Sunday, April 28, 2013

Festival of Legends

Photo Apr 28, 12 26 16 PM

Today we went to Chapel Hill together, just me and Luca, for the 2nd annual Festival of Legends.
It was so much fun, and nearly every person was in costume. Steampunk, pirates, faeries, renaissance, medieval, sci-fi/fantasy, full body leather armor... you name it, there was a group of folks in costume for it. And the goods!! The art, the costumes... a lot of it surprisingly affordable. I got a cloak with a hood for $60 , a mini cape (more awesome than a cardigan for evening wear, and only $15), a waist-cincher for only $10, and a wooden sword and shield for Luca (for only $15)...


 I have a rule about non-essential purchases. Put it on a list for at least a month, and if you still want it, start searching for the best deal. The items I bought today were all on my list for several months if not years.

Photo Apr 28, 7 05 41 PM

Photo Apr 28, 6 56 34 PM
3/4 length cape with hood (it's navy with green accents)

Photo Apr 28, 6 54 58 PM
waist corset and mini cape (black with red accents)

 I only had one impulse buy... a leather necklace from Ribbons and Rivets. One of the artists was an old co-worker of mine, from back when I was a sophomore  in college. I was just so impressed and inspired by the fact that she was making a living doing what she loved, and doing it so well... I had to buy something to show my support. And now I have a beautiful necklace!


Photo Apr 28, 7 07 05 PM

Here are some pics from the festival:


Photo Apr 28, 2 51 04 PM
This man gave Luca a "gold" coin!
Photo Apr 28, 2 40 16 PM
Belly dancing with fire.

Photo Apr 28, 11 52 26 AM
Eating a sandwich in the mini cape.

Photo Apr 28, 2 25 15 PM
Vaudeville performers.

Photo Apr 28, 1 25 14 PM
King Arthur and the Black Knight... the jousting wasn't faked or anything!

Photo Apr 28, 1 12 38 PM
The singing Sphinx.

Photo Apr 28, 1 12 15 PM
Elf?

Photo Apr 28, 1 12 04 PM
Teaching kids how to sword fight.

Photo Apr 28, 1 11 42 PM
Is that a walking mushroom?

Photo Apr 28, 1 11 36 PM
It's Luca!

Photo Apr 28, 1 07 30 PM
Of course, the one shot with me in it, and my baby's head is covering up my elaborate eye makeup.

Photo Apr 28, 1 03 37 PM
Luca and one of the Nickel Shakespeare Girls taking refuge from the rain.

Friday, April 19, 2013

eat, sleep, breathe, repeat



Apparently, Luca can count. One day he just started counting out loud and didn't stop until he got to 8. Our jaw just dropped to the floor.

He likes to say "nnnnnnnnnoooooooo" while raising his eyebrows and looking at you like "yeah right".

He also says "Nice." Like "Hey Luca I made you a sandwich" "OH! Nice."

Photo Mar 29, 12 15 38 PM

Photo Apr 02, 2 31 22 PM

He is very sweet and loves to give people hugs and kisses. He and his friend Leo actually played TOGETHER for the first time, chasing each other around and saying baby words to each other.

We went to the playground this morning, and he sat on my lap the whole time! This is not uncommon for him (though he is much more adventurous with daddy around). It's fine with me, since I'd rather be resting then chasing him all over the place. I hung out with some really great mamas.

I have been sleeping in my own room on the nights when I work evenings. Go figure, Luca actually sleeps better without me around. He is also sort of night weaned. As he nurses to sleep at night, I tell him "Remember, you get nursies in the morning when the sun comes up. Night time is for sleeping. If you wake up, we do cuddles and go night night. Then you get nursies when the sun comes up." And I stick to that. I say "night night, cuddle with mommy" when he wakes up, and I ignore him otherwise. He usually falls asleep on my arm or chest, and then I just remove him so I can sleep more comfortably.

Photo Apr 18, 7 00 04 PM

Photo Apr 19, 7 32 39 AM

We bought a futon!! This couch has such great vibes... we bought it from an artist, who bought it from a couple who traveled with it around the world. We only paid $75 for it, and the mattress is super fluffy and the frame is real sturdy and all wood. The pin that keeps the frame in the groove is coming out on one side, but some wood glue will fix that.

We did our taxes and were shocked to find out we will be getting back $5,000. This puts our tax rate at -23% (yes, negative). This is going to be a big help... we can now afford to buy our own used car. The car is the last big thing we depend on my parents for. If we sell Ash's guitar, we might also be able to afford solar panels for the house! It isn't so bad being poor if you're married and you have a kid. But it took this tax break, the food stamps, and my parents' help to make it through life bellow the poverty line. We were down to our last $20 at one point this year.

