We didn’t have the weekend I had imagined. Ruby has been super sick. Instead of gardening, hunting for eggs and hosting friends for dinner, we’ve been snuggling, watching movies, taking temps, dabbing essential oils on bellies, taking naps and waiting for the flu to take a hike.
I wrote about our weekend and the elemental beauty in nurturing, even at its most unglamorous, in this week’s mama digs: unconditional love.
A bit of our slow, humble last few days:
:: Margot, so proud with her chicks (and quite the caretaker, I must add), wearing the shirt, the appliqué she designed all by herself. She picked the tee and I said anything you want. Go. And she said, eyes wide, looking at my mound of fabric, “just the teeneist heart you can cut out in silver. With gold thread. Right up top by my neck. And that’s all.” She helped stitch it up.
:: Ruby felt well enough to open Easter baskets, cleverly hidden by the bunny in the new fort I built (more about that soon. man, I had fun crawling around under our big pines with yards of canvas).
:: A hood-wide Easter egg hunt and potluck brunch happened on the hill behind our house. I was a little distracted — completely exhausted from a few nights of no sleep and really bummed Ruby couldn’t participate. I did text the Easter Bunny, however, and ask him to hide the girls’ eggs when Ruby is well. He agreed. So, we look forward to that hunt.
:: We watched My Neighbor Totoro a number of times this weekend, one of the very few kid movies I feel really good about my kids watching (Ponyo is another fave in our home). They love it so and I bought them each crocheted Totoro dolls from this etsy shop for Easter. BIG hit.
Ruby’s favorite ‘banbow blankie’ made with love by her Aunt Kelle
:: For the brunch, I had planned to make my annual Paska bread but, alas, something simpler made more sense. In a last-minute brainstorm, I settled on french toast finger sandwiches that turned out quite good.
caretaking friends’ house this week; this is their wonderful kitchen, complete with working oven and burners!
French Toast and Jam Sandwiches
eight slices bread (we used blueberry bread)
jam (we used my peach butter)
2 eggs
1/2 cup half and half
Spread a thick layer of jam over four slices of bread. A smear of cream cheese would be fab too. Place the other four pieces of bread atop, making four jam sandwiches. Beat two eggs with half and half in a shallow dish. Dredge each sandwich in the egg-half and half mixture, flip and dredge other side.
Place on hot griddle and cook a few minutes, until browned. Flip. Cook other side.
Cut each sandwich into thirds. They looked done at this point but, they were a bit soggy, which I realized is generally my criticism of french toast. So I reheated the griddle *hot* and seared each side of the thirds (the top and bottom, and especially the cut ends). The result was crispy, tasty french toast finger sandwiches.
Happy to have had this slow-paced weekend focusing on Ruby’s health, really looking forward to her spunk to return. She’s still sick and we are off to the doc in a few. Imagine her giggling body running through tall grass for me, would you?
23 Comments
Oh, Ruby! I can totally see her giggly body running…very soon.
Juniper came down with a fever on Friday, so we *almost* had the same weekend as you, but alas she rallied. First year hunting eggs (and plant-dyed at that)…so FUN! Wishing you all lots of fun and giggles at your rain check hunt.
Peep peep, we got our chicks this weekend!
oh, that’s rough having a sick child. I hope everyone can feel better and catch up on sleep!
We love Totoro..Love it. We also like Ponyo and have you seen Kiki’s Delivery Service? I bought a print of the cat bus for our bathroom through Amazon.
xo
poor rubes 🙁 healing energy coming your way right now.
always a mixed emotion for me with sick kido. hate the sickness, but selfishly love that endless snuggling, napping, need for mama.
Booooo. That poor little sweetface. She’ll be better in no time. That photo of her watching the movie, cheeks flushed, glossy eyes – we’ve had quite a few days like that this winter. February was the never-ending roller coaster of illness. We just kept passing it from one to the other. Did Margot get it too?! We will throw some wishes out into the universe that she’s chipper again in no time. Poor little booboo…
Hope everyone is feeling better soon! Make the Paska another day this Spring. It’s one of my faves and having had it this year, I want everyone to enjoy some!
Aww poor Ruby. My little girl had a nasty bug last week. Washed LOTS of towels and clothes and we watched lots of movies and snuggled. Thankfully she was back to her old self in a couple days.
feel better soon ruby!
The photo of the kids at the Easter hut should be on the cover of Parenting Magazine!
Oh sweet Rubes….hugs $ kisses coming your way. You Are My Sunshine!
