiny shirt, she would have still fit it. <3

Thank you, Opalina Ballerina. For putting my health at risk of internal combustion every single day. You have no idea how much I needed that hug.

Happy 18 month birthday!

j a n u a r y t w e n t y - f i r s t

Opalina Ballerina LOVES our kitty, Oki. Sometimes a little too much.
It turns out they share a favourite food. They both go nuts when I bring out the little individual packets of seasoned nori (seaweed). Opalina Ballerina was taking a bite, then giving a bite to Oki, then taking a bite. Cute enough to override the gross factor for sure.

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Love.
Love.
Love.

j a n u a r y n i n t e e n t h

My favourite thing about life, is families.

For the first part of my life, it was being a part of a family that was my favourite.
Then it was dating boys, and thinking to myself "Could this be the one I grow up and start a family with one day?"
Then it was meeting the man of my dreams, who also strongly desired to settle down and start a family.
Then it was, at the tender age of 17, starting that family with him.
Then, 9 years later, my favourite thing about life was making our family even bigger and watching our son become a big brother.
And now, it's being the mother of two beautiful children. (That's twice as many children as one, you know.)

One of the other joys in my life is watching other people I love and care about, make their families bigger, too. Especially when they've had trials in doing so, or losses along the way. When that little bundle slips into the world, earthside, my heart soars.

Welcome to the world, sweet baby boy. You are a very loved little one.

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Opalina, just like a true Ballerina, started walking on her tippie-toes today. Precious! She's also a popcorn fiend, and loves to dump her bowl out on the floor. Maybe she doesn't like the feeling of it under her feet.

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It's all for you, my loves. It's all for you.

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Gluten Free Malai Kofta.

Kofta balls recipe is from the amazing Manjula! I just made the batter out of chickpea flour instead of wheat flour. Dove keeps saying that it's every bit as yummy as the stuff from our favourite restaurant.

Our bellies are happy.

j a n u a r y f o u r t e e n t h

Itchy, watery eyes.
Runny nose.
Sneezing.
Constant need to be held and nursed.


Yup, this baby is sick, all right! But she's handling it like a champ!

j a n u a r y t h i r t e e n t h

After 9 years of thinking I would only have one child, and feeling sad that my first born self-weaned at only 10 months, I am thoroughly enjoying my extended breastfeeding relationship with my daughter. Breastfeeding is a joyful and effortless experience for the both of us, and we're clinging to it.
When my tiny daughter tucks into me, on my lap and nuzzles into her warm milk, I feel like all is right in the world, and that good things happen to good people. This is a dream come true. My miracle baby is here.

I hold her close and say "This is your milk, Opalina-Ballerina, I made is just for you." And she pulls off my breast, looks me straight in the eye with a big, contented smile and then latches back on with a sigh, and I know I'm doing the right thing for the both of us.

I imagine all the love I feel for her, beaming from my soul into the cells of my body. The love then travels into my blood, and from there makes it's way to my breasts, and into my milk, and from my milk to my baby's stomach, and from her stomach to her cells, and then to her soul.

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Opalina Ballerina has developed a liking for butterflies!! That's my girl! She keeps opening her book to this page and pointing at it, saying "Wuhssat?". Then she walks over to the wall and points at my butterfly mural and does the same thing! Then her counting book with the 5 butterflies. Finally, she lifts up my shirt and points at my tattoo. So cute. 

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January 11th will forever be known as DRESS DAY! I can't tell you how excited I was to open my mailbox and see that my Christmas package from Dove had finally arrived!
I've always had this dream of filling my closet with adorable cotton dresses that fit me just so. Life will be better now that I'm adorable every day. Things will get done with sound effects (like *ding! And *whee!) and all will be right in the world.

I was thrilled to discover that all three dresses fit like a glove and flatter me in all the right ways. Plus, they button down for nursing the toddler! FANTASTIC!

A skip in my step today! A skip, indeed.

I bought the Congenial Cutie,  Beautiful Possibilities and Feeling Scent-immental from modcloth.com. All worth every penny! The fabrics are silky and smooth and feel wonderful.

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Tonight was date night with Dove. We stopped in a store and seperated to look at stuff. Dove lost track of me, and asked the lady working in the clothing section if she saw a pink haired woman trying clothes on in the change room. She replied:
"Ah, your wife is the hot one who lost all that weight, right?" .....
"Yup, that's her!" Dove said.

So, in honour of the day a stranger referred to me at "the hot one", it's self-portrait day. Tee hee.

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Hmmmm. What to do tonight? I know! How about we collect a bunch of kids from the block and go set off fireworks for no reason on a monday night? Yup, cause that's how we roll.

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Mustard Man plays "zombie apocolypse" with his homemade FN-P90. He tells me that is a kind of gun.
We've come a loooong way from our "no guns, not even super soakers or lego shaped pistols" rules of the past. Super Soakers are a gateway gun. He had his first SS at age 9, and it all went downhill from there.

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Day 20 of the 30 Day Shred. I still can't believe I made it this far. Exercise is new to me, and I actually like it.

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j a n u a r y f i f t h

Oh, little Opalina Ballerina. You are so excited about the world around you. Underneath that safety gate, your sweet Daddy is playing peekaboo with you!

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opalina-balerina likes bling, too.

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i have a strong feeling that 2012 will be the last year mustard man is shorter than his mama.

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dove celebrated his 34th birthday a few days ago, and scored a "rock, paper scissors, lizard, spock" shirt from yours truly. mustard man still wearing his "bling", but a few have been liberated by opalina-ballerina.


i've been using this purse for so many years, that i thought it was time to photograph it's colorful charm.

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a big sigh of relief as we say goodbye to 2011. mustard man is still wearing what he likes to call his "bling" from the festivities the night before. tree girl, age 12, and mm's cousin, joins him for some online gaming.

i celebrate a succesful batch of brazilian tapioca cheese buns by quickly devouring them. gluten free never tasted soooo good.