Resisting the early christmas feeling...

...but not very well though. It feels as though we have far too much to do before we even think about christmas. But that didn't stop us from going to the christmas market yesterday. There were a lot of lovely handmade things- I would look at something then move along a few stalls till I was out of sight, get out my notebook and sketch whatever it was I thought I could easily make myself. Cheeky but hey, ho. I did buy a couple of things- a pair of pears (nice fabric, stuffed with a cinnamon stick sticking out the top, totally useless and unnecessary) and a beautiful beaded star ornament.

Making a car out of a box.
Steve left this morning for a week's work in Quebec City. Brendan really misses him now and it's sometimes heartbreaking when he asks for him over and over again, especially first thing in the morning and at bedtime :(

One for each of them.

Made this giraffe for the baby. I got the pattern from an old book from the 70s that I found in a charity shop. Most of the ideas are fairly dated but I loved this one. I also made this stuffed plane for Brendan, designed by me (can you tell?).

We've made a couple of other things to give the cousins for christmas but can't put them on here in case they see them :)
Steve is off to Quebec City tomorrow for 8 days. It'll be along week but we have lots planned including a special toddler story time at the library on Tuesday to celebrate Canadian authors and we are hosting a christmas craft making morning on Thursday.

(Another) promise to post more often.

The blog is evolving!

I'd like to start writing more in here about things that we get up to on a more regular basis. Just before having a second baby is perhaps not the best time to decide this but I'll give it a go. I also considered starting a separate blog because I sometimes feel that I edit my true thoughts because people who know me might read them- but then I just realised that that is silly, I have nothing to hide! :) (And I'd never manage to maintain two blogs let alone just the one)

So now I'm thinking I'd like a little more detail in here about what we get up to as a family and how we fill our days in meaningful and creative ways. We've been doing more crafts and activities recently as Brendan is growing up and getting excited by new experiences and generally learning about life. I don't want to forget it all!

That belly button thing he does

I haven't listed Brendan's favourites for a while now so here goes...
His favourite book is Ruby and the Noisy Hippo, or just "Ruby Hippo". He reads it aloud himself using mimes and actions, such as the monster running home crying and knocking on the wall for a "bang, bang, bang" noise, as well as words like when the Hippo shouts "It's me, Hippo!".
Other books read on most days include My Dad is Great, Each, Peach, Pear, Plum and Lost and Found about a friendship between a boy and a penguin "gangan".
His favourite songs are Howdi Do and Bling, Blang, both by Woody Guthrie which we sing as we read the books Uncle Phil gave him. He also like Lollipop or "nuddy, bup" by Mika thanks to Nicky playing it umpteen times in the UK:)
What else? His favourite friends are Mya, "Eminy" and "Toria". When we get in the car he wants to go to playgroup which sounds like "gay goop" or play on the slide or "Ki".
I almost forgot, more a habit than a favourite thing, Brendan constantly plays with his belly button.
Favourite foods? Bread jumps to mind but he still pretty much eats anything, except he may be going off fruit a bit- he prefers to peel his own tangerine and then throw or squash the pieces instead of eating them.
Lastly, his favourite person is definitely his daddy! He talks about him nonstop, saying daddy is at "wok", in the car, in a "pane, sky" or "highcot, sky" and exclaiming "daddy home" when he comes in the door.

Winter is on its way.

Steve surprised us by coming home for lunch today :) We went for a walk along the path behind our house and Brendan carried a foraging bag to collect some treasures. He had fun throwing stones in the water (still his favourite thing to do). The weather is perfect- chilly but not too cold, clear and bright and refreshing. The light coming through the trees was beautiful.

We checked out the collection and then used a couple of leaves and twigs to make a paper bag owl. Emily dropped in too so we managed to get a rare picture of Brendan and I doing something together.


The finished product. Brendan named all the parts- eyes, eyebrows, tummy, wings, beak, feet...

home sweet home

The house is feeling a lot more homely these days. Not that it hasn't always felt homely, it's just that with a few simple furniture moves, a few bargain finds like little lamps and candle holders, some string on the wall to hang Brendan's artwork and a little bit of decluttering and reorganising the house just feels more lived in and comfy. Steve has mentioned it a few times recently as have a couple of our friends when visiting.
Steve asked if this was all "nesting" behaviour. I said I hope not as he is off to Quebec City next week for 8 days and I need him here for the birth!

The fish tank also looks great- Steve rearranged the stuff in it and got a couple of new fish. I tried to get a picture but need to dig out the tripod to get a decent one.

In the spring we plan to collect some driftwood and make a light fixture with branches and fairy lights to replace the big, weird, white monstrosity. I bought an old lamp and shade for $4, tore off the old dark covering, stuck some bright red maple leaves on it then covered them in a couple of layers of tissue paper and glue. It was a quick craft and may be only temporary but it gives an autumn feel, and Brendan likes counting the leaves.

Counting down...floating up.

Getting more and more excited. 26 days to my "guess date" but only 18 days to the "official" due date. I am feeling fairly large but certainly not as big or as ungainly as last time. I think I've been eating better this time (except for my love of those little round lindt chocolates that Steve keeps bringing home because I don't ask him to stop!) So physically I'm feeling great. 37 weeks, baby is head down and getting ready, Brendan is keeping me active so I'm not lazing about as much as I did last time.

Emotionally though- that's another story. This pregnancy has been a crazy roller coaster ride of hormones and emotions. The overall picture is good though- we're on the up and feeling more excited and positive about this upcoming birth every day.

