Sunday afternoon

I often admire those bloggers who can take photos, edit them and write a post all on the same day, often before noon. Or even better, before I even drag myself out of the bed and get to the computer in the morning. I've done that a few times myself (not in the morning though, unless it was 4 a.m. and I was just going to bed), often at the expense of ignoring sword fights and numerous mini-Armageddons happening while I was hard at work trying to finish just one paragraph, getting interrupted more times than the amount of comas and periods combined in my measly 'quick' post. So keeping that in mind, writing about our Sunday afternoon is perfectly normal for a Wednesday post in my book.

Windy weather and sickness aside (Maya's finally over her 10-day long ear infection - yay! but may be coming down with chickenpox - boo), March always makes me all giddy inside. Unlike my fellow U.S. citizens, who follow the 'slow' solar calendar when it comes to season changes, my spring comes on March 1st, just as it did my whole life. Whether it's still snowing or raining outside, I can smell spring in the air. And it fills me with joy. Going from cold dreary winter into awakening spring gets me in the mood for doing crazy things like cleaning out our mini-van that hadn't been cleaned in months. And I pretty much feel like bursting into a loud sound while walking down the street or stepping out into the backyard. I probably shouldn't do it though, our neighbour's dog likes to howl when he hears sirens outside.

But what about our Sunday afternoon? Well, not much really, just a lovely spring-y afternoon, warm sunshine outside, baby girl sleeping under a recently unpacked baby blanket made by a dear 100-year old friend who passed away a couple of years ago. Then some quiet nursing and snuggling time after Ivy's restful nap... Except that this time, the beauty of these simple moments was almost overwhelming. So I asked Mark to grab the camera and snap a few shots, while those moments lasted. Because those moments are the ones we want to remember years from now, even if our typical Sundays are filed with every day chaos...

today...

Cooking (or rather, fermenting). 48-hour old batch of kimchi and pickled vegetables is starting to get nice 'kick' to it. I should probably stop checking on it every hour, but I can't help it. Haven't had kimchi in a while...




Friends. Katrina came over with her little ones, and I managed to sneak in a real grown-up lunch for both of us. Before kids' lunch. And BEFORE 5 p.m. Triple score!




Knitting. Almost done with a couple of projects that were put on hold due to the sickness in our house. Now that everyone is feeling better (except for Maya, who is still dealing with an ear infection), I can finish some things and make good progress on others. Also, found this gem at Costco, full of ideas for using quinoa, loads of gluten-free recipes too. Sweet!

a girl and her pickles

Coming to live in the U.S. almost 9 years ago, I never thought it would be so hard to find good-tasting, non-squishy pickles. After trying out dozens of different varieties, and rejecting most of them (really, why can't we have Vlasic Kosher Baby Dills without 'yellow 5' added to it?), I decided that I could only bring myself to eat pickles from one certain brand. Even then, they are a distant second to the kind of home made pickles my mom used to make. Maya always loved pickles, and turns out Anya loves them too. But I didn't know that until we recently found new kind of baby pickles. They are tiny. I almost feel bad about eating these 'babies'. But Anya is in pickle heaven. One of these days I'll have to master my mom's pickle recipe (but for now I'll practice on making kimchi).

all done!

It's been a while since posting knitting updates in time for Ginny's yarn along. But my Shalom cardigan is DONE. As in, it's even blocked. I love it. Could've used an extra 10 stitches for the cast on, but I think it looks perfect with one button done, which is how I'll be wearing it. And I'm still counting on losing a few pounds sometime this year, mostly from my face (ha ha). So it's all good :)

Another week.

It's been a busy week. Wish I could say we've been up to all kinds of fun. But in reality, our busy-ness can mostly be blamed on sickness in our family. Ivy got sick first, then Anya followed her germ trail. Maya and Elijah picked up the crumbs just a few days ago. Unfortunately, those two don't slow down when they are sick (unlike Ivy, who for a couple of days just wanted to sleep and snuggle). If the peak of their sickness can be pinpointed by the amount of lacking judgment and rationality, then I'd say those two reached it on Monday. Good thing there was no cliff within walking distance to jump off. Luckily, Mark answered my distress call and came home early. So here I am, diligently documenting our happenings instead of catching up on sleep...

To sum it up in photos, our weeks consisted of:

the sick (and very cuddly) baby. I could use some of that cuddliness on regular days, without Ivy getting sick. Hear that, baby?


the yummy (gluten-free) food. still loving "Gluten-Free Baking Classics" by Annalise G. Roberts.





(just a quick mix of leftover polenta with sundried tomatoes and garlic, pan fired, served over spinach, with some feta cheese on top)

the latest favorite 'toy' (which they consider to be anything within their reach)








the artists. Anya's been perfecting her coloring skills by drawing sophisticated shapes and filling them in carefully.
















the bottomless pit of knitting projects. Including first practice pair of socks and now completed Shalom cardigan.






the I-slept-with-humidifier-in-my-room hair


the meaning of motherhood.
{picture a pile of my clothes used for wiping noses. against my will, I must add}

A date with his mama

Elijah's turn for an 'outing' with me finally came. He had his mind set on going to the Temple Square for weeks and he got his wish. First we stopped at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Going all the way up to the 10th floor gave us a fantastic overlook of the Temple Square, not to mention a nice ride in the elevator, which is surprisingly important when you try to impress your almost-5-year-old date.

Then we headed back downstairs, checking out the lobby and stopping for a snack.

I'm sure he didn't realize it, but I didn't just sit across the table watching him munch on potato chips. I was soaking in those perfect moments of being one-on-one with my son.

Eating our snacks and talking to each other was so much fun, that we didn't have much time to to spend at the Visitors' centers. Still, a few things stood out to Elijah - being able to take a peek at what the inside of the Temple looks like, and going up and down the ramp to see the 11-foot tall Christus statue.

And this was it. Our perfect date went by fast, leaving us with many wonderful memories and a stronger connection to each other. I may not see this side of Elijah every day, but seeing him in this light just once in a while is so refreshing and in some ways even healing.