Just an ordinary week

It's Saturday night and we just got home from having dinner at Christina's house. The children are sleeping, Ralph is watching golf and I am reflecting upon the week. Somehow I didn't manage to write this week although there were so many entries I had written in my head during the day but had forgotten by the time little people were sleeping peacefully and all was still in the house.  


Highlights in the last 7 days:


Saturday
I got to go out! It was Diana's birthday and the ladies went out for dinner. I left Princess Lea with Ralph and Lucas and she was well behaved! She even learned how to say Papa. But just to make sure that I didn't think I had been replaced, she woke up just before I came home and patiently waited with her Papa, staring out her bedroom window, waiting for me to come home.


Monday
We started out by going to the gym. Lea was sleeping when we arrived so I was optimistic that I might finally get a full workout in. Turns out Lea had other plans, after 20 minutes I got called back; the couldn't console her. Not even Lucas could help. Will I ever get any use out of this gym membership?


Lucas got his sling off. His collar bone is more or less healed. We do need to avoid activities where he might fall on his arm for at least a week or two.To Lucas' dismay this includes riding his push-bike.


Tuesday
What a long day. It rained and poured and we didn't want to go out in it. And since Lucas' arm isn't 100% we couldn't go to his gymnastics course. To help the day go by we baked a cake and Lucas helped the whole time. He is turning out to be a great helper (when he feels up to it).


Thursday
Ralph went out for the evening so I had to bring the kids to bed alone. Lucas' independence made a re-appearance. For weeks now he's been on a baby-kick (I'm a baby: change me, feed me...). But at bed time since my hands were full with Lea he actually got himself undressed, got on the toilet himself, helped get his pyjamas on, brushed his teeth and didn't throw on tantrum. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that things continue this way


Friday
The weather was ice cold but so nice sunny, so we got the bike and the trailer out and took them for a spin. Spring can't be far away now.


Saturday
Correction on the spring part. This morning we woke up to a winter wonderland. Anyone seen the shovel?


We went to Christina's this evening for Thai curry. During dinner Lea took the opportunity to finally start sitting. I was ecstatic (I find these little milestones very exciting). Then, while I was getting her ready for bed she decided that to avoid getting her diaper on she should make a quick getaway - on all 4s! She crawled and I have to say was pretty quick for a beginner.


Well, that was the last couple of days. Amazing what little things can help break up / brighten the monotony of the week. 

Qual der Wahl or Decisions, Decisions

I'm not sure how many people know this, but about 4 weeks ago I decided to change to cloth diapers. Please don't ask me why;  I'm not really sure myself. I just woke up one morning and decided I didn't want to deal with disposables any more. Maybe it was the fact that I have two kids in diapers (my older one actually needs more diapers some days than the baby) and I got tired of driving to the store every 2 - 3 weeks and coming out with 6 packages of diapers and pull-ups. Or maybe it was the mountain of garbage we were creating and I felt that we needed to reduce our contribution to the landfill. Or maybe I just needed try it out and see for myself what it was like to diaper "naturally".


When Lucas was born I tried to convince Ralph that we should cloth diaper but I couldn't and lots of people discouraged me from doing it. When Lea was born I entertained the idea again but decided against it. But then one day I thought - why not? It really can't be that much more work. And well, unless you try it you will never know. So I did...


Well, cloth diapering is not really all that much more work. I will never forget my friend Nathalie's answer when I asker her why she cloth diapers: Whether I walk down the stairs and throw out a bag of diapers or throw a load of laundry in the machine it doesn't really make that much of a difference (Did I mention she lives on the 4th floor with no elevator?). Well Nathalie, now that I have started I have to totally agree. I throw the diapers in when the kids go to bed and hang them up before I go to bed and by the next morning they are usually dry. Not too much more work at all.


The challenge to clothe diapering is finding the right diaper. Having tried different disposables (discount, Pampers, environmentally friendly) I know that even though they look the same there are differences. But with cloth - wow! You almost need a degree to understand the differnces. We have now tried out 9 different diapers (no. 10 should arrive tomorrow) and 6 different wraps. We have cotton, cotton lined with polyurethane, bamboo viscose, one-size, all-in-ones, pocket diapers and size diapers. Some are better suited for night, some are thick, some are slim...


It all started with 10 Kooshies that I got on ebay. They were okay but used and a little abused and we kept leeking. So I bought some boosters (extra absorbent cotton liners) from a lady in Austria who also sold me 2 other types of diapers (used). And as I still wasn't convinced that I had found the right diaper I contacted a company in Austria who sold me 4 other diapers and new wraps. Armed with those and a few from Diana we have begun the test phase. I actually have a chart upstairs beside the change table where I document what I felt about each diaper to help me make my decision.


But the fun doesn't stop there. Did I mention that I want both kids in cloth? Yup! Lucky Luke is switching too. I figure at the rate we're going with potty training that he'll be wearing diapers, at least at night, for quite some time so I can definately still save money with him too. His trainers (super padded underwear) should arrive next week and once Lea has put all of the diapers to the test and I know which one is best for nights it's his turn.


And what does Ralph think of all of this? Let's just say he just he's shaking his head.... And what do I say? Why didn't we do this all along? As the add from Kushies says "You don’t wear paper underwear. Why should your baby?"


Stay tuned for the final verdict!

Spring is in the air!

