Bamboletta Love

Even before I had kids I had a thing for Waldorf dolls. In fact, I had a thing for all Waldorf toys. A bit ironic considering I left Waldorf school, at age 6, because I wanted a more academic focus. I did still spend a couple of formative years immersed in this world, though, and so I hold a place in my heart for these beautiful and thoughtful playthings. I can also appreciate a system of education that values creativity and freedom of thought over plastic and TV and Disney princesses and sticker charts.

So it’s not a huge shocker that I found myself at an event put on by Natural Pod, a fabulous local shop, in December 2006. And while I was there I met Christina, the woman behind the fabulous Bamboletta dolls. I wanted one for myself, I will admit it. I found them compelling and beautiful and I was simply delighted to find someone making and selling them locally. I didn’t buy one that day, because Hannah was too young and I don’t think I could justify that sort of purchase for myself. But I did custom-order a baby doll for Hannah’s second birthday. You can see the doll, along with the toy diaper bag I sewed, here.

A little over a month ago tragedy struck when Hannah ripped the arms off her baby doll. I had no idea how to fix it, and I was afraid of ruining it. I got in touch with Christina, she graciously agreed to repair the damage, and I sent the doll off to Vancouver Island for some TLC. Today, we were able to meet back up at the Vancouver Farmer’s Market. I picked out a blanket doll for the baby, and Hannah eyed the mermaids wishfully. Christina remembered Hannah and me on sight, and it was lovely to see her. It feels great buying such great playthings from a mom following her passion and putting so much time and effort into the items she produces. What can I say? I love Bamboletta dolls!

Yard Work and Belly and Hannah, Oh My!

Things are a-happenin’ here at the Strocel house. The landscaping work is progressing at a nice clip, and you can really see how the back yard is shaping up now. I think it looks great, I’m very happy with our landscaper. You can see the latest snapshots for yourself here.

Meanwhile, the construction project in my abdomen also seems to be racing ahead at a good clip. This baby is starting to feel pretty big, I can only imagine how large I will feel in another 12 weeks (if I make it to my due date). My books tell me the baby weighs in at about 2 1/2 pounds now, and has an excellent chance of survival if he was born today. You can see the latest belly shot here.

And, finally, I have been terribly lax in keeping up to date with photos of Hannah. In fact, I don’t think I’ve posted much since her birthday. You can see exactly what she’s been up to for the past 3 months here.

A house that’s undergoing renovations and contains a 3-year-old and a pregnant lady is never a dull place, that’s for sure!

Kid Funny

Hannah is 3, and loves the Disney princesses. I do not, but I make allowances for her preferences. She’s become familiar with the song “Someday my Prince Will Come” from Snow White. Only, she doesn’t get it quite right. The other day I overheard her singing:

Monday, my prince will come.
Monday we’ll meet again …

It seems that in Hannah’s version, she was able to nail down more specific details as to her meeting with the prince. Good thinking, if you ask me.

Yard in Progress

The work on our yard continues apace. This week our contractor took a jackhammer to several sections of our concrete ‘RV parking’. In some places it was up to a foot thick – eep! He also got to work laying paving stones. At this point we have about half of our patio. In a couple of weeks, with luck, we should have a finished yard.

You can see the latest snapshots of the work in progress here.

Big Baby News

I had a repeat ultrasound today, because my placenta was lying a little low during my last one at 18 weeks. The good news is that it has moved well up and out of the way, so I’m all clear for a natural delivery on that front.

I had a student tech today, so the exam was really long. Jon and I got to see all sorts of things – kidneys, stomach, heart, spine, hands and feet, bladder. Everything looks good, and the baby was a good size. Although this was just a double-check I made a good guinea pig, and so they measured everything. Because I am farther along than their usual clients my baby’s not able to move around so much in there, and I think that was the appeal.

To repay me for my co-operation, they gave us a whole bunch of photos. They also checked on the baby’s gender, and we are having a little boy! You can see all of the evidence for yourself here.

So, there you have it. Our baby has a name – Jacob Theodore. Hannah keeps telling me how Jacob loves the big sister, and how she will have to help him do things. And I’m glad to know so that I can buy at least a few boy things, and save this poor baby from having to spend his first week in pink sleepers. It’s also marvelous to know one more thing about this little person who is keeping me awake at night with his kicks. Hooray for ultrasounds!

