Monkey House

Greg has been after me for awhile to post on the blog.   Its not that I haven’t wanted to but most of my computer time has been one handed since Cole joined our family.  He is down for a nap and I’ve got a few things to share.     

100 Day Challenge

Those who know me know what an important part exercise plays in my life so it should come as no surprise that I’m going to talk about training.  While I have no races planned at the moment I do want  to get back into a regular workout routine which I let fall by the wayside with all of our renovations and the pregnancy over the last year.  As a motivator I’ve joined a 100 day challenge on my favorite running forum  www.runningmania.com .  As of Wed. Sept 23 there were 100 days until the 2010 and I plan to do some form of exercise for at least 20 minutes each day.  Approved exercise (approve by me that is) includes running, biking, swimming, strength/core work and once a week walking will count in the interest of having a rest day.  Quite conveniently I’ve been enjoying doing the Jillian Micheals 30 day shred video which is an excellent high intensity 20 minute workout with a  mix of cardio/strength and core work .  

So far the week has looked like this:

Mon – AM: Jillian Michaels 30 day shred level one  PM: 20 min bike  

Tues – 30 min bike + core 

Wed – Jillian Michaels  30 day shred level one

Thurs – 30min bike + core 

In addition to loving to exercise I tend to stick with a pretty healthy diet.  One of my fall/winter time favorites is Apple Lentil Soup.  I can’t take credit for coming up with this recipie but I’m happy to share it.   Not only is this soup delicious, it freezes well so you can make it ahead of time for busy days and the leftovers reheat well for lunch the next day. 

Apple Lentil Soup

1 med to lg white onion diced

3 apples diced (I like macs)

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp flour

4 cups chicken broth (vegetable broth also works)

1 cup dried red lentils

2 tbsp parsely

To make the soup soak and rinse lentils 2 or 3 times.  In a large soup pot mix onions, apples, oil and butter and cook until the apples and onions are soft and fragrant.  Stir in flour and add broth gradually brining it to a boil.  Add lentils and simmer over low heat for 20 to 30 minutes.  Add paresly, salt and pepper to taste and then serve.

Enjoy!

Blanket!

I asked Alex a few weeks back, “You know how some kids are ‘blankie’ kids? How do they GET that favourite blanket? Where does it come from? Is it a receiving blanket that they’ve just never given up?

As it turns out, some blankets arrive as really awesome gifts!! We got an email notification a few days ago that something was shipped to us. At first I thought it was spam, but then I realized it was legit. The email did not say who the sender was, only the origin which is a baby goods retailer who sells a bunch of stuff (You Name It, Baby!), so we didn’t know what it was going to be, either. It felt like a wee little Christmas… we knew there’d be a prezzie arriving soon, but we didn’t know what it was going to be (or who the Santa was).

It arrived today. This blanket is awesome. You can’t tell by the pic, but it’s doubled-up thick fleece (with a brownish back), and obviously personalized to our little monkey! “Soft” doesn’t even begin to cover it.

And the Santa? Our good friend Andrew. Thanks a million! We love it! Cole will be jamming it into his mouth (as he does with all fabrics these days) in no time!

Laughter and Joy…

Being a new parent is pretty awesome. You get to go through the early phases just being amazed that you’re responsible for a little life and being glad that you’re up to the challenge. Then you see the first smiles that are really just reflexive reactions to gas and pooping (note: I still smile about gas and pooping, so I don’t think things change THAT much). And now at approx. 3 months we’re starting to see even more of an individual little personality emerge.

The best thing for me in the past week or two has been the genuine laughter, which has now arrived in full force. Snorching like a piggie into his neck or belly makes him break out into his huge dimply smile as he giggles at his papa. Every morning as he awakens from sleep, he looks around slightly confused until he sees his mother’s face, at which time he lights up with genuine joy. It’s so great to see and to be a part of.

…and Sometimes Not So Much

Not wanting to paint the world rainbow colours, though—last night and a few times recently he has let loose with some absolute doozies of screaming fits. He tires himself out and won’t nap, yet when he’s finally had the biscuit he still resists sleep and lets loose a hollerin’. Similar reaction also comes from being put into his car seat most of the time.

One of the stories our friends Natalie and Steve told us was how once their daughter was crying her eyes out and was inconsolable… they just looked at her and sobbed, “We don’t know what you want!” The story is told in a humorous way, but holy moly I can see how it wouldn’t have been funny at the time! I just look at him sometimes when he’s mad at the world and think, “I don’t know what to do for you, buddy! Help me out here!”

Joyful Feet

Our little monkey has discovered his feet. This has two implications:

1. Serious cuteness. He grabs those suckers and pulls himself up into a little ball, completely amazed at his own discovery of the extremities of his limbs. When we clap his feet together for him or use them to kick at Jaques Le Peacock above his change table, he is in some little piece of heaven.

2. Serious difficulty changing diapers. He’s so fascinated with grabbing his feet and curling up into a ball that it’s tough getting a nice snug diaper on him. This is where I envy parents using disposables. I’m sure those would be a lot easier.

Seacrest out!

Thankfully, Cole is healthy and bright.

Thankfully, Cole is not actually “cholicky”.

But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have his precious moments. Today for the first time, I found myself handing him back to his mom because I could feel frustration welling up inside of me and it was a bit overwhelming, not having felt that particular emotion before. The experienced parents are, of course, chuckling when they read that– knowing that my life will have many many such moments in it. But the first one is still allowed to be tough, ok?

So, baby monkey isn’t cholicky but he certainly has his “Witching Hour.” At around 19:00 or so, he decides that even though he’s tired he’s not going to nap. Even though he’s hungry, he’s not going to eat properly, and even though he has other forms of entertainment around, he’s not going to be satisfied by those, either.

The only thing that semi-works is holding him face-forward and walking around the house. I think wrapping him in a carrier would probably help as well, but the intention is to get him to have his second-last nap of the day, and all the fuss with the carrier might just wake him back up if he manages to go under. I’ll try the carrier next time to see if it helps and report back.

The difficult part of it all is knowing that he’s hungry, knowing that he’s tired, but not being able to do anything about it except let him ignore our offers of sleep and food. As his eyes get rimmed with red from tiredness, all I can think is, “close those peepers!”

But no, the witching hour has him. And it’s not letting him go!

Drop a comment if you can relate, or if you have some sort of miracle cure for the Witching Hour.