Under the sea!

We finally had our baby shower! It was so exciting getting to see everyone and showing off baby ;-) For the occasion, I made a 3 tiers cake "under the sea". Here is the results!

 

I am no cake artist... at the best, I have a few years of play d'oh-ing under my belt. And to make matter worst, I had a newborn to take care off and a very limited budget!

 

Since we had nicknamed the baby Tuna, the theme had to be under the sea! To decorate the cake, I made 3 amigurumi octopus, 1 sea turtle, 1 clown fish, 1 angel fish, a few corals and starfish. On top of the cake sat a huge Tuna that my sister made (because she helped me with the cake).

I made the layered cake on the Thursday. On the Friday morning, I covered them with fondant and started making the different creature. Once made, they were place to hide all the cracks and bumps in the fondant! (Hey I said, I am no cake artist). On Saturday morning, we took the cake over to my mom's house and assembled it.

The cake ended up being a bit crooked and way too big for the amount of people there, but it looked great!

Getting ready for the big day!

Our little Tuna is 1 month already! 

Time flies! I can't believe how much bigger she got in such a little time! She is finally out of preemie clothing and almost done with her newborn outfits! Depending on the brand, she is able to wear the 0-3 months! I know that 1 month is a short period of time, but in a way, it feels like she's been with us for ever. I can hardly remember what life was before her! And as a matter of fact, I don't care to remember it! I am perfectly happy with how life with my Tuna is!  Now this weekend, we are celebrating in style, her arrival in our life! We are having a combined baby shower/meet and greet! I didn't want a baby shower during my pregnancy out of fear of loosing her... Now she is one month and I could not think of a better time to celebrate this new life! I have been very busy baking her a 3 tiers ocean theme cake. I will post some pictures after the meet and greet!

Now like I promised in my last post, here is a quick review of the different brand of cloth diapers I use.

Bummies

I use the newborn prefolds (24 of them) and 4 covers. The reason I bought this (as a set) was because of the low cost. It was just under 80$. I was not so keen on using prefold and thought I would prefer AIO. I was to say, I was surprise at how easy to use prefolds were. Easy to clean, easy to store, and easy to carry around. I had leakage problem the first few days, and it did take a while before I could fold it properly in the cover but now after less than 2 weeks, I could do it with my eyes close! I do have to say thought that 4 cover is not enough and decided to buy 2 extra ones. Also for extra protection, I add one Kushies insert inside the prefolds.

Pros: Prefolds are really easy to wash.

         Good value for your money.

          Not too bulky under clothing.

Cons: My husband still thinks its too complicated to put on.

Rainforest babies

In all fairness, I have to say the ones I have are hands me down! So Tuna is the third baby wearing them! I had never heard of this brand and I am unsure as to how easily available they are. I have to say, they fit great on my skinny baby (size small) and they are really easy to assemble. 

A cute colorful insert snaps on both ends. Unfortunately, they leak... they leak.... they leak.... I still use them, but only if it is for a short period of time.

Pros: Durable.

         Easy to assemble.

         Washes really really well.

Cons: Leaks!

Bumgenius 4.0 snap OS

Even though Tuna has reached the minimum weight, they are still too big. I did however used them a few times and can't wait to fully rely on them. Why? Because I love how the insert soaks in all the moisture and leaves the outer layer almost fully dry! However I do have to mention that they are bulky on little ones, they are a pain to assemble and they stain really easily. (My husband loves them once assemble. He likes how easy they are to put on.)

Pros: Keeps baby dry.

       The fact that they are OS is great!

          Have yet to leak at all!!

Cons: They are expensive!!

          They stain easily.

          Takes a little longer to assemble!

           Very bulky on the little one.

I will review the Motherease and Kushies cloth diapers at a later time!

Cloth for me, cloth for you!

