The rains have come

The sun has officially been banished behind the Wet Coast clouds, hopefully to peek out on more than one occaison before spring! In honor of the change in weather, I decided that today was a great day to make a stew. I love barley, and there is nothing like the smell of a good stew permeating the house. I usually add a can of guinness, but not having any of the good stout, I went for a bud, which seems to have done the trick!

Brandon is officially outgrowing his first set of clothes. This gives me a funny feeling inside because the growth and changes are as official as they can get now that he has clothes that are too small. In the last two weeks he has changed a lot. He isn't the wee infant he was, he is growing in to his face, and stretching out, and developing some baby rolls. Smile rewards are priceless, and I can't help but smile and coo back at my wee boy.

Being at home more, I am continuing the clearing of the clutter. I thought I had already gone through stuff, but it appears I am more than ready to let go of things that collect dust, or items of clothing I might wear, and paying forward the pocket books I have already read. I also have an overwhelming urge to paint. You can also call the clutter clearing "baby proofing" but in a sense it is a transition from what I used to think looked cool to what I think looks cool now. The piles of rocks are moved from the windowsills and adorn my plants, and the now vacant nooks and crannies are getting dusted for the first time in a lonnnnnnnng time.

It is a strange stage to be in - Brandon isn't all that active yet, and I hope I am doing enough to entertain him and stimulate motor and language development. At times I think it is like the battle of my ego, letting go of doing all the things during the day that I want to and just giving my complete attention to his needs. I am not always chatty, I don't always put on a CD, sometimes I feed and read, other times my mind is set adrift, other times I am just gazing in to his eyes with a sense of wonder. It is a whole new rhythm and at times I feel a bit off balance, not sure what the new measure of my day looks like.