Good garden eats

Today's afternoon snack is brought to me by my garden! The last of the rhubarb has been harvested, and I might have a new favourite cookie: rhubarb hamentaschen. My Smitten Kitchen cookbook informs me that these are traditionally made for the Jewish festival of Purim (which, my Bible informs me, was when Queen Esther saved the Jewish people). I'm not usually fond of jam cookies, but these are just exquisite, albeit labour-intensive. I burned the first batch of compote and had to start again, monitoring the heat carefully this time, because I only just had enough rhubarb to get by. Really, any other fruit would make an excellent substitute, I think. I have it in mind to try out peaches next time.

After a period of dormancy, our zucchinis have been flourishing. Hubby picked two large ones out of the garden a couple of days ago, and those were only #4 and 5 of the season (the first three went towards zucchini fritters). I adapted this recipe to make chocolate zucchini muffins, because we were short on time this morning. The cooking time was just under 30 minutes, which allowed me to have a shower and throw all our stuff together for a play date across the city.

We've been experimenting with indoor tomato ripening sans newspaper, which some might call "leaving green tomatoes on the counter". It's worked out well so far; we've successfully had three tomatoes ripen thusly. The first two went into a grilled cheese sandwich and  a couple of black bean quinoa burgers, to delicious effect. The next one is headed for a one-dish pasta that I'm planning to try tonight. For now, some snacks are calling my name while my children are not.

New bed, new bike, new project

There always seems to be a lot going on around here, and the summer is no exception. First, a few weeks ago, M started waking up screaming in the night, and we wondered if it might be time to get her out of her crib and into a bed. (And by bed, I mean a mattress on the floor.) The fact that she hadn't already climbed out is either a small miracle or a testament to how much she loved that crib. Still, D was around this age when we moved her to a bed, so we thought we may as well go for it.

The bed's good enough for her stuffed cat, but not M

 So far, it's been kind of a good news/bad news situation. Bad news? Naps have all but gone out the window since. Good news? She's exhausted at bedtime and sometimes sleeps through the night. To provide some incentive for the transition, we bought M a new comforter and sheets from Walmart, but she doesn't seem to understand about sleeping under them yet.

When naps occur, they are right by the gate, preceded by much crying, with M's face mashed into the floor

Next, my new bike. I finally found a bike that I wanted to buy! Hubby and I had been idly looking for one since the spring, and decided on a light blue model from Costco. It was 230$, and then I had to buy a helmet as well. We're hoping that biking is something we can do as a family to stay active. Hubby has always enjoyed bike riding. I am the reason my own family of origin stopped bike riding. (Something about poor brakes, hills and riding into the wind discouraged me.) Anyway, we've been on two short rides around the neighbourhood with the girls in the bike trailer/kiddie bike seat, and it's gone well!

The most excellent picture I could take

Finally, I am on the hunt for my next knitting project. I had been working on a sweater for my mom, but then I ran out of yarn and it took weeks to find, order, and receive another skein. In the interim, I had no proper focus, and I worked alternately on socks for Hubby, slippers for my grandma, and a doll for D (with one planned for M). The sweater is done, the socks are my travel project, the slippers keep not working out, and I just finished the first doll today. D's input: she wanted a "real green dress". I helpfully made the hair and skin colour similar to D's own. Pale is the new tan, right?

Fun fact: this doll does have a mouth, but it's in such a pale shade of pink that it blends into her white face

Up next? There are a number of very special babies that have been or are going to be born this year, and I'd like to knit for as many of them as I can! I'd also like to do one other "selfish" knit for myself, something less time consuming than a sweater. That may get put to the back burner until this year of no new yarn is over, though.

Cute Chapters craft

My girls always tend to have better days when we have an out-of-the-house activity in the morning, whether it's a play date, park visit, play group, or even errands to run. Today was a bit rainy, so we made our way to Chapters for story time; they have them every day at 10, and they're free to attend, but can be pretty busy. I counted over thirty kids, not to mention parents. They were doing a beach-themed day, and the staff had picked out beachy books and songs and organized a super-cute craft. D only made it about halfway through the craft before M got antsy and we had to leave. We were able to finish it at home.

Cut a rectangular castle shape out of sandpaper.

Use coloured chalk to decorate it.

Curl the finished castle around a plastic cup, and secure with a rubber band.

D really want to put stickers and tape on hers, however, regular adhesive wouldn't stay on. I couldn't tell you what kind of stickers they had at Chapters, but they are firmly stuck. That being said, I don't think I'd want that type in my house!