"My daughter is 3 weeks old, this week for the first time I used Pampers swaddlers sensitive. At first I was pleasantly surprised at the great fit the diapers provided on my daughter. I used 3 diapers over a period of 5 hours and a half, to discover in horror, my daughter's skin completely burned with blisters in area that had touched the diaper. I am completely outraged that such a trusted brand as pampers would have caused such damages on my daughter skin! I am now discouraged in using pampers diapers again for I have absolutely no trust anymore in your product. I am now left with 2 packs of pampers diapers which cannot be returned for they have been opened. I surely hope that P&G can stand behind their products quality. I would be more than glad to further this discussion. I also have pictures if needed. In the main while, I will make sure to inform my friends and family members about the event so that they can make an inform choice in protecting their child."

This is a copy of the e-mail I just sent to Pampers. My poor little girl is completely burned. It took less than 5 hours to do all the damage. It has now been 3 days and things are slowly getting better. We made the much awaited transition to cloth diapers. I say "awaited" because we had always plan to cloth diaper our kids. As a matter of fact my stash of Kushies and Bumgenius was one of the first thing we bought for the baby. Unfortunately Hudson was born much smaller than expected and instead of buying a newborn supply of cloth diapers we opted to use disposable. What a mistake!!! So on Saturday, we made our way to Serenity Birth Studio in Barrie and bought 24 prefolds of Bummies and 2 Motherease bamboo diapers. My only regret was to think my daughter was not worth spending this amount on newborn cloth diapers. After seeing the extend of her burn, I had no other choice and gladly invested in cloth!!!

Now off course this should not have come as a surprise! I had heard of incident with pampers diapers before, but I naively thought that by buying the "sensitive" ones, I would not face the problem. I was wrong!!!

Coincidentally, I myself do not use disposable pads anymore. I first heard of Lunapads through my sister (who had heard about it from our cousin). After years of unwanted rashes and infection, I made the switch to washable panty liners! Then this week I had just made the switch to washable pads as well! I have to admit it is less about being green then skin relief!!! That being said, I will try in the next few weeks, to do a review of each products (pads and diapers). But I should already mention that I am in LOVE with my Lunapads!!! and after 2 days, already have a favorite in Motherease!

   

     

A little by little

I never underestimated the life changing aspect of having a baby! So in a way I was prepared. Two weeks ago, Hudson was born! My life has been a Topsy Turvy of diapers, doctor's visit, sleepless nights and laundry washing... and I love it! 

What I was not ready for is how much love goes into all of these task! Even worst, how much it hurts to be sitting helplessly on the bedroom floor with a baby that for unknown reason won't stop crying. Last night for 4 hours, I tried to figure out what was wrong! It broke my heart to see her like that! I felt so useless as I was unable to figure out what she wanted!! I was not ready for that! In the end she fell asleep on daddy's laps... We will probably never know what it was... it will probably happen again... and once more I will be broken hearted. That is the real hard part.

So two weeks have gone by. Everyone is getting use to a new schedule. The first few days I was overwhelmed by breastfeeding. I took so much of my time. Hudson would nurse for 40 minutes every 2-3 hours... But after the first week I came up with an awesome plan!!! 40 mins x 8-9 times a day = a j-dorama a day! Time to catch up on the last 3 seasons! And I also decided to watch the Taiga dorama Yoshitsune (all 50 episodes)... I hope Hudson will forgive me to split my attention in half...

On Halloween, Hudson was 1 week old! Months ago, I had crocheted the Green Eito Ranger sweater for her as her first Halloween costume. But it was way too big. We still decided to take some pictures. Daddy carved a plastic pumpkin in honor of her first Halloween. He went to great length to carve a Tuna on one side and then a stylized version of her name on the other side. We used a plastic pumpkin so we could keep it for the years to come (kind of like those first Christmas ornaments).

 

In the past week, we decided to make imprints of her feet. The first attempt was a complete disaster! Plaster + Vaseline + 9 days old baby does not go well together. We had a good laugh still. 

Then yesterday we opted for the ink version. It was easy, not as messy as first thought and yield great results. We got the ink pad at Walmart for 4$ and the card stock at Dollarama. We made enough prints so that both aunts, and the 3 sets of grand parents could get a copy.      

Today Hudson is 2 weeks old. The weather outside is beautiful. 15 degree and sunny. The trees are still full of colors. This is not your typical grayish November! It truly feels like the calm after the storm. Hudson is finally sleeping, and soon I will go join her ;-)

    

Senbazuru for Hudson

1000 paper cranes in hope of a healthy baby.

