Hailey sprayed by skunk at 9:30pm

I had Hailey out for a late-night walk with Darwyn in the sling.  On the way home she took a skunk full bore.  She never got within two metres of me after the spraying, yet both Darwyn and I stink to high hell.  Stink by proximity, I guess.

Skunk stink is very different when its concentrated on an animal that's standing right next to you as compared to that diffuse smell we all recognize when a skunk sprayed something a mile away.  Smells like burning rubber.

Vibhu unwittingly let Hailey into the house when he arrived home at 10pm.  He was greeted by Greta and myself screaming "GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!"  I'm sure he'll get over it.  It's not you, it's me.  Luckily, Hailey didn't get far before she was shooed back outside.

Vibhu had no idea she had been sprayed.  He didn't even notice a foul smell!  He even pet the bloody stink-ridden dog with his bare hand!!!

Consensus on the internet is that a hydrogen peroxide / baking soda / dish soap solution is the best remedy.  I drove to the nearest 24-hour pharmacy and picked up two litres of hydrogen peroxide.  We forced Vibhu to wash his hand in the solution.  He complained of an intense burning sensation.  Wuss.

Apparently, it's important to treat skunk stench as soon as possible.  We soaked Hailey in the solution at 11pm, in the dark, in our backyard.  She is not pleased with us.  She will be spending the night outside.

Greta bathed Darwyn, for all the good it'll do seeing as how skunk oil is not soluble in water, even with soap.  I washed my hair in the hydrogen peroxide solution before bathing.  All our clothes, Vibhu's clothes, and the ergo-sling went into the washing machine with a healthy dose of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda.

We did not need this right now.  Life is hectic enough already.  Greta, who is definitely NOT a night person, was a great sport about staying up late to help.  On the bright side, at least we don't lead Heidi's life.

Hey you! Enough with the mashed vegetables...I want that sandwich!

We started Darwyn on solid foods (which is to say, we fed her pureed food that was not at all solid) at four months.  She was initially very excited, and approached the new foods with very amusing facial expressions and enthusiasm.  She has now decided that she is somewhat of a food connoisseur, which is a nice way of saying she is picky.

If I am sitting and eating my meal, she will reach for it eagerly, watch my every bite and smack her lips.  I usually jump up at this point, and whip up a nice bowl of pureed cauliflower.    I strap her into her chair and offer her a bite.  She regards the food with distaste and pursed lips.  I make a silly face, bobble my head back and forth and do a little jig.  Eventually she smiles or laughs at my antics and I ram the cauliflower into her mouth before she can close it again.  My daughter has a very sunny temperament and does not cry at my abuse.  Instead she gives me a toothless grin and then blows a raspberry, spraying pureed cauliflower all over my face and shirt.  She laughs gleefully reaches out and topples the bowl on the floor.  Then she looks back at my sandwich and smacks her lips.

Not to make the situation sound too grim.  Darwyn will eat a few select pureed foods, IF she is in the right mood and IF you make a complete idiot of yourself by making all manner of obnoxious noises and faces.  And if the puree is pear, apple or squash.

She is equally picky about breastfeeding.  She eats only if she is (a) on the verge of starvation AND (b) nothing else interesting is happening AND (c) the breast milk is flowing at exactly the right pace.  Otherwise, she arches her back, screams and bites and claws at my nipples.  I stare at this whole scene thinking about the wonderful bond that breastfeeding creates between mother and child.  I think I may wean her soon.

Darwyn's first experience with solids.


The video below is not very good, but it was her first try of pablem!

It seems that the end to the food related frustration is in sight, however.  We recently started giving Darwyn a few genuine solid foods that she can eat herself, including stringy rice noodles.  She largely failed to eat any of these, but found them very entertaining.  We also received a funky new device from Gus's mom that allows us to put chunks of food in a little mesh bag.  Darwyn can suck on the food without risk of choking.  We have stuffed hunks of orange and banana, as well as frozen pear puree ice cubes. inside this baggy.  Darwyn loves it.  She will eat things she wouldn't touch as a puree if you put it in the baggy.  Perhaps I will see if I can somehow incorporate the baggy into our breast feeding routine too.   I might be more successful at enjoying the bond that develops between child and baggy.

Oh well.  As Eyore is fond of saying, we can't all and some of us don't.

There's another Darwyn out there somewhere

Our neighbour remarked yesterday that she knows another female Darwyn.  (Same spelling and all!)  Apparently, the name is Gaelic.  The woman bearing the name is currently in her fifties.  She's a daughter of a friend of our neightbour.  That's all we know about her.

This is the first we've ever heard of another female named Darwyn.  The baby name wizard has no entry for the name.

Dawryn moves into Max's room

Last night we slept Darwyn in Max's bedroom for the first time.  I can't believe how well it worked.