Margot….3 sweet Chicks! I Love You A Bushel & A Peck!
Love to all!
xoxo, Mom/Gram
Nici – I truly hope that Ruby is feeling better. I would take my on child’s sickness on any day just to see the color back in her cheeks and the skip in her step. Ruby, sending you warm, healing spring vibes from the east coast. (And your bunny rocks for extending your hunt beyond his normal deadline. )
There are so many days left to get out and dig, so I hope this week brings you a good day where you turn soil, wake up your soul, and burry earth deep under your nails.
Peace,
Jennifer
Oh poor sweet Ruby girl. I hope that she’s bouncing around the house again very soon! Happy Spring to you all, way over there!
Jenny V
Ps…Ponyo is a favorite at our house too. Have your girls seen Kiki’s Delivery Service yet? That’s another great one. 🙂
That was our weekend as well. Two sick kiddos-took my three year old today to the doctor and he has a flu bug and start of an ear infection. I am exhausted as well with late nights and worry. It was not the best Easter but just thankful my kiddos are slowly feeling better. Get well wishes to your Ruby.
I am sorry your little chicken has been sick. I hope you feel better soon. The neighborhood egg hunt looks wonderful, but think of how many more there will be in your girls’ future…Sending get-well wishes from the SF Bay.
Lucy and I just had back-to-back awful stomach bugs as well. Hope Ruby is getting better!
We just started watching Totoro too. So sweet. Lucy’s first movie and a lovely movie, if you haven’t seen it, is The Red Balloon. Old, simple, slow… we love it!
we love Totoro and Ponyo too! oh Kiki’s Delivery Service is great also! [i am the same…Hayao Miyazaki movies are the only ones our girls watch- who by the way seem so similar to your girls’! love from nz.
Feel you there with the flue..the easter bunny hid her eggs inside this year for my two year old!
I feel a bit funny leaving a comment but wanted to say i came across your blog a week or two ago and really love it. I have been backreading and just made one of your soups tonight. Beetroot and carrot and can i say WOW! Loved it!
I dream of my garden ( currently consist of pots of lettuces and herbs in the back comunal space) when we finally afford a house..ahh and chicken, my heart beats faster thinking about my future chicks!
So thank you for all your inspiration, and since im becoming a regular; i am Sara, an icelandic living in Sydney Australia. A yoga teacher (well before the younger baby i was) and a mum to two little girls who just turned 2 years and five months.
Hi Sara! Thanks for introducing yourself. I sincerely appreciate it. Carrot and beet soup is one of our favorites! We ate the last of our frozen stash two nights ago.
Warmly, Nici
growandresist,
We love the Red Balloon! Recently, we started fast forwarding through the part where the kids take the balloon though as Ruby one time cringed and said, “No like this! Those kids not kind!” Beautiful, beautiful film!!
On movies, would love other suggestions as I really don’t care for so many kid movies out there. Like the ones where there is an evil person trying to kill the main character and her family (what up disney!).
A few others we like:
Sound of Music
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Finding Nemo
I have never even heard of that movie, gonna have to check it out. My husband is a movie fanatic, so he introduced all sorts of kids movies to Maizey and despite me not loving some of them, she really does – Bee Movie, Happy Feet, Megamind, Finding Nemo, Kung Fu Panda, Lilo and Stitch (I can’t watch it, too sad!!) Lion King.
Hope Ruby is feeling better, I know how those nights go…
I am so gonna make this french toast on Sunday! yumm!!
Nici, I love your writing about being a mama. It’s so real to me. Even the unglamorous side of it.
We’re hoping that we will have our own little one day soon, and although Rob has been there before, for me it’s all new. I have to admit that unlike you I don’t have a very close relationship with my own mother, and know that I want to be a very different mother than her. So reading blogs like yours gives me a look-see to what mothering can really be like and I love that, and gets me excited to give it a go.
So glad that Ruby recovered from her flu.
Which Totoro? I found three versions to choose from: 2002, 2006, and 2010…
I should check out Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with her– haven’t seen that since I was a kid!
I am so glad you all love The Red Balloon! I just think it is so beautiful and simple. I love that it was Lucy’s first (and only) movie for a long time. She used to stand with a balloon in her hand and watch it.
She is afraid of Finding Nemo still. Loves Ponyo.
She also loves Mary Poppins and Babies (the documentary).
That is about all she has seen. We have Pete’s Dragon (the first movie I saw as a kid) and I think she will like it, but for now she just wants to watch a few bits.
Thanks!
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