Pregnancy is a wonderful thing! But not always. Pregnancy, even when dearly wanted, can be traumatic, stressful and emotionally and physically damaging. Looking back, the only way I can describe my experience is by qualifying it of hell. 9 months in hell. It's a harsh thing to say and I truly wished I had some good memories about it, but the fact is that there was nothing to enjoy. The process was painful and leaves me with a bitter taste. Off course, if I had to redo it, I would. The end result, no matter how painful the journey is, is worth it.

I started bleeding at 5 weeks. I was told it was a possible MC. I went back at 7 weeks for an ultrasound and there it was a tiny healthy heart beat! But I kept on bleeding. I was diagnose with a large SCH that did not resolve until 20 weeks. So I bled and bled. I had to return to the ER, 4 times. Each time thinking it was an MC once more. But the heart beat remained strong. By 26 weeks, the morning sickness finally went away. A light at the end of the tunnel. I thought I could finally enjoy myself, but no one had prepared me to other side effect of pregnancy. At 32 weeks I lost the feelings in my right fingers. My vision started getting blurry in my right eye. At 34 weeks, I would get shooting pain in my back and hips when ever I tried to lay down. At 38 weeks, the baby moved to a transverse position. At 39 weeks, I was told of the risk of a cord accident if my water was to break... baby still transverse, flat pelvis and no progress at all. So we opted for a c-section. Many people would tell me you could still have tried for a vaginal birth and they are probably right, but after loosing our first baby, after going back to the ER 4 times thinking we were going to loose this one, you don't risk a cord accident so close to the finish line. For the last week of my pregnancy, I would lay all night unable to sleep in fear that my water might break. So for my sanity and for the baby's sake I was not going to get my very much wanted vaginal birth.

The first 1000 paper cranes.

But let's go back in time! After my first miscarriage, unable to come to term with it, I frantically started folding paper cranes. Keeping my hands busy, kept my mind busy. Slowly I started to feel better. I started folding the birds in mid-October and was done shortly before Christmas. This was my own way of honoring our angel baby.

Ayumi's 1000 paper cranes for Hudson

In February, as I learned of my second pregnancy, I kept the details secret from everyone. But one day in early March as I was on Skype with my Japanese  friend, she bluntly asked me if I was pregnant yet. I was very surprise by such a direct question. I could not get myself to lie and said that yes indeed I was. But that I preferred to keep it a secret. She asked me how many weeks I was, I said 7 weeks. She then went on to tell me how she had 2 months ago, just finished folding 1000 paper cranes in hope that I would be pregnant again! She had folded her last paper crane exactly 1 week before my conception date!     

That same evening, I took my origami out and started folding another 1000 paper cranes in hope of a healthy baby. I was 7 weeks and on bedrest. The doctors were telling me to expect a MC. I kept on folding my little piece of paper. At around 30 weeks, my husband started helping me. At 36 weeks we were done. They are now hanging, with Ayumi's birds, in the nursery. 3000 paper cranes of hope. 3000 paper cranes for our child.

Hudson has now been with us for a week. On October 24th, my husband and I drove to the hospital, we checked in, filled papers after papers. I had some blood test done and then walked myself to the OR. I sat on the bed in the middle of the brightly light room filled with nurses and doctors getting ready to deliver a baby. I sat there dumbstruck, thinking, is this really how baby are delivered. The anesthesiologist arrived. We chatted for a while, casual small talk... I keep thinking, this is weird, am I really going to deliver a baby? It looked nothing like what you see in movies, on tvs... My Ob arrived, he made a few jokes. I laid on the bed, incapable of moving my lower limb. My husband was let in the room and stood by my side. We were both quiet. I don't know what he was thinking about. As for me, I could feel the tugging and the pulling. I was listening to the sound my body was making. I couldn't feel anything. Was I really delivering a baby. The OB said, wow, she really was in trouble. It's a good thing the c-section was pushed ahead, she might not have make it to Thursday... I was staring in my husband's eyes. Then we saw a baby. They were washing her, padding her. She was not crying but she was moving. For a second, I wasn't sure who's baby that was? Mine? She was about 2-3 meters from us, we could see her well. The doctors were talking but we weren't listening. I said "look she's got your nose?". My husband said "yes, she does". He said "I can't cut the cord." The Ob call him to come and cut the cord, and he did. He came to stand next to me. They brought the baby over. She was beautiful. We got to spend a few minutes with her. Then my husband left with the baby and they started to stitch me up. I was in recovery for just under 45 minutes and then they brought me to my room. My husband was there waiting for me with our baby. The c-section was, after all not a big deal. 8 hours after the surgery I was standing, and resumed walking the next morning. Yesterday they removed my stitches and there is no scar to be seen (understitch). As of last night, I also was able to stop the painkillers. It's funny how fast you can fall in love with someone. It's funny how fast you can forget the last 9 months in hell. Hudson made it all worth it.