Spring is coming! At least that is what it looks like in my garden. Today I spotted the first snowdrop - a sign that spring can't be that far away. Here's hoping that it is not just a teaser and that warmer temperatures are on their way. We are all suffering from cabin fever and can hardly wait to get the bikes out of the garage and to get moving.

In my front garden the snow melted and there were pansies. I'm not quite sure if they are frozen remants from the fall or they bloomed under the snow. I do hope that the other plants faired well over the winter and that we'll soon be able to begin planting!

What a glorious day! Today was one of those perfect winter days where the sun is shining, the snow glistens and the moutains just call your name. Since one of the perks of Ralph's job as a spokesperson includes occassionally having really cool cars for the weeked and this was one of the thoses weekends, the combination of incredible weather and the urge for a test drive made today the optimum day for a trip.

So after breakfast we all piled into the BMW 5GT (http://www.bmw.ca/ca/en/newvehicles/5series/gran_turismo/2009/introduction.html) and headed towards Brauneck (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Brauneck-+und+Wallbergbahnen+GmbH,+Gilgenh%C3%B6fe+28,+83661+Lenggries,+Germany&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=35.957999,79.013672&ie=UTF8&hq=Brauneck-+und+Wallbergbahnen+GmbH,&hnear=Gilgenh%C3%B6fe+28,+Lenggries,+Germany&ll=47.677741,11.555064&spn=0.007469,0.01929&t=h&z=16&iwloc=A) .

When we got there we loaded the kids up on the toboggan and and headed off to the ski lift. The two of them looked so cute bundled up! From the lift we had about a 20 min. walk to the hut where we were having lunch. We grabbed a table outside. In the sunshine it was almost like summer! We had some yummy fare - pototo soup and wiener and strudel for dessert. Unhealthy but very typical hut food. Besides, rumour has it that at high altitudes only half of the calories count :)

After lunch Lucas hung out with the avalanche training course that was taking place behind us. He was keeping participants entertained while they were waiting their turn. Lea didn't want Lucas to get all of the attention so she entertained the ladies waiting to use the washroom when we went in to change her diaper. As is often the case, there wasn't a change table so we had to improvise; a wide bench in a hallway. The ladies got quite the chuckle as I tried to pin a squirming Lea down, try not to drop the contents of the diaper bag and her snow stuff on to the wet floor and get a cloth diaper and wrap on a moving object. In the end I did win and we did manage to get home without any leaks!

After 3 hours of glorious sun we packed the kids back up and headed towards the ski lift. We enjoyed the panoramic view and watching the paragliders. At the lift we took in the last rays of sun on our faces and took the gondel down.

It was an amazing day. And even though Lucas didn't really move all that much it must have been exhausting because he slept during the two hour drive home!

Princess Lea

Here she is! So proud that she can stand up. Stable? Not a bit! But she loves it. She pulls herself up wherever possible (here she had a little help). She even pulls herself in to and out of things like her basinette and laundry baskets. She sure is a curious one!


Today she was sporting her pretties winter dress (thanks Aunt Kathrin!). She must really like it, because at the end of the day it was still clean :-)

We are Eskimos!

Lucas is feeling MUCH better. Thank goodness. We had a slow start to the day, he was afraid to sit up but once he got a dose of painkiller and rested a little bit longer he was good to know.

After breakfast he agreed to go for a walk to get donuts (today is the last day where they are available, lent starts tomorrow). Lucas and Lea piled up on the sled we headed off. Luckily there is still quite a bit of snow and Lucas only has to get off to cross the street. On the way home he even got off, walked a bit and played in the snow banks. We also had a very valuable lesson in yellow snow today. Lucas threw snow in the air and a bit landed on Lea's face. She stuck out her tongue and sucked it up. Lucas looked at me funny and I said it was okay, it would turn to water in her mouth. So, Lucas turned around, grabbed some snow and put it in his mouth. It wasn't until it was in his mouth that I realized he had just grabbed it from the yellow mound behind him! I made him spit it out and since he's still well I assume it's not going to kill him. We did take the opportunity to discuss which colour snow can be eaten in the future.

Lucky Luke

Lucky Luke jumped on the couch
Lucky Luke flew off and said ouch
Mama and Papa and all the Doc's men
Couldn't glue Lucas together again 




Just when we thought the week couldn't get any more painful - it happened.
It was Saturday afternoon and Lucas and his Dad were watching Football. As Ralph was watching the TV and I was feeding Lea, Lucas decided that the best way to watch the game would be from a trampoline (i.e. the couch). Usually this isn't a problem; Lucas is a great and careful couch jumper. But he forgot the rule - only in the middle and without the cushions. Sure enough, before we could tell him to knock it off, right before my very eyes he jumped up, landed on a pillow and was projected backwards from the couch and landed head first on the floor. There is nothing more painful than watching your child hurt itself and not be able to do anything to stop it from happening. 


At first we thought he just had a bump on his head. So once he was calmed down I went and did the grocery shopping. But when I got back Ralph mentioned that he was not able to turn his head left of right and he complained when he was touched. Not good. So after a Smartie Joghurt the boys headed off to the emergency room. Many hours, one 120 page book and an x-ray later they returned. Lucas is now wearing a cool "back pack" which holds his colar bone stable and in approx. 3 weeks he will supposedly be back to normal.


Until then, any suggestions of how to keep him amused? Today he's vegging on the couch and we have resorted to a little TV but that's not a long term solution. I'm hoping that by mid-week he can move around a little without flintching with every movement. Here's hoping that the next 3 weeks aren't painful for all of us!