Well, after several nights of decorating with Sage, we finally got the tree finished. We think it looks stunning! And we've been enjoying it every night. I like to sit by the tree and rock Kale as he nurses. And Sage enjoys building train tracks around the base of the tree. We don't have any wrapped presents out yet. Way too tempting for our present-obsessed toddler.
Monday, December 8th, was my official LAST DAY before my return to work. And I made sure it was a good one. It needed to be as productive as possible. Because in my mind.... this was it! Real life was resuming the next day. I started with a big Christmas to-do. I needed to make two stockings to complete the family stocking set. So I busted out the sewing machine, which I hadn't seen in over a year. I was nervous I had lost my sewing skills. But, threading a needle is like riding a bike. It's just a skill you'll never forget.
And here they are!
We now have a complete set. One for each of us. Matt asked if we should go ahead and make a 5th. I chuckled. And told him we would cross that bridge when we got to it. (But yes, I totally hope to one day have 5 stockings hanging by the tree. Wink wink!)
The stockings match a Christmas tree skirt that we made back in 2009. This could potentially be the longest sewing project in the history of the world! The skirt was completed in 2009. The first two stockings made in 2013. And the last two stockings in 2014. And like I alluded above, we might not be done! Thank goodness I bought a large quantity of that fabric!
Matt was home for paternity leave all of this week. So we were both home on Monday. The weather was warm. And we decided to head up to the complex for lunch and to run a couple errands.
Kale's on the boob in the picture below.
He needed an emergency nursing session. And we just happened to stop in front of a frozen yogurt shop. Smart boy. So Matt ran inside to get us some.
Then on Monday night, I did some cooking. I tried a new recipe. A vegetable korma, seasoned primarily with curry powder. It was good. But needs some tweaking. I give it maybe four stars. It was a bit more mild than I would have liked. But you know who really loved it?!?! Sage did! I will be adding this into our recipe rotation.
The first morning of work.
This was the sunrise that greeted me that morning.
And this is my daily 8-5 life now....
Files, printers, and a pump proudly sitting on my bookshelf.
I'm not embarrassed. My students can stare at that all day long if they like.
Welcome to reality, kids!
Despite all my fears and concerns, my first week back at work wasn't that bad! There were certainly some obstacles (of which I will discuss below), but overall I had a good week at work. The first day was strange. I forgot how to log in to my computer. I forgot how to prep student files. I felt like a total idiot. And I had over 900 emails to sort through. I just didn't even know where to begin. But by day 2, it was if I had never left the place. And I felt like I belonged again. I'm enjoying working. Three days at home. Four days at the office. I get the best of both worlds.
But there is one tiny little obstacle. Kale won't take a bottle! He refuses all synthetic nipples. No pacifiers. No bottles. He took a bottle a couple times back when I was on maternity leave. But his daddy has tried to give him one every day for a week straight, and nothing. He will not drink the milk. He waits patiently (and sometimes not-so-patiently) for me to come home so he can have it "straight from the tap." So I pump at work twice a day (9:30am and 3:00pm) and then just freeze it all. Pictured below is just 3 days worth of milk! I question how long I'm going to do this for...before I just stop. We are going to need a 2nd deep freezer at this rate! And I haven't the slightest clue what I'm going to do with all this milk anyway.
Matt has been so good about taking pictures of Kale during his paternity leave. I get photo updates on my phone all day long. Nothing like a little Kale to brighten up the day. Below are some of Matt's photos.
(Don't be fooled. He did not actually drink that milk. He just fiddled with the nipple.)
We did a double-bath night in the middle of the week. I look forward to when the boys can be in the same tub.
Kale is white white white. He's paler than his brother. He used to have dark skin. Must have just been that jaundice working its way out.
On Thursday, Matt had both the boys all by himself. I wished him good luck. And he managed to survive! He said he thinks he could do it full time. I beg to differ.
Look at Kale squeal with excitement in the photo above. He loves his brother Sage!
Time to check the mail....
Sage wore his monkey like a scarf. Put it on to go outside. Took it off upon his return.
On Friday, Matt and Kale met me at my favorite restaurant 415 for lunch. Matt like's to take action photos of me. I almost always have food in my mouth.
Then apparently, the boy's stopped by the plant nursery.
Friday at last...
Sage gets a bit jealous when he sees me holding Kale. He climbs up into my lap too. It's fun to hold them both. But it doesn't leave any room for a glass of wine. :(
And now I must share with you a cooking disaster. I've had a good run lately. I've stumbled across some very successful recipes. So I knew a disaster was looming in the near future. And it came Friday night. My plan was to make falafel and tabouleh - both from boxes. The first batch of falfael was disgusting. An oily pan of mush. As is pictured below.
So I added more water to the remaining mix. Rolled new balls, and fried them up. And then accidentally burnt them all.
And to top it all off...I found mold on the store-bought naan. $4 naan...with a tiny pea-sized spot of mold on it. It was only one day past the expiration date. One day! And this really pissed me off. I was about to throw away the whole dinner. But then my ego (and my increasingly small wallet) got the best of me. And I made my family eat the burnt falafel on the moldy naan. (After I tore the moldy section off, of course.)
A dinner disaster. But we did all walk away full.
P.S. No one got sick. Bread mold is rather harmless....
Look at that face. When Sage is in a good mood, he is the BEST. He is so fun, and playful, and imaginative. I cannot believe how fast my baby grew into a creative toddler.
Now... when he is in a bad mood. That's a different story.
We have been playing with blocks a lot lately. This set was made for me by my grandpa in 1986. So cool to see my own children using them.
This past weekend, we cleaned out some areas of the house in preparation for a Good Will donation. Matt came across my high school letter jacket. And of course had to poke fun at it.
Only the cool kids earn a varsity letter in speech!
Matt also had a baking miracle this week. He made lemon glazed sugar cookies. And I actually told him these are my new "all-time favorite cookie." He makes the glaze using powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest. They are the size of a skinny silver dollar. And I can't stop popping them into my mouth.
One by one.
It's dangerous!
And I realize now that I haven't included the links to my CSU blog in a long long time. So you might need to set aside a full day to get caught up!