The other nice thing about being at story time in a store is that M had lots of things to play with as she walked around during story time: toy shopping carts, the loot bag toy display, a train table, and all the other toys they had in the kids' section. Oddly, she stayed away from books. Anyway, it made for a reasonably fun morning which would otherwise have been spent indoors.

We went next door to Walmart afterwards to buy buttons for D's Kindergarten cardigan. As a knitter mom, I feel that covering my child in stitches is akin to offering protection against the unknown. You know, knitting someone a sweater is saying "I love you" 10 000 times. Even if that sweater is made of three different types of acrylic yarn. These are the same heart buttons that I bought for her flower girl sweater, almost two years ago. D tried her new sweater on yesterday, and it's ludicrously big, but that beats the alternative. She was delighted with it, so am I, and that's all that matters.

Our quickest lunches

When you have smallish children, you tend to go out in the mornings, to play group, to the library, to friends' houses, to the park. And the transition home is often terrible; having played all morning, little ones need food and rest, in that order, and quickly. Here are some of our solutions for healthy, quick lunches:

1. Leftovers from dinner that reheat well: lasagna, soup, macaroni and cheese, chicken pot pie, shepherd's pie, quiche, etc.

2. Dippy eggs and soldiers: soft boiled eggs only take 5 minutes, and you can make and cut the toast while you wait.

3. PB&J: it's a classic for many reasons

4. Breakfast burritos: scrambled eggs, a bit of grated cheese, some baby spinach or chopped up cucumber, and salsa for those who like the heat.

5. Guacamole and naan/flatbread broiled with cheese

6. Bits and bobs: crackers with cheese or peanut butter, sliced pickles, celery with PB and raisins, any number of side dishes that wouldn't quite be enough on their own.

Add cut veggies and hummus to any of the above to make it a more balanced meal. And for dessert, we almost always turn to applesauce or yogurt, usually with some frozen berries mixed in.

M makes a good cup of tea

Things to gladden the heart

It's bright and sunny, the girls are napping, and D has not peed her pants yet today. And there are many other reasons to be cheerful:

My mom's sweater-to-be, started eleven days ago

A very helpful toddler and some delicious rhubarb muffins

A contented baby

Hanging up laundry at 3pm, knowing it will be dry by sunset

Purchasing tips for new parents

It seems like everywhere you turn these days, someone is having a baby! I remember back when I was expecting my first, back when I didn't know the difference between a onesie and a sleeper, never mind what a receiving blanket is, I wondered how much baby gear does a person actually need. I don't know if I ever determined "need", but the amount we have is pretty staggering, so I consider myself seasoned enough to make recommendations.. For new parents looking for a decent list of what to get, or for friends and family looking for shower gift suggestions, here are my tips for baby biz.

Don't bother with:
A Diaper Genie. We never had one. I think it's because they might be a waste of money and space.

A change table. We barely use ours, especially with our squirmy second baby. A change pad on the floor works fine, and you don't have to worry about your kid rolling off the table.

Crib bedding sets, as they are unnecessary. You know the ones with bumper pads, a ruffle sheet, a duvet, a fitted crib sheet, and a couple of other useless things like valance and a cloth sack to hold disposable diapers? They tend to be right by the baby registry desk in Babies R Us. We bought one secondhand and wondered why the previous owner didn't use it much. These days, the bumper pad pendulum has swung entirely away from using them, so those were a no-go. Ditto for the duvet. The ruffle got in the way whenever we changed the crib sheet. The valance and cloth bag had no purpose.

Buy used:
A pack and play (easy to find used) instead of, or in addition to, a crib. Both our crib and playpen were from Used Ottawa. The latter is great for travel, or naps away from home.

A booster seat (also used) instead of a high chair. We have an increasingly beat-up blue plastic booster chair from an Outgrow Outplay sale, as well as a yellow wooden high chair from thrift store. The booster seat is infinitely more useful as it is portable and keeps baby well strapped-in. We keep the yellow chair around for when we have baby/toddler guests, which turns out to be fairly often.

Exersaucers, Jolly Jumpers, swings, etc. We bought our swing new (which was in constant use with our first, but not so much with our second), we were gifted a Jolly Jumper (which our second loved, but only until she could move on her own), and we had a hand-me-down exersaucer (which was of great use for the period when a baby can hold its head up until it can crawl reliably). The thing to keep in mind is how briefly these will be used.


