Mama love

Ah, my very first mama's day was divine!

I slept in, then big D. brought in the little monkey for some snuggle time, then while Olive had her morning nap we drank coffee and read the Saturday Globe & Mail (whose new redesign I do not enjoy at all). Interesting book reviews on mothering and feminism. It all just irks me a bit - I am a staunch feminist and proud mama - why do you want me to work full time as well? Oi! I think that the most political thing I can do is raise my own children.

Oh yeah, then we packed a picnic lunch (bagette, goat cheese, roast chicken, raw veggies & hummous, pita, dried morrocan olives) and headed out to meet our sweet friends Jana, Cameron and Etta Mae at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary. Sun, squeezes, birds, and happy babes.

I love you my monkey. I love the way you smile at me - you glow. I love your snuggles and discoveries, thrilled with yourself that you can now waggle your tongue back and forth. You've brought more joy, more challenge into my life than I knew was possible. You rock my world Miss Olive. Thank you, thank you, thank you world for bringing me this girl. She is pure love.

The Return

Well, well, well, we're back from our epic voyage and very happy to be snuggled back up in our beds with our daddy.

We had a lovely time with Nanny, Auntie Chris, cousin Gloria, Great Grama, Great Grampa, Pa, Kaitlyn, and Auntie Kelly. There were many snuggles and kisses, and Olive worked very hard on getting mobile. Crawling is on the very near horizon. Signing has begun. She loved the walking and the playing, but missed all of her baby friends and of course, most of all, her daddy. Sleep was shit - fool that I am, I actually thought that we'd continue to evolve our sleep situation. On the bright side I've learned a whole new level of patience, and now we'll begin again.

Mother's Day is on its way. It was so, so wonderful to spend this time with my mum and my babe. Olive learned to say NanNan (mum is Nanny) and we spent many hours talking, laughing and playing cards. Oh yeah, and eating! I feel like I am finally learning to trust my instincts, to trust that I am a good mama, and to know what I need to achieve balance. That, I think, is the best gift I could get for my very first Mother's Day. That and some zzzz's.

Ohhh, I missed that husband of mine.

Olive & her cousin Kaitlyn cuddling on their Great Grandparent's lawn in Vernon.

Avoiding and embracing

This morning's Sounds Like Canada Thursday Think Tank had a discussion about work/life balance, about busyness being an excuse to escape from meaningful interaction with other human beings, and about the rudeness of people using their Blackberry's at a dinner party.

On that note, Olive and I are heading off for two weeks of computer free time with family. I'm hoping that we'll come back well rested, well read (somebody bought somebody the brand new Michael Ondaatje novel!), and ready to start fresh.

Yeehaw.

Rocky Mountain High

I am so excited about our upcoming trip to the rockies. As a child we often made the long, long drive from Calgary to Vernon, from Calgary to Kamloops, or from Calgary to Mable Lake, all along the Trans-Canada through the rockies. I used to sit in the backseat of our old brown truck, gazing out at the mountains for hours, imagining that hobbits and elves lived amongst the sunlit peaks and valleys that it seemed impossible to reach. I made up stories, we played games, fought, and sang along to Kenny Rogers. Yah baby, sweet, sweet Kenny.
Last month the Tapestry did a show on "soul music", music that made your heart and soul thrill or weep or just feel intensely. It made me think of all the music that moves me, and how it changes as my life changes. I also thought of my last trip through the rockies with my mum to go and fetch my niece Kaitlyn in Red Deer. Mum and I were driving down the highway listening to Sarah Harmer's album "You Were Here" and I was so filled with joy, with contentment, surrounded by this overpowering beauty of forests, mountains, water, by intensely sweet music, and sitting by the side of my mum.
I am hoping that Friday will be equally sweet. That Olive will be content and sleepy. And that we can play some fabulous music as the soundtrack to our goreous country going by.

Some music that's stirring my soul:
"One Heart" - Rory McLeod
"Lodestar" - Sarah Harmer
"I Am Aglow" - Sarah Harmer
"Sweet Thing" - Van Morrison
"Private Universe" - Crowded House
"Connected" - Eric Bibb
"Cucurrucucu Paloma" - Caetano Veloso
Anything off of Joni Mitchell's Blue album
"Coo Coo Bird" - The Be Good Tanyas

Status quo

Here's our current status:

Mummy & Daddy have some kind of stomach bug.

Olive may or may not develop roseola towards the end of the week (her buddy Leni is sick with it right now!).

Olive & I are going away for 2 weeks starting at the end of the week.



We are driving 4 hours on Thursday night, then 6.5 on Friday to reach our destination in the rockies.

This trip is supposed to be a relaxing girlie time with Nanny, Auntie Chris & cousin Gloria. Instead it may be a barf & fever festival of sick baby in a car for many, many kilometres. Oh sweet mother of God, please let her be resistant to all of these nasty bugs.

I have to pack everything (giant, huge list of stuff), get a haircut, & go to the library.

I received 7 skeins of hand-dyed cashmere for my next project. It is divine.

I love Michael Ondaatje. His new novel Divisadero is out. His poetry, his novels. He is exquisite. I can't wait to read it.

Oi.

Can you say food poisoning/stomach flu?

Oi.

Getting out of the way

Hilarious? Yes. Offensive to some? Maybe. Olive's future? You betcha.

Trying to get a photo of the monkey's top teeth. Sooooo cute.

The sleeping thing is going one million billion times better than I ever could have hoped for (knocking on the wood). Maybe I will get 5 hours in a row very soon. My sweet babe, she was ready. Now I just have to get over my wee lingering sadness about saying goodbye to cosleeping. Although I've made Doug promise that she can always come and sleep with us if she wants to. But for now she doesn't seem to care at all, and in fact is sleeping much better without mummy's hulking, milk tinged form waking her up all of the time.

So there you go. Life keeps on surprising me.