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Hello, Zombie in the mirror!

Just right before the Easterholidays we're down with some sort of flu. It's a nasty one: comes with a massive headache and fever and a cough, that sounds like moose's barking. So for now we're hiding in our bed, under blankets. I truly hope, it'll get better really soon, 'cos i've been looking kind of forward to this years holiday, since we can spend it together as a family. Juss, luckly, is right now in the best condition, while me and Martin are pure zombie-material. 

So, you stay healthy and have a great Easter!

♥

This was march 2011 in Nantes. March here is like an ongoing winternightmare. Last week we had -17C at night and the days were'nt any better with some freezing wind. Yeah-yeah, i know, it's great that in april, in one week everything turns green like over a night, and it's amazing and great, but it's weeks (a month!!!) away!

There are tree things i miss about France today. (From my personal french experience, you might have/had a different one :P)

- Spring: the fact that it was so warm already in april and may, that we could have picknicks and ride bikes with shortsleeved t-shirts and shorts. And it didn't get that cold at night as well, (right?). Though:

En Avril ne te decouvre pas un fil.

En Mai fais ce qu’il te plait.

The first warm days we m i g h t have here, are in the end of avril, but the nights will still be freezing until June.. and let's not even start about the rain.
 

- Dinnerpartys. We still get asked, when we invite people over, if it's someones birthday or something :)) We like to have them, the food, the company... the only thing is, that people don't really invite us to this kind of events, because it's not a custom here to have them. People have always met up for drinks, why should anyone cook? And when you are a parent, seems you're off the social radar anyway. 

-Le Week-end. The holy weekend, when you are not allowed to work and when nobody does. At first it was weird to get used to that, but now i miss it. Especially after reading my mail on monday, finding out that my profferssor uploaded some articles to read "for the upcoming week" (i'd say rather "for tomorrow") on sunday. 

I was really happy to have avoided turning on the computer yesterday, only to find out, that maybe i should have. And yes, instead of reading that article now, im just stressing here about it :))

I liked the fact that nobody assumed that Emails will be read on weekends, because on weekends you have better things to do, like be with your family, or friends. Everyone would be sitting in Cafe's drinking Late, eating Eclairs, not in front of a computer staring at the inbox and facebook page.

Stay strong!

♥

 

 Some time ago, when we were at my moms place i looked up my old bookshelf and found some old favourites. I remembered the illustrations immediatly, altho it has been more than 10 or 15 years since i looked at them, or read them. While the plot is forgotten. I took a few with me to show friends and ask if they had a similar response to them :)

Lilli Promet has tree poems and the first one is about a village where nobody likes to clean and cook, so one day comes a man, who offers pancakes for dust and rubbish. Illustrations by Asta Vender. 

Hope to share some other ones with you soon.  

Have a nice weekend and stay healthy!

♥

I guess i like lists too. It's kind of nice to do them. Since yesterday had flown by under the star of sharing experience and tips about pregnancy,  i'll just keep on going. These are some thoughts that i had about my first pregnancy:  what helped me, and things i wish i had done more or differently, and pointers, that i will keep in mind for the future...

1. To drink more water. Athletes say, that the point where you get the feeling of thirst, is actually already the point where you are "late". 

2. Use good moisturising"tools". Waiting for Juss i really couldn't stand the smell of creams, so i got some natural almond oil. But, as i asked my mom about strechmarks, she cooly said, she didn't get any. Well-well-well. As i thought im blessed with some great genes in that point, i got lazy using the oil. As a result i got a mark per day just a week before labor and i could feel the skin being tight and being torn just like fabric. Ouch. Then i asked my mom again.... and then she remembered "yes! there were these!... but they faded away after a while". Hm. Okay.  So i really recommend using almond oil or sheabutter, or even both, since they feel differently on the skin and preferances can vary, per day. Anything that doesn't have petrol in it, is fine. Since we don't really know how much of it, what we put on our skin finds its way to the baby, it's better to stay it in the safezone with more organic stuff.

3. It's so nice to start a day with warm lemon-water. Some midwifes say, that lemon-water helps the body to lower the pain-meter. And it's just such a delight, since many pregnant women love anything citrusy. 

4. Eat beetroot! "You look so pale, are you alright?" - i get that alot, pregnant or not. And it's not that kind of thing you want to hear, when you just thought you look strikingly good and feel quite fine. But, i lose iron so easily, that i need that extra boost and it's better to get it from food, than from tablets. Then again, if the iron is really low in your bloodtest, it's too late getting that beetroot out, then it's time for the pills. 

