This weekend

This weekend wasn’t great. It’s as simple as that. A baby who doesn’t stop for one second, a grumpy seven year old and a stiff neck do not a happy mum make. There were some good moments but, mostly, I’m glad it’s over because weekends like this one are exhausting. Here are the few shots I remembered to take for posterity’s sake:

When I tell you that we have a baby who NEVER STOPS, I mean it. I’m still trying to figure out who this little girl is. Here she is attacking her sister.

I won’t bore you with the details of my weekend trying to keep an eye on two girls who seem to have boundless energy, but this is Maia’s depiction of a particular episode on Saturday which saw Maia trying to stop Robin from eating muesli off the floor while I shouted “NO!” and tried to sweep it out of the way before she reached it.

This little girl gave me a hard time these past few days. I hate to admit it, but we are so similar in character that we often clash. I do love her to bits, though.

One of the bones of contention was this pair of shoes. We both loved them but couldn’t find the right size for her growing feet. Thankfully, we settled the matter after HOURS of arguing and lots of tears.

We had long faces all Friday and Saturday.

Then came the Eurovision Song Contest and our woes faded into insignificance. I mean, really, if that show isn’t the best medicine for the grumps, then I don’t know what is.

Yesterday was a different story. We went to the larger island for a very special friend’s First Holy Communion. It was a very VERY tiring day, but a good one.

This little girl was a very happy one, which made the rest of us very happy too.

And things only got better when a girl came up to her on the ferry back home and offered to paint her face. She couldn’t believe her luck!

How about you? How was your weekend?

Let’s start over

How’s the weekend going your end? Mine hasn’t been that rosy so far but I’m going to take a deep breath, count to ten and start afresh.

Until we meet again, HERE’S A LINK to the post I wrote this week for the Sunday Circle. It’s a subject I feel very strongly about and would love to hear from you about how you dealt or are dealing with this problem.

This heart hangs in our kitchen and it always surprises me how much its sight cheers me up.

Have a happy weekend and, to those of you in America, a happy Memorial Day!

A funny feeling and a funny baby

A funny feeling I’ve had in my throat turned out to be a full-blown pharyngitis. So I’m forced not to talk (to the relief of many, I’m sure), am having antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medicine. I’ve never been so grateful for drugs. Had this darned (extremely) sore throat struck a couple of weeks ago, I’d have been forced to stick it out with the only help of paracetamol, which has proved useless in this case. Now that I’m not breastfeeding any longer (gosh, that was painful to write!), I can drug myself silly if I like.

Speaking of medicines, my mind is in Manchester right now. I’ve been feeling very absent-minded today, all out of sorts. Nothing new, you say. True, but today I am particularly bad. I just realised, after seeing a photo on Facebook posted by my sister, that the reason is Miki. In less than 24 hours, her operation will start. It’s a very delicate procedure, not without potentially catastrophic side-effects. While these are rare, and Miki has already undergone this surgery before, I cannot help but worry. This is why I ask you, again, to spare a few moments to pray for her or send her positive thoughts. I’m sure she’ll be fine, but still…

This photo was taken a couple of years ago, but it’s still one of my favourites.

Meanwhile, Robin is keeping me on my toes. She’s also keeping me smiling. I dare you not to smile at this chubby face:

This weekend

Aaand it’s Monday again.

How was your weekend, friends?

Ours was good. There’s always room for improvement, like having the husband with us all the time, but that’s not very realistic. Even so, our weekend was full of good moments and even though I didn’t get to sleep in or have breakfast made for me yesterday, I got to spend Mother’s Day with the two girls who made me a mum which is more than I could ever wish for. On days like yesterday, I can’t help but think of all the women out there struggling with infertility and all those mums who have been through the worst possible pain, that of losing their child. So being able to hug my daughters, take care of them and kiss them goodnight feels like a luxury I’m grateful for.

Here goes this weekend’s photofest:

We had lunch by the seaside on Friday. Robin LOVES ice cream but I feel guilty when I allow her to have sugary treats, so I’ve been compromising by giving her the biscuit that comes with it. She doesn’t complain.

Maia couldn’t wait to give me her Mother’s Day card so she did so as soon as she was out of school on Friday. This is the poem she wrote at the back of it. Honestly, where did her teacher get the letter O from?!

Saturday morning was spent mostly playing at home. Robin managed to get some climbing practice thrown in. I cannot lose sight of her for fear of finding her perched on a table or cupboard. Here she’s climbing on her poor sister.

We also took Maia to yet another ballet lesson. We waited mostly in the car, where I got sunburnt by the rays coming in through my window! Robin was sweaty but happy guzzling her water.

And eating her take-away lunch.

Saturday night we left the kids at home with our best friends and went to a wedding. The location was stunning, food was excellent and we laughed till we cried. It was good.

Yesterday was the first time Robin wore short sleeves this summer (because summer is most definitely here already). I couldn’t get over her chubby wrists! My heart melts!

