The Arbolog |

A week ago, I made the comment to Mom that I was trying to blog three times a week. Gone are the days when I could post long diatribes on a daily basis, and quite honestly, I do miss those days. Now, I’m lucky if I can get my three entries for the week sorted out. You may have noticed my last entry was six days ago, so by the power of Math, I think we can safely say that I was unsuccessful in three entries a week. Boo hiss. Also, my friend Melanie recently posted about the idea of Mommy Blogging versus Blogging. Because, well, now that’s what I do – I’m a mom, and I blog, and my life more or less revolves around my kid, so uh.. it makes sense. I knew that I would be a Mommy Blogger when I was pregnant, and when Kale was born, we registered this new domain name and I closed and deleted my old haunts and while there are a few moments of nostalgia here and there (usually for the days when I swore freely on the old blog because I am trying to teach myself not to swear so much), I can’t say I miss those parts of my past. 

I find it’s a little bit feast or famine – some days I can sit down at the computer and churn out tonnes of content for both this and the other blog I write at, so much content that I can schedule it’s posting throughout the week and then forget all about it. Other days, I’m lucky if the thought crosses my mind “ooh this would make a good blog entry.”

So what has been goin’ on here at Chez Arbo?

I guess the biggest news is that Kale is standing all by himself. When he is focussed on something (like, for example, holding as many pieces of food in his hands as possible) he forgets that he is supposed to hold onto something and can free-stand! Then he realizes he is supposed to be holding on and onto his butt he falls. But he’s standing!

Today I booked our flights to Calgary for Christmas to visit my brother Jim and his wife Loralie. It’s a good time for us to go – at 18 months, Kale will still be free to fly, and it’s a short enough flight that we deal with whatever his reaction is. Plus, the weather will be awesome – dry and cold and snowy, hopefully, instead of typical Vancouver rainy blah yucky. Jim and Loralie and I talked about booking a night at a rustic cabin (maybe Christmas Eve?) at a nearby ranch for a real “country Christmas”. I’m also going to be able to visit Melanie and meet her A. Door. A. Bull. daughter, Moira, and Ross and I can see our friends Mike and Helen, who were the couple whose wedding we all attended last month. I’d also like to try and see my friend Jennifer and her daughter Jade, as well as a visit up to Carstairs to see Pam, a friend from high school. For 7 days, we will likely be busy with many friends and lots of visiting and I am really looking forward to it.  

This past May long weekend, we went to the Island for a planned surprise 60th birthday party for my stepdad, Rick. He was genuinely surprised, and it’s a testament to both my mom and my mother in law that this party happened hitch free. I started planning in back in September, people, but without the Moms, it never would have happened. They were the hostesses with the mostesses and it was all their effort that made me look good. The weather co-operated nicely, Kale was a superstar traveller (which we paid for tenfold last night when there was the TWO DANG HOURS OF SCREECHING AT 1AM – Ugh!), Mooki got a respite weekend at my folks’ place away from Kale, and I got a sunburn. Some pictures:

Mooki “guarding” the picnic table at Mom and Rick’s:

From May Long Weekend

Mooki is not dead, nor is she hunting. She was asleep in the grass with no leash on – a novelty for her since we only have a paved patio for her to sleep on.

From May Long Weekend

My stepdad’s birthday cake, with photos from 6 months, 6 years, and 16 years:

From May Long Weekend

Kale with his Gran and Grandpa at Qualicum Beach:

From May Long Weekend

Kale in lerve with his reflection:

From May Long Weekend

Kale checking out the bird bath:

From May Long Weekend

All the happy party goers:

From May Long Weekend

Rick genuinely shocked at the surprise party. His hat says “Don’t forget my senior’s discount”:

From May Long Weekend

Kale helping wash his Grandpa’s truck:

From May Long Weekend

Does this Oatio make my butt look big?

From Kale 9-12 months

It was a brilliant weekend. I was so glad to be back home last night, though. Being away sure makes you realize how awesome home can be.