Clothes from consignment stores, thrift shops, and big consignment sales (like the aforementioned Outgrow Outplay). There's rarely a need to pay full-price.

Toys and books from garage sales; save them to use as birthday/Christmas gifts, if you like.

A good enough food processor to make your own baby food (which it seems like everybody does now anyway!). Mine came from Kijiji for 10$.

Buy new but cheaply:
A few crib sheets.

A diaper bag, or really, a purse with lots of pockets and compartments.

A bath sling (supports newborn's head and back for those early-days, terrifying baths).

Lots of little wash cloths.

Next year's winter boots at the end of the season. March is about the latest you can go, before the boots come off the shelves entirely, to be replaced by sandals! The same does not apply to snowsuits. Buy those in October from a consignment shop.

Invest in:
Breastfeeding, if you can and if you want to. It's cheap, portable, a great way to lose weight postpartum, and it has tremendous health benefits for your baby. Do get some good nursing bras; I liked the ones at Motherhood Maternity in the States, where they were half the price of the ones in Canada. A breast pump is optional; I had a manual one so that I could leave milk for my kids when I was away during feeding time.

Good shoes, which are a fraction of the price in the States (outlets are the best for this; we like Stride Rite, where a pair of well-made, supportive shoes are about 20$).

A really good all-purpose stroller. Ours is a Phil & Ted, with the extra seat, rain cover, and car seat attachments. It was like 700$ back in 2009, but we've never had to use anything else. At the time, we knew we wanted two kids close together, and I didn't like how wide most double strollers are. It's been very well worth it, and it helps that a generous aunt and uncle bought it for us.

A nice, neutral glider and ottoman. This is the comfortable spot where I spent a lot of time nursing my babies, and where I still read M's bedtime stories. Later on, it'll move to a different location in our home, and it'll still be a great, comfy place to relax.

A reliable, quick, easy-to-use thermometer. When you get gift cards for Toys R Us, this is what you'll want to buy. Ours is from Safety First.

The big diaper question: 
We are like a lot of parents, I suspect: we've used both disposable and cloth diapers. I knew I wanted to try cloth, and for the most part it's been fine. We've maybe saved money. Hubby prefers disposables, and that's what we'll use when we're at church, a friend's house, or travelling. I have to say, diapers are not remotely a passionate subject for me. You can do a bunch of research, ask other parents if they have a brand of disposable or cloth diaper that they'd recommend, and you'd get hugely varied responses. I use Kirkland Lake or Huggies disposables (whatever's on sale at Costco, where the unit price for a disposable runs at 18-19 cents), and Bummis cloth diapers and they're okay. D had a rash almost her entire diapered life, and I never figured out why; M hasn't really had a problem, we put her in a disposable every night. Maybe that's why I'm so ambivalent towards diapers. Or it could be the fact that no matter what you choose, it's always going to be gross and there's always an element of waste, whether it's from washing and drying, or from throwing out used disposables.

All the other stuff:
Bumbos, Sophie the giraffe, snack traps, Woombies, baby carriers, nursing pillows, nursing covers, etc. We've had all those and more, and as with everything on this list, it's up to the parents. I would file most of those things under "Nice if you want to spend the money; borrow them if you can."

Overall:
Be wary of baby product marketing. There are so few things you actually need, but advertisers can make you feel like what they're selling is the magic bullet that will help your baby (and you) be more content. Just do your research and own your decisions. The best things for your baby are the love and care you provide!

No UFOs in sight

The upside to working on a number of projects at once is that you tend to finish a lot of them at the same time! (And despite this post's title, there are still many unfinished objects in my house, just not in these pictures.)

D's Rainbow cardigan

Striped socks for a dear friend

 I've been buckling down to finish up Frances' mostly-knit garments. The green sweater needed its seams sewn up (sleeves, hem, collar, underarms, sides), and the dress was a bit trickier. I had to deduce the sleeve pattern and needle size, knit a matching sleeve, work up a collar, and seam the whole business together. Both of these need a good little wash and dry, and they'll be ready to go. Three more items still on that list: a yellow cardy, a blue v-neck, and a blue and white vest.

More of Frances' finishing

Frances' finishing strikes again

 I finished my sweater on April 30th, just in time for that early May heat wave we were having. I've been able to wear it once since the weather has cooled off. Not terribly pleased with the buttons, but those are easily replaced.

The completed Blackberry cardigan. New buttons a must.