Smart Cookie

I try to avoid talking up Hannah too much. This isn’t because I don’t love her – I really, really do. It’s because of the negative results that come with constant praise. I don’t want Hannah to grow up to be someone who expects positive feedback all the time, because she won’t always get it and that’s OK. Not everyone will like you, and even those who do like you won’t think you’re the prettiest, nicest, most perfect girl in the world. As much as I think she’s just the best, she’s really just another kid to everyone else, and they don’t want to hear about her every perfection either.

But sometimes, she blows me away and I can’t contain myself. I knew that I wasn’t getting breakfast in bed this morning, or some kind of pampering spa treatment. But a kid who sleeps in on Mother’s Day – now that’s a brilliant child. I’m off to make myself something to eat, and revel in the quiet.

Happy Mom’s Day!

May Days

The April showers have done their work, and now we have May rhododendrons:

Another sign that it’s early May in our neck of the woods is Spring Cleaning – the mother of all garbage days, when you can leave practically anything by the curb without penalty. Hand in hand with this ritual shedding of excess junk comes scavenging, when we truly learn that one person’s trash is another’s treasure. We had a few items that I was sure would be picked up by those with sharp eyes, and I was right. In the end, though, I was surprised by exactly what went and what stayed. Here’s a summary:

Taken:
- Solild wood coffee table
- Old, but functional, vacuum cleaner
- Legless baby gate
- Old plastic planters
- Kitty litter box
- Lid from our barbeque

Left behind:
- Old figure skates, women’s size 7
- Old roller blades, men’s size 11
- Old potty chair
- Seat cushions, four each indoor and outdoor
- Small pet carrier
- Remainder of the barbeque

The barbeque thing is particularly puzzling, because there seems to be a trend. Every barbeque that I saw out for spring cleaning, 3 in our neighbourhood and a couple in other parts of Coquitlam, was missing either the lid or the entire top cooking compartment. In all cases the grills and bases were left behind. Why? Are they scavenging for materials? Is there some other purpose for the top off the barbeque? I am left scratching my head. If you know what’s up with this rampant barbeque beheading, I would love to hear it.

Meanwhile, our landscaping work rolls along. You can see a few more snapshots here.

Some Days

Some days are like that. Hannah hasn’t had an accident outside of the house for a long time. I can’t remember when the last one was exactly, but it must have been at least a month or two ago. And then today, we had two. The first happened in a friend’s entry hallway, as we were running for the bathroom. The second happened at the park, again, as we were running for the bathroom.

The problem here is that I only had one spare set of clothes, so my kid ended up riding home from the park buck naked. This is all highly unusual because Hannah is a camel who usually only pees 4 or 5 times in a day. Like I said, some days are just like that.

I have made a mental note – extreme vigilance is required when you give in to the request for watermelon at the grocery store. The name doesn’t start with ‘water’ for nothing.

Me, Older

This is what I look like today, on my 32nd birthday:

I have been feeling unusually introspective on this birthday. Maybe it’s because I’m pregnant, or maybe it’s because I’m getting older and realizing that this is my life, right here. It’s up to me to plan it, dream it, live it. Otherwise, the days will slip through my fingers and I will wonder where they all went, how I got this far and didn’t notice.

So, who do I want to be? What’s important to me? If I didn’t have this house, these kids, this husband, this job, would I still be the same person? What do I need to do before I die so that I can consider my life well lived? No one’s going to tell me the answers, and how I feel today may not be how I feel tomorrow.

My personal resolutions for this year are to birth another baby, play with Hannah a lot, and spend more time with my husband. And along the way, I’m going to search out some truth. I will never have another 32nd birthday, so there’s no better time to chart my course. There’s also no better time to have a second piece of birthday cake, and so that will be my first step. Cake, then personal enlightenment. It’s a great plan, don’t you think?

Demolition

Anyone who’s ever watched a home improvement show knows that before the construction comes the demolition. You can’t put the new stuff in until the old stuff comes out. So it’s gone with our yard.

Over the past few days our landscaper has hauled a ton of old trees, edging, and garbage out of our yard. And I don’t mean that figuratively – I mean it’s been a literal ton. Construction hasn’t started yet, but the clearing out is nearly finished. You can see the progress so far by looking here.

You can’t imagine how exciting it is to come home every day and see the work that’s been done. It’s like a game, walking around the yard and spotting the differences. Some are obvious, like missing trees and shed, and some are less visible, like borders taken away from planters. We’ve got another couple of weeks to go, and so far I’m finding this to be a very pleasant renovation. It’s all happening outside, so there’s no dust or inconvenience inside my house. Hands down, this makes it much more pleasant than any other work we’ve had done. I’m loving it.