Home alone (just for some hours)

This is the end of week 2.  There are many things that I've learned in just a few days, for example, Olivia is a "cluster-eater" which means that she eats all the time, for longer periods of time in some parts of the day, then has longer stretches of sleep, in our case, at night.  

I have also gotten better at breast feeding.  This is for me the toughest part of all this adaptation process.  It was painful, it no longer is.  It was uncomfortable, it is better now.  I definitely understand how some women want to through in the towel and stop it all together... I am just glad I stayed in course because I know this is the best for my child.  We've been out on walks everyday enjoying the sun and taking Rafa with us.  Actually, the days fill themselves up with small tasks that require my full attention.  All I can say is, it's been tough... but manageable.

The one thing I miss the most is Jonas.  He is back to work and it was so scary to do this without him here with me all the time.  I know I've managed well, but everything is so much easier and brighter with him around.  He is just simply my favorite person in the world.

I love you Jonas.

1 week and 1 day.

That is how long it has been since our lives changed.  It's been a week of joy, frustration, pain, exhaustion, helplessness, overwhelming love, every human emotion and feeling combined at the same time.  I have to admit it has been hard, harder than I ever thought, but all worth it.  Each day we achieve a new milestone, we learn something new that makes things easier and more manageable.

This is Olivia, born Saturday the 16th of April at 2:20 pm.  Weighed 3055g and measured 48 cm.  She is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.  Eats like a hungry tiger and cries to the top of her lungs when she doesn't get what she wants.  She has the biggest blue eyes, the most delicious mouth and smells like powdered milk and fresh air.

Olivia.

Esta es tu cuna, y está esperandote con un edredón que yo te hice y muy cerquita de donde tu papá y yo dormimos, así que ahí no solo me vas a tener a mí, sino que a tu papá también.  Vení! Te estamos esperando y nos morimos por conocerte.

Mami.

This is your crib, and it's waiting for you with a cover that I made you and it's very close to where your daddy and I sleep, so you will not only have me, but also daddy.  Come! We are waiting for you and we are dying to meet you.

Mami.

One man's trash, another man's treasure!

Today was flea market day at Haukeland Skole, the local school close to our apartment.  

I understand now why the little one hasn't come yet! She just wanted me to find all these treasures!

So, even though I am still "with child" (over a week late now), it is a great day! The sun is shinning, we found many nice things and we are just enjoying our time together.

 

2 vintage night tables.

 

Great textiles! There's 100% wool, good cottons 

and nice vintage woven fabrics in that pile.

...and, a great new wool carpet for our bedroom!  Rafa seems to like it.

So, I'm trying to stay positive and happy to have the time, even though we are dying to meet little "O".

Jonas.

My husband has started his 2 week paternity leave today.  Since the baby is not here yet, he's here helping me out and keeping me company while she arrives.

It is so much better to go through this wait with someone, especially when it's your favorite person in the whole world!

He made me an amazing dinner today, "Oriental Meatballs in Tomato Sauce".  There are no words to explain how delicious they were!  We got the recipe from an old book we found in Costa Rica with Oriental recipes, so it has a bit of everything.  I think this one might be from somewhere around Morocco.

Ingredients for the sauce (4 people): 2 cans of crushed tomatoes, 2 small onions, 2 garlic cloves, 3 tbs. olive oil, 1tbs "ras-el-hanout",  1tbs tomato paste, fresh thyme and parsley freshly chopped, salt to taste.  For the meat balls: 2 small loafs of dry bread, milk, 1 small onion, 500g ground meat (better if it's veal, but we used normal beef, and I think lamb would be great too), 1 egg, salt and pepper to taste, butter to fry.


Instructions:

• Sauce: Fry chopped garlic and onions in medium heat for 5 minutes or until christalized, add ras-el-hanout and tomato paste and let stay for 2-3 more minutes, add crushed tomatoes and slow cook for 30 minutes mixing every so often until the sauce thikens. Add fresh herbs and salt to taste.
• Meatballs: soak bread loafs in milk. Fry chopped onion in a bit of butter until christalized.  In a separate bowl, add the minced meat, squeeze and mix the already milk soaked bread with the meat and add the fried onion, egg and parsley.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Make small balls with the meat mix and fry them for a couple of minutes in a bit of butter.  Once they are golden, add them to the tomato sauce for about 5 minutes.  
• Serve with bread or rice.  You can also add sour cream or Greek yogurt on top!
• Enjoy!

Arrabiata!

Today!

Arrabiata means angry in Italian.  It is also the name of a very nice sauce for pasta.  I think it is originally from Rome.  Anyways, that is what it's for dinner tonight.  I am not saying I am angry... but I am going a little insane, which at times, makes me a bit angry I have to admit.

I am 40+ weeks pregnant.  My due dates were last Wednesday, and last Saturday (I have 2 different ones from 2 different ultrasounds).  Anyways, I know it is very normal to be late, and I am trying to be patient, but I really really want to meet this little girl!  It's killing me! I want to hold her, kiss her, smell her, cuddle with her, not sleep, not have any time, I want the pain of labor, I want the sleepless nights, I want it all... now!  So I am willing to try EVERYTHING!  Every myth!

So today we'll try some of the most popular ones: walk, eat spicy food and eat pineapple.

Jonas will soon be home from work, and we'll take a loooooooooong walk with Rafa, after that I will come and make pasta arrabiata (with extra punch) and for dessert, a whole pineapple!  I already took a walk this morning with Rafa, and even though it wasn't so long, I tried to make it intense.  Then I cleaned the bathroom, organized some bookshelves, rearranged the wine bottles into a safer place, vacumed the floor, cleaned the kitchen, watched a bad movie and repacked my bag for the clinic.  So I have kept myself busy.