As I type this, she is peacefully sleeping on my laps. I wish we could just sit like this forever. She keeps us up awake for most of the night, but I just love these moments we get to share together.

       

Crochet madness!!

Crochet madness! Yes! I say madness because just a few months ago I had never crocheted before!! As I found myself on bedrest a while ago, to challenge myself I decided to try something new! I watched many youtube tutorial, and started to crochet! Here are some of the finish product and a few useful links if you want to learn!

First off I strongly recommend Crochet Geek to learn! The youtube video are easy to follow and offer clear instruction.

For patterns, I strongly recommend signing on Ravelry. It's free and offers more patterns that you will ever need!

A little pair of overall. I couldn't find a pattern I liked so I had to improvised here. In the end, I am very happy of the results!

This little sweater is a mix between 3 different patterns. It was fairly easy to do and took about one afternoon. It turned out a bit big so it might not fit until baby is 1 year old.

This little outfit is a mix of two pattern. The pants and hat are from Mint Green Set. The sweater is from SandiAngels.















This is a basic double crochet blanket! Nothing fancy here.










This blanket took for ever and leaves so many holes, I am unsure if it will ever be useful ;-) It is from a learn to crochet little booklet.

These two hats are from the same pattern which can be found on Ravelry. I had to learn to do a double post crochet which can be complicated if you don't know what you are doing. But I am really happy of the results! Both these hats were given as gift.

 

This was one of my very first project!! Amigurumi are easy, fast and fun little things to do! There are hundred of patterns available on Ravelry from cats, to octobus... There are even some Starwars ones to be found.

October is pumpkin time!

34 weeks pregnant, defending my thesis on campus!

October is pumpkin time! Yes indeed! Halloween is fast approaching. The houses in my neighborhood are slowly putting up their spooky decorations. Outside the air is getting colder and the trees are shimmering in all the variation of red, orange and yellow. A month ago I defended my master thesis! 

It went great and I am now officially done. Out of school and no work, you might wonder what exactly I am doing? Well after miscarrying just over a year ago, I am now 39 weeks pregnant with a girl! This pregnancy was everything but pleasant. Complications after complications, morning sickness until 26 weeks... but now we are getting ready to welcome our baby girl before the end of this month!!

This will bring many new challenges, more occasions to cook, different ways to travel and hopefully many wonderful afternoon of crafting together. As a matter of fact, I should say, during this pregnancy (since I was on bedrest for about 9 weeks) I learned to crochet! I am now addicted to the web site Ravelry for all its wonderful patterns!

I still have to up-date my blog, fix a few of the broken pictures and finish transferring the Japan 2009 trip post from my old blog. I will try to get as much done as possible in the next few days! Until then, wish me luck, my life is about to change!!!

Forum des jeunes ambassadeurs de la Francophonie des Amériques - FJAFA

This is a very long overdue post! Just over a year ago, I was part of a life changing experience, as I made my way to Moncton New Brunswick as a Ambassadeur de la Francophonie. For 10 days we took part in conferences, debates, cultural activities and tours. Together, we explored the meaning of being francophone in the Americas, we forged new friendship and developed tight connection with french speakers from South America to Canada.