Seriously, can the teeth fairies just send these two goddamned bottom front teeth our way and we can have a little break from this hellhole known as teething? Man, seriously. Everytime I think it can’t possibly get worse, it does. Kale has been blessing us with good sleeps (knock on wood) at night, and once he gets to sleep for his naps, he is sleeping well. I guess the tradeoff is the teething. He is chewing and chewing and chewing and chewing on everything and anything, and alternately being cheerful and adorable and then insane and crotchety with the drop of a hat. 

He’s been going through this “Man oh man I am soooo tired holy cow I need to sleep look at me rubbing my eyes and yawning and NO WAIT I’M NOT EVEN REMOTELY TIRED LET’S PARTY DUDES!” thing lately, and I think a lot of it is actually as he is hunkering down for a nap or a sleep, his teeth hurt more because there is less distraction and less to investigate, so you notice it more. 

But still, no teeth. 

He’s not interested in frozen things or even fridge-cold things, and teething tabs do appear to be helping a bit. But I know teething is one of those things that you can’t hurry, you can’t speed up, and you just need to live through it. And that we are doing. 

But man. IT SUCKS. Bleh. 

Also, the clutching and grabbing and pinching and scratching? THAT can’t go fast enough for me, thanks. Kale has always had busy hands while nursing (we most commonly nurse in the side lying position) and that’s fine. We often hold hands or play with each other’s fingers or he might just wave his hand around in the air. But lately, now that the concept of motor skills and strength is coming in to the picture? Well, lately, its all about the how much can I grab onto Mommy’s hair, or her sweater, or her lip. Oh I love that one – the lip. Memo to Kale: I have a dentist, I don’t need a dental exam, thanks, my boy. I’m thinking about getting one of those nursing necklaces (here’s a good write up about what a nursing necklace is, but be aware there are many many many people out there selling them from $20 to $125(!) so Laughing Starfish is just one and I am not endorsing them specifically because I have never used one of theirs) or possibly even making one myself. New Westminster has a good bead store, called Moody Beads, and I bet that would be a fun outing for me to do. Not many people know that YEARS ago, I worked at one of those kiosks in the mall and sold beads. Bead Street? Bead World? I can’t remember. Anyone interested in doing that together?

Anyway.

 So, I ended up buying a Blackberry Pearl after deliberating for a few days. I actually decided not to buy a phone, but a guy I had contacted who had one for sale offered it to me at a price I could not refuse so… well…. I won’t say I had to but I sure had a hard time saying no. This, coupled with my boots I recently bought are about the two last fun expenses I expect to have, other than the odd craft supply. Ross and I need to sit down and figure out our finances and look at how we can ensure I can stay home, or alternatively, what we are looking at in terms of scheduling work and childcare options. I’ve decided I am going to sign up to sell Usborne Books (children’s books sold a la Tupperware) and am going to take care of that this week. But how much I can make is certainly not going to be enough to sustain us. So I need to look at contract work, or creative hours at my workplace or… something. In a perfect world, all parents would get to stay home with their children until their children go off to school, but we don’t live in a perfect world. We are, however, creative people and I like to think we live a frugal and simple life. So I am sure we will work it out, however we do. 

* * * * * 

Tonight we are going for dinner and I’m bringing dessert so I was scouring the intarnets for a good bundt cake recipe. I bought a cast aluminum bundt cake pan the other day on clearance and have been looking forward to using it. It took a lot of searching to find a recipe because all the recipes I found called for “Chocolate Cake Mix” added to some other ingredients. What’s with that? When I bake, I want to go from scratch, not from a box mix. Sheesh. Speaking of which, I need to get off the computer and go bake the thing. 

I leave you with this charming photo of our other child – the slightly more furry and a whole lot more lazy one, Mooki. Life sure is hard for her.

From Mooki

Send help, Mooki needs rescuing.

