Here is Anderbaby’s very own site where you will be able to find news and pictures once he/she arrives!
The past several weeks have been a blur of sewing/cleaning/organizing/decorating projects in anticipation of the arrival of Anderbaby. (You can see some of these projects at Making Myself At Home.) Now, after a mad rush of activity sparked by the reality of baby’s impending arrival, we can actually say that we are READY.
Of course, “ready” only in the sense that all the important items are crossed off our “To-Do-Before-Baby-Arrives” list.
- The baby’s room/office is neat, clean and organized
- Our bags are packed
- The car is in good working condition (thanks to some recent repairs by my handy hubby!)
- The car is clean!! (a team E & B effort)
- The car seat is installed
- Hospital snack bag and diaper bag are ready and waiting in the car
- The windows are washed (thanks, Mom!)
- The house has gotten a thorough cleaning
- The fridge and freezer are comfortably stocked with easy meals
- The crib is painted (thanks, Mom & Anna!)
- Crib sheets are being made (a project delegated to my capable sister)
- Bumper pads are finished (thanks to Anna, again!)
Now the only thing left to do is wait for the baby! In the meantime, I’ll move on to my secondary priority project list. If he/she holds out for a couple more days, I may even be able to come up with a solution to the pirate ship curtains.
baking, part II, originally uploaded by mi.ventana.
Ever since the last time Paulina came over to bake cookies, she has been begging to do it again! Last Wednesday we made gingersnaps–a huge batch which was enough to send home to her family, give away to some of our neighbors, plus freeze to enjoy later!
Paulina is getting better at her fractions (great math practice when you’re tripling a recipe) although she still tends to throw out wild guesses before she stops to think it through and really figure it out!
gingersnaps!, originally uploaded by mi.ventana.
The yummy result.
grilling brats, originally uploaded by mi.ventana.
The other night, E felt like grilling, and I had a craving for bratwurst, so we combined the urges into a mutually satisfying experience. They were delicious!
Easter Egg Hunt, originally uploaded by mi.ventana.
E and I decided to organize an egg hunt on Easter Sunday afternoon for all the kids in our apartment complex. We wanted to use the event get to know some of our neighbors and let them get to know us, so we went around to all the apartments on Saturday afternoon to introduce ourselves and invite the kids to the Easter Egg Hunt.
The meet-and-invite we thought would take about an hour ended up taking almost four hours! It was fun to start meeting our neighbors and putting names with faces and apartment numbers.
We weren’t sure how many kids would show up on Sunday, but when 4:00 came around, parents started bringing out their children, many of them carrying Easter baskets in anticipation. Soon a little crowd of families had gathered. While Ethan, Bruno & Adriana finished hiding the eggs in the grassy space behind the apartments, I kept the growing crowd of excited kids corralled and tried my best to keep them from peeking at where the eggs were being hidden. When all the eggs were in place, Ethan gave the word and the kids took off running and squealing with their parents following with cameras.
It only took about five minutes for all the eggs to be stuffed into the kids’ bags and baskets! After we piled their baskets with extra candy (more for the shy ones who didn’t find as many eggs), the kids said thank you and dispersed. There were lots of smiles all around on parents’ and kids’ faces, as well as our own! It felt great to get so many of the neighbors together for a fun community activity, and we hope to do it again soon!
chef E, originally uploaded by mi.ventana.
Last night, E offered to cook me dinner. Not just any ordinary dinner, but just the thing I happened to be craving: fish tacos!
While I relaxed with my current sewing project, he chopped, seasoned and fried up the most delicious meal I’ve had in a long time!
Yeah, I’m pretty lucky–and I know it!
fish tacos!, originally uploaded by mi.ventana.
Here is the beautiful (and delicious) result of E’s chefery. If that isn’t a word, it should be!
fridge letters, originally uploaded by mi.ventana.
I feel very “showered” with love, attention and gifts after a really nice baby shower yesterday!
E even got into the baby “swag” (as he calls it) and looked through all the gifts with me when I came home last night. He was especially thrilled with these fridge letters, and put them up on our fridge right away. “Every fridge needs to have these magnets,” he said.
This morning, I put up our new pack & play to see what it looks like. As I was knocking it back down to put it away in its compact little box, E looked over. “Wow! It’s like a transformer!”
Baking Cookies, originally uploaded by mi.ventana.
Last week, while my sister-in-law and I were baking oatmeal cookies, I heard Maria Paulina (the girl who lives next door) outside playing so I invited her to come in and get some cookies to share with her family. When she saw the cookies cooling on the table, she exclaimed, “You know how to make cookies? Wow!”
Later that day as I was leaving the apartment, she poked her head out the door and said, “You make really good cookies!” I told her some day I could show her how if she wanted to learn.
A couple days later, E was outside and I heard her ask him something. “You can ask her yourself, she’s inside,” he told her. She came in and shyly asked if it would be okay if she came over on Friday after school to bake cookies. “Sure!” I told her, amused that she was so excited about the project.
On Wednesday, I told her I would have to change our plans because something had come up on Friday. “Tomorrow, then?” she asked hopefully. “Okay, tomorrow,” I told her, smiling.
So today after school she rang the doorbell and we got started with the cookie-baking lesson.
It was a fun experience baking cookies with someone who had never done it before! I showed her how to measure the ingredients, cream the butter and sugar together, mix the dry ingredients, form the cookie dough on the baking sheets. Everything was new to her! She left with a plate heaped high with warm chocolate chip cookies, and a big smile on her face.
I hope it’s not the last afternoon Paulina and I spend together baking cookies!
