Pineapple

Mary left us early Sunday morning, and Winston misses his grandma (I think his brain is able to precisely calculate that the amount of cuddle time decreased by 1/3 in her absence). We had Mo, Cecilia, Andy and Lili over for dinner on Sunday evening (Lili enjoyed the cupcakes made by Aunty Ceecee) - thank goodness are friends are willing to socialize with us here at our house, otherwise I think Dave and I would go stir crazy during this time. We missed Michelle but sent her this cute picture of Lili happily consuming her cupcake (after she ate her meal - Andy managed that one with the deftness of an experienced dad).
I continue to be amazed at a) the amount of urine Winston generates and b) the inability of his diapers to contain aforementioned urine. Last night was particularly amazing - the little guy wet through 4 diapers and 4 blankets. All that in an 8 hour timeframe.

On the one hand, I am tremendously proud - we are finally getting the feeding thing down and Win's output is the best gauge of a healthy appetite. On the other hand I am stunned that with all the clothes and blankets we have on hand, I am still doing laundry every other day.

I can't imagine what it must have been like before pampers, modern washing machines and dryers and services like Dream Dinners (more on that later). I think of what my grandmothers, each of whom had 6 children, must have gone through during their child-bearing years. My generation definitely has gone soft - we complain about being tired but the modern conveniences we enjoy make our lives a virtual vacation compared to what it was like 50-60 years ago. Not only did they have to do the wash for hours every day, they used cloth diapers, which had to be cleaned and sterilized, and they had to cook - from scratch - at nearly every meal. No wonder most women were full-time mothers - there was really no other choice.

Dream Dinners - now, I know my gourmet aunties and uncle and mother will have a fit, but thanks to Michelle Loretta, I have discovered the most awesome food service. It is called Dream Dinners (www.dreamdinners.com) . Basically, it is communal cooking for the modern age. I won't bore you with details of how it works (check out the website for the 411), but suffice to say that it has saved Dave and me. We have all these delicious, nutritious meals ready for final preparation in our refrigerator or freezer. The service is relatively inexpensive but most importantly the food is quite delicious. And easy to prepare. Again, I will point out how different and relatively easy our child-bearing experience is from past generations. We are very fortunate!! Best of all, the food reserves enable us to invite people over, entertain, feed them, and clean up without being totally overwhelmed and tired out. Exceptionally wonderful gift.

Speaking of fruiting plants and trees, on Saturday evening, Dave harvested the pineapple that has been growing on his pineapple plant for the past few months. Coincidentally, we bought the plant over 3 years ago at Fairchild Tropical Gardens. This is definitely the most expensive pineapple we've ever consumed, but it tasted absolutely perfect and we took great pride in the plant's initial fruiting.

The best part is that after exhaustive study of pineapple blogs (yes, there are people that meticulously document the growth of their pineapple plants), Dave determined that our one plant can be re-potted into 3 (the original plant, the top of the pineapple we just consumed, and another baby offshoot Dave discovered in hacking off the ripe pineapple). Based on this multiplying effect, we should have hundreds of pineapple plants in 10 years or so. Dave and Winston are already plotting the takeover of our garage roof (which is flat and would be perfect for a subtropical plant garden) for his pineapple empire.

Here's a picture of daddy, Win and the Pineapple that Launched an Empire:
Tutu (Kathy) arrives late tonight, and Dave's friend Tom is going to be staying with us as well for a few days this week. Winston is eagerly anticipating the return of a loving grandmother - mom and dad are just not enough these days. Dave and I are hoping Tom isn't too overwhelmed by the new star of the household - but we figure if he can weather the jungles of Columbia and Thailand, he can handle the screeching of a 6 lbs. baby.

I am hoping that Tom and Kathy can steal away with Dave for an afternoon of snorkeling or boating - Dave needs an ocean fix right about now, and the weather is perfect for snorkeling and boating (hot and still). We've decided 2.5 weeks is still a bit on the young side for Winston to be strapped into a kayak, but he'll be ready soon enough, and I know Dave will absolutely love sharing his passion with his little son.