We spent the afternoon playing games with cousins, best friends and godfathers who are the BEST entertainers outside Cirque du Soleil.

We caught up with best friends while counting down the days till summer holidays start and we can start living in each other’s pockets.

We spent a lot of time cuddling babies and catching up with cousins.

Especially this pretty cousin who leaves today for her next big adventure. We miss her already and can’t wait to have her back next week.

And, all the while, this little girl was either climbing some more…

…perfecting the headstand with her dad…

…or making the acquaintance of a purple dinosaur.

One of my favourite moments was coming upon this note that Maia wrote about the spinning top my parents gave her. She hasn’t quite mastered the technique of spinning it, but she obviously liked the gift.

Who is this girl?

Two days ago Robin turned eleven months. I’m finding it hard to digest the fact that she’ll be one in less than a month.

I’m also finding it hard to believe that the little energy bomb zooming around the house is the same sweet, laid-back baby I gave birth to eleven months ago.

The other day, I was at the computer writing a quick email and she was playing next to me on the floor. At a certain point I looked back to check on her and this is what I saw:

She was sitting comfortably and didn’t want to come down.

Confusion ensued. How had she got there? Had the husband sat her on the toy box and left the room? He might encourage the girls to be adventurous, but even he would consider doing something of the sort as irresponsible. So, after much protesting from the little lady perched on the box, I managed to get her down on the floor (obviously, after taking this photo as proof). Then I moved away from her and waited to see what she would do.

And this is what she did:

She has also been getting to things we though she would never reach, like laptops on tables, cables in closed boxes (on tables), newspapers (again on tables).

I managed to save one page.

Yesterday I took the girls to the swings and, for the first time, the baby swings weren’t broken or too dirty or too hot to put Robin in them. So I sat her in one of them, expecting her to want to get off it or be scared. I couldn’t have been further off the mark. She swung herself for five minutes (I didn’t even push her once), all the while looking around her and calling out at the children who were playing football near us.

WHO IS THIS GIRL?!

This weekend

How was your weekend, dear reader?

Ours was full of sun, fun and games. I wish all weekends could be like this one. Here are far too many  some photos from last Saturday and Sunday, and if you still haven’t had enough of my photographic skills, you can find me on Instagram (username: islandfairy)…

This sweet baby started standing up. She will stand for hours if allowed to. She has also discovered she has a sense of humour and will crack us (and herself) up at every given opportunity.

We didn’t have much time indoors to try new foods and recipes, but she did try sweet couscous. This will be kept as a treat since it is made using a spoonful of sugar. She loved it…and was hyper for the whole afternoon.

We went for smoothies at our favourite (and best) smoothie place on this island, Acaii (you can find them on Facebook). It is owned by a friend who is also my namesake, who is also our hairdresser’s sister, who is also one of the nicest persons I know. So nice she allows Maia to sneak behind the counter and touch everything in sight.

While we were there, we spent some time playing with pebbles.

Robin was transfixed by the pebbles. She’s never allowed on a beach since she puts EVERYTHING in her mouth. However, those pebbles were pretty chunky and we had a dummy at hand, so with her mouth safely stoppered, I allowed her to explore the beach.

She couldn’t get enough of them, picking one up, putting it back, picking another and examining it… (sidenote: she’s FINALLY perfecting her pincer grip. YAY!)

And I can’t enough of her chubbiness.

Maia has been collecting pieces of bamboo, like we don’t have enough rubbish in this house. One of her current favourite books is Bamboozled by Dr Seuss and it really got her into pandas and bamboo.

Natalie of Nat The Fat Rat (you should read her blog…she’s so funny!) recently mentioned the cartoon Small Potatoes. Out of curiosity, I looked it up on YouTube early on Sunday morning. This was my view for over an hour…

(And I’ve been singing its signature tune for the past three days!)

The Sunday morning ballet workshops have been a huge success with Maia. She’s loving them and now they have moved on to Sleeping Beauty. Here she is casting a spell on baby Aurora.
(And in case you were wondering, yes, she did wear the same dress two days in a row. It’s one of her new dresses and she would also sleep in it if I allowed her to)

Sunday afternoon Maia and I sneaked off for some alone time while Robin napped at my parents’.

This is my childhood ‘pool’ where I learned to swim.

We wrapped up the weekend with the man of the family, again in Xlendi.

Oh, and this little Robin bird has cut another tooth! Six teeth baby!

Robin’s meals

As you may have noticed, our little Robin bird has a healthy appetite. She has recently started refusing pureed food orelse she’ll have a few spoonfuls and then start spitting it out and smearing it on her hair. On the other hand, her excitement at the sight of our lunches and dinners is so great she often cannot express it. One of these days I’ll have to video her and show you because I can’t express in words how hilarious her tensing up and nervous giggling is.

So she’s been tasting most of our food and I’ve also started preparing more solid food specifically for her. My problem is finding the time to experiment with new things. Not only is it difficult to find the time to look up recipes and actually cook them, but most of the time, there isn’t much time for her to be able to eat at her own pace and for me to clean her up afterwards (sometimes it requires a bath or shower). After having our lunch, we usually rush out of the house to pick Maia up from school and her dinner time is usually the busiest time of the day for me (preparing our dinner, helping Maia finish her homework, Maia’s bathtime…the list is endless).