Those of you in the East are likely laughing your pants off at the stink that the snow has created out here. But people are stupid, man. I just about got creamed yesterday when I braved the elements and went to the grocery store for all my turkey accoutrements. Some guy was fairly convinced his silly little Honda Civic with bald tires wouold have no problem turing left in front of me, on an uphill, no less. Thanks God we bought snow tires (and can now be smug) because without them there is no way I could have stopped. 

In any event, we went for a walk yesterday, and Kale ate a bit of snow for the first time.

From Kale 3 to 6 months

Here is an arty shot of the tree in the park:

From Miscellaneous

And one of the Moo:

From Mooki

Who promptly came home and put on her pajamas:

From Mooki

I’m a fan of “re-purposing” things.

Before I actually had Kale, we had decorated his room using a variety of things acquired from both used sources and new. One of the “used” things I bought was a Lillberg rocking chair from Ikea. I like its design, but in practise this chair is kind of useless as the seat part is sooooo long that my little short legs stick straight out and can’t bend at the knee if I sit all the way back in the chair, and as a result, I can’t make the chair rock. Its footprint is also ridiculous, and it takes up more room than it really should in a little boy’s room. So I sold it on Craigslist this weekend, and went and picked up a new to us chair that is a small 24X22 recliner that converts to an ottoman. It is covered in mocha coloured microsuede and is in near perfect shape.

Also, earlier this summer, Ross and I rescued a ficus tree that someone had abruptly abandoned in front of our place and after bringing it inside, it promptly dropped all its leaves. We nurtured it all summer long outside on the patio and now it sports fresh green happy growth. We have to make sure it survives the winter, so we brought it inside again, only this time we’ve added it to Kale’s room for some colour. I firmly believe that all rooms should have at least one plant, and so now the only room without a plant in our house is the bathroom.

I also was digging around in my closet for something else, and came across a rag rug I had previously had in the kitchen, in shades of green, rust, and brown, and so I have added that to Kale’s little space as well. I’m really happy with the results of these little changes and I am now thinking about the curtains I need to sew for his room! It never ends.

Speaking of sewing, my friend Melanie sent me some PUL to experiment with, and I think I have come up with a few ideas and need to get my sewing machine out of Kale’s closet. I have three projects on the go right now that require my sewing machine, and every time I find myself with a few minutes to do some sewing, Kale is asleep in his bassinet in his room and I sit and get anxious to get the machine out. Oh how I long for a room all my own to keep my crafting and sewing goodies out on tables and ready to use at the drop of a hat!

Anyway, I have a million other things I can do (like laundry! Yay!) so I had better go take care of that. I’ll leave you with this picture of Mooki doing whatever it takes to sleep in the sun.

From Mooki

Here are some pictures I collected over the last few days of Kale.

Here he is in one of my favorite outfits, the confines of which he is so close to busting out of as he grows exponentially. Every time I put it on him I sing “Blue Velvet”. The sleeper smells too – like the lotion and body wash we use on him which is mint lime scent, a scent I will forever associate with him.

From Kale

If that isn’t an ad for Combi I don’t know what is.

Last Friday, when I was being especially watchful for reactions to his immunizations, Kale and I spent a great deal of time nestled on the couch. I know when I am not feeling well, there is nothing I like more than to be on the couch in a favorite blankie with my favorite things, being pampered. So I built Kale a little nest with his blankie and we hung out playing with Grey Elephant in between naps.

From Kale

From Kale

From Kale

Check out his awesome sock monkey blanket that his Auntie made for him. He has matching sock monkey towels and bibs too. I am in love with the sock monkeys.

This is Kale lying on our bed. Although you probably can’t see him as he is in camouflage. I’ll point him out to you – he’s the one in green socks.