Ambassadeurs de l'Ontario

During our stay, we also got to participate in Le Grand Tintamarre de Caraquet! A unique experience where for an afternoon, people gather on the street, in colorful attires and makes noise. This once a year event has a profound signification for the Acadians.

From wikipedia : Tintamarre is an Acadian tradition of marching through one's community making noise with improvised instruments and other noisemakers, usually in celebration of National Acadian Day. The term originates from the Acadian French word meaning "clangour" or "din". The practice is intended to demonstrate the vitality and solidarity of Acadian society, and to remind others of the presence of Acadians. It originated in the mid-twentieth century, likely inspired by an ancient French folk custom    

It's been a while!!!

The last few months have been full of surprises. Some good, some bad and some just plain horrible. Let's go back in time will you. Back in March I started my first day of march break with the horrible news of the Earthquake-Tsunami in Japan. Took me a good 16 hours to reach my friends in the affected area. Everyone is safe, although some have lost their home. I was glued for the week, to my computer, watching the Live Fuji-terebi broadcast. During that week, my sister and I were quick coming up with a fundraiser idea! At her college in Sudbury, she sold origami paper cranes. She raised 500$ for the red cross. At my school, with the help of the grade 5 students, we made onigiri (4 different flavors) and sold them to the rest of the school. The student built a festival like food-stand, got dress in yukata and played japanese music to set the mood. Although no-one had ever heard of onigiri, the students (from kindergarden to grade 6) were pleasantly surprise!! The sake furikake flavor was a hit! In all, we raise 460$ for the red cross. But more importantly, the students had the opportunity to discover japanese culture! The double disaster also motivated the grade 2 class in finishing their 1000 paper cranes. In June, they will be mailing them to Hiroshima.

Although we are a small community in rural Ontario, I was so happy to see how willing to help people of the community were. At my husband's school, kids raised over 1000$ for the relief effort and again last week had a *wear red and white* day to remind people that Japan is still struggling.

In other news, at the end of the month of March I finished my contract. I was sad to leave the kids behind, but glad to have more free time to finishing writing my thesis which I am suppose to defend in August. I just need my intro and conclusion and then it's editing time. 160 pages in all. Wish me luck! And for those who wonder, the subject is (this is a rough English translation since my thesis is in french) cultural and aesthetic hybridity in Ook Chung's novels and short stories : the influence of Japanese and Korean culture.

Then came April. Oh boy! Did it rain. Outside and inside. I ran into some health issues... Then there was the emotional roller coaster of getting to my pregnancy due date (I miscarried back in October). We were on the road a lot, for basketball tournaments. (My husband is an assistant coach). My sister moved back in with us for a few weeks. Overall April felt like a stop and go type of month with endless car ride and lot's of waiting. Did I have the time to cook? Not one chance! We were barely ever home.

Now May and June should be fairly exciting! My sister is moving into her new apartment this weekend. Then in two weeks, my sister in law is coming from Vancouver to visit. And if everything goes according to plan, in June I will be welcoming my Japanese friend and her parents. They decided to take a holiday from all the after shocks. This is very exciting since my friend's mom is the best cook I have ever met! I am hoping to learn a few recipes from her!

As for me, I will take this month to finish writing my thesis, to finish transferring my old blog to this blog. And also finish posting about last year's trip to Japan. In the main while, check out this fabulous rice-cooker give away!!! For those who know me, I always brag about my Zojirushi rice-cooker!! Yes the one that cooked over 50 cups of rice for the onigiri fundraiser ;-) Here is your chance to win your own!!! Even better, this is the new model with the Umami setting! Check it out right here. The contest is open until May 12, 2011.               

Not so challenging bento challenge

216!

That is the official number of bentos we made for the Valentine's day school fundraiser.

In the end, we raised close to 500$.

As we were not expecting such high demand, we had to overcome some major thecnical difficulty such as, how to fit 216 bentos in a fridge, but in the end, with the help of family and friends, we made it!

The healthy lunch consisted in a turkey and cheese whole grain sandwich, a tomato and cheese kabob, veggys and dip, a tofu-brownie kabob and a fresh fruit. It also came with a juice box. Each box was individually labelled with the student's name.

For the bento, we used a 100% biogradable recycled paper box.