Get Your Boil On!

20 gallons. What?! Yup that's how much sap we've collected from our trees so far. With all that sap sitting in buckets on our screened porch we decided it was time to start boiling. First things first Marc ordered a stand alone propane burner.

We needed something that would hold his 10 gallon lobster pot that we could use outside. Thankfully we found this contraption online and were able to order it while we were collecting our first gallons of sap. I'm not sure what I expected when Marc brought the first batch of sap to the house, but the sap from the tree is clear and thin as water. If you dip your finger into it there is a very slight sweet flavor to it, this part I expected since you have to boil it down to get the syrup.

The picture above is the propane burner lit and ready to boil. You can see in the lobster pot on the right there is a thermometer. The idea is to boil the sap until it reaches 219F - apparently this is the temperature when you know you have boiled off enough water and have actually turned the sap to syrup. We do most of our boiling outside on our screened porch and then bring it inside to finish on the stove top. Here is Violet helping Marc boil. 

Once inside we use a regular cooking pot and a candy thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature. It's funny to think you have to start out in a 10 gallon lobster pot and finish off in a normal cooking pot. The whole boiling process is pretty interesting when you think about how much you have to boil the sap to make the syrup.

  

After our first boil we were left with this much syrup and boy was it tasty! We also realized that we've got quite a bit of boiling to do if we are going to make enough syrup to last us until next season. After letting our first batch of syrup settle for a day we realized that we needed to filter it to remove the sand from it. I'm not exactly sure what the "sand" is but we'll go with dirt/tree bits.

After a visit to the local feed and supply store we had a polyester filter. The picture below shows the syrup flowing through the filter and into a larger mason jar. This is actually our second boil. We probably got about the same amount as we did in our first boil. Marc says he is still working on his boiling technique. He's trying to figure out just how much to boil the sap to get the right syrup consistency. The great thing about syrup is that if you don't get it quite right the first time you can always put it back in the pan and boil it again.

From here on out we'll have to keep boiling and then we'll have to find containers to store our syrup in. Hopefully we can get at least a gallon from this season.

A Weekend of Single Parenting

Day One - Friday

Today Marc left the house at 6:30 am to drive to the airport and catch his flight to Las Vegas. I was expecting Violet to be up at this time as she is usually up with Marc when he's getting ready to go to work. I had nursed her at 4:15 am and to my surprise her pacifier actually worked to soothe her back to sleep from 5:30 until 7:45. It's almost as if she knew that I needed the extra sleep today.

Hanging out with Monkey

Since Thursday I have noticed that Violet has been having slightly more quiet alert times during the day. They can last about an hour to an hour and a half until she starts to get tired and fussy. This morning I was able to eat breakfast while Violet hung out in her bouncy chair. Then she spent some time on her play mat hanging out with the monkey and kicking the elephant. It's the first time I've really ever been able to use the play mat with her.

Naptime success!

I decided this weekend I would experiment with putting Violet in her crib for daytime naps. This morning I lucked out with her taking a full 30 minute nap in her crib. Enough time for me to shower and get ready for the day plus have something to eat. This afternoons attempt wasn't quite as successful - she was in her crib for two hours but I was in and out soothing her probably every 15 minutes or so. I think she probably only really slept for a total of 30-45 minutes in that 2 hour span.

Today we also went to the grocery store, loaded the car up with our recycling for our trip to the transfer station tomorrow, and checked the sap buckets on the maple trees.

Day Two - Saturday
It feels like we are beginning to get into a little routine. Last night we both went to bed at 8:30 and Violet didn't wake up until 11:20 for her first feed. It feels really good to start the night out with a 3 hour stretch of sleep. It definitely makes me feel more rested for the 1.5-2 hour stretches the rest of the night.

With this weekend of solo parenting I've realized how important it is to start finding a routine for Violet. Not only does it help me know what to do during the day but I think it also helps me understand what Violet needs. I've also realized that for both of our sanity it's equally important to have little activities to do on a daily basis whether they are inside or out of the house.

Tummy Time

Today's outing was taking the recycling to the transfer station and then going for a walk. I originally thought I would head over to Dartmouth and walk around the pond but with Violet screaming in her car seat I decided to stay local and head to the park in town. I loaded her into the bjorn, where she promptly fell asleep, and then walked for an hour at the park. I met a few dog walkers while I was there and was able to complete three full loops around the fields. It felt really good to stretch my legs and get some fresh air.

Day Three - Sunday

Green socks for St. Patrick's Day!