So what were the worries? The fact that our last birth experience was so difficult to come to terms with (not sure I'll ever fully be at peace about it) and that this time it is even more important to us to have a natural birth combined with a feeling that the odds are stacked against us in the form of a grumpy obstetrician, a hospital with the typical hospital policies we can't stand, a note in my last hospital record mentioning a superbug which equals different treatment (more on that later) and the worry that the baby was transverse for weeks on end... and bla bla bla.

So why is it better now? I have managed to find and get the support of the only certified midwife in the province who will help me to stay out of the hospital for as long as possible. Steve and I spent some time with a woman who worked miracles and has helped me release a lot of my worries and channel my anger about last time into positive thoughts. The baby is now head down and I feel he's getting ready for the big day. However, the thing that played the biggest part in making me feel like my usual confident, happy self was my blessingway last night.

It was suggested and then organised by a friend at my Wednesday playgroup. I was thrilled because I had no desire to have a typical baby shower and had read about ceremonies that were more about celebrating the birth of the mother as well as the baby, about women showing their support and encouragement to the mother, sharing positive thoughts and energy...
It was a wonderful experience and I wish that all women could have the same thing. It's something that our culture has lost over the years and I hope we can bring back. Nine of us sat in a circle, each woman shared something, words, a poem, a story, a song, and each brought a bead to make a birthing necklace for me.
It might all sound a bit hippyish to some but it wasn't cheesy at all- and certainly never uncomfortable. Just the opposite, the atmosphere was calm and peaceful and relaxed and everyone enjoyed it. Afterwards we ate fruit and chocolate and some pastry goodies Steve had cooked for us and kept the celebration going for a while.

I felt completely rejuvenated and excited afterwards and still haven't come back down to earth!

I'll get a photo of the completed necklace on here when I can.

Powerful stuff, this!

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Love this video!

I can't believe it's already November 6th. 25 days to our due date of December 1st but I'm preferring to say baba no2 will arrive "sometime around the first week in December"- it's up to the baby, I don't want to put any pressure on either of us!
Brendan is currently bouncing on the sofa and shouting "where Alma gone?" at the top of his voice. We are reading a couple of books about new babies and talking about it a lot but I can't wait to see what he makes of it. He loves Alma and they play together all the time, but occasionally I'll look around to see him carrying her by her tail or throwing her off the sofa- don't worry about her, she comes right back for more so obviously isn't traumatised by it but I wonder if he'll try to do the same with the baby. Although I hope the baby isn't born with a tail.

Have to write about Halloween. Although I was a little reluctant in the run up, Halloween never having been a big thing in my past, we totally got "into it". I made costumes for Steve and Brendan and they went trick or treating just on our street as daddy and baby dragon. The trick-or-treating thing still baffles me though. Out of about 50 items Brendan received (from about 10 houses- some give little bags with stuff in them) there were only 4 or 5 that I would let him eat. Just out of curiosity I looked up some of the ingredients of the particularly dubious looking sweets and found all sorts of nasty chemicals- who wants to feed petrochemical products to their kids and toxins with suspected links to all sorts of health problems- if people knew what was in their food sometimes euchh! (sorry a bit of a rant) So we have a tub of candy on top of the fridge (some of which even Steve won't eat).
For our part we gave out stickers and some halloween jokes and colouring pages (with a few chocolates for the scary teenagers- I'm a chicken!). They went down really well with most kids- even some older ones. Although Steve did get one group of boys about 10 or 12 years old who said they didn't want stickers, "we just want the sugar!" Steve considered running to the kitchen for some sugar and dumping a handful in each of their (huge) bags. Or just throwing at them. The amount of stuff all the kids were collecting was madness. It's out of control!! :)

Lots of fun though. Can't wait to make more costumes next year!

Back across the pond

A good time was had by all at Naomi and Sam's wedding in Gilling just a couple of days after we arrived in the UK. Of course the wedding day itself was fantastic but we also loved being able to help out with preparations the day before. Steve helped to move tables and chairs and set up while Caitlin and I arranged flowers. I then left with Brendan to make a short stop at Easingwold School to see the old gang before going to collect Paddy and Jo at Thirsk railway station. We then met all the Skehans at the Fairfax for a pub dinner and then Caitlin, Paddy, Jo and the three of us stayed at Eimears lovely house in Wombleton. All in all a busy day.
The next day was the highlight of our trip this time. Pre-wedding drinks at the Fairfax where Brendan had a short nap in the buggy. (He didn't sleep again till about midnight!) The church service was beautiful and then we walked or drove up to the Castle for the reception. Everyone was grateful for the gorgeous weather, especially considering the British summer had been wet and cold until September. The food was lovely, the dining room and whole building were just perfect. Lots of fun, dancing, singing, good speeches, games, playing rugby outside, great cake (made by Glynis) and lots more. The singing and drinking continued at the Fairfax- we didn't want it to end. Jo, Steve and I finally bundled the VERY drunken Caitlin and Paddy into the car and headed home to Eimear's for a well needed sleep.

We drove up to Scotland and stayed with Nicky, Fi, Niamh and Aedan for the week while we went back and forth to the flat in Glasgow to work on it. Niamh, Aedan and Brendan had lots of fun playing together and we had a good trip to the zoo. Steve worked like a machine and painted, fixed floorboards and skirting, did a bit of plastering and generally achieved more than the average two people put together (as usual). We then moved Paddy out and cleaned the whole flat from top to bottom before signing with a letting agent. It was all worth it as new tenants moved in the day we returned to Canada so the flat should now look after itself for a while (fingers crossed for no major problems).

Also got to visit Kath, Lee and Ella in Dundee and Phil in Tayport. Ella is just beautiful and Kath is a wonderfully natural and easy going mum- it is so exciting to see us all grown up and mummy's now!