Beetroot, strawberries, radishes, pomegranate - anything red, really. And sprouts!

5. Breakfast: Porridge! I can't count how many benefits a breakfast has or how healthy it's to start a day with porridge. And it doesn't have to taste like clay, if that's what worries you! There are many recepies out there and if you've got some berries in your fridge: use them not only for desserts but also for your breakfast! Here's just one good looking one :)

People with cruel morningsikness might disagree here. I accept that.

6. Invest in a couple of good maternity/nursing bras. This one needs no explanation. You Just Need Them.

Now im out of drawings. But a few things pop up in my mind:

7. Hairsalons are a bad idea. As are beautisalons. It's a hard one, i know. When you feel like a ship, a nice pedicure can do wonders, but it's also such a toxic environment. As the senses are extremly cautious, you might even get sick from all the smells. And with all this brazilian blowout going on, giving hairdressers headaches and bloody noses... it's better to just stay away. In my opinion. It is a hard one to follow. I know.

8. Eat regulary! A bit of cure for my morningsickness (that was present not only in the mornings, but through out the day for the first three months!) was to eat regulary even something small, like an apple, or some raisins and nuts (every two hours). I couldnt look at food, more over cook anything because, when feeling sick, it made it worse. But when i ate something, i felt better. So... you cant look at food, but you need to eat, to feel better - how did that happen? I had some good help from a fellow pregnant woman, who had past that stage already. So i'd pop in for lunch sometimes and she'd advise me to carry always something edible in my bag. It was a dear advice, that helped through that time.

9. If it smells bad, it tastes bad. I remeber going out to lunch to celebrate a friends birthday and i ordered a saffron soup. Later i found out, that saffron is even on the no-list for pregnant women. The soup arrived and it was... i knew right away im not gonna enjoy it, but i still ate a spoon or two, just to kind of be polite, but still sent it back. And the same thing happened with aloe-juice. I was super thisrty and bought one liter of aloe juice and one liter of pomegranate juice. At home after i opend the one with aloe and put it on my lips and it was a clear no from all my senses. Here's a list i did some time ago about things that are not safe to eat while pregnant. The body is really smart and needs to be trusted. Of course, it might not say no to fries and chips :) that's when the willpower needs to step in. But nobody's perfect ;))

♥

This is a post to continue the previous one.

Surfing the net while pregnant, i came across many list of things you should have, when you'r expecting, and when the baby arrives. There were shoppinglists that could go one foreeever. Here is this saying, that to raise a kid, you need at least a million. Well, the currency has changed... so in euros it would be... :)))

The truth is : babys need love. Yup, and if you got that covered, everything else just isn't that complicated. And not that expensive, unless showing love is somehow tied to money, as i love my kid as much as the stroller costs, or otherwise people think i don't. Yeah, i've seen that too.

But to come back to babythings, i'll just tell you our story. 

As we anounced to people around us, we were going to have a baby, we had kind offers coming in daily. We got a babycarriage, tons of clothes, a little tub, a bag to go along the carriage, a carseat, two slings and books and this list goes on.... not to mention the toys (oh.. sometimes i wish..). The things i actually bought from a shop were: a bath-thermometer, nailscissors for babys and a baby brush out of goathair (so sooooft and almost useless). Everything else we got, we did pass on, or back, when our little one had outgrown them. I did do a little investment in clothdiapers, and wool-silk clothes for him and bras for me, but just a little one. In the end things mentioned here, were all we needed and that was even plenty.

As we moved in to this appartment 5 days before Juss was born, we had only boxes waiting for us, when we arrived from the hospital. Our dear friends baked a big pie for us and send some flowers, and that was enough to feel over the moon and home. We didn't even have a bed at that time :)) .. So my point being.. things don't have to be picture perfect, to be awesome.

 

But when Juss needed a stroller and fast, because he just got taller like in a day, i started looking. In the end i bought one from the internet, already used. It has it's flaws and i deffinetly overpaid this one, but anyway, it was my first time. Still, the stroller works. It does a great job in strolling us here through the snow and over the ice. I just couldnt bring myself to buy something from a shop, that we were gonna use just some years, that costs as much or more, as is my moms monthly paycheck, or our car. I guess it's a question of values. Things don't have to be new to be functional. Or a question of appearance. And selfvalue. And how much are they connected with eachother. Or what kind of people surround you.

If we would have been, at that time, in another country, things would have been different in a sence, that we wouldn't have had this kind of support by our surroundings. I have no idea if this kind of green-thinking is out there elsewhere, or not. It would've been lonely, and then unreasonable things start to matter. But since this was not the case, we deffinely want to continue this cycle of giving.

edit: here's an article about stuff and how you don't really need much.