This weekend has actually flown by. I'm surprised. The last couple of days I have brought Violet into our bed in the morning. I've found that by snuggling up with her I can get an extra hour of sleep from when she starts fussing in the morning. Usually Marc will take her out of the room and let me sleep. Knowing that she will sleep a little longer I wonder if Marc will also want to sleep in when he returns or whether he will keep his Father-Daughter time that he usually gets.

Does this face look ready to nap? 

Today I tried to follow the eat, active, sleep pattern throughout the day along with our normal feedings every three hours. It seems as though it went pretty well although I was only able to get Violet to nap for 30 minute stretches in her crib. The two times she fell asleep in my arms she was out for at least an hour. I guess we're still going to have to work on that. On the other hand I was able to be super productive during those 30 minute segments - I got a shower, made bagels, did 2 loads of laundry, made pudding, and caught up on some emails. I guess being a mom is all about taking advantage of every minute you have - whether it's cuddling with the baby or getting stuff done when she's sleeping.

sleeping on Mom's shoulder

I'm really looking forward to having Marc back tonight. Hopefully he'll arrive before midnight and if his timing is really good I'll be up feeding Violet and he can say hi to us both. I'm hopeful that in the next couple of weeks we can figure out a routine that works for the three of us.

Whirlpool Duet Sport Washing Machine

Tuesday night was diaper wash night. I finally felt like I was getting a routine washing my diapers every other day at night, then hanging them out to dry by the fire. It meant that in the morning everything would be clean and dry and ready to be used again. Sadly Tuesday was the day our washing machine went on the fritz.

I had started a wash in the morning but when I hit start the machine didn't run like it usually did. So I did what any normal human  being would do, I canceled the cycle, reset the machine and started it again. Although this time when I hit start instead of running the cycle, the machine beeped once and turned off. I tried again with the same result and then shared some choice words with no one in particular.

What followed was two days of reading the internet trying to figure out what the problem was. I found a lot of people who had the same issue and similar issues but I didn't really find a solution per se. So Tuesday Night I started by opening up the machine and cleaning out the drain. I found some earrings and other items that had collected in the drain but nothing that would have plugged it. I also found the guide to the error codes safely tucked away inside the machine. I followed it's instructions and found out that the machine had registered an F01 code - which hinted that perhaps the problem was with the Central Control Unit (ccu). I also tried running the diagnostic test and when that didn't work I thought that it indicated a problem with the door locking mechanism. Some further reading on the internet indicated that perhaps it was a problem with the Motor Control Unit (MCU).

Guide to error codes attached to inside of the lower front panel

Drain - turn counter clockwise and be prepared for water to come gushing out, pull to remove

Wednesday I was able to take my load of dirty diapers over to a friend's house and wash them. Words can't even express how grateful I was. Not only did it mean my diapers weren't going to get ruined it also relieved some of the stress and allowed me to work another day on the machine. My goal was to find out where the problem was so when we called a repairman out we would at least know what he had to fix.

I began my "repairs" with the CCU. I decided I would remove it from the machine and take a look to see if anything had burned out. I started by unplugging all the wires that were plugged into it. Thankfully I remembered to take a picture of the wires when they were plugged in so I would remember where to put them back. After I removed the wires I realized I wasn't going to be able to get the CCU out. Frustrated I decided to plug the wires back into the CCU. And much to my surprise the machine worked!

It works! Now to put back the top  and bottom front covers  

I'm not sure if it was a loose wire or if the act of unplugging the CCU and replugging everything in reset the machine but I am grateful to say we have a working machine. Phew!

Violet - 1 Month

Weight - 9 pounds 7 1/2 ounces

Length - 22 inches

Head Circumference - 14 1/2 inches

Dear Violet, 

How has it already been a month?! On the one hand it feels like the time has flown by, on the other hand it feels like we've worked very hard to get to this point. Overall you are still our happy, go-lucky baby girl. It's been fun watching your facial expressions as you continue to check out the world around you with your ever curious eyes. And those windmill arms of yours seem to constantly be getting you in trouble. Whether it's knocking your pacifier out of your mouth or finding their way into your mouth when I'm trying to breastfeed you, it appears that you are still trying to get control over them. I'm still waiting for the day you purposefully smile but for now it's nice to see you gaze into our eyes and look for both your Dad and I when you hear our voices.  

Since our last update we have moved you into cloth diapers - Bumgenius all-in-ones to be exact. So far we are loving them and it seems that you like them too! The only downside is we've had to move you into bigger clothes so that they fit over your cloth bottom. It was sad packing away your newborn clothes and realizing that you are only going to get bigger and bigger. However, we look forward to dressing you in all the fun outfits we have been receiving from our friends and family.