From Kale

 Today Kale and I took the Skytrain to the mall and picked up some socks for a custom sock critter we’ve been asked to make. It was his first time on the train so I brought the camera along thinking that if I could find someone un-shifty looking enough, I would ask them to take a photo of us on the Skytrain. Unfortunately, everyone on the train looked like they might run with my camera, so I took this self portrait while walking instead:

From Kale

 And lest you think that poor Mooki is being neglected here, I provide you with proof that you can have too many pillows on your bed:

From Mooki

Mooki has been a bit forgotten about around here lately. She is more cat that dog anyways, so its easy to forget about her when she is sleeping about 18 hours a day. Moo has started to display signs that she is 9 – she’s been limping a bit when she firsts gets up and her snout fur appears to be greyer – but I often get asked how Mooki feels about Kale.

The truth is that Mooki couldn’t care any less about Kale. She sniffs him occasionally – most often when he has recently spit up – and she otherwise doesn’t care for him. When we first brought him home, Mooki would leave the room when he cried, but now she has grown accustomed to his noises and instead just ignores him.

I was thinking about the day that will eventually come when Mooki passes and I know I am going to be devastated. Kale will be still young – young enough to forget all about it as he grows – and I wonder if we will decide to get another pet after she is gone. I remember when my cat Bevan died thinking that no animal could replace him. And then I adopted Mooki and now I think that no animal can replace her.

The fault of pets is that we outlive them. I read once that pets have so much love to give that they only live for a little while because they love so unconditionally and so hard.

I’ve been making a point lately of trying to take Mooki for a walk just her and I. Although she gets walks every afternoon with Kale and I, I think its still important to take her out just the two of us and have some time together.

We’ve been taking Mooki to the shiba meet ups, but I don’t think she enjoys them as much as Ross and I get a kick out of seeing all the shibas running around. Mooki is one of the oldest at the shiba meets and I think her “grumpy old lady” routine wears thin on the other owners and dogs.

As much as I love Kale and feel that love so fiercely and strong, I also love my fur kid.

From Mooki

As most of you know, I sewed about 3 dozen cloth diapers for Kale before he was born. 8 of them were immediately placed on the “no” pile because I used a fabric that was a bit too rubbery and they didn’t stay done up well. The remaining ones were used for about two and a half to three weeks before Mr. I’m-So-Damn-Long grew out of them. I don’t have time to sew another batch, so instead I went looking for a buy-able brand that was the approximate same style.

Ross’ cousin Nicole was kind enough to pass on the diapers she uses on her youngest – they are a terry cloth diaper that you use a waterproof cover with. I find them ridiculously bulky and when I put them on Kale he wasn’t able to move his legs well. I think they will be better once he’s bigger but right now they just don’t cut it for me. One of Ross’ co-workers loaned us two different brands of pocket diaper to try out.

Sidenote: a pocket diaper is a diaper you stuff with the absorber in a pocket in between a soft layer and a waterproof layer. An All in One (or all in two depending on the design) is a diaper that has a soaker pad that is either attached or snaps or velcros in and it is all one piece (hence the name). The “classic” style of diaper is called a prefold and most people use something called Snappis to do them up or use them under a waterproof cover that velcros or snaps shut. Ross and I have decided to use a pocket or all in one (or two) as our preferred style of diaper. End sidenote.

 So, Ross’ co-worker loaned us two of each Fuzzi Buns and Bum Genius. The Fuzzi Buns is a sized pocket diaper with snap closures. It leaked quite badly for us – most likely because it was too big for Kale. The Bum Genius is a one-size pocket diaper with adjustable rise that velcros closed. Of the two, I prefer the Bum Genius, but I hate the velcro and I found the fabric inside wasn’t absorbent and that Kale’s clothing got very wet out from the top of the diaper. Again, this could be a fit issue. Either way, I am on the look out for used Bum Genius diapers (I think if I stripped the diapers and used another insert, they could work) and had some lined up on craigslist but she sold them to someone else.