Max awoke at 10:30pm with a nightmare, screaming for mommy and daddy at the top of his lungs.  I went in, comforted him, and tucked him back into bed.  Darwyn slept like a log through the whole episode.

Darwyn awoke at 3am for her usual feeding.  Greta went to get her and Max never stirred.

Given the propensity our children have for waking at the slightest noise outside their rooms, (e.g. dog shaking, toilet flushing, door closing, etc.) I'm rather shocked to see that each of them sleeps so soundly while the other screams in the adjacent bed.

Here's hoping every other night goes as smoothly as last night.

Semi-monthly photo update: July-August 2012

Lots of fun these past two months.  There are a bunch of photos below.

The new au pairs are working out nicely.  Since early July we've had three days each week of child care. Despite the extra time we still feel run off our feet.  I've been spending most of my child care time working even though I'm on parental leave.  I've also taken some time to catch up on my armchair punditry blogging.  Greta has been doing everything else required to keep the house together (including cooking for two additional adults), plus a huge amount of canning and freezing (strawberry jam, concord grape jam, concord grape juice, peach chutney, crab apple sauce, etc.).

We've also been agonizing over what to do with our lives and where to live while we're doing it.  Greta has been drawing 3D models of our house in Google Sketchup so we can better visualize our dream house or potential renovations to our current house.  We've also been looking at real estate in the middle of nowhere.

Max and Darwyn are proceeding apace.  Darwyn has entered super-cute phase.  She still cannot sit up by herself.  She loves to watch Max and play with plants.  A regular nap schedule is slowly emerging.  On good days she'll take two or three long naps, which makes life much easier for everyone.  Max is in the process of dropping his afternoon nap, which makes for some trying times.  His potty training has improved dramatically but he still has the occasional accident.

Our new au pairs acting naturally for the camera up at the river.

Max and Ella on our backyard swing (before it broke).  Some cute photos to follow below.

Ella dumps sand onto Max's head.  Both kids thought this was hilarious.  We heard about it for days.

Ella's brother Daxton is 10 weeks older than Darwyn.  I like this shot of him.

Our drowned rat of a dog up at the river.  I like this shot.

Max got to ride a pony at the farm where we play soccer up near the river.  That was cool.

Greta carried all this food and Max on her bike...with some help from the chariot of course.

Max's first tinkertoy construction.

Max was a little uneasy about the water...

...as you can see.

Amolia holds Darwyn.  Amolia and her sister Marie-Sol are Max's friends up at the river.

Marie-Sol holds Max while Amolia holds Drawyn.  They love our kids and we love it when they love our kids.

Max hijacks a grass-cutter from the University of Waterloo

On this morning's dog walk Max spotted a UW groundskeeper mowing the lawn with a gigantic grass-cutter.  He stopped for a lunch break so Max and I moseyed over for a peek.  The guy offered to let Max "drive" the grass-cutter while he ate his lunch.  After some deliberation, Max accepted.  We didn't have our camera.  But the groundskeeper had his Blackberry.  He was kind enough to snap a few photos and then e-mail them to me.  The least I can do is post them for the world to see.

Ottawa and back again

The James-Gutoski family recently managed a trip to Ottawa to visit Grandma Sandi and Grandpa James.  We were a little nervous about our first long drive with Darwyn, but everything went incredibly smoothly.  I'm sure this was due to our new Au pairs, Kathrin and Dennis, who manned the children through most of the drive.

Our new Au pairs Kathrin and Dennis, enjoying Grandma's pond.

Darwin blows bubbles, a favorite pass time.

Good times were had by all.  Kathrin and Dennis got a chance to visit Canada's capital.  Grandma and Grandpa were very welcoming, with lots of good food and a yard which Dennis though suitable for castle grounds.  Max was very excited about the waterfall, the sandbox with the large dump truck and the hot tub.  We also took outings to the library, children's museum and the beach.  At all 3 locations, Max spent most of the time trying to find trucks.  More surprising is that he managed to find them all 3 times!  Unfortunately, many of the trucks at the children's museum were behind glass which caused Max all sorts of concern.

Max: Should we play with these trucks?

Greta: We can't play with them honey.  They are just for looking at.

Max: We could open this cupboard (referring to the glass cabinet they were displayed in).

Greta:  The cupboard is locked Max.

Max:  We could get a drill and undo these screws.

Greta:  I think we would get in trouble.

Max: We could get a hammer.

Greta: I think that would also get us in trouble.

I guess Max just couldn't figure out what good trucks were if you kept them locked behind glass.  A sentiment I share wholeheartedly.

Max and Dad at Carelton Place beach.  Max is trying out a
life jacket for the first time this year and loving it!

Kathrin tosses Max in the hot tub