Speaking of diapers we'd be remiss if we didn't talk a little bit about your derriere. This past week your poops have become less frequent but larger in quantity. Thankfully the cloth diapers are holding up to the two blowouts we've had so far. And your burps and toots? We still laugh over how such a little body can make such loud noises. It's even funnier when you toot during a crying session and man can some of those toots clear the room. I guess you are trying to give your Dad a run for his money.

We knew week three was going to be a challenging one. Not only was it a growth spurt week but we also said goodbye to Nana and Dad returned to work. It was so much fun to have your Nana here to help out and watch you grow through the last few weeks of our pregnancy and the first three and half weeks of your life. But all good things must come to an end and it was finally time for me to tackle parenting solo during the day. So far it seems to be going well - it's amazing how fast the day goes when you're nursing every three hours. This weekend your Dad will be out of town for a bachelor party so it will be my real test of flying solo.

You've started waking us up an hour before you need to be fed with a variety of grunts, groans, snorts, and squeaks which means we have been missing out on some sleep. You've also been eating more which allows you sleep for longer stretches - but sadly those stretches so far have been during the day and not at night. I hope over the next month we can move those stretches to the night and develop some sort of bedtime routine. Our next update will be when you are 2 months old - we wonder what you will be up to then!

Love,
Your Mom and Dad

Snowman

Last week we had a couple of mini snow storms. As Marc and I were walking out to the woods to check the sap buckets I caught myself thinking, "Now it's finally starting to feel like winter." Then I realized that Daylight Savings Time begins this weekend. In an attempt to make the most of the remaining winter I finally got out and built my very first snowman.

My first attempt at a snowman was pint-sized. I was able to just mush the snow together into a ball and build my little friend.

Then a few days later Marc and I decided to head outside with Violet and build a real snowman. This involved starting a ball and then rolling it back and forth across the snow to make it big. Marc and Violet worked on the bottom third and then I made the top two thirds. I have to admit it was a great way to escape the house and enjoy the fresh air.

I can't wait until next winter when Violet will be old enough to actually help a little . . . or at least be old enough to walk around in the snow and watch what's going on.

Happy Birthday Marc!

Happy Birthday Marc. I'm so lucky to have you in my life as my husband and the father to our daughter. You keep me smiling everyday. I obviously did something right to find you in this crazy world. I can't, and don't ever want to, imagine a day without you. I'm so excited to see what this year has in store for you and our family!

The Nursery - Almost Done

When we last left off we had painted the walls and finally finished the dresser. The next step was to hang some things on the walls . . . or so we thought. Somehow we ran out of time and had ourselves a baby. If you asked me 1 year ago when I would have the nursery finished I would have told you most definitely a month before my baby's due date. But during the pregnancy I strangely became great at procrastinating and really didn't mind that everything wasn't perfectly done and ready before our baby arrived. That's not to say that I don't plan on finishing the nursery - I just know that I have a few months until we move Violet out of our room and back into her room.

Bear with me, the following photos aren't the best quality as they were taken using the iPhone's panorama feature at night when the lighting wasn't so great. Here's what the room looked like before we got the painting done. It had become a drop spot for all the hand me downs and gifts we were receiving.

Since that night we finished the following projects -

• Paint the walls - 1 striped, 3 neutral 
• Paint the trim white 
• Hang door
• Install heater covers 
• Assemble crib 
• Move finished dresser into nursery 
• Hang bunting flags from wedding around ceiling 
• Hem closet curtain 
• Hang curtain rod and black out curtains 

And here's what the nursery looked like when we brought Violet home.

View from the door - click photo to enlarge

View from the closet - click photo to enlarge

Although not finished it's definitely a functional space. We mainly use the room for daytime diaper changes and sometimes to hang out with Violet when she needs a change of scenery and a colder room. A few things have changed - currently the swing has moved into the living room and been replaced by an Ikea Poang Chair. The crib has moved into our bedroom and there's a random laundry basket that floats around the room collecting dirty clothes, swaddles, blankets, burp cloths, etc.

When we finally move Violet into her room we plan to have finished the following projects which will allow us to officially say we are done with the nursery.

• Change the electrical sockets to tamper resistant
• Install closet light 
• Change light switch to white 
• Move glider rocking chair into nursery 
• Hang frame collage on wall 
• Secure dresser and bookcase to wall 
• Install roman shade on small window 
• Hang curtains on large window 
• Hang paper lanterns 

We might add or change a few things on the to-do list but hopefully it won't grow too much longer. Fingers crossed our little girl gives us enough nap times to get this finished.