Nap Time

This summer has been so busy.  Good, but busy.  

Most days we find ourselves going on an outing in the morning, then coming home for lunch and naps, and doing something closer to home in the afternoons.  

I usually spend nap time doing dishes, cleaning up the dining room, throwing in a load of laundry, straightening up toys, messing around online, etc.  When the kids wake up I'm exhausted.  So, today, rather than trying to fit it all in, I decided to take a little break.  Once all the lunch stuff was cleaned up I put on the kettle and took out my book.  And for 25 glorious minutes I snuggled in on the couch with a cup of my favourite tea, some almonds and cranberries to snack on, and I read.  A book written for adults.  

I even almost made it through a whole chapter.

I think I'm going to have to do it again.  Soon.  Maybe even tomorrow.  The laundry can wait.

Urban vs. Suburban Living

I'm a city girl.  I was born in Toronto and have lived within a 2.5 mile radius my entire life.  As a young child I dreamed about living in the country.  More specifically, I wanted to live on a farm in the country breathing fresh country air and riding my own horse everyday after school.  But by the time I was a teenager I couldn't imagine living outside the city though.  That only amplified when I was in my twenties.  And though I still love all the city has to offer, I can see advantages to suburban living.

So, even though it's nearly 300 miles away, I feel like our kids are fortunate to have a second home in what I joke is the country but Jen adamantly argues is the suburbs.  Jen's parents still live in her childhood home and several times a year we're able to go back there and visit.  Extended visits, like the one we had last week, are particularly nice.

As soon as the kids wake up they're begging to go outside.  We try to distract them indoors until the sun has warmed up the air a little bit and the grass isn't quite so wet with dew.

They're happy to play in the yard, but the country-loving girl in me always tries to encourage them to walk down to the nearby park to visit the pond and "forest."  The promise of being able to feed the geese and ducks the heels of our bread usually gets the sometimes obstinate toddler to comply with my requests.  Once the crusts have all been gobbled up or dissolved into the water we make our way through the woods on the far side of the pond.  The Bean likes picking up pine cones along the way.  Sprout still gets carried most of the time to speed things along but also so that she doesn't trip over roots or get poked by the twigs on low branches.

I sometimes imagine how different their lives would be if they had this open access to the outdoors all the time.  I think they would love it.  But then we drive to WalMart and I see man + woman = marriage bumper stickers and people dressed in head-to-toe camo and I know that someplace like this wouldn't be the best home for us.  We need the acceptance/indifference of other city-dwelling folks.  The balance we have of a home in the city and a home-away-from-home in the country seems to be a pretty good one for our family.

I'm curious to know where other people live and how you decided on settling there.  Feel free to comment, if you're so inclined.

Wordless Wednesday: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Wordless Wednesday: Life Is Messy

Accepting Help

So, Sprout is now nearly for weeks old and Jen started back to this past Wednesday and you'd think we'd be starting to get an idea of what things are going to look like for the next few months, only we're not because Jen's (amazing) parents are back in town to help us with this transition.  

This is a good thing.  In fact, it's a great thing.  The issue is that I'm a fairly self-reliant person and I'm finding accepting their help, as well as help from others, has been really hard for me to do.   

 

I know Jen struggled similarly when she was pregnant.  At the time her job involved a physical component, and though she was adament about not doing any heavy lifting, she found it difficult to ask her co-workers to help when she needed to move things around.   

Back to the present, I know there are certain things I am not supposed to be doing.  Like lifting anything heavier than our now 10lb 4oz baby.  (BTW Can you believe how big she is?!)  So, I'm am very much okay with someone taking the laundry downstairs for me.  I have slightly more difficulty with the thought of them actually doing the laundry.  And a lot of difficulty with them doing things like Swiffering the floors or dusting.  You know, the things that I could definitely manage on my own, albeit perhaps at more spaced out intervals than we might have held to pre-Sprout.  I know that's why Jen's parents are here right now, but I feel guilty sitting on the couch updating the blog while they clean our apartment.  I also want to try to start getting used to managing things on my own, which is kind of hard when someone is insisting on doing everything for you.  Please understand that I'm not complaining about having help, I'm just saying it's hard to accept it.  I realize how very, very lucky we are.  

We've also been incredibly spoiled with people bringing food for us when they come to visit.  Ashleigh from from 2moms2dogs2babies, who also happens to be a nutritionist, stopped by one day with a delicious quinoa salad, homemade granola and organic yogurt, then, less than a week later when she came to visit brought yummy baked goods from a bakery near her place as well as homemade pasta sauce and brown rice pasta (since she knows Jen tries to stay away from wheat).  I think my comment when she showed up with all this stuff was, "You're crazy!" (She has toddler twins and is spending time making us food!)  Of course, I was extremely grateful (and should have said "Thank you" rather than "You're crazy") but felt guilty that she had gone out of her way to provide us with such yummy and nutritious food.  

I guess I have to get better about accepting help and showing how thankful I am for it.  There are others out there who've felt the same way though, right?