Ash and I got a lawyer to write our wills this week. We wanted the peace of mind that Luca would be raised by who we want him to be raised by, should we "perish in a common disaster" (as the will says). We also got livings wills saying we don't want our life prolonged if we have a terminal illness or are in a vegetative state. I also put on there that I want my organs all donated.

We have been reading a lot of Osho lately. This is causing some major shifts in our personal philosophies and it feels so good, but also a little scary... it feels good to grow, it only hurts when you resist. Fear hurts more than anything. As Osho says, a tree does not hurt as it grows... only humans have figured out how to be neurotic enough to make it painful!


Wednesday, April 3, 2013

First night away from baby

Thought I would outline a typical day for us:

7:30am Luca wakes
7:45am Luca is done running around the bed and letting us sleep in.
8:00am One of us makes breakfast while the other one puts together appetizers for Luca, or plays with him, or just holds him if he is teething.
 8:15am Everyone eats slowly because Luca wants to switch back and forth between our laps and his own chair, or he is spilling stuff, or he is asking lots of questions about what we're doing.
 9:00am I watch the baby outside while Ash works on a farm project (unless I go to work in the morning, then Ash takes him out to play after I leave).
 11:00am Cook and eat second breakfast, and/or Luca meltdown. He will either fall asleep now or power through.
 12:00pm Clean up the kitchen. Luca free play inside while we clean, unless he is too grumpy, then we turn on Mr. Rogers or Curious George. I will sometimes do internet stuff at this point while Ash cleans.
 1:00pm Ash puts Luca down for his nap. I either go somewhere else to take a nap if Luca didn't sleep well last night, or I do my own farm projects. My mom leaves to go to work.
 3:00pm Luca wakes up and I go to work, or Ash goes to pick up Quinten from school.
3:30pm Snack. This is when Luca eats the majority of his food for the day.
 4:00pm Ash does his internet time before he goes to work, if I'm not at work. Otherwise he watches Luca while he plays, sometimes getting more work done in the garden or working on writing his songs, depending on how independent Luca is feeling. This is when I get home from work if I work in the morning.
 6:00pm Dinner, eating and clean up.
7:30pm Papaw comes home and Luca plays with him before bed.
8:00pm Bedtime.

10pm I get home from work around this time, Luca wakes to nurse.
12am or Ash gets home from work at this time, Luca wakes to nurse.
2am Luca wakes and asks to nurse, cries when I say no (sometimes for an hour).
6am Luca wakes and asks to nurse, cries when I say no.
 7:30am wakes up for a new day!

 So you can see, if one of us is at work during the day, or if Luca doesn't get a nap, or if we have any errands that take place outside of the house... nothing gets done. And by "nothing" I mean things on our to-do list (plant the potatoes, plaster exterior, stack urbanite, dig beds, etc). A lot of jobs on a farm or that take place outdoors are time sensitive, depend on good weather, or can only happen if we are physically well (I'm not building shelves after getting off work, for example). Put that together with the unpredictability of a child (maybe he only naps an hour today, maybe he has a fever and needs more attention), and you have projects that only take an hour or two taking 1-2 weeks to complete.

 So we came up with a plan- we would make Monday Ash's day to get stuff done, and Tuesday my day to get stuff done. Monday night would be Luca's first night away from mommy, and a chance for mom to get some much-needed sleep. Night weaning was going so slowly (we have been doing this since he turned 15 months, so 4 months) and we thought if it wasn't too much of an emotional strain for him, it would hurry along night weaning as well. Ash had his time and did a bunch of music stuff on Monday night.

 Unfortunately, I didn't sleep at all Monday night, what was supposed to be my first glorious night away from the baby, because I had food poisoning. I slept from 3am-5am only. So Ash continued to do his projects on Tuesday, while I laid in bed with the baby watching movies. So I didn't get to do any of my projects at all. And last night was only a little better... I slept from 9pm to 1am and was up sick the rest of the night. It was very nice to have my own bed to be sick in, though. I didn't have to worry about waking them up and I had plenty of room.

 Luckily Luca did very well without me. He woke twice but didn't cry at all, and daddy just had to pick him up once to get him back to sleep. This is a big load off my shoulders and I can't wait until I get better, so I can maybe sleep through the night for the first time in 2 years!!