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Today i thought i'd write a bit of a different kind of post, just to summarize some thoughts and advice to myself and maybe for someone out there, may-be. Also, i just want to point out that not all mindsets appeal to everybody and that's okay. Mine is just like.. well.. mine.

This post got rolling after a friend of a friend asked for advice about whom to pick as a family doctor (we have this kind of system here, it means no pediatricians, which is totally sad). She got many responses about peoples experiences, some really shoking (as like "women are not like cows, so after 4 months is nursing just absurd"), but also about some nice and cool up-to-date doctors out there.

I changed my doctor after i had a cold while prengnant, because that was when she just couldn't give me the usual anibiotics and was kind of struggeling to find something to help me. And if you get advice like "well, it contains some alcohol, but a little doesn't matter, does it? Ya know, like wine.. :P", it's just a big "NO" sign, on freaking fire, for me.

Later that friend of a friend asked, when would be the best time to get in contact with the new doc, and i replied as soon as possible, as her due-date was just a month away. Since in the hospital at any time, they need to know, whom to send various results and stuff about the new little person. In a way i was surpirised how uninformed she was, not knowing about the baby-nail-scissors, or "the bag" (you know, the one you take with you to the hospital), but then i realized, i was just the lucky one to have such a big circle of women around me, who didn't tell horrorstories, but offered support and information and even spiritual strenght. But it also recuired some personal growth.

I visited since the 9th week of my pregnancy a breathing and yoga-class, driven by a mother of five. Her way of life and her philosphy is some kind different than you get by most common people you know, but it's the acceptance and knowledge, that she really does know a thing or two (or hundred), that you don't. As model students, i guess, we were taugth to follow our teachers straight away, but there i learned, i could and had to make choices. And that is a big part of being a parent and having responsibility. The easiest way people take, is by not taking the class anymore, because some views don't match up. But you woudn't stop being friends with someone who's vegan, when you yourself are not, do you? More over, you just learn to respect that and take it in account, when asking them over to dinner, right? :))

Being pregnant is not easy. You find yourself staring at your lovely partner and saing words like "fries! now!" at midnight, or even if you don't, there are still those big changes and journeys that the body and the mind must take. And yes, no beam of light will come from outerspace to make you "the mother" (i kind of expected that :) ) but it's all you, that actually and miraculously can handle it, just fine.

edit: feel free to note me on spelling- and grammar-mistakes, i'd like that :)

♥

 

Isn't this cute! Like a little snail :)

Ohh, i wish i could write about something that would be like ... solid. But right now, there is just too much everyday life to get through and that's that. 

Im really sorry for forgetting a very special birthdaygirl of two, and not being able to answer the whole email of Maria. But even if im behind the computer these days, it's for uni or to look something quickly up... or... im a bit shy to admit it, just to turn off from reality and doze off to blogworlds and youtube. Guilty, i am. 

Right now we're just back from a weekend at my moms place, and as Martins mom also came with us... it was the night of the mother-in-laws.  I swear, put these two together and you get crazy, no, you get more crazy, than any usual crazy. Some of it is good, some of it not so much, but we all survived :) I just hope that next time this kind of events are happening, Martin woun't be able to escape to a skymarathon again (: ! Im serious.

I hope you had a fun weekend and are up to a very active and awesome week! Because... spring, it's coming!

♥

Eurovision-what?! When? Already?

Well it's done, the song to present our country has been chosen and i had no idea about any of it, (as i usually do). By chance i heard the winning song.. and it was okay.. and then i listened to a next one.. and im sad that, this one didn't win, because i think comparing the two ladies.. she has more strength and charisma.. but like always, my opinion is not everyones opinion, and thats okay as well. 

But enjoy anyway:

I remember how it was such big deal, when we were children, we could stay up all night to see who won, counting the votes, picking favourites and so one. Now it's more about "ah, why did that song win?" or "why can't i get it out of my head!?", or "aah, so this is the song i'll hear the whole year now in every departmentstore and supermarket for the coming year..."

As for more important things... last weeks have been crazy. Martin had his birthday, that we celebrated with his family. Im drawn to a project to help to get a forest-nursery going here. As a towngirl and a countryboy, we have different views on the matter, but understandable differences, that we can relate to. It's deffinetly and interesting project. And then my studies: loving them :) Some other things have also been going on, some good, some bad. Juss had his fist fever for example, that was scary. Right now im just tring to get it together and push through, with a positive attitude.