I am, however, looking up various recipes both online and on cookbooks because there’s only so much bread and pasta a baby can have. Meanwhile, these have been some of her firm favourites over the past two weeks:

White bread sandwich with tomatoes.

Same as above, with a side of peas.

Shredded chicken…again with a side of peas.

Pasta with cream cheese (and the ever-present side of peas).

Banana remains her favourite fruit, although she has loved everything I’ve given her so far.

Cheerios…her snack of choice. She is OBSESSED with them.

She has also tried and loved cubed boiled potatoes, chickpeas, shredded pork, pasta with tomato sauce, fish and buttered toast. This weekend we’ll be introducing polenta and couscous too.

Any suggestions for more exciting meals are more than welcome! She will try anything and has never refused any food, so the more varied the better.

Field day

Discussing tactics with her team mates.

Robin was keen to support her sister, even though she was wearing the wrong colour.

There she goes!

Having a well-deserved break.

Posing with her medal.

Yesterday was Field Day at Maia’s school, so her dad, sister and I went to cheer her on. Both the husband and I were surprised at the very low turnout of parents. Sure, most of them would have been at work at that time, but that still didn’t justify the handful of people supporting the children.

Anyway, Maia was on the coral team, which looked very pink to me but she insisted it was NOT pink. I know it sounds soppy, but I’m so proud of this girl. She has her moments, like when she insisted her hair be pulled back neatly at bedtime last night (as in gelled back), but seeing her giving it her all and discussing the races with her friends made my heart swell. I am both anxious and excited to see the person she will grow into.

Oh, and her team won the bronze medal! Go corals!

Bedtime drama

A week ago, things started changing in our house. You might have guessed I was recently spending many a sleepless night and that my nerves were frazzled. I was running on empty and felt stretched in all directions. I wasn’t coping.

Robin has always been a good sleeper at night. Sure, she woke up to breastfeed a couple of times a night, however, she never ever cried. She would wake up, I would feed her and we would both go back to sleep. More often than not, she’d remain in our bed for the rest of the night after her first feed.

Maia still wakes up at night sometimes, mostly to inform me that she’d be going to the bathroom and then again to let me know she loves me before going back to bed. I was ok with all this.

Then things changed.

Robin was very ill and spent a whole week sleeping on my chest. We started weaning her off the breast for reasons I’ve already explained. She cut three teeth. She started crawling. My friend Clare also pointed out that at 45 weeks, her brain is developing at a fast rate. She’s been dealing with a lot and her sleep has suffered. So has mine.

So we decided it was time to teach our baby how to put herself to sleep without the comfort of my arms. We read up on the subject, asked our friends on Facebook and Twitter and realised there was only one way to do it. We’d have to let her cry it out. I’ve known about this method, also called the Ferber method, since I was pregnant with Maia and I was sure I’d never use it. Hearing my girls so much as whimper makes me jump into action. I cannot stand the sound of them complaining, let alone crying alone in a room. So it was tough, very very tough, but it worked!

I'm all for co-sleeping but after a few months it becomes torture. Most nights we'd end up like this. Fine for the husband if he's there because he can sleep through anything, unlike me.

Apart from teaching her to sleep in her bed at bedtime, we also decided to introduce two naps a day. She never slept more than 30 minutes at a stretch during the day and then it would be either in her father’s arms or in her sling while I cuddled her. Before we introduced these two daily naps (again using the Ferber method the first couple of times), I would spend the whole day carrying her around or, more recently, watching her like a hawk as she charged around the flat. I never had time to do the housework or to cook. Or write. Or sit down. Or just breathe. I was exhausted and frustrated and it was showing, especially in the way I snapped at everyone brave enough to interact with me. Now I can even spend some quality time with Maia while she naps.

I don’t know why it took me so long to put some structure into Robin’s day. I guess breastfeeding her made me lazy that way. It was convenient carrying her around with me all the time and not having to worry about her schedule too. She always tagged along and our days were always planned around Maia’s commitments and it suited us fine until recently. However, I am now calmer and feel more in control. She is also happier because she is no longer sleep-deprived all the time.

Next, I’d like to tackle Maia’s bedtime routine…now that is something I dread!

Robin’s new look

Yesterday we decided it was time for Robin to have her hair sorted out. We knew she would be getting a fringe (or bangs for those of you in the States), so we could do away with the clips and the Pebbles ponytail too. What we didn’t know was how different she would look! We keep looking at her, catching each other’s eye and laughing.

She looked cute before but now she’s squash-worthy.

Waiting at the hairdresser's.

The cutting begins. Doesn't she look all grown up?

She wasn't too happy but didn't make such a fuss either.

The end result. She looks a bit like Amelie or Matilda here! We still have to get used to her new look but already love it!