I’m getting tired of searching for our diaper solution and of using disposables and decided this weekend to take matters into my own hands and I’ve placed an order with the lovely ladies up at Cloth Diapers Eh for three diapers to confirm the size and if they are the right size, I will order the other 9 to make a dozen. They are about the same price as Bum Genius and the advantage is that I am supporting a pair of Work At Home Moms here in BC. Plus they are made with high quality fabrics and they use snaps instead of velcro and I get to pick what colour of coordinating thread. If I am going to spend $20 ish per diaper, I feel better buying the diapers from WAHMs in BC than some big company that gets their diapers from China.

I will report on their useability in a future post, especially for those of you in the market for diapers.

PIctures from this weekend, because really what is a blog entry without pictures of a) my son or b) my dog:

Kale is definitely suspicious of the camera. I cannot for the life of me capture his smile (which comes almost constantly these days. Okay, well , maybe not constantly, but a lot!). He is on to me and every day I sneak the camera into his peripheral and I get this look: (oh and look, bonus booger shot):

We also went to the Vancouver Shiba Meetup again. Mooki is a grade A, class 1 bee-yotch, so we had to leave after she picked not one, not two, but three fights and either bit herself or was bitten on the tongue. Then Ross took her to get her nails done. The strain of the day took its toll on her, so she let her guard down and was seen being “nice” to Kale. And by “nice”, I mean, was within 4 feet of him.

Is it bad if we leave Kale on his change table for 10-15 minutes at a time because he is hypnotized by the black and white patterns we have put on the underside of the shelf above him? I mean, I realize that as soon as he can roll over that’s going to stop, but for now, he becomes entranced by the patterns (which I refer to as “his best friends”) and I figure if he is happy there, he can stay there for a few minutes, right? Its developing his mind, not neglect. Really. Just because I take the opportunity to make a cup of tea and maybe even brush my teeth while he is entranced, doesn’t mean I am a bad mommy.

And because Ross and I lead a true cosmopolitan life, we really partied it up this weekend and watched the animated movie about animals from the Central Park Zoo, Madagascar this weekend, and I gotta say, holy cow that was FUNNY. I don’t know why I missed that one when it was originally released because I generally make a point of watching all of the Pixar movies, but somehow I did. And holy schmoly it was a good one.

Where is August going? My God, having a kid is like some sort of science fiction time accelerator machine. Bring on the non-Stupid Hot weather!

Dear Autumn, how I missed you. Welcome back.

Love,

 Jen

Since we brought Kale home, Mooki has been sleeping, for the most part, on her bed, which is a pink fleecy round pillow I made her with an old duvet as the stuffing. Before we brought Kale home, she tended to sleep in the most inconvenient places possible – in your crotch on the hottest day of the year, or with her butt pressed up to your face. Ross hated sleeping with Mooki, I on the other hand, tended to secretly invite her up on the bed.

But in any event, Mooki has appointed herself lowest dog in the pack now that we have Kale and as a result, she sleeps in her little bed on the floor in our room instead.

A few nights ago, Ross, Kale, and I retired to bed and I gave Kale a hearty feeding and we all were bunking down. Ross had been particularly tired that day, so he fell asleep as I was feeding Kale. Mooki had been sleeping on my pillow. And so when I was done, I put Kale in his spot between us and attempted to shoo Mooki off the bed – or at least, off my pillow. She apparently was really comfy as she simply scootched farther away and embedded herself in between our pillows. Knowing Ross doesn’t really care for the dog sleeping with us, and knowing he tolerates it because for the most part she sleeps at my feet, I woke him up and asked him to help me move her as she had shuffled too far away for me to pick her up and I would have had to lean over Kale to do so.

I guess he was really tired because he said “whatever” and promptly dropped right back off to sleep.

Okay, I figured.

We woke up the next morning and Ross took one look at Mooki and said “Moo, what are you doing on the bed up here?” I guess he didn’t remember the conversation, so I reminded him that I had given him the opportunity to remove her.

She sneakily and lovingly looked at us. I guess in her mind, disguising oneself as a pillow is the surest way to